Like the author, I am often intrigued to learn the backstory and family history of people who kill. Why do they kill and what skeletons in their closet could possibly cause such violence. Fowler creates a remarkable novel of both facts and fiction about the family of the infamous John Wilkes Booth. Here is my book review Booth by Karen Joy Fowler.
The Booth Family
You are half way through this novel before John Wilkes Booth is even born. Though he will be a character in this book, the real story is much, much broader. Fowler looks at the instability of patriarch Junious Brutus Booth, the sad and sorrowful life of Mary his wife and their ten children.
The story, though told from the view point of most of the individual family members, is notably narrated by eldest sister of Wilkes, Rosemary or Rose. Surprisingly, Fowler has the least amount of information to draw from in history about Rose. So most of the details about her invalid and spinster life is fictional. But as the eldest sister, she makes a perfect guide to chronicle her unique and tragic family.
Family Ties
If John Wilkes Booth was crazy, he came by it through his mercurial father. The siblings often in competition, both feared and loved their father, who was absent for long periods due to his life as a Shakespearean actor. Three of the brothers; Junius, Edwin and John would all become actors with Edwin being considered one of the premier actors of the era.
The trials and tribulations of this family make a great story, long before anyone shoots Lincoln. Extreme poverty to wealth and prosperity are combined with unfathomable loss of of children and property, alcoholism and rivalry, illegitimate accusations, polygamy, egos and family love and regret. It’s all there to taunt the remaining family after Wilkes pulls the trigger.
This is a fantastic novel about characters lost in history due to the vitriol that surrounds the most famous of them. Thank you for reading my book review Booth by Karen Joy Fowler.
*****Five stars for Booth by Karen Joy Fowler.
Read last week’s book review Horse by Geraldine Brooks
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Yes this book is about a horse. In fact a real historical horse. But it is about so very much more. At the heart of this book, it is a story about racism in America past and present. I really loved it. Here is my book review Horse by Geraldine Brooks.
Personally I am not a horse person, and the horse portrayed in this book called Lexington is not an animal I was familiar with. But if you are a horse person you might be aware of the historical lineage of Lexington. That in itself was a fascinating part of this book, but not the most fascinating to me.
This beautiful novel follows three different storylines all connected to the Horse. First we meet Jarret in 1850 Kentucky. A Negro slave who becomes the groom to a bay foal. This relationship will form the base of the novel and follow Lexington and Jarrett and their owners through record-setting races, unimaginable profits and into the US Civil War.
Next we meet Martha Jackson a New York City art gallery owner whose mother was an accomplished equestrian but died after a mishap on a horse. Martha becomes enamored with a painting that seems so familiar and yet how could it be?
Finally, Washington DC 2019. Pre-pandemic and we meet Nigerian born Theo an art historian and Jess an Australian born scientist at the Smithsonian. Jess and Theo are unexpectedly thrown together when Theo finds a piece of artwork in a rubbish pile.
I really enjoyed Brooks’ ability to connect multiple story lines to Horse – Lexington – both through amazing historical research as well as brilliant fictional development to build the plot. Throughout the book you will find both real life historical figures entwined with fictional ones, both human and equine.
Using a thoroughbred horse to teach us lessons in racism is a brilliant play by Geraldine Brooks. I loved it. And learned a lot. Thank you for reading my book review Horse by Geraldine Brooks.
Airline travel is stressful these days. Lost luggage, canceled flights, delays. It’s a tough time in the travel industry. Up until this year, our six years of the Grand Adventure has been relatively stress free with limited luggage or flight issues, six years and 161 flights, we only lost luggage twice (see last week’s blog about this Around the World Nine Times Lost Luggage Twice). But it’s a different beast now, and so I’ve put together a capsule wardrobe for three week trip we are embarking on.
Travel is hard (Canva)
We booked this trip last spring, before so much airline trouble began. I’m hopeful we might be past the worst of the summer travel nightmare, but still am not going to take a chance checking my bags. This trip is tight between flights, and I have enough to worry about with connections and potential cancellations I don’t want to worry about luggage too. So for the first time I am doing carry on only, so needed a capsule wardrobe for three week trip.
Although I consider myself a really good packer, when we go for months at a time I never do carry on only because I need to bring so many things like months worth of contact lenses, or months worth of prescription meds. I also carry our French press, the mug, laundry supplies, first aid and toiletries for extended travel.
Carry on to avoid loosing luggage (canva)
All that said it’s time to tighten up the bags, and this trip, just under three weeks, gives me a good opportunity to give it a try with a capsule wardrobe for three week trip. I’ve learned a lot from my friend Katherine who writes a blog called The 5kilo Traveller. Her information and instagram posts are helpful and inspirational. Check her out on Instagram and her blog here.
What is a Capsule Wardrobe
With just a little bit of planning, it was easy to pull together a capsule wardrobe for travel from my pieces I already have. A capsule wardrobe is a small wardrobe with multiple pieces that you can mix and match and layer and use in various ways. A capsule wardrobe starts with a simple color pallet. I chose black and white for my pants. Then added in pieces that I can mix and match.
Capsule Wardrobe (Canva)
Of course your capsule wardrobe will vary depending on your travel destination and the weather. But you should be able to bring the same number of items for five days as you might for five weeks. It’s all in the planning.
My Trip
I’m headed to the English Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey, followed by a few days in France. Then I return to the USA via Boston and head immediately to Acadia National Park in Maine for five days of camping. So my capsule wardrobe needs to consist of comfortable and versatile clothes for fall weather that could be in the 70’s or the 40’s, sunshine or rain, as well as both city strolling or rugged hiking.
Guernsey (Canva)
Layers on the Plane
It’s rare you get blankets on the plane anymore so I like to have a coat handy to use as a blanket. This is my airplane outfit in this photo. It consists of layers that should keep me comfortable no matter the temperature of the plane…and you never know what that will be. Also by layering I’m able to wear several items instead of squeezing them into my bag.
Airplane layers in Capsule Wardrobe colors
My airplane outfit is a tshirt, long sleeve cotton button up blouse and a cotton long sleeve sweatshirt paired with black leggings and my running shoes. The leggins will be handy for the camping portion of our trip and will likely serve as pajamas while camping too.
Black and White
Black and White bottoms with mix and match tops for various weather and activities
I am packing one pair of black slacks, one pair of white slacks and one pair of black shorts. These staple bottoms will carry me through most days. To mix and match with these three bottoms (and also the leggings) I have another short sleeve tshirt in a bright pink, one yellow tank top, one blue linen lightweight blouse, one blue linen long sleeve blouse, a sweater set (polka dot and black) and a black and white pullover cotton sweater. These all mix and match with the airplane outfit items.
Dresses
Just in case dresses, easy to pack and care for and easy to layer too
If we get fine weather in the Channel Island and France I have packed two cotton dresses. My green TravelSmith dress has been a workhorse in my travel wardrobe for years. And this orange cotton dress I added this year from Talbots. I can layer both of these with the black sweater or checked blouse. I’ve thrown in one scarf.
Camping
For Camping and Hiking
In addition to the leggings and the tshirts already mentioned I have packed my long hiking pants, my hiking shorts, my short sleeve hiking shirt, a long sleeve tshirt and a lightweight quick dry hiking sweatshirt. Camping could be wet, my Gortex jacket with hood will serve for both rain and warmth.
Shoes
Just two this time
It’s always hard for me not to bring too many shoes, so the fact that I’ve decided to only bring two pairs is kind of amazing. I am wearing my black running shoes on the plane and though I don’t plan to run during this trip, these shoes can be walking and hiking shoes as well. In addition I am bringing my new white leather sneakers from Soludos. These work with everything including dresses.
And Everything Else
Additional essentials.
Beyond my wardrobe I will be bringing underwear, first aid, one towel, a paired down toiletries bag, travel alarm and a small travel umbrella. We also have purchased two collapsible water bottles and we will try those out for the first time as well as a new collapsible hot water heater. I’m curious to see how I like that. I always carry my laptop, kindle, cords and chargers too. I have a new over the shoulder travel purse for my documents, passport, cash and credit cards as well as a few essentials for the airplane like my noise canceling headphones, lip balm, Tylenol and tiny toothbrush and toothpaste for the plane.
And one more thing – if you aren’t using packing cubes go buy some now! Game changer.
And That’s It
So that is my capsule wardrobe for three week trip. I feel good about my choices. It won’t surprise me if I end up not using something, but that said I still don’t think I have over packed. It’s actually a fun challenge for me. If it goes well, we will see if I can compress when we leave for seven months in October.
Be sure to check with YOUR airline as there are some differences as far as carry on size allowed. A little planning and you should be good to go.
Thanks for reading my post Capsule Wardrobe Three Week Trip. Be sure to see last week’s post about our data from six years of world travel and airports and airlines around the world Nine Times Around the World Only Lost Luggage Twice.
My first time reading Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Powers. His latest novel was definitely bewildering. Here is my book review Bewilderment by Richard Powers.
Astrobiologist Theo is raising his unusual son Robin alone, after the somewhat mysterious death of his activist and biologist wife. The near future world they inhabit is a complex planet suffering from devastating climate change, ecological demise, and a tyrannical and egotistical President. Hmmm. Where have we heard this before?
Robin is a troubled but talented boy, trying to understand the death of his mother, while worrying incessantly about the expiring planet. Theo decides to enroll Robin in an experimental treatment to help the angry child. The treatment is neurofeedback using corded memory patterns from his dead mother.
The treatment turns Robin around, and in fact brings out his artistic and intellectual genius. Until the spiraling world means budget cuts and Robin no longer can receive the treatment. The boy begins to slip.
This story has multiple themes of love and commitment, both to family and the planet and how choices and ignorance can kill not just the earth, but families, futures and everything we take for granted.
It was truly bewildering. Thanks for reading my book review Bewilderment by Richard Powers.
Airline travel this summer has been difficult to say the least. I personally know many people who lost luggage, including my own adult kids. In fact the luggage they lost took nine days to find them, and several items had been stolen from the bag when it finally arrived. But, up until this year, our travels since April 2016 have indirectly but quantitatively taken us around the world nine times, only lost luggage twice.
Shortest flight Mahe to Praslin Seychelles 29 miles
All the trickle down from Covid and staff losses, combined with a pent up demand for travel have made this summer unique in the history of air travel. I feel really blessed to have had such good luck with the 161 flights we have taken since beginning the Grand Adventure in April 2016.
Morocco
The Numbers
These numbers are pretty remarkable so I wanted to share them with you, in an effort to show how reliable air travel has been up until now. In our 161 flights over a period of six years we only lost our bags twice. The first time was on Air Maroc in Casablanca and it was only for two hours. The second time was on Iceland Air from Reykjavik to Copenhagen and it was for four days. It shows the system has been really reliable when you consider the following numbers;
Total Miles Flown April 2016 to July 2022 is 235,000 – an equivalent of nine times around the earth.
Total Number of take off and landings 161
Total number of airports 127
Farthest flight Seattle to Dubai 7410 miles
Shortest flight Mahe Seychelles to Praslin Seychelles 29 miles
Smallest Airport and Airplane (six seater) Placencia Belize to Punta Cana Belize
Top Four Airports;
Seattle USA 29 flights
Don Muang Thailand 7 flights
Rio de Janiero Brazil and Kahului Maui tied at 6
Heathrow England, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Bangkok Thailand and Casablanca Morocco tied at 5
Top USA Airports after Seattle are Las Vegas and San Francisco at 4, JFK at 3 and Boston at 2
Total number of airlines 55
Most frequent airlines;
Alaska 17
Air Asia 10
British 8
Qatar and Agean tied at 6
Delta and GOL tied at 5
Highest mileage airlines;
Alaska 32,000
British 20,400
Emirates 17,200
Qatar 12,500
Iceland 12,300
787 for a short flight from Mombasa to Nairobi
Moving Forward
It’s hard to know if the airline industry will ever get back to the way it was. I think it’s doubtful. There are many things that the PanDamit has changed, and it’s likely those changes are here to stay. We have a three week trip coming up next week. It involves multiple flights. To avoid lost luggage we will carry on our bags for the first time. I’m working hard on a capsule wardrobe that will cover my needs during this three week trip. I’ll tell you about how I’m doing that in a blog next Friday so please check back.
Meanwhile, I can do some things to help make my trip a success, like packing light and checking on, arriving for my flight well in advance and having all my documents ready. But of course I don’t have control over canceled or overbooked flights, staffing issues or weather. C’est la vie.
Around the World Nine Times Only Lost Luggage Twice
Around the world nine times, only lost luggage twice. I’ve never had a flight canceled ( though we have had many delays) and we only missed a flight once which was our fault. Fingers crossed these statistics will stay the same by the time I return back to Seattle after three whirlwind weeks in the end of September.
Shout out to my hubs for his incredible Excel spread sheet that has the most amazing and in-depth and detailed information about the Grand Adventure. You wouldn’t believe the data I have at my fingertips. Thanks honey for that. Ask me anything…we probably have the answer on the spreadsheet!
Be sure to come back for next week’s blog post about my capsule carry-on wardrobe for three weeks in the English Channel Islands, France and then Acadia National Park Maine.
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I seem to have falling into a series of novels about dysfunctional families. This book is totally in that category. I’m still processing this weird family as I write this book review French Braid by Anne Tyler.
not operating normally or properly.”the telephones are dysfunctional”
deviating from the norms of social behavior in a way regarded as bad.”an emotionally dysfunctional businessman”
I tried to like this book but I struggled through it. I’ve read a lot of books about families with issues, but this one was just plain weird. We are introduced to the Garrett family in the 1950’s. Mother Mercy and Father Robin seem initially to be happily married but there is an underlying current in Mercy that is driving her to be an artist.
Teenage daughters Alice (sensible) and Lily (boy crazy) are polar opposites and clearly don’t like each other. Alice watches out for little brother David, who seems to have some mental issues of his own. Early on in the book I liked Alice for stepping in as a mother figure for the young boy. But as Alice matures and starts her own family she is controlling and demanding and I don’t like her anymore.
As David becomes a man he extricates himself almost entirely from his family. At the same time Mercy decides to get an apartment to use as a “studio” but slowly extricates herself from the family home and her husband Robin. Robin, sad and lonely refuses to acknowledge Mercy has left him and goes on living as if nothing has changed.
It’s a sad and cruel and heartbreaking tale of a family, like many families, who hide their real truths, find fault in each other and grow apart, often with regret.
Tyler, who won a Pultizer for her novel A Spool of Blue Thread did not hit it for me in French Braid. I tried but didn’t love it. I hope you enjoyed my Book Review French Braid by Anne Tyler.
We spent a week in Central Oregon last month with my husband’s family, enjoying the beautiful city of Bend and the resort of Sunriver. It was our first time in Sunriver, but we had visited Bend several times. Bend and Sunriver are about 20 miles apart. The high desert area of Central Oregon is one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest. I wish we had more time, but here are some of the things we recommend on a visit to Bend and Sunriver Oregon.
Where are Bend and Sunriver
Located about three hours from Portland Oregon and six hours from my summer home in Port Orchard Washington, Bend and Sunriver are in the high desert of Central Oregon, offering a lovely dry climate with warm days and cool nights in the summer. Winter brings snow and cold but still dry compared to the area we live near Seattle. Bend and Sunriver are year-round playgrounds for hiking, cycling, water sports, downhill skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing as well as many other activities.
Bend Oregon
The Deschutes River runs through Bend
Incorporated in 1905 Bend historically was a quiet logging town on the Deschutes River. Today however, Bend’s population has grown to just under 100,000 with many newer residents moving to the region for its outdoor recreation and beauty amongst the ponderosa pines. The city has a historic downtown, with shops and restaurants, many parks and is known for its many microbrewery options.
Golf in Bend
Rivers Edge Golf in Bend
Bend has many golf courses, but we only have visited a few with our favorite being the Rivers Edge Course right near town.
Restaurants in Bend
A huge variety of restaurants are available in historic downtown Bend as well in the surrounding area. We have not been to as many as we would like, but our favorites currently are Wild Rose for its amazing northern Thai Cuisine, Longboard Louies for a quick Mexican lunch, McMenamins for burgers and beer, El Sancho Taco for the best Mexican in Oregon, Sintra for breakfast and Pine Tree Tavern for the history.
Wild Rose
Longboard Louies
Beer in Bend
Because we love beer, we always make an effort to try some different breweries when in Bend, as we work our way through the more than 25 breweries in the greater Bend area. During this visit we enjoyed checking out Good Life with its great outdoor beer garden, Sunriver Brewing with some delicious looking food although we didn’t eat there, and The Yard located in the courtyard of the Bunk and Brew Hostel.
Good Life Brewing
Sunriver Oregon
Swans on the pond, Sunriver
The first explorers filtered through the area in the early 19th Century and homesteaders started farming the region in the late 1800s. Sunriver is located on the grounds of the former Camp Abbot, a World War II training facility. The U.S. Army camp opened in 1942, but by June 1944 the camp was abandoned and most of the settlement was razed.
In 1954, state highway 97 was completed in its current location and four years later, the Mt. Bachelor ski area opened. Both served to make Central Oregon a prime vacation and recreation area. Portland land developer John Gray acquired what would become Sunriver in 1965 and transformed the landscape into a residential and resort community.
Today about 1700 people are full-time residents of Sunriver, but the population expands on weekends, holidays and in the summer.
Family dinner on the deck
Raft the Deschutes
Since we were on a family vacation with a total of seven people, renting a raft at the Sunriver Marina seemed like a perfect activity for the family. Our raft for seven was meant for as many as ten, but I think ten people would have been uncomfortably crowded. We enjoyed the leisurely drift down the Deschutes on a beautiful day. Ten person raft was $330 (about three hours and includes transportation back to the Marina) but many options are available including kayaks and tubes.
Family goes rafting
Old guys pretending to be teenagers
Cycle and Run or Walk the Paths
Our giant Airbnb (five bedrooms and six bathrooms) was located right on one of the main paths that meander through the Sunriver resort. So every morning at sunrise I was the first one up and after the obligatory coffee, I was out onto the path for a run. Flat, paved and absolutely beautiful, I loved having that available. The rest of the family enjoyed it for running and long walks as well.
Several of us brought our bikes and a few rented bikes, and we enjoyed a couple leisurely rides through the forest and along the river on the safe and well maintained trails.
Family goes cycling
My morning run
Golf and Activities in Sunriver
We did not golf while in Sunriver but there are four courses available as well as several swimming pools, a Nature Center and Observatory, horse stables and a shopping and restaurant center with events, concerts, markets and art fairs.
About seven miles away back towards Bend on Hwy 97 you’ll find the High Desert Museum. Fun and interesting especially for families.
High Desert Museum
MIL with horse art
Nearby Hiking
On our final day we did two easy hikes that were perfect even for my 88 year old mother-in-law. Both these hikes would be good for kids and families too. I recommend the Benham Falls hike and the Lava Lands State area hike.
If you are interested in more strenuous hiking there are many options near Mount Bachelor.
Benham Falls
Lava Lands
A Visit to Bend and Sunriver Oregon
We had such an enjoyable time in both Bend and Sunriver – a perfect place for a family vacation. I certainly would love to go again. You should consider a visit to Bend and Sunriver Oregon for your family or for couples too. There is so much to do.
On the river
With the hubs
Thanks for reading our post A Visit to Bend and Sunriver Oregon. We love it when you pin and share our blog posts!
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