Dear Jack, Dear Louise

 We went to see "Dear Jack, Dear Louise" at a local theater. It was funny, and sad, and emotional, and yes, they were "reading" letters to each other, but it was more like they were "living" letters to each other. Oh, and the story was based on the playwright's parents and the letters they wrote before finally meeting in-person.

Louise was an aspiring actress and dancer - and oh my, her description of auditioning for a part in "Arsenic and Old Lace" was hilarious. (Also, I really like Aresenic and Old Lace). Jack was a military doctor, who was initially stationed in Oregon but eventually was sent to Europe to treat wounded soldiers. His experiences were harrowing (but he mostly kept it light and soft in the letters). 

My grandfather was a military doctor during the WWII. He was drafted in June 1941, just as Germany invaded the USSR. He was finishing up medical school - they were done with all their exams except Ethics. 

The town where my grandfather went to medical school was bombed, and students were told to evacuate their dorms and gather in the nearby forest. They never got to take that final Ethics exam. Instead, they had their graduation ceremony and received diplomas in the forest. My grandfather, along with everyone else, received his "officer" status and got to pick what regiment he was to join. My great-uncle (from the other side of the family) was there, too, graduating at the same time. He chose a different regiment. Soon after, he was taken a prisoner. He did not survive.

My grandfather, on the other hand, made it all through the war, was at Berlin, and came back, if not "whole" but mostly intact and with no visible wounds. He did not tell many stories about the war - not to me (I think he may have shared more with my male cousin) - instead, he would tell over, and over again, how they got their diplomas in the forest, how he found his regiment (nearly getting arrested because he looked like a spy), how he was shot at by the Germans (they missed but killed his horse). These events all happenned before he was actually a doctor at the field hospital. I've heard almost nothing (but I can imagine the horrors) of medical work near the front line. I know that his field hospital was hit by enemy fire. My grandfather happenned to be outside. He was hit by the explosion wave, but survived. I know that he got a medal for pulling a commanding officer out of the line of fire (but he did not talk much about that, except for saying that the commander was drunk). 

Do you write letters? As in, real-life, snail-mail letters?

Good Book/Bad Book Test

When I was a kid, I had a simple test to see if a book was good or bad.

I would flip to the last page and read the last sentence. 

If that sentence answered the question "How does the book end?", I could put that book away. 

If that sentence made no sense and was not a spoiler, it was a sign of a good book.

Simplistic? Yes. Did this always work? Of course not.

But think about it: when you are immersed in a good book, you travel with the characters, you learn and grow with them. If you skip all that and simply jump to the last sentence - of course it wouldn't make sense, because you haven't put in the work required to "get it".

I don't do this much anymore. For the most part, I read books that have been recommended by friends (or by you, dear fellow bloggers) and/or that had good reviews on Kirkus. Also, for many fun-read genre books, the last page with all the answers is part of the game.

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I'm reading "Piranesi" right now. After I got about a third into the book, I flipped to the last page and read that last sentence.

Nope, did not make much sense. 

I'm sticking with reading the book and taking it one sentence at a time.

Do you have a method for "screening" books?

Weekend Report

Friday

• E and husband came down with bad colds, but they still drove to Penn State for an engineering open-house event. They came home late, exhausted, barely able to move. 
• C went to a sleep-over birthday party
• H and I went to a French restaurant for dinner
• With C being away, the big kids and I watched "Silence of the Lambs"

Saturday

• E and husband are not feeling well at all. 
• E had a meet - he let his coach know that he was sick, but the coach said "the team needs you" - it was a relay race. So E went... he ran OK and was happy with his time (it was 5:30 for the mile), considering he hasn't been training much and was feeling terrible. He nearly blacked out at the end, but made it.
• I did not go to the meet (I asked E - he said, don't come; it turned out to be super long - E left at 8 and did not get back until 2 pm) - instead, I went for a walk in the park.
• I picked up C from the sleepover and we went food-shopping.
• Cleaned up around the house a bit, did laundry
• We were supposed to have friends over and I was going to have to cancel (my husband was barely awake and miserable), but they beat us to it - they were sick, too. I guess something bad is going around and it's only a matter of time before I get it (the girls had somethign last week, but it was mild and they felt better after a day of resting).
• H went to a friend's birthday celebration

Sunday

• E and husband are feeling terrible. E was agonizing all morning about work and if he should call in sick. He emailed his manager to see if he could do something that was not customer-facing, only to realize a few minutes later that he was not scheduled to work today.
• C and H went to Hebrew school. C then went to help out at a local foodbank with a friend.
• Husband and I fertilized trees and took stock of our garden (we need a new fence).
• C and I went shopping - stopped by Eddie Bauer and then Costco. Eddie Bauer is going out of business - I am so sad. I love that store. I love their jeans. I have 3 pairs of their hiking pants. My favorite summer dress is from Eddie Bauer. And my hiking shoes. And my leather jacket. And my favorite sandals.
• E felt better in the afternoon and had a couple of orchestra friends over to practice for an upcoming performance - and then they stayed for dinner.
• The girls and I watched "Bones" while E was finishing up homework.

Hope you are all staying healthy! What's been happenning this weekend for you?

Third Child Blues

I was "in the zone" working on a manuscript and missed a conference call with C's teachers.

I felt so, so bad.

I did not go to her "back-to-school" night. I did not attend the parent/teacher conference in the fall. I did not meet her teachers!

A lot of it just feels so repetitive: I'already had 2 kids go through the middle school, so I am lacking the motivation for yet another meeting, or yet another middle school presentation.

C is not impressed and I feel like I'm letting her down, like I'm not treating her middle-school years as important.

Frankly - well, there's nothing particularly critical or important going on. She is doing all the things she is supposed to be doing in school. She is on top of her work. She participates in clubs. She is doing well, academically. I am kind of over asking the teachers about more challenging work - this has not worked well for the 2 older kids. Sadly, C is bored in math and does not seem to be learning much in her English class. She would absolutely benefit from additional challange. Perhaps I will try again, reaching out to the teachers and asking if there is anything we can work out. 

And speaking of doing things again... C's Bat Mitzvah is in less than a year.  Do you know what my feelings are? "But I've already done this twice... Do we really need to do this again?" (yes, we do... and I will adjust my attitude).

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I sent a very apologetic email to C's teacher, after missing that virtual conference. The teacher was amazing - she called me back a few minutes later and we had a brief chat about C's progress. 

Alright - parenting fail and partial save...

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Dear Reader - care to share any recent fails and associated guilt?

Favorite Books 2025

The year of 2025 was not a great one for reading - I did not get through a whole lot of books. That said, I do have a couple of favorites to share.

Katalin Kariko. Breaking Through: My Life in Science

I am not usually a big reader of autobiographies, but this one - I loved from beginning to end. Katalin Kariko won a Nobel Prize in 2023 for mRNA therapy research that was instrumental in developing Covid vaccine (and mRNA therapy is currently being explored in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including cancer and rare metabolic diseases).

The book provided an interesting perspective on a very strong-willed scientist with outstanding work ethic. It was not self-cenetered and told the story of scientific discovery in a way that was accessible but not dumbed down.

I spent so many years doing research in a lab - everything she wrote rang true and familiar. The science was honest. The amount of work and perserverence it takes to do solid science is true.

Herve Le Tellier. The Anomaly

I loved this book. It was a good blend of science fiction and realism, with interesting characters and thorught-provoking themes (what is real? and does it matter?)

The ending was spectacular. 

If you've read these - let me know. Curious to hear your thoughts!

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Runner-ups: not as memorable, but there were a few additional books that I enjoyed.

Mike Herron. Slough House

Excellent book: well written, sarcastic, with characters that feel real and sympathetic even when they do dumb things.

(This one is part of a series and it makes sense to read them chronologically. So far, all the books have been good, but I can't read more than 1 or 2 at a time and need extended breaks. Too much sarcasm and human stupidity, I guess).

Emily Tesh. Some Desperate Glory

I stumbled on this book exactly at a perfect time. I needed sci-fi that was not too heavy but was thought-provoking and relatable. 

Plenty of tropes here - but the story was well done and one of the themes was close to my heart (realizing that your way of thinking and living, everything you've learned as true, all your values - have nothing to do with reality).

Kate Quinn The Briar Club

Well-written, full of interesting characters - this was such a nice read. I did not love it as much as "The Diamond Eye" or "The Huntress", but it was still a very good read.

Travis Baldree Legends and Lattes and also Bookshops & Bonedust

 I did not expect to like these books. (I usually stay clear of fantasy, or romance, or books marketed as "cozy"). And yet - this was exactly what I needed at a time when I was stressed out and all other books just felt like too much. Very enjoyable if you are burned out and need a break from life.

Can't Rush Cooking

I meant to start dinner prep earlier, I really did. 

But I forgot to get the frozen chicken thighs out to thaw first thing in the morning.

Worry not, family - I hurried the thawing process by plonking the package into a large bowl filled with warm water around lunch time. Surely, by 4 pm, the chicken would be ready for baking.

So here's the Tuesday dilemma: I need to have dinner on the table by 6.  Because my oldest child has an orchestra rehearsal that's a good 30 min drive, and my husband usually goes with him, and they need to leave by 6:15 or 6:20. 

I work from home, so preparing things for dinner and getting things into the oven is not too much of an issue.

Except when I have "hot" projects. And then the combination of stress, exhaustion, and being "in the zone" and so hyper-focused on the work I disassociate from realily - that can really mess with me. I have 2 manuscripts in-progress, one on a crazy timeline, the other one slightly less crazy (but I'm running late on it). 

So back to the chicken. I thought - no problem, around 4 pm, I could peel and cut the vegetables (how long could this take - 20 minutes, maybe less, right?), add the oil/vinegar/spices, put everything on the cooking tray and stick it into the oven. Everything should be ready around 5:30. That gives plenty of time for the chicken to cool a bit and for everyone to eat! Ha, I so got this.

Right?

Wrong!

I was so busy editing and revising one of the manuscripts, I lost track of time. Oops - it's 4:40! No worries, quick, to the kitchen.

So, to cut to the chase: I didn't get the chicken + vegetables into the oven until 5:10. Normally, I cook for 30 min, baste the chicken thighs, mix the vegetables, then back into the oven (@400F), another 15 min, repat basting/mixing, and then do final 15 min in the oven. So, 1 hour total - with ETA at 6:10.

On any other night, that wouldn't be a problem.

But remember, the guys had to leave by 6:15... so I decided to skip the final 10 minutes in the oven. 

The vegetables turned out great.

The chicken, sadly, did not. 

You can't rush cooking, you can't cut corners, you can't get the chicken out 10 minutes early. We ended up "nuking" the chicken (my mother-in-law's term, not mine) in the microwave. It did not taste great.

Note to self. Think ahead! Set an alarm! Start earlier! I could have spent 30 min peeling and cutting vegetables earlier in the day, like during my lunch break, when I got the chicken out of the freezer. Be pessimistic about time - assume that things will take twice as long as anticipated. 

(It's funny - I am fairly pessimistic about most things in life, but I am an idiot of an optimist when it comes to planning time.)

(I realize that one thing could have saved the day - spending some time thinking through the meals/deadlines/ingredients for the week. However, I am allergic to meal planning. Just thinking about it makes me break out in hives.)

Do you have favorite dinners that you can make from scratch when pressed for time? 

Pullman Trilogy

Well, this was depressing.

It started out so well - I really liked "La Bell Savauge". I enjoyed "The Secret Commonwealth". (There was plenty of weirdness, but it was interesting weirdness that was well within the parameters of the story). But then, the inconsistencies and illogical things kept piling up.

By the time I was half-way through "The Rose Field" - I really could not tell if I was missing the point, if my book was missing pages, if the author got bored of the whole thing, if I was stupid and just wasn't "getting it", or if the whole grand finale was just a pool of unresolved goo that I was drowning in. 

Also, Malcolm and Lyra, romantically interested in one another? No, thank you.

And what's the whole point of that angel creature being wrong about the whole thing with Will and Lyra not allowed to ever see each other, or about only being able to meet in their imagination? OK, so that I can sort of buy into - say, even if you loose a loved one, they are still there in your hear/mind/soul, etc, etc.

But what about having to separate from daemon before entering the Red Building? What was the point of that? And what happened to the guards, at the very end? And what in the world happenned to that woman who was cleaning up and experimenting in the lab?

Look, I am all for "open-ended" endings, where things are not spelled out, and you have the freedom to interpret things as you wish. 

But at the end of this trilogy, there are just so many things piling up that are illogical, disconnected, and make no sense.

Stories - especially long long stories - especially long stories that have multiple books - they need internal logic that the author sticks to. Otherwise, it's a betrayal of reader's trust.

There were moments of brilliance. There was a sense of adventure. There were fascinating characters. And then it just all went to pieces.

Ah, well.

Note to self: beware of sequels.

Also, Mr. Pullman, the whole thing about needing to look sideways in order to see "the truth", or "the secret commonwealth", or what not - it was all said already in "The Litle Prince." To paraphrase: That which is truly important cannot be seen with one's eyes.

I am going to re-visit thinking about "The Book of Dust" in a few months. Perhaps, time away will give me a better perspective.

Dear Reader: What are your thoughts on "The Book of Dust" trilogy?

Still Standing and It's March 2026: Favorite Things

I am still here, still standing, treading water, putting one foot in front of another, taking one day at at time. There are so many metephor-like expressions for "I'm here". 

I haven't posted in a while.

As the weeks went by, I composed so many posts in my head. They were oh-so-witty and insightful. I forgot them all. 

There were moments that were meaningful, that I meant to write about, but now are lost.

There were moments that were aggravating (thinking back, it feels like there were a lot more aggravating moments than meaningful moments).

I do want to share a few things that made me happy in Feburary and continue to make me happy in March.

1. NOVA. 

Now that we have PBS Passport, we have access to a lot of shows and documentaries. I tried watching historic Ken Burns documentaries (namely, about Benjamin Franklin) - and while well-researched and well-told, I just wasn't into them.

And then I happenned to watch a NOVA documentary on quantum entanglement. Then I watched a few more NOVA documentaries on chemistry. And on rockets. And about renovating an aiport. And about evolution of birds. I loved them all.

That has been my happy space on Saturday and Sunday mornings. While the kids are still asleep, I fold laundry (or just sit back) and watch NOVA. Then my husband joins me "just for a minute" that typically turns into a full episode. 

2. Listening to music while cooking.

I listen to ABBA, Splin, Stromae, random Russian stuff, random French stuff - as long as music is (mostly) in a minor key, I'm in. I do not like happy music. Give me rage, and despair, and sadness. Je suis malade - yes, please. 

I tried listening to podacsts while cooking - that didn't work. I can not multitask. My brain does not process 2 things (cooking and interpreting language) at the same time. 

3. Puzzles.

My youngest daughter and I have been working on a very hard puzzle for - oh I don't know - a month? It is about 90% complete now. Why is it so satisfying to put the correct piece into the correct spot, seeing how a piece with random color spots now fits in (perfectly) into the bigger picture? I don't know, but oh man, endorphin release, right there.

4. Crosswords

We have one of those daily rip-off page calendar thingies that has a small crossword puzzle on each page. Same as with jigsaw puzzles, making the words fit together on the grid = happiness.

Dear Reader - what is making you happy this year?