Electricity Vampires

I’m not sure that this is an extensive enough change to really be considered an experiment, but I’ve decided that the next thing I am going to work on in my sustainability/low impact journey are electricity Vampires.  To this end, I first made an energy audit of my apartment.  I live in a one bedroom place with a great-room/living area, a galley kitchen, a bathroom, and a laundry room/pantry.  The bathroom doesn’t have any electrical gadgets — yes really, I don’t use any heat on my hair —  except the overhead lighting.  Both the laundry room and the kitchen have large appliances that I have to leave plugged in because their plugs are not accessible; I have no choice.  Otherwise, there are no electronics in the laundry room and I will plug in all kitchen small appliances on an as needed basis. 

At this point, I was left with two rooms in my energy audit: my bedroom and the main living area

For each of the rooms I categorized the electronics into three categories

1. Things that must always be on
2. Things that I would like to be attached to a light switch
3. Things that I will plug in as needed

So, for example, in the living area, the cat’s water fountain needs to always be on because I want to make sure he is properly hydrated.  I also plan to leave the television and the cable box plugged in constantly because they are a pain in the but to constantly reprogram.  That said, I don’t really use them that often — maybe once a week at the most — so I may re-evaluate in the future.  I decided that I would like two things to be attached to the light switch: the lamp and the router.  Both the lamp and the router are used on a daily basis when I am home, but not used at all if I am away.  Finally, in the plug in as needed category I have my sewing machine, my printer, and my iron.  Weirdly enough, I probably use all of them more often than I use the television, but all of them are immediately accessible when plugged in, so they make better candidates for this category.  

Now on to the bedroom.  Here there was not really anything that needs to constantly be on.  The closest is the lamp next to my bed which I use for night time reading.  I suppose it could be plugged and unplugged daily, but that seems a little inconvenient — still I might give it a try.  On the light switch I have the larger lamp that lights the whole room.  Finally, I put all my computer paraphernalia on one surge protector that I can switch off when I am not here, and possibly more importantly, while I am sleeping.  No need to add all those extra lights to my sleeping area.  

As of today every thing has been reconfigured, so now I just need to remember to turn off the bedroom surge protector at the appropriate times.  We will see how that goes…

Book 23. The Eight – Katherine Neville

 In 782 Ibn-al-Arabi, the Muslim governor of Barcelona, sent Charlemagne an exquisite chess set in honor of his 40th birthday and in thanks for his aid against the Pyrenees Basques.  It was made completely of silver and gold, and each piece was set with precious stones.  On this chess set, Charlemagne played a game against the most accomplished chess player in his kingdom. The wager: a portion of Charlemagne’s kingdom and his daughter’s hand in marriage or beheading on the spot.  The chess master won, and was gifted the region of Montglane and the chess set was forever known as the Montglane service.  Over the years, rumors grew up around The Montglane Service, saying that it held the key to ultimate power for those who possessed the entire set.  I was buried at Montglane Abbey, falling into the realm of myth until the French Revolution stirred up old memories…

 With this background presented in the prologue, the majority of The Eight is a dual perspective narrative.  First, in 1790, cousins Valentine and Mireille are novices at Montglane Abbey.  With the stirrings of the French Revolution in the air, the Abbess gets wind that the world forces are interested in the Montglane Service.  Fearing for its safety, she closes down the abbey and sends portions of the chess set with the departing nuns.  Valentine and Mireille are given two such pieces and set to a guardian in Paris as a rallying point for any nun that might find herself in need of aid.  

 Second, in 1972, Catherine Velis is a computer programer working for a Big Eight accounting firm.  After refusing a (rather illegal) request from a higher up, Catherine is punished by being sent to Algeria to work with the newly started OPEC.  After getting the news, Catherine goes to a  New Year’s Eve party at the behest of Harry Rad, an older friend who hopes she will be a good influence on his chess master daughter.  At the party, a mysterious fortune teller warns Catherine that she is in danger and not to let anyone know her birthdate.  As her time in New York draws to a close, the danger Catherine is in becomes more clear and it seems to be wrapped up in the Montglane Service. 

 

I picked up this book because it is an example of one of my favorite genres that is not really a genre.  I love stories that involve a historical ‘mystery’ that are presented both in the past as the events are taking place and in the future as someone tries to solve the mystery around those events.  Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this novel nearly as much as I have enjoyed others of the genre (like Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth and Sepulchre or A.S. Byatt’s Possession).  

First, there was a little too much heavy-handed foreshadowing for me; the type of explicit foreshadowing like “If only I had know how important that information would be…”  It seemed like there was a similar line in every chapter while the author tried to get Catherine into the game.  

Second, the introduction of known historical figures was also very heavy handed.  I kept hearing some duh-don music in my head as each name was revealed.  Possibly the most egregious example of this was the introduction of Benedict Arnold.  

“The perhaps you could see your way clear to write another letter in my behalf to your president? I hear he is difficult to see…”

“I’m afraid I’m the one man whose reference would put you farther from his door,” said the other with a grim smile.   “Permit me to introduce myself. I am Benedict Arnold.” <end section>

 Then there was the insta-romance.  There was no notion of any romance for the first 500 and some pages of the 600 page book.  Then all the sudden there were boat based sexy-times (like in the wreckage of a storm, boat based sexy-times) between two characters who are on their fourth meeting.  The book even references the fact that it is their fourth meeting during the passage.  (And it should be noted, that during their first three meetings, she thought there was a possibility that he was trying to kill her — so not exactly your standard foreplay.) 

Finally, while I was reading the ‘modern’ narrative I kept forgetting that it was supposed to be set in the seventies.  Of course, there were no cell phones, but other than that, with the exception of no one knowing what OPEC is, it seemed much later.  I suppose a lot of that came from that fact that the main character was a computer programmer, which I would not expect for the seventies.  I mean, I know that some computers existed at the time, but their functionality was different enough that I would have expected to notice.  But the novel was published in 1988, so the author should know more of the 70s than I do (you know, having been alive at the time).  Maybe it is a function of the author not knowing enough about computers to really go in depth with their use, so the differences never really came up.  I guess this last one is less of a critique as just something that stood out to me.  

 

Anyway, I ended up giving The Eight  three out of five stars on Goodreads.  There is a sequel, set in 2003 and featuring Catherine’s daughter Alexandra, but I will not be seeking it out.  

February Reading Wrap-Up

In February I read a total of eleven books; one book up on January.  Eight were fiction, two non-fiction (got to get back on the non-fiction wagon), and one was a graphic novel.  The first published came out in 1862.  The other ten books were all published in the 2000s, with three published within the last year.  

Of the nine authors represented, all but one were female, and 78% were from the United States, with the rest from the UK (Another area I need to work on). Finally, in terms of reviews, February was a very good month.  I gave three books two stars, five books four stars, and three books five stars.    

 

The books

1. The Lost City of Z – David Grann ****
2. Lady Audley’s Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon ****
3. Seraphina – Rachel Hartman ****
4. Among the Janeites – Deborah Yaffe ****
5. The Fairy Warriors – Catalina Rufin ***
6. Shadow Scale – Rachel Hartman ****
7. A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab *****
8. Dearly, Departed – Lia Habel ***
9. A Simple Case of Seduction – Adele Clee ***
10. A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab *****
11. Creatures of Will and Temper – Molly Tanzer *****

 

Shadow Scale, A Darker Shade of Magic, Dearly, Departed, A Gathering of Shadows, and Creatures of Will and Temper have all been returned to the library (that’s why they are not in the picture).  Among the Janeites I will send to my Jane Austen Festival partner in crime, because I know she will appreciate it. A Simple Case of Seduction was a free kindle read, so it will just be deleted.  The Lost City of Z, Lady Audley’s Secret and Seraphina are all on their way to the thrift store.  

 

Finally, because I picked The Fairy Warriors up at a local comics convention (Lady Con), I’ve been thinking about using it as a give-away.  I want to give my local indie comic producers just that little bit more exposure even if it is the only thing I can do.  But then I worry that a give-away takes away some profit they might otherwise have and I that is definitely not something I want. 

2018 Reading Catch Up: Books 11-13

11. Lady Audley’s Secret – Mary Elizabeth Braddon

First I would like to share a favorite passage from the book, which I found just deliciously ironic. 

“She would be capable of any new crime to shield her from the consequence of the old one,” he thought. “She would be capable of using her influence with my uncle to place me in a mad-house.” 

I do not say that Robert Audley was a cowered, but I will admit that a shiver of horror, somewhat akin to fear, chilled him to the heart, as he remembered the horrible things that had been done by women, since that day upon which Eve was created to be Adam’s companion and help-meet in the garden of Eden. 

You know, because victorian WOMEN locking MEN up in ‘mad-houses’ to get rid of them was one of those common examples of how terrible WOMEN could be.  That is totally the way that goes.  

Anyway, if you are a fan of Victorian era gothic novels — and I so very much am — you should read this book.  If you want to check out an early amateur sleuth novel, you should check out this book.  However, if you are put off by older language styles, you should NOT read this book.   

Me: 4 stars                     Goodreads: 3.74 stars

 

12. The Lost City of Z – David Grann

I spent 5+ years of my life tramping around the swamps of the southeastern United States.  The level of discomfort I felt, despite getting to return to a hotel for a shower at the end of each day, was enough to know that I would never want to be an explorer.  This book confirmed that.  

So if you are interested in Victorian explorers, proto-archaeology, or the pre-history of South America (mostly Brazil) this is a book for you.  If you are delicate about more uncomfortable parts of surviving (or not) the jungle, maybe this is one to skip.  Oh, and if you have a firm belief that Europeans brought culture to the Americas, please just move right along. 

Me: 4 stars         Goodreads: 3.86 stars

 

13. Seraphina – Rachel Hartman

I love this book!  I love the emotion repressing, scholarly dragons.  I love the focus on music in general — and religious/state festival music in particular.  And I loved all the characters with their little nuances.  I loved it so much that, after finishing, I immediately put the sequel on hold at the library. 

Pick this book up if you like very royal-court based fantasy novels or if you are deep into the world of religious music.  Skip this book, if like my mother, you just don’t do fantasy.  

Me: 4.5 stars       Goodreads: 3.98

Who knew that the cat would be my problem

Things have generally been going well on the meditation experiment front.  So far I am at 6 days out of 7, which is definitely not bad.  I’ve found that the strategy of pairing has not worked nearly as well as I expected — I think I paired meditation with lunch on exactly one of those days — but that is why we try different methods.  Instead I’ve found setting aside a block in my bullet journal to write down each days ‘Calm Quote’  has worked remarkably well.  As I see the blank space throughout the day, I am reminded that I still have something I need to do.  Plus, I just kind of like looking back at all the quotes.  Who doesn’t love a good quote? 

As for the actual dicipline of meditation, I am definitely getting into the grove.  Each day I find maintaining concentration on my breath to be just that little bit easier.  I don’t know that I’ve experienced mind changes outside the practive yet, but I’m willing to keep working on it.  

The one difficulty I’ve found is with my cat.  Now I’ve always know, and other people like to point out to me, that he is very much MY CAT.  Meaning that he needs to be near me or on me at pretty much all time.  So frequently, I am sitting there with my eyes closed, listening to the meditation sounds when I suddenly feel a warm pressure on my left knew.  That is not too bad — its like when he sleeps on me at night — I can feel the pressure and go on with what I am doing.  The problem comes on those days when he is feeling frisky — maybe 2 out of the 6 so far.  On those days, instead of a warm pressure, I feel sharp little teeth nipping my foot, claws attaching to my thigh, and some bunny kicks agains my leg.  All of those are much harder to just acknowledge and move on.   I pretty much have to stop and either move to another room or give up an play.  Anyone else have that experience?  

January Reading Wrap-Up

 

In January I read a total of ten books.  Five were fiction and five non-fiction (mostly because I always have one of each going).  The first published came out in 1944, and the last published came out in 2017.  

Among the authors 80% were female, 20% were from the United Kingdom, and 80% were from the United States. For reviews, I gave one book 2 stars, four books 3 stars, three books 4 stars, and 2 books 5 starts.  

 

The books

1. Bloody Business – H. Paul Jeffers ***
2. The Time Travelers (US Title) – Linda Buckley-Archer **** 
3. Spy Mom – Val Agosta with Dee Axelrod ***
4. Air Force Girl – Renee Shann **
5. Forever Liesel – Charmain Car with Jean A. S. Strauss ***
6. The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere #1) – Jacquline West ****
7. Code Girls – Liza Mundy *****
8. The Golem and the Jinni – Helene Wicker *****
9. The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke – Suze Orman ***
10. The Red Pyramid – Rick Riordan ****

 

Code Girls has been sent on to my mother; the rest of the books will return to the thrift store from wence they came.  

February Experiment: Meditation

Well, it looks like January was a wash.  I don’t think I even ended up with a full week that was no spend.  Possibly, I just took on too much to quickly.  I definitely hadn’t done enough pre-planning and consistently found myself justifying one little slip up after another.  

But today starts February, so it is time for a new experiment.  This time I am going to try for a month of meditation.  Meditation is something that I’ve been trying on and off for the last couple of months and I would like to get into a more steady practice.  So far I believe my longest streak has been 10 days, which is by no means horrible.  Particularly if I were to do a much of 10 day streaks punctuated by an off day or two (uh, which I haven’t, but that would definitely be good.)  

 

Meditation Plan

How:  I will be using guided meditations through the Calm app, switching between the ’21 Days of  Calm’ program and the ‘Daily Calm’

When:  My standard time will be directly after lunch.  Targeting lunch will give me enough time to catch up later in the day if I should end up missing.  Additionally, the pairing with lunch should act as a reminder. 

Where:  So far I have found my favorite spot to be sitting on a pillow on my chair-and-a-half, so that should remain my spot for most days.  I will be away from home for four days in the middle of February, so I will need to scope out a good spot in the hotel for those days.  Additionally, on days when I a eating lunch somewhere outside my house, I plan to either use my car or to wait until I have reached home.  

Here goes nothing…

2018 Reading: Update 2

1. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

First, this book is beautiful.  The blue and gold of both the dust jacket and the actual cover just speak to me. 

Things I loved about this book:

• Jewish and Arab mythology!
• Mythological beings hanging out in the “real world” (I’m only 5 books in this year and already there is a pattern emerging)
• The communities that the two characters each interact with. 
• The back and forth of the different narrative lines (up to four) that all come together at the end.
• But most of all, I just loved the interaction between the Golem and the Jinni:

“And perhaps the humans did create their God. But does that make him less real? Take this arch. They created it. Now it exists.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t grant wishes,”  he said. “It doesn’t do anything.”

“True,” she said. “But I look at it and I feel a certain way.  Maybe that’s its purpose.”

He wanted to ask, what good was a God that only existed to make you feel a certain way? But he left off. Already they were treading the edge of an argument.

Now, I just have to wait for the follow up book, The Iron Season,  which is projected to be this October.

Goodreads: 4.1           Me: 5

2. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Woman Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II – Liza Mundy

Cryptography is one of my favorite topics ever! ( In fact, I have been known to say that my ideal job is a 1930s/40s code breaker, a job that is not quite so relevant in 2018.)  I’ve read tons about the code breakers of Bletchley Park in the past; not to mention watched movies and mourned the all too soon cancelation of The Bletchley Circle, but I had never read about there American counterparts.  I didn’t even know they existed.  Now I do. 

I do always have the slight quibble with this sort of book that the chapter structure never seems quite right.  I’m sure that has to do with the difficulty of trying to present both the larger picture and individual stories, but I’m never quite sure if I have the timeline all correct in my head. 

Goodreads: 4.11           Me: 5

2. The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere #1) – Jacqueline West

I need more books with talking cats.  Particularly, I need to read more books with talking cats who rotate through acting like famous literary characters from action-adventure books each day.   That is to say, I LOVE HARVY. 

Other things I love

• The Mathematics Professor Parents, particularly lines like “My love for you is a monotonic increasing function of time”. 
• Olive and her creativity.
• The importance of flashlights.
• The fact that Olive has six pairs of slippers and can never find any of them.

I will definitely be on the lookout for addition books in this series while I’m out on my thrifting adventures. 

Goodreads: 3.93          Me: 4

Aunt Alice’s Bequest to Charlie-Cat

My cat is obsessed with a pair of chairs in my parents house.  The chairs are mid-century modern and possibly my dad’s most beloved possession, an inheritance from his Aunt.  (The chairs shall from now be known as “The Aunt Alice Chairs” because that is what we all call them anyway).   Of course, every time we visit, I get to spend at least half my time stopping Charlie-Cat from sharpening his claws on these chairs.  Then my mother commented that they had some fabric left over from when the chairs were upholstered and I should make Charlie something out of it, so he would leave the chairs alone – not necessarily something that will happen – he is a cat – but worth a shot. 

I decided to make that basic pillow that every one makes as an easy project. 

Supplies

• Fabric – a little over 2x as much as the size you want the pillow
• Stuffing – I used an insert because there was one hanging around, but loose stuffing or fabric scraps work too.
• Thread in a matching color
• Pins
• Needle for hand sewing

Directions

1.  Decide what size pillow you want.  My pillow size was dictated by the size of the insert I wanted to use, so I started by measuring the insert (Or, you know, you could just remember what size you bought – but that is not me).   It turns out that my insert was 14×14”.

2. Cut two pieces of fabric such that each size measures 1 inch more than the desired dimension for that side.  This extra inch allows for 1/2 inch of seam allowance on each side of the pillow.  Since my insert was 14×14”, I cut two pieces out of the Aunt Alice Chair fabric which were 15×15”.

3.  Place two pieces of fabric together with right sides facing each other.  Pin around the edges leaving and opening with room to turn and stuff on one side.  The opening should be at least half the size of that side.

4.  Sew the pinned edges.  Remove the pins and turn fabric so that the right side is on the outside.  Iron edges (if you are not being lazy about it and/or making a pillow for your cat who won’t care).

5. Stuff the fabric envelope with your stuffing or insert.

6. Hand stitch the opening closed.

   

7. Present the pillow to your cat who will proceed to not use it.  Wait! That is probably just me. 

2018 Reading: Update 1

Last year I set my general goal of reading 50 books.  I’ve had the same reading goal since approximately 2005 and has reached it for the vast majority of those years.  In 2017, I absolutely smashed it by reading 120 total books.  So, I am upping my game in 2018 and setting my goal at 100.  So far I have…

1. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Despite the fact that it seems like everyone and their mother has read the Percy Jackson series, I somehow missed them, so this was my first Riordan book.  I’m glad I started here.  Ancient Egyptian mythology is definitely my thing, much more so that Greco-Roman mythology.  I mean, the Amelia Peabody mysteries led me to an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and spending ten years of my life as an archaeologist.  Really. 

On the things I like side there is:

• Including Bast as a main character. She has always been my favorite part of the pantheon.  What?! I am a total cat person.  
• The whole godling thing.  Way to explain sister-wives (among the gods) as different possessions through time. where sometimes the pair possessed humans who were siblings and sometimes they possess humans who were married.  I do wonder how that translates to the fact that living Pharaohs also had sister-wives.
• Carter and Sadie’s relationship as siblings.  It feels very true to how my brother and I relate.

Some quibbles:

• The French Quarter is not on the West Bank.  If Anubis is really hanging out in New Orleans on the west bank of the Mississippi he is in Algiers.  It is right across the river from the French Quarter, but is not the same thing.  (Although I can’t blame Riordan too much, The Princes and the Frog had the same problem).

Goodreads: 4.07            Me: 4

2. The Money Book for the Young Fabulous & Broke – Suze Orman

Meh.  I would appear that I no longer count as young or fabulous, but then, I am pretty okay with that.  The information on what different terms mean and how the math will add up was quite good, but some of the advice was rather dated.  Of course, the book itself was published in 2005, so it is dated.   Check out the housing market predictions (though to be fair, not as badly hilarious as they could have been)!

Goodreads: 3.9           Me: 3