The creaking of the boards on the weathered bow

Posted on by Shawshank

Tiny town is a weird place. At noon every day, an air raid siren goes off. It’s to tell everyone to close up shop for either a half or a full hour to take lunch. I’ve now learned when I go to the post office after lunch, I’m picking up the mail from yesterday. So when I went down today, hoping for my book, it wasn’t there.

I wasn’t mad, just disappointed, that I’d have to wait until Monday for my book. Canada Post doesn’t deliver on the weekends (something I still have to get used too). Don’t even get me started on PO boxes!


So once we figured that out, a way I went again to the post office, and found the package slip. I brought that to the counter and got my book. I raced home and ripped open the box. I had to smile at the faces my mom and Gramma had when they what looks like an old library book! My god, it even smells like an old book!

Now, broke my rule a little an read a little bit, but my attention kept getting pulled away by the TV. So I’ll wait until Shady Acres goes to sleep to really jump into it for a half hour or so. It’s really going to test my ability to juggle 2 stories at once with all the words and different fonts on the page.

Shatter with words impossible to follow

Posted on by Shawshank

Good morning, happy Friday. If you’re reading this, y’all made it. It’s almost the weekend. Quiet start to the day here at Shady Acres. Bread is being made. Another couple of hours, and we’ll be heading into SlightlyBiggerTown to get my mom’s meds.

And since it’s Friday, I should have some mail. A book that I asked myom to order for me. Like I told Crystal, it’s the first thing I asked my mom for. Originally, my mom and dad were supposed to go to CapitalCity to get some parts for a combine. My mom didn’t exactly know where they’d be in the city, opted to order it instead. And it should be here today. I’ll go out after lunch to see if it’s at the post office.

I remembered yesterday that Crystal was learning German on Duolingo, so I jumped up and got the app, and started learning yesterday. I spent about 45 minutes yesterday stumbling through the lessons. I achieved level 2 by pure luck. This morning, I logged in, and with skill and perfection, made it to level 3 in just a few lessons. Ich bin ein mann.

It was so hot iny bedroom (hot hot was it?!), I had a terrible time falling and staying asleep. I was so very stuffed up. Mix that with weird Mad Max: Fury Road dreams (remind me to stop watching car shows before bed), it was a long night. But, tonight I know I’ll sleep better.

By Foucault’s Pendulum, now you’re hanged

Posted on by Shawshank

Guess what kids? It’s the for another book review! I’m trying to do them I’m the order that Crystal sent them to me (and in the order I read them in). So next up on the reading list is “Foucaults Pendulum” by Umberto Eco. And if you really like mystery, conspiracy theories, murder, and mayhem, you’re going to like this. Only if you pay attention. Trust me, I had to read it twice, to understand most of it.

The book starts off in the thick of the action. The main character, Casaubon, is hiding in the Parisian Technical Museum after it’s closed for the day. His hiding from a secret society that kidnapped his friend. Jacobo. The rest of the book is presented in flashbacks.

Again, I’m afraid of spoiling all the cool stuff. Because there’s a lot of really cool stuff in this book. If you really like conspiracy theories, you’re gonna like this book just because this whole book is pretty much 700+ pages of conspiracy theories.

The action starts right away, but with the help of the flashbacks, it really turns into a glorious slow burn. Now most books that are described as a “slow burn”, are so slow, they’re almost dead in the water (I’m looking at you, The Goldfinch…), But this slow burn is continuously building the story, and slowly pushing forward. Trust me, it’s worth it.

The above picture is Foucault’s Pendulum. Honestly, one of the characters in the book. I had no idea what it looked like. It’s huge, and looking at it now, sets a beautiful stage for the last act of the book.

I think the best way to describe this book, is kind of like the chicken or the egg. I’ll let you think on that, as you head over to your book ordering system of choice. Don’t forget to get it express shipped to you!

And the music there it was hauntingly familiar

Posted on by Shawshank

Finally, I woke up and no one else was awake. For 15 minutes. But it was a nice and quiet 15 minutes. I managed to brew some coffee, and get most of the first cup in me, before conversation started.

So today was the day that we were supposed to be going into SlightlyBiggerTown to get the oil changed on my mom’s truck, go grocery shopping, etc. But the dealership only wants the owner of the vehicle to be in the dealership – thanks to the pandemic. So mom will just go, get the oil changed, and just the bare minimum for groceries. Tomorrow, when we have to go into YetAnotherSlightlyBiggerTown, to get my mom’s meds, we’ll do the grocery shopping. Get it? Good! I don’t wanna repeat myself.

So when my mom gets back, I’ll walk a pile of stuff over to the second hand store. Mom’s been cleaning out her craft room, so the majority of stuff is coming out of there, with a mix of some clothing in there as well. There might be enough for a second trip, but I’m gonna try to get it all in one shot, if I can.

It’s getting hot in here

Posted on by Shawshank

Yeah, it’s warm. It’s 99f or 37c here. It’s warm enough that I can’t concentrate on reading because the book is sticking to me, and I’m sticking to it. My mom is considering putting the cats out in the trailer, where she can turn on the AC.

She asked me this morning to think about something light and cool to make so she’s not standing in front of the stove all night. I suggested that I can BBQ, and take all the heat. She didn’t want more leftovers, she she’ll be reheating chilli and making some Kraft Dinner.

Thankfully, usually about 7ish, it starts to cool off a little bit. At least it did last night. With the heat so bad, a lot of the people that I usually see walking around, are staying indoors. I mean it’s hot, yes. But there’s no humidity! It’s a dry heat baby!