It Never Ends

I glanced at the weather report for the week and there was an ALERT posted for tomorrow.
It's December for heavens sake - I thought this was only supposed to happen in summer - not winter. They should ask me before they have an air quality alert!

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IS IN EFFECT FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 3 2013...

THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT HAS ISSUED A CODE ORANGE
AIR QUALITY ALERT TUESDAY FOR THE BALTIMORE METRO AREA.

A CODE ORANGE AIR QUALITY ALERT MEANS THAT AIR POLLUTION
CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE REGION MAY BECOME UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE
GROUPS. SENSITIVE GROUPS INCLUDE CHILDREN...PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM
ASTHMA... HEART DISEASE OR OTHER LUNG DISEASES...AND THE ELDERLY.
THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION CAN BE MINIMIZED BY AVOIDING STRENUOUS
ACTIVITY OR EXERCISE OUTDOORS.

Weather fascinates me; it confuses me; it intrigues me. And I don't understand anything about it. I keep telling myself to take a class in 'weather'. Is that even a subject of study? I know it is hot, cold, wet, dry, freezing, stormy, windy, mild, cloudy (and try to learn about clouds - they are another entire genre), sunny, and Polluted!



Pollution has been a worthy opponent of mine since I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the lungs. It has restricted my outdoor activities in warm weather - but winter?!
It is also a heavy hitter causing discomfort, disease, or death to humans, damage other living organisms such as food crops, or damage the natural environment. 

I hear it is only going to get worse. Maybe an air quality alert in December is an instance of worse.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, we have 27 shopping days left until Christmas. That's right - 27.  Rather daunting if you are one of the millions who do EVERYTHING on the list. You know what list I am talking about.
Shop Shop, Shop.

• Buy presents for everyone, and then buy some extras for people who you forgot, people who "gift" you, and for people who give parties.
• Dare you give a party as well?
• Buy all the wrapping, ribbon, tags, scotch tape, stickers, etc. for the presents.
• Wrap everything.
• Plan the Christmas meal.
• Shop for the food for the Christmas meal.
• Cook the Christmas meal.
• And don't forget to invite the guests to the Christmas meal.
• Decorate - outside lights, blow-up Santas, wreaths, greens, sparkle lights on the roof...
• Get a tree.
• Find where all the ornaments are stored.
• Decorate the tree and do not forget the tinsel. It is such a pleasant reminder when you are still finding it everywhere in Marcn.
• String the lights on the tree and make sure they are perfectly placed.
• Christmas Cards - store bought or photo made?
• Addresses and stamps.
• Return address stamps, maybe some special ones for the holiday?
• Display the cards that you, in turn, receive. Artfully and visibley. 
• Where is the Christmas china? Find it and display.
• Polish all the silver that you only use once a year.
• Find the Christmas music; did you put it on your iPod?
• Make the 8 different kinds of Christmas cookies for which you have become famous.
• Package the cookies in holiday tins and distribute to family and friends; and don't forget to keep some for yourself. 

All this and more, in just 27 days. Get cracking. You can do it.

And don't forget to have FUN! 

Never enough books, I say!

Some of my favorite books from the past few or more years - what an abundance!

• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (2010)
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (2010)
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (2006)
• Stones From the River By Ursala Hegi (1995)
• The Master Butcher’s Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (2005)
• The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (1989).
• This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolfe (2000).
• Cronkite by Douglas Brinkley (2013).
• The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathon Lethem (2004)
• Zeitoun by David Egers (2010)
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
• The Corrections by Jonathon Franzen (2002)
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo (2002)
• The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan (2007)
• Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro (2004)
• The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (1998)
• Unless by Carol Shields (2003)
• The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha  Mukherjee (2011)
•  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)
• All Aunt Hagar’s Children by Edward P. Jones (2006)
• The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (2007)
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2012)

A Gutter is not a Gutter

Like our own bodies, books also have distinct parts; organs, matter, structure, which work together to create and maintain the system we call a book. I don't really think much about this aspect of books when I pick one up to read; just as I don't think much about what makes my feet move or my eyes blink as I go through the day.

Since I love books, I thought I would do a little bit of research and try to map the anatomy of a book. It is certainly beautiful, a piece of art in itself.
The photo here is a wonderful example of the beauty and artisanship that goes into creating a book. It is "A contemporary 15th century binding of brown calf over wooden boards, with two center and four corner bosses." Otto Vollbehr Collection, Library of Congress.

Today's hardcovers certainly suffer in comparison!

So what is there to know about a book? More than I can cover here. So I will just cover some of the basics. Books have a front and back cover - rather prosaic. The cover is part of a unit called the case components, the things that enclose the actual text components of the book. The case also includes the spine which, usually contains all, or some, of four elements  in the following order: (1) author, editor, or compiler; (2) title; (3) publisher; and (4) publisher logo. 

And here is where I will stop because this is all so prosaic. And if I continue I might discourage potential readers from picking up a book!  For me, a book is its 'aboutness,' the font used, the feel of the paper, and all the possibilities waiting for me to begin on Page 1.

Fletcher Knows Best

Baby Fletcher was an MIT wannabe when he was only two. His fascination with all things mechanical was something he seemed to have been born with. Maybe the hard plastic incubator, bright focused lights and all the tubes twisting above his head gave him something to think about his first 10 days of life.
He is fascinated by how things work - how they are engineered. I think he can write the textbook on 're-engineering!' And he always has a better way of doing things. If I start to make a cake, he is quick to show me the error of my ways. I used to think I could out-talk him when these lessons on 'how to do's' but seriously, I just let him take over. And I laugh! It is just amazingly hilarious to let his view of the world take over the day.
And his prowess with all things computer is stunning. HE shows me which remote we need and how to manipulate it when we watch Netflicks, a DVD, and plain old TV. At age 3 he had mastered my iPad which I thought was really brilliant until I realized that:

• When he visited I could no longer use my own iPad;
• He figured out how to change my settings;
• He upgraded his own apps bought on My iTunes account; and
• When he was so sure he could figure out my password that he tried and tried and tried and locked me out of my very own iPad. 

Now he is 6 and his assurance with all things technical is firm. I was telling him that Lester was going to leave him his (Lester's) MIT ring when he (Lester) died. It's this awkward chunk of bronze or dirty gold with a beaver on it. Engineers have no sense of aesthetics. But the MIT guys sure do love their beaver rings.

Anyway, Fletcher looked perplexed and asked me what that meant. So I explained that Lester was a graduate of MIT and the ring was the school ring. So what is MIT - something on TV or maybe a new DVD? No. I said it is one of the best engineering schools in the country. Fletcher just looked at me, no longer amazed that I could be so stupid about him. He said, quite matter-of-factly, "Well, I'm going to the best school." End of the discussion.