What I read in 2018

Before the first month of 2019 is over I thought I want to write at least one post for my blog. I can't believe that I haven't written anything since we said goodbye to 2018 - this month just flew by in all its busy-ness. But finally I'm here, and what better topic to write about than books?

My book shelves are still in a state of complete disorganization, but thanks to my Kindle Paperwhite I didn't add many new books to the chaos. I did, however, add a lot to the Kindle.

I read 61 books in 2018 and put them all in my "read" folder - I like this way of organizing books.

I also list them chronologically in a big notebook - title, author and when I finished it. If I particularly enjoyed a book it gets a little star at the title - when I look back at the list I realize that I enjoyed quite a good amount of books last year. This is the way it should be, right?

Some of the novels that I loved are "War Brides" by Helen Bryan, "Cara's House" by Annie Katz, "The House between Tides" by Sarah Maine, "The Forgotten Girl" by Kerry Barrett (wow, what a story!), "Whisper Me This" by Kerry Anne King, "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" by Mark Sullivan and "The Secret" by Kathryn Hughes. For some reason I fell in love with "Red Mountain" by Boo Walker which is not even an outstanding book, but it's a sweet story and I like almost all of the characters. That doesn't happen very often.

My favorite book, however, was "The Keeper of Secrets" by Julie Thomas. The title suggests chick lit, but it's anything but. It's the story of a special Guarnieri violin from the 1930's in Nazi Germany through the time of the Soviet Union to present day America. It's gripping, often sad, and beautiful. I learned a lot about violins and music in general. When I was done I had to listen to Bach's violin concerto that is mentioned in the book and re-discovered my love for classical music.

As some of you know I also enjoy reading mysteries. I hard started the "Huntress" series by Alexandra Sokoloff in 2017 and read the remaining four "moons" in 2018 ("Blood Moon", "Cold Moon", "Bitter Moon" and "Hunger Moon") and think there are more "moons" to come. It's actually not a mystery but downright thrillers. The interesting thing is that the reader roots both for the detective and the murderess (who also develop some feelings for each other). It's not so much a "who done it" but "why" and the entire background story. I was going through a whole range of feelings while reading these books and they have never quite left me. Another author of mysteries is Viveca Sten, a Swedish writer whose books I discovered this year. The Sandhamn Murders series takes place on a small island (Sandhamn) near Stockholm and not only deal with the crimes but with the daily life and its challenges of the main characters. The first in the series is "Still Waters" and I would start out with that (the Sandhamn Murders as well as The Huntress series should be read in the right order to fully understand what's going on).

Of course I also read German literature. I re-visited one of my favorite writers of short stories, Wolfgang Borchert, who died in 1947 at the age of only 26. One of his most endearing stories is "Nachts schlafen die Ratten doch" (The rats do sleep at night), that in all its sadness and desperation is uplifting in the end. I have decided to use my German language students as guinea pigs and read this story in class.

One of the books I used the most is this one - my trusted Sibley.

In my opinion it is one of the best guides to birds, and so far I have found in here every unknown bird to me I ever saw. I only wish it came with a disk or a link to the sounds of the birds as well.

Other books I consulted over the year or looked into over and over again are these ones:

Shortly before Christmas my private student gifted me a beautiful book in a sturdy box and with a giclée print of one of the paintings of the artist. It is about the art of painter and naturalist Thomas Quinn who grew up and lived in Marin County (the county between here and San Francisco). It shows many if not most of his watercolors as well as quotes and poems, some written by Quinn himself. The book is exquisitely done (my student was the printer of that book) and a true treasure.

Now let's go back to reading, shall we?

An Image and Its Story - December 2018

Northern California winters - at least here at the coast - are mild ones with the occasional freezing nights and chilly days. Clear days and nights mean colder weather - and stunning sunsets. Somehow. the winter sunsets are so much more brilliant than the ones in summer. The colors are bolder and there are way more pink and red shades in the evening sky. The same, by the way, goes for sunrises.

December had some amazing sunsets for us. I saw this one from our upstairs window, grabbed my camera and went outside and further down the street. I knew that this tree would be the perfect silhouette for the sky. Bare trees are my weak spot, and this one is a preferred resting place for dozens of crows during the day. I once saw a hawk perching on a branch and observing its surroundings (no crows in its vicinity at that time!). The tree stands just at the edge of a lovely meadow that is home to our beloved neighborhood donkey.

While I'm writing this it's raining - much needed and therefore more than welcome. No gorgeous sunsets for the next few days.

December Reflections

In Germany we call this time between Christmas and New Year's Eve "between the years" (zwischen den Jahren). It's a time when we often have a break and consequently more free time - time to reflect on the year that is almost over and looking towards the new year that's almost here. I'm off work from both the high school and the German School right now which is a more than welcome break from the quite hectic days at both schools. Kaefer has been home since the third weekend in December and will be here for another week before she, too, needs to get back to the work and college life.

I do love the more quiet time after Christmas. Since we celebrate on Christmas Eve as is our German tradition, Christmas Day itself was very relaxing with playing games and cooking (and eating) a good meal for dinner. Kaefer and I did a complete re-run of all the Downton Abbey episodes - binge watching at its best for almost two weeks - and enjoyed the Christmas special of "Call the Midwife", our favorite TV series. We were invited to a lovely 65th birthday party which resulted in some great dancing and lots of laughter. The clutter in my studio has bugged me for a long time and I finally cleaned out at lot of stuff and brought it to the thrift store that specializes crafts supplies. I have been working in the garden - there has been a lot of trimming back and I'm still not done. We had frosty mornings and mild days - oh, how do I love the Northern Californian winter. We also had some heavy rain which is always much needed in this area, and it has kept away the fears of wildfires for now.

Good old-fashioned German Glühwein

For the entire month of December I have joined Susannah Conway's "December reflections 2018" challenge on Instagram which I enjoyed very much and is a beautiful tool to go back and reflect about the year. If you want to you can see the results on my Instagram.

This was a mixed year and not everything was good. But when I look back it's mainly the good thinks that stand out for me - our trip to Istanbul, a Turkish wedding, traveling in Turkey and Ireland. 10 marvelous days on the Big Island where we could enjoy the wild beauty of Puna before many parts of it were consumed by the lava spilling out of fissure 8 a few months later. Some lovely hikes and seeing how nature bounces back after the devastating wildfires of October 2017. We're seeing burned down neighborhoods springing back to life, fire survivors re-building their homes. Our daughter was traveling in Europe on her own, then going to Dubai and finally to Cape Town where she was doing an internship in two hospitals, experiencing a completely different life. It is delightful to see the young woman she is growing into.

The last of the roses in December, "Anna's Promise"

But I also felt a bit in a rat hole. November and the first part of December have been very busy in my shop and I was constantly knitting - my hats sold like hot cakes. It's lovely, of course, but I do feel that I would also love to knit something else. Over the past two weeks I have started to knit a baby sweater which I enjoy, and a cat pillow that is not quite as fun to knit as I had thought. However, I would also love to go back to painting. I actually did paint a bit over the summer and it felt so good to have paint on my hands again. So I decided to enroll in a year long online class, hoping that my creative juices will flow a bit more easily again. I also took part in a short five-day journaling class - actually "took part" is not quite the correct term since I mainly took notes, but it gave me a considerable amount to think about. Wonderful beginnings for 2019.

For the new year I wish that my family and friends stay healthy and happy. I hope that our country will be kinder than it is right now and that common sense finds its way back here.

To all of you a lovely 2019 - may the new year give you many reasons to laugh and experience the joy of life.

Sunset on Christmas Eve

An Image and Its Story - November 2018

When it comes to taking photos, November pretty much didn't happen. For almost two weeks I couldn't get out of the house (except for short grocery shopping trips and driving to work) because of the bad air quality, and when I did I certainly wasn't in the mood spending much time taking photos (try holding a camera in front of your eyes without pushing the filtered mask you're wearing deeper into your face all the time...). On top of that I was very busy in both my jobs and my small business that everything that was not somehow connected to these was simply left undone.

But then it was Thanksgiving and that meant driving to Davis to pick up Kaefer (and dropping her off again a few days later). That's when the photos happened! The drive to Davis was during the first rain when the air finally started to improve. I couldn't resist stopping my car and getting out to photograph those fog covered vineyards in the Napa Valley; and on the Sunday, it was sunny and clear and again, I stopped in Napa Valley to capture the vineyard right before the sunset.

The grapes in the foreground were already in the shade of the mountains, but the colors were so beautiful and vibrant. Whenever I passed this particular vineyard I always loved the look of the rows of grapes with the wind machines in between. Quite handily there's a small bay by the road where I could stop safely without blocking other traffic. The wind machines are used to blow warmer air from above into the grapes when there is frost - yes, we do have frost here. Frost for grapes is bad - that's why there are so many wind machines in our vineyards. I find them quite picturesque.

We may not have the spectacular autumn colors of trees like in New England, but our vineyards make up for that big time. Depending on the grape you can find all shades from light yellow to a deep burgundy red. It is a brilliant show that I enjoy every year.

Rainbow Umbrellas

Our lovely stroll through the Küçük Ayasofya neighborhood finally ended in the Kumkapı Quarter in the Fatih District in Istanbul where we met with some other members of our German-Turkish family and eventually had dinner (yes, food is quite important in Turkey!). The Kumkapı Quarter is crowded with fish and seafood restaurants. Good thing we had our Istanbul family who knew which ones were worth a visit!

But it was the umbrellas in the colors of the rainbow that drew my attention.

How lovely to see this special style of street decoration in this part of the old city. This is so much fun, a light-hearted way that lets everybody smile, whether you want it or not. I felt like dancing through the alleys, passing by all those restaurants with their outdoor seating, light and without any worries.

I simply loved all the outdoor restaurants in Istanbul. It gets really lively in the evening and further into the night. It is a joyful atmosphere with lots of laughter and delicious food.

Turkish people like color. You can see it in their handmade rugs, often in their clothes, the umbrellas of course and all the beautiful lights that are hanging from the ceiling.

When it gets darker, the light starts to glow and it's almost magical. Oh how much I miss this!

A propos umbrellas - we're finally expecting some rain over Thanksgiving and on-shore winds that hopefully blow away the smoke. It's been almost two weeks that we have been living in extremely unhealthy air. I can't wait to finally open the windows again and get some fresh air into the house. Something to be deeply grateful for.

The wildfires have been devastating for the people in Butte County and especially the small town of Paradise (not Pleasure!). With 76 people dead and still over 700 unaccounted for this has been the most destructive wildfire in California. We only suffer from poor air quality, but their lives are forever changed.

Smoky Skies

On Thursday halfway through the morning our skies slowly darkened to an unhealthy gray when smoke and ash were pushed into our region. The sunlight turned orange and it was hard to see the sun at all.

But the worst was the smell. It triggered memories of last year's October fires and heightened anxiety.

The smoke and ash comes from the rapidly spreading wildfire in Butte Canyon, about 100 miles from where I live. While I'm writing this, the fire has become the most destructive wildfire in California (surpassing "our" fire, what a sad record) with a death toll of 42 and the town of Paradise almost completely wiped out. Hell on earth.

Schools were closed here on Friday because of the poor air quality and they are closed again today (yesterday was Veterans Day, so they were closed anyway) which gives me a day off. To be honest though, I'd rather go to work and be able to breathe fresh air. We take fresh air for granted - until we don't have it anymore. Since Thursday I haven't been able to open my windows and can only be outside wearing an N95 mask. I crave fresh air. The smoke is so thick that I can't see my beloved Mount Bennett from our bedroom window. The first two days my lungs hurt and I had difficulties breathing. The Geek still does.

But these are small "sacrifices" compared to what the people in Butte County (and burning areas in Southern California as well) are going through right now. On the one hand I revisit all the emotions and despair that we felt a year and a month ago, on the other hand it is beyond my imagination to picture a community that has been extinguished within less than a day. I have no idea where these people will go to, how they will deal with the loss of their homes AND community, how they will go through the next weeks and months. So many people have lost their lives in this inferno.

It is heart breaking. How often have I said these words...

There is the Northern California Fire Relief Fund that I donated to (feeling completely helpless) and I just pass this on. We had a similar fund last year for "our" fires and it did a lot of financial help. From the experience of my friends who lost everything in the Tubbs and Nuns fires I know that every little bit helps.

The smoke makes for glorious sunrises and sunsets. It always amazes me how close horror and beauty are. Photo on top was taken on Friday morning, one day after the fire started. Second photo was shortly before sunset on Friday night and the last one is the sunrise on Saturday morning.

Night of Lights

In 2010, when I was still writing for Vision and Verb, I wrote this post about a special November tradition we have in Germany. Since we just celebrated this tradition with the children's classes at German Language School yesterday evening I thought it a good opportunity to post it on my blog as well.

November is a pretty gray month in Germany. Days of fog follow days of overcast skies, with the sun only making rare appearances. Except for the first day of the month (All Saints) when in the Catholic parts of the country candles appear on gravesites in the cemeteries, the month offers mainly dark and somber holidays: Volkstrauertag (our kind of Memorial Day), Buß- und Bettag (Day of Prayer and Repentance, a protestant holiday that is not an official holiday any longer) and Day of the Dead which also marks the end of the church year. All these holidays are very subdued and perfectly fit the somber mood of a German November.

However, almost midthrough the month, on November 11^th, lights glow in the dark accompanied by the sweet little voices of children happily singing the old folksong “Ich geh mit meiner Laterne” (I walk with my lantern). Yes, it is Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day), not an official holiday at all, but a beautiful tradition. On this day, children all over Germany remember St. Martin of Tours, who was a soldier in the Roman Army (around 330 A.D.) and became famous when he cut his woolen coat in two parts with his sword and gave one part to a beggar. He later left the army and became a monk.

Today, children create their own paper lanterns, often in preschool, kindergarten and elementary school. These lanterns come in all shapes and sizes, from simple to elaborate – and in the evening of November 11^th as well as the days around this date, the young children go out in the streets with their lit lanterns and sing those old folksongs. It is a sweet sound in all the hectic day-to-day noise, a moment to pause and listen to the beautiful tunes, look at the young faces and notice the enthusiasm and joy the children show.

They bring light into our night, music to our ears and joy to our hearts.

A beautiful tradition that I hope will never vanish.