Hello, friends and Happy Super Bowl Sunday! It almost seems like a national holiday, doesn't it? We'll have the game on, at least through halftime, but it will be more about the food and ads than who's winning or losing. Will you be watching?
Here on Sanibel, the slow return to normal continues. Last week our post office moved back to the island - there are now FEMA trailers in the parking lot where we can pick up our mail. No word yet on when home delivery may begin, but this is still a HUGE improvement. The island school welcomed students back last week and a handful of our favorite restaurants have reopened, too. Since the arrival of our friends from Canada, we are no longer the sole inhabitants of our neighborhood. We're also hoping another couple may be able to move back into their home later this month.
In other news, our oldest daughter and her fiancé visited for her long birthday weekend. They were shocked by the overall condition of the island, but it was so good to have them here! Life became a little less complicated last week as we finally replaced my husband's car that was lost in the hurricane. He's pretty happy to have a new one!
Recent reading//
by Victoria Mas, translated by Frank Wynne
The Salpetriere Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Madwomen’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpetriere dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.
I recently heard about this 2019 novel on The Book Cougars podcast... the premise sounded appealing and suggested a similarity to The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. This novel, translated from the original French, was set a century earlier than O'Farrell's novel and told in a more linear fashion. It was a quick, entertaining read. The 2021 film, in French with English subtitles, is available on amazon prime video. I plan to watch it sometime this week.
Current reading//
by anonymous, narrated by Gabra Zackman, Lyle Lovett, J. Smith-Cameron
According to the publisher, "Becoming Duchess Goldblatt is two stories: that of the reclusive real-life writer who created a fictional character out of loneliness and thin air, and that of the magical Duchess Goldblatt herself, a bright light in the darkness of social media. Fans around the world are drawn to Her Grace's voice, her wit, her life-affirming love for all humanity, and the fun and friendship of the community that's sprung up around her."
Have you seen Duchess Goldblatt on twitter? I'm enjoying this one mostly on audio... just hit the 40% mark.
In the kitchen//
Another example of life returning to normal is that I've started to cook again... and have even been interested in trying some new recipes! Last week I made Chicken Chow Mein, Grilled Lemon Pepper Salmon, Pork Tenderloin Diane (will cut back on the lemon pepper next time), and Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats from skinnytaste, twice.
The week ahead//
Nothing major this week... I have an appointments with the dermatologist and dentist, my husband will get together with his college roommates, and we're planning a quiet Valentine's dinner at home.
How was your week? What have you been reading?
A beach surprise!
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
I won't be watching the game, but I am always curious about the commercials. I have to confess I have forgotten where it's being played - hopefully not in winter weather.
ReplyDeleteThe small pockets of normalcy feel wonderful, don't they?
Lisa - They always try to play the game in non-winter weather and opted for Arizona this time. Every little bit of 'normal life' feels like a gift around here! Hope all is well with you.
DeleteYour new cooking challenges sound very interesting. Great to hear your home, car, neighborhood, and life in general are returning to pre-disaster normal!
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - It's slow, but sure progress... and I'm glad that I feel like cooking a little again!
DeleteI’m happy to hear things are getting somewhat back to normal. How stressful for you! I hope you’re enjoying the big game!
ReplyDeleteJodie - It was actually a surprisingly good game this time!
DeleteMad Women sounds really interesting - I'll have to check it out as well as the Maggie O'Farrell one. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
Terrie - At that time, so many women were deemed 'insane' if they were inconvenient for the family to deal with... so sad.
DeleteI'm glad to hear that things are starting to get back to normal. It takes a long time to recover from such a devastating event. I'm sorry you had to go through this.
ReplyDeleteThe Mad Women's Ball sounds fascinating. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. I'll look for it, and the movie, too. The podcast also sounds intriguing.
What a lovely surprise on the beach!
Deb - I know most places take years to recover from big storms and now I can certainly understand why! The daily small signs of progress are encouraging though.
DeleteThe Mad Women's Ball was an interesting, quick read!
Vicki - I've been eating more oatmeal lately. The recipe in this post uses quick cooking steel cut oats, which I'd never bought before, liquid egg whites, and lots of fruit.
ReplyDeleteWe had the game on but I'm not a football fan so I didn't really have any interest in it and spent alot of the time on the computer instead. I'm glad things are getting back to normal on Sanibel. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYvonne - I was actually on the computer during the game, too, and looked up whenever something happened, lol! It did turn out to be a good game.
DeleteWe make overnight oatmeal several times a week using the slow cooker. One cup oats (NOT quick cooking) and about 2 and half cups water. Turn it to low and in the morning we have oatmeal. It's been cold here so a welcome hot breakfast.
ReplyDeleteMust be strange to be the only folks in the neighborhood! Glad things are improving there but i know it will take a while to get back to normal. We don't watch the superbowl and was actually surprised it was yesterday! I called our son when we got to Jax yesterday to meet someone, tell him what we were doing. He said someone came into his store and mentioned the game and he didn't know either!
As I'm from a suburb of Philly I would have backed the Eagles but just read they lost. Alas.
Tina - Do you use regular oats or steel cut? I've tried using the crockpot overnight and it seems to get really dry. The quick cook steel cut takes 2 hours on low, so I do that when we don't need an early breakfast.
DeleteIt was kind of eerie to be the only people in the neighborhood! Now we have one neighbor and someone on the street behind us. So many houses (even the really big, expensive ones on the beach) were left uninhabitable. Lots of folks still making the decision whether to fix things (following the FEMA 50%rule) or demolish... then whether to stay or sell. It's pretty crazy right now...
I use regular oats, not the quick cooking sort. I also discovered there wasn't any difference between the Quaker brand and the Publix brand. When Quaker is BOGO I get that though. The "recipe" I found for it was 1 cup oats and 3 cups water. NO! It was so watery we tossed it. I found 1 cup (sometimes heaping) with about 2 1/2 cups works best. If you like it creamier you could add more water but not the three cups! I set it to low around 10:30 PM and it's fine in the morning.
DeleteWow, I can't imagine demolishing a home and starting over! Hope you aren't in that position. We have tpyed with the idea of St Augustine as our son will move to Jax this year. Be a little closer....but we will probably stay inland.
Tina - Thanks for clarifying... and I can't tell a difference between Quaker and the Publix oats either! Didn't know your son was moving to Jax. That would make it tempting to move closer, I'm sure! I have a friend from high school who used to live in Ponte Vedra Beach, then a couple of years ago built a house in a Del Webb community near Nocatee. St. Augustine is beautiful!
DeleteWe didn't watch any of the Super Bowl, as none of us were interested in the game or the half-time show. Did we miss out?
ReplyDeleteIt must feel so weird to be in such an empty neighborhood. Truly post-apocalyptic, right? I'm glad some neighbors are beginning to return.
The Mad Woman's Ball cover art is quite something. Beautiful, yet what nightmares are made of. Was the book as good as Lenox's?
I haven't heard of Duchess Goldblatt or the memoir, but I see Lyle Lovett is one of the audio narrators. I've always enjoyed his music, but can't imagine him narrating a book!
I'll take a look at those recipes. I've tried a couple of new ones, but nothing worth making again.
Have a great week, JoAnn!
Les - The game was on here and it was surprisingly good! Seems like that rarely happens.
DeletePost-apocalyptic is a pretty good way to describe it, especially last October and November! Things look so much better than that now, but it was still pretty shocking for my daughter. Fingers crossed our other neighbors can get back into their house this month.
Isn't the cover of The Mad Women's Ball gorgeous?! It's not as good as Esme Lennox (I loved that one!), but it is a fast, enjoyable read. I started the movie last night, but wasn't in the mood for something so dark.
Duchess Goldblatt was (still is?) a twitter sensation. Lyle Lovett became one of her twitter friends and the author ended of meeting /becoming friends with him IRL. His narration consists of his tweets, letters, and parts of the story. Makes me wish I'd paid more attention to Duchess on twitter in real time, lol!
The recipes here were good and pretty basic... nothing really special, but at least I'm cooking again. Hope your week is off to a good start. Happy Valentine's Day!
That's an interesting story about Duchess Goldblatt and Lyle Lovett becoming friends. The same happened with Ann Patchett and Tom Hanks (who, as you know, narratated The Dutch House). It sounds like Goldblatt and Lovett are closer, though. I'll have to look for the book!
DeleteI assume you've read the NYT's article?
DeleteLes - I was reminded of Tom Hanks and Ann Patchett, too! The Duchess Goldblatt book is entertaining, and the audio is available on hoopla if your library offers it. I remember reading a NYT article about the book when it was released a couple of years ago. Is there a newer one? Not sure I've seen anything more recent.
DeleteThat's the article. :)
DeleteThanks! :)
DeleteJoAnn, definitely glad your life is getting to a sense of normal or at least normal-ish. I can't even imagine what your area has been through. We've lived in places that had tornadoes and winter weather, but nothing like this. Happy your husband got a new car and that you're beginning to cook again. That grilled salmon sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteKay - I'm still shocked at the scope of destruction around here. There have been times when I wondered whether we should sell (it's crazy how quickly even destroyed properties, many for pre-storm prices, are selling!) But this is such a unique island... can't even think of anywhere else I'd want to go. The second car has made things a lot easier for me, and my husband sure likes having a convertible again!
DeleteWe did watch the Super Bowl and it was a close game for once. The Goldblatt book looks interesting. I wasn't sure what it was about! I hope you have a good week and I'm glad you're back cooking in Sanibel and that perhaps others will be able to return to homes soon.
ReplyDeleteSusan - I finished the memoir yesterday and enjoyed it quite a bit. Wished I'd discovered her earlier in her twitter days...
DeleteIt must feel so good to have mail on the island! And a new car, restaurants, and more. All of this will make life seem less stressful, I'm sure. There is probably tons of work to do, but at least it's getting done. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteHelen - Not having to travel close to an hour to pick up our mail has been a huge improvement!! Our cleanup is finished now and now I've got my fingers crossed that the actual work will begin sometime in the spring.
DeleteI am glad things are starting to return to somewhat of a normal state. I imagine the clean up and rebuilding will take a long while. I am glad your husband was able to get a new car. I have a copy of The Mad Women's Ball on my TBR shelf and am looking forward to reading it. I am glad to hear you liked it. I follow Duchess Goldblatt on Twitter and find her quite funny. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteWendy - We welcome every little step toward normalcy. One of our favorite restaurants is set to reopen tomorrow and it sounds like the whole island will be there to help celebrate! Hope you enjoy The Mad Women's Ball when you get to it.
DeleteI'm glad that Sanibel is starting to recover from the hurricane. I hope things continue to improve and be rebuilt.
ReplyDeleteI like Duchess Goldblatt on Twitter and I've always been curious about the real person behind the account so I might give the book a try.
I'm just finishing up The Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan, who was an Irish writer who wrote for the New Yorker. This is a collection of her short stories and it's excellent.
Aileen - I enjoy DG on Twitter, too. I enjoyed the memoir quite a bit and now wish I'd discovered her sooner. Don't think she is quite as active now.
DeleteI wasn't familiar with Maeve Brennan, so just looked up her work... sounds like an author I'd like. The short stories sound wonderful, and there's also a collection of her writings from The New Yorker. Thanks for mentioning her!
So glad to hear you had a great visit with your daughter and her fiance. I'm glad that normalcy is coming back but it must be so difficult to go through something like this. I do have The Mad Women's Ball on my Kindle but just haven't gotten around to it. Thank you for the recipes. I love oats so will be checking that recipe!
ReplyDeleteIliana - I've mad e that oatmeal recipe a couple more times, experimenting with different berries... really enjoy it for breakfast. The Mad Women's Ball was an entertaining read. Hope you get enjoy it when you get to it.
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