The Sunday Salon: Vaccinations and Visitors

 It's been another beautiful week here in Florida... warmer temperatures, slightly higher humidity, and a gorgeous sea breeze. Our daughter arrived on Monday and worked from our condo all week, but joined us for outdoor dinners at the house. It's so good to spend time with her!

Friday was the BIG DAY. Two weeks after his second shot, my husband reached full immunity! He celebrated by going to the local grocery store midday (rather than our usual 7AM) to purchase fresh seafood for dinner and fresh cut steaks for the weekend. Somehow a bag of potato chips and container of ice cream also found a way into his bag. It's the little things! Two weeks until my second dose...

Finished this week//

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

This was the novel my mother and sister both read last month. The had very different reactions (Mom hated it, but my sister liked it) and they wanted me to weigh in. It was on my wish list anyway, so this seemed like a good time to pick it up.

Bitter Orange  features a woman on her deathbed reflecting back to the summer of 1969, a pivotal time spent in a ruinous English manor house. She is there to compose a report on the grounds and gardens for the absent new owner, while another young couple catalogs the contents of the buildings. The book unfolds very slowly, with long, detailed descriptions, and is quite well-written. It has a Gothic feel and there is a near constant sense of impending doom or tragedy. None of the characters are particularly likable, yet they're all interesting with complicated backstories...and complicated relationships with each other. I think fans of Daphne DuMaurier are particularly likely to enjoy this novel.

I borrowed the ebook from the library, then used an audible credit for the audiobook. It turned out that the audio narrated by Bianca Amato added much to my overall enjoyment, so I recommend going that route if you can. 

Current reading//

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

This book seemed to be on all the lists at the end 2020, but I'm just getting to it now. I'm 40% in and enjoying it even more than expected!

In the kitchen//

This was a very good week in the kitchen! I had three new recipe successes,  two of them from Half Baked Harvest Super Simple.  Thai Basil Beef with Peanut Salsa was a real crowd pleaser, and was actually super simple to prepare. The leftovers were just as tasty. A food blogger included the recipe in her review post here.

The other winner was Walnut Crusted Chicken with Honey and Brie. My daughters especially loved it and I liked that you can prep the chicken ahead, then all you have to do at dinnertime is pop it in the oven. Again, I couldn't find the recipe online, but if you search for it on Pinterest, you will find a photo of the cookbook page.

Finally, these Pecan Carrot Muffins from the Simply Delicious  blog were just amazing! My FIL, who isn't eating much of anything lately, ate two. I'll make them again for Easter brunch.

The week ahead//

Our daughter finishes her quarantine this evening and will move from our condo (affectionately known lately as "the holding tank") to the house. 

My sister and brother-in-law, who are both fully vaccinated, arrive Friday night to spend their spring vacation at our condo. We should be able to spend plenty of time with them outdoors at the beach or on our lanai. I can't wait to see them!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz. 

It's Monday... What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.