Where Men Win Glory

My latest book selection for the Bolgia Book Club was Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. 

Our book club is a little different than most.  It has been around for eight years.  It is equal parts men and women.  The books are selected by the host.  Our order of rotation and basic rules are contained in a pickle.  The pickle is passed when the next book is revealed at the end of the meeting.  There is always food and wine (we live in Napa, after all.)

I heard about a new local book club called the "Commando Book Club" - which does not allow food or beverages.  Our group would not long survive with such austerity.



The last book we read was The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason.   I thought the Pat Tillman story might be a fitting follow up to a rather fey attempt to re-write the story of Odysseus.  There was almost universal acclaim for this book, and it is a hard crowd to please.  Don't they look hard to please, critical and picky?  In this photo they are sipping a small glass of homemade limoncello.  Do I need to provide the recipe?  The big jar on the table is the new batch - about 35 days into the first stage prior to addition of the simple syrup.  The rose is our latest Leap of Faith bottling - 2010 Merlot Rose.

We had a wonderful conversation about war, kleos, what is a justified war, heroism, epic poetry, and of course the life of a remarkable man told by one of our great story tellers.

We also had spring lamb stew:



...and a luscious savory mushroom (and chanterelle) bread pudding.



We ended with two kinds of homemade cookies and lemon milk sherbet made two ways, one with Meyer lemons, and one with Felicia's sour lemons.  After the side by side tasting, sour lemons are better for lemon sherbet.  Meyer lemons are too sweet and lack the tang of the Eureka lemons.

Paeonia redux

The garden feels the fine effects of a bountiful winter of rain.  Almost two years ago we went to Oregon in late May to visit iris and peony farms. The post Paeonia shows some of the photos from that trip.  Now our own tree peony "Hephaestus " has set buds and bloomed for the first time in our yard.  This huge bud is just opening.



The colors of the irises, roses and peonies rival the jewel windows in the Rhine House at Beringer vineyards.  I just toured the site again on Friday in preparation for a conference later this summer.



I thought this looked more floral than the picture I snapped of the jumping trout.

At sunset an orange iris lit the west side of the yard.  This was my reward for Easter afternoon weed pulling.

garden walk

After a long wet winter, flowers and fruits are everywhere in the garden.  I took a long delayed look at the garden today and snapped a few pictures in advance of the next rain storm.

We have a special love for peonies - tree peonies, Itoh hybrids, and herbaceous peonies.  This is one of the tree peonies, just opened this week, and full of buds for weeks to come:



One of the other tree poenies, a blushing deep rose that hides its center:


The fruit trees - apples, cherries, fig, quince, avocado and citrus - are all blooming.  The pears and plums have already set fruit.

Tiny pears:


Morello cherries:


apple:


quince:


and first ever blooms on the avocado tree:


We do not know if the avocado will set fruit, but are eager to see what happens this year.  Sadly, the "Elephant Heart" plum flowered very early and did not get pollinated.  We see no fruit at all on the very vigorous tree planted two years ago. 

We have neglected the garden this winter, just as I have neglected this blog.  Music, politics, work, and a host of activities have kept us both distracted.  Spring renewal is happening anyway.

Thorsen House - part 3

Just because I have the pictures - here are a few more of the Thorsen House by Greene and Greene in Berkeley, CA. Anyone who has found their way to this blog post (third in the series), has an interest in the details of a seminal Bungalow style Greene and Greene building. This is a window on the south side of the "ell".



Looking up at the inside corner of the "ell", note the wide overhang, carved rafter tails, and carefully crafted copper downspout. Every surface has the same attention to detail as the front door.



Our little group examines the dining room. David Monroe and Berkeley Mills designed and created "kit" dining room chairs for the residents of Thorsen House to assemble.



Even the servant's quarters in the attic received the special attention to detail that every other part of the house received. Though simpler in overall design, the balusters, tucked-in drawers, baseboards, and doors are carefully designed.



Sigma Phi will be raising $10 million for the seismic strengthening and restoration of the Thorsen House so that it will survive for centuries to come.

Thorsen House - part 2

The theme of this post is "interior finishes and details". This is one of the stained glass and wood ceiling fixtures. Note the original canvas over plaster ceiling finish, which has not been altered. Every surface in the house has the same attention to detail - even the wood wainscot has eased edges and wooden pegs. The photo below is just inside the front door, where again the original canvas over plaster finish on the wall above the wainscot can be seen.



One of the rosewood (?) sconces in the living room/parlour. The mauve tile has restrained detail - but see below how the dining room fireplace is finished out...



This is a corner of the fireplace mantel and tile.



...a detail of the fireplace tile:



This one is the mysterious "peace" symbol. 1909. Is it original, or a careful and clever 60's addition to the house?



One more post, with some more photos. I find it hard to choose which ones to show.

Thorsen House

An opportunity to visit the Greene and Greene designed Thorsen House in Berkeley, CA arose over the past weekend. John and I charged up our camera batteries and took advantage of a break in the winter fog to see one of the only Greene and Greene houses in northern California - and a unique 1909 example of the Bungalow style of the Arts and Crafts movement. The house is now owned by the Sigma Phi fraternity. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the street as well as the adjacent U.C. Berkeley campus. Mrs. Thorsen was the sister of Nellie Blacker - owner of the Blacker House in Pasadena (completed 1907).

Window to front hall

The brothers of Sigma Phi were having an all-day work party when we arrived. The house was being scrubbed, buffed, and vacuumed - as well as the front and back yards being weeded, raked and trimmed. An alumnus who had been deeply involved in preservation efforts for the house spent 1 1/2 hours showing the house and answering questions.



This is an occasion where photos speak more eloquently than words.


Stair landing at the second floor





The veranda sheltered by the "ell" of the building creates an oasis of green in the heart of the residential block.

Next post: interior details and a peace sign pre-dating the 60's free speech movement by over 50 years...

Sea of Love

 The sad, bitter, awful and unwelcome phone call came on Saturday, October 30, 2010.  Big brother Jeff was in complete renal failure due to complications from chemo therapy for advanced colon cancer.  The chemo therapy was not going to prolong Jeff’s life, but had cut it drastically shorter.

 

We all dashed as quickly as transcontinental airlines allowed to the hospital in Melbourne, Florida.  Big bother Joe and little sister Janette were already there, and little brother John followed a mad, indirect route to finally arrive on Sunday afternoon.

 What we found there in that kind institution was a “Sea of Love”.

 There was the familiar childhood “sea of love” in our close brother/sister relationships that never change or grow up.  A big brother is a big brother all his life.  A big sister or little sister keeps that special role and the memories flowing from it.

 

There was the familiar friend, teammate and schoolmate “sea of love” with Jeff’s wife Judy whom we have known all our lives.

 Most obvious and overwhelming was the “sea of love” created by Jeff’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Or was it a sea that flowed from Jeff toward them all? My hope is that all of us feel that kind of love in our final hours. 

I pulled out some old photos of Jeff as a child, a young man, a young father - but have been unable to post them.  Maybe soon.  This is the last photo of the five of us together, after our sister Jane's funeral in 2004.  It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago.