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Life
It was a busy, though quiet, week around here. The biggest news is that I am continuing to do well on the new trial of experimental medication I am trying for my chronic immune disorder. Normally, at this time of year, I feel like I have the flu all the time and am stuck on the couch, living horizontally. I was up and about and productive (sitting up in my recliner to work) all week, without a single bad day. I do still have some mild flu-like aches some of the time (especially in the hours after an injection), but my energy has been great (for me!). I'm not quite as good as I was this spring and summer, and I still need 10 hours of sleep plus a nap every afternoon, but I'm so much better than I normally am at this time of year. I saw my primary care doctor today for my annual check-up, and she was so excited for me. She said she's seen similar effects in her own patients with autoimmune conditions who take GLP-1's for weight loss.
So, I was able to take a walk almost every day last week! It's been cool here but we had plenty of sunshine, and I enjoyed getting out. The foliage here last week was beautiful.
After some rain and high winds, most of the leaves are now gone in our neighborhood 😢, but I found one tree still looking bright in the sunshine.
Big news for me: I was finally able to attend one of my neighborhood's Ladies' Wine Nights. They've been doing these casual get-togethers once a month, but I never feel well enough to go. For me, going to a social event - in the evening! - is a rare treat. I enjoyed chatting with my neighbors and friends and meeting some new faces as well, though of course, I sipped on seltzer.
My husband and I were able to see the Northern Lights for the first time ever! We heard they were dipping down south on Tuesday night, so we went out onto our deck. We couldn't see them with the naked eye, but they were clearly visible through the camera lens. They were faint, but it's a rare occurrence to see them at all as far south as Delaware.
I was also able to help pick up the house this weekend, cook, and host good friends for dinner! We hadn't seen them since June, and we both traveled a lot this year, so we had a lot to catch up on and enjoyed their company.
And I got my Little Red Car back from the repair shop, good as new (ha ha - it's 33 years old). I hadn't been able to drive it since I got a flat tire a few weeks ago, so it's good to have it back (with new tires and minus an annoying screech from a loose belt).
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Nonfiction November, Week 3: Nonfiction and Fiction Book Pairings - After searching through 18 years of book reviews on my blog, I found two books that pair perfectly together. And I am so impressed with myself for managing to keep up with the weekly prompts this year!
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Trap Pond State Park, Delaware: Fall Foliage, Hiking, Camping, Kayaking - I posted a 15-minute travel vlog from our recent camping trip, with stunning fall foliage footage. Come along with us to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature!
Weekly Reading Update: Nonfiction November - Nature, Science, Memoir - Plus a Sci Fi Thriller - my quick weekly recap of what we have been reading and listening to the past week.
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The Diplomat (my full review & a trailer at the link) is back for its third season, and we are loving it! Keri Russell plays Kate Wyler, a career diplomat with years of experience who, in season one, was assigned as ambassador to the UK (not what she was expecting). Her husband, Hal (played by Rufus Sewell), is also a career diplomat. Viewers know right from the beginning of the show that their marriage is in trouble, though they try to put forth a tranquil appearance for the sake of their careers. Season 3 kicks off with some HUGE surprises and shocking plot twists, as things shift fast and furious in the first few episodes. This show has it all: suspense, plot twists, political intrigue, drama, romance, and a hefty dose of humor. Season 3 is off to a great start!
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I finished reading A Walk in the Park: the True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko, and it blew me away! Sara, a hiking friend (you can see her beautiful outdoor videos here) gave me this book, and I loved it. The author is an outdoor writer who often pairs up with his best friend, an outdoor photographer, for assignments all over the world. They typically take a seat-of-the-pants approach to their assignments, and it usually works out OK in the end. They get an article approved by National Geographic on hiking the length of the Grand Canyon. But when they set out, as usual, on the expedition with zero backpacking experience or preparation, they are in for a big surprise. Fortunately, other experienced backpackers who love the region offer to help them (or they literally would have died). In addition to the year-long, grueling odyssey of their hike (experts consider it the toughest hike in the world), Kevin also digs into the science and history of the Grand Canyon, including its indigenous human history. This was an outstanding book, very well-written, and propulsive. For a tiny taste of what the book covers, check out this gorgeous 10-minute video his photographer partner made.
Now, I am reading my neighborhood book group's pick for next month, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas, a memoir. Jose was only twelve years old when his mother put him on a plane in the Philippines to visit his grandparents in California. They, and their siblings, are all naturalized American citizens, and Jose doesn't realize at first that he will be staying in Mountain View and living with his grandparents from now on. And he doesn't understand, until four years later, that he's undocumented. I'm still at the beginning of this memoir, as he's adjusting to life and school in America, but it's a compelling story. The author is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who is still undocumented, caught in the labyrinth of the U.S. immigration system as are so many millions of others, unable to apply for citizenship and unable to leave. This is such an important story to hear, given the state of our nation and its immigration system right now. Here's a 6-minute NBC News interview with Vargas (as you can tell, I read nonfiction with my iPad beside me!).
My next audio for Nonfiction November was Knife by Salman Rushdie, a memoir of the brutal knife attack he suffered several years ago, and his long, slow road to recovery. He recounts the attack itself, how he nearly died, and his gradual return to a new normal, having lost an eye. He underwent many surgeries and many rounds of physical and occupational therapy to recover and regain use of his hand, and he (and his wife, too) also struggled with recovering emotionally. It's an engrossing story, and he gets philosophical about the far-reaching effects of the attack. I've never read anything by Rushdie before, but this was very well-written and made me want to try one of his novels. Please let me know if there is one that you recommend!
Now, I am listening to We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson, her husband, a book I had heard good things about that was on sale on Chirp. It's excellent so far. The author grew up in an indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest, one of the last to be contacted by Christian missionaries in the 1950's. Her life and that of her entire village begins to change, first through the missionaries and then through the oil company employees the missionaries introduce to them. The men of the tribe are enticed to help cut down trees and clear land for airstrips and to reach the oil below. I'm still at the very beginning of the story, but I know that she ends up living in the city for a while and returning to her homeland as a climate activist. The picture of her idyllic village life and the chilling effects of the missionaries (who refer to them as savages) is already eye-opening and moving. It's engrossing on audio.
My husband, Ken, is finally reading one of my favorite books from Big Book Summer this year, Bridge by Lauren Beukes. This is a novel about alternate realities, one of my favorite topics. The main character, Bridget, is grieving after her mother's death. Her mom struggled with epilepsy and recurring brain cancer since the age of 14, She used to bring Bridge, when she was just a child, along with her on some very strange adventures. Using something her mom called the "dreamworm," the two would temporarily inhabit other lives, where they were each themselves but different, and everything around them was different. Since then, Bridge's therapist has convinced her those were just dreams or fantasies, but while cleaning out her mom's house, Bridge discovers the dreamworm and her mother's journals, and she begins to realize there really are other realities that she can access. Bridge gets the idea that her mother is still alive in some other reality, so she goes hopping through parallel universes (and into other Bridgets, leaving them very confused and upset). This book was so good! My husband is enjoying it so far.
I have no idea what our son, 31, has been reading! I did text him this weekend, but we didn't get around to a reading update. I'll report back!
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What are you and your family reading this week?
