Exciting news - my stuff is arriving from Canada on June 6. That is sooner than I expected, and cheaper than I expected to (thank you, John) In anticipation, I have had some work done to expand the capacity of my closets, and ordered bookshelves for the arriving library. So, everything is falling into place, and the goal is that by July 18, my 75th birthday, I will be unpacked and settled in. The clothes should just be a matter of hanging up in the newly expanded closets, and I already have volunteers - my reading friends, of course - to help me sort and shelve books. Then, the pictures, and, voila, ready for my new life.
So far, no regrets. It just feels right. I don't believe in regrets anyway - I have had a few in my life, but not many - and my nature is such that I am not tormented by them.
Part of the reason for moving down here is my much more fulsome social life down here, a lot of which is opening up now. Opera in the movies will be back soon, restaurant dining is back in swing (3 dinners with 3 different sets of friends this week alone), and, wonder of wonder miracle of miracles, a Memorial Day party next weekend. I will try to get the camera in gear to memorialize the post-COVID start up of my social life.
And in the midst of all this, quite a bit of reading as well... really, some reading and some listening, as mostly I listen to books when I am doing my 5 mile a day walk (that's give of take 12,000 steps, but who's counting except my tyrannical phone). Reading includes mostly mysteries. I was introduced to Susan Hill (The Various Haunts of Men) by friend Nan, and since some of my old favorite authors are dying off, new additions are always welcome; this one was a good read. Another author new to me (but around for a while) is Stuart Woods. The one I read (again courtesy of Nan) was called Double Jeopardy. A complete piece of fluff, but not objectionable; I would read another if it came my way (although I wouldn't seek it out, and I certainly wouldn't spend money for it). Next up was The Wedding Guest by Joseph Kellerman. As mystery fans know, Kellerman has been around for a while as well, but I have someone managed to avoid reading him till now. A good read, though, and I will certainly read more - and there are many!
In cleaning out my current bookshelves, in anticipation of the new arrivals, discovered Ruth Rendell's No Man's Nightengale. I have read any number of her books, but not this one. It may be her last, as she died not too many years after this one was published. Inspector Wexford, her sleuth, solves this one from retirement. Not her best outing, but good nonetheless.
In a more serious vein ( I would go so far as to say depressing) was Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, which explores the relationship between modern medicine and aging. He is a doctor, and his thesis, with which I heartily agree, is just because medicine can do something doesn't mean it should, and that we should all take control of our medical fate. And god bless hospice.....
The final contribution in the "physical books" department is The Mapmaker's Wife, by Robert Whitaker. It is a true story of French scientists in the Amazon in the 17th century. or, as the subtitle has it "A True Tale of Love, Murder and Survival in the Amazon". As most of you know, science doesn't interest me much - I skipped over the heavier bits - but it was interesting to me because it was in Equador and the Amazon, which I have visited - and was amazingly well written for the type of book it is.
And now the listening bits....I am currently listening to Surrender, New York, by Caleb Carr. I previously listened to Angel of Darkness, by the same author, and I do love his writing....Elizabeth George is an old favourite, and I just listed to The Punishment She Deserves. I think I have now "read" all of hers. Sigh.
Well, I will keep you posted...
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