Hooked

No, this is not about a crochet project, although I am starting a new one..... I am going to make a tablecloth, even though I am sure it will take me ten years to finish it.

Since reading Busman's Honeymoon I have been obsessively reading the other Dorothy Sayers novels. I read Strong Poison and Have His Carcase, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, and I just finished Murder must Advertise, which I think is my second favorite.

I just love her books for the astute and detailed description of British society in the 1920s and 1930s. As I said before, the class distinctions and all the baggage and social conventions that go along with that just fascinate me. It is amazing that so many people were so accepting of such a silly idea. Murder must Advertise has a long of conversations by the characters about where they had gone to school, and of course those who did not attend college or did not attend Oxford or Cambridge, are automatically socially inferior.

On a totally different note, I am also obsessively reading The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. There are ten total graphic novels (collections of individual comics really), and I have read six so far. Once I sit down with one, I MUST read it cover to cover. I really cannot put them down. Highly recommended if you like comics, but they do have some pretty serious adult content.

In May everything besides gardening took a back seat during my free time. Now, everything besides reading is taking a back seat. I do manage to vacuum the house weekly, and walk the dog, but not much else is getting done... thus passes time.

my favorite book

If I had to pick just one book that was my favorite, I would pick Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers. It is her eleventh, and last, Lord Peter Wimsey detective novel. This is the fourth one to feature Harriet Vane, his love interest, after Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, and Gaudy Night. In fact, it is probably best to read those in order, to understand how much fun Busman's Honeymoon is.

Why do I like it so much? Well. it is witty, romantic and well written. But especially it seems like an accurate yet idealized picture of English Country life before the modern era. Sure, it was 1937, but the house they took didn't have electricity, and they had to arrange individually for the beer to be delivered, to find the best butcher, and make relations with local merchants and craftspeople, everything that modern life is not. It is also fascinating as a picture of the English class system, where everyone knew their place in the pecking order and behaved accordingly. In the book, there are many times when a "subordinate" does something for Peter and Harriet that no one would do for a stranger today, and they did it simply because Harriet and Peter were their social superiors.

It also reminds me of the James Herriott novels, which I loved when I was younger. English country life, aaahh that is the life for me. Of course, I would have to be one of the wealthy ones, asking for tea from the manservant, having my clothes laid out for me, and generally being taken care of.

While I haven't read James Herriott in twenty five years, I do reread the Sayers mysteries every five years or so. Those are really the only books I ever read more than once. Life is too short, eh?

Thank you Mother Nature

After months and months of horrible weather, we are finally being rewarded for our ability to withstand 101 inches of snow, 5 months of below average winter temperatures, and a hoard of ravenous bunnies. May and June (so far) have been exceptional. Mild temperatures, no mosquitos, a beautiful spring. Of course, last weekend we got 6 inches of rain in less than 48 hours, so Mother Nature may not be letting us totally relax into summer.

Monday night, our neighbors hosted their bluegrass band practice in the back yard, instead of inside the house. husband and I were sitting in our back yard and we got an hour-long private concert. It was superb. Coupled with the wonderful weather and this beautiful sunset, it was the best evening I have had in a long time. I wonder how differently I would have thought about it had the band been some experimental free-form jazz band, or a drum quintet.... as it was they were pretty darn good, and bluegrass in your back yard on a June evening is a little bit of payback for all that snow.