Manual Labor - Part 2

 Once the painting was done, we had a few days to organize, pick up, and begin to refinish the baseboard.  When Don began to take the baseboard off, he discovered that it was solid walnut.  One does not dispose of solid walnut, so rather than find new baseboard, we decided to sand them to remove any finish and then put tung oil on them.  Once we got all of the boards off and all of the nails out of the floor, I began to sand and refinish while Don worked on numerous other projects.

There are worse places to work than in the mountains!

 

On December 19, the flooring crew showed up - all 6 of them.  And man, did they get to work!  By the end of the first day, they had completed most of the main room - which is very large - and by Saturday, which was only 6 days later, they were done with both the LVP and the ceramic tile.  Don had put heat tape under the ceramic tile, so he spent a lot of time doing that, and between my walks to the cabin and back, sanding, finishing, and cleaning, we were pretty tired by the end of every day.  But by October 26, the floor was in and the rooms were painted - and we were happy campers!

The finished main room

New floors in the bedroom

Manual Labor - Part 1

We spent the entire month of October in the Holy Ghost, living at the cabin and working at Spirit Ranch.  Katie came down in early October to help paint, and what a job it was.  I had forgotten how long it takes to tape for a paint job, but Katie knew.  She had done this many times before, and within two or three days, we had things ready to go.

Then we had to learn how to use the paint sprayer.  She had used one before, so it didn't take long, but what an awkward machine it is.  But it worked, and within two more days, she had the rooms painted.  In the meantime, Don painted the fireplace Mallard Green, and the three of us painted the baluster and the banisters.  We are delighted with the results, and we are so very grateful to Katie for her help!

A bedroom prior to painting

The painted walls look much better, we think!

The painting of the banister - gray to Mallard Green

The gray fireplace

We love the new color!

A Midsummer's Night Constellation

 Over July 4, 2004, my mom came to the cabin, and Kenneth, Diana, and Don joined us there.  We saw an interesting constellation formation that Kenneth said he wished could be painted.  Eventually, Angus Macpherson painted a beautiful picture for both Kenneth and Diana, and they cherish it as a memory of the last time they saw their grandmother.

Fast forward 16 years, and the same constellation showed up at about the same time.  With the marvel of the iPhone 11, Kenneth took a picture of the constellation amongst the trees.

I decided to try my hand at painting the picture.  In Wichita, the Wichita Art Museum is sponsoring an exhibit of amateur (and real) artists, and anyone can enter.  I decided to try my hand at a picture and if it was good enough, I would enter it in the show.  So I worked on it, and this is what I came up with.

I am pretty pleased with the results.

Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Lions

 Beginning in the 1930s, attempts to relocate Bighorn Sheep to the Pecos Wilderness had little success, but in later years (I believe in the early 1960s), newer methods helped establish a nice colony of sheep.  We had seen them at Pecos Baldy several times, but those were the only times we had seen them.

Two years ago, I began to hear of a sheep that was hanging out at Windy Bridge.  We had never seen it until this year, when we came around the corner - and voila!  He was licking salt off the pavement, just like those in Canada.  We loved seeing him, and we pray that he survives - he is awfully close to civilization!

We also know that we have mountain lions in our area, and once again, we got a game-camera picture of one.  I would love to see one live - just like Don did several years ago.  But until I do, game camera pics will have to do.

Herding Cattle

 This has been the summer of new adventures! Crashing trees, fighting fires, seeing bighorn sheep . . . and herding cattle.  

We were at the Ranch on September 2, and as we were leaving, we saw 7 Charolais cattle grazing in the meadow near our road. We immediately knew to whom they belonged, and when we arrived home, I called the house to let them know.  Then Don and Kenneth went into Santa Fe, and Caleb and I stayed at the cabin.

About an hour later, the phone rang, and Annelle was on the phone.  "There are 7 Charolais cattle in the Percy's yard," she said.  She, too, had tried the owner and left a message on his voice mail.  Then she decided to try to herd them down the road to put them in someone's pasture.

I called Huie, and he suggested that I call Gail Doran to see if she could help.  She had herded cattle before and knew what to do . . . and she seemed pleased to help.  Caleb and I got in my red iron horse, and we went down the road, just as the cattle had arrived in the meadow across the stream from us.  I opened the gate at the cattle guard, thinking they would go through it.  But no, they climbed the hill and headed to the Tererro campground.

I went to Gail's to tell her where they were, and our plan was to drive them across the river and into one of Huie's pastures.  It was a good plan, until the cows decided they did not want to cross the river and instead went back toward the Holy Ghost. Gail herded them down the road while I blocked traffic, and once on highway 63, I led the way, blinkers going the whole time.  We had a few missteps - they defected into two different pastures, climbed the hill once, and visited another campground - and Gail's horse's hoof became entrapped in some sheep fencing.  Gail got another horse for Annelle, and between the three of us, we managed to get the cattle into the Forest Service pasture!

Caleb had a good time watching all of the chaos, and Gail's dog, Jack, joined us in the car for awhile. Caleb even got on a horse, but he became scared pretty quickly and wanted off.  But I have to say, three women did a pretty good job and getting the cattle where they needed to be . . . and then we found out that they had overwintered in the high country because they could not be found last October. So their owner was even happier!

In the meadow across from the cabin

Gail at work

Spirit Ranch

Sometimes dreams come true.  Sometimes you have to wait a long time but when they happen, you know it.

For years, we had watched the three private land parcels at the head of the Holy Ghost.  They are beautiful parcels of land - the creek runs through them, happily bubbling along, and since no one fishes it, there are plenty of German Browns swimming freely. The aspen trees grow along the sides of several meadows, the deer and elk roam between the three parcels grazing contentedly, and the houses are far enough off the road that the noise is minimal.  I have always wished we could buy some of the land.

Over July 4, we heard that one of the parcels - the second-largest - was possibly going to be for sale, so we asked if we could look at it. Don, Kenneth, and Caleb all went to see it, and when they came home, they were ecstatic.  If only we could buy it . . . if only.  It would guarantee that we would always have a place in the Holy Ghost no matter what happened to the other cabins; it is large enough that several families could come stay there; it could even be used into the winter.

After much discussion, Don and I decided to try to purchase it.  The house would take some work, but its bones were good - very good.  It had been designed by a Santa Fe modernist named Philippe Register, and it was built by a man named Bill Stanton, who also built the Frank Lloyd Wright house down the Canyon. The interior was designed by a famous group from Dallas, though that didn't mean much to either of us.  But once we saw it all put together, we saw the beauty in the design.

So we made an offer.  We didn't have much back and forth - and on August 27, 2020, we closed on this beautiful piece of property. Don has plenty of thinking and designing to do; I have lots of cleaning and sorting.  But by next spring, we anticipate that we will have the floors in, the electrical work done, one of the decks replaced, and a list of work to complete within the next three years.

So what will happen with 4B? Well, I can tell you what won't happen.  We will not sell it.  My heart is there.  I love my cabin and cannot imagine selling it.  Besides, with the addition, we will not have to do any stairs, and hence, we can stay there until we have trouble walking.  What the kids do with it is their business - but until I can no longer use it, it is staying in the family!

Fire Fighting

 It seems as if we have been fighting fires this entire year:  Covid-19, quarantining, finding toilet paper, adjusting to unusual cold and hot spells.  This is certainly a memorable year, made more so by an incident that happened at the cabin.

On August 20, while Don was outside the cabin talking with a neighbor, I took Jordy and Nelson out onto the flagstone deck.  I looked up across the hill, and amazingly, I saw a large puff of smoke emanating from the ground.  I knew immediately it was a fire.  I yelled at Don to look at it, and we immediately began to scramble.

I raced inside and first tried calling Huie - but I only got his voicemail.  Then Chris - same result.  No one answered at the fire department, nor at the Ranger Station. I was very frustrated, but then I saw Chris go racing down the driveway in his truck.  He had been at the neighbor's house, and when he heard there was a fire, he jumped into action.

In the meantime, Don began to collect a rake, a hoe, and a shovel . . . and then he filled two water bottles.  We raced to the car and drove up to the Noel's compound.  After figuring out where Chris was, Don and I hiked as fast as we could (we're old, you know), found Chris, and immediately took instruction from him on how to "cut line."  He had surrounded quite a bit of the fire before we got there, but there were still flaming logs and plenty more to do.  Within about 30 minutes, the fire was completely contained, though it was still puffing quite a bit.  We took a drink of water, poured the rest on the fire, and left.

Once we were home, I called the Forest Service in Santa Fe, and they sent a crew out to mop up.  They had water bladders that they poured on the remains, and soon it was completely out.

Grateful.  That is the best way to define my feelings.  Grateful that I had to take Jordy outside and was able to see the fire.  Grateful that Chris was in the area so that he could get right on the fire.  Grateful that Don and I were in good enough shape that we could help.  Grateful that we saw the fire at its very beginnings - it could have been VERY bad, but instead, it was easily contained and a non-issue.

TIMBER!!!!

 July 31, 2020.  A day that shall live in our minds forever - not exactly momentous for many, but for us - well, interesting.

A storm blew in as I was cooking dinner.  The lights blinked, and I looked outside to see the electric wires convulsing in the wind.  The lights went out . . . and then I saw the power line laying on the ground 3 feet from the wall.  My first thought was that it was live, but some further inspection showed that the fuse in the transformer across the river had blown, and the line was dead.

As I was trying to call the Mora Coop (which was not possible with our rotary phone), Don determined what the problem was.  The very large tree at the propane tank had died, and I had mentioned to Don that it looked like it was leaning.  Indeed it was, and the big gust of wind had snapped it off about twenty feet up, crashing it on the road below us.  This was the second time a tree has fallen over the road right before we were preparing to leave.

In this case, we got very lucky.  Some people were going to be staying at the cabin above us, and they arrived about 5 minutes after the tree had fallen.  Yikes!  Don grabbed his reticulating saw, and with the help of the people who were to go up the hill, they had cleared the slash off the trunk and cars could pass up and down again.

It took about two hours for the linemen to arrive - they had driven from Mora to help us.  They arrived nearly at dark, but they had us hooked up in no time.  We were very grateful they were able to get to us so quickly.

We decided to leave the trunk where it is, as it will prevent people from parking there and camping.  And we are mourning the loss of our beautiful tree.

A Pandemic Reception a la Zoom

When we arrived back at the condo, I could not stand the thought that we were done.  A cake was awaiting us (red velvet with cream cheese frosting, no less), but we had to do something special.  So enter Zoom again!  We dialed up the siblings, and it was once again, a Zoom extravaganza!

First, on the grass outside, we announced Mr. and Dr. Stucky, then we had some confetti to shoot at them, and then Daniel had to carry Di across the threshold.  He seemed a little perplexed by that, but hey - why not?  I think the video is too long to post here . . . too bad, because it was really fun!

Then they opened some champagne glasses, Daniel miraculously opened the champagne without any sort of bubbly explosion, they cut the cake, and then they gave each other a piece.  We all agreed that smashing the cake in each other's faces is not a good look . . . so they were very sweet in how they gave each other their cake!

Tia and James joined us for cake and champagne, and then it was over.  It certainly was not the big event most young people have at their wedding, but we all toasted - and roasted - and had a nice time.  Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, and everyone left, leaving us to our reception dinner of ribs.  We were supposed to have corn, also, but oh yes . . . it was in Wichita in the refrigerator.

Despite a few missteps, we had a wonderful day, and Di and Daniel are happily married.  They went back to their hotel, and they confessed that they were exhausted!  That means a good time was had by all!

Pure Joy

Di is a dancer, and she was really looking forward to dancing at the reception.  Well, that was not to be, but she found her own way to celebrate - at least for a minute or two.

A little after the wedding, she and Daniel were standing in the grass when she started to twirl her dress.

The spontaneity and joy they expressed was a pleasure to behold!

The Mini-mony

Plans change, and our ceremony plans changed, too.  The initial plans were for Aubrey Ramsey to be the Maid-of-Honor, and Tia Butler and Liz Hollingsworth were to be the bridesmaids; Rick Hasner was to be the Best Man, and Andrew Kinkler was to be a groomsman.  Because Aubrey, Liz, and Andrew would have had to fly to be in attendance, the two attendants who were closest to Austin were Tia and Rick . . . so they were the two involved in the ceremony.

We were to have about 125 people in the peanut gallery . . . instead there were 6 of us!  And we were socially distanced and masked.

But that was ok . . . When it was time, Father Billy, Andrew, and Rick walked to the front of the wedding area, and it was time for Di and Don to make their entrance.  And we waited and waited . . . and I turned around to see Don taking a selfie before he started walking Di down the aisle.

Di was radiant as she walked down the aisle.  and even sans music, it was thrilling to watch her and her dad.  I thought he might cry, but he didn't - perhaps only having a short way to walk and no music made it possible for us to keep things together!

Father Billy's casual style worked really well in the atmosphere where we were.  It was quite hot, so he wasted no time with idle chatter.  The service from the Episcopal New Zealand Prayer Book was very pretty, and I especially liked that rather than "Who gives this woman . . . " the parents were asked to bless the couple.  It included both Daniel's parents and us - and I loved that.

The good news is Rick did not lose the rings, and within about 20 minutes, Di and Daniel were pronounced man and wife.  They walked down the aisle to applause from the 6 of us . . . and it was over.

A few fun points:

Rick did not know Daniel had forgotten his suit, but if the suit had not arrived, Rick had brought a second suit, just in case.  Daniel and Rick are the same size, and the suits they wore were the same ones they wore for Rick's wedding 18 months ago . . . so it would have worked.  Isn't that a great best man?

We zoomed the event for a number of people, but Don and I did not know how to keep the picture large, so those in "attendance" could not really see everything!  But they were there, and they even were asked to chime in a "We will" during the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we toasted the couple with some champagne provided by Aubrey, and then we headed back to the condo.  Not exactly what we had planned, but Di said it was perfect, which is really what counts!!

The Big Day - the Pandemic Way!

The first big news of the day was that Daniel's suit arrived by 9:30 a.m.  Don and I hung it in the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let it steam out.  It was as good as new by the time the wedding arrived.

We drove to the hotel to pick up Daniel, and I stayed at the hotel to be with Diana.  I was impressed with the provisions the hotel had made to keep the guests safe - only one person or family in the elevator, no one hanging around the lobby and we met no one in the halls.  I would say it was as safe as possible for us!

At the hotel, Di put on her make-up, we did her hair (not my strength, but she talked me through it!), I gave her a very soft and cute pajama short set, and by noon, Don was there to take us to pick up the dress and go to Barr Mansion.

I had no idea how we were going to get the dress to the Mansion, but the people at the dress shop certainly knew.  Within a few minutes, we had the dress wrapped in a sheet, and since we had the Jeep, it was easy to fold the back seat down to fit the dress.  Then we carried it into the Mansion (though it looked like we were carrying a dead body!).

The Barr Mansion staff made us feel very comfortable in the room, and after we had talked to Father Billy, arranged Diana's flowers in her hair, distributed the boutonnieres and discussed the social distancing, Di was ready to get dressed!

Di put my Kappa Key and my Mom's Kappa Key on the bouquet - something old and blue!  Unfortunately, her key was somewhere in the boxes in her bedroom, not to be found in time for the wedding!

The necklace was my grandmother's, and I wore it when I was married, too.  Something old - and borrowed!

To go with the copper theme of Di's birkenstocks, the boutonniere was wrapped with copper wire.

One rather humorous picture was taken by Don.  He looked outside and saw a person exterminating yellow jackets from the lanterns that were hanging overhead.  He took the picture and sent it to many friends, mentioning that Bill Murray had just shown up to take care of the preparations - a flashback to the movie Caddyshack.  That got quite the reaction from many men!!

And then it was time!

A Zoom Rehearsal Dinner

Once we arrived in Austin, we quickly unloaded and then began thinking about dinner.  Since we did not stop on the way down, except for gas and bathroom breaks (and a Starbucks), we were quite hungry.  We had planned to eat spaghetti, but we forgot the pressure cooker and Di had not left any cookware in the condo, so Daniel went to pick up a pizza from their favorite pizza place.

Unbeknownst to them, I had arranged with Daniel's parents, Kenneth and Melinda, and Daniel's sisters to have a Zoom rehearsal dinner.  The wedding couple was surprised to see their relatives online, and although it would have been better in person, this worked amazingly well.

Becky started out with a very moving toast to Di and Daniel, and we had the appropriate champagne with which to toast.  As we made our way through the group, each person added their well wishes, complete with laughs and tears, which made the impromptu rehearsal dinner a little more real.  Never mind that we were all in our traveling clothes and a bit weary!!!

Afterwards, it was time to get ready for the big day ahead . . . which included meeting with the new condo property manager, awaiting FedEx for the delivery of Daniel's forgotten suit, and the arrival of Daniel's parents, not to mention the wedding.

Planning a Wedding and COVID-19

Last year, in a simpler, safer time, we planned Diana's and Daniel's wedding in Austin.  It was to be at Barr Mansion on July 10, 2020, complete with a reception afterwards, a breakfast the next morning, and lots of fun in-between.  Who knew things would become so complicated?

First, Daniel took a job in Denver that started in November.  None of us had anticipated this, but he found the perfect position, and we are delighted that Denver is where they will be.

Life continued on, we ordered invitations, we fit her dress, we made travel plans.  And then, along came Covid-19.  At first, we were not terribly concerned - July 10 was a long ways away.  But as things began to unravel, it became abundantly clear that cancellations were happening everywhere.  First, the wedding shower in Wichita was postponed until August.  We realized that asking Di's attendants to fly to Austin was a really bad move; asking our friends to travel there, even by car, was also not a good decision.  So we changed the date of the reception to July 9, 2021, hoping that we could at least hold a small ceremony in Austin this year, and we would have a renewal of vows next year.

As the date came closer, Texas and the virus were plunging into bad territory.  Di and Daniel debated going to a Justice of the Peace in Denver, we considered coming to the Pecos and having my brother perform the ceremony in our meadow, but they really wanted to go to Austin. Barr Mansion was still operating, and on July 9, Di, Daniel, Don and I piled into the Jeep and headed to Austin.  We were very careful to wear our masks, wash our hands, and eat snacks we had brought with us.  It was the start of a very interesting few days!

Stars at Night

One of the most poignant moments in our family occurred in July, 2004.  I had been spending time in New Mexico with my mom, while Don stayed home.  Diana had been in Europe, and the day after she returned home, she and Don drove to the cabin.  Since she awakened early, they were on the road early and arrived about 3 in the afternoon.  Mom and I were in Albuquerque, and unbeknownst to Don and Di, I had arranged for Kenneth to fly to Albuquerque, where Mom and I picked him up and brought him to the cabin.

As we exited the car, Kenneth looked up at the dark sky and saw an unusual formation of the Big Dipper.  We then went inside, where Don and Di were doing the dishes.  "Kenneth, what are you doing here?" Diana exclaimed, as surprised as Don was.

Throughout the next few nights, the formation continued to appear, and several times Kenneth mentioned that he wished he knew someone who could paint the picture.  That being said, none of us knew anyone, and we just had the memory of the stars.

After a few days at the cabin, everyone went home, the kids said good-bye to my mom and me.  I went back home with her, and over the next few months, I visited about every two weeks.  In September, after I took my mom to dialysis, I decided to go visit the art gallery of Angus Macpherson, a cabin neighbor and high school friend.  In high school, I had no idea he was an artist, but I had heard of his work, and I wanted to see what he did.  When I walked into his new gallery, the first picture I saw was a night sky, complete with the moon rising over a hill, shining through the trees.  I found my artist.  Over the next few weeks, I worked with Angus to have him paint a picture for each of the kids, ship it to the school, and have it ready for Christmas.

I had no idea, at the time, that my mom would pass away just before Thanksgiving, and my children would not see her after that time at the cabin.  The significance of that trip to the cabin increased in importance, and we had a rather sober Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We had planned a trip to Yellowstone, leaving on Christmas afternoon, so we had to hurry with packages in the morning.  After the last package was opened, I pulled out one more . . . and Kenneth and Di opened it together, pulling out two beautiful pictures of the night sky.  Quite an emotional moment. (Picture will be attached later.)

Fast forward 16 years.  This past weekend, Kenneth and Caleb joined us at the cabin.  While there, Kenneth went outside to see nearly the same formation as when we were there with my mom.  Now, however, he had a really good iPhone in hand with a super camera on it.  He took this picture:

Sometimes things happen that are not coincidence.  I think this was one of those times.

Reflections on Isolation, Corona, and More

It has indeed been a weird few months.  Not long after we returned from New Mexico, we began to hear of a virus in China that appeared to be headed our way.  We were able to have our Author Dinner, but not long after, the country began to shut down.  We were told to social distance, to stay home.  And we did.  For six weeks.  Right before spring break, schools closed down, churches quit having services, many business closed, all restaurants shut . . . it was something we have never seen before.

We had no Easter services, all sports were shut down, schools did not hold graduations or proms or awards ceremonies, weddings were postponed . . .

And I found out I really enjoyed the quiet.  I loved not having a schedule, we walked the dogs more than ever, we did projects that have been on our list for ages, we cleaned out - but had nowhere to take the stuff - and we didn't drive our cars more than a mile a day!  Although many hoarded toilet paper, we always have a lot on hand, so we escaped that drama . . . but other items were in short supply and we had to adapt.

I found that if I planned meals for two weeks and was not tempted to "make reservations," we did not waste food, and we ate well.  I hope I can sustain that trend.

We also learned about Zoom, and we held three or four Zoom meetings a week.  My high school friends and I have never kept in such good touch.  Don gets together with two of his men's groups, we talk to church friends, I go to Weight Watchers . . . it is rather nice to sit in our family room and not leave our house.

We missed our grandkids - but FaceTime helped us.  I got to see Diana once as we prepared for her wedding.  Unfortunately, she is one whose wedding has been changed.  We will be having a mini-mony on the original date, July 10, and the party will be next year!  I am so proud of Diana and Daniel and the way they have handled their disappointment.  But we have all found that we are relaxing, knowing that there will only be ten of us at the ceremony.

It has been an interesting time.

New Mexico in the Winter

Don and I wanted to test out the new Willie in the winter, so we decided to come to New Mexico.

We arrived in Las Vegas, and spent the evening with Betsy and Matthew.  By the next morning however, we had about 6 inches of snow and by the end of the day, we had 8".  Not exactly what we were expecting, but Don managed to keep the pipes from freezing, and by noon on Wednesday, we were ready to get to Santa Fe.  On our drive out, a rock hit the windshield, so Wednesday afternoon, Safelite was able to repair the chip!

Thursday morning, we met Peter and Claudia and went to Nambe and Chimayo.  Having never been to either place, we spent quite of a bit of time driving through Nambe and walking around Chimayo.  We were at Chimayo on the second anniversary of baby Mia's death, so we had an opportunity to purchase a candle and light it in her memory.  It was a rather sobering day, but we were glad we were in Chimayo.

The trip to Chimayo touched our hearts in many ways . . . and our stomachs.  We had not differentiated between regular red chile and Chimayo chile, but after eating it, we tasted the difference.  We are now died-in-the-wool Chimayo chile lovers!

The trip to Albuquerque gave us the opportunity to see Aunt Ruth, who will be 101 in May, and to see my cousin, Mabel.  We had dinner with Bart and Char; saw our friend Merideth Hmura; went to the Albuquerque Museum to see an exhibit with our friend, Anne; and spent some time with our nephew, Joey and his wife, Traci.

Then on our way home, I insisted that we eat at Frankie's and go to the cabin.  It was a beautiful day, despite the nearly 20 inches of snow at the cabin, and the joy of walking through the snow exhilarated me.  A fall on the road did nothing to dissuade me from continuing, and although we only spent a few minutes inside the cabin, it eased the itch.

Then, we were on our way home.  We couldn't make it home in time, so we stopped at a little RV park in Elkhart.  It is a no-frills place, but it certainly works for a short-term stop-over!

All in all, it was a very successful trip, and the new Willie performed admirably in rather challenging conditions.

Driving the RV

When we bought the new RV, I knew it was time for me to learn to drive.  Don had done all of the driving for 17 years, and we have been lucky not to have needed me to drive.  But we are getting older, and if Don should become ill, I need to know how to drive.

The first day was spent primarily doing a slalom around curbs.  I hit a few, but eventually I got the hang of it. By the second day, we were driving in downtown Kansas City.  It began to snow, and I even had some experience driving in the snow.  Since then, I have driven a little and am getting the hang of it.  I hope I only get to drive in good weather . . . but at least I can now!

The Other Einstein

I love my book club!  I have learned so much since joining it and have read books I would never pick up otherwise.  The most recent, The Other Einstein, is a captivating read about Albert Einstein's first wife.  Based on letters that were found, Marie Benedict crafts a fictional story about Mileva Einstein. And although it is fiction, much of the story is based on the letters.  Perhaps it is not true, but it surely makes sense to me that Albert Einstein took credit for his wife's work.  Imagine that!

In reading a few reviews, some have panned the author's style, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a rather quick read, and it kept me interested from beginning to end.