Lazy Week....

Another quiet week with little to report but yes, I am still here and still alive and well.

I'm not sure if it was the weather or what, but I just haven't had much interest in going out and exploring this week. I've been sleeping well, thank goodness, and have morphed into a rather strange sleep pattern that I've fought in the past, but which actually seems to work for me. My drowsy times are generally in the early evening -- 6pm-9pm, or thereabouts. I've fought this because it seemed counterproductive to sleeping well during the night. Lately, with little real reason to worry about having to get up in the morning -- no work! -- I've just relaxed into this and if I doze off while watching a movie, I don't fight it. Oddly enough, it revives me just a bit and then I settle in to watch another movie before getting drowsy again and actually sleeping through the night. Big stuff, for an old insomniac like me.

One would think that sleeping well would lead to more energy, but that hasn't been the case. I haven't felt tired, just -- comfortable in my peaceful pursuit of reading and watching movies. I've been a good girl, done my exercising as scheduled and puttered about a bit. But mostly -- I read.

Three wonderful books came my way. First, I finished Riverwalking by Kathleen Dean Moore. This lovely little book is a series of essays that mostly involve the writer's experiences in, fascination with and love of -- moving water. She is wonderfully, beautifully eloquent and aside from the beauty of her words, I was really moved by the beauty of herself and her family, all of whom share her water-borne adventures.

Then, on to Finding Beauty in a Broken World, by the famous environmentalist writer Terry Tempest Williams. This is her latest and I admit that I had some trouble getting into it, but in the end I am SO glad I persevered. After that initial reserve, I couldn't put it down and once again I was moved as much by her personal inner beauty and her long, happy marriage as I was by the story she told.

And then -- the unauthorized biography of Ernest & Julio Gallo, fittingly called Blood & Wine. What a story! I just finished that one today. Go out and buy some JosephFarms Cheese (Google it), produced by Joseph Gallo, the 'unknown' Gallo brother who by all appearances was robbed of his parental inheritance AND blocked from using his own name on the label for his cheese. Incredible.

In the midst of today, to take a break from the heaviness of the Gallo trials, I watched Bottle Shock, a movie that I just loved, but had never heard of. Released in 2008, it's the story of the famed 1976 Paris wine tasting that virtually made the Napa Valley world famous, when a local chardonnay and a local cabernet beat out the best of the French in Paris by French judges. I moved to the Valley in 1979 and this tasting was still a big topic of discussion. Maybe I was moved more because I know the story and the wineries, but even if you didn't, it's still a really well-done feel-good movie about the little guys winning over the big guys. And the cinematography of the Napa Valley is exquisite -- although that could just be Kitty feeling a little nostalgic for days long past.

Aside from books and a lot of movies, I also made a faux Mexican casserole, some banana bread and some yogurt this week. AND I have fought -- and lost -- with IKEA and North American Van Lines regarding my furniture delivery. IKEA is wonderful -- unfortunately the goods are being held hostage by the van lines in Portland until they have a truck coming this way. Last week I was told "Friday", then on Friday I was told "next week" and now this week I've been told "next week" once more. I am not amused.

Alas -- not exciting to write about, but pleasant enough to live. Let's hope for more interesting news next time.