Wednesday, April 28, 2010

A good book...

...has no ending. R.D. Cumming.

One of my shameful little secrets is that I love to read books that are full of murder, manipulation, and mayhem. And, of course, you know those books usually come with a few other spicy and gruesome details. I've been known to go through 5 or 6 books in a good week. The other part of the equation is that after I am done with the book, its plot usually becomes unmemorable. More times than I care to remember, I will be half way through a book and be struck with random fits of deja vu.
 I'm sure I've read this before, I think to myself.
A few chapters later, I'm still wondering.
Sometimes, I will finish the book and still be unsure whether or not I have read it before.
Pitiful.
This is in contrast to Jeff ( and Jon, who apparently inherited the trait) who reads slowly but retains everything.

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.  James Bryce.

Several months ago, I joined the book club at our local library. Gone are my days of mindless reading. So far, every book has not only been one that I normally wouldn't have chosen to read, but also unforgettable. Maybe it's the process of reading, thinking , and then talking about it with like-minded people, but I find myself with new ideas circulating in my mind. Thoughts engendered by these books. So I am sharing the books with you, hoping that you will be as enlightened as was I.
Please note that un-dangled participle.
It was a tricky one.

The first book was So Brave, Young, and Handsome, by Leif Enger.
It's not a book I would have chosen at all, set back in the dying days of the Old West, but it was a quick and enjoyable read. Go here to read a better review than I could write. Leif Enger also wrote Peace Like a River, which is highly recommended by club members that have read it.

Then one of my favourite all-time books, The Widow's War, by Sally Gunning. Set in eighteenth century Cape Cod, it tells the riveting story of Lydia Berry, who is widowed after 20 years of marriage and finds herself subject to the laws of the time. She has no rights without a husband and the book tells of her rugged journey to establish her independence. Here is a good site for Sally Gunning and her books. It made me think about the rights and freedoms enjoyed by women in much, but not all, of the world. and about how many women in the world are still stuck in the mores of eighteenth century America, or worse.

The Geography of Bliss, of course, has already been covered here. I have probably spent more time contemplating this book than any other.

Last month we read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Again, not a book that I would have chosen, consisting of fictional letters between an author and various residents of Guernsey Island after the Second World War, and I don't really "do" books made of letters. I was enthralled. Did you know that the Channel Islands, off the coast of France but belonging to England, were occupied by Germany for five years? My parents have vivid memories of growing up in wartime England, so I was fascinated to learn of another aspect of those years. I took Mum to the book club meeting and everyone loved hearing some of her experiences, being evacuated to "the country" for two years and also enduring the bombing of Birmingham. I love the way history comes alive when presented by a good author.

This month's book is Moloka'i. I was reluctant to begin, thinking the subject matter boring and depressing.  It follows the story of a young Hawaii'an  girl who is taken from her family at a young age because she has leprosy. My goodness, talk about opening my eyes to things that I never knew existed. Leprosy in Hawaii in the early 1900's. I spent about half an hour in tears this morning, lying in bed and finishing the book.
You should read it too.

Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. P.J. O'Rourke.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Happy Tuesday things

Waking up to see Charlie sleeping on the couch.
Three happy preschool groups this morning.
Finding tiny Lindt chocolate bunnies for cheap at Grocery Outlet.
And Yoplait blackberry custard yogurt.
Annie, Charlie, and Mum going out to lunch at Freddies.
And bringing home chicken strips so that I could eat some.
Little boys in the rain.

 
Finding an indoor space for our family photos next week.
Check out the cool sculptures.
Caramel bread pudding and vanilla icecream for dinner.
Um, dessert.
My aubretia in full bloom. Also called rock cress. I brought these seeds back from England about 15 years ago. I love how these plants grow through the lattice fence and spill out onto the driveway.

 
The setting sun shining on newly leafed trees.

 
Happy trails to you!

No words needed

 

Monday, April 26, 2010

So much for a quiet house

Monday night.
Jon is getting ready for the boys' big paintball game on Saturday.
He is the mastermind, the organizer, the supplier of equipment.

Jeff feels right manly.

Mum is perusing old photo albums.

Annie playing solitaire on the laptop.

...and now watching a movie with her friend Jo.

 
Charlie tells me he'll be here at about 2:30 am.
Hope I don't forget to leave the door unlocked.

Later:
Jon, in all his glory.

 
Mum, in the kitchen.
Drowning out my PBS movie.

 

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sweet rewards

We visited Victoria on the beautiful Vancouver Island BC about twenty years ago. My memories of the trip are rather dim and consist mostly of food; we met some California friends up there and the wife generally plans her days around meals. I can reminisce fondly of afternoon teas consisting of dense scones, jam, and whipped cream. One of my lingering discoveries was Nanaimo Bars. Nanaimo is a town on the west coast of the island. The origin of the bars is a little fuzzy, with the first recorded recipe turning up in a church cookbook in Nanaimo in 1957, although some think it may date back to the 19th century. Some New Yorkers even tried to claim it as having New York origins. They call them New York slices. Darn those New Yorkers.

I haven't made these delectable little treats in probably fifteen years, but I had a hankering on Saturday. Ellen and Brenda were the recipients, being rewarded for their intimate knowledge of my flying proclivities.
And I ate a few.
Just a few.

Lately, I go to the web for recipes, ignoring my excellent selection of cookbooks. But for this, I went to my original hand-written collection, started by me when I was about eighteen. Here it is, in all its glory.

If you click on the photo, it will enlarge enough that you can read the recipe. I would advise no extra milk, 4oz of chocolate, and instant pudding powder, ignoring my notes to the contrary.
Today, I decided to not mess with the recipe.
It was a fortuitous decision.

I had one for breakfast.

Oh yeah.
The little check mark by the title of the recipe?
That means it has been tried and is good.

I love...

... a newly mowed lawn in spring.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Possibilities

It seems that everywhere I go this spring I see dandelions.
Seriously.
Whole lawns full of evil puffballs.
I am about to go spray Roundup on the neighbours' crops.
I am tired of fighting them.

On a brighter note, I have just about eradicated my own taraxacum, and the rest of the garden is primed with possibilities.
Yesterday, Jeff donned his trusty toolbelt (don'tcha just love a man in a toolbelt?) and attempted to confine the raspberry vines. I have doubts about the long-term efficacy of that manoeuvre, but I wasn't about to dampen his enthusiasm.
The vines are covered in little buds.
Note the rather rampant, unconfined vines in the left of the picture.

Potatoes, promising better behaviour than last year.

Bright red stalks of rhubarb, so much prettier than the green ones.

A strawberry flower, full of sweet potential.

And the grapes.
Oh my, the grapes.
The vines are covered with these babies.
I am already salivating at the thought of gallons of grape juice in the autumn.
This year I will leave them until they are ready to burst with sweetness.
Memo to self:
Plan that England/Ireland trip around the grape harvest.