LOL, Arley. I'm not an opera fan but Elery is, so I'm going to show this to him, he'll love it. One of the local malls here often has a piano player on Saturdays. The older gentleman who accompanies the pianist sometimes gives impromptu waltz lessons to willing bystanders, and that's kind of fun. Annie

Finished William Cooper's Scenes from Provincial Life last night. In spite of being an "angry young man" novel, I found it to be a rather charming and bittersweet story about young people in a middling English town in the last few months before the outbreak of World War II. It seems the World Wars (I & II, not Z) are a recurring theme in my reading this year. I am following the discussion of young people and fashion with amusement. Perhaps it is a sign of age but I can not abide young women wearing bare flimsy mid-drift tops. I don't care whether she is a fashion model or not, but these tops are extremely unflattering to most bodies. Fortunately the sagging pant look for young men never really caught on where I live. It seems to me to be a more urban phenomenon. Don't get me started on tattoos! I am old enough to remember when they were very counter-culture and very working class. Now every privileged, entitled young person has at least one tattoo, in spite of the health risks. A tattoo parlor in my area was shut down a few years ago because the operator was reusing needles. Is it really worth contracting hepatitis just to get something you will be sick of in a few years time?

Last week I finished Laurie Graham's Gone With The WIndsors, which I chose because of discussions about it here at RP. Thank you! I loved this book. True, much of the book is funny, mainly because of dear, ditzy Maybell's telling of the tale. But it is also a great commentary on the culture and values of Britain's elite at the time. And underlying it all is the approach of WW2, with "Mr. Hitler" being the subject of casual dinner conversation. Graham has created deeply lovable characters in this story. So am continuing with Graham, now reading The Importance of Being Kennedy, told from the standpoint of an invented children's nanny. This is a more serious book, with a startling castigation of Rose Kennedy and, to a lesser extent, Patriarch Joe, and a lot of sympathy for the downstairs folk, the "help". Graham is an unusual writer, and she depicts various cultures - British, Irish, American - with tremendous skill. I'll be looking for more from her.

Put down the Kim Edwards book of short stories. They just weren't reading well and when it takes four or more days for me to finish a book, that's a sign of problems for the book (i.e. I don't like it). So now on to "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood which will be a quick read. I am loving it so far. Going to a Witches' Brew tea party this afternoon. I have my hat ready and will be dressed in black. Anyone care to come with me?