Another month has dragged by, yet in hindsight, it passed by
quickly. I’m still functioning on automatic numbness. Georgie, my little dog,
sees to it that I start each day at a decent time – for his morning walk.
Otherwise, I believe there were several days that I’d have pulled the blanket
over my head and stayed in bed all day. Everything seems empty without my
husband. But I keep putting one foot in front of the other and do what must be
done.
I’ve been out to lunch with three friends. Celebrated Easter
with 9 family members, and hosted two Easter egg hunts for the great grands to
accommodate crazy work schedules of the family. Friends, family and neighbors
keep close tabs on me.
On April 25th I drove to Pittsburgh for the weekend, stayed
with a good friend, who’s also a widow. We went to the Pittsburgh Symphony on
Friday evening, on Saturday we went to a Master Gardener plant sale, joined my
cousin, she’s also a widow, for lunch on the Strip District and then back to
her apartment for a cozy rainy-day tea and hours of fun conversation. (On the
way to Pittsburgh I stopped in Clarion County to put spring flowers on my
parents and my brother Bobby’s graves in Clarion County. A wonderful friend
from my childhood days met me for lunch at Appleby’s. Always great to
re-connect with old friends.) I almost made excuses to avoid the weekend trip
but it was so enjoyable that I’m very glad I went.
Last night I went to my monthly book club and it was good to
be with these precious friends again too. They were also very supportive during
my husband’s illness and the weeks that followed his passing.
Due to technical difficulties, the You-Tube video of my
husband’s Memorial Service is no longer available. Sorry.
I’ve read only one book this month: ‘A Shadow in Moscow’ by
Katherine Reay. Cold War Historical Fiction. 2023. This novel starts in Vienna,
1934: Ingrid Bauer had a happy childhood with her parents in Vienna. But after
watching them brutally removed from their family home by the Nazis, she can
never go home again. In the final days
of WWII, she rushes into marriage to a Soviet KGB agent who works with her in
the Soviet Embassy and quickly moves to Moscow. Nothing is what it seems. Her
new husband is an ambitious KGB agent. After their daughter’s birth, Ingrid
reaches out to Britain - her mother’s native country. She begins passing
intelligence to MI6 garnered by hosting cozy dinner parties in their
apartment-(which also helped her husband rise the ranks in KGB.) Ingrid is a
master linguist and navigates a world of secrets and lies, passing top secret
intelligence to MI6. Moscow, 1980: Ingrid’s daughter, Anya, finishes her degree
at Georgetown U. and flies back to Moscow immediately, leaving the man she
loves and the country she respects. She tries to fit back into life with her
loyal Soviet parents. However, when the KGB murder her best friend – Anya
questions the oppressive paranoid regime. She seeks out the CIA and sends top
secret Soviet info to the CIA to stop the 1980s weapons escalations on both
sides. The finale is brilliant – based on true historical events. I
highly recommend this well-researched novel and the great characters that kept
me turning the pages.
I started a couple other books and have not had the
necessary concentration to read them. I did watch some tv each evening. I
enjoyed an older tv series – back when people were using flip-phones. It was a
three season legal series based in Pittsburgh, ‘The Guardian’.
No, I haven’t had the will or concentration to start writing
again. I hope May will be a better month.
Till next time, please stay well and keep reading my
friends.
Later, Ann