Lighter fare

It started with my Mother-in-Law offering to loan me Sizzling Sixteen(she is such an enabler.)  Well, I can't read that unless I first read Finger Licken' Fifteen.  So I went to the bookstore to fetch aforementioned book, and came away with a few other books--maybe 3 or 4.  But I made sure they were all light, fluffy things.  I need something that is nutritionally devoid and deliciously tasty.  Hey, for everything there is a season, right?

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

 

 Drool.  That's what you're going to do the entire way through this book.  Well written slips of stories are woven around some of the tastiest range of recipes that will have you checking the pantry to see if there is anyway you can make it - right now.  A foodie's dream book of all kinds of recipes from pretty down to earth (veggie soup) to ones that involve a dictionary but also a book lover's dream with well spun stories to be shared over what's cooking tonight.  I loved it.  And I'm making the chocolate cupcakes this week!

Hooch! Oh, and some other stuff too...

1. HOOCH!  Apparently, I'm making moonshine instead of sourdough starter.  When I noticed separation in the starter mix, I thought I'd done something wrong, but apparently this is normal.  At least I think it is normal.  My concoction isn't smelling so great right now...  (Picture coming)
2. Inspired by the sourdough science experiment, I went out this weekend and bought 2 cookbooks, Whole Grain Breads by Machine or Hand and King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking.  I was really excited to find some whole grain recipes I could use with my bread machine.  Much like my slow cooker, I love the fact I insert ingredients and a finished product emerges with little effort from me.  It's the closest thing to a personal chef I'll probably ever have.
3. The spring cleaning continues.  This weekend the blinds were wiped down (which takes FOREVER, now I know why I don't bother every week.), hosed down the air duct return grate, and for the outside of the house, trimmed back all the monkey grass and reassembled the landscape lighting.  The outside work moved us down the shacky scale about 1 point.  Besides needing fresh mulch on all the landscaping, there is still the matter of the two dead azaleas that have been there for 2 years.  On the plus side we have some neighbors who, bless their hearts, are doing their very best to make us look better.
4. I finished The Book Thief on Friday.  Narrated by Death, the overall tone of the book is what comes to mind when I hear "heavily stylized."  There is a huge emphasis on word painting.  The descriptions are not flowery or flowing.  The entire prose is fairly terse but the phrasing is distracting because no one (at least that I know) talks that way.  Set in WWII, beware of a heavy emotional drag on the whole book and if you're looking for a happy ending, pass this one by (what can you expect when Death narrates?).  However, there is very satisfying character development, and you can't help but root for them as they struggle as non-Nazis in Nazi Germany.

In Defense of Food

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan is a follow up to the also very well known The Omnivore's Dilemma.  I didn't find it quite as good/informative as Dilemma but it was a very good summary of the follies of nutritional science.  It has become ridiculous how many rules there are-  Don't eat after 7 pm.  Say no carbs.  Eat 1/3 of your daily calories at breakfast.  Oh, and don't forget your supposed to eat at least 4 more time today to keep that metabolism going.  It's refreshing to see someone just advocating eating, no, dining on food.  Not engineered food but real food that looks like it did when growing.  And that's it.  No prescribed meal times, food combinations, or rotating nutrients superstars for a day.  Overall a good read but not one that breaks a lot of new ground.

The Age of Innocence

  The Age of Innoncence by Edith Wharton was the 1921 winner of the Pulitzer Prize.  Thankfully, it was much better than the movie (which after all the movies I’ve seen that failed to measure up to the book, I really should haven’t let that give me pause).  I imagined that this would be an epic struggle me against the book, but it was quite good.  The main characters, Madame Ellen Olenska and Newland Archer, struggle with morality, ideals about individual freedom, and society’s social mores as they deal with their feelings for each other (Newland is married to Ellen’s cousin, which does make things a bit awkward).  I often find older novels to be a bit to dramatic to the point of maudlin with their stories, and while this one strayed close to the edge, it didn’t go over it (unlike the movie *insert eye roll here*).  The points concerning personal freedoms and following your heart (or lust as the case may be) are still pertinent in today’s world, making this a good read for anyone.

Weekend Update

1.  I got my Grandmother's grow lights this weekend.  She isn't starting seeds this year so she's letting me give them a whirl.  I'm hoping it will help cut down on the legginess of the sprouts.  I was going to try to get my seeds going this weekend, but first I have to figure out how to hang the grow lights.

2.  Spring is just around the corner for us.  See?   Granted these guys are early every year, but still, it reminds you that there is something good coming after day in and day out of dreary skies and unexciting rain.

3.  I forgot my Kindle at work on Friday.  I was so mad because I'm in the middle of Goals by Brian Tracy, which is a great book about how to set clear goals and organize action steps so that you can 1)improve chances of getting to your goals, and 2) get there faster.  Anyway, I picked up a book off my unread shelf and was totally sucked into Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz.  It is a sequel to her first book and features the same funny dysfunctional family of private investigators.  I finished it up this morning.

4.  Finished up the handles for the crocheted (and eventually felted) tote.  Here it is:The handles aren't sewn in as you are supposed to felt everything first.  But my problem is this--I like it quite a bit how it is.  It will shrink during felting (which is why the handles are so thick).  However, I've never felted anything and really want to see how it ends up.  The good news is that, once I figured out how the tube thing was supposed to work and disregarding the hours of frustration that led to this being a 2 year orphan, it was pretty easy and went quickly.  So, if I don't like the result, I'm whipping myself up another.

Time to purge

I have a clutter issue.  I collect books, somewhat unintentionally.  In my youth, I reread books quite frequently, but these days I'm lucky to get it read the first time.  So last year, in the spirit of new beginnings, resolutions, yada, yada, I started a purging tradition whereby the local library suddenly sees a bunch of boxes dropped off under the cover of darkness.  So today it was time.  The bookshelves were groaning under the weight of double stacked shelves and the slightest vibration sent books crashing to the floor.  I've taken an additional step this year.  Shawn got me a Kindle for Christmas.  I'm hoping it will be perfect for those books I don't need to keep around.  Here's what I ended up with:

I seriously underestimated how many boxes I would need.  Here's what's left:

Olive Kitteridge

This was the Pulitzer Prize winner for 2009.  I hated it.  I know it got 4 out of 5 stars in 289 reviews on Amazon, but it was so freakin' depressing I felt like shooting myself after most of the stories.  It is a collection of 13 stories in which Olive Kitteridge makes an appearance.  A character study done in an unusual way you get to know her through her own story and as a peripheral character in others' stories.  It ends on the barest of hopeful notes which was not enough for me after slogging through 270 pages.  50% of the stories and nearly all the first 8 feature stories of infidelity disguised as the search for love.  In every instance, it is excused away (Perhaps Tiger Woods has read this book).  I will give the author props on this--it is very well written.  She walks that fine line of evocative writing without being so caught up in her own turn of phrase that you end up rolling your eyes.  If you're looking for tales of despair and woe with a bone of hopefulness at the end, check this out.  Otherwise, pass.

Hail to Home Shopping!

I used to love our Barnes and Noble.  It was in a strip mall close but not too close to the mall.  It was cozy inside with dark wood shelves and appropriate lighting.  Then they made a deal with the devil aka the mall.  Now the store has bright supermarket lighting.  It's two steps from the food court so it perpetually smells like Chick-fil-a which goes great with the smell of brewed coffee.  Since its next to the food court you can never find a parking spot that isn't like 3 stores away, and it is heavily trafficked by cars, making getting into the store an alarmingly real game of Frogger.  The crafting section is right outside the cafe and when people sit in the tables there, I can't bend over without sticking my behind in the faces of the unfortunate patrons.  It's not comfortable for me or for them.  Another unfortunate side effect of being in the mall is the alarming increase of angst ridden tweens.  They park themselves in aisles, sitting around on the floor taking pictures with their cell phones for their MySpace pages and talking about Twilight.  Blech.  Thank goodness for the online version.  Between bn.com and amazon.com, I'm free to find books not stocked in our smallest possible footprint stores.  Even better, there is no smell of Chick-fil-a, my favorite sections are always well stocked, and no one shoves me into the shelving trying to squeeze between me and the cafe tables.  Oh yeah, I can shop in my PJs, and it is totally appropriate (yes, college girl in the flannel pants and sweatshirt who didn't shower this morning, it is inappropriate to leave the house looking like that.).

To read or to knit?

I like to read.  I liked to read even before Oprah (I don't like her selections, anyway.  Most are too Lifetime television i.e. some woman has been done wrong by some man and must overcome insurmountable odds (which always makes me wonder, "aren't insurmountable odds insurmountable?") My problem is my hang up on productivity.  What have I gotten done today?  Reading doesn't leave you with much to show for your last 3 hours.  Also, I don't know many other readers who have similar literary taste (fiction with a real plot; very limited sprinkle of chick-lit, science fiction, or violence; no harlequin romance, please;  and sad endings need not apply (I'm looking at you, Nicholas Sparks), and books are like movies, half the fun is talking about it.  So in the past few years, I haven't read much, but I've moved to rectify that over the past few months.  Currently, I'm working on The Help, which for such a serious subject (what is like to be a black maid in a white house in Mississippi during the 1960s) it has several funny moments.  I've been squeezing as much reading as possible into unproductive time (like soaking in the tub,  sitting under the hair dryer at the beautician's, and sitting at stoplights).  However, knitting time has still suffered.  Good thing there is still a month before Christmas.