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Food, drink and books. One often inspires the other. Together they are magic .



Sunday, July 19, 2020

Summer 2020 - Circe and a Greek Salad






Sorry I've been gone.   My last post was in early March and at that time I thought the world had gone crazy.   But little did I know it had just started. 
Mom passed away at the end of March,  Sonny passed away mid April,  COVID19 spiked and the country locked down.   Then in June, we had political unrest and protest in the street because of continued violence and killing of black people in America.   And now here we are in July.   The virus seemed to be slowing down but recently it picked back up because people continue to be stupid and not wear mask.   Aghhhhhhh!   We are back to the start.  Headed towards a full lock down.
So, we've all been trying to adjust to the new normal.  Work from home will continue for the immediate future and we continue to figure out how to stay connected with each other.
My reading has not been great.  I really had a hard time at the beginning of the pandemic with focusing on anything.   I was spending way too much time on social media and watching the news.  I'm trying to balance that now and get back to some normal reading habits.
Couple of real positive things to happen,  I really got into audibles.  I have started walking at least 30 minutes a day and have been downloading books to listen to.  I started with Circe, which i'm reviewing here, and have now downloaded all of the Harry Potter Books.   Yes, i've already read them and have seen the movies multiple times.  But, I wanted something fun and comforting to listen to and i thought this would be fun   It has been!   I'm on book 3

So, let's talk about Circe!   I listened to the majority of this book on Audibles but I also had a copy so  at times read chapters before bed and used the glossary in the back to keep track of the characters. I loved this book.   One of my few 5 star ratings.  
This is the story of Circe, one of the minor gods in greek mythology.   She is banished to a deserted island to spend her life and she discovers her powers as a witch.   The story is just great.   She touches on so many greek myths including Medea,Odysseus, Icarus, and the Minotaur.   Not only was the story so interesting and so well told, but it made me want more.  I looked up the myths and started looking for other books.   Circe's story is just full of love and hate and doubt and strength.   5 stars for both the book and the audio version and the fabulous Perdita Weeks who narrates. 

I made myself a delightful Greek salad for the last chapter.    I hate olives so I left them out.  My choice!    I combined tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions , garbonzo beans and feta cheese .   I put 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar,  1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, 2 teaspoon dijon mustard, some dried oregano and salt and pepper.  I shook it up in a small jelly jar and poured it over the salad.   So fresh and delicious.  


So, read the book and make the salad!   Enjoy and I'm back to posting and reading!!