– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
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We spent a couple of days on our boat in San Diego last week. Purportedly we went there to escape the heat and humidity. We didn’t, but that’s another story. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to research some good restaurants in San Diego and made reservations. Casual attire is the order of the day when you’re on a boat, so I knew we needed places that were okay with casual but not scruffy clothes. My first go-to resource is always Alice Q Foodie. Alice’s blog is about food/recipes/restaurants, and down the right column she lists all of her favorite San Diego restaurants. For this trip, I wrote down seven possibilities, then discussed them with my DH.
We were going out with a dear friend, Tony. Dave and Tony became friends in about 1975 through business, and they’ve been fast friends ever since, with much of their common interests revolving around boats. Tony has a mammoth power boat – a Nordhaven 50 in case anyone is interested – a luxury boat of the first order which he docks sorta-kinda near our yacht club. Tony is Italian, lives in Fallbrook (a small town at the north end of San Diego County) so I phoned him several hours ahead of time and asked if he’d been to any of the restaurants on my list (only one was Italian). He hadn’t, but when I mentioned Arrivederci, he jumped on it. Tony is a very good cook in his own right, but he loves to discover new Italian places. We enjoyed some wine and cheese on his boat for an hour or so before we departed for the restaurant, located in North Park (just north of downtown San Diego).
I’d made reservations for 7 pm (if I’d known they didn’t have A/C, I’d have asked to sit on the patio). It was exceedingly warm that evening. My GPS usually works like a charm, but this time she (Trudi, we call her, the female voice in our GPS) could not even FIND Fourth St. Or 4th St. Oh well. We figured out how to get there despite the problem. Tony made a quick call to the restaurant to get the cross streets. After all, San Diego is my home town, though I haven’t lived there since about 1971.
As soon as we sat down, we ordered a bottle of Sicilian Nero d’Avola. We were seated in the back of the restaurant, as far back as the small restaurant goes, that is, without a puff of hot sticky air coming our way. It was warm. Very warm. The menu is huge. Too big for me. There were far too many choices, nearly all of which looked good. The specials of the day numbered over 20. At Alice’s blog, she highly recommended the Portobello (stuffed) appetizer, so we ordered it right away. It came, nestled on a plate of lightly dressed greens . We shared it. The large portobello was coated with lots of flavored breadcrumbs. The bites I got with cheese were wonderful. The bites without any cheese were quite mediocre. I’d probably request next time that I have extra cheese or something like that. To make darned sure! But it was good.
Dave ordered veal scallopine, which he said wasn’t memorable. Too bad. Tony and I both ordered the pork osso buco, which was absolutely outstanding. I mean out-of-this-world-outstanding. It was a tower of a shank of pork, so tender you cut it with a fork, as it fell off the bone. It was served, centered in a mounded pool of smooth, unctuous risotto. It was, without a doubt, the best restaurant risotto I’ve ever had. Thinly sliced mushrooms, swimming in some kind of dark, clear sauce were spooned over it. Oh my. I didn’t even eat half of it, so Dave and I shared what was left as a light dinner a couple of nights later. The leftover risotto certainly wasn’t as good as the first time around, but the pork was still tender and juicy. I may have dreams about that pork and risotto. Now, did I happen to mention to you how WARM it was in the restaurant? By the time we were mid-way through the main course, I was dripping. The hot food entering an already warm body made an uncomfortable combination. We left as soon as we could. Californians simply are NOT used to humidity higher than about 30-40%, so we get real miserable, impatient and intolerant when it’s any higher. I heard people saying it was up in the 80% range. I think the temperature was in the high 80′s. No wonder I was uncomfortable.
Arrivederci
3845 Fourth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
1.619.299.6282
So, to cool off, we zipped down Washington and stopped (how lucky we were to find one parking place within half a block) at Gelato Vero. I’ve mentioned this place before on my blog. They have the best-est gelato this side of Italy. The patriarch, from the old country, made gelato from his family’s prized recipes for decades. He’s now gone, but I hear his son is running the business. Our favorite is banana, but they didn’t have any of that flavor. All three of us ordered a medium cup. The bill? $13.78. Yikes. They charge by the ounce now, likely because the price of milk has gone up. We sat outside in the muggy heat, but loved the gelato! You don’t go there for the ambiance – it’s a tiny, cramped store, with a table or two inside and a few tables outside. Go outside and watch the traffic go by. Worth going to? Absolutely.
Gelato Vero
3753 India St.
San Diego, CA 92103
The next day, during the afternoon Dave took other friends of ours, Joe & Yvette, out for a day sail, along with Yvette’s 9-year old niece Vittoria. What a little doll she is! Dave said Vittoria was a natural at sailing – she took the helm for awhile and did an exceptional job keeping the boat lined up for maximum breeze. Dave was impressed!
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