“Silly doves”
This has been a very quiet week at home – not a lot to report on.
The only interruption to my peace was from the idiotic doves that seem to come and visit every year about this time. A few years ago they built a nest on top of the patio speaker above the door. They attempted to reprise that stunt while we were gone. I ultimately had to take the speaker down as they just wouldn’t give up on dive bombing in to take their spot atop it. Undeterred, they decided to try the other speaker. So annoying. I took that speaker down as well and have had the ceiling fans on all the time. That seems to have done the trick. They can no longer perch on the fan and have their meetings about where to try and nest next.
I did venture out a couple of times. First for lunch at Mexican Cactus and then for Sunday lunch at Tacodeli. Their migas royale platter is so good, and a great value.
Massimo and Luciano had their final baseball game and are quite proud of their medals. Sweet pictures, and I’m confident they were back to beating up on each other a few minutes after these were taken.
It seems the weather in Pacifica has been pleasant, even suitable for D to sunbathe on Friday afternoon.
Speaking of sunbathing, Anne just sent a picture of her new backyard pool. Denny must be so pleased.
Diana and Alicia hosted Will, Christine and Adamo’s crew on Saturday evening. Will took Adamo and the boys for a spin in the fancy BMW M2, and they watched the whales at sunset from Adamo’s home. I hear that Alicia made some yummy tacos.
My book this week was “Foregone” by Russell Banks. Sadly, I have not heard of Banks, who has published many well reviewed books. The good news is that I have a lot of new titles to explore. Here’s the online summary:
“At the center of Foregone is famed Canadian American leftist documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife, one of sixty thousand draft evaders and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam. Fife, now in his late seventies, is dying of cancer in Montreal and has agreed to a final interview in which he is determined to bare all his secrets at last, to demythologize his mythologized life. The interview is filmed by his acolyte and ex–star student, Malcolm MacLeod, in the presence of Fife’s wife and alongside Malcolm’s producer, cinematographer, and sound technician, all of whom have long admired Fife but who must now absorb the meaning of his astonishing, dark confession.
Imaginatively structured around Fife’s secret memories and alternating between the experiences of the characters who are filming his confession, the novel challenges our assumptions and understanding about a significant lost chapter in American history and the nature of memory itself. Russell Banks gives us a daring and resonant work about the scope of one man’s mysterious life, revealed through the fragments of his recovered past.”
I haven’t quite finished the book yet, and have really enjoyed what I’ve read so far. The structure of the tale, bouncing from present day to memories in alternating paragraphs kept things interesting.
Another discovery – “China Girl” by Iggy Pop. I read that Bowie and Iggy wrote this together, and this version was released before the massive Bowie hit. It just needs the wonderful Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar licks.
My final discovery this week: Songhoy Blues is a desert blues music group from Timbuktu, Mali. Very interesting sound.
And closing out this posting with this gorgeous song from Ry Cooder.
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!