The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri
Ahhh! Another book about corruption, but this one is no where near so painful for me to read as The Appeal by John Grisham, because this one is set in Sicily, where we expect a certain level of corruption, and Italy, where the whole system operates by rules we can barely begin to comprehend, but it is ITALY, and fascinating, and funny, and another great page turner for these hot hot hot summer days.
Andrea Camilleri has a whole series of books about Inspector Montalbano, which I love almost as I love the Donna Leon series about the Venetian, Guido Brunetti. Brunetti has the edge because he is married and has a family, and it IS Venice – no competition there, Venice will always win, hands down. But Inspector Montalbano’s single status allows for a whole different flavor permeating his investigations, and he, like Guido Brunetti, shares the Italian reverence for really great food.
I didn’t want to fix dinner. I didn’t want to get out of bed. All I wanted to do was to read the whole book, and, when I finished, I wanted another one!
Inspector Montalbano is asked by a woman to find her missing brother, and he finds him almost immediately, dead, under bizarre circumstances. The brother has a very large amount of money unaccounted for, and unaccounted in terms of earnings, as well. He is a pharmaceutical representative, good at what he does – but he still has way too much money, and Inspector Montalbano finds he is rather fond of the prime suspect.
In the meantime, his office has also been tasked to find the reason several high level politicians have suddenly died, purportedly of a variety of causes, but in reality, all have died of drug overdoses. The problem is, that finding the culprit means exposing the reality of high level drug usage, and the inspector realizes the case has been dumped on his office because no one wants to take responsibility for what happens when the culprit is caught. It’s all very Italian, very Sicilian.
Between investigations, Inspector Montalbano eats some amazing meals. 🙂 He takes his glass of wine and walks in the sand out to the sea. We get to know the characters working out of his office better, and to appreciate their quirkiness. This is a great series, a lot of fun. I think I need to go to Sicily for a visit. I definitely need some Italian food and a glass of vino!
Photo courtesy of http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/)
From time to time a word or phrase would appear that required going to the back of the book where the word is not only translated, but the concept explained, something crucial when reading a novel from another culture. In this series, it is particularly valuable, as the background for the crimes and their investigations with political implications, and if you don’t understand the politics, you can miss the point of the novel.
I found this book at Amazon.com. for a mere $10.19 plus shipping.
One Step Down
It was a real eye opener, being back in the USA. AdventureMan had an interesting observation, something he learned a long time ago in a sociology class. It has to do with dining in restaurants. When a guy eats his lunch out every day, he goes to one kind of place, and then when he takes his family out for a meal on Sunday, he goes one step up, takes them to a better restaurant than he would go to every day.
As we travelled in different parts of the United States, what we saw was just the opposite – one step down. People we know still have jobs, still make their house payments, still have the same income. The PERCEPTIONS however, are very different. People are nervous, maybe even a little worried about their jobs. They are not FEELING as prosperous as they felt last year, or the year before. They are spending less. They are going to eat out, but will eat out at that one-step-down restaurant, and not the higher priced restaurant.
As we Christmas shopped, we saw HUGE differences. The Macy’s and the Dillard’s and the big delightfully fancy stores are like ghost towns, and for good reason. They have drastically cut back on their inventory. Where you had to fight your way through the crowded racks a couple years ago, there is a lot of space this year. I didn’t see anything very exciting in terms of fashions or shoes. The Targets and the Fred Meyers (a Pacific Northwest chain) were packed with shoppers, prices were cut, and products were flying off the shelves.
A newspaper article said that what people are buying are . . . appliances. Things people really use – toasters, mixers, etc. The big difference is, they are insisting on appliances in COLOR – carmine reds, blueberrys, greens – chartreuse seems to be big this year, for Christmas, for clothing, and for decorations. Even for Christmas cookies. Chartreuse and pink are this year’s Christmasy red and green. Total hoot. But when people start drawing back from spending, they buy practical things – in fanciful colors. I remember reading once that when times get tough, lipstick sales soar. Women will spend on something small to make themselves feel good, and lipstick does the trick.
The trip was a real eye opener. AdventureMan has sticker shock. I just laugh. I think Kuwait is expensive! AdventureMan doesn’t buy groceries. I remember one time we were together at the Co-op and he couldn’t believe what we were spending on milk – but what are you going to do? Not buy milk? I have always used powdered milk for baking, but with the Chinese thing, I even worry about powdered milk.
Are you going through sticker shock? Are your spending habits changing? Do you eat in restaurants, or are you eating more at home?
Joe Patti’s and Joey Patti’s in Pensacola
My son’s wife looked at me thoughtfully, and said “Has anyone ever told you about Joey Patti’s?”
“I’ve seen his ads,” I replied.
“Pensacola people say his seafood is the BEST,” she says. “I’ve eaten there once, and I thought it was pretty good. You might want to give it a try.”
I understand what she means. She knows that wherever I go, I like to look behind the curtains, to know where the locals go, what they talk about, how they think. I like to know what makes peoples tick. We are all more alike than we are different, but the differences are so interesting.
Joe Patti runs his own fishing fleet. He processes and sells some of the freshest seafood in the Gulf. He is a big feature on the Pensacola waterfront, and nearby is Joey Patti’s restaurant. We saw lots of happy seagulls and pelicans around the boats and seafood plant, and the parking lot at the restaurant was totally full.
We followed the signs for Joey Patti’s, connected – we don’t know exactly how – one is a seafood seller, one is a restaurant. We were given the very last available booth in the very large restaurant, which was totally bustling with customers – all of Pensacola seemed to be eating lunch there the same day we were there. We soon learned why – the food was simple Southern seafood at its best – fresh, hot and oh, so good.
Clam chowder
Crab Cake Sandwich
Oyster Po'Boy Sandwich
Hush Puppies (actually, there were more, but we couldn't wait)
If you get to Pensacola, look down on the waterfront for Joey Patti’s. You’ll be in for a treat.
Islam Everywhere
As we were driving along in Pensacola, we saw a familiar sight – not familiar for Pensacola, but familiar and strange and wonderful all at the same time – it has a great playground in the back.
Trinity Collection in Pensacola
We were talking about low sales-resistance . . . this is not about being in Kuwait. This is about my lack of resistance to buying beautiful jewelry!
As we were driving around in Pensacola, I spotted The Trinity Collection. There is a lot of very mediocre jewelry out there, but I had seen the Trinity ads earlier, and they had caught my eye.
“AdventureMan! Pull over! Pull over! It’s the Trinity Collection!” and I’m fighting him for the wheel so he can turn right and park and I can run into the store.
VERY smart store. So many beautiful things, AND a seating area for guys like AdventureMan.
I can’t blame Kuwait. I have found beautiful pieces in Kuwait. (Hint to any blogging friends who want to honor me with jewelry – look in your grandmother’s old collections! I love the old stuff, and the original Gulf pearls, and those tiny tiny pearls and gem pieces that the Qatteris are buying up for their museums.)
(Just kidding, by the way. DO NOT bring me jewelry! I can’t accept it!)
Anyway, I also found wonderful pieces in this beautiful shop, full of gems, and employing several original jewelers, who specialize particularly in religious jewelry, but also other beautiful pieces.
If you get to Pensacola – this shop has a lot of variety, in goods and in prices, and many exquisitely crafted jewelry pieces. This shop is worth a special trip.
Books Behind the Counter
“Hey Mom, take a look” said Law and Order Man as we were about to walk out of the local Barnes and Noble. He was pointing to the selection of books by Chuck Palahniuk, all on shelves behind the counter.
I had noticed he has a collection of Chuck Palahniuk books, and I have read reviews by Kuwait bloggers, so I had asked him about the books, would he recommend them.
“You wouldn’t like them” he said. He knows me pretty well, and often recommends authors I might like. I do the same with him. If he says not to bother, I won’t bother.
“I asked the clerk why all the Chuck Palahniuk books were behind the counter, if people steal them,” my son went on, “and she wouldn’t exactly say that people walk off without paying for them, but she said that they are VERY popular books, so I assume that’s what she meant.”
Breakfast at Andy’s Flour Power
We love this place, a local bakery where everything served is fresh cooked. No matter what I order, I always love that it smells of cinnamon when it arrives, because of the home baked walnut-raisin toast on the plate. Normally, I can pass on toast, it is just filler. When it is Andy’s Flour Power walnut-raising toast – I groan, and eat every bite.
After Thanksgiving Dinner, we thought we would never eat again. But after fasting from afternoon until the next day, we find that, after all, we are hungry for breakfast. Here is what we had for breakfast – I had a spinach – swiss cheese omelette:
AdventureMan’s biscuits and gravy were to die for (he says):
Law and Order Man’s Ham and Cheese Omelette:
EnviroGirl got the most beautiful dish of all – a vegetable frittata:
It was thundery and a little rainy on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving:
Southern Thanksgiving Photos
First, apologies – No matter how many photos I take, you can’t begin to imagine the scope of this event. Three sisters, out of a family of ten brothers and sisters, gather the clan and provide a truly old fashioned Southern Thanksgiving on a large country estate. While the photos are mostly of food, the most important element of the gathering is the love that brings and binds this family together.
The weather was magnificent, allowing people to be inside and out, the kids out playing chase, football, exploring the grounds, sitting on the old swing, etc. Out in the way-back, men started shucking oysters for the pre-meal appetizers around 9 in the morning.
While the three sisters are pulling together all the last minute details, there is already an abundance of food to keep people nibbling while anticipating the main meal, served around 1:00 in the afternoon.
As people arrive, they bring more food – mashed potatoes, sweet potato casseroles, green beans, turnip greens, collard greens, creamed corn, creamed onions, all in slow cookers to keep them warm until dinner-time.
Meanwhile, things are heating up in the command center (kitchen) as time nears to get the food on the groaning tables:
Frying up turkey breast meat:
Usually, the men carve the turkeys – this year, a smoked turkey and a deep fried turkey:
Getting close to dinner time, people start gathering closer to the house:
Just before the dinner is served, the organizers thank the guests for coming and the food is blessed. Now here is where I really need to apologize – there are no dessert photos, and the desserts were magnificent. But once you have filled your place with turkey, dressing, vegetables, salads – and you have to take a little bit of everything so you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings – then you need to sit a while before you think about dessert. Actually, I didn’t even have any room for dessert! So I missed out on taking dessert photos, and for that, I totally apologize.
Then, about an hour after dessert, the family photos are taken. First, all the surviving and attending brothers and sisters, then each family, with various children and their families attending. This tradition is a lot of fun, but takes another hour or so. At the very end, we take photos of the three sisters who spend weeks and hours organizing the annual event, coordinating all the food, cooking for days and cleaning up afterwards. These women are my heroes – it is an unbelievable amount of work, and they do it out of love for their family:
Never Ending Sunset 27 Nov 08
If you think I am crazy about sunrises (and I am) just wait until you see these sunsets. They are all minutes apart during the same sunset. I can’t watch a sunset and not have religious feelings – but see for yourself.
Just before sunset – can’t you almost hear the clink clink of those horseshoes hitting the metal pole?
Awesome – or what?
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Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 