Read the delightful Barrowbreck by Andrew M Hurley, a great collection of short stories is made coherent by its unity of place, a lost, dark, valley between Lancashire and Yorkshire. The stories unfold from the Bronze ages till a near and disastrous future. While the book is often presented as horror fiction, I rather see it as an exploration of an alternate reality, a fantasy just outside our own world. Not inducing dread or unease in the reader. The author demonstrates great skill in setting substantial characters and situations within a few pages, in translating the inner feelings of highly diverse people and, above all, in refraining from providing a definite conclusion to his stories. Some of them are striking enough to remain in my memories for a while!
Apart from an Indian-style vegetable six dishes feast, did not experiment much in the kitchen, in part due to my travelling one week out of two between November and December. But harvested and prepared my olives after collecting about 3 litters of them. (I also tasted a Banh Chhev (in Petit Cambodge, Paris but it failed short from my expectation, neither crispy nor sizzling. And cold.)
Watched As You Stood By, a Korean drama about domestic violence. And then Last Samurai Standing. Adapted from the novel of the same name written by Shogo Imamura. And the rather hilarious movie Good News, a South Korean disaster black comedy film playing a similar trick to Good bye Lenin. Gave up watching an unlucky series of terrible films and TV series. From the cheezy A Man on the Inside (which surely makes Agatha Christie cringe in her grave), to Ichikei’s Crow (a highly unrealistic sequence of near-judicial errors in a Tokyo tribunal, with the redeeming feature of a three-leg crow logo, Yatagarasu, also a guardian on the Kumanokodo), to the pretentious Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro (where over-prefect Victorian tableaux and crepuscular lighting games kill the scenario even before it is brought to life by Dr. Frankenstein’s steampunk apparatus, aka, the mélo chokes the drama!), to Troll 2, even worse than Troll, pulling on the very same strings as the first film, with the very same house eviscerated again by another strolling troll!, as well as a complete disregard for archaeological dig rules and with the ultimate lame resort to holy water! Catching a few views of the Jotunheimen peaks, though (which we hiked 35 years ago).
While taking advantage of the remaining vegetables and fruits at the local market, like having radish, coriander and lemon salad at every meal, and garden tomatoes as well, and making daily breakfast compote from rhubarb and figs, plus the customary skyr and buckwhe(y/at) pancakes, the culinary experience this round was outside, with a dinner at Oktobre, a restaurant we had visited a few times, in the heart of Quartier Latin, and recently 
pregnancies). The hugely predictable romantic developments are taking for ever, while the overall scenario is weak and unrealistic (even conditional on the local universe). As in other poor fantasy novels, the characters travel huge distances at times of upheavals of a cosmic scale, can indulge in fancy meals while the society is collapsing, uncover super-powers at times of need, and meet at the perfect moment to save the day (of fallen night!). In addition, the cosmogony of the local universe is poorly constructed, with different creeds conflicting. A single redeeming if idiosyncratic factor is the skills of Dumai in ice climbing and mountaineering, where she lost a few fingers… The second book was a trilogy, 
Made a purée from one breadfruit, which grows extensively in Guadeloupe. A nice taste close to potatoes with a nuttier flavour. Also made lots of (local) tuna ceviche, ideal for cold meals, and mango purées, taking advantage of the mango tree in the garden of my daughter’s rental. Even brought back a frozen jar of the purée (along with the massive avocados that grow on the island and a few of the local bananas). Tasted a fantastic 
