Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid

Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid by Giuseppe Catozzella is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’ve kept track of my reading on a Pinterest board for the past few years, but each entry is barely a sentence, and while sharing book recommendations with my niece Lola, this was at the top of the list. Written as a novel, it’s based on the true story of a young woman from Somalia named Samia. She’s a girl growing up surrounded by danger and beset by obstacles. And that’s all you’ll get from me here. You’ve never read a story quite like this one. 

Persuasion

 It’s been a long time but I’m back to see if I can continue my blog to 1000 entries. 

Since I left, so much has happened: emojis, exclamation points to convey friendliness and warmth, podcasts, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, a pandemic, and streaming like crazy! 

Persuasion is a movie on Netflix, a little slow but very satisfying in a how-is-this-couple-going-to-get-together kind of a way. Dakota Johnson is fabulous in the role of the smart sister who might never find love. The rest of the cast and the movie are subtly and suitably quirky. 

I’ve been watching while doing jigsaw puzzles, and the current puzzle is the most challenging one I’ve ever done. More to come on that later. 

MADEMOISELLE CHANEL * THE PRINCESS DIARIST * THE LACE MAKERS OF GLENMARA

I went to the Apple Store today and bought a new computer! Yea! My old Mac Mini is beyond its last legs, but it lasted 10 years. If I had a working keyboard and mouse, I'd still be on it. However, this new MacBook Pro seems to be pretty easy to use. We'll see. I have 14 days to decide whether it's just what I need or extraneous to my iPad.  I'm all backed up as to blog topics, so I'll start with the book, movie and theater reviews and go from there. Notes about what I've read and seen since January are around here somewhere!

Mademoiselle Chanel by C. W. Gortner - Coco herself tells the story of her life, including the words to the little song that she and her sister would sing when they were performers as young teenagers. The song is the reason for Gabrielle's nickname. She was a workhorse who loved hard, a bit dramatic but always independent - she wanted to be successful, and worked her program until she built up a success almost unlike any other at the time. 

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher - Carrie's latest book was funny and sharp and quick and brutally honest just like all her writing. Soon after I started the book in January, Carrie fell into a coma at the too-young age of 60, and soon passed away, followed quickly by her mother, Debbie Reynolds. It was so odd to be reading this lively funny honest and alive young voice knowing that it would be forever silent after this. She wrote about being cast as Princess Leia when she was 20 years old, how naive she was, and what it was like to look back at that girl from the perspective of 40 years. May her memory be eternal.

The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barberi - This was a sweet, simple novel about a young woman who goes to Ireland looking to heal from a heartbreak. The people she meets seem simple on the outside, but their lives are as complicated as anyones'. There is lots of drama and hope and it's a bit formulaic. 

So there we are! My first blog post with the new computer and I'm figuring it out. Definitely some googling involved to get those photos over here, and I have a feeling there is an easier way, but I did it. Yea! Once I get all the new entries completed, I'm going to go back a few months and add the book photos to my entries. Yea!

THE HOUSE OF SILENCE

The House of Silence by Blanca Busquets - At last. Here's one! A new kind of a story about a conductor, a maid and two violinists. They cross paths in their lives, and weaving its way through their stories is a certain violin. It's cleverly written and told in three first persons, and at the beginning I had some trouble keeping them straight. Soon enough, their individual voices, Teresa, Maria, and Anna became clear, and I couldn't put it down. 

P.S. In searching for a picture of the cover, I see that it's not a popular book. Which is either because I'm one of the first readers (it's just been translated into English) or people, and by people I mean paid reviewers, haven't enjoyed it like I did. I hope it makes the splash. It is truly wonderful.

I'LL TAKE YOU THERE * STILL RUMINATING

I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb - It's a novel that's like a treatise. Wally wrote this one for women, to let us know that he is trying to get it. Which is great acknowledgement from any man. The book tells the story of different women in the context of their youth and the things they did that were considered successes, excesses and/or weaknesses. It feels like a lesson though, more like he's teaching and preaching much of the time instead of out and out story telling. There are stories in there, though, and they made it worth the read. Relating the keeping of family secrets to "omerta" is an interesting male take on the secrets. I didn't know that if someone in New Orleans asks "where y'at?", it simply means "how you doin?" 

Still Ruminating - Dining room table almost empty! My hair is shorter and although I don't love it, I kind of like it for a change. Today my list has become so long that I don't know where to start after I finish this blog entry and get the book over to my Pinterest board. I don't know when I'll be able to post next. Tomorrow I work, which is a big time-taker. You have to get ready, drive there, work, drive home, and get unready at home, then look around to see what to do that didn't get done that day that might have gotten done had you been at home. The reason you do it, though, is because it's a job in popular culture, one of your favorite things, and a couple of weeks later, money arrives in the mail! And that never grows old.

A MAN CALLED OVE * BAD MOMS * Ruminating

A Man Called Ove - It turns out that Ove was made into a movie! I came across it by accident while browsing the dvd shelves at the library. I knew that Steve would appreciate Ove's single minded appreciation of a Saab, but not whether he would appreciate sub-titles and a sweet story about a sour old man. However, the movie is as wonderful as the book. It turns out that Ove isn't pronounced Ohv, but erve with schwa e's, and Rune isn't ruin, but rune with a little schwa at the end after the ruin. I don't know if I would have enjoyed the movie as much had I not read the book, but Steve did, so there you go. 

Bad Moms - I do love my low brow humor, especially when it's also sweet and Bad Moms delivers in all areas. Not the best movie I've ever seen but not the worst, and the moms are pretty funny and great, even if they constantly go way past decency. I might have liked it better if it was a movie that middle schoolers could watch. They probably will watch it, but Yuk. 

Ruminating - Not much to ruminate about today. Yesterday was a wash. I did do my desk top, but nothing happened in the dining room. Highlight of the day was watching President Obama's farewell speech. I'm going to miss having him as president. He and Michelle always take the high road, no matter how bad things get. It's a lesson. 
I'm going to get my hair cut today, probably shorter than it's been in years and years. I've blogged four days in a row for the first time in ages, and I've watched more movies this week than in forever, too. So at least something is happening. Today the dining room. I long to report that it's done. Then I can catch up in all the other areas.
And I just accepted an Extra job on Friday. Crossing my fingers that the call time isn't too early. Although it's not new anymore, I love the newness of being an Extra. New places to go, new people to see and meet, and new situations
Then, if you're lucky, you'll be watching a favorite TV show, and something will look familiar, and suddenly there you'll be! On TV! For a second! There I am! Where's the remote! Rewind! Let's see that again!!

Oops, gotta run, my Hamilton Lottery Alarm is sounding.

THE MEDDLER * WAR DOGS * AGAIN WITH THE RUMINATING

The Meddler - I watched this on the flight to Myanmar, and then again yesterday while doing my organizing, and it's such a great movie. Susan Sarandon is a mom who lives in L.A. and talks to people. She'll talk to anyone about anything and it leads to all kinds of situations since she often gets really personal really fast. I love this movie!

War Dogs - And then on the other end of the spectrum without going all the way to action movie, we have the true story of a couple of twenty-somethings who become international arms dealers during the Iraq war. Miles Teller and Jonah Hill are fabulous and the story is incredulous. At the beginning of the movie there's a scene where a guy is playing guitar and singing for people in a nursing home. Watch it carefully - he's the real life Dave who is played by Miles Teller. (I had to go back after seeing him in the credits.) (I've forgotten again, does the period go inside or outside the parentheses?) (Something about a complete thought or sentence, but I don't remember the order.)

Again With the Ruminating - One actually sees brown table surface in the dining room now, and I hope by the end of today, the table will be cleared. I emptied one more bin, and have a goal today for one more, but this is difficult going. What does one do with the 10 or 12 brass house and lucite paperweights one won at her old Real Estate Office for most this or that? Actually, maybe one writes it here and then figures out who recycles them. Most were for providing the most outside referrals, wherein friends in other areas were moving, and I referred them to agents in their areas. We had a special referral department for this, and it was easy to do, and people were always moving. I think I won that one for every year that I worked at Kahn. There might also be a couple for most transactions in the office. I don't even know, because at this point they are displacing cubic inches of storage, and I didn't even read them. If I had a new computer I could show you a picture of them, but that will have to wait. I put the brass ones somewhere and don't recall where. The lucite ones are now on the table. I'm just labeling this post, and I've actually written 700+ blog posts and never mentioned that I spent almost 20 years selling houses! I started out with a great company called Kahn Realty, and eventually started my own business, Lifestyle Properties. 
And so it goes.

A MAN CALLED OVE * MORE RUMINATING

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - In the first pages of this story, I wasn't sure I could stick it out. Remembering that my friend Wendy recommended it, though, I decided to press on. And suddenly I had to know what would happen next, and I almost started to care about Ove. I loved this book, so you know the rest. Read it and see if you won't care about Ove, too. 

More Ruminating - Yesterday I got through the Christmas Card box, and condensed to roughly twice as many cards as I'd hoped for. In my defense, I found more cards that I didn't know I had, so at least they are all in one place for future condensability. I was quite hopeless with the other correspondence and birthday cards. They are filling up an entire bin to overflowing. However, they are almost organized by sender for the letters, and decade for the birthday cards. This is so stressful. The Want and Don't Want criteria was quickly forgotten in the throes of everyone's memories. Today my criteria will be what if "something happens" (my family's euphemism for if I die): stay or go? If I die, I want everything totally organized and one master file which tells someone what to do. Currently there is not that. Did not create an empty bin yesterday, but my goal for today is two empty bins. Yes! I will do this!
And to play Pokemon Go, and to get to the library because I finished Ove and have nothing to read. Everywhere there are lists and notes of book recommendations, and by everywhere, I mean in the notes on my phone and in a notebook on my downstairs desk, but who wants to look there when one could just go to the library and see what's up on the shelves? 
And, we might go to a movie this afternoon. Which in light of the above writings is a very very bad idea, so I hope we don't. Except last night was the Golden Globes, and La La Land won big. 
Plus, if it's my last day, do I want to have sorted through bins or have gone to see a great movie? Hmmm, when you put it like that, Dianne...
It's always great to have seen the winner, and as much as I loved it, I just want to vent a little. La La Land was wonderful. HOWEVER, it was not a unique or original story or form. There was something called movie musicals for the entire first half of the 20th century. Some of them were really excellent, and the color and light was beautiful, and the singing and dancing superb, and the story even better. La La Land is a redo in modern times. Not particularly original in story or form when you consider the history of movies. To clarify, it's a unique movie in the context of 2016, but it's not a unique movie.
And I did love it and would watch it again and maybe again after that, but not quite No one puts Baby in a corner which is infinity for rewatching.

LA LA LAND * RUMINATING

La La Land - Charming. This movie is the perfect blend of a modern yet timeless love story and old fashioned musical. And it's set in Los Angeles, along the streets, with that marvelous California light and color. I'm not going to say anything more about it, because it was simply that delightful. 

Ruminating - Now back to reality where I am in an epic battle with memories in the form of memorabilia: cards, letters and papers of all sorts and from many eras. The corner of the dining room is truly up for grabs through this process which I don't like to call purging, because it's such a harsh and permanent word. I also don't like getting rid of or throwing away - those are just disrespectful to the process and the stuff, which I recycle and shred and give away to good causes. Letting Go is the latest buzzword that has a gentle connotation except when you think of it in terms of you're in a life and death situation at the edge of a mountain holding the hand of the person who will fall if you let go. Who could let go in that situation without being forever psychically damaged? So I don't have a word for what I'm doing, but I have to do it.

I started with 12 large plastic covered boxes. Four are empty now and their contents are largely redistributed throughout the house but not to the basement or attic because I want to be the kind of person who doesn't have things in the basement or attic. As we all know, the attic has long been empty of my stuff, and the basement has been a work in progress.

I'm going to go at it again today with a new simple standard called "Want or Don't Want". The basic criteria are whether I want to see it again, whether I can see the same thing on Facebook (your pictures for example), whether it will enhance future photo albums, and whether it still makes me happy to have it. In the 70s and 80s, there was a LOT of writing passing through snail mail. A LOT! And now I'm dealing. I have to say the mundane isn't as great as the funny, and when I'm old and looking back through this stuff again, or if anyone else ever takes the time to look through it, at least they'll be laughing. 

I've been trying to figure out my obsession. I came up with the thing where cards and letters from others validate one and show that they love or loved you. That's true, but how much validation does a person have to have? Some of it is also that I haven't been remembering things, so the cards and letters help me to remember the person and the events. But I still have my calendars! Every single one since I started keeping a little Hallmark Calendar in 7th grade! And the report cards! I think those are important because my dad used to show me his report cards. (I still have them somewhere, and would be able to find them if I wasn't bogged down with forty Christmas cards from everyone let alone birthday cards.) What's more important to me? Report cards or Christmas cards? Or Birthday cards? AAAHHH! I don't know! I can't decide! This process is decisions and decisions are hard! 

Enough. I'm going to go read the Sunday paper. 

THE OUTSIDERS * BORN TO RUN * THE OUTSIDERS

Happy New Year 2017! 
Here at Herheartonhersleeve, things are going along as usual. Stuff everywhere, having a difficult time purging my various categories which are almost never mentioned among the lists of most people's categories. Plastic containers? Nope, don't have 'em, don't want 'em. Old appliances that don't work? Nope, I replace and get rid of right away. Old boxes? Weeeeellllll. There are a few, but only Apple boxes, and they're small. Extra mismatched plates and cups? Nope. I like everything to match in the cupboard. Duplicate utensils? Nope, only if they are in different sizes, and only if I use two sets. Linen closet?Nope, it's organized too. Books? Nope, I only have a few shelves of them anymore and they get pared down often.
The categories are fabric, beads, paper, photos, memorabilia and the supplies that go with those things. There is a shifting pile of large plastic bins in the corner of my dining room that has been stressing me out for over a year. Today I'm going to start on it. Other places and spaces will be found or the things have to go. I may even list stuff on Ebay and Etsy, and maybe I'll sell this piece of furniture in the living room and put the garage sale items in that corner. Yup, moving things from one corner to another! One corner shows, though, and the other is out of sight. 

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton - I subbed 7th grade English last month, and the students were reading this, so I read along. I remembered that there was a character named Pony Boy and that there were greasers and socs. As soon as I started reading, I knew the author was female, and sure enough, although S.E. Hinton sounds like it might be a male, she's a she, writing from the viewpoint of a smart and sensitive 14 year old greaser. The story endures. Pony Boy and Johnny are timeless and memorable characters, partly evidenced by the fact that I remembered them 40 years later.

Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen - Straightforward, honest and heavy on the adjectives, but in a musical way and with rhythm. Bruce's life has embodied the rock 'n roll american dream. My take away quote from the book is "I wanted people around me who would do their best to create the conditions where I could work peacefully and do my best, uninterrupted by countless self-created tempests in a teapot. Meaningless distraction drains you of the energy you should be placing into more serious things or using to simply enjoy the rewards of your labor." 

The Outsiders - What do you get when you put Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, Leif Garret, Tom Waits and other actors together in a Francis Ford Coppola movie in 1983? The Outsiders, holding true to the book. Even the author, S.E. Hinton had a small role in the movie. Watching the movie is like reading the book, which is probably the best compliment one can pay to a film based on a book. 

I think this is the start of my 10th year blogging. What a long way I've come. I stopped shopping, started up again, and have stopped again, but this time with no fanfare. I got pretty organized, got off track, and stayed off track. My son grew up and went to college across the country. I formulated a goal to follow him there in the next two years. I started two new part time jobs (careers?) and have stuck with them, and I started playing a new video game which gets me out of the house and wastes a ton of time but which gives me extreme happiness. Which may be a trick. That remains to be seen.