Friday, December 25, 2020

2020 Recap

 2020 has been a tough year, luckily we can work remotely, keeps us in money and keeps us busy. Have not been able to travel, but on the plus side we have saved some money this year. We don't dine out as much as some others do, but certainly missed sharing food with friends and family.

Gramps and me

Things Done:

  • Trek Bike Travel Event in NJ
  • Jay Rayner's Last Supper in March in NYC
  • worked from home starting March 12
  • watched Le Tour bike race in August, delay due to COVID
  • made bacon
  • made a fake book for storage
  • made a temperature controlled outlet
  • made a directional air diverter
  • repurposed a refrigerator rack for caulk storage
  • assembled jigsaw puzzles
  • spent time in the backyard

 

 

 

Food Joints;

  • one dinner in Summit, NJ, Fiorino Ristorante
  • one dinner in NYC, Murray's Cheese Bar
  • takeout pizza from Brothers
  • takeout Thai from Forest Thai

Garden:

  • 60 cloves of Garlic harvested, lost some to rot
  • Harvested lots of kale in spring
  • planted winter kale, celeriac and spinach. Kale grew well and we cut a lot in the fall, but it got white fly due to extremely warm fall weather, celeriac did not germinate and spinach was a poor performer
  • No tomatoes planted this year
  • planted garlic for next year on October 28, same as in 2019. Mulched half with shredded leaves.
  • planted Grecian windflowers, black tulips and blue star tulips in the fall

House:

New Marshall bluetooth speaker, it's great
  • reattached gutter/fascia on garage west end
  • primed and painted basement window exterior sills
  • resealed white oak on garden bench
  • shored up the landing platform and basement steps
  • replaced hot and cold washer hoses 
  • started prepping my office ceiling

 Maybe next year:

  • backyard gate
  • garage cladding

 

Sunday, December 20, 2020

2020 Books

 This year I read 17 more Inspector Maigret books, 3 more Dr. Fu Manchu stories and another Raymond Chandler novel. My numbers are high because the Maigret books are not very long, but very good. Over the summer I was reading after work instead of commuting which helped my book count also. In the fall as the days got shorted, I migrated to watching all of the  Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes series on you tube.

This year's books in order read;

  1. How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free, Zelinski 
  2. The Templar's last secret, Martin Walker
  3. Hello Everyone, travel experiences written by a family friend.
  4. Maigret in Court, Georges Simenon (GS)
  5. Maigret and the Old People, GS
  6. Aunti Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, Mario Giordano
  7. Maigret and the Lazy Builder, GS
  8. A Sea of Trouble, Donna Leon  Guido Brunetti mysteries taking place in Venice.
  9. The Cask, Freeman Wills Croft, published in 1920 and starts with a dead body in a cask. The author worked on the railroad when he started writing and transportation timetables figured greatly in  this novel. Defiantly will try some of his others.
  10. Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse, GS
  11. Maigret and the Sunday Caller, GS
  12. Maigret and the Tramp, GS
  13. The Return of Fu Manchu, Sax Rohmer  Looking for the first of the series. Not as rude to non-british folks as expected. A good story.
  14. Willful Behaviour, Donna Leon
  15. Maigret Defends Himself, GS
  16. Death and the Dutch Uncle, Patricia Moyes. New author to me, quite good, will keep a look out for more.
  17. Maigret's Patience, GS
  18. In a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson
  19. Maigret's Pickpocket, GS
  20. An Unkindness of Ravens, Ruth Rendel
  21. The Treasure Hunt, Andrea Camilleri Inspector Montalbano
  22. The Shadow of Fu Manchum Sax Rohmer
  23. The Wrath of Fu Manchu, Sax Rohmer
  24. Aunti Poldi and the Vinyards of Etna, Mario Giordano
  25. The Crow Trap, Anne Cleeves A Vera novel
  26. Maigret and the Nahour  Case, GS
  27. Farewell my Lovely, Raymond Chandler Second Novel by Chandler, I only have the last 2 of his novels to read.
  28. Maigret in Vichy, GS
  29. Maigret Hesitates, GS
  30. The Temptation of Forgiveness, Donna Leon
  31. Maigret's Childhood Friend, GS
  32. Maigret and the Killer, GS
  33. Unto Us a Son is Given, Donna Leon
  34. Maigret and the Wine Merchant, GS
  35. Cabal, Michael Dibden From the Aurelio Zen series, takes place in and around the Vatican.
  36. Thin Air, Anne Cleeves Not a Vera novel.
  37. Maigret and the Loner, GS
  38. The Jewels of Paradise, Donna Leon  Story about Caterina Pellegrin and some work she picks up in Venice. Not a Guido Brunetti novel.
  39. The Last Unicorn, William deBuys NonFiction searching for an endangered species in Southeast Asia. Received by accident, not bad, a bit sad overall for many different reasons.
  40. The Terracotta Dog, Andrea Camilleri
  41. Wildfire, Anne Cleeves
  42. The Voice of the Violin, Andrea Camilleri
  43. Beating around the Bush, M. C. Beaton
  44. A Farmers Diary, Sally Urwin
  45. The Knowledge, Marth Grimes
  46. A Maigret Christmas and other stories, GS
  47. The Mistletoe Murders, P. D. James, short stories
  48. Harbour Street, Anne Cleeves