Being old has it's ups and downs. Many times I wake up and cannot get back to sleep--blogging is a great thing to do when the rest of the house is asleep and books and TV are not doing anything to help me sleep and we all know that I can do only so much sorting and cleaning at one time.

Our daughter is here with us and we ate at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the area--Villa Romana--dinner was perfect as usual, I had a light-as-a-feather veal cutlet Milanese (pan fried). The food here is consistently wonderful. Last night's broccoli rabe was sauteed perfectly with just enough garlic and not too much oil. The roasted peppers were lightly seasoned and paired with bits of cheese for another great appetizer. The veal and chicken main dishes follow the old rule of Italian cooking--start with the best and use your cooking skills to bring out the natural flavors. So, even the sauces--they did not mask nature--they nurtured it by complementing the natural goodness of each ingredient. Jennie tried the veal vodka and Joe had their special chicken dish--invented by Rinaldo the talented chef, owner. Of course we enjoyed chatting with accordion player Michael delGardo whose fantastic playing and knowledge of songs is matched by his personality. We also enjoyed seeing his latest phone videos of his two adorable children! A wonderful evening--one problem--I forgot to take pictures!!! Drat! I am trying to put together an album of the holidays. Oh well.

I just finished reading on e of my guilty pleasure novels --the newest MC Beaton adventure featuring Agatha Raisin the retired PR lady, now a detective.
This one was a disappointment--plot way too convoluted and too many escapes from death for the daring Agatha. But if you are a fan of the series you will of course want to read it to catch up with the irrepressible Agatha.

My cousin Diane seconds my high praise for The Corner of Bitter and Sweet which takes on the Japanese internment issue from the point of view of a Chinese American young boy who is also dealing with first love. It is fabulous! I read a review of it when it first came out but never got around to reading it--glad I found it in the library a few weeks ago and read it--wonderful and a great holiday read because despite the heavy subject matter, the book is a very positive force.

Now I will begin to send out query letters for food articles to one of my favorite local editors, Trish O'Connor and then get things ready for my upcoming February performance at the Chapin museum--Chinese tales!

Reading and Writing

Wow--readers write and writers read and performers often bridge any gap that remains.
My book club has lead me to great and not so great reads this past year--the worst (to me--Ahab's Wife. I know it won awards, but I found the style too reminiscent of Melville's to be enjoyable and the story too full of contrivances and stylistic tricks to be entertaining. Plus, I never warmed to the main character. It is hard to write an interesting series about an unlovable person--MC Beaton has done it with Agatha Raisin, a series of light mysteries that I'm sure the literary top folks would consider beneath them but...
Great reads: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, The Color of Water, Brunelleschi's Dome, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet--among others and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
My own book of short stories came out this year--complied by Edith Edwards and myself it contains tales of ours, many award winners of women in the south, and it also has one tandem piece of writing. We had a good time producing it--some glitches due to our lack of expertise with adobe, but I think it still makes a good read.
Hope those of you who order it from amazon.com (where it is reduced from the $18 price) will enjoy it.