Celebrating 40 Years of Great Music

Standard

On the way home the other day, I hit a ridiculous amount of traffic on the highway heading home from a doctor’s appointment. I swerved at the last possible exit and created a series of detours that took longer than if I’d just stayed put on the highway and let the traffic die out. I did a couple of errands and photographed some old stomping grounds and was still in the car when the Vermont station I listen to hit noon for their retro lunch beginning with People are People by Depeche Mode.

I dialed it up to glass shattering volume and sand along gustily, and when it ended, I decided it was time for a new Spotify list, this one celebrating the fortieth anniversary of my high school graduation as well as the fortieth anniversary of some of the best music ever. No question.

Friday Food. July.

Standard

Continuing Monday’s theme of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache mystery series, I thought I’d share some things from the publisher’s related blog.

There is a lovely selection of recipes and gorgeous photos to admire and to choose from for each of the books here.

French Onion Soup from the Gamache Series Website

There is also a PDF download of a short cookbook, The Nature of the Feast which includes a preview excerpt of book #12, The Great Reckoning.

My own Bistro-esque recipe below the cut:

Continue reading

Tell Me What You Know

Standard
Mont Royal.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
(c)2024

My first introduction to Louise Penny was with State of Terror, the book she co-authored with Hillary Rodham Clinton, which admittedly was what drew me to the book in the first place. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in mysteries and state department/political thrillers. It’s taken me a few years since then to rediscover the author Louise Penny when her Gamache Series was recommended to me recently in a writing class.

I may have mentioned in a previous note, here or on Facebook, that I’ve become obsessed with Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series. I’ve read the entire series and am less than patiently waiting for the next book that will be released in October. I am about halfway through a second read-through – did I mention that I was obsessed?! I had recommended them to a friend of mine and it turned out she was already reading them! It is so hard to talk to her about them and not give her any spoilers. I had planned to write a proper review and recommendation for next week or the week after, however, today is a special day in the books (and in my own life as I’ll explain).

There should not be any spoilers not found in the synopsis on the backs of the books.

Continue reading