One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel García Márquez

This book should be re-named to "100 years to read". It seemed like it took that long for me to read it, or at least really get into it. I swear it was 100-200 pages before I was comfortable with he style of writing. It is a Magical Surrealism genre that this is written in. It is fiction, but it is also a bit mystical and has a lot of foreshadowing in the book. It takes a while to get used to this in the novel.
It is a good book, I will admit that. It is also a book that people should read to get a good perspective from.

It is set in a fictitious small town in northern Columbia and follows a family for 100 years in that small town, through their many generations. It is fun to follow all the characters through their lives and in the book, however if you read this, be sure, and I mean be very sure you have a copy of the family tree in the front pages of the book. I really, really would have tossed this book aside if it had not been for that family tree to follow along. I turned to it every 10 pages or so to be sure I knew who this paragraph or chapter was about, or who was being introduced. The names of the characters are very similar throughout the book, so without this guide it would be even more confusing to read.

The book somewhat reminds me of John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" although this was written in Spanish, and the setting is in South America. It is a little reminiscent of that novel in some ways. All be it, I love East of Eden 10 times more!

I would definitely recommend this to read, but just beware of what you are getting into before you start it. It is not something you just pick up to amuse yourself, but it is a read to really READ. It is perfect for a high school literature class to read, and discuss and pick apart. There are many dimensions of this book, that you can delve into and discuss, and write many term papers about, it is quite a book!

I do also have to wonder what the translation lost in this book. Perhaps that may have been some of the difficulty in making this book a bit challenging, It would be great to be fluent in Spanish, and read the author's original text.

Oscar Night

We celebrated Oscar night at our home with a nice dinner with our neighbors, Dennis and Gary who live across the street, and Dennis' Niece Jennifer, and our friends Ray and Terry. It was a very nice evening. Gary made some of the best lasagna that I have ever tasted with a Cabernet sauce in it, and some of his famous homemade bread. Dale made a great Caesar salad with his homemade dressing, and Ray brought a delicious pecan/chocolate pie. It was all good and we enjoyed the Oscar night celebrations with the festivities beginning at 5pm. It was also a very good show with Ellen DeGeneres hosting the festivities, We love her! In spite of the fact she took Willy Wonka's Coat for the show. It was nice to see Helen win for the Queen, as all gays were cheering that. Why who wouldn't like to see a Queen win!

Honeymoon WIth My Brother

by Franz Wisner

My neighbor Stacy gave me this book to read with the caveat that it was a good book that I would like. She always knows the books that she has read that I will like as well. I must say, she was right, and I did like it a lot! If you enjoy traveling, then this book is for you! It is a memoir of Franz Wisner and his brother and their travel through several continents. The basis of the book is that Franz gets dumped at the Altar a day or two before his wedding, and so instead of cancelling his extensive honeymoon trip he takes his brother along instead, and then continues traveling with him more, (as they get along so well) and continue for a year long through various countries and places that are all intriguing and keep you reading for more.

At first I was a little put off by Franz's attitude of the "typical American" when traveling to all these places. (he is from Orange county so he naturally feels he is entitled) However by the end of the book he had learned a lot and had truly changed as a person. It was nice to see the gradual transformation, and I would surely like to read the next book in his travels!

Star Sighting

I just ran down to the mail room to drop something off at work, and as I walked by the studio entrance I heard a familiar voice, as I looked by I stopped in my tracks as there was Reba McEntire chatting on her cell phone. I went along my business and on the way back she was still there, and she had just hung up. I Said "hi" to her and introduced myself, and that I worked up on the 4th floor. She was sooo sweet and nice, and of course Looked FABULOUS!

It made my Valentines day!

SunnyWarm California!

Our friend Craig Peterson from Minneapolis came to visit us for a week from Jan 30th-Feb 6th. It was a great time for him to get out of the cold and enjoy some of our nice weather. When he arrived it was raining that day, and so he had to drive from the airport to our house in Long Beach in the rain, but he was very happy to do so and enjoyed being in the warm weather.

Craig spent time visiting Hollywood, and the J Paul Getty Museum in the Santa Monica Mountains. http://www.getty.edu/ He also spent a day down in San Diego, and visiting around Long Beach. Dale also took him to several work projects he was doing, and Craig was a very, very willing worker to help Dale with a few places that he needed the extra hand in an attic re-model.

One evening we had a pleasant dinner party with Craig, his friend Loretta who lives in Riverside and Craig knows from Wells Fargo where Criag works, and also our friends Ray and Terry for a nice evening of chatting and socializing. We had a super dinner of Stuffed Mushrooms for appetizers, Blueberry/Pomegranate frozen cocktails, then for dinner smoked duck, and chicken, with spelt, steamed broccoli, and almond/sesame spinach bake. The best part of the dinner was a most wonderful chocolate cheesecake that Ray made and brought over. It is delightful, and went perfectly with a nice cup of fine coffee.

Craig was very sad to go home back to Minnesota, and the frigid cold weather. We had some of the nicest weather of the winter when he was here, and some of the records were broken or tied in Long Beach with a high of 85F one day, and Los Angeles getting up to 89F. It was a stark contrast of a difference of over 100F from the temps in Minnesota for those days! Craig was on the phone letting everyone know that he was certainly enjoying his trip to California! Now that is a good Vacation don't you think?

Plant Of The Month

Manzanitas of California

Manzanita is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos. There are more than forty species of Arctostaphylos in California not to mention all the subspecies and hybrids. Species grow from two inches (some of the coastal species) to twenty feet (many interior species). Manzanitas are popular for their shiny red or mahogany colored bark. Manzanitas have urn-shaped flowers that vary from pink to white and are popular with hummingbirds. They are very drought tolerant and evergreen, always looking green and healthy even in the hottest, driest part of the summer. Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) is of the family Ericaceae. Plants in this family are highly mycorrhizal (associated with symbiotic fungi). This allows them to survive in many harsh environments, however it also makes them very susceptible to over watering and fertilizing. They really do no like to be watered or fertilized. If grown correctly these plants, especially the larger forms, will grow for more than 100 years. Manzanitas are great wildlife plants. Providing nectar for butterflies, hummingbirds and native insects (they're cool!).

Manzanitas are now in bloom. (End of January & February) Look for them out on your hikes, or even in your savy gardener's neighbor's yard. They are always stunning with the beautiful flowers contrased against the showy bark.

Up to San Francisco

Dale and I flew up to San Francisco on Jan 19-21st. Peter Stalder picked us up from the Oakland Airport and we drove across the bay bridge to his place in the Castro. It was a beautiful weekend with sunny clear weather and not too chilly either. We went to dinner on Friday night at a nice restaurant in the Castro called "Catch". It was very good, we met my ex-Eric Jansen, as well as Will Fellows the Author of "Farm Boys" and his partner, as well as another couple friend of Eric's , Jerry on the gay historical society and his partner. We all had a great time and it was nice to see Will Fellows again as the last time I talked to him was when he did the book interviews, several years ago.

The main reason we went to SF was to see the play adaptation done a few years ago. It has played in New York, St. Paul, and now San Francisco. Following dinner there was a reception at the New Conservatory Theatre on Market Street. We went to that to meet the playwright, who also grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin. We then saw the play. It was amazing, and touched so many areas that I could relate to. I didn't expect the play adaptation to be so deep, and also I thought the characters were a very good composite of all the people in the book, and much of the writing was so very well done, with a lot of great "inside" perspective that was definitely ratable. After the show there was a short Q&A with the author, playwright, director and the entire cast. It was great and a great time to find out more details of the show! Well worth it! If you live in or get to SF please see this, you will enjoy. http://www.nctcsf.org/

Saturday morning Eric and I got up early for a nice run with the Frontrunners through golden Gate park. http://www.frontrunners.org/ The day was again beautiful and it was delightful to run through the green, lush, and wonderful Golden Gate Park to the ocean and back! After we had a nice homemade breakfast at Peter's place in the Castro, and then Eric took me to the radio station for a quick interview for the "Out in the Bay" radio show that he hosts. It was fun! The rest of the afternoon we took it easy, and Dale did some repairs around the house for Peter. I then met my friends David Bicha and David Mahr at the 440 in the Castro for Drinks. It was great to see them again and we decided to all go over to their place near twin peaks for dinner and more visiting and relaxing. It was a great evening, and we soon were tired out for the evening.

Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast and then Eric took us to the Airport to catch our flight back to Long Beach. It was a great visit and a good visit for all of us! We will have to get back again soon to San Francisco with great friends, and a great city, what more could you ask?