Floral Friday - Dogwood Winter

This past week we've been experiencing what is known as dogwood winter in the South. Some time between mid-April and mid-May when the dogwood trees are in full bloom we'll have winter-like weather where you're turning the furnace back on and looking for socks. A welcome reprieve, because in just a couple of weeks we go from glorious spring to sultry summer. And I begin to complain about the weather. . .

This morning I walked through the yard gathering these flowers that are at their peak of bloom and loving the cool dogwood winter weather. Claiming center of attention is pink dogwood. Can you believe the size of these blooms? Along the edge of the vase you see the lovely--almost like lacecap hydrangea--blooms of the doublefile viburnum. I love the deeply ridged, bold leaves of this shrub as well. And to finish out the color scheme, there are a few reddish-purple leaved branches of the Japanese bloodgood maple. This tree is magical when the sunlight sparkles on the leaves.

To complete this floral arrangement, notice the watercolor lily postcard on the stand. It's an original painting of "Lilium Nutmegger" from a postcard exchange friend in Helsinki, Finland. It's clear why this lily is called the nutmeg lily, isn't it?

Well, I hope you have lovely flowers blooming in your yard and a free weekend to enjoy them.

Teaser Tuesday Books - One Woman's War

Teaser Tuesday is a great way for serious book lovers to share their current reading lists with other bookish types. I've participated for only two weeks and already my list of interesting books is growing. This meme is hosted by Miz B over at Should be Reading . Sometimes you read a book that has been made into a film, which can be a real bonus if you love the book. That's the case for my selection this week. I read the book and then was able to see the film on Netflix Instant Play.

Teaser Tuesday rules:

--Grab your current read,
--open to a random page,
--share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on the page,
--be careful not to include a spoiler,
--share the title, author and, if you like, a brief synopsis to help other TT participants decide if they want to read your book, and
--post your link in the comments on Miz B's webpage.



A Woman in Berlin
Eight Weeks in the Conquered City, A Diary
by Anonymous

"Damn this to hell! I say it out loud. Then I make up my mind.
No question about it: I have to find a single wolf to keep away the pack. An officer, as high ranking as possible, a commandant, a general, whatever I can manage." p. 64

Synopsis: In April 1945, Berlin fell to the Russian army. For four months a young German woman, a reporter and traveler before the war, kept a daily diary of her life and that of other residents in their bombed out apartment building. The anonymous author depicts her fellow Berliners in all their humanity--craven, hungry, manipulative, sharing and neighborly whenever possible. More than anything, the diary reveals how civilians interacted with their foreign occupiers--especially the women who suffered unspeakable indignities and violence--including mass rapes of thousands of women regardless of age or infirmity.

This diary is amazing because it is free of self pity, expresses no political views, and absent of overt emotion. This matter-of-fact account is even more chilling when you think that the author was not even 30 years old and surviving--barely--on her own, subjected daily to physical violence at the hands of many soldiers, hunger and forced labor. The author required that her publisher keep her identity secret because of the violent public reaction to the diary as dishonoring German women and embarrassing their men for not being able to protect them. She died in 2001.

Here is the film trailer for the U.S. release in mid 2000. Like the book, the film shows us what it was like for Anonymous to survive from day to day in a rubble of a city:


The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Let Anonymous stand witness as she wished to: as an undistorted voice for all women in war and its aftermath, whatever their names or nation or ethnicity." A Woman in Berlin is not an easy book to read or film to see, but I'm glad that I did.

They're Baack!

For a couple of months in early spring I'm a reluctant landlady. Just last week I spotted signs of new home construction in the viburnum in front of my house--straw,dead grass and a lot of fresh chat from the construction workers every time I walked past the building site. Yes, the Robin Redbreasts have moved
in again and started a new family. They've been squatting on Summit Court property for many years now. Each year I try to negotiate the terms of their lease, but they always win out. The Robin Redbreasts don't care that building their home and accompanying nursery interferes with spring planting and sprucing up the landscape for the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May.


Before the viburnum grew large enough for the Redbreasts to build in it, they used the window boxes along the front of the house. In mid-March I planted cool season pansies for a touch of color as winter ended. The Redbreasts used the window boxes for their condos. Very handy as there was already some good mulch around the pansies that they could use for nest building.

By mid-April the nests were usually full of fat little fledglings, so many that they threatened to tumble each other out of the nests. Each time I passed their digs I gave them my best landlady lecture. It went like this: "Okay, I'm warning you all that it's time for you to learn to fly and quit depending on your parents to feed you. If you're not out of here by the last week of April, I will evict you. I am ready to plant the summer window boxes for Derby." This is how a Derby window box should look. Note: absent the Redbreast nursery.

So, I spent the last weeks of April designing that year's color and plant scheme--looks like pink impatiens, white daisies, and English ivy this year. Then I hit the greenhouses for flats of flowers while the pickings were still good. Finally, before landlady and tenants came to words, I would see the fledglings diving out of their nest, doing a belly flop in the driveway, but finally working out how to fly. Finally! I could remove their condo and plant Derby window boxes. Truthfully, I hope the Redbreasts will come back next year. It's tradition.

Bonus photo above, taken this morning: this is how a double (single?-I forgot) file viburnum looks in full bloom. Gorgeous! Later in the season it will have clusters of jewel red berries that the birds love to eat.

Teaser Tuesday -- What are You Reading?

Teaser Tuesday is described by its host Miz B over at Should be Reading as a "weekly bookish meme" open to anyone who enjoys peeping at other people's bookshelves.

The rules are simple:

--Grab your current read,
--open to a random page,
--share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on the page,
--be careful to not include a spoiler,
--share the title and author--and a very brief synopsis--so that other Tuesday Teaser participants can add the book to their TBR lists if your teaser piques their interest, and
--post your link in the comments on Miz B's webpage.




Lunch in Paris, A Love Story with Recipes
by Elizabeth Bard

"And then there was Paris--beautiful, slightly inaccessible Paris, like a girl who lures you close with her ruffles and her scent, then leaves you in the doorway, cold and alone with the barest hint of a good-night kiss. I felt like I was standing on the doorstep of a culture, and I wasn't sure if anyone was ever going to let me in. I couldn't just say yes to Gwendal. I had to say yes to Paris too." p. 109

Synopsis: American girl travels to Paris and meets a tap dancing PhD researcher in computer science. They share many lunches in Paris bistros and breakfast croissants in his chilly walkup flat. American girl soon discovers two passions--French cuisine and Gwendal. She moves to Paris and learns to navigate the open food markets and cook in Gwendal's cramped apartment. Gwendal asks her to marry him and proves he's serious by putting her name on the water bill--proof of legitimacy in Paris bureaucracy. Will the American girl accept the challenge and learn to live and love in the most romantic of cities?

About the "with Recipes" part of the book title. Each chapter concludes with a recipe for a French dish that was eaten as part of the story line. You too can try your cooking skills by making Gateau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake), Soup a' l'Oignon Gratinee ("Better Than French" Onion Soup), or Riz au Lait au Calvados (Rice Pudding with Drunken Raisins).

Here's a photo of Elizabeth and Gwendal:



I'm thinking happy ending. . .

If you'd like to read a bit of Elizabeth's blog, here's the link: Lunch in Paris

(Photography credit: Cindi de Channes)

TurboChimp

Apparently the Geek Squad is right when she says that even a chimpanzee could figure out how to file its tax return using TurboTax. I proved it at 5:00 a.m. this morning by successfully working through TurboTax's program for filing 2009 income tax.

I'm really lucky to have a personal Geek Squad as a buddy. J has taught me a lot about technology over the years. In fact, there's only one area where I outshine her--Facebooking. That I figured out on my own recently. But back to TurboTax. I've felt that I needed to be able to file my own income tax returns for several years. Lord knows my finances are anything but complicated. So J and I have had many conversations about how user friendly the program is. She was so right. Late last night I gathered all my '09 records and, like a child being led through the woods, methodically entered all the information and answered all the questions. As I suspected--feared?--the outcome was pretty bad, but I now have a hard copy ready to sign and mail to the IRS by April 15. Along with my first born. . .

Oddly enough I was watching the National Geographic biopic Darwin's Darkest Hour yesterday. Darwin had a lot to say about chimpanzees and scientific approaches to solving problems. This period drama is set in 1858 when Darwin was suffering major personal and professional crises. Two of his young children were gravely ill with diphtheria. Professionally, he was in danger of having his research scooped by another naturalist on his theory of natural selection or evolution. Darwin's sounding board for this dilemma was his wife Emma. Emma was a very religious woman who loved the scientist Darwin despite their different beliefs. Darwin was keenly aware of the public turmoil, especially in the church, that publication of The Origin of the Species would cause.

So, Darwin seeks Emma's advice about whether the time was right to publish and she quoted this back to Darwin:

Step by step. Method in all things.

And I thought: Whoa! Excellent advice. Whenever we have a problem or challenge to deal with, the best thing to do is break it down into steps that can be methodically managed. That's how problems are solved and good decisions made. Whether it's getting your taxes done or publishing a book that's going to change the way people think about their world.

(Credit for chimpanzee image: http://www.solarnavigator.net)

Teaser Tuesday -- Sharing Great Reads

Teaser Tuesday is described by its host Miz B over at Should be Reading as a "weekly bookish meme" open to any reader who wants to play along. If, like me, you're always curious about what people are reading or always on the lookout for the next great read, then this may be your meme.

The rules are simple:

--Grab your current read,
--open to a random page,
--share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on the page,
--be careful not to include a spoiler,
--share the title and author--and a very brief synopsis--so that other Tuesday Teaser participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser, and
--post your link in the comments on Miz B's webpage.



ONE GOOD DOG by Susan Wilson

Adam: "Doesn't matter. I told you: I'm not keeping him."

Gina: "Give him a chance. Haven't you ever needed someone to give you a chance?"

Adam: "I have always made my own chances."

p. 142

Synopsis: Arrogant self-made businessman Adam March has everything that money and power can buy. Then in one afternoon he loses everything in an office meltdown--job, status, family. He is sentenced to a year of community service serving lunch in a homeless shelter to men he would never have had anything to do with in his old life.

In another part of the city a pit bull mix lives out his life in a cellar as fighter in dog fighting ring. They are thrown together through mistaken identity. One Good Dog is the unsentimental, but deeply moving, story of how man and dog saved each other. If you liked Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain for the way the dog has its own narrative in the story, you will love One Good Dog.

Taxing Monday

If you're looking for a Fun Monday posting here, sorry. There will no joy on Summit Musings on April 5. Instead, it's going to be Tax Monday. By the time Dancing with the Stars gets in full swing at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night, I am determined to complete both federal and state income tax returns--without the help of my long time CPA. This is a rather daunting decision to go it alone, but I figure the time has come add the TurboTax notch to my technology belt. Everyone says the program is simple enough that a chimpanzee could use it--we'll see. . .


I will leave you with this wonderful sign of spring--the most beautiful fuchsia and lime colored hydrangeas from Ilnacullen Garden on Garinish Island, County Cork, Ireland--1998 garden tour.

Wish me the luck of the Irish with Tax Monday.