Murder Hunt

No, Big Brother, you can go elsewhere. My murders are fictional. I'm not hunting for real victims, I'm in search of ideas.

The hunt for good ideas is never-ending. I have all kinds of rough general ideas. Fleshing them out into something that a reader will like--and believe--is something else again.

Today I've been searching through the archives of the NY Times. (I think they could use a better search engine, but it's still a wonderful source.) Arsenic was a common cause of poisoning in the 20s and 30s, partly because it was so prevalent in pesticides sold over the counter. That's something I already knew, thanks to our huge collection of vintage magazines and the collection of mystery books cluttering up my house, but it is drawn from real life happenings.

How-to is something else. I start writing, and my characters want to ramble on, but I have to give them something reasonably intelligent to say, or I'm just wasting time and cyber ink.

Working on this has confirmed my appreciation of Helene Hanff's writings. In one she talks about her difficulty with play writing, saying, "I specialized in plotless charm." and she also mentions that for the most part, she had little appreciation for non-fiction. (It's not "I was there", as she put it.)

I like fiction. Not the "best sellers", as a rule, but I love mysteries and authors like Jane Austen and E.M. Forster.

I only hope that the idea of me coming up with a viable plot and characters doesn't fall under the heading of "fiction" too.

Finally: evidence!

This unlovely mess is a section of the upstairs bath at Before.




(wait for it....)






These are After.

It's a Mystery

I do a lot of reading. More specifically, I read--no, devour--mysteries. It's a long standing habit, begun in childhood, when my mother got us a subscription to a Nancy Drew book club. From there I moved on to Trixie Beldon and other YA series, taking in an occasional Agatha Christie, though at the time I couldn't appreciate the subtleties she worked into her books.

As a younger adult I read a few mysteries, but the bulk of my fiction reading fell under the fantasy/science fiction banner, and in the past ten years or so it's swung back to mysteries.

My favorites are either real golden age authors: Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, et al, or modern works whose authors set the scene in an earlier time, 1920s and 30s for preference.

Throughout all of this I've thought about writing one. It happens to most people who do a lot of reading, especially those who field the "you should write one, you read so many you must know how!" comments. I've been hearing a lot of those comments in the past few years from my husband, who has had to put up with stacks of books on the staircase, next to the bed, on the dining room table and even next to the bathtub.

As of last week, count me in as a would-be author of a mystery novel. It really has begun. So far there have been hours that fly...when my last memory is of noon, and I look at the lower right hand corner of the laptop to find that it's suddenly 4:36, and days when half an hour produces no more than four tortured sentences.

I have a setting, main characters, a time period and some gimmicks that aren't, I hope, too cozy. What I need now is persistence, a cohesive plot, and a better plot to crash the publishing industry.

The Bouchercon will be held in Indianapolis, IN this year. I don't know if I'll be able to attend (I think it might come into conflict with the RBS weekend of this year), but if I can I'll absorb all I can in order to do this thing properly.

It's no overnight job but it's possible (if not necessarily probably) that two years from now I'll be a published author.

Champagne Cocktails

Champagne cocktails are not only a classic, they're easy to make. All you need is sparkling wine (Champagne for preference!), sugar cubes, and bitters (I use Angostura, the only easy one to find these days).

Champagne Cocktail

Put a sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne glass or flute; dash on 3+ drops of bitters. Tilt glass and fill slowly with cold Champagne.

Voila. The traditional garnish is a twist of lemon peel, but in a bar you're more likely to get a maraschino cherry.

There are a number of cocktails that include Champagne as an ingredient--the French 75 is my favorite--but this one is the classic.

New York

We went into the City yesterday for lunch and a show. And we had a miracle; we didn't get washed off the streets.

Lunch at Sardi's was grand. It opened in 1921 and it's still going strong. We had a very good meal (and cocktails), and had a long conversation with the man sitting in the next booth seat, all about Broadway and Angela Lansbury and the theatre in general. I haven't been there in 15 years or more, but I can still recommend it.

"Blithe" was at the Schubert, just across the street. It was one of the better productions I've seen. I know the play well; I've played both Ruth and Elvira, and done costuming as well.

Rupert Everett played Charles, Christine Ebersole played Elvira, and Angela Lansbury was Madame Arcati. Miss Lansbury stole the show (she's entitled), but the rest of the cast was excellent. The set was elegant and bang on target (right out of the script, which oddly, I've not seen before) and costuming was good too.

It's closing next month (July) on the 19th. If you're a fan of high comedy, Coward, or period productions, I recommend it.

An 80s Flashback

And a sad one.

Some day! Today both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. I wasn't a huge fan of either, but poor Miss Fawcett; she had an awful run with cancer.

And I did love the "Thriller" album. I won't ever forget coming home to see the video on MTV!

Tempus fugit. What a reminder.

Pink Gin

If you drink too many of these, you'll probably see pink elephants, but you'll have a pleasant journey.

Pink Gin

gin*
Angostura bitters
clean ice

For every jigger of gin, shake 1-5 drops of bitters into a shaker with clean ice. Shake briefly or stir, and strain out into a cocktail glass.


Some recipes for a pink gin only require that the final glass be rinsed with bitters, but I prefer to have the flavors mingled more completely.

*My favorite for a Pink Gin is Hendricks Gin. It melds perfectly with the bitters to leave a very faint, almost cinnamon aftertaste.

Movie Picks: Cagney (again)

Lady Killer is another great pre-Code film with Cagney. 1933 brought out another bad-boy-goes-good tale from Warner Brothers.

James Cagney plays a grifter named Dan Quigley who goes on the run with his gang and moll (Mae Clarke, she of the grapefruit scene in Public Enemy), only to find out one of them poisons her against him; when he gets pinched the gang runs off with his money so he can't make an easy bail.

He wallows in his sorrows a while once let out, and a movie director sees him, scruffy and dirty, as the perfect bit player for a prison break scene. With Dan Quigley's genius for manipulating a situation--and some genuine talent--he becomes a star.

The gang comes back, of course...and away we go! Another slam-bang finish, courtesy of the redhead from New York. This film is perfect old Hollywood entertainment. Go find a copy, make a barrel of buttered popcorn, and dig in.

Mondays are for Cocktails

I suppose it should be Friday. But who wants to wait until Friday? Not me!

I'll start off with a classic (re-interpreted).

Martini

gin*
vermouth
ice

Now, this is for an extra, extra dry Martini. (A Martini, not a glass of cold gin.)
...for every jigger of gin, add about 1/4 tsp. of dry vermouth to a shaker full of clean, dry ice.

Shake (or stir) briskly for about 15 seconds.

Pour out into a proper cocktail glass. A modern glass (too big, your drink will be lukewarm before you've finished it...unless you really ARE a lush) will hold three jiggers worth. A vintage (pre-1970) cocktail glass will hold a generous one.

Pour the rest into a thermos or put it into a pitcher (which should then go into the freezer).

Garnish (if you like) with an olive (plain ol' stuffed-with-pimento or otherwise) or a twist of lemon zest. To be honest, I vary it. My favorite olive is a pitted garlic and lemon marinated olive stuffed with good bleu cheese.



*something good, please; this recipe will not disguise the bathtub variety; I like Hendricks, Miller's, Tanqueray 10 or Plymouth.

Movie Picks: Cagney in Picture Snatcher

It's probably dull reading day-to-day accounts of the not so rich and famous. Isn't it?

So I will try to drag out something interesting on a regular basis. The Yarn Harlot says Tuesdays are for spinning. In that case, I'll say that Sundays are for movies. I like movie blogs and read a few of the ones that concentrate on old films. (This does not mean 1980s. Think the films your grandparents...or THEIR parents...watched in the cinemas.)

My personal favorites are usually screwball comedy or at least pre-Code, and if it's got elements of both, so much the better.

Accordingly, I'd like to mention Picture Snatcher, with James Cagney and Ralph Bellamy. 1933.

It's a film about an ex-con (Cagney) who has already decided he wants to go straight. He heads to the editor who encouraged him in his dreams of becoming a journalist (this is Bellamy's role), and the games begin.

This one is a good ride. There are some serious and even ugly moments in the film--1933 was a great year for fashion, but not a good time for the common man or woman, especially in the sordid world of this flick. Cagney uses his lightning reflexes and reactions for laughs and to pull you in further. There's even a Mae Clark type scene with an old girlfriend who doesn't want to be the ex.

The girl of his dreams, of course, is the daughter of a cop from the prison. Not just any cop, either; this one filled him full of lead and sent him up the river.

Bellamy gets to play a lush, Cagney gets to mug, and honestly, you're not sure until the very end just what the end will be. I have it on DVD and recommend it wholeheartedly if you're a Cagney or pre-Code fan. It's a helluva good outing for Ralph Bellamy, too.

Too Quiet Now, or, We Had Great Houseguests

Friends of ours came in for a visit from Sunday afternoon to late this morning. They live in the San Francisco area, but were here to wrap up the sale and packing up of his dad's house, go to a family wedding and see us...as usual, they weren't around long enough.

They're also vintage fiends. T is a terrifically talented dressmaker and designer, and J always looks like the perfectly turned out banker in a 1930s screwball comedy. Having them around is a delight.

We started off by absorbing almost too many Manhattans, and gossiping, and showing off the house. (Finished up with a bottle of champagne!)

Monday we drove down to Newport. It was the most perfect weather; mid 70s, sunny, and a slight breeze. No yachting voyage, I'm sorry to say, but we did drive around and take a good look at many of the mansions and take the Cliff Walk for a while. We began, though, with lunch at the White Horse Tavern.

It's been in continuous operation since 1673, and we had great fun lunching there. Everyone else had seafood, and although I started with oysters, I had goat cheese and dried fruit compote (called a salad on the menu). We had cocktails, and my husband and I split a small piece of cheesecake; very good New York style, with a port wine sauce.

I also managed to find a knitting / needlework shop, at 555 Thames Street, called Knitting Needles.

It's a small place, and friendly. I picked up a kit and some Persian wool. We also found a couple of thrift shops. There was a needlepoint kit for a pillow, which I will make to give to my mother-in-law for Christmas, and some crochet thread.

We came back and had a good dinner and then watched a James Cagney film on DVD, called Picture Snatcher. It's a good pre-Code film. Ralph Bellamy is the second lead, and he gets to play a non-Bellamy role, for a change--a newspaper editor who's on the booze. The DVD had some nice extras. A cartoon, a fabulously bad short, and a newsreel.

Late this morning we sent them off (in the rain!) to PA. They'll be flying back to the West Coast from there. But they had French toast, bacon, and coffee under their belts and a boxed lunch (including dachshund cookies).

Advantages to the Vintage Lifestyle (or a reasonable facsimile thereof)

There are quite a few...the charmed old man who tells you that you look just as his mother did as she was getting ready to paint the town red with his dad; the dance partner who tells you about his aunt, who worked in the airplane factory; the wonderful things people pass on from Great-Auntie Muriel's estate, "because you'll appreciate it". Those are all lovely.

Here's another: my hairdresser just offered to trade services. She'll do my hair for free next time if I'll show her the mysteries of a set with rag curlers. It's a wonderful offer.

I've been going to her salon for a few years now. Not often, because I tend to color and cut my own hair most of the time, and having had very long hair at one point (knee length) I grew up regarding salons as a luxury, not a necessity. But she always does a gorgeous job on cuts, colors, and blow-outs. Sets and putting hair up aren't really her thing, but she's growing her own hair out now, and has found that she wants to experiment a bit.

It's flattering and really nice of her. She even suggested we do this on a Sunday, so we've got lots of time for it.

Chalk up another advantage to eccentricity!

Home Improvement

...but no pictorial proof. (It's in the camera, though, really it is!)

The upstairs bathroom is done, curtains and all, and we have landscaped the front garden.

Last year's back-breaking clearing was worth every minute, even in the pouring rain. After that nothing seemed difficult. It took us two days to do the basics. Now, around a small rectangular lawn bordered by limestone we have forsythia, holly, peonies, marigolds, alyssum, bleeding hearts and clematis. The rose bushes are doing well, though it's unlikely they'll bloom this year, and I've planted seeds for pinks, zinnias, poppies, and two kinds of summer bulbs.

I also dug up the square in the sidewalk in front of the next-door abandoned lot and put in more bulbs, surrounding them with stones and blue annuals (don't remember what they're called, but they look very festive there).

Our neighbors across the street are thrilled. Yesterday, one of them compared us favorably with the original owner, a town councilman, and his wife. We felt really good about that. This house was waiting for us to rescue it, and we're well on the way.

Now we just need to paint indoors and finish the guest room. For the outside, (barring the awful, still-paved back yard), DH needs to finish the columns and paint them. I need to scrape and paint the front door, and we'll probably remove the screen door. Also, I'll be spraying the shutters we found last year (dark green, same color for the door) and we'll hang those.

I'd also like to get some stone planters for the front steps, and the steps themselves need some repair. The awful poured concrete next to them...we're not sure when we'll be able to get to that. But we will, I hope, in the next couple of years.

Birthdays and in-laws and all

I had a very nice birthday. My mother and father in-law came to visit. They drove in and stayed about an hour away, but we saw them on my birthday, the next day (Monday) and Wednesday. They've taken to estate sales and brought us a crazy brass dinner gone and other interesting thing. For my part, I loved the 30s sewing box; it's dark wood on a stand, perfect for moving around from room to room.

I have also found that I really like crewel embroidery. I found a pre-printed pattern on linen at a local thrift shop (crewel wool, as well) and finished it yesterday. At this point its final destination is unknown...pillow, bag, footstool...who knows?

Most local yarn shops don't carry embroidery supplies, but we were in Tiverton/Sakonnet on Sunday and Sakonnet Purls does; I found the last few colors I needed there. Today I also found a book on crewel embroidery. It's a good mix. History and how-to are mixed together almost seamlessly.

Other than that, not much. We did finish the bath and bedroom; pictures soon. They need uploading. (I'm lazy.)

Oh---last night DH & I went to see Star Trek,. It was very good. Lots of interesting back-story, and the casting exceptional.

Sheepy Weekend

...coming up!

Tomorrow we're going to the fiber festival at Coggeshall Farm, next to Colt State Park, in Bristol. It's a lovely little festival--a postcard of a New England farm. A Colonial farm, at that. We had a fine time last year. The vendors were very personable, and I got yarn (alpaca and some wool) and wildflower honey.

Stitch 'n Pitch at the PawSox (Boston's AAA team) happens on Sunday. Game time is 1:05 P.M. There's a "family" event after. I'm not sure what it encompasses, but it sounds like fun.

The sad part is this...I have no knitting to take! Jimmy's cabled socks have about 20 minutes left in them, the rest is either finishing, or work that needs a fair amount of concentration. I think I need to dig out some sock yarn and make another pair of Plain Vanilla socks. It's just as well; several pairs of socks have hit the trash can in the last couple of months.

Paint Fumes

Ugh. I've been painting the upstairs bath (finally!) and using an oil-based primer. It didn't bother me yesterday but it does today. At least the second coat of primer (yep) is on...tomorrow or Monday I'll be putting on the paint. Then to the curtains, which I have to design and make. Probably something simple. They will need to disguise the fact that the idiot who made the other unimprovements put the wrong sized window into the frame.

We have the bedroom furniture in now, too. I've ordered a mirrored glass top for the dressing table (it's two small tables to be connected by the glass). That should be ready for pick-up next week. After that I'll iron the vintage draperies & spread, and except for artwork and a decent rug, the bedroom will be set.

Just the guest room remaining, now. We do need to paint most of downstairs, the hallway, and the upper hall as well. Otherwise, though, we'll be fairly well settled.

Time for home repair--the silver lining of being unemployed.

FOs, here and there

I haven't posted many photos, especially lately. My old laptop went to the scrap heap in the sky (metaphorically speaking) and my new one doesn't have the photo software installed yet.

But I moved a few over from DH's computer.

Here is the Frankencozy I gave to my former boss for his birthday.




These are the silk mitts I made for the receptionist. I still haven't given them to her; I was laid off the Friday before her birthday:



I'll find more, and maybe they'll be posted this year. Maybe not....

The Providence Athenaeum and archy

Providence is an old city, as cities go in the United States. Benefit Street, one of the prettiest streets you'll see in this part of the world, has, among its Colonial beauties, this lovely membership library. The library was founded in 1753, by the citizens of Providence, and it was then named the Providence Library Company. The present building was designed by a Philadelpia architect, William Strickland, and opened in 1838. I can vouch for its marvels. As soon as you walk in, something inside says to you, "Now, THIS is a library."

I think it's a wonderful place, and am very glad we decided to join. There are glorious old books, rareties that can't leave the building, and others, still lovely and in good bindings, that can. But for me, the profusion of 1920s and 30s books are the most enticing thing. And downstairs, in the Reading Room (you can sit there all day in an old chair, surrounded by the lovely mustiness of old books, looking across at an "Egyptian" library table, reading, or sitting, or thinking), I found books, plays, poetry and more from my favorite time frame.

Don Marquis is down there. That is, his books are. I have a few volumes of his collected poems, but many are out of print, and difficult to find. The Old Soak is one of the books I borrowed. Possibly, I should read it with a pitcher of martinis at hand, and so, probably won't start it until after 5. But I have just finished the book I mention below.

I also discovered Archy Does His Part. The earliest of these poems and stories was published in 1916, and the latest in 1934. The book itself (a first edition) was published in 1935. This is the title of the last poem in the book:

"what the ants are saying". Here are some excerpts:



...it wont be long now it wont be long
man is making deserts of the earth...

...america was once a paradise
of timberland and stream
but it is dying because of the greed
and money lust of a thousand little kings...

...men talk of money and industry
of hard times and recoveries
of finance and economics
but the ants wait and the scorpions wait...
drought and erosion and desert
because man cannot learn

...dear boss i relay this information
without any fear that humanity
will take warning and reform
--archy

Awake

Thanks to Than Chai and Fa Sing (quarrelling over a mouse) I'm awake at 3:00 a.m.

The poor mouse got away; I hope it's relatively uninjured and can find its way outdoors, but I have an awful feeling that we're going to "nose" it in a week or so. Urk.

The antiques sale was wonderful. DH finally found an oak desk, 30s, I think, or a little earlier. It fits nicely into his office, and is working out very well.

My big find was a wonderful 1920s evening coat. Black velvet with black satin geometric inserts and a huge fur collar. I'm not sure what kind of fur. Normally I can tell, but this appears to be upscale rabbit! Back then they used a lot of furs that are no longer popular.

We got a very Art Deco mirror; round, with a 3/4 circle of wood around it, and demi lune shelves. I'm painting the wood white, and will use it above a 30s office cabinet I found at the Salvation Army. Those will go into the upstairs bath, which I am finally finishing. The fabric for the curtains is washed and shrunk and ironed, too...I need to measure and see if there's enough to make an outer shower curtain as well as window curtains.

Another deal was a huge stack of 30s magazines, most in near mint condition. Primarily Yankee magazine and a few different house & garden magazines. There were a couple of knitting pattern booklets too, including a couple of good ones from the 1920s, with patterns more sophisticated than usual for the period.

The rockabilly show was a bit of a disappointment; the first band was a no-show, and the last band not so great, but the middle band was very good, and we picked up their CD. I am glad that we went, in any case.

I'm looking for Art Deco stencils to use on the cabinet...does anyone have good sources?

Springing along

It's lovely here. 70+ degrees F, sunny and there's a bit of a breeze. The cats keep parking themselves in front of the sliding glass door (open, with the locked screen between them and Prey and the Evil Outdoors). Cat TV at its finest.

Yesterday I did what appears to be spring cleaning, and I have actual, concrete plans for finally doing something with the bedroom and the upstairs bath.

Went for a run this morning, and driving back from shopping (sales & coupons, oh my!) I almost wanted to go again this evening.

Tomorrow we're going to an antiques sale and then a rockabilly show. There will be three bands at this one, and I am really looking forward to it.

As for the knitting, I am still working on DH's cable socks. They're looking very good. The 40s sweater looks good, but I am seriously considering a trip to the frog pond to re-do the back. I'm afraid that even with blocking on 100% wool it will be too small, though it's meant to have relatively little ease. This might have something to do with the fact that I need to loose 10 pounds (more. i lost one this past week. must stop sampling all the baking....)

There's a pair of cardinals singing from a neighbor's yard!