The Eyes Have It

Happy New Year, everybody! There is something exciting about starting fresh, isn't there? Even in the smallest ways. When I did the dishes last night, for example, I made sure to get the coffee press into the dishwasher -- we usually wash it only when we have room and just rinse it out the rest of the time, but it seemed important to get all of last year's coffee residue cleared away.

I finished "The High King" yesterday. It got better after about 150 pages, when I'd finally stopped resisting and immersed myself fully in the plot, but I certainly won't be reading the rest of the books in the series. What's interesting is, I looked up the book on Goodreads, and it has a very high rating. Lots of people raved about it. Some said it was one of their favorite books as a child. One said the series is every bit as worthwhile as Harry Potter.

I am completely bewildered by this enthusiasm, but I guess I can see how a certain Dungeons-and-Dragons-loving type of kid could get fired up about it. I tried to be somewhat gentle in my review. The last thing I want to do is discourage someone from reading a book that they might love. Not that anyone in our library reads that series anymore.

Here's the new cyclamen -- or "cyclurinamen," as Mitchell cleverly dubbed it yesterday -- on the left with the red flowers. And on the right is one of our canna lilies, which is looking a bit scorched by our earlier cold weather. I had to fill the pot with terra cotta shards because the freaking squirrels have recently insisted on trying to dig up the plant.

Oh, and those new fat balls I bought for the bird feeder? The parakeets don't like them. In fact none of the birds seem to like them as much as the ones we just used up. I think the new ones are harder, and the birds have to work more to break them apart. I guess if they get hungry enough they'll manage.

Dave and I did indeed drink our bubbly last night, and made a toast to the new year. We also watched "London Has Fallen," a silly thriller film from several years ago in which numerous London landmarks get wantonly (but spectacularly) demolished by terrorists. Come to think of it, maybe not the best choice for setting the tone for the new year, but oh well.

Come on, 2022! Don't fail us!

(Top photo: Some curious street art I found during Olga's neighborhood walk.)