From Manhattan: Watching & Eating

RECENT VIEWING FRENCH DETECTIVES TRIUMPH AGAIN Astrid Season 5 (PBS Masterpiece) Season 5 of Astrid has been available for some months now.  I started watching it a while ago and only finished it this week.  It’s a satisfyingly rich season with the usual array of quirky and weird murder cases, but what makes it special is the tight friendship between …

Carolina Comments: Music, Books, Pizza

MUSIC IN THE PARK Each spring, Chamber Music Raleigh holds one of its concerts in a public park.  Last Sunday, we spent a most pleasant two hours in Ritter Park in Cary listening to the American Brass Quintet.  The weather was warm, not hot, and metal picnic tables under a canopy provided seating, shading us from the sun.   …

Carolina Comments: Reading, Racing, & Eating

RECENT READING: ESCAPE, ARTIST ON THE RUN Saoirse (pronounced Sear-sha) by Charleen Hurtubise Like the title character in Saoirse, her first novel published in the United States, Charleen Hurtubise spent part of her childhood in Michigan and is also an artist.  Today, she lives in Dublin but is still attached to Donegal. Saoirse initially appears to be a settled artist, …

Carolina Comments: Sampling Charlotte

TRAIN TO CHARLOTTE Earlier this week, we made a short trip to Charlotte to visit some very good friends who formerly lived in Florida.  The train station in Cary is bright and modern and a most pleasant place to wait.  Amtrak trains to New York and Florida absorbed most of the passengers while we awaited the arrival …