I now call myself FAA

That's for Fucking Awesome Aunt. You see, it looks like my niece may become a mother as early as June, which would make me, in genealogical terms, a great aunt. But I believe I'm already a pretty great aunt, so the title must be ratcheted up a bit. Hence FAA.

I got the word after church today. It's funny, my minister shared how unusual it is for Easter Sunday, Eastern Orthodox Easter, and the last day of Passover to all fall on the same date. That we should be heartened as we await new beginnings. And then I heard that soon I may be holding a baby!

My niece and her husband met the expectant birth parents at the adoption agency on Thursday.* The two couples hit it off and the birth mother wants to stay involved as a friend of family, which is what my niece was hoping for. Legally, the birth mother can't consent to an adoption until the baby is born. But on Friday, she gave word that she had decided on my niece and her husband.

The girl is in her last trimester and the pregnancy has been uneventful, so that doesn't worry me. But she could change her mind. That worries me. I suspect that deep inside, my niece and her husband are worried, too. She said they don't want to know the baby's gender yet. I think that would make it too real.

But there's plenty of time for worry. I want to allow myself today for just being happy. 

*Come to think of it, I don't know if that was their only meeting. I didn't ask. I don't really know a lot about the adoption process.

 

Sunday Stealing

F.A.B.

F. Film: What movie or tv show are you watching? I just watched the first couple episodes of Ransom Canyon on Netflix. It's pretty standard, soapy stuff. But sometimes life calls for watching a hot cowboy and the woman who has loved him from afar since they were in high school.

A. Audio: What are you listening to? After church and Easter ham, I promise myself I'm going to try restore some order to all the crap in my den. I'm taking the Cubs and our fabulous radio broadcaster, Pat Hughes, with me.

B. Book: What are you reading? The Thorn Birds. It's about 700 pages and I'm nearly halfway through. It's OK, but not as good as I expected it to be.

Happy Easter from the Peeps of Downton Abbey

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (from the archives)

1) Which do you prefer: colored hard-boiled eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, or plastic eggs with coins inside? I'll go rogue and say wooden. At the card shop where I work, I fell in love with this egg coloring kit by a company called Tiny Easel. Kids can make little works of art that moms and dads will likely cherish forever.

 
2) What's your favorite color of Peeps (yellow, purple, or pink)? Honestly, I don't like how they taste. I suppose to look at, I prefer classic yellow.

3) All this talk of sweets is making Sam hungry. What's for lunch? Not ham. Probably pizza or Chinese.

4) This song was introduced by country singer Gene Autry and it's still a favorite. Please share some of the lyrics. (And you're on your own; Sam didn't include a link to the song this week.) Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity hopping, Easter's on its way ...

5) Gene Autry was so popular that a town in Oklahoma named itself for him. Have you ever been to Oklahoma? Nope.

6) He and his horse Champion also had a TV show. Can you name another famous horse? I don't recall the horse's name, but Little Joe Cartwright always rode a pinto on Bonanza. When I was a little girl, I was enchanted when he would share his water, or sometimes coffee, with his horse when they were on the trail. I very much wanted a horse like Little Joe's.

7) Gene Autry also recorded "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer," and it was, of course, wildly popular, too. Who is your favorite recording artist? Still and always.

 

8) In 1950, the year Autry recorded this song, Diner's Club issued the first credit card. Think of the last thing you purchased. Did you use cash, a credit card, a debit card, an e-wallet service (Visa Checkout, Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay ...) or a check? Cash.

9) Easter is recognized as the start of the spring season. What are you looking forward to this spring? The TCM Classic Film Festival. (Soon! So soon!)

Learn more here

Thursday Thirteen #407

 The "Transform Your Yard" edition. I don't have a yard and I don't miss it. But I see the commercials and hear the conversation of homeowners around me and know April is important for those who garden and do yardwork. So I went to The Home Depot website to see what homeowners in my neighborhood are buying.

These are the top sellers under the "Transform Your Yard" tab for the store in my zip code.

1. Earthgro Brown Wood Shredded Bagged Mulch (1.5 cu. ft.)

2. RYOBI Cordless Attachment Capable 15" String Trimmer & 550 CFM 120 MPH Blower Combo Kit with 40 Ah Battery (I have no idea what this thing is, but my neighbors seem to love it.)

3. Miracle-Gro All Purpose Garden Soil (0.75 cu. ft.)

4. 5/8 in. x 5 1/2 in. x 6 ft. Pressure-Treated Pine Fence Picket

5. 18 ft. Aluminum Gorilla Ladder

6. Miracle-Gro Potting Mix 25 qt. for Container Plants

7. Miracle-Gro Organic Raised Bed and Garden Soil (1.5 cu. ft.)

8. 20-in. Large Walnut Brown Resin Wine Barrel Planter

9. Gorilla 3-Step Compact Steel Step Stool

10. 6 ft. Werner Fiberglass Step Ladder

11. Mudmixer Continuous Concrete Mixer with Hopper Extensions and Chute Extension Included (It's on sale for $3,395)

12. Earthgro Black Wood Shredded Bagged Mulch (1.5 cu. ft.)

 13. Quikrete 50 lb. Fast-Setting Concrete Mix

Are any of these items on your shopping list?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. The epic begins in New Zealand, where the Cleary family is barely scraping by. It's 1915, a tough time to work the land. It's an especially masculine family, with 5 sons and just one daughter. Meggie. Beautiful Meggie! Even as a 4-year-old, she beguiles everyone.

 

I know the family is somehow going to end up in Australia where they will meet a handsome priest. It's what I recall from the mini-series a million years ago, which I watched like everyone did. I know I owned the book -- a book club edition that I lent it to my mother -- but I don't recall ever having read it. Maybe I did -- I virtually devoured books in those days. The passing of Richard Chamberlain, who played a major role in the mini-series, renewed my curiosity.

 

Anyway, it feels very new to me and I'm enjoying it. Ms. McCullough knows how to paint a word portrait.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. I loved this book! It's set in Cork, Ireland, in 2010, but it could have been here in Chicago in 1981. It reminded me that much of me and my friend, John, when we were in our 20s. To borrow a phrase that our heroine/narrator uses more than once, this book captures "the vibe" perfectly. 

It recreates that magic time of life: young adulthood. Everything is new. Everything is important. As Rachel says of those days, "I was twenty and I needed two things: to be in love and to be taken seriously." James works with her in the bookstore. They become best friends and go through this adventure together. They tell one another everything and expand their worldview by walking in one another's shoes.

I loved these characters so much -- even when I didn't like them -- that it was a relief to have the story told in flashback. It begins with a thirty-ish Rachel living in England, happily married and expecting her first baby, constantly texting James in New York. Knowing they were going to come through the romantic, financial, scholastic, and financial hurdles they face -- and come through them together -- helped propel me through the story. 

3. What will you read next? I think it will be time for a biography, and one of an American. Of my last five books, three were set in England, one in Ireland and now here I am headed to Australia. I want to come home!

 

 

He would have enjoyed this

Saturday was the anniversary of my friend John's passing. I still miss him, and I continue working on accepting that his death even happened. He was a part of the warp and woof of my life and you don't just lose that without major ramifications.

Fortunately Gregory noticed Saturday's date, too. He invited five of us to dinner.* We were five planets who had rotated around John's sun for decades, and it was good to spend the evening together. Also, Gregory cooked! Chicken and pasta with cream sauce, green beans, and cornbread, then brownies for dessert. I literally cannot recall my last home cooked meal.

I was amused by how different this Saturday was from our Saturdays back in the day. In the 80s it was all about sex, romance and careers. Instead of dancing at a club and then trying to find a greasy spoon open at 2:00 AM on Sunday morning, we met around Gregory's kitchen table at 5:00 PM and I was putting my key in my front door before 11:00 PM.

Now Wes wants to retire to Florida within the next three years, but mother (still in her own apartment at 96) is not willing to live in The South. Jeremy is the only one of us still working full-time. He's a speech therapist for students K-3 and oh! Does he have funny, affectionate stories to tell about the kids in his care. He and Wes went to Japan together last summer and hope to visit Spain this summer. He's not sure they will be able to travel internationally after the 2025-26 school year, when Jeremy will retire and he and Wes are both on pensions. Lori is now retired, and the mom she took care of for years has passed away, so she got her first-ever dog. She wishes she'd begun pet parenthood when she was younger and had more energy. Gregory has been retired for six years now and is considering a part-time gig like mine. He also has several of John's posters – inexpensive, silly, campy pieces – that John had displayed with thumbtacks on the wall. Gregory is going to have them matted and framed, and we all laughed at how our friend's crappy pictures were about go uptown.

I looked around the table and realized I was the only straight white woman in attendance. I think that was John's greatest gift to me. I grew up in such a narrow world, with only people whose experiences were like mine. My kid sister and my oldest friend still surround themselves with WASPs because it's what they know and it's what's most comfortable. I'm so lucky I met John. He introduced me to people who grew up very rich and very poor, to blacks and gays. Our country is vast and mixed and it's made me a better, more empathic citizen. For example, when people rail against DEI and want to rewrite American history to minimize Jim Crow, they don't take into account people like Wes, his siblings, and his nieces and nephews. They grew up with a matriarch who is afraid to live south of St. Louis because as a child in Arkansas, she literally saw lynched bodies hanging from trees. That happened. I will now consider the expense of denying it because I talked to and listen to Wes. And I met Wes because of John.

Of course, John was more than my own personal AP civics class. He held my hand during bad break ups. He ate hot dogs and drank beer with me at Cub games. (We saw Anthony Rizzo's first Wrigley Field home run together!) We celebrated birthdays and Thanksgivings. We visited one another in the hospital and mourned our parents together.

But in addition to all that, he did expand my worldview, and I am eternally grateful. 

*Vanessa couldn't make it. She was in some faraway burb for the weekend, helping with a sick relative.

 

"The happiest days are when babies come"

So said Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, and she wasn't wrong. Meet my new baby: A pale blue 2025 MacBook Air.

 

I ran my old one into the ground. I'm very hard on my toys, plus I used it like mad during Covid lock down when my work computer wasn't operational. The battery was compromised and my keyboard was sticky, so on Thursday when it crapped out completely I was sad but not shocked.

I'm so lucky to live not-too-far from The Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. First of all, it's a gorgeous building on The River, and being there takes some of the stress out of being without a laptop. 

Second, the geniuses at The Genius Bar are unfailingly kind and patient. I was pretty sure when I went in that my laptop couldn't be saved, but we talked it through. The first genius, Jon, explained that just fixing the immediate problem would cost between $600 and $700. Did I really want to invest that in a five-year-old laptop with a faulty battery and keyboard? No, of course not. So then we moved on to selecting a replacement. 

Blue is my favorite color and I was happy they had a blue MacBook Air in stock. I wouldn't have risked ordering one. I know the fakakta Trump tariffs don't apply to laptops now, but who knows which way the winds will be blowing in the Oval Office tomorrow? (Does anyone seriously still think our President has a plan?) Sometimes things work out and I got one.

Then Jon told me that they would do a data transfer from my old laptop to my new one, free of charge. YAY! I don't know how this was possible, since the monitor on my old one was no longer working, but they are Genius Bar geniuses and they have their ways. The only glitch? It would take at least 24 hours. (Yes, most of my stuff was on the Cloud. But I'm a suspenders-and-belt kinda gal.) Oh! And Jon the Genius actually flirted with me. ("You have a very positive energy. I wish I worked on Sunday so I could see you again.") I guess I must be fetching when I'm borderline hysterical and wearing my Cubs jacket. Sometimes I think I must be the only age-appropriate single woman in Chicagoland.

So I was unable to bring the new laptop home this morning. Then I spent hours (and hours) trying to log back into my accounts. Then I took a nap. Being without a laptop was actually rather stressful!

 

Thursday Thirteen #406

The Fortune 13. Since taxes and finances are at the forefront this week, I'm thinking about big bucks. Here are America's 13 largest companies, based on revenue, as reported by Fortune Magazine in 2024. I knew healthcare was big business, but until this morning I didn't realize how big. There are more healthcare companies in the top 13 than tech or energy or banking. Wow.

1. Walmart

2. Amazon. 

3. Apple.

4. United Healthcare.

5. Berkshire Hathaway.

6. CVS Health.

7. Exxon Mobil. 

8. Alpahabet. Google

9. McKeeson. Medical supplies

10. Cencora. Pet and animal pharmaceuticals.

11. Costco.

12. JP Morgan Chase.

13. Microsoft.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. This novel is set during that most magic time: young adulthood. Rachel is a college student, working in a bookstore, becoming instant best friends and roommates with James. Everything is new, exciting, and romantic. As our narrator recalls of those days, "I was twenty and I needed two things: to be in love and to be taken seriously."

The story is told in flashback, with Rachel juggling career and pregnancy and James a success in New York. It's nice to know that these two get through the drama of their twenties that will unfold in the pages to come.

2. What did you recently finish reading? None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell. This thriller centers on "birthday twins." Josie and Alix were born in the same hospital, on the same day, in the same year. They meet by accident on their mutual 45th birthday. Josie imbues their chance encounter with meaning and is sure it's her opportunity to examine and change her life. She convinces Alix that they should do a podcast comparing/contrasting their lives and their journeys, and so "I'm Your Birthday Twin" is born.

Here's the hitch: Josie is batshit crazy. Slowly, dark secrets are revealed. Alix doesn't see it at first, not until dark shit begins to happen. Then, tragically, it's too late.

As you read this book, keep the title in mind. Josie is a most unreliable narrator. It's an entertaining and, at times, haunting book.

3. What will you read next? Something set stateside. My last four books have been set in the UK. Not by design, it's just happened that way. But enough! I want to come home.

 

 

The view from the top

 

Yeah, I know it's only April 7. But during these last 10 games, my guys have looked good. Loving the stellar defense and the speed on the basepads. 

But I still miss Anthony Rizzo. His wife is in her last trimester as they await the birth of their first baby. Is he happy? Is he excited? Is he OK? Retirement is an adjustment for anyone, but most of us pick up our careers as young adults. He's been playing baseball since he was a child. It's not a profession, it's a way of life. I hope he's OK. He deserves only good things.

 

 

Me and Kate and Amy and Jamie and Joan

 

Apparently we're all actors and will be receiving big checks for our actions of April 5. While I stayed local, I'm very excited because my minister led a group of 27 downtown to the rally at the Daley Center. All that money pouring into our congregation!

But seriously, folks ... posts like this, where he shamelessly lies to his supporters, only make me more proud to be part of the resistance.

 

 

SUNDAY STEALING

Manic Monday

1) What's the longest you've gone without sleep? 20 hours. My boss was fighting with his boss, and by the time they stopped playing "¿quién es más macho?" and finally gave me the assignment it was already very late. Like it was already due. When I finally got home, I didn't so much go to sleep as surrender to it.

2) What was the highlight of your last week? Saturday I attended one of the 1,200 HANDS OFF! rallies. It was right here in my neighborhood. Members of my church group took the el into the city for the protest at Daley Plaza (see photo), but I chose to stay local. It was inspiring to see the spirit of peaceful activism as people spoke up for Medicare, Social Security, medical research and free speech at universities. Yes, we live in a nation where Medicare, Social Security, medical research and free speech at universities need defending from our own President. Anyway, we gathered at the WWI memorial next to the library and marched through the center of town. According to the Associated Press, I was one of hundreds of thousands "from New York to Anchorage." So far, there's no word of arrests. It was peaceful, it was serious, and it helped me feel empowered, less alone, and less like I'm living in Berlin before The War.

Protesters at Daley Center, from CBS News

 
3) You have to give a 10-minute speech to a group of high school students. What's your topic? I think there's a lot to be learned from the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with a special emphasis on her accomplishments as First Lady. For example, she was personally responsible for the Mona Lisa coming to the United States. It was the first time the painting had been allowed outside of France since it was returned after WWII. Jackie believed that seeing the world famous masterpiece would inspire Americans, especially school children, to become more interested in art. She lobbied French cultural minister Andre Malraux. She convinced her husband to augment security and insurance with his family's fortune, on top of the credit of the United States, a gesture that impressed the French government. She oversaw Mona Lisa's transatlantic voyage on the SS France, where it was cossetted by a special vibration resistant crate and the temperature was always 62º. The painting was displayed first at the National Gallery in Washington and then the Met in New York. Americans turned out in record numbers: more than 60,000 a day in New York alone. It was a resounding success, and it was Jackie's show. This was just one of her accomplishments. Jackie was a compelling mix of strength and grace and, as her friend Tish Baldridge used to say, there was a brain under that pillbox hat.

Mission accomplished: The official unveiling In DC

The Mona Lisa, protected by the Marines, at The National Gallery

4) What is the single best decision you've ever made in your life? Buying this condo. I didn't really want to be a homeowner. Renting seemed so much easier. But there are financial benefits to owning that I appreciate more every year.

5) If you could ask a coworker, friend or family member a question and be guaranteed an honest answer, who would you choose and what would you ask? I would ask my financial advisor what he would tell his own grandmother to do with her retirement funds as we try to navigate Trump's fakakta tariffs.

6) Do you cook for yourself when you're home alone? I have to. I live alone. If I didn't cook for myself I'd starve.

7) Do you most often access the internet from your computer, your phone, or your smart watch? Laptop

8) Do you have more email addresses or phone numbers? Email addresses

9) What's the biggest source of anger in your life right now? The current administration

10) Mondays make me feel _________________. Like I'm starting anew.

 

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Heart Like a Truck (2022)

 

 Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this week's song, Lainey Wilson longs to hit the open road. What do you yearn for this morning? More sleep.

2) She says her heart runs on dreams and gasoline. What fuels you? Humor and caffeine.

3) Lainey sings that her heart has been "drug through the mud." The correct past tense of "drag" is "dragged," but in parts of our country, "drug" is sometimes used. Can you think of any other grammatically incorrect song lyrics? Mick wouldn't have sounded rebellious if he sang, "I can't get any satisfaction," but it would have been correct. Then there's the girl in "Ticket to Ride." The lads sing, "She don't care," when she doesn't care. This next one isn't a grammar issue, but there's a Billy Joel song that just grinds my gears. In "Allentown," he sings that "graduations hang on the wall." Graduations don't hang anywhere, Billy, diplomas do. (It bugs me because I really like the song and its message.)

4) She tells us her truck could benefit from being dusted off and shined up. Could your vehicle use a little TLC? No vehicle. But we've had a lot of rain and mud and many of the cars and especially the buses I see could stand to be cleaned up.

5) Before making it big in country music, Lainey supported herself by doing odd jobs, including appearing as a Hannah Montana impersonator for kids' parties. What's the most unusual job you've held? I haven't had any unusual jobs. I babysat, worked as a receptionist and then a secretary (now admin), a writer and now a shop girl. All pretty standard stuff.
 
6) In addition to singing, Lainey has acted, appearing in 5 episodes of the series Yellowstone. Are you a fan of the show? Nope.
 
7) She loves Southern comfort food like mac and cheese and biscuits and gravy. What's on the menu at your place this weekend? It's still Lent, so that fish sandwich I like is back on the menu at my local bbq place. Maybe I'll grab one.

 
8) In 2022, when this song was on the charts, Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Have you ever been to Scotland? Nope.
 
9) Random question – Let's pretend you're back in Kindergarten. Which of these would young you prefer: a toy kitchen set, kid-sized gardening tools, or a mini trampoline? Trampoline!

 

77 movies and 11 panel discussions

Read all about it here

The 2025 TCM Film Festival schedule dropped today! Will and I spent about an hour texting back and forth. Then Karen and I exchanged Facebook messages. We three from our movie group are making the pilgrimage to Hollywood and we've been comparing notes. At times we have 5 movies and a lecture to choose from! Fortunately we each go our own way, so we don't have to agree. Which is a good thing. Because we don't agree. For example, on the first night, Will is excited to see Teacher's Pet with Clark Gable and Doris Day, and nothing could stop me from kicking off the festival with Kate and Liz and Monty in Suddenly, Last Summer.

I'll see Michelle at the screening of the restored Cinderella. We're Facebook friends but since she lives in Colorado Springs, this is the only time we meet in person. I hope I'll run into Trudy again this year. And there's Lisa with the three names. Likewise John who loves Technicolor melodramas and his cat. And very tall Kris. (People bitch about Facebook all the time but I love how it keeps us old movie nerds connected between Fests.)

This is really happening. Three weeks from today. YAY!

 

Thursday Thirteen #405

Pizza. I love pizza. I believe it's replaced the redoubtable cheeseburger as my answer to the "what food could you eat every day" question. I'm spoiled because in Chicagoland, delicious pizza is readily available. Within walking distance from my home I have four choices, and none is a national chain. This is notable because when I used to visit Henry in Key West, I was appalled by what passed for pizza. It was just sad. You might as well just have DiGiorno from the freezer case. 

 

But I digress. Here are 13 tidbits about pizza ...

1. Thin crust is my favorite. Love those luscious little squares in the middle.

2. Bar or tavern style is getting more popular around here. Also cut in squares like thin crust but somehow the toppings go all the way to the edges, no outer crust. It's magic! I'm told this is how they eat thin crust in Boston and New Jersey.

3. Sometimes I crave deep dish. So-called because it's baked in a deep dish, which is is why my late friend Henry used to argue that, "this is not pizza, this is a casserole." The crust is super buttery and the pie is really juicy, with chunks of tomato. The toppings aren't really "toppings" because they are baked in. You cannot eat this without a knife and fork.

4. The New York Style place near me closed. I don't know why it didn't catch on. I don't know how I'd like an entire pie, but I did like grabbing those big, individual slices to go. The crust was fun. All fold-y. Those giant triangles were good re-heated, too. (Come back, New York Style pizza-by-the-slice place! Come back!)

5. I've had wood fire pizza. Not crazy about it. I've been told (at least by Henry) that this is Neapolitans prefer their pizza. OK. Whatever. I don't like the air pockets in the crust.

6. California Pizza Kitchen is popular in the faraway burbs. I like the pizza itself well enough. They certainly offer an eclectic selection of toppings. Mostly I gravitate to the non-pizza items on the menu, though.

7. I am a purist. I prefer plain cheese pizza.

8. Pepperoni was named America's favorite topping. Not for me, too spicy. If I go with a topping, I'll choose #2 on the list: sausage.*

9. Anchovy was listed last. I'm sure this surprises no one.*

10. I'm told there are people who dip their pizza crust in sauce. I have never seen anyone do this, though, and I've never seen dipping sauces on a dine-in pizzeria's menu.

11. Pizza is a weekend food. Most pizzas are ordered to go on Friday and Saturday. I tend to get mine on Saturday.

12. It's a great team meal. In my old life in advertising, pizza was always brought in as a bribe to get us to stay longer at all-agency meetings. At the card shop, pizza was ordered as a reward for the folks who worked late doing inventory.

13. Tip your driver. I prefer to get my pizza to-go and was surprised to learn that more than 80% of us don't tip the pizza delivery person. Well, shame on us.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 *Here's the survey.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell. I'm still in Jolly Old England, this time with a thriller by Lisa Jewell. Two women, strangers, find themselves at a pub on the same night. Josie is there with her husband, celebrating her 45th birthday with an intimate dinner. Alix is there with a big party, also celebrating her 45th birthday. They end up in the ladies' room together and discover that they not only have the exact same birth date and year, they were born in the same hospital! Josie is a housewife and part-time seamstress who lives in a flat near the bus stop, Alix is a podcaster and influencer with a big house. Josie has a dog, Alix has a cat. They couldn't be more different, yet they are "birthday twins." 

What feels like a neat coincidence to Alix is a catalyst for Josie. She pitches herself as a subject of Alix' podcast as a woman who wants to make changes in her life. Dark secrets are revealed. Dark shit begins to happen.

 

Is this about exploring the path not taken? Is it about the toxicity of secrets? I'm not deep enough into yet to say. But this has sucked me in completely.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton. I revisited the first of 25 mysteries in the Agatha Raisin series. I recalled the contrasts that charmed me about Aggie and Co.: the bucolic Cotswolds and bustling London; the sweet characters (Mrs. Bloxby and Det. Wong) and our tart heroine, Agatha. I also remembered the bare bones of the mystery, but not whodunnit. I realized anew the mysteries themselves are not what it's important here. It's the atmosphere created and the evolving characters that keep me coming back.

3. What will you read next? Don't know.

 

Sunday Stealing

Stealing from Shannon 

1. What book are you currently reading? I am thisclose to finishing a thriller called None of This Is True. Gulp! Lisa Jewell is good at building tension.

2. Have you ever smoked? Nope. Not pot, not cigarettes. The thought of letting smoke out my nose or mouth just seems so germy and creepy and stinky.

3. Do you own a gun? Fuck to the no. Chicago is awash in guns. We need fewer, not more, around here.

4. What is your favorite candy? Sea salt chocolate.

5. Hot dogs: yay or nay? Big yay.

 6. Favorite movie? The Way We Were.

 

7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Chocolate milk. I take vitamins, probiotics and a statin each morning and they all just go down easier with milk. Plus, well, chocolate, so there's that.

8. What do you drink throughout the day? I allow myself two cans of Coke/day. The rest of the time it's water.

9. Do you do push ups? I not only don't, I can't.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? I often wear this charm as a pendant. It's a recreation of one of the coins found on the Atocha, a Spanish ship that went down off Key West in the 1600s. The charm is made from scrap silver that remained in the wreck. Amazing to think I'm wearing metal that rested for centuries at the bottom of the sea!

The pendant means a lot to me because it reminds me of my favorite uncle, who loved Key West and collected Atocha coins, and of my dear friend Henry, who lived in Key West and was with me when I bought it.

Read about the Atocha here

11. Current worry? Creeping (or shall I say galloping?) authoritarianism. Just read that the Trump Administration wants to tell Robert Iger how to run Disney. On the campaign trail he promised less regulation of business. I guess that only applies to Trump donors and tech bros. 47% of the nation seems to be OK with this. Worrisome, indeed!

12. Current annoyance? I'm on the condo board and we're looking at many, many repairs and renovations. We discuss them in detail at every meeting and post the minutes on the unit owner portal. No one attends the meetings or reads the minutes. They do, however, love to stop me in hall and laundry room with questions.

13. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don't think I ever have slept on satin sheets.

15.  Can you whistle? Nope.