TeWinkle Park, Costa Mesa

I love parks, all kinds of parks, all kinds of places.

TeWinkle, though, is a standout. It has water (always a plus), shade, plenty of room to roam, and the gorgeous, accessible Angel's Playground.  A win all around, I'd say.

The first noticeable feature of TeWinkle Park (for an adult, anyway) is the gorgeous, big pond/stream system running through the main area. There was, briefly,  fountain in the center, too, though I do not know how often or for how long it is on.

Several small waterfalls and a small, meandering stream make this a very restful spot. Also, there are bridges for dreaming on, though I have to admit that, when I was there, they were mostly being used as photo ops for various celebrations. I guess they're good for that, too!

Critter count: I found the usual suspects--pigeons aplenty, lots of rowdy crows, some squirrels high up in those lovely pine trees, ducks and geese (of course), and painted turtles in the pond. There seemed a relatively low amount of the insect-type of critter, which is odd, given all the water, but, then, I was primarily visiting for picnicking, not taking a census (this time).

Trees: Lots, and of good height. The pine trees, especially, had been allowed to get nice and tall.

There was also plenty of room for running around/soccer games/what have you and the absolutely gorgeous Angel's Playground, a fully accessible playground with wide ramps, plenty to clime and explore, and appealing bright colors.

There are bathrooms, water fountains, and plenty of picnic tables in the shade, making this a park well worth going out of your way to visit (Not "I'm going to drive an hour or more to see this" sort of out of the way but "I want a nice, afternoon picnic"  or "I need somewhere for the kids to play kind of visit.

The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd, a book review

Short version: Lynn Shepherd has found her voice. The Solitary House is a confident of Bleak House that takes all the dark possibilities lurking behind Dickens' novel and pulls them forward to create a complex, intelligent mystery.

Full version plus a confession: The decomposing, maggot-ridden corpses of murdered babies ought to have informed me that The Solitary House was not my kind of book. I prefer my murders tidy and, consequently, lean toward the cozies. In consequence, though Shepherd kept me paying attention to the plot, I did end up skimming large portions of the book, so what follows is impressions of a rapid-reader, not a close-reader.

Shepherd really has found her voice. One of my major complaints about Murder at Mansfield Park, an earlier book (see my review here), is that she tried to sound too much like Austen, mining Austen's books and letters, creating a stilted novel that was neither one thing nor the other. The Solitary House sounds nothing like Dickens, and is all the better for it. Rather than attempting a straight retelling, Shepherd has taken Bleak House as something of a challenge and something of an inspiration. All of the darker possibilities that could be Bleak House (which is dark enough, in all truth) are teased forward and made an important part of the mystery(1). Tie-ins to other books (most notably Woman in White) also work much better here than in Shepherd's previous work.

Charles Maddox, something of a stick-figure in Murder at Mansfield Park comes much more into focus in The Solitary House as a driven, determined investigator . He has a complex relation with Bucket (from Bleak House) and a credible motivation both for taking the job and continuing it. Relationships here, in this book, are shown, and emerge as believable.

A note: Although I, personally, disliked the amount of gruesome detail in the book, I do not think it gratuitous. it belongs to the story Shepherd is telling and fits both the setting and the theme. She doesn't quite reach Dickensian heights, but it is a well-written mystery.

Recommended, though not for the squeamish.

For a review by someone who read and liked the whole thing, look here, at Fyreflye's Book Blog.

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(1) Mild spoiler here:

Really, is any modern reader going to read Bleak House and not, at some point, take a look at Jarndyce's relationship with Esther and say "You thought what? When?

Review, Once Upon a Time, A Land Without Magic

Short version: Now that's a finale! Action-packed, tied the season arc up nicely while opening a whole new set of possibilities for future seasons.

My longer version: up here on the Geek Girl Project (natch).

And an additional random note: My, Regina is stupid! Even with her magical abilities it's amazing she stayed in power, ore even alive, for any length of time. Rumpelstiltskin understands the power of keeping a bargain. She, on the other hand, goes right on antagonizing people, even when there is no reason whatsoever to do so! And angering Jefferson is really going to get her into trouble.

Minor grumble: How come ABC doesn't have Rumpelstiltskin turning Gaston into a rose as one of the available clips? It's the best scene ever!

Hurray! Once Upon a Time has been renewed! I thought they'd renew it, but, you know, it wasn't certain... And now it officially is!

Many links and more about moving

I've finally gotten the reviews for Friendly Fire and An Apple Red as Blood up over on The Geek Girl Project.

Also up now is my review of Andre Norton's Quag Keep.

And also up is my interview with Cindy Bailey of So So Happy.

Yes, I do still plan on writing here, as well, but--See much earlier post on moving. I'd forgotten how all-absorbing and exhausting it is. I'm also in the middle of staring a new garden. This is definitely a good thing, but requires much weeding and so far all interesting bugs have been observed with no camera handy. That will change!

Review of Eureka: Force Quit up on The Geek Girl Project

I finally watched & reviewed it.

Short version: Entertaining, but very much a middle episode. Holly's death is really starting to hurt.  Full review here, on The Geek Girl Project.