Inputs:
North and South by Mary Gaskell: I’d read two other books by Mary Gaskell (both, I believe, when I was studying abroad and flimsy paperback versions of doorstopper nineteenth century novels offered favorable cost to page count ratios). These, Wives and Daughters and Cranford, were heavy on engagements and tea parties. NaS, about a young woman who moves with her parents from the countryside in the south of England to a industrial town based on Manchester, felt quite a bit darker with poverty, death, and labor strife rearing up constantly; but the emphasis on the latter in particular also made it feel much more relevant than those other books.
Outputs:
This Thursday, April 1, is my delivery date. There’s a thousand things to do before then but with each passing hour I feel a stronger and stronger kinship with the Ever Given so I am ready. I’m planning to take April off from posting, but who knows? If my last kid was any indication I’ll have lots of time to read but perhaps not be at my cognitive peak in those early weeks.
Condiment Corner:
There have been times when I suspect that this segment is worsening rather than abating the proliferation of condiments in our house; but with mustard it seems like the more I get, the more we seem to find ourselves eating foods that serve as mustard delivery vehicles. Unlike some of the other horseradish mustards I’ve tried, this one actually serves up the distinct sinus-clearing sting that paired very well with our St. Patrick’s Day corned beef.