Motherless Brooklyn

Jonathan Lethem's wikipedia page says that he lives in Brooklyn and Maine, but I rather think that he lives in California right now since he is the Disney Professor of Creative Writing at Pomona College.

His novel Motherless Brooklyn won the National Book Critics' Circle Award.  Bryan loaned me his copy.  Lionel has Tourettes Syndrome which dictates the flow of the narrative of this detective novel.  Actually, the detective story is not the most interesting part of the story - Lionel is.  Because of that, there are some portions of the story that dragged for me, but the language and rhythm made most of the book compelling.

#!%#@*& Squirrels!

I've brought up the squirrel problem in conversation several times this past week, and everyone has a story. This invasive species has gotten more and more troublesome in our yards in the past several years.  It started with the tangerines in our yard.  They grab one small fruit and take it up into one of the tall trees, eat part of it and drop the peels and uneaten portions all over the ground.

peaches with small bites taken out of them

Well. Last month I started noticing that our plums were on the ground, just before they ripened, but with one or two bites out of them.  And now the peaches.  And the squash.  I have searched over the internet for ways to get rid of these pests.  All methods have their flaws, so my first line of defense has been to pick the fruit just before it ripens to send them to some other food source.

This morning I picked half a brown grocery bag of peaches, but I have to be more vigilant with the summer squash.  Last year I would get one squash a day, but so far only one (total) has made it to the table.

Friday Nights Live!

Here are some scenes from the Village West Plaza tonight where Sligo Rags Band performed.  Even after some very hot days, the evenings cool off so that sitting outside is pleasant.  The plaza was filled to overflowing with people listening as well as eating and lining up at the Laemmle.  The fountains were filled with kids splashing around.

Loving Hut - Claremont

It was just a month ago that we ate at the Upland Loving Hut and wondered when the Claremont location would open.  Well, we heard that people had been seen eating at the new restaurant next to Le Pain Quotidien in the Village West Plaza.  It was way too hot to turn on my oven on Tuesday night, the perfect excuse to go.

The first thing we noticed was that the interior is quite modern, and instead of ordering at the counter like in Upland, it's a sit-down, service restaurant.  The next thing that I noticed was that the menu was completely different than Upland.  We chatted with the owner, and he said that each Loving Hut is supposed to create its own vegan fare, and that he said that if we had any suggestions of what we'd like to eat we should let him know.

Tacos Diego

Portabello Sandwich

The menu is a little pricey, with most entrees about $12-14.  Choices include appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, pizza and a handful of other entrees.  I did not try any of their non-alcoholic wine, but H had the passion fruit iced tea ($5 including refills) which was pretty tasty.  The waitress and owner made sure to chat with us which was good since it took a little while to get our food, and the two orders came out about 7-8 minutes apart.  I know they are just getting started, so I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt, although I think that if they had to keep apologizing for the tardiness of the meal, they should have comped us drinks or a dessert, or something.

Okay, that's the less-positive, but the food was very delicious.  I had the Tacos Diego and H had the Portabello Sandwich (with avocado and green peppers and lettuce with small salad).  We will probably go back, but not too often unless the prices come down.  We'll probably also continue to go to the Upland location occasionally.

Blog Following

Two of the blogs I have been reading this year are almost about to expire as my friends will be returning to Claremont from their respective sabbaticals.  Just in time, one of our teachers at Vista has embarked upon her exciting year traveling to Asia and Central America, and I just discovered her blog which you can access from the column on the left of "Blogs I Follow".  It's called Buried Treasures.

A Traditional Claremont 4th

Every 4th of July Claremont rolls along with great traditions, centering primarily around Memorial Park. Every year I look for something that puts a twist on the tried-and-true, or just something new.  The funny thing for me is that there are several traditions I never participated in before, but decided to this year.  Starting out with the Kiwanis' Pancake Breakfast.  For $4 one gets two huge pancakes, two sausages, and coffee, oj and milk, along with shaded picnic tables.  If you get there before the start of the race, the lines are very, very short.  After the race, the lines are quite long.

I'd never seen the 5K race, but this year I enjoyed watching my friends run, walk, and jog the course at the beginning and then crossing the finish line.

 Here is a shirt I liked.

 The parade, my favorite part of the day, had all the usual fun stuff, but also included these new entries.

Mona Lisa on foot

Really, a John Deere tractor?  Actually there were 2!

And perhaps my favorite - Llamas!

Patriotic Hymn

One of the things that I like about the Independence Sunday at church is that the choir sings The Battle Hymn of the Republic accompanied by the CUCC Brass.  This is the pretty famous version that you can hear at this youtube video.

Red-Tailed Hawks

Yesterday morning I went early, took my camera.  It's quite bright at 6 a.m. these days, but the world is quiet of people, giving the squirrels, rabbits and birds free reign to do their animal things.  At the Pomona Track, three red-tailed hawks and I skirted around each other for a half hour, and here is a photo as well as a movie of these beautiful birds. 

I have more bird photos at my Flickr Site.

Vegetarian Borscht

At the end of May I made a list of recipes I'd like to try this summer, and I am working my way through the various recipes online.  Here is a vegetarian borscht recipe that was pretty darn tasty.  I've topped it with greek yogurt which makes a delicious and healthy substitute for sour cream.  I didn't have any dill, so I put in some rosemary from my garden.  I'm sure that each herb lends a different flavor, but rosemary was fine.

State of Wonder

With the reading of Ann Patchett's latest book, State of Wonder, I have read 26 books in the first six months this year.  My favorites were: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire.  And I always love the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency books, but that's like admitting that I like chocolate.

So, would I add this one to that list?  I think Ann Patchett has a way with words, and I was hooked when I started this book, reading it quickly, and then slowing down so I would have more time with the characters and the language.  And then about 3/4 of the way in, it became quite hard to suspend my disbelief.  I won't give away any of the plot, but the end just takes too many twists and turns for my liking, and too many things happen at just the right time.   I felt compelled to read this book, but I am now ambivalent about it.  At first I thought it would be a perfect book for my older daughter, but now I know that she would be very put off by the "science" which is at the center of the novel.