November: Celebrations & Politics

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CELEBRATIONS

Covid Thanksgiving

For most everyone I know, Covid-19 put a crimp in their holiday plans.  Travel cancelled, gatherings reduced in size, no family present and on it goes.  It’s probably the strangest Thanksgiving most of us have experienced.  But ours was still a very good one.  

We are healthy (priority one, I’d say), and we enjoyed a tasty turkey dinner with one other couple.  We shared in the meal prep, toasted one another, hoped for a more normal 2021, and appreciated being together in lovely Florida.  Add in a FaceTime call from our son and family.  In 2020, you can’t ask for much more!

Age and Anniversaries

When she was around seventy, I remember my grandmother telling me that she aspired to grow old gracefully.  She didn’t like the thought of being old and said that she certainly didn’t feel old in her head.  Even then, when I was in college, her comment struck me.  Not that it was so profound, but that one could attain a certain chronological age and mentally still see oneself as young and unchanged from decades ago.

My grandparents & my parents at the 50th anniversary event

When the Chief Penguin and I had been married for not quite two years, we and my extended family of siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles attended a festive luncheon for my grandparents.  They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and were both 75. My, they seemed old!  But Grandma and Grandpa weren’t stodgy people, and they were definitely intellectually engaged with the wider world.  They ended up enjoying almost 55 years together.

(Etsy.com)

Yesterday, G. and I marked our golden wedding anniversary, and we aren’t old at all—or so we think!  New medications and a greater emphasis on exercise and healthy eating make it possible for our generation to stay youthful longer.  While Covid upended planned trips for this anniversary year and cancelled a family Christmas in New York, we look forward to more years of globetrotting.  We are optimistic about 2021, post vaccine, and will strive to stay fit and healthy as long as possible!  

READING

Momentous Memoir

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

(en.wikipedia.org)

I have missed Barack Obama’s intelligence, eloquence, and grace these past four years.  I pre-ordered his memoir, A Promised Land, and it arrived the day it was published.  I’ve often thought that political memoirs are informative, but dry, with ultimately mind-numbing detail.  That is not this book.  Obama is an engaging and agile writer.  He captures the feel of a room, notes a telling detail or two about the scene or an individual, and doesn’t stint on his own gaffes and faults.  

I am now about 250 pages into this six-hundred-page tome and finding it highly readable and a fascinating review of recent history.  Obama is also compassionate and concerned about his family and those with whom he works in the government.  It is a refreshing and most welcome change!  (~JWFarrington)

VIEWING FOOTNOTE

Politics in Sweden
Unhappy family (pro-test.nl)

This week I finished the third and last series of The Restaurant.  I found this season especially powerful for its depiction of the radical fringe movement of the 1960’s, the protests against the war in Vietnam, the expanding role of women in government, and the lessening of prejudice against gays and lesbians.  Yes, it’s fiction.  The three siblings, Gustaf, Peter, and Nina, continue to war with each other and have more than their reasonable share of crises.  And perhaps the ending is too neat, but it’s a very good series and a great way to forget about Covid.  You’ll even learn a little Swedish along the way, the words for thank you and hello, if nothing else.

Note: Header photo of reflections in a pond ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Escaping the Pandemic: Reading & Eating

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Covid-19 has limited activities for most everyone to some extent.  Those of us who are more vulnerable are spending more time at home, not dining out, and not going to concerts or plays.  What do we do?  If you’re an avid reader like me, then you might tackle several of those tomes you’ve always been meaning to read—or delve into a thriller chiller.  This week I did the latter.  And if you like to eat, then you may be spending more time cooking for yourself and your spouse.  The Chief Penguin and I have trotted out old favorites like Pierre Franey’s emince de veau a la crème (veal in cream sauce with ham), only this time replacing the veal with strips of chicken.  And we’ve tried new recipes like a hearty lentil soup and the pizzas described below.

ESCAPING IN A BOOK

Atomic Love by Jennie Fields

This novel about a female scientist set in 1950 is a wonderful change of pace from the corona virus.  Rosalind Porter was a lone woman among the many men who worked on the Manhattan Project.  Beset by doubts after the dropping of the bomb, she is now working the jewelry counter in Marshall Field’s in Chicago.  An FBI agent approaches her and asks her to get back involved with Thomas Weaver, her former lover and a scientist suspected of passing secrets to the Russians.  

Agent Charlie is persistent, and Rosalind becomes immersed in a game of tell me, don’t tell me, surveillance, and even danger.  Mixed in are loner Roz’s complicated relationship with Louisa, her much older sister, and her devotion to her niece Ava.  Roz and Charlie have both been damaged by the war, physically and mentally, and come to recognize each other as kindred spirits.  A page-turner of an historical novel!

Fields is also the author of a novel about Edith Wharton entitled The Age of Desire, which I enjoyed several years ago.

IN THE KITCHEN

Explaining how to work the pizza dough

But, not with Dinah.  With the Chief Penguin, who also happens to be an experienced baker.  Multi-grain and oatmeal breads, bran muffins, and now—pizza!  He’s made pizzas from scratch before, but recently he purchased a bag of Italian 00 flour.  It’s the preferred superfine flour for thin crust pizzas. Now he’s in his element.  First experiments were traditional margherita pizzas (tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil).  

Into the oven

The other evening, first out of the oven was a pizza of chicken on barbecue sauce with red onion. Next was a pizza with the luscious combination of gorgonzola (thank you, Publix!), caramelized onions, and walnuts, topped with arugula leaves.  Yum! 

Finished product—ready to eat!

After that, who would need dessert?  Not a serious question since it’s fall, and apple crisp is perfect.  His apple crisp was made with Granny Smith apples and maple syrup instead of brown sugar.  Double yum!

THANKFULNESS

Next week brings Thanksgiving Day.  In this strange time of staying at a distance, I am especially thankful for continued good health, great friends, and a loving family!  May your Thanksgiving holiday be a safe and healthy one however you may spend it.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Diversions: Reading & Viewing

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ETA

This is the hurricane season that just doesn’t want to quit. It was a wild week with tropical storm Eta bearing down on Florida’s southwest coast. In our area, we experienced torrential rain (8 inches total) and wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour. At high tide, the surge brought brought water and debris through our mangrove hedges closer to our homes than anyone had ever seen. Some folks had roof leaks, but other than that, we were very fortunate. Thankfully, we were spared hurricane force winds.

GENDER DYNAMICS AND FAMILY LIFE

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Author Frankel (book page.com)

First a confession, I started this book last year.  It didn’t captivate me, and I did a lot of skimming before setting it aside.  This year it’s a book group selection so I picked it up with more serious intent.  And this time, I became immersed.  Oh, it did take a few chapters to become accustomed to what seems like Frankel’s scatter shot or kitchen sink approach to sentences.  Put in as many words and related phrases as possible and string it out into a fairly long sentence.

I got past that, and I made the effort to learn the four older children and keep them straight.  The bedtime fairy tale that writer/father Penn spins for them featuring Prince Grumwald and Princess Stephanie, plays an important role which I was impatient with previously.  

This is a novel of family life.   Anyone who’s been a parent, particularly a parent of more than one child, will relate to issues of schedules, schoolyard fights, and the general messiness of kids.  More importantly, it’s about a child born Claude who wants to dress like a girl and be called Poppy.  How these parents, ER doctor Rosie and author Penn, and his/her siblings keep Poppy’s big secret, and what the ramifications are, make for a poignant, heartwarming, and ultimately life-affirming novel.  Recommended!

VIEWING: SWEDEN AFTER THE WAR

The Restaurant, or the translated Swedish title, Our Time is Now (Amazon Prime, Season 1; Seasons 2-4, Sundance for $)
Lowander Family with some of the wait staff (netflix.com)

This Swedish series has been compared to Downton Abbey in its popularity in that country.  We too can become immersed in a post-war world seen through the lens of a family-owned restaurant.  It opens in 1945 Stockholm at the Djurgardskalleren, a very formal dining room serving traditional fare.  The Lowander family:  matriarch Helga, sons Gustaf (restaurant manager) and Peter (initially a budding lawyer), and pampered daughter Nina (creator of the DK Club) will soon be celebrating the restaurant’s 50th anniversary.  Business is at a low ebb.  Chef Backe is a fixture.  He both admires and feels threatened by rising chef Calle’s talents.  

But times are changing.  The wait staff, especially Maggan, seek better working conditions through union membership.  Women like Nina feel stifled by dated expectations of a woman’s role.  As the 50’s lead into the 60’s, new music emerges, new cuisine is introduced to restaurant patrons, and society loosens up.

The four seasons unfold through the decades into the 1970’s.  It’s an absorbing story of loves and longing, failed and successful marriages, and sibling rivalries over who has the most power.  All against the backdrop of the social issues of the time.  Highly recommended!

CULTURE THIS WEEK

PIANO RECITAL—Jeremy Denk

Thanks to our friend, Patricia, we’ve discovered the rich offerings from the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  Their first concert was presented live to a small audience and available online for viewing for 72 hours.  Pianist Jeremy Denk gave an exquisite performance of pieces by Robert and Clara Schumann, Bolts of Loving Thunder by contemporary composer Missy Mazzoli, and Brahms’ Four Piano Pieces.  The Mazzoli piece was commissioned for Emmanuel Ax in 2013 and inspired by some of Brahms’ early work.  

Jeremy Denk (latimes.com)

Thanks to my resident tech whiz, we were able to watch on our big screen!    Unlike some organizations that set a fixed price for each streamed performance, the PCMS takes a pay-what-you-want approach.  This recital was 50 minutes, a perfect length for at-home viewing.

SERENADE FOR STRINGS—Sarasota Orchestra

If you’re local, you’ll be pleased to know that the Sarasota Orchestra has put together its own series of concerts. They are presented live for a small audience in Holley Hall and then later streamed.  Live tickets sell out quickly, but the streaming versions are only $10.    

The orchestra’s first program, featuring thirteen musicians, consists of works by Tchaikovsky and the 18thcentury composer, Joseph Bologne.  We have yet to watch this concert, but our streaming ticket allows five days from the date the link is sent out.

Covid-19 has forced cultural organizations to adapt and be creative in new ways.  I foresee a future where you’ll have multiple subscription options.  Like magazines that you can receive in print or online or both, there may well be these kinds of paid combo packages for concerts, opera and dance.

Note: Header photo is out a window showing tropical storm Eta in action. ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Reading & Viewing: Marriage, Race, & Religion

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MOMENTOUS WEEK

Sunday, November 8, 2020

The 2020 presidential election is one for the history books. For many women, it was an especially momentous one. After the long wait all week, the afternoon was suddenly brighter. Watching Kamala Harris deliver her first speech as Vice President-elect last evening was simply marvelous. Then, after President-elect Joe Biden’s stirring call for unity, the sky was lit with their names midst a smashing array of red, white and blue fireworks. With all of that, putting Harris’ image at the top of this post seemed just right.

RECENT NOVELS—MARRIAGE & RACE

Monogamy by Sue Miller
(lithub.com)

In this novel, bookseller Graham co-owns a store in Cambridge, Mass.  He’s a big man with big appetites.  Appetites for reading and meeting literati, for food, and for women.  He’s a gregarious guy, enveloping and dominating those around him.   This is his second marriage as well as Annie’s.  Annie, a professional photographer and his wife of thirty-odd years, is more reserved and inward looking than he.  Between them, there are two adult children: Lucas, son of his first wife Frieda, and Sarah, his and Annie’s daughter.  Comparing herself to Graham, Annie laments her own lack of feeling, sensing a sort of coldness at her core.  

When Graham dies unexpectedly, Annie is initially devastated.  She and the children separately struggle to fill the gaping hole he has left.  Strangely, Annie and first wife Frieda have been friends for years. They attempt to console each other.  When Annie learns more about Graham’s relationships with other women, her grief at first morphs into anger.  Marriages in this novel are not all monogamous.

I loved this novel and read it slowly to savor the richness of Miller’s prose and her profound grasp of human emotions. Here’s a passage I particularly liked.  Annie has been reflecting on her childhood friendship with Sofie and how they had drifted apart in high school and college.

     But the residue of that friendship lingered for Annie, lingered especially in the newly sharp eye with which she regarded her own family—that gift that often comes in adolescence, when you’re suddenly old enough to be conscious of how another family works, of the possibility of other rules, other ways of living, from those you grew up with.  That gift can open a window, a door, into the world.  Let air in.

    Let you out.

   As this gift was at work in Annie, she slowly came to understand that what she had been feeling in her family for a long time was I don’t belong here.  That had helped to free her, to end her puzzlement about her family and her place in it.  It had opened up her life, though she hadn’t known for years what that would mean for her.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Author Brit Bennett (the guardian.com)

A highly praised new novel, The Vanishing Half is about identity and race and takes place over several decades.  Identical twins, Desiree and Stella, grow up in a small Southern town.  In their late teens, Desiree convinces her sister to leave home with her. They run away to New Orleans.  For a few years, they both work in a laundry, but Stella bolts and Desiree loses contact with her.  Later, Desiree flees an abusive spouse with her little girl and retreats back to Mallard.  The twins are light-skinned, and the reader sees that Stella has chosen to re-make her life as a white woman.  

The book raises questions about how one identifies oneself, and about what is required to present one face to the world while inside living another.  Not only does the book concern itself with racial identity, but for several characters the gender assigned at birth is not the one they feel most at home in—or they relish the fluidity of moving back and forth between genders. 

 I found the first section, set in 1968, a bit slow and it didn’t flow.  Subsequent sections, which I’m now reading, are more engaging.  A thoughtful novel and one relevant for these times. (~JWFarrington)

VIEWING—TENSIONS IN THE MINISTRY

Greenleaf (Netflix)
Grace backed by father, mother, brother and aunt (tvovermind.com)

We happened upon Greenleaf when browsing streaming options and have now watched eight episodes of Season 1.  It’s about a Black mega church in Memphis and the Greenleaf family that runs it.  Bishop James Greenleaf is exuberant, manipulative, and rich.  His wife, son, brother-in-law, and other family members work for the church too. And the entire family lives together in a sumptuous mansion.  

When daughter Grace, also a pastor, and her teenage daughter return, family tensions escalate.  Grace has been gone for years, and her mother is not happy having her back.  Mae sees Grace as a threat and supplanting favored son Jacob.  Grace also puts some credence in the rumors of irregularities in Uncle Mac’s private life.  

Add in adultery, lies, and questions about church finances, and you have the makings of a complex drama with many threads.  Overall, the series is about religion and relationships peppered with lots of Bible-quoting.  At times, I find it uncomfortable to watch, but I am intrigued by Grace’s character. She stands apart from the family as both observer and somewhat reluctant participant.  

Greenleaf is an Oprah Winfrey production and Oprah plays Mavis McCready, Grace’s compassionate, non-judgmental aunt.  In all, there are five seasons.

Note: Header photo of Kamala Harris courtesy of APnews.com