This latest book by Kate Atkinson I found a bit harder going and more obsure than her earlier books.

   For me this was an unusual read.  More leaning toward science fiction where the characters keep dying and then returning to this world at an earlier point in their lifetime to live their lives in a different way.  Not really my type of book but skillfully done by the author.

  This is my favourite book of the four.  A brutal book in many ways which left me feeling the cruelty of war and its impact of the human psyche.  It is very powerfully written.

More interesting possibly has been my reading.  First a book written by Evelyn Ames back in 1967 when she took a month long safari with friends and a guide to explore parts of East Africa.  The illustrations are by Victor Ambrus, another name from the past.  Evelyn Ames is a poet and a writer.   Her writing reflects an inner sensitivity to the experiences that she is having in seeing the wildlife of East Africa as it was then over 40 years ago.  We were in East Africa at that time and were fortunate to be able to travel extensively to remote areas.  But the wildlife was only part of our experience.  With the Evelyn Ames book, as the title, A Glimpse of Eden, implies, her emphasis in on the wildlife in its natural state.  And she wonders what the natural scene in East Africa will be in 50 years time.  Very different I am sure although I can’t personally testify to that.  According to the blurb on the dust jacket, her writing is compared with that of Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) for capturing the essence of Africa.  I am such a fan of Isak Dinesen – I’m not sure that Evelyn Ames is in the same class. Nor did Evelyn in a 2 month private safari, become a part of the fabric of life in East Africa.  I don’t think the books compare at all.   Still, I would recommend reading the book if you happen to come across it.

  handwoven rug

  crochet blanket

  butterfly crochet lap rug

  pinwheel blanket – knitted

   handwoven table runners

  handknit hats for all head sizes         

I wish I had had a bigger space and a sunny day and a wide expanse of green grass for my photography session.  Maybe I should spread out a green sheet and try again.

One day last week I met with the quilters group at the local church.  Now that was a real production line.  I was one of the sewers and managed to do the stitching around the edges of 3 queen size quilts.  That effort was very satisfying.  When I finish my part, then the quilts get folded and boxed and sent to a more central organizing body of Lutheran World Relief.  One feels that one’s work will eventually reach a destination where it is needed and appreciated.  Maybe I should try to find something similar for knitting projects.

  An Alexander McCall Smith which has been on my shelf of unreads for quite a while.  Definitely a comfort read.  I like his books but in small doses separated by large amounts of time.

  a new book by Andrea Camilleri – an Inspecctor Montalbano mystery.  Set in Sicily with a convoluted plot but I have developed an affection for this Inspector and his colleagues and his girl friend.  Again, I like these books but, like Alexander McCall Smith, in small doses after gaps  in time.

  Here’s an author I have not read before.  I am only half way through.  It is a collection of pieces written for The New Yorker over 60 and 70 years ago.  So far I would compare Joseph Mitchell with John McPhee who is writing today but has been writing for many years on whatever topic takes his fancy.  I first heard of Joseph Mitchell through reading my internet friend Matt’s blog – now on checking the table of contents I see that the stories that Matt recommended are much further along in this 700+ page book.  Check Matt’s blog for June 11, 2011.

By the way, this book Up in the Old Hotel is one I found at the Couth Buzzard – a 2nd hand book store nearby where I have taken numerous books and have a huge amount of credit for same.  But I’m still in the phase of trying to get rid of books rather than adding new or used ones to my collection.  So I am staying away from the Couth Buzzard for a while longer before I go to redeem my credits.

As I write this, it has grown darker and darker and it is only 6 o’clock.  The shortening of the days is on the gallop.

This was an intriguing cover and the title was equally so.  And as it turned out, the plot of this novel had lots of points with which I could identify.  It is a novel but actual facts and real-life situations aren’t far away.  The couple are white – the husband is English, the wife from the South of France.  They go out from London to Trinidad for the husband’s job.  It’s a 3 year contract.  From day one, the husband falls in love with the country.  The wife is not quite so enamoured.   And so it goes on with underlying currents of racism, belonging/not belonging, colonialism, political corruption, slavery and its aftermath, the rise of black power, two people who love each other but want to go in different directions, and so on. 

There were a few echoes of our experiences in St. Lucia in the 1970′s.  A different island, a different history.  It was a happy time for our family.  No issues of violence or racism so far as I was aware.  What was more of a problem was the heat and the monotony of the climate.  But it was a wonderful existence with 3 little boys and outdoor living and daily trips to the beach and the local swimming pool at Holiday Inn.

The couple in The White Woman on the Green Bicycle reminded me a bit of the couple in Paul Scott’s novel Staying On.  A couple who elected to stay on after India gained Independence.  Perhaps the couple in  The White Woman on the Green Bicycle should not have stayed on – in fact it’s quite clear that they should have left but when they tried to leave they were not able to get to the departing ship in time – the ship sailed without them.

Knitting news:         a scarf for the oncoming winter season.

Our outing was with 2 little fellows and their mom.  I didn’t take many photos but here are a few.

You can see what a beautiful morning it was.  September 30th.  Late in the morning the clouds gathered and we’ve had badly needed rain and intermittent overcast skies since then.  Autumn has come.

  map from the internet showing the Lake Washington Ship Canal, of which the Locks form a key part.

As well as trying to read through my long list of unreads, I have joined another recorder playing group.  A small group which meets on Tuesdays at mid-day.  Most of the members are advancing beginners.  That is the category I fall into in an effort to learn the bass clef and play my bass recorder.  Here is a sketch I did a few years ago in Dublin – this is supposed to be an aide memoir to help me remember the positioning of my fingers in relation to the notes produced.  I did the sketch in my painting group there at Kenilworth – I miss that group very much – as well as the lawn bowling which we did in season.  Old pals well remembered – it’s time to move on as I find myself 6000 miles away with new friends to make and new activities to build on the former ones. 

  this is not the photo I was looking for – this is the Yamaha alto, my first recorder that I bought in Cambridge England

This is the photo I was looking for:

  this photo is from the BBC.  Wangari Maathai is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.  She was the first African woman to be honored in this way.  Sadly she has now died, at the age of 71, undergoing treatment for cancer.  A strong activist and a woman to be much admired.

Here is another book that I read recently – a novel rather than an autobiography.  It was about the life of Stanley McCormick, the son of Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the mechanical reaper.  Stanley’s dates were 1874-1947.  His is a strange story and T. C. Boyle’s novel is stranger still – how much is fact and how much is fiction is hard to say.  It is not as entertaining reading as the Emily Carr books but I persevered and I’m not sorry I did so.

And here is another book which I purchased recently, thinking it would give me more fuel for the research I am dabbling in.