Another spectacular morning in Antarctica! There was a bit of cloud cover as we cruised into Cierva Cove, but the sun was breaking through and the ice was sparkling.
I was excited about the morning’s paddle. First, the ocean conditions looked perfect – it was an absolutely gorgeous day. But second, and perhaps more importantly, our expedition leader had hinted that we might get to see chinstrap penguins here. Sign me up!
But first: seriously. It doesn’t get more stunning than this.
There was another Antarctic research base here. While I loved the pristine landscapes of some of our other stops, the red buildings against the blue and white ice were undeniably picturesque.
We launched our kayaks – this was a paddling-only (or zodiac only, for those non-kayakers on the trip) morning; no shore landing.
One of the best things about kayaking in Antarctica: every spot was different; you’d think that all that ice and water would just start to run together, but it doesn’t. Each paddle was memorable in its own unique way. This time, it was the bright and sparkling icebergs and brash ice that stood out.
If you’re wondering what brash ice is, it’s this^. Like paddling through a giant frozen margarita. Steve commented that I seemed to be paddling effortlessly through the chunky floating icy bits – my paddle just knew where to go to find clear water. That’s what more than 25 years of kayaking experience will do.
Couldn’t get enough of the gorgeous blue and white icebergs and bergy bits, either.
So, did we see the hinted-at chinstrap penguins?
We did.
These adventurous little guys were waddling all over the slick black wave-washed rocks. Definitely the mountaineers of the penguin family!
Team Mammal, not to be outdone, delivered a gigantic Antarctic fur seal down by the shoreline.
What a glorious blue and white morning in Antarctica. The highlight, of course, was finally getting a glimpse (even if a bit far away, from the water) of chinstrap penguins…
But the entire cove – the water, the ice, the sky – seemed to sparkle the entire time.
Very nicely done, Antarctica. Very nicely done indeed.
Next week: we come face-to-face with the darker side of Antarctica’s history.
Happy fall! It’s officially my other favorite season – tied with summer, of course – so I am leaning into it and doing all the fall things, starting with apple picking this morning, which is why this post is late. That and my general flakiness of late, which is down to unpacking burnout and being busy, busy, busy, as ever.
Anyway, this past week was jam-packed with work and life obligations, as usual. Less baseball, because we were rained out of games all weekend. But I filled the time with extra errand running and chores around the house (got the foyer cleared of boxes, finally, and organized the hall and linen closets) – not as fun as baseball, but had to happen. What didn’t happen was much reading, although I held my own especially during the weeknight evenings and commutes. And the result was two books finished over the last week – The Wheel Spins and Brat Ferrar, two classic suspense novels from the late golden age of crime (both shortly after WWII), both really well done page-turners. As scattered as my brain has been lately, those really gripping plots are just what the doctor ordered.
As for current reads, I have another page turner – The Theft of the Iron Dogs, the latest reprint from British Library Crime Classics, by E.C.R. Lorac, whom I love. (I did have to look up what an iron dog was. I was picturing a dog made out of iron. Wrong. My grandmother would be so disappointed.) I just started it last night, right before bed, so I’m only about 35 pages in but it’s great fun and I can already tell I’m going to really enjoy it. And on audio, the opposite of a page-turner: The Fortnight in September, R.C. Sherriff’s quiet, contemplative story of a middle-class family’s annual September holiday at the seashore. Nothing happens, and in that nothing, everything happens. It’s a gorgeous book, and I think I like it even better on audio than in print; Jilly Bond’s narration is absolutely pitch-perfect. I’ve been savoring it over my commutes and errands; I’ll finish it this week and I’m already sad to say goodbye to the characters.
Before the wind and rain came, we snuck in an outdoor movie night! (This is an annual fundraiser at the kids’ school.) Neither Steve nor Peanut wanted to attend, so Nugget and I had a date night to “The Super Mario Brothers Movie.” We ate pizza and popcorn, Nugget ran around and threw a football with his friends, and the screen collapsed not once but TWICE and everyone screamed. It was an epic night.
Well – it’s Monday again. Whatever. Is my exhaustion and lack of motivation coming through the computer screen at you?
I was just chatting with a work teammate and we both agreed that for the first time in our respective lives, we’re burnt out but it’s not because of work. Work is definitely busy, but it’s general life stuff that has us grinding away right now. For my part, I really need some fun. I’ve been going hard on house projects and unpacking for months now without a break and I’m just… spent. Hence the mini reading slump I’ve been fighting off for most of the first half of September (not that you can tell from the gallery above).
So I spent the weekend doing basically nothing – not getting fresh air, as I’d hoped, but also not unpacking, as I should have done. Just sitting on the couch staring into space most of the time, and reading some. And yet somehow, miraculously, I finished five books last week – five. One, In Love with George Eliot, was an audiobook – and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t love it. The other four, I banged out over the second half of the week and the weekend. First, I finally finished The Hotel on Tuesday – for a book that was under 200 pages, it took me a long time to read. (Elizabeth Bowen, I will figure you out. Someday.) Then, needing something a little easier going, I picked up Letters to Michael: A Father Writes to His Son, 1945-1947, which I’d been saving for September as it seemed like such a good read for back-to-school season. It was, and I adored it and finished it the same day. Gentle, sweet, charming – just what the doctor ordered. Moving right along – I’ve been meaning to read My Turn to Make the Tea, Monica Dickens’ memoir of her time working as a junior reporter on a local newspaper just after World War II, and while it had its moments that reminded me it was published in 1951, I really enjoyed it – Dickens’ writing is sharp and funny; she definitely inherited the gift for humor from her great-grandfather Charles. I wrapped it up on Sunday morning, then read Slightly Foxed, issue 78 – the summer issue, and not a moment too soon as I’m expecting the fall issue any day now – the same day. Whew.
Still with me? If you can believe it – considering I was slumping hard over the past few weeks – that long list was just the books I finished last week. I’ve also got two on the go: The Fortnight in September, a re-read, which I’m listening to for the first time on audio. (The narrator is wonderful – I can already tell that I’m going to want to revisit this one via my earbuds every September.) And The Wheel Spins, which was last month’s BL Crime Classics publication and takes place in early September. I’ve just started it – only read the first chapter before bed last night – so no impressions to share as it’s too early pages to tell. But I’ve heard good things, so I’m excited to dig in. Assuming I have the energy after that blitz of reading – not to mention the work and life stuff that never seems to stop piling on.
Since all I did over the weekend was bum around the house, I don’t have a fun adventure picture to show you. Maybe next weekend? In the meantime, at least it’s hot fall beverage season. While I don’t like pumpkin spice, I never turn down a hot cider – and this is a cider chai latte from the cute local coffee shop on the ground floor of my office. Yes, PLEASE.
Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for August, 2023.
Excavations, by Kate Myers – This debut novel came highly recommended by Kerry McHugh, and I definitely co-sign that recommendation. The story of four women working an archaeological dig in Greece, and the momentous discovery they make, is a smart, fun, feminist romp of a book. It was a perfect vacation read, and I can’t wait to see what the author does next.
Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah – I must be the last person on earth who hasn’t read Trevor Noah’s memoir, but I’ve corrected that now and it absolutely lived up to all the hype. Noah intersperses stories of his own coming of age with South African history and context that puts his own experiences into frame. It was definitely funny, but it was also smart and thoughtful. And I read that last chapter with my heart in my throat.
The Growing Summer, by Noel Streatfeild – Just a quick, easy, light read – one of Noel Streatfeild’s books for children. Four siblings are shuffled off to spend the summer with an eccentric relative in Ireland while their mother is off tending to their sick father, who has fallen ill abroad. It’s formulaic but comforting and I enjoyed it.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, by Joan Lindsay – The story of three young girls and a teacher who disappear from a school picnic on Valentine’s Day – and all of the fallout from the disappearance – is a classic of Australian literature and I’m glad I finally got to it. I was waffling between reading it around Valentine’s Day, when the fateful picnic takes place, or reading it in the summer (because of course, February is the height of the season in the southern hemisphere). In the end I decided to read it in summer and that was the perfect time, because the heat is such an important element of the story. It was tense and an exhilarating read.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4), by J.K. Rowling – Nugget and I have been working our way through the Harry Potter books at bedtime. I admit I was skeptical about this project, because starting with this fourth installment the series does get significantly darker and more intense – as we all know by now. But Nugget is loving this bedtime reading and it’s such fun to share Harry’s world with him.
At Bertram’s Hotel (Miss Marple #11), by Agatha Christie – Miss Marple’s nephew Raymond and niece Joan want to give her a treat, and she asks for a week at Bertram’s Hotel, London. Bertram’s is a relic of the golden age of British travel, where no detail is too small for the guests’ comfort (it’s based on Brown’s Hotel in London, where I now must stay). Of course, where Miss Marple goes, murder tends to follow. I listened to the audiobook version and, although not Christie’s best, it was good fun while painting my kitchen cabinets.
Bricks and Mortar, by Helen Ashton – I’d been saving this one for the settling-into-my-new-house phase and it was a good choice. The story of an architect’s life, and his tense family relationships, it’s well-written and quite engaging. I didn’t love the characters, for the most part – except for Stacy – and I would have liked more house details. But overall a good read.
Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, by Lucy Mangan – Definitely one of the highlights of my month! I listened to the audiobook version, read by the author, and it was a total joy. I wish LKucy Mangan and I could be best friends, or at least members of the same book club This memoir, which weaves through an entire childhood of reading, was such a fun listen, even during the rare parts in which Mangan’s reading and mine did not overlap. (And I’m very glad that she changed her opinion of Anne Shirley.)
The Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden – I meant to read this last summer and didn’t get around to it, and I’ve been saving it ever since. This story of a hot summer and tense affair at a French countryside hotel was gripping. I read the last twenty pages while absentmindedly stirring tomato sauce on the stovetop, because I couldn’t put it down.
The Maid (Molly the Maid #1), by Nita Prose – Nita Prose’s inaugural Molly the Maid mystery definitely takes a minute to get into, due to the language idiosyncrasies that reflect Molly’s own quirky personality. But once I did, I fell hard for Molly and her friends at the Regency Grand hotel (which I pictured as the Waldorf Astoria). My only complaint: I didn’t think the author played fair with the ending. But it didn’t ruin the book for me and I’ll definitely continue on with the series.
Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne – Another Nugget bedtime read – Mommy needed a breather after the intense finale of the fourth Harry Potter book (and I hadn’t yet found the fifth one while unpacking). Nugget was skeptical – I think he thought Pooh was a bit babyish – but he cackled through the third chapter and he’s definitely a convert now. It’s all part of my plan…
The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay – The last book of the month was another audiobook – my count makes that three for the month, which is crazy to me. This one was a mixed bag for me. Recognizing that delight is an inherently personal concept, I came to it with an open mind and a willingness to be delighted by unexpected things. And some of the short essay-ettes were lovely; others were thought-provoking and insightful. But there was too much profanity for my taste, and much of the text went over my head (as one Goodreads reviewer put it – aptly – it was like being cornered at a party by a philosophy major).
Whew! I’m kind of shocked at twelve books for the month. The last week or so, I’ve felt like I was in a bit of a reading slump – but that was September, of course, and this is ancient history. Ancient history in which I apparently read a LOT. Three audiobooks, as noted above – wow. One of which, Bookworm, may be a contender for my top ten books of the year when I write that post in December. Excavations was the other standout of the month. Looking back on it, I wouldn’t say August was a superb month with a cascade of reading highlights – but it was solid, and looking at it from my mini-slump of the last couple of weeks, solid is very good indeed.
Well, I sure flaked on you last week, huh? Sorry about that. We had a big meeting at work with a lot of visitors to the office and I was completely distracted all week long. It was wonderful to see all of the people who visited, and also exhausting. So blogging fell off the radar, as did – I’m sorry to say – reading much of anything.
In fact, I haven’t finished a book since last Sunday. I’ve been plodding my way through The Hotel (borrowed from the library) ever since, and it’s taking way longer than a 199 page novel would usually take for me to finish it. Part of that, I chalk up to the extra busy workweek last week, but I also seem to have some kind of block about Elizabeth Bowen. I’ve tried before and I just can’t seem to connect with her books. But I’m more than halfway through now, so I will finish this one. And then I’m going to curl up with something comforting and engaging.
On audio, I’ve been working my way through In Love with George Eliot for the last two weeks. Somehow I missed that little “A NOVEL” on the cover and thought it was another literary memoir like My Life in Middlemarch, which I adored. It’s not, it’s a biographical novel book-within-a-book situation and it is good, if not what I thought I was signing on for. (Yes, that lack of attention to cover detail is squarely on me.) But again, I’ve been slower than I otherwise would with it, mostly because of the big work meeting. Usually, when I’m working my way through an audiobook, I’ll listen on every commute and while washing dishes and folding laundry. This time, I’ve only been listening about half of my normal times; I drove several commutes home in much-needed silence after especially long and socially engaged workdays, and I’ve also been sprinkling in Spotify – mainly Fireside Collective and Kitchen Dwellers, two modern bluegrass bands I’m going to see in concert in October. So the audiobook is taking a bit to get through, but I expect I’ll finish it this week and I’ve already decided to download The Fortnight in September for my next book.
This weekend was mostly devoted to the current usual – Little League and house projects – but we did get down to our former stomping grounds to have lunch with friends on Saturday, followed by a walk down to the Potomac waterfront to see the latest art installation, which had something to do with historic shipping. I am always in the market for tea.
covered in flour 