Beginnings

Okay, so Blogger is doing weird things today. and yesterday. Would be too good to start the year with something actually working.... Nevermind. So here we are again, halfway through January already - do you get the feeling of the wind in your hair as you get older?!

Not that 2018 started off all the badly, the worst was a quick stint in hospital to get a hernia repaired. Quick being the operative word - on the table at 8am and back home at 3:30pm! How's that for efficiency? Now to make the most of the recuperation period....
Sherman provides us with giggles on a regular basis. I saw him sitting next to the BBQ, or rather, I saw a tiny fluff of tail twitching ever to slightly, while he watched three ducks amble past, about 3 meters away. All over sudden, there were about two dozen of them waddling across the paddock. Next I see Sherman 'stalking' them. Yeah right. They've seen you coming a mile off, mate! Nowhere to hide... So, sitting there contemplating his quicker, more ambitious younger days, I wonder if he is wanting to make friends or sizing up his dinner. One can always dream... He does that with the kangaroos sometimes too, and he's got them bluffed; they prefer to move off when he's coming near. Silly cat.
I was all prepared to read while in hospital, but never got the chance until I got home again. I had borrowed "Longbourn" from our local library (and saved myself $11 Kindle costs in the process), and looked forward to reading it, being quite the Jane Austen fan. Jo Baker's story is told from the perspective of the Bennett's serving staff, Sarah and Polly (maids), Mrs. Hill and her husband (housekeeper), and the newly arrived footman, James Smith. I've read a few 'new' P&P stories, but I was quite impressed with this one. Well written, from a very different viewpoint. Great book for a book club. It treats the Bennetts quite well, unlike "Death comes to Pemberton", which I always thought was unkind to Lizzie. And it's not as raunchy (or funny) as Linda Berdoll's books. It certainly gives Wickham a whole new unpleasant dimension. And you thought Mr. Collins was vile...
I've also been amusing myself watching "Berlin Station" on SBS on Demand. That got me when I saw Richard Armitage in the cast list. Woohoo! I watched series one and two and thankfully the third season is being made now. Basically, it describes the workings of the CIA in Berlin just before the PfD managed to get themselves elected into the German Parliament. Nasty little secrets and nasty little secret agents abound. Armitage is one of the good guys, at least relatively good. The best character is Hector, a washed-out, disillusioned CIA agent played to perfection by Rhys Ifans (he was Luna's slightly nutty dad in Harry Potter). I don't usually like American series, but this one is compulsive watching. Highly recommended. Now I shall go and find myself some more nordic noir....