Fall Light, The Magic of Books and Brotherhood in Everyday Ramblings

The light has been spectacular here the last few days. I believe this is a pumpkin flower but it might be another kind of squash. I took this with my phone on my lunchtime walk yesterday.

I spent the afternoon making a summer squash gratin, a last gasp or grasp at better weather with yellow squash and zucchini. It is such a great recipe because it uses lots of squash. In a few weeks I’ll make the sister winter squash gratin recipe.

My migraine cluster finally cleared midweek and it is so nice not to have a headache and yesterday after work as I was getting the rest of my daily walking in I realized I was quite relaxed and felt a sense of contentment and ease.

So the four days off of everything did have a lovely payoff. I just didn’t experience it right away.

I still can’t eat sharp or really crunchy things (chips or popcorn are not an option) but for the first time in 6 months I am able to eat more like I prefer to and am having moments where I feel full and that is so marvelous.

The cats, however, are driving me crazy. Usually when I am cooking I can put them somewhere in the kitchen where they can supervise and after maybe five attempts to get up on the counter they will relax and take a nap or something but today Diego would not leave me alone.

I ended up having to put him in the bedroom while I finished. He kept trying to lick the oiled gratin pan. Sigh.

Oh well. He seems to have completely forgiven me as he is currently leaning up against my left hip and having a bath. Carlo just joined us.

So last month I was reading an electronic version of the first in the series Bruno: Chief of Police by Martin Walker recommended here by our Margitte. At the end I read what I thought was the teaser chapter for the next book so I went online to our library and ordered an electronic version of that book but I had to wait as there were a couple of holds.

When it became available two weeks ago I realized it was actually Book 5 in the series! In a completely irrational state of mind I decided what the heck I would try to read the three books in between.

It is like the literary equivalent of binge watching.

I am now most of the way through Book Four.

I also listened to the new Louise Penny, which I enjoyed much more than the last one. It isn’t quite as dark. Difficult things are going on but that sort of dark blanket of despair that infused the last book is offset by lots of tidbits from the crew in Three Pines.

Books are amazing things. We are amazing creatures to create them. When a story grabs us and won’t let us go it takes up our imagination and fills the landscape of our minds and we want to get back to it.

The books are always there with their special magic waiting to hook us and draw us in.

I often wonder what is next…

But for now I am in the French countryside inhaling layers of history and descriptions of wine and food and an unexpected birthday celebration and gift that was so touching it made me cry.

I love how words on a page can move us that way. That alchemy of brain and page (even electronic) that brings us to all the stuff that life as a human contains.

This usually only happens when I am totally crashed out. Carlo and Diego are all wrapped around each other and are both leaning against me.

It must have been all that effort in the kitchen wore them out.