weekend read

If you are looking for a book for this long weekend, I suggest The Nest by Cynthia Sweeney.  Good, comfy read; there is a lot of mayhem here, but not the kind we have encountered all over the place in the last months.  Four siblings awaiting the bestowal of a promised legacy known among them as "the nest".  The oldest brother, Leo, has  managed to get his hands on most of it through various forms of emotional blackmail.  The story is about how three of the siblings come to understand loyalty, jealousy, sacrifice, and ultimately, forgiveness and understanding.  I wasn't sure I was going to like or empathize with these characters, but I did.  All but one grew into whole human beings.

I am binge watching Downton Abbey this weekend.  I saw it when it first ran but since it is now available on instant at the Flix (all except season 6), I decided to hunker down and immerse myself in their world.  It's every bit as good as I remember it!

Dago's tonight.  It's remarkably quiet in town, as least for now.  Crowds will probably increase tomorrow, there will be noise and fireworks galore tomorrow evening, and then our little village will revert to its serene, peaceful climate.  We are having some work done on the house over the next few weeks; I'll keep you apprised.

Opera note:    Tomorrow is Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri.  You can listen to it at 10 AM (PST) on Sacramento's Public Radio station capradiol.org.

We had a "looker" come by the house this morning for a tour.  Maybe it will be a great New Year for us in the real-estate business. I hope 2017 is happy, healthy and sane for all of you, not matter what your business!