The Cat's Meow

In Defense of Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

Liking Valentine’s Day is unpopular. If one is a Singleton who enjoys the day, then she is siding with the enemy. If one is married or dating and enjoys the day, they are made to feel guilty about all the singles of the world who are supposedly all crying into pints of Ben & Jerry’s while watching Katherine Heigl movies.

Well, I’ll be a rebel (walking target?) and admit that I like Valentine’s Day. True, I’ve been single 95% of the time on this holiday, but I’d argue that the day is not just for Smug Marrieds.

Reasons to Love Valentine’s Day:

Chocolate. It’s unusually accessible today, and you totally deserve a truffle. Have two if you want.

Red. Almost every woman looks hot in red, so wear it and feel awesome. For some serious sassiness, don some red patent leather heels.

Presents. If you are single today, buy yourself a present. This should not be optional. And do not buy yourself anything practical. This is not a day for buying new gym sneakers. Some good options are wine, lacy lingerie (and none of those “But no one sees it except for me” excuses), new music, and anything from Williams-Sonoma.

Entertainment value. Valentine’s brings out the sappiness in a certain part of the population, and this makes one’s Facebook News Feed more comical than usual.

Nights out. Whether you’re going out for a romantic dinner with your significant other or out for cosmos with the girls, it’s a great night to get dressed up and head out on the town.

Mockability. Valentine’s Day is great because you can mock it and enjoy it all the same time. I’d argue that the mocking only enhances enjoyment of the day. I’m very sad that I didn’t find the time to write a snarky V-Day post this year, but I’m grateful to my blog archives for housing these posts, and I just now had the best idea for next year’s Valentine post.

Winter is Coming to an End. Even here in Michigan where the occasional spring blizzard can and will strike, the arrival of Valentine’s Day means that winter is at least half over.

Appreciation. It’s a great day to appreciate family and friends.

If all else fails, and Valentine’s still sucks, try this:

Checking out vintage romance novel covers on the AbeBooks blog.
Reading about “depraved” Valentines, circa 1805 on the Two Nerdy History Girls blog.
Enjoying a Shamrock shake and begin planning for St. Patrick’s Day.

I have to admit that I sometimes miss memes

2012-02-08T18:15:00.002-05:00

Remember the days when we used to tag each other for memes, and we all found out the nuttiest things about each other? That was fun. And yes, I do see the absurdity of being nostalgic for 2005. Anyhow, I stole this from Cherie who participates in a weekly meme called Wednesday Hodgepodge. I could link back to the actual creator of this meme, but I'm feeling kind of lazy, so I'll just move on to the actual questions.

1. What is something you are loving right now?

That I’ll see my boyfriend tonight. We live in different towns (only a half hour apart, but still), so we usually only see each other on weekends.

2. Paris, Venice, New York, and Rome are considered four of the most romantic cities in the world. Which one would you most like to visit?

Even though Italy is near the very top of my Must See list, I have to go with Paris for romance. Does anything sound more perfect than kisses in Paris?

3. Are you a romantic?

Yes and no. I’d consider myself to be a cynical romantic.

I have to say I hate sentimentality. If you post mushy praises of your significant other on facebook, you’d better believe I’m reading it and gagging. Depending on the number of exclamation points used, my estimation of your IQ may even plummet. I also hate things like Nicholas Sparks novels and about 90% of chick flicks (though I really like the remaining 10% of them).

But at the same time, I am definitely ruled by my emotions, which is something most people don’t notice about me, and I’m very idealistic, and that combination does make me a romantic.

4. What's your favorite love story made for the big screen?

At the moment, Bright Star. It’s the love story of John Keats and Fanny Brawne and is based upon the letters that the couple wrote. It’s incredibly romantic and it makes me want to move to the English countryside and read Keats in a garden.

5. Everyone loves Pooh bear and friends...which character are you most like and why? Click here for help in answering this question.

Actually, I don’t love Pooh Bear and his friends. It just wasn’t part of my childhood. No, I didn’t grow up under a rock, but I did grow up in Saginaw, which is a remarkably similar experience. I did take the quiz in the link, though, and apparently I am Kanga (and more maternal than I realized).

6. What's the best chocolate something you've ever eaten?

Brownies. The gooey, fudgy kind. It’s certainly not chocolate in its most romantic form, but I can’t think of a better way to eat chocolate.

7. Share a favorite quote about love.

I don’t have one. That would be sentimental.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I recently heard that one is supposed to soak oats overnight before cooking, and if you don't, the oats will block vitamin absorption. Is this true? Does anyone soak their oats overnight? I've started soaking my oats, but I have no idea if I'm doing something heathful or just silly.

Coyote Wranglers: More Communication from my Apartment Complex

2012-01-21T12:34:00.000-05:00

I've already talked about how much I love the leasing office's little memos to us tenants. There is now another classic one posted by our mailboxes. It begins with, "Notice to All Tenants. Two coyotes were spotted on the premises" blah, blah, blah. This is no surprise as we are at the edge of Ann Arbor, at the edge of a city park, and about a mile from a rural area where coyotes thrive. The notice talks about the coyotes for a while, basically telling us not to pet the coyotes (while totally neglecting to instruct people to keep their cats indoors), and then ends with, "Please report all suspicious activity and persons to the police."

WTH, Leasing Office? Are there people in league with the coyotes?

Friday Flashback to 1991: Agatha Christie mysteries

2012-01-20T08:00:00.004-05:00

When I hear the word “mystery,” the first thing I think is “Agatha Christie.” I realize it’s a broad genre ranging from cozy mysteries to Phillip Marlowe to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to thrillers, but my expectations of what a mystery is and ought to be are very Christie. I like my murder English, curiously civilized, with “Where did that come from?!” endings.

I read my first Agatha Christie novel in seventh grade for a book report. I remember the cover for And Then There Were None was not particularly intriguing, so I half-heartedly pulled it from the shelves, figuring a mystery couldn’t be that bad. Almost instantly a couple of girls in my class assured me that I would absolutely love the book.

They were right. I loved the isolated island setting, the diverse cast of characters, the downright creepy use of a nursery rhyme, and the amazing ending. And then began my second mystery novel obsession (the first obsession was Nancy Drew in elementary school), as I read my way through all the Agatha Christies in the local library. I recall reading a great deal of Hercule Poirot, a highly boring man who solves fascinating mysteries, and to this day, I have not read a Miss Marple.

Like all reading phases, the mystery obsession did not last long, and these days, the mysteries are one of the least visited sections of the bookstore for me. I did reread And Then There Were None in the last year or so for book club though, and even I have to admit that book is still pretty awesome.

What genre have you not read in a while?

My Life Right Now - January

2012-01-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

I made 17 new years resolutions this year, which is more reasonable than last year where I made 20.

I’ve been making ebelskivers, which are little filled pancakes. Random, I know, but Williams-Sonoma sells the ebelskiver pan, and I’ve always wanted one, and I got one for Christmas this year. They make tasty breakfasts and desserts.

I’m now a student at the Ann Arbor College of Martial Arts. My uniform is a bit unfortunate. The A2CMA ran out of their standard black uniforms and gave me a white one, which makes me look like a marshmallow. Guess it’s fitting given that I’m not quite dangerous and ninja-like yet. Just add my new wrestling shoes (which I bought in the little boys’ department since they don’t seem to come in women’s sizes) and I am one sexy marshmallow.

I’m horrified by this NYT article, but not horrified enough to stop practicing yoga.

I want to make this truffle mac & cheese. It sounds heavenly.

Currently Reading: I just finished Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks, which was interesting and educational. Now, I am rereading The Historian for book club and will begin War and Peace soonish.

Currently Listening to: The National, mostly.

Currently Watching: I finally saw Harry Potter 7, Part II, which was mildly disappointing. I also saw Something Borrowed, which was more than disappointing. What sane woman picks a man who once chose her best friend over her (and then got engaged to that best friend) over John Krasinski? It makes no sense, I tell you.

In theaters, I saw Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (awesome) and War Horse (not really my thing).

Currently Loving: Kind bars, my (fake) fur trimmed lace up booties, the miso soup I just made.

Things that are cute early in a relationship

2012-01-10T18:55:00.000-05:00

A conversation with Opera Boy, who is an elementary school principal, yesterday:

Opera Boy: [Comments on how all the kids and teachers in his school are off for MLK day, but he has to go in]

Me: Well, if you ever wanted to sing into the PA system, that would be your opportunity.

Opera Boy: Oh, I do that all the time.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

2012-01-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

Another year all gone? They do fly by. 2011 was a good year for me. A few parts were stressful, but overall, it’sbeen a happy year for me.

Favorite 2011 Moments (in noparticular order):

My trip to Vegas with my sister.

Attending my first opera (and some other dates, for that matter).

Hanging out with my sister andnieces in Saginaw this summer.

My trip to Columbus cuz I adore mycousins.

It’s not a “moment,” but I’mgrateful for my no-longer-new church and for friends I’ve made there.

Favorite Books Read:

Gone with the Wind by MargaretMitchell. In spite of the parts Icomplained about on here, I really did love this book.

Kings of the Earth by Jon Clinch.

Life Mask by Emma Donoghue

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue.

Belinda by Maria Edgeworth.

Favorite World Events:

The royal wedding, of course.

Things I’m Looking Forward to in2012:

Getting to know Opera Boy better.

Travels. Wherever they may take me.

Martial arts classes.

FINALLY buying a new car.

The publication of these threebooks: Still, Night Swim, and The Garden Intrigue.

What were the highlights of 2011 foryou? What are you looking forward to in2012?

Year End Resolution Review

2011-12-31T19:41:00.002-05:00

I made 20 resolutions this year, and this is how I did:

Visit one state I’ve never visited. Complete. I visited Charleston, South Carolina in October, which was a great trip for a history geek.

Visit one (additional) state or one Canadian province or one country that I’ve never visited before. Fail.

Write 100 words a day of a non-blog related nature. Complete. Sort of. I must confess I did not write every single day this year, and in fact, there times in July, November, and December that I forgot to write for an entire week at a time (oops), but if we go strictly by word count, I think I’m okay on this one.

Read two history books. Complete. The first book I read was The Americans: The Colonial Experience by Daniel J. Boorstin. I’d read another of Boorstin’s books (the third in The Americans series, I believe) in college and loved it, so I figured I’d like the first in the trilogy. Boorstin had some interesting insights, but reading this decades after original publication, I found it to be a little . . . non-PC might be the most polite way to put it. The second book was Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. I had a really difficult time getting into this, probably because I was reading too many books at the same time, but once I was reading exclusively this, I began to really enjoy it. See notes at the bottom of this post for full review. (1)

Read two books by authors from non-English speaking countries. Complete. I wanted some cultural variety in my reading material this year, and I ended up reading two books from Central Europe. I read the Czech novel, The Joke, which I reviewed here. Then I also read An Exclusive Love, a memoir set in Hungary and Denmark, which I reviewed here.

Read four classics. Complete. Oh, dear. This was the resolution that started well and ended badly. I loved my first classic of the year, Belinda, and reviewed it here. I liked my second classic of the year, Dracula. My third and fourth classics were kinda awful. Moll Flanders, classic # 3, was quite possibly the worst book I’ve read in my entire life. (2) Then I hated classic # 4, Vanity Fair, almost as much and I ranted about it here.

Read two Pulitzer prize winning books. Complete. This one was pretty easy. I read A Visit From the Goon Squad, which was this year’s fiction winner, and also Gone with the Wind, which doesn’t sound like a book that would win a Pulitzer, but it totally did in 1937. Review for GwtW here.

Read Augustine’s Confessions. Complete. All I have to say on this one is that Augustine was one tedious fellow.

Be more social. Complete. I’m still a hermit by most standards, but I’ve made new friends this year, and I’m ending the year with a pretty incredible boyfriend, so I definitely consider this one to be a success.

Go vegetarian. Complete. Or really, really close. This was going really well. I’ve cooked with new whole grains this year; I’ve dabbled in tofu/tempeh cookery. There were a couple times, I admit, that I failed to ask if a soup was made with veg stock or chicken stock, but nearing the end of the year, I was pretty smug. Then on December 26th, I bit into some bacon. It was an accident, as I hadn’t read a menu carefully and didn’t realize the grilled cheese came with bacon and I only ate one bite before picking the bacon off, but I’m still mad at myself.

Find a soup recipe that I’ll use when I get sick (as chicken noodle is no longer an option). Complete. It’s actually a garlic broth recipe from a Moosewood cookbook, but if you add peas and pasta, it can become a meal.

Bake bread. Complete. I actually think I completed this one on January 1st or 2nd which gave me a serious over-confidence with the rest of my resolutions.

Try 40 different recipes. Complete. This was actually surprisingly easy. I finished this in April.

Finally get a dining room table and chairs. Complete. And you’re totally welcome to drop by for dinner. ;)

Have a dinner party. Fail. I am moving this to my 2012 resolutions.

Take a class in something I’ve never tried before. Complete. I took a martial arts class in November. (It was a free trial type thing.) I plan to take up martial arts for real in January.

Volunteer or do some church ministry. Complete. This was pretty much stuff I did with my church: cooked and served meals at a homeless shelter, passed out groceries in a retirement home, and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. (I was pretty useless in the last; I just ended up covered in flooring glue.) In 2012, I’ll be a co-chair for one of the ministries at church, so I guess this resolution went well!

Save up for and get a new car. Fail. I did begin to save, but I won’t buy a new car until spring.

Create a bucket list. Complete. You can read it here, but you’ll need to scroll down a bit.

Reorganize my closets, buying storage equipment where needed. Almost? I reorganized the first three closets months ago, and I then today, I worked on the last one. The closet is actually pretty clean, but I have all these documents on the floor of my spare room that I need to go through.

Did you make any resolutions this year? Did you keep them?

Notes:

1. Elaboration on Founding Brothers: One thing I enjoyed about the book is that Ellis has clearly spent much of his life reading the papers of the founding fathers, so he presents them as if they are people he actually knows. At times, I felt he went a bit too far with his familiarity, presenting his theories about the true intent of Adams, Jefferson, etc. in their letters and public statements as fact rather than theory. But, for the most part, I found his portrayal of the historical figures to be enlightening and very human. I also like how he writes, as he’ll just toss out these perfect phrases in spots. My favorite of his was “enlightened procrastination,” which he was using to describe foreign policy, but I intend to use to describe my own sense of timing. Another one I liked was “improvising on the brink of catastrophe,” which I also find applicable to my own life. He was using this to describe just how fragile the new nation was. We now see it as destiny that the founding fathers declared independence and founded a unified nation, but Ellis focuses on just how dangerous the declaration of independence was, and how the supposedly unified nation was barely holding together in the early decades, and how a silence on slavery was the only thing keeping North and South together.

2. Elaboration on Moll Flanders: You know how when a book is truly awful, a person will always compare it to either a Harlequin novel or a Twilight novel to illustrate its dreadfulness? That’s because hardly anyone reads Moll Flanders, so Stephenie Meyer and Harlequin authors get unfairly blamed for all the evils of bad literature when Daniel Defoe should take the blame. This is a dreadful 18th century novel about a woman who collects a mind-boggling number of husbands (often she has more than one husband at a time) and abandons even more children. It’s not that I object to reading about skanks precisely. I just expect the fictional skanks in question to possess a personality, which Moll does not. Do not read this book. Ever.

Best Recipes of 2011

2011-12-29T19:30:00.003-05:00

As you may recall, I made a fair amount of new year’s resolutions this year. Twenty to be precise. One of which was to try forty different recipes. I thought this would take me most of the year to complete, but to my surprise, I completed this in April, and I’ve tried over 100 recipes during the year overall. The timing for my resolution was perfect as I also went vegetarian this year, and trying new recipes definitely made the transition to vegetarianism easier as I always had something new and interesting to try. There were some definite flops: disgusting soups that fed my garbage disposal, the molasses cake that tasted like feet, the raspberry oat bars that tasted like an expired NutriGrain bar, and the charred tart crust. We won’t speak of those. We’ll speak of the recipes that were absolutely delicious.

I created a “best of” list for the recipes I tried this year, and I came up with a total of 34 recipes that I either have made more than once or else would make more than once. Recipes from cookbooks link to the cookbook on Amazon while recipes found online link directly to the original recipe.

Breakfast/Brunch

1. Breakfast Bars – Nigella Express. I have to admit that I actually haven’t made these as written, so this might not count, but I’ve made my own versions of these granola bars, including the ones here.
2. Frittata – Super Natural Every Day. A lovely frittata recipe with potatoes and asparagus.
3. Baked Oatmeal – Super Natural Every Day. While the original recipe is only in Heidi’s book, I have a modified version here.

Appetizers

4. Crunchy Corn Guacamole – How to Cook Everything. A delicious twist for guac.
5. Quinoa Patties – Super Natural Every Day. I made these as written in the cookbook, but Heidi later provided a baked version of this on her blog, which I am quite eager to try.

Lunch

6. Chickpea Tacos – Veggie Terrian. Worth making again and again. I didn't even know I liked chickpeas until I tried this recipe.
7. Otsu – Super Natural Cooking, also here on 101 Cookbooks. I love, love, love this Asian noodle recipe, especially the amazing gingery dressing. While I’ve made and enjoyed this as written several times, I have found I prefer this when I substitute broccoli for the cucumber and bake the tofu rather than sautéing it.
8. TLT – 101 Cookbooks. If you are a normal person, you probably have never had tempeh. I am not a normal person, so I have had tempeh, and I love it. Especially this version of a TLT. I use fresh tomatoes instead of the roasted ones in the recipe since I don’t care much for cooked tomatoes unless they are in sauce form.
9. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos – Joy the Baker. I have a bit of an obsession with vegetarian tacos. You’ve heard me rave about spiced lentil tacos and the chickpea tacos above. Well, this is my most recent favorite. Amazing flavor and lots of superfoods all packed into portable taco form.

Soups and Stews

10. French Lentil Soup – Epicurious. This is delicious, but it requires a heavy pour of balsamic vinegar to add the perfect touch.
11. Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraiche - Epicurious/Bon Appetit March 2011. Okay, it probably won’t win over any cabbage haters, but for those who love, like, or even tolerate cabbage, this soup is delicious.

Vegetarian Entrees

12. White Beans and Cabbage – Super Natural Every Day. Yes, I know. You anti-cabbage people think I’m gross for enjoying this.
13. Mushroom Bourguignon – The Chubby Vegetarian. Time consuming but delicious.
14. Double Broccoli Quinoa – 101 Cookbooks. I used to hate quinoa, even though I knew I ought to love it. (It’s a great source of vegetarian protein and super healthy.) It reminded me of cream of wheat, all bland and mushy. Then I tried this recipe and totally changed my mind. Apparently, all one needs to do to make quinoa awesome is mix some pesto in there and top it with veggies. It’s like some great secret of vegetarianism that one must guard with their life. Also, I love that Heidi used almonds instead of pine nuts in the broccoli pesto. I now plan to try other, more classic pesto recipes with almonds because pine nuts are hard on my grocery budget.
15. Lentil Almond Stir-fry – 101 Cookbooks. Um, I’m one of those weird people who really love brussel sprouts. You didn’t know there were people who love brussel sprouts? Well, you do now. And I really love the flavor combination in this. Since I’m not much of a fan of mint (unless it’s in a dessert), I skip the mint sauce and use the Heidi-recommended variation of goat cheese and chives to top this.
16. Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Gratin – Smitten Kitchen. Sweet potatoes and a creamy cheese sauce mellow super-healthy swiss chard. Highly recommended. Warning – a bit time consuming.

Side Dishes

17. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Chive Pesto – Bon Appetit May 2011/Epicurious. I have no words for how awesome this is, but if you weren’t already won over by the words “potatoes” and “pesto,” then something is clearly wrong with you.
18. Broccoli Gribiche – Super Natural Every Day. This salad is delicious, with roasted potatoes and broccoli, hard-boiled eggs, Dijon dressing, and herbs. It can also become a vegetarian main meal if served on a layer of cooked lentils.

Breads and Muffins

19. Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes A Day. I honestly prefer whole wheat breads to white breads. The flavor is just so much more complex, and here the slightly nutty flavor of whole wheat is complemented by olive oil. Yum.
20. Rosemary Flax Baguette – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes A Day. Rosemary is a natural complement to whole grain bread, it turns out.
21. Aunt Holly’s Banana Bread - Epicurious. I love chocolate chip banana bread, and this recipe is quite perfect.
22. Quinoa Skillet Bread – 101 Cookbooks. A unique twist on cornbread.
23. Pumpkin Millet Chocolate Muffins – Joy the Baker. Dangerously delicious. We won’t go into how many I ate in one sitting.
24. Cornbread with Goat Cheese and Carmelized Onions – Smitten Kitchen. A natural side dish to chili – except that it will totally steal the chili’s spotlight.

Bars and Cookies

25. Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies - Epicurious. All my favorite sweet things all in a single dessert.
26. Nikki’s Healthy Cookies – 101 Cookbooks. These are my absolute favorite cookies ever. I have made these at least 4 times this year.
27. Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie – 101 Cookbooks. This is an easy crowd pleasing dessert. Who doesn’t like a giant chocolate chip cookie?
28. Blondies – Whipped blog. One of the best things to happen to butter and brown sugar. Seriously, make these.
29. Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies – 101 Cookbooks. Ginger + chocolate = Love.

Ice Cream

30. Cheesecake Ice Cream – Recipe Book from Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. This is the first recipe I made using my ice cream maker, and honestly, it’s one of the absolute best. And it’s so easy.
31. Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. Really, I think the name says it all.
32. Backyard Mint Ice Cream – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. The title was literal for me, as the mint in question came from my parents’ backyard.
33. Goat Cheese and Roasted Cherry Ice Cream – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. Probably my absolute favorite ice cream I’ve made this year, though the cheesecake ice cream is a close second.
34. Vanilla Ice Cream – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home. Yes, vanilla of all flavors. Seriously, it’s delicious. I don’t know what it is about vanilla beans that makes things so much better than vanilla extract, but it’s crazy good.

What are some of the best recipes you've tried this year?

My Life Right Now - December

2011-12-19T19:18:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe we are mere days away from Christmas.

I bought a Nook on Black Friday. And it’s still in the wrapper. (Yes, I know. There are starving children in Africa who don’t even have Nooks. Or food, which is more important.)

I’ve baked like a madwoman all year, and now that it’s time to bake cookies and such, I really don’t feel like it. I’ll probably make all sorts of fattening stuff in January when everyone’s on a diet, but it won’t be deliberate sabotage; just my mood.

I’m waging war on my spare room. Honestly, no matter how much I clean, I feel like there is always one room in the house that is a vicious mess. Right now it’s the spare room and I will not take it.

Currently working on: Christmas cards and wrapping Christmas gifts. I’m a bit behind.

Currently listening to: Remember how I was listening to Christmas music seriously early this year? Well, I got sick of it before Thanksgiving. Instead, I’ve been listening to classic rock on Pandora, mainly Creedence Clearwater Revival. Also, I’ve been listening to Opera Boy’s CD. See this post to find out who Opera Boy (nicknamed by Sarakastic) is. I promise he has a day job; I’m not dating a starving musician.

Currently watching: In the last few weeks (since mid-November), I’ve seen an opera, a production of A Christmas Carol (which Opera Boy was in), and The Nutcracker. I think Opera Boy is making a much more cultured Stacy of me.

As far as DVDs go, I’ve watched a fair amount of How I Met Your Mother and a bit of Buffy. Oh, I half-watched Water for Elephants while doing other stuff. (The book is a page-turner; the movie is all right.)

Currently reading: Just finished Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis. It took me a long time to get into it (Literally. I’ve been reading this off and on for months now.), but once I was about halfway in, I loved it. Just started The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin.

Currently loving: My green Land’s End fleece, fun-sized citrus fruits like satsumas , red nail polish. Oh, and I have a dangerous love for Belgian chocolate thins. Imagine a European chocolate that’s as easy to eat as potato chips. Like I said, dangerous.

So, what’s going on with you?

Vanity Fair: Thoughts on Manipulative Characters

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Note: Reading Vanity Fair was #19 on my life list.

There is a certain pressure in reading classics. Not because they are more difficult than other books; they generally aren’t, unless they are extremely old. The pressure is more to react favorably to them. When I read a classic and love it, I feel smarter and more cultured. When I read a classic and I dislike or hate it, I feel grumpy and a little boorish. Should I measure my taste level by how I react to classics? Probably not, but I will anyway.

Fellow bloggers, I must confess I dislike Vanity Fair.

I dislike it for two reasons. First, I dislike the overbearing narrator. The narrator makes sly comments throughout the novel, or at least comments that are meant to be witty and insightful, but come across as artificial. It’s like having some random guy sit down next to you and try out all his best jokes on you, noticeably trying to build anticipation for his punch lines. Some of the jokes might even be funny, but he’s trying so hard, so all you notice is that he really, really wants you to admire him.* The second reason I dislike it is that I dislike most of the characters, especially the manipulative Becky Sharp. Actually,I not only dislike Becky, I loathe and hate her much more than is rationalgiven that she’s a fictional character. In a satire, no less. I reallywanted a Becky Sharp punching bag as I read this.

The edition of Vanity Fair that I read is 680 pages long, which means I’ve had a lot of time to brood about all the reasons I loathe and detest Ms. Sharp. A lot of this has been me comparing Gone with the Wind with Vanity Fair, as I read them within a few months of each other, and both novels have distinct anti-heroines. While I didn’t like Scarlett O’Hara, I did find her compelling, unlike Becky, and I came up with a list of reasons why I don’t find Becky Sharp to be an effective character.

#1 The manipulative character must meet his/her match, preferably as early in the book as possible. With Scarlett, Rhett Butler is never fooled by her shenanigans. Or at least, she can’t fool him for very long before he catches on. With Emma Woodhouse of Austen’s Emma (benign next to Becky and Scarlett, but still manipulative), Mr. Knightley always knows what games she’s playing. When the manipulative character has a match, there is conflict and there is interest. When the manipulative character has no match, then you get to watch Becky Sharp steamroll half of Europe, which is alternately depressing and infuriating.

#2 The manipulative character must go through hell. The beauty of manipulative characters is that they are survivors. If they are put in difficult circumstances, the reader gets to see them at their best and actually has sympathy for them. Also, it makes for a better story with higher stakes. This is what made Gone with the Wind an impressive book instead of just another romantic epic. In Vanity Fair, it’s gentle Amelia who has a terrible time of it, and given that she doesn’t have much fight in her, it doesn’t make for compelling reading. And then there’s Dobbin, who really deserves better.

#3 The manipulative character must have some humanity. Becky Sharp does not have genuine affection for anyone, much less love. She uses everyone, hates and abuses her own son, ruins her husband, and never displays a single redeeming feature. Meanwhile, Scarlett is humanized by her love for her parents and Ashley and her pride in Tara, and Emma Woodhouse is humanized by her love for her father and friends, and her respect for Mrs. Weston and Mr. Knightley.

I once read (or heard?) that writers should finish every book they start, even the bad ones, because you can always learn from them. I’m not entirely sure I buy that, as I learn nothing from mediocre books other than how to be bored. But the books that I really, truly hate? Maybe I do learn something from them. But I’m still never rereading Vanity Fair. Once is enough.

*I can understand why Thackeray chose such a narrator. The book itself is artificial, focusing on society, public appearance, and the pursuit of wealth and privilege. But just because it’s fitting doesn’t mean I’ve got to like it.

The Stacy-Approved Holiday List

2011-12-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

So all the magazines have produced their holiday gift lists, and I’ve always wished I wrote for a magazine, so I thought I’d create one too. If you have already completed and wrapped your holiday shopping, I’m not writing this for you, because you are a scary pulled together person who probably knows things like how to fold a fitted sheet or the difference between a satsuma and a clementine. If so, I have nothing to teach you and am more than a little afraid of you. This list is for all the other people. You know, the ones who have expired condiments in their fridge like me.

First, some rules regarding gift-giving:

Gift cards may not be personal, but they are useful.
Buy well in advance. You can always return/exchange it if you think of something better, but if you shop on Christmas Eve, you may get stuck with the summer sausage/processed cheese gift set at Target.
Don’t buy sugar cookie scented lotions/body gels unless you are positive she loves smelling like dessert. Do I need to show you my drawer of unopened Bath & Body Works/philosophy bottles to make mypoint?
Don’t buy scarves, gloves, and hats for people you haven’t seen in a while. If you get her a pink scarf, her winter coat will inevitably be green. Again, I could show you pictures of really cute scarves andhats I’ve never worn because they have never matched anything.
Know the rules and the exceptions. For example, most people I know hate getting socks for Christmas, so I just dismiss socks as potential gifts. Me? I love socks. Buy me a pair of cozy wool socks for the winter, and I’ll think you’re awesome. But I’m kinda weird and contrary, so don’t start buying random people socks. They won’t like it.

Now for the list.

For the Grown Ups:

A bottle of wine. If uncertain if the person drinks red or white, go with sparkling as it’s festive.
A bottle of Grand Marnier. Or scotch.
Colorful Wellies are cute and always useful in nasty, slushy weather. Actually, I kind of want a pair. It’s one type of boot that I don’t own. Size 6 ½ please.
Land’s End fleece. I just bought one in green, and it’s the best fleece ever. It just feels softer than other brands. If I had an unlimited amount of money, I’d buy one for everyone. (Okay, I’d solve world hunger first, then buy a fleece for one and all, but totally number two on the priorities list.)

For the Kids:

Clue or Clue Jr. depending on the child’s age. I have yet to meet a person young or old who dislikes Clue.
Something educational yet awesome like a telescope or microscope.
Clothes for dress up.
Harry Potter candy, like Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs.

For Little Girls Specifically:

Fun headbands. Festive and available in all price ranges. You could probably also make one if you are a crafty type.
Easy Bake Oven. Remember how badly you wanted one as a child? Check with the child’s parents if uncertain if age-appropriate.
Nancy Drew books are an appropriate gift in any decade.

For People You Don’t Know:

I am of the belief that the most important gifts given each Christmas season are for people you’ll never meet. While there are hundreds of great organizations to support, local and international, here are some ideas:

Donate for the Horn of Africa food crisis. This time next year, your mom will probably not remember what you gave her this year for Christmas, no matter how much thought you put into it. I can’t remember what I got last year, and I doubt I’m the only one. If you save a life, they will definitely remember the time they almost didn’t live to see 2012. Donations can be made to UNICEF, World Vision, Doctors Without Borders, and other organizations.
Donate to the local Humane Society. Because our furry four-footed companions make us more human, we can’t forget homeless cats and dogs during the holiday.
Give blood. You may not have extra money to give to Somalia or furry friends, but you can still save lives without spending a dime if you are in good health. Never given blood? It’s not bad. I’m a baby when it comes to needles, but even I can handle it, and if I can do it, you can definitely do it.

For the Book Lover:

These collectable classics from Barnes and Noble: Partly because you can’t go wrong with classics and partly because the covers are gorgeous. I especially love the covers of Pride and Prejudice and The Secret Garden.
Purchase his/her favorite book from childhood from ebay. AbeBooks is also useful in this type of search.
Hunt down a signed or rare copy of his/her favorite book. Again, ebay and AbeBooks will be your friends here.

For the Movie Lover:

Make a movie night kit with a DVD, microwave popcorn or a bag of kernel corn, and classic movie candies like Raisinets. If this feels a little impersonal, add a cashmere throw that complements their living or family room because who doesn’t like to snuggle under a blanket on a winter movie night?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

For the Game Lover:

A murder mystery game set. Could be a fun gift for a difficult-to-buy-for teen.
A bookshelf edition of a favorite game.
Settlers of Catan for the strategists in your life.
Bananagrams is fun if you need an economical gift. It’s a bit like Scrabble played at a rapid pace.

For the Traveler:

A leather passport case and a travel journal.
A copy of 500 Places to See Before They Disappear. Or 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up.
Have a friend or family member who is planning a big trip this year? Plan a gift around that trip. For the friend making her first trip to England, you could put together Frommer England 2012, Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island, a tin of Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea, and freshly baked scones.

For the Foodie:

For the cook looking to try something new: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. The goat cheese cherry is by far my favorite of Jeni’s flavors.
For the cook with limited time, Nigella Express is amazing. It’s my favorite of all of her cookbooks. (No, I don’t own all of her cookbooks, but I have checked all of them out of the library, and this was the only one I bought – after checking it out of the library at least four times.)
For the cook who loves to cook with whole grains and shuns processed food, Super Natural Every Day is a great choice. Favorite recipes include baked oatmeal, broccoli gribiche, and quinoa patties.
Plus there is the can’t go wrong option of a Williams Sonoma gift card. If it seems too impersonal, pick up a gourmet food item while you’re at the store buying the gift card.

For the Coworkers:

I am firmly of the belief that food gifts are best in the office, assuming you have a decent knowledge of office allergies. (Because dead colleagues are never festive, not even if you cover them in twinkle lights.) Food gifts also work for the difficult-to-buy set, like the second cousin that you don’t really know and have a 85% chance of seeing on Christmas.

Make truffles, which are by far the easiest gift.
Make cookies, which are by far the cheapest gift.
Candied pecans are another good option.
Make your own cocoa mix, layering cocoa and marshmallows in a small mason jar.

What gifts are on your list?

December Book Review Club: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

2011-12-07T05:00:00.002-05:00

Click icon for morebook review blogs@Barrie Summy

Diana Bishop, eager historian and reluctant witch, orders a rare alchemical book from Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, not knowing that this book is coveted by the three supernatural races – witches, vampires, and daemons – or that the book had been missing over a century until she requested it. Once Diana, a hereditary but non-practicing witch, unlocks the magic of the text, she’s being pursued by supernatural beings, befriending a vampire, and learning about the mysterious death of her parents.

I really enjoyed this addition to the world of paranormal literature. Harkness’s supernatural beings are not creatures on the outskirts of the human world, but woven into the human world. Witches are drawn to academia and to the humanities. Vampires are also drawn to academia, but to the sciences because, "If it went bang, involved blood, or promised to unlock the secrets of the universe, there was sure to be a vampire around." Daemons are creative beings – “rock stars and serial killers” according to Diana’s aunt. I liked the blend of paranormal and academia, and it reminded me a bit of The Historian, which is one of my favorite books. Then at other times, it reminded me of a grown up Harry Potter.

Also, the supernatural world portrayed here is very whimsical, which I enjoyed. For example, Diana’s childhood home is very witchy. The house might lock your bedroom door if it thinks you need your privacy, it’ll sprout a new room if guests are arriving, but the house may also steal your favorite lipstick and refuse to give it back until it’s good and ready to do so. At one point, someone asks where some newly appeared items came from, and Diana’s aunt responds with, “Who knows where the house keeps this stuff?”

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was the setting. It has three different settings – the first third is set in Oxford, the middle third is set in France, and the last third is set in upstate New York – and each one is distinct and memorable. The Oxford portion was my favorite, and not only does it capture the ancient city beauty of the city, but it provides a wonderful introduction to the supernatural world since so many witches and vampires are academics. The France portion is set in a medieval fortress, and it is a perfect setting for the world of vampires, as the fortress is as feudal and traditional as the vampires themselves. Then the part set in New York provides a wonderful glimpse into the world of witches and their chaotic energy.

Weaknesses include a fairly generic vampire hero. Matthew is wealthy, well-dressed, patriarchal, and possessive. The only thing that sets him apart from other vampire protagonists is that he practices yoga, a detail which is more amusing than intriguing. Also, some portions of the book reminded me of Twilight. The similarities are in plot points and character relationships, not in actual writing style, which made them annoying but tolerable to this reader. Also, there was a POV issue in the book. Most of the book is written in the first person from Diana’s POV, but on occasion it goes into third person to tell Matthew’s side of the story. One of the Matthew chapters had a horrible case of “head-hopping” (moving from Matthew’s head to his best friend’s head), which drove me crazy and made me wonder what editor failed to fix that.

Flaws aside, this is an enjoyable book, and it is one of the most fun books I’ve read this year. Be warned, it is the first of a trilogy, and therefore, it doesn’t have a satisfying ending. To read more December book reviews, please visit Barrie’s blog.

Happy holidays and happy reading, everyone!

I am thankful for:

2011-11-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

Family. I’m lucky to have a supportive immediate family and an awesome extended family.

Friends. Old and new.

Strider. My cat gets sweeter and cuddlier the older he gets.

Church. My church is Biblically grounded, has awesome people, and great ministries.

Books. If books didn’t exist, I have no idea what my hobbies would be. Maybe I’d do something kinda painful, like play sports.

Coffee. For enabling me to face those AM hours.

Cheese. Do I really need to explain this one?

Nice guys. While they aren’t always easy to find, there are always more of them than I think.

My apartment. It’s not fancy, but it’s perfect for me and Strider.

My car. For getting me around safely for the last decade.

Internet, especially blogs and facebook. Not only my favorite form of procrastination, but a great way to keep up with long distance friends and family.

Public libraries. Because without them, my entire paycheck would go to the bookstore.

Work. Because it lets me a) use my editing skills, and b) buy shoes. Which brings me to:

Shoes. Because going barefoot is overrated and potentially dangerous. And specifically:

High heels. For making me taller and sexier than nature intended.

Cookbooks. Without them, I’d likely live off of pasta and pesto. And chocolate.

Airplanes. Because crossing the country or the Atlantic would otherwise be an awful journey.

Makeup. You know those days when respectable women didn’t wear makeup? I would have been really ugly if I lived back then. Thank you, makeup, for making me cute.

Target and H&M. For having cute, affordable clothes.

Ann Arbor. I live in a fun city. And a smart one too according to this article. (But the article isn't so smart. It called Ann Arbor a big city. Ha!)

Movies. For bringing men like George Clooney and Javier Bardem into my life.

Creativity. Always an essential ingredient in life.

Thanksgiving. For making it almost mandatory to see family and eat pie.

I Did Not Die on Friday

2011-11-21T17:55:00.001-05:00

What I did do on Friday was meet a complete stranger inDetroit after dark. Which is why I’mgrateful that I didn’t die.

I’ve been on Match.com for a little while now, and I havepretty specific rules about meeting men. First of all, I listen to my gut. If my gut likes a man, I’ll meet him . . . after we’ve been talking acouple of weeks, in a place where I am familiar, and in broaddaylight. And I do not tell him my lastname until after we’ve met, and I’m positive that he’s normal. Well, I threw that out (almost everythingexcept listening to my gut and not sharing my last name) over the weekend.

Why? I got asked tothe opera. And opera, apparently, makesme do very reckless things.

I instructed my sister to watch out for my texts on thenight of opera – I texted her before leaving the house, upon reaching the operahouse, at intermission, and upon arriving at home. What precisely I expected my sister to dofrom LA if she didn’t receive my texts at the appointed times, I don’t know,but it made me feel better to know that someone was tracking my movements. I also mentally reviewed every self-defensemove I know while driving into Detroit.

Would I ever meet another stranger in a crime-filled cityafter dark again? Probably not, but I’mglad I did in this case. The man wassweet, and the opera was incredible, and there will be a second date in thefuture.

Oh, and to those of you who know my mother, you are not allowed to tell her this story under any circumstance.

My Life Right Now: November

2011-11-15T22:00:00.001-05:00

Mondays are the new Sundays. I began the month of November with 9 remaining vacation days. Guess what that means? I have every Monday off until the end of the year (plus a couple other days). Mondays are now awesome.

Martial arts. I’m trying to decide which martial art I want to study, and I’ll be visiting 3 different schools this week. I’m a bit appalled at how expensive lessons are, so I’ll need to adjust my budget to make this work.

“Recalculating. Severe traffic ahead.” These are my new least favorite words to hear from my GPS, as I heard them 4 or 5 times driving home from Toronto. “Severe traffic” kept me off the freeway for an hour and a half while my GPS took me through Toronto and much of Mississauga, stopping at every single traffic light for about 14 miles. It’s funny. I left the hotel, wishing I’d seen more of Toronto. I guess my GPS granted my wish. Now, if anyone asks me where to find Koreatown in Toronto, I can give them directions!

I have blog commitment issues. I have half a dozen partially written blog posts saved to my computer, and I’m not sure if any of them are worth finishing/posting.

Project Runway. WTH, judges? Your top two designers had the worst collections. Anya seemed to average 4 hours of work per look and everything looked the same, and Josh’s clothes looked like he’d recycled costumes from Halloween USA, making it Project Runway’s most flammable collection. Don’t even get me started on those neon green lace up shorts. Ghastly. Viktor has been the obvious talent, both throughout the season and in his final collection, even if he did go overboard on the sheer black looks. And Kimberly’s looks were beautiful. I’d wear all of it except for her weird little bubble skirt. Okay, maybe they were a bit too wearable for the high fashion world, but they had far more taste than Josh or Anya’s.

Currently working on: Halfway Down the Stairs. New issue will be up on December 1st.

Currently watching: Mad Men season 4.

Currently listening to: Christmas music on Pandora. Yes, I do know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.

Currently reading: Nothing at the moment. I just finished A Discovery of Witches, which will probably be my December Book Review Club book, and now I have to force myself to return to Vanity Fair. I think I need to set up some reward system for myself to get through my 2011 reading resolutions.

Currently loving: my Franco Sarto suede lace up booties (I cannot believe I almost returned these to Marshalls), the Smitten Kitchen blog, these tacos, and all things red and festive.

So, what’s going on with you? Are you listening to Christmas music yet?

Recipes: Autumn Baked Oatmeal, Two Ways

2011-11-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
Adapted from Baked Oatmeal in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal lately. This is downright bizarre for me. My stance on oatmeal has always been, “I’ll only eat it if it has an obscene amount of brown sugar and raisins in it,” which, you know, completely kills the health aspect of oatmeal. But lately, I’ve been discovering ways to make oatmeal amazing without adding a half a bag of sugar to it.

One of the recipes I tried was the Baked Oatmeal recipe from Heidi Swanson’s latest book. It has oatmeal, spices, maple syrup, berries, bananas, and walnuts all baked together. It’s delicious –minus the walnuts, which I left out because walnuts are of the devil. My only issue with this recipe is that while it is oatmeal season, it is decidedly not berry season in the Midwestern mitten where I live. All of the berries have died and gone to Valhalla to feed the gods.

So I had a thought, and it was this, “I can totally make an autumn version of this.” And so I did. I made two autumn versions of this recipe, one with cinnamon and apples and the other with pumpkin and spices. These are both as awesome as having pie for breakfast, only healthier.

As a note, both of these versions use maple syrup. If you do not have maple syrup in the house or if you think maple syrup is a tad pricey to be used as an oatmeal sweetener, you can substitute an equal amount of cane sugar. I love the flavor that maple brings and for me, that makes it worth the extra expense.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Fruit

3 cups of apple, peeled and chopped (I used 3 medium-sized apples)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Dry Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Wet Ingredients

2 cups of milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping

1/3 cup almond slivers, toasted

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

Dry Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
0.5 teaspoon ground ginger
0.25 teaspoon ground cloves
0.25 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Wet Ingredients
1 2/3 cups of milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping

½ cup pecan pieces, toasted and chopped

Directions for both versions:

Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit/190 Celsius with a rack in the top third of the oven.

Butter an 8x8 square baking dish or equivalent.

For apple version: Combine apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk together wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl. When well combined, mix into dry ingredients.

Pour 2/3 of apple mixture or pumpkin puree into the prepared baking dish, making sure it is spread evenly. Top with the oat mixture. Add remaining 1/3 apple or pumpkin to the top layer and top with almonds or pecans. (Note: If you are making the pumpkin version with sugar instead of maple syrup, you’ll want to add a bit of brown sugar for sweetness.)

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Pumpkin version should be served with a light drizzle of maple syrup.

Serves 6 as a main dish.

November Book Review Club: A Summer in Europe by Marilyn Brant

2011-11-02T07:11:00.000-04:00

Click icon for morebook review blogs@Barrie Summy

DISCLAIMER: I won an ARC of A Summer in Europe on Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.

Normally, I’d summarize this myself, but I need to get on the road in the next fifteen minutes and the summary is the only part of the review I didn’t have written in advance, so here is the product description:

On her thirtieth birthday, Gwendolyn Reese receives an unexpected present from her widowed Aunt Bea: a grand tour of Europe in the company of Bea's Sudoku and Mah-jongg Club. The prospect isn't entirely appealing. But when the gift she is expecting - an engagement ring from her boyfriend - doesn't materialize, Gwen decides to go. At first, Gwen approaches the trip as if it's the math homework she assigns her students, diligently checking monuments off her must-see list. But amid the bougainvillea and stunning vistas of southern Italy, something changes. Gwen begins to live in the moment - skipping down stone staircases in Capri, running her fingers over a glacier in view of the Matterhorn, racing through the Louvre, and taste-testing pastries at a Marseilles cafe. Revelling in every new experience - especially her attraction to a charismatic British physics professor - Gwen discovers that the ancient wonders around her are nothing compared to the renaissance unfolding within...

A Summer in Europe begins with this sentence: “The thing no one understood about Gwendolyn Reese was that she was three ages at once: thirty chronologically, forty-five intellectually, and fifteen experientially.” Once I read that line, I was calculating my own chronological, intellectual, and experiential ages, and I knew that Gwen and I were going to have a great trip to Europe together, which we did. Like Gwen, I’m hardly a world traveler, so I enjoyed sharing all of her travel firsts.

The biggest strength of this book is Brant’s kooky characters. I loved them all from the 90-year-old who wants to write a thriller and keeps pointing out great locations for her characters to commit murder (there is no bad place to commit murder in Europe, apparently) to the handsome Austrian tour guide suffering separation anxiety from his beloved pet hamster. The book has a fair number of characters, which tends to be dangerous in fiction, but Brant pulls it off. Everyone is distinct enough that the reader is not left confused. Also, it’s a book that has a great deal of heart. Not in a sappy way, but it’s character-driven and complex.

As for the weaknesses, the premise of the story is not the most original. We’ve all read about the woman who goes to Europe when a relationship doesn’t go as planned. The journey itself is wonderful, but it still begins in an expected place, and for that matter, ends in an expected place. Also, Gwen is a little too uptight in the beginning, and it made her a little difficult to relate to in the first quarter of the book.

I recommend A Summer in Europe for fans of travel in fiction (isn’t that all of us?) and fans of women’s fiction. It’s an escapist read, which is always welcome when the weather turns cold (publication date is November 29th), but it’s also substantial enough that you’ll want to return to it.

Well, I’m off to Toronto, and I look forward to reading all of the other Book Review Club reviews when I get home. Please stop by Barrie’s blog to see what other books are being discussed this month.

Charleston, South Carolina: Days 2 and 3 (October 2-3)

2011-10-31T22:59:00.000-04:00

On Sunday (Oct 2nd), I proved my ~~boots~~ ballet flats were made for walking as I stomped all over the city. After a morning run and breakfast at the inn, I headed to the South Carolina Aquarium, which was my first ever aquarium experience. I watched fish, snakes, turtles, a bald eagle, and a creepy looking albino alligator. I was amused to learn there is a fish named the slippery dick, proving I haven’t matured much since junior high. Ironically enough, according to Wikipedia, the slippery dick is a protogynous hermaphrodite. (I shudder to think what Google searches will bring people to my blog now, and I have only myself to blame.)

After wandering the aquarium, I boarded the noon ferry (which was conveniently next door to the aquarium) to Fort Sumter. I listened to a brief history lesson from a ranger; wandered the island, taking bad pictures; and got through approximately half of the museum before it was time to board the ferry back to Charleston. You only get an hour on the fort, and it really isn’t much time to explore. I didn’t even get a chance to make it to the bookstore, which I must admit was probably good for my wallet, no matter how good my intentions of actually reading the Civil War history books.

After Fort Sumter, I went off in search of cupcakes. I was having a serious sugar craving, and I’d read about this one cupcake bakery in both Charleston travel guides I’d checked out of the library. It was on King Street, so I figured it couldn’t be too far from the inn. It was. I walked and I walked. I eventually found it. People, there were high hopes on this cupcake. First, this cupcake was my lunch and a rather late one at that. Secondly, the travel guides spoke of flavors like banana butterscotch. Thirdly, did I mention my serious sugar craving? I didn’t find any fun flavors like banana butterscotch. I also didn’t find my favorite (carrot cake) or my back up favorites (coconut and lemon). Instead, there were flavors like white cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. I ordered a chocolate-frosted chocolate cupcake and coffee and settled at a table to relax. It was good, but not worthy of mention in Frommers or Fodors. I’ve had much better cupcakes at The Cupcake Station in Ann Arbor (though I will say, most of them were carrot).

After eating my cupcake, my coffee and I headed back to the inn, pausing briefly to walk through an Indian cultural festival on the way back and to stop in a boutique to buy a dress. I intended to relax a bit and read before the complimentary wine and cheese time at the inn, but once I was in my room, I got a bit antsy. I’d gone to bed ridiculously early on Saturday on account of being exhausted from catching 6 AM flight that day and because I’d felt a little sick. The extra sleep had done its work, and I had plenty of energy on Sunday. Plus I found I had a sudden urge to see something both old and ridiculous, and I had a specific old and ridiculous thing in mind: On my walks through the historic district, my attention had been caught repeatedly by a house that was open to tours to the public. It just looked like a place where Rhett Butler might have been raised, and I figured that if I walked really, really fast I could make the very last tour of the day.

And so I walked really, really fast to the Calhoun Mansion, which according to the tour guide has been used in quite a few films, including The Notebook, North and South (the Civil War miniseries starring a pre-Dirty Dancing Patrick Swayze, not to be confused with the film adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskell’s book of the same name), and the third was (I think) Scarlett. Once I was in the mansion, I was amused. From the outside, it did look like a place where Rhett would have been raised, but on the inside, it looked like Scarlett had been allowed to decorate it. It was a beautiful house with amazing architectural details, but it was marred by a bit too much knickknack bling. If anyone remembers my Europe 2009 posts on my old blog, you may recall my awe/horror at Dresden’s Green Vault where Augustus the Strong’s many tacky treasures are stored, and this house was a bit like the Green Vault, only with some taxidermy thrown in for kicks. Even Scarlett, with her gaudy tastes, would have stopped at taxidermy and would have never said, “But Rhett, genuine elephant feet would add just the right touch to the library.” Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the mansion, so I don’t have any pictures for you, but fortunately their website does, and you can go to picture 37 of the photo gallery to see the elephant feet. You know you want to.

After this, I went back to the inn for some wine and cheese. I changed out of my sundress and flats into jeans and sneakers because walking in ballet flats with no support does hurt after a few miles. I grabbed a quick dinner at a pub and got hit on by a local, which I must say my ego needed at that time. I then joined one of Charleston’s many ghost tours.

I’ve only attended one other ghost tour and that was in Oxford. The Oxford ghost tour guide donned a top hat and a cape and told his stories in a theatrical tone, occasionally getting his tour group to recite things with him. The Charleston ghost tour guide? He showed up in jeans and took us to various alleys and told us how much paranormal activity had been viewed there. He would then pull out his iPhone and show us pictures of ghosts in whatever spot we happened to be standing. Hmm sure, that misty thing kinda looks like a ghost . . . if I squint and tilt my head. Sometimes, his tour had nothing to do with ghosts: “Oh, and this is an affordable place to buy souvenirs . . .” Once he took us through a hotel lobby. I thought we’d hear of some grisly murder that took place there; no, he was actually giving us a bathroom break in the hotel. Nice enough guy, not a very scary ghost tour. The most entertaining part of the tour was when we crossed paths with three other ghost tour groups in an alley where Charleston’s duels used to take place.

Monday, which was my actual birthday, was a whirl. I went for a run to the Battery and back, ate breakfast, bought some pecan pralines from the market, and took the shuttle to the airport. I then flew in an alarmingly tiny plane, using the flight to spy on one of my co-travelers who was reading a really embarrassing self-help book.

So last year’s birthday trip was about history, dead authors, lobster rolls, and meeting a fellow blogger. This year’s birthday trip was about history, old homes, and iPhone ghosts. Next year? Who knows?

Charleston, South Carolina: Day 1 (October 1, 2011)

2011-10-31T00:27:00.000-04:00

I spent this year’s birthday trip in Charleston, South Carolina, which is a beautiful and conveniently walkable city. I went myself, which was fine, but I definitely want to spend next year’s trip with someone else. Preferably an attractive male someone else, but a friend would be fine too.

I spent much of Saturday getting to know the city on foot.

After leaving my suitcase at the Indigo Inn (I had a morning flight, and so my room wasn’t ready yet when I arrived), my first priority was to find somewhere to eat lunch, and I was way too hungry to do much wandering. After some fried green tomatoes and a side of grits (yes, I was trying to be regional), I wandered the market district, which was pretty cute. Like all places that peddle souvenirs and local art and crafts, it’s overpriced, but definitely charming. I found some matryoshkas that I wanted desperately, but they were out of my price range.

After heading back to check out my room and unpack a bit, I went out to properly meet Charleston. I first hit the shopping district, King Street, mainly because it was one street over from Meeting Street, where I stayed. King Street is pretty (pictured in the bottom middle of the collage), but I was surprised to find it was mainly chain stores like Banana Republic or Bebe. Given that two of the season 6 designers on Project Runway were Charleston women, I was expecting a lot of independent boutiques. Perhaps there are some, but not in the area I explored. They did have the most gorgeous Williams Sonoma I’ve seen, but cookware fits poorly in my carry-on.

After poking in a few stores, I headed back to Meeting Street and took what became very favorite walk in Charleston: taking Meeting Street all the way down to Battery Park. I loved this so much that this became my route for my Sunday and Monday morning runs. All of the pictures in the collage, minus the King Street one, were taken in the historic district or in Battery Park (a.k.a. White Point Gardens). Sorry about the odd angle of the photos. Apparently, I take pictures on a slight slant with my Blackberry.

After I felt acquainted with the city, I went back to the inn for the complimentary wine and cheese hour. I went back to my room after that, intending to make plans for the evening . . . and I fell asleep. I guess the early morning flight was rough on me.

Free Books Are My Favorite Kind

2011-10-17T19:00:00.001-04:00

You know how whenever someone wins something, they always say, “I never win anything”? Well, I never win anything. Except today because I won this book on Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.

My Life Right Now: October

2011-10-13T23:39:00.000-04:00

I just got my hair cut tonight and am loving the lighter feel.

I took my book into the salon with me, and while I didn’t think it a particularly sexy read before entering the salon, I was at an awkward point in the book, and I kept hoping my hairdresser didn’t glance at what was on my page, as he would have developed a curious idea of what I like to read. Next time, I think I’ll read In Style like everyone else.

Charleston was fun, and I will post about it eventually.

Fall is beautiful in Michigan. I just wish I had more time to be outdoors.

Things didn’t work out with a certain professor, so I’m enjoying the strange, strange world of online dating.

Work is busy. This is weirdly nice.

I was sick last weekend, and tonight my throat is feeling scratchy. I do hope this won’t be a sickly month. My birth month is supposed to be kind to me.

I recently spent $164 at Marshalls, buying two pairs of shoes, lace-up booties with a wedge heel, and a sweater dress. I now feel guilty about this and need to figure out which items I’m going to return. I can tell you it won’t be the strappy red suede shoes, even though they were the least practical item purchased.

I suspect my cat is metrosexual. He keeps putting his head or his paw into my makeup bag and examining the contents very intently. If he starts picking out my lipstick each morning, I will let you know.

I’m reading a few too many things – Vanity Fair, Founding Brothers, The Marriage Plot, and then I need to start The Good Soldier for book club. As a result, it’s been a long time since I’ve actually finished a book.

As for music, I’m currently liking Amy Winehouse.

Lately, I’ve been watching Lois & Clark on DVD. Dean Cain can’t act, but he’s so yummy.

I want to watch Scream 4. Partly because it’s Halloweeny and partly because it’s filmed in Ann Arbor, and I want to see if I recognize any of the locations. But I am a HUGE BABY, so I need to watch it with someone who won’t make fun of me (too badly) for covering my eyes through half the film.

Speaking of Ann Arbor, we made the travel section of the NY Times. So who wants to visit?

I’m trying to decide what I want to bake this weekend – ginger cookies with dark chocolate or cinnamon apple cake or hazelnut brownies.

So, what are you doing?

October Book Review Club - The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, Revisited

2011-10-05T06:30:00.000-04:00

Click icon for morebook review blogs@Barrie Summy

Six more days.

That is how long until a new book from one of my favorite authors is available. I first fell in love with the writing of Jeffrey Eugenides in the summer of 2000. My sister and I were going on vacation together, and our planning was rather laid back – we were going wherever we could get cheap last minute tickets to on Priceline or Orbitz or one of those. “Wherever” turned out to be Philadelphia. My sister brought along a copy of The Virgin Suicides and I can’t remember if she finished it and passed it on to me or if I outright pilfered it, but I read it on that trip. At the time, my reading preferences consisted mainly of Jane Austen and chick lit, so it was a departure for me, but I loved it. My sister had to keep reminding me that we were on vacation and had things to see aside from the inside of that book. (Yes, sorry about that, Ruth.)

With The Marriage Plot coming out so soon, I wanted to revisit The Virgin Suicides. The novel tells the stories of the last few months of the Lisbon sisters before they take their own lives, and we begin with the knowledge that their deaths are inevitable. The first sentence is, “On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide – it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese – the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope.” The reader begins with the question of why these young girls killed themselves, which happens to be the exact mystery the narrators are trying to solve. The narrators are the neighborhood boys who grew up with the Lisbon girls, and the novel is told in the first person plural. The boys are now middle aged men, and they’ve collected the belongings of the girls, they’ve interviewed their parents and neighbors and the Lisbon girls’ parents, but they have no more answers than they did as boys.

The best way to describe The Virgin Suicides is Greek tragedy meets love story. Like a Greek tragedy, it has an epic feel to it. There are these five beautiful girls who are doomed and living in a dying city. It’s set in Metro Detroit in the seventies – post-riots, the automobile industry is declining, there is pollution, the trees are dying, and cemetery workers have gone on strike just before the girls began killing themselves. At the same time, it’s also a love story. All of the neighborhood boys are in love with the Lisbon girls, and this is mainly an unrequited love, lending the story a very poetic and nostalgic quality. Ultimately, their fascination is contagious, and makes the book impossible to put down.

What are some of your favorite books? How did you happen to pick them up?

As always, stop by Barrie’s blog (click on the icon at the top of the post) for more book reviews.

I Baked a Pie! Life List #58

2011-09-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

Joy the Baker is a genius. Or at least a very generous, awesome person, but I’m pretty sure she’s a genius too. Her recipe for peach blueberry pie is full of instructions and photographs. Pie making demystified at last!

And so I completed #58 of my life list: baking a pie from scratch. It looked like this:

Yes, it’s not pretty. That’s okay. I’ll get better at it. And I’ll sprinkle the cinnamon a little more evenly so it doesn’t make weird splotches on top.

It tastes good, and that’s what matters.

My Life Right Now: September

2011-09-19T22:59:00.000-04:00

It’s beginning to feel like fall. It’s not cold yet; I’ve only pulled out my jacket once or twice this year, but temperatures have definitely cooled. I’m in long sleeves, and my culinary interests have moved away from ice cream making to making soups and other warm foods. My sister sent me a vegetarian soup cookbook as an early birthday gift, and I made my first recipe out of it last night – French vegetable soup with sherried mushrooms. Yum. And perfect for this time of year.

And while we are on the subject of food, I’m grateful to Alyssa for linking to the Joy the Baker blog recently. It’s my new favorite blog to read (aside from yours, of course).

After months of no travel (or at least, no air travel), I’m preparing for some upcoming trips. One is for the most important holiday of the year (my birthday – what else?). Remember that trip to South Carolina I’ve been talking about since January? I was going to take it this summer, but then there was weirdness at work, after weirdness at work there were various tropical storms, and I didn’t quite make it there. So I booked the trip for my birthday weekend. After that, I’m going to Vegas in late October (work) and Toronto in early November (work again). So basically, I'll be traveling once every two weeks for a while.

I’ve been a bit more diligent about going to the gym. I need to fit into my seminar suits in a month and everything I own is either a bit too tight (size 6) or a bit too loose (size 10). Hoping to make the currently-a-bit-too-tight suits fit just right by October 20th. A sensible diet, entirely too many hours at the gym, and a killer pair of Spanx should do the trick, right?

As for what I’ve been watching, I’ve recently watched Jane Eyre, which I enjoyed in spite of not being a fan of the book, and season 2 of Mad Men.

I’m currently reading State of Wonder (for book club), and also Vanity Fair (because I feel like I should). I moderately like State of Wonder thus far, and I moderately dislike Vanity Fair.

So, what are you doing these days?

Inspiration

2011-09-15T01:30:00.002-04:00

During my last year of grad school, one of my classmates came to our fiction workshop late due to an accident. He wasn’t in the accident himself, but two cars had just crashed, and when he arrived on the scene, one driver had already called 911 and the other appeared to be dead and there was blood all over her windshield. “I was talking to the woman,” my classmate said, “but part of me was thinking about how I’d write about this.” I found that statement to be a bit monstrous. A woman was dead, and he was thinking about how it would make good fiction. But as I stood there, judging him while pretending not to judge him, I knew perfectly well I would have been thinking the exact same thing. I had just never heard anyone voice what grotesque parasites writers are, and it made me uncomfortable because this was him and it was me and it wasn’t pretty.

Writers are hoarders. We pull our inspiration from everywhere. Things seen and heard and stories half remembered. I’ve been thinking about where my inspiration comes from, and here is my list:

Museums: I talked about my love of museums here many a time. I think they are the best. They are generally beautiful buildings, filled with beautiful things. (Well, except the U of M natural history museum, which contains dioramas of plastic animals eating each other. That’s just gross, but what can you expect of a place that has an exhibit devoted to mites?) But what I love most is how many stories are contained in museums. You can find a story in a painting, in a fashion history exhibit, or an antique automobile.

Change of the Seasons: When the weather changes, it’s a bit like my thinking does too. An idea might be compelling during the humid heat of summer, but not during February’s inevitable tundra impersonation and vice versa. I love the changes in color, mood, smells, and temperature that come with new seasons.

Found Objects: The idea for Thrift Store Archeologist came from a photograph. It wasn’t the photograph itself, but how I acquired it. I’d purchased a used book only to find –surprise!- a photo of someone’s rather unattractive family inside. From there I started thinking about the things that get left in used books – receipts, notes, etc. – and my mind moved to clothing and things left in pockets. Several winding thoughts later, I had the beginnings of a story. A little girl receives a secondhand coat, and there’s a bracelet in one of the pockets. From there, she develops a need to look in pockets and drawers. By the time she’s an adult, snooping has become her big guilty secret, and she’ll search through anything if left unattended.

This was really fun to write, particularly because I am not a snooper. I’m a very private person, and as a result, I respect other people’s privacy because I know I’d feel sick if someone went through my stuff, even though I don’t have anything juicier than bad writing to find. I would dislike Jenna (my character) if I met her in person, but as a character, I loved her and was absolutely fascinated by her as I always love characters that are drastically different from me. Jenna did have pieces of me. She was an introvert like me, and I once found a charm bracelet in the middle of a street (the same object she finds in a coat), which at the age of six seemed like the coolest discovery ever. But Jenna’s driving force – her curiosity and her lack of boundaries – was the opposite of me.

Other People’s Stories: Somehow, other people’s stories can be the most compelling. Especially if you can’t remember most of the details because then you can simply fill in the blanks with whatever. My most infamous case of story theft began with a conference call. A client was late –fifteen, twenty minutes late – in dialing in. When she did call in, she said she was late because of an accident on the road. Someone had jumped off an overpass and into rush hour traffic. Like my morbid classmate, my first thought was, “How can I write about this?”

And, of course, I did write about it and ended up with this story. I took it away from the original story, moving the setting from the Southwest to the Northeast, changing morning rush hour to the night of Christmas Eve, and changing all characters so the client who told the story could not be found anywhere in my version. What I kept was the jumper and the idea of ordinary life interrupted. I made my main character an ordinary and self absorbed guy whose life seriously needed interrupting, even by something tragic.

Old Buildings: Old houses and buildings always suggest stories to me. I have a particular fascination with ruins. Not the pretty classical kind, but houses that have experienced arson or other unusual trauma. (Hey, it’s not that strange if you know where I grew up.) I’ve never actually written about such places, but I feel a weird emo tug in their direction, like there’s a story there that’s half-remembered. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll write some weird urban gothics, and it’ll be so appalling that you’ll pretend that you never knew me.

Someone or Something Seen Briefly: Sometimes a glance at a perfect stranger inspires a story. It has to be nothing more than a glance or else the person will do something boring and completely ruin their air of mystery.

A brief image also inspires stories. I got the idea for Make Believe with an image of a cemetery. My mind then added a little girl into that image somehow, and I knew instantly that was a morbid little girl that I was dealing with and that her parents had no idea where she was and they likely didn’t care.

Project Runway: Yes, I’m a writer, not a designer, but both require the same persistence and creativity under pressure. When I watch PR, I’m reminded that sometimes you just need to get moving, rather than wait for inspiration, and make do with what you have, even if it feels insufficient. My favorite episodes are unconventional challenges where the designers have to work with items from a grocery/hardware/party/pet store. It’s just amazing to see what they can do and how they can re-envision perfectly ordinary materials.

Good Books: Writers write because they are readers. Well, generally. If memory serves, and I’m not entirely sure that it does, Faulkner once claimed that he reached a point where he didn’t need to read anymore. All I have to say about that is may I never be that advanced.

Here are some favorites:

Anything by Jeffrey Eugenides: Often I like to read books that are set far from where I live, like The Tiger’s Wife or The Historian, as it’s like going on a really economical vacation, but Eugenides takes me right to where I live (Michigan), and I love that too. I didn’t grow up in Metro Detroit, but I grew up in an area similar enough that Eugenide’s writing really resonates with me. It also reminds me that settings don't need to be exotic to be strong. They just need to be real, and they need to function like characters in the story.

I also love how intricately plotted Middlesex is. Genre writers are always complaining that literary writers don’t have plots (which is rarely true), and here’s a Pulitzer prize winner with this detailed plot, and it never compromises the beauty of his writing or his characters’ development. Language, character, and plot are all in perfect harmony.

This is kind of a weird reason to love an author, but I like that Eugenides publishes a new novel only every 7 to 8 years (His new one will be out in October! A birthday gift to me!). Not because I wouldn’t like to read more of his stuff, but because I am a painfully slow writer, and it’s good to know that even “real” writers can take a while to complete a project. It gives me hope.

Anything by Jane Austen: I have to admit I rarely read Austen anymore (sorry, Allie and Alyssa!), but almost everything I know about characterization and writing humor I owe to her. Her plots are simple by modern standards, but her books have so much heart and humor that you don’t really notice.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: I’ve mentioned this more than once on this blog, but what I love best about The Historian is Kostova’s use of setting. This book is truly a tour of Europe, with each city and village is as distinct and memorable as the last. I closed the book feeling like I’d experienced something extraordinary and also with a strong desire to travel to all those places and eat the same foods and do pretty much everything except meet the vampire. I want this vividness in my own writing, and I want to show readers places that I know or that I've imagined and make it a journey for them.

So what inspires you?

How to Look Like a Working Girl

2011-09-07T23:28:00.001-04:00

I’m in the middle of a staycation. For a while I considered going somewhere –just finding what flight deals I could find on Orbitz or Priceline or whateversite willing to fly me somewhere awesome for a bargain – but I decided to stayhome instead. Monday, I was at myparents’ for Labor Day, and yesterday, I was at home cleaning after a weekendaway (oh okay, and watching Mad Men too), so today is the first day where Ireally feel like I’m off. Today I wentto the gym, got my eyebrows waxed (not relaxing, but necessary), ran errands,bought nail polish in fall colors, watched part of Doctor Zhivago whilepainting my fingernails purple, and went on a date.

Being at the gym in the morning is weird, I’ve decided. Normally, the only time I’m in there in theAM is on Saturdays, which is when they show Hannah Montana episodes on the TVs. During the workweek, it’s The View that’s onthe TV, which I would normally prefer to Miley Cyrus, except today the ladiesof The View were talking to the Kardashian sisters and showing off the newKardashian “fashion” line for Sears.

O Blogosphere, I am still traumatized by the sight of thisterrible clothing. The Kardashiansisters seem to design for what Molly Weasley would call “scarlet women.” They have pounced on every trashy cliché andsomehow managed to kick them up a notch. Here is how to dress Kardashian*:

Think that skintight leopard dress isn’t nearly trashyenough? You’re right! Just add some black lace, so you look like ajungle cat wearing lingerie.
Did you pair your leggings with heels and animal print andthink, “Hmm, maybe I don’t look available enough?” No worries. Just add some leather panels to your leggings to slut up appropriately.
Proud of your big butt? Find the tightest dress you can squeeze into. How tight is too tight? Well, if it rips, you should probably find anew dress . . . or just consider it to be a ventilation system.

*Taking this advice may not always result in getting yourown reality show, but it doesn’t hurt.

I am really hoping that the remainder of my staycation isKardashian free.

On the fun side of the week's agendais visiting the Henry Ford museum and doing some writing. On the not-so-fun side of the agenda isgetting my cell phone repaired and spending a couple hours of quality time atthe Secretary of State office so I can get a new driver’s license picture.

We All Fall Down

2011-09-01T22:10:00.000-04:00

The new issue of Halfway Down the Stairs is up. The theme for September is We All Fall Down, and I love this issue. Some of my favorite pieces are "Cold" (poem), "Ketchup" (short story), and "My Grandfather's Gift" (memoir). Check it out and let me know what pieces you like best.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

2011-08-28T23:45:00.001-04:00

As I’ve mentioned a couple of times on this blog, I am trying to read all of the Pulitzer prize winners for the novel (1918-1947) and fiction (1948-present), a goal which will take me many, many years to complete (life list # 23). My most recent read from the Pulitzer list was Gone with the Wind, which won the 1937 prize. While I don’t think GwtW is great from a literary perspective, I’ve found that I can’t stop thinking about it. It fascinates me on a readerly level, a writerly level, and a historical level. Even my upcoming editor’s note for the HDtS September issue focuses on Gone with the Wind. My response to it has been half positive and half negative, which really left me confused as to how to rate it on Goodreads (eventual decision: a 3 star rating, which would have been a 4-star or 5-star rating had it been less racist).

While my overall reaction to the book is mixed, there are some things I absolutely adore. First of all, Margaret Mitchell had serious courage as a writer. She was not afraid to create a selfish, calculating, and often unlikable main character. Scarlett O’Hara is a scheming white trash princess in a debutante’s dress and social position. She is strong, admirably strong, but she’s rarely nice. Also, Mitchell was not afraid to take her characters to terrible places, emotionally and physically. The first time I was actually awed by this book was when the Yankees were about to take over Atlanta. Scarlett is stranded there because her sister-in-law, Melanie, is in labor. They can’t get the doctor there, since he is seeing dozens of wounded soldiers, and Scarlett cannot even find a matron to help her deliver the baby, and she’s already been told that Melanie will not have an easy labor due to her delicate nature and small size. So Scarlett, with little knowledge of how to deliver babies, has to do as well as she can on her own, all the while fearing that the city will burn all around them. It was scenes like that where I really came to respect Scarlett, even though I rarely liked her. If I could identify one thing my own writing lacks (aside from clear-cut plots), it would definitely be this type of courage. So I’m choosing to take some inspiration from Margaret Mitchell and this recent blog post from Donald Maass, and up the stakes in my own writing.

While I like the courage of Mitchell’s writing, I also like her characters and her ability to bring the Old South to life. From the witty and scheming Rhett to the gentle Melanie to the blustering Gerald O’Hara, GwtW has well developed and intriguing characters. Basically, the story is about survival. A few times in the book, it brings up the end of civilizations and how the traditional power structures change, and the only the strongest survive, and then they define the new power structures. So this is a story about characters forced to rebuild from nothing or next-to-nothing, it’s about passion and drive, and it’s about a very specific time. While Mitchell wrote in the thirties, she understood the difference between being a woman in the 1860s and being a woman in the 1930s. She knew the customs and the expectations of the time she was writing about.

As inspiring as I found some aspects of the book, I did have some serious issues with the book, the biggest one being this:

Wow. Was. It. Ever. Racist. I have never in my life read anything that made a certain organization whose members like to run around wearing sheets and setting fire to religious symbols on front lawns sound like it was full of jolly nice chaps. (I don’t want to use the name here, because I don’t want Google searches for that organization to bring people to my blog. But you know the one of which I speak.) For a while I tried to convince myself that just because the characters were racist didn’t make the book racist, but it didn’t work. The book is racist. I was expecting it to be a bit so, given that it glorifies the old South, but I was expecting more a smug white people sort of racism that you see in older books and movies where anyone who isn’t white is portrayed as less intelligent or less civilized. But this was more of a racism with teeth. Ultimately, I had to view this as a product of its time, and remind myself that not only was it set during the Civil War and Reconstruction, but it was written by a white Southern woman during Jim Crow era. And really, that era was not that long ago.

Gender roles were intriguing in Gone with the Wind. Strangest of all was the weird modesty surrounding childbearing. “Pregnancy” was an appalling and indelicate term, and many euphemisms were used in its place. Also women were not allowed in public when they began to show, as that would suggest that ladies did something as animal-like as give birth. So they remained more or less under house arrest for months on end, until they could emerge with the infant (that had miraculously popped into the world, of course). Then there were all the topics of discussion –ranging from the realities of war to sexuality – that couldn’t be mentioned in front of ladies. The Southern women portrayed in GwtW nursed the sick on plantations, nursed dying and mutilated soldiers in wartime, defended themselves against Yankees while the menfolk were off to war, sometimes watching their own homes burn down, and (quite naturally) gave birth. Mitchell gives the impression that these women knew everything about life, birth, tragedy, and death firsthand, but they weren’t allowed to speak of any of it, lest they confirm with their words that reality is not always polite and civilized.

Encountering Gone with the Wind is a bit like getting to know an intriguing but deeply flawed person. I want my response to be a like/dislike, approve/disapprove one, but it isn’t that simple. I enjoy it as a very emotional story about complicated characters. I appreciate it as a historical document, reflecting both the time period in which it was set and the time period in which it was written. But it offends me too.

I did watch the movie version this weekend in order to get the full experience, but I found it to be a pale shadow of the book. Only Clark Gable as Rhett equaled the book Rhett.

Have you read the book? Watched the movie? What was your response?

The Proust Questionnaire

2011-08-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

This is the Proust questionnaire, which in theory is supposed to reveal one’s true nature. I find that possibility a bit alarming, but not so alarming that I would fail to complete and share it. I got this from Allie who got it from Vanity Fair magazine who got it from Marcel Proust and his contemporaries.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Laughing hysterically with a friend over something so ridiculous that no one else in the world would get it.

2. What is your greatest fear?

Being alone.

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Timidity.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Cruelty.

5. Which living person do you most admire?

I think Geraldine Brooks is an amazing woman. She’s travelled all over the world as a journalist, and then transitioned successfully to writing historical novels. I love all four of her novels and two of them –March and Year of Wonders- are on my top 10 books list. She has a husband and two sons, so she’s figured out her family/career balance. Oh, and she’s won the Pulitzer.

6. What is your greatest extravagance?

Food actually. It’s a necessity, but it can be an extravagance too.

I enjoy shopping for groceries as much as I like shopping for shoes or books. I love the bright colors of the produce aisles, looking through specialty cheese selections, and finding fun stuff in the international aisles. As a vegetarian, my groceries are theoretically supposed to be cheaper than that of an omnivore, but given my habit of buying (mostly) organic and preferring whole grains to refined foods, they really aren’t.

7. What is your current state of mind?

Tranquil.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Punctuality. Mostly because I’m incapable of it.

9. On what occasion do you lie?

When I’m embarrassed, I suppose. But I’m a really bad liar, so this is an absolute last resort for me. Mainly I just try (very awkwardly) to change the subject when I’m uncomfortable.

10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?

Definitely my weight.

11. Which living person do you most despise?

I don’t think I really, truly despise anyone.

Which certainly doesn’t mean everything is love, glitter, and rainbows for me. I don’t think there is a punishment terrible enough for people stealing food aid in Somalia, for example, but I don’t despise anyone who I could put a name or face to.

12. What is the quality you most like in a man?

Kindness.

13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Honesty.

14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I have no idea. Would any friends or family like to chime in?

15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?

This is one of those cases where I know what my answer ought to be, but I don’t know what my honest answer is.

16. When and where were you happiest?

Childhood summers. They always seemed so endless.

17. Which talent would you most like to have?

It’s a shallow one, but I’d like to be able to charm people easily.

18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I wish I had more confidence. Or at least the discernment to know in which areas I ought to be confident.

19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Getting my masters, I suppose.

20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Can I be me again? Or a better version of me? I don’t particularly want to be anyone or anything else.

21. Where would you most like to live?

Somewhere in New England in a historical home. It wouldn’t be big, maybe just 3 bedrooms, but it’d have a cozy warmth about it. There would be books everywhere and a black lab asleep on an overstuffed sofa.

22. What is your most treasured possession?

I like my stuff.

With that said, I really don’t think I have a treasured possession. I have things I like – my shoe collection, my book collection, etc. I have things that are of sentimental value to me – the earrings I received as college graduation presents, a teddy bear my grandfather gave me when I was two, some black and white photos of my parents from Paraguay. Yet if the house was on fire and I could only grab three things, I’d grab my cat. Yes, Strider is only one thing, but really I’m not sure what else would strike me as important in such a scenario. I might go for my computer and/or flash drive, as my novel is on those, but I would never consider electronics to be treasured possessions. It’s merely what they contain.

23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

I prefer “the depths of despair” to “lowest depth of misery,” thanks. I guess being ruled by fear.

24. What is your favorite occupation?

As in favorite activity or favorite profession? I’ll assume it’s the former. I don’t have a terribly specific answer here, but I love the feeling of being completely absorbed in a project –whether it’s literary, culinary, or crafty. So creating things, maybe?

25. What is your most marked characteristic?

Dreaminess. That’s in the, “I like to daydream” sense, not the “I’m so dreamy and beautiful that everyone is always distracted around me” sense. (But if you wish to find me dreamy, beautiful, and distracting, then I approve of that 100%.)

26. What do you most value in your friends?

Loyalty.

27. Who are your favorite writers?

Jeffrey Eugenides, Geraldine Brooks, Lauren Winner, and, for lighter reading, Lauren Willig.

28. Who is your hero of fiction?

In theory, this should be an easy question, given how much I read and that I have a BA and MA in English, but it’s really not.

I'm going to (very hesitantly) go with the first name that popped into my head: Severus Snape. As a reader and a human being, I don't fully approve of Snape. While he has incredible strength, loyalty, and self discipline, he's also an inexcusable bully. However, as a writer, I approve of him fully. He's delightfully complicated and intriguing, and he really does manage to steal the show.

29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

None, I suppose. There are several historical figures that intrigue me, but none that I feel are especially like me.

30. Who are your heroes in real life?

I dislike the word heroes. Putting anyone on a pedestal isn’t particularly fair to you or them. With that said, two people that I admire a great deal are my sister and my cousin Jessica.

Ruth has always had direction. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher from the days when she forced me to attend her “preschool” with all my stuffed animals (What? You didn’t learn your alphabet and numbers with stuffed monkeys?) through college and then later her years in the Chicago and Los Angeles school districts. She always knew she wanted to travel, and she’s done that too, having traveled to Europe, Japan, and South America.

While I admire my sister for doing her own thing, I'm grateful to her because she's not only a good sister, but a good friend. She’s also the first person I turn to if I need advice and the person whose opinion I trust the most.

As for my cousin, Jess has acted in various plays, studied in Europe (twice!), and she’s currently applying to law school, which is something she’s talked about since she was thirteen.

31. What are your favorite names?

Did Proust get this question from a six-year-old girl? Because I could have answered this when I was six.

Since I don’t care to spend time on some random baby name site where I’ll be horrified by whatever ugly names are popular this year, I’ll go with the first name that popped into my head: Lily. My cousin just named her baby this, and I think it’s extremely pretty.

32. What is it that you most dislike?

Feeling like I’ve run out of options.

33. What is your greatest regret?

I don’t have any major regrets. I guess the regrets I do have are little ones regarding things I didn’t do. Opportunities not pursued or people I didn’t take the time to get to know.

34. How would you like to die?

Well, I’d like to get old, first of all. But not so old that I have no idea what’s going on or what year it is. Also, I’d like to be in bed. Or in a chair or someplace comfy.

35. What is your motto?

I don’t have one. Do most people?

My Life Right Now - August

2011-08-10T23:09:00.001-04:00

I may have been MIA in the blogosphere, but here is what has gone on in my life:

Family time. I got to spend some time with my sister, nieces, and parents in Saginaw in mid-July. Then last weekend, I went to Columbus and got to see my cousins and their kids.

Work has been weird and was the reason for the July blog break. There is no reason for concern, if anyone is wondering if all is well. And that’s the extent of what I care to say here.

There is a guy. The relationship is new and still undefined, but I like him.

I recently watched Eat, Pray, Love. If only Javier Bardem could have been in the entire movie, it might have actually been good. Instead Julia Roberts was in the entire movie, which was unfortunate, even if I did have fair warning.

I’m watching season 1 of Mad Men from Netflix. I haven’t decided yet if I like it.

I’m watching Project Runway season 9 online. I always like that.

I’m currently reading Gone with the Wind as part of my resolution to read more Pulitzer Prize winners. Initially I liked it, but two-thirds in, I’m getting a bit angry. Full rant coming soon.

I have to read a book that I’m completely unenthused about for book club. Yay.

Ice Cream. I’ve made lots of it. The Jeni’s recipe book is pretty amazing and creative. So far, my favorite flavor is the Goat Cheese with Cherries. It’s cheesecaketastic, and if calories were mere myth, I’d eat it every day.

Getting ready for the new issue of HDtS.

As usual, I have no idea where summer is going or why it’s in such a hurry.

So, what’s going on with you?

August Book Review Club: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

2011-08-03T06:00:00.004-04:00

Click icon for morebook review blogs@Barrie Summy

After the death of her grandfather, Natalia Stefanovi makes a trip to the village where he died in order to collect his belongings. As her grandfather’s confidante, she knows that he died of cancer, a condition that he had kept from his wife and daughter, but even she only suspects what business could have taken him to a remote village to die. As she travels, she ponders the stories her grandfather told her. One story is of the tiger’s wife, a deaf girl who befriended a tiger that had escaped from a zoo. The other story is of a deathless man called Gavran Gailé, who her grandfather had encountered during times of death and tragedy.

I picked up The Tiger’s Wife partly because I liked the idea of it, a multigenerational family story set in the former Yugoslavia, with a touch of magical realism added in. I also picked it up partly because it’s so controversial these days, with everyone eager to weigh in on whether Obreht is the next big thing or the most overrated writer of our time. I was glad that I chose to read it. Each story in the book is very beautiful and very rich, and the characters are wonderful. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Natalia and her grandfather. Natalia takes after her grandfather, liking the tigers best at the zoo as a child and becoming a doctor as an adult, and she’s also the one who understands him best. This is why he chooses to share with her stories that he had never told anyone, not even his wife. Essentially, that’s what this book is: the stories that haunt you.

I liked that The Tiger’s Wife took me far from where I live. I haven’t been to the Balkans; I haven’t even read many books set in the Balkans. Unlike Natalia and her family, I don’t know what it’s like to grow up in times of war. Obreht’s writing is so beautiful and descriptive that she made me feel like I did know this land and these people and these times. In addition to taking me geographically far from where I live, the magical realism elements of the novel gave it an otherworldliness that was equally foreign and familiar.

I did have some minor complaints with the novel. While I loved each story individually, I didn’t feel they tied together well in the end. Also I was bothered by the character development of the butcher. Watching an unusually sensitive boy change into an unusually callous man very nearly overnight was like watching a rabbit morph into a wolf.

I do recommend The Tiger’s Wife. It will appeal to you if you enjoy literary fiction, magical realism, or novels that shift around in time. And, as always, please visit Barrie’s blog for more August book reviews.

Nothing like humiliation first thing in the morning

2011-07-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

So this is a brief break from my blogging break. An unbreak? Something like that. I justwanted to share this morning’s humiliation with the blogosphere.

My air conditioner died a while back. I’ve been without it for a week and a halfduring a pretty severe Midwestern heat wave. As a result, I haven’t cleaned properly for a while now. I’ve done little things like dust and cleanthe kitchen, but I have not vacuumed or done any major scrubbing. I’ve also been sleeping on the couch (thefirst floor is drastically cooler) and I’ve kept my cat locked in the basement duringreally hot days/nights so he doesn’t get heat stroke. My apartment complex informed me the repairguy would be here tomorrow.

He showed up this morning.

I cannot stress how not prepared I was to let someone in myhouse. I was in my PJs, which weren’tmuch given the current temperature of the apartment. There was bedding all over the couch. I really should have checked out my basementbefore letting him down there because about fifteen minutes later, I recalledthat I had bras on a drying rack mere feet away from where he was working. I waited for him to go outside to getsomething, and then I dashed down and grabbed them. Once I was safely upstairs and he was backin my basement, I recalled that I also have underwear on top of the dryer. I suppose I’ll get those the next time hegoes outside.

So how is your day?

Summer Break

2011-07-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

Things are a little chaotic for me right now, so I'm opting to take a break from blogging at the present time. See you all in August.

Alterations

2011-06-27T00:23:00.000-04:00

My mother always does my alterations for me, which I greatly appreciate. Most recently, she hemmed a maxidress that was designed for a six-foot-tall woman. While she was at it, she decided the neckline was too low for her taste, so she took some of the material that she cut off the bottom and added it to the bodice.
Thanks Mom. I always appreciate the unsolicited Amish makeover.

Treehouse

2011-06-22T00:31:00.000-04:00

This weekend I discovered the ideal place to read: In a treehouse.

In honor of my nieces coming to Michigan for ten days this summer, my parents built a treehouse. Yes, you read that correctly. The visit is only ten days, and my dad built a treehouse from scratch, and my mom decorated it. People really do change when they become grandparents.

Anyhow, the treehouse is pretty neat, and it’s a lovely place to read on a summer afternoon. Too bad that the next time I’m in town, there will be small children who will expect a monopoly on the treehouse in question. :)

Vintage Thursday

2011-06-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Some Bookish Questions

2011-06-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

Just wondering, is anyone a P.G. Wodehouse fan? I'm thinking of giving his Jeeves novels a try this summer, and I was wondering, does one need to read them in order or no?

Also, is anyone on Goodreads? I'm on there, and I'm a bit lonely as I only have one friend. Anyone want to be my Goodreads friend?

Look at me making ice cream! Life list #55

2011-06-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

Meet my ice cream machine. I’ve named it Taylor Doose.

And here is my first ever batch of homemade ice cream. It is cheesecake ice cream, served with fresh strawberries. And it’s good! (Unlike the quality of pictures taken with my Blackberry

My first batch was going to be honey rosemary, given that my whole reason for buying an ice cream maker is that I fell in love with herbal ice creams last summer, but the rosemary recipe is a bit more complicated, and I figured for me and Taylor to start off on the right foot, I should probably try something simple.

And now I can cross one thing off of my life list.

Vintage Thursday

2011-06-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

June

2011-06-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

The new issue of Halfway Down the Stairs is up today. A lot of great pieces in this issue, and I’m especially proud of the two nonfiction pieces. As for favorite pieces from the areas I don’t edit, I really liked “Pulse” from poetry and “Loving Enid” from fiction.

You are probably wondering if you ought to read the June HDtS or read the book reviews from Barrie Summy’s June Book Review Club. The answer is simple: Read both. Housework can wait until tomorrow. I mean, if you have children to feed or clean, that probably takes top priority, but the dishes? The dishes can wait.

June Book Review Club: Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

2011-06-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

I shouldn’t want to be other writers. It’s a bit pathetic, like being in junior high and wanting to be that popular girl with the shiny hair. But I want to be Geraldine Brooks. An accomplished journalist plus a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist (for her second historical novel, March), what writer wouldn’t want to be her? She is one of my favorite writers , so I was very excited to learn that she had a new book coming out.

Set in seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay Colony, Caleb’s Crossing tells the story of Bethia Mayfield, the daughter of a Puritan minister, and Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. Bethia and Caleb meet as children on Great Harbor (present day Martha’s Vineyard) and start a friendship that Bethia keeps secret from her family. Both learn to respect each other’s cultures, and Bethia teaches Caleb how to read. After both of the families experience tragedy, both Bethia and Caleb (now a Christian convert) find themselves in Cambridge, Caleb to study at Harvard and Bethia to work as an indentured servant.

Like Brooks’ previous historical novels (Year of Wonders, March, and People of the Book), Caleb’s Crossing is meticulously researched; fast paced; and explores history, faith, and family in a beautiful way. Brooks does an amazing job of making colonial Massachusetts and the Puritan mindset real, while exploring the complexities of being torn between two cultures, as Caleb is (and Bethia, to a lesser extent).

My one complaint about this book is Bethia, who narrates, is not always realistic. She’s extremely intellectual, which I did like about her, but she picks up knowledge unnaturally quickly. When she reaches an age where her father stops tutoring her, thinking her learned enough for a girl, she learns Latin and Greek simply by overhearing scraps of the lessons her father gave her older brother. And she picks up the Wampanoag language too from her father, and learns to speak it better than him.

In spite of that one complaint, I do recommend this book, as I recommend all of Geraldine Brooks’ books. It’s a great trip to Puritan New England, with culture clashes, theological disputes, and even a (rather horrible) whaling scene. While Bethia Mayfield is strictly fictional, Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk did exist and truly was the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

To read more June book reviews, click the icon at the top of the post to go to Barrie’s blog.

What I've Been Cooking - May

2011-05-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

Each month this year, I’ve told you what I’ve been cooking in my new years resolutions posts. Well, I’m done with cooking related resolutions, so recipes will now get their own monthly posts.

This month, I’ve lived up to my zodiac sign – Libra – when it comes to cooking. Reportedly, Libras are into the extremes. One month, a Libra will be ambitious and make everyone else in the office look like a slacker. The next month, she’ll procrastinate, eat Ben & Jerry’s out of the pint, let the mail pile up, and be mystified at the notion of dusting. I’m not actually into astrology, but I couldn’t think of a better way to describe my extreme highs and lows in the kitchen this month.

I’ve made some truly awful things this month. There was the molasses blueberry cake that tasted like feet. Likely feet after running a marathon. No, I’ve never licked a sweaty foot, but I don’t have to, because I’ve had the molasses cake. Then there were the raspberry oat breakfast bars. Imagine spreading a sugarfree raspberry preserve on a Wasa cracker, leaving it on the counter for two straight days to get stale, and then nibbling at it. That would probably taste better than the breakfast bars I made from scratch, using all organic ingredients. I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t share these two recipes with you. I also attempted to make a tart, but got no further than burning the crust.

But with the 14 recipes I tried this month, I did manage to make some tasty things too, and I also cooked some new things (farro, anyone?).

Of the recipes that can be found online, here are the best of what I tried:

Mushroom Bourguignon from The Chubby Vegetarian. This is my first time cooking from this blog’s recipes. His recipes all look amazing, but many are a bit more complicated than I would normally try, as his recipes have subrecipes. I can deal with that if it’s simple (like a dressing recipe within a salad recipe or a frosting recipe within a cake recipe), but on this blog, each recipe might consist of 3 or 4 recipes. For the mushroom bourguignon, you have the stew recipe itself, the mushroom broth recipe, the fire roasted pearl onion recipe, then you have to go to his smashed roasted potato recipe for the potatoes that you ladle the stew on top of. I’m not Martha Stewart, so I simplified. I skipped the grilled pearl onions because I don’t own a grill, and if I did, I would probably skip this step anyway out of sheer laziness. Then rather than making my own broth, I added red wine to purchased organic mushroom broth. So I made the stew itself, improvised the broth, and made the potatoes. And it was still time consuming.

But it was tasty. Really, really tasty. And it’s totally worthy of being listed first here. It’s a bit too warm for me to recreate this any time soon, but once fall comes around again, and I start pulling out my chili and potato leek soup recipes, this recipe will also resurface. Likely still simplified.

Guacamole with Corn from How to Cook Everything. This was made for my book club, but I left out the pumpkin seeds. It’s pretty easy and very summery.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie from 101 Cookbooks. I don’t make cookies much. I find them time consuming, as you make them in batches, and you can’t do anything too distracting while they bake, as that’ll lead to a burned batch of cookies. So naturally, a skillet cookie appealed. And it didn’t disappoint. Don’t get scared off by the whole wheat flour. It doesn’t taste healthy. Of course, that might be due to the high quantity of butter in it.

As for successful recipes from books, I made two that I really liked from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day. One was Broccoli Gribiche. That’s a potato salad with hard boiled eggs if, like me, you have no idea what a gribiche is. Both the potatoes and broccoli were roasted rather than boiled, which made the flavors more interesting. The other was her frittata recipe. Potatoes, asparagus, and goat cheese in a frittata? Yum. (Unfortunately, the cast iron skillet clean up is dreadful.)

What have you been cooking lately? Or eating lately?

2011 Resolutions: May

2011-05-31T23:20:00.000-04:00

Completed Resolutions: None

Resolutions in Progress:

Writing

Completed a short story (well, initial draft anyhow) and continued work on my novel. Word count for May is 4,486, making for a total of 23,256 YTD.

Reading

I finished a Pulitzer Prize winning book (A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan) towards my goal of reading two Pulitzer winners. A really enjoyable read, and I’m sure I’ll review it here at some point.
I am still slogging through my Boorstin book (towards a goal of reading two history books), and I’m still stuck in the same portion of the book as at the end of April (the “Quakers were, in many ways, stranger than even the Puritans” portion). If anyone wants to discuss Quakers and martyrdom or how the Quaker refusal to take oaths screwed up the colonial judicial system, I’m game.
I recently picked up Moll Flanders (to be the third classic in my goal of reading four classics this year). Not really my thing. It’s not compelling enough that I look forward to reading it. It’s not boring enough to throw at the wall. It’s not awful enough to be worthy of a scathing rant. It just is. Meh.

Closet Reorganization:

I cleaned out one closet (bedroom), which was scarier than the downstairs closet or linen closet (both still on the to-do list), but not half as scary as the closet in the spare room (still on the to-do list). My bedroom closet looks amazing, and now I know exactly what clothing I own and what happened to my runaway orange scarf. The downside? A bunch of stuff that was in my closet is now on my bedroom floor. Those piles will get thrown out, donated, and/or stashed in the basement. Eventually.

Goals for June? Um, I’ll find some, but it’s hot out, and therefore, goals sound a little silly right now.

Vintage Thursday

2011-05-26T07:00:00.002-04:00

Nostalgic Reads

2011-05-25T07:00:00.001-04:00

Every now and then, I get an urge to reread a favorite book from childhood. I never actually do this because my to-be-read pile is large enough to frighten a librarian, and new books geared to adults win out over nostalgic books geared to children every time. If I did have the time to reread those childhood favorites, here’s what I’d pick:

Little House on the Prairie: I feel like I read an awful lot about pioneer girls growing up. The Little House books were the higher quality ones, but I also read many an awful Christian historical novel about girls in calico who always learned from their mistakes. It’s like there’s some notion that girls will grow up more wholesome if they read about girls who churned their own butter. In spite of this, I’d still like to reread the Little House books, though my interest is more historical than literary.

The Anne books: Unlike the Little House books, I do still own my Anne books. Every now and then, I tell myself that I’m going to catch up with the old gang: Anne and Gil, Matthew and Marilla, and Mrs. Rachel Lynde. Part of me worries that if I reread them now, the magic will be gone, and they won’t be as I remember them.

Judy Blume: The three specific ones I’d like to reread are Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (mostly because this one was infamous in elementary school), Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (because it was my favorite), and Just as Long as We’re Together (because I read this one a lot). You know, I really have to wonder why her middle grade books had such long titles. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret? Who picked that one? It’s a mouthful. And didn’t they know that book titles shouldn’t be long enough to require punctuation?

What childhood favorites would you want to reread?

Not a dog person

2011-05-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

On Thursday night, I was working late. I was the last one in the office suite (a fairly normal occurrence, but only because I have later office hours), but around 7 PM, I heard the front door unlock (a less frequent occurrence). I thought it might be the company president since he had to pick up the reports that I was in the process of printing and binding before his extremely early flight the next morning.

It was not the president who walked past my office a moment later, but a dog. And this dog seemed to know exactly where she was going. She wasn’t looking around and checking the place out, but went directly to her destination, which seemed to be in the back of the office suite. I was glad to see that my coworker, B., trailed after the dog. Because dogs really shouldn’t have keys to the office suite given their diabolical tendency to cause paper jams in the copy machine.

So I finished binding my reports and went to put them on the president’s desk, which led me past B’s office. I poked my head in B’s office and started to make a joke about his dog’s excellent sense of direction when the dog in question –who had not even spared me a glance when she’d trotted past my office – started to growl at me. When she got up off the carpet, I bolted. She was just small enough for my fear to be slightly silly, but big enough that she could do damage if she felt inclined to do so.

“I guess I’ll talk to you later!” I called out, as I fled to the president’s office to deposit the reports I’d edited.

When I was to pass B’s office again on my way back to my own, I found B was outside of his office, and he’d shut the door so his dog would remain inside. The fact that he felt he needed to isolate the dog from me probably alarmed me more than the fact that she’d growled at me earlier.

“I’m really sorry,” he said. “She’s normally very friendly.”

Yes, apparently I’m a person who turns perfectly friendly beasts into Cujo. Perhaps I ought to stick with cats.

Vintage Thursday

2011-05-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

In Honor of the Gothic, My Five Favorites

2011-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

I recently read The Castle of Otranto. The 1764 novel by Horace Walpole is considered to be the very first gothic novel, and I fully expected it to be ridiculous. However, it was far more ridiculous than even I could have imagined. I kept trying to figure out if it was originally meant to be scary or funny (or both), but sometimes it is just difficult to tell with something that old. It was educational though, and here is what I learned from it:

1. Beware giant armor falling from the sky. It can kill you, and it fully intends to do so.

2. In the event that your servants should inform you that the devil is chillin’ in the gallery, don’t ignore them. Yes, you are correct that it’s not the dark prince himself, but given that your only son was just crushed by a giant helmet, perhaps you would do well to accept that there is something rotten in the state of Otranto.

3. Should you ever get the notion that you really need to kill someone (in a church, in front of witnesses), it’s a good idea to confirm the victim’s identity before stabbing. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up killing someone you’d rather see living.

4. On a similar note, if you end up in hand-to-hand combat with a mystery knight, check to make sure you’re not on the same side before delivering any life threatening blows.

There. Now you never need to read it. You’re welcome.

Painful as Otranto may have been, I have to say I’m fond of the gothic genre, so I suppose I should be grateful to Walpole for kicking things off. So, in honor of Walpole and his mutant armor and walking portraits, here are some gothic favorites:

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. This vampire story is not only my favorite gothic, but in my top ten favorite books list. Kostova combines gothic atmosphere, a skillful use of setting, memorable characters, and a tragic sense of history to make the vampire legend interesting again. There are no pretty and misunderstood vampires here, just an old fashioned story of good and evil.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This novel, set in a gloomy and oppressive Barcelona, is everything a gothic novel ought to be. You can find my full review here.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. This is a beauty and the beast story with a touch of The Inferno tossed in. Love it.

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I have to confess this one is blurry in my memory, as I haven’t read it in years, but I do love it. Who better than Hawthorne, with his gloomy fascination with Puritanism, to write a truly American gothic?

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Yes, it is a gothic parody, but it is wonderful. One of Austen’s wittiest books, in my opinion.

Are you a fan of the gothic? What are your favorites?

Friday Flashback to 1993: The Blossom Hat

2011-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

“Your sister is so quiet, and she came into the house wearing that loud hat!”

This is what one of Ruth’s housemates said of me when I arrived in Wheaton in 1993 for Ruth’s college graduation. The girl failed to mention my platform shoes, which were equally noteworthy. I did love the Blossom hat in those days. I’m pretty sure that I had at least two of them, and they got plenty of use.

What is a Blossom hat? For those not of my age group (born in the late seventies, the youngest members of Gen X), allow me to explain. It is a Blossom hat for two reasons. One is that there is a flower pinned to the front. Secondly, it is named after a sitcom character –Blossom Russo- who popularized the hat in the very early nineties.

The Blossom hat is one of those trends that I eagerly pounced on, while I probably should have passed on it. My clothing tastes leaned towards the romantic in my early teens - funky hats, floral dresses, and ruffled blouses – reflecting my more moody and dreamy personality traits. I could have done with a bit more toughness and a bit less floweriness, both in my life and in my closet.

What embarrassing trends did you wear?

Vintage Thursday

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

May Book Review Club: The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

2011-05-04T05:00:00.002-04:00

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

Ginny Selvaggio is twenty-six years old, and she’s not allowed to date, get a job, or move out of her parents’ house. An undiagnosed Aspergian, she is afraid of loud noises, crowds, and physical contact with strangers, and she is extremely uncomfortable with eye contact. As a result, she spends most of her time in her parents’ home. While her life has been small and limited socially, she’s always been passionate about following her interests. In childhood, these interests were varied and almost random – drawing, patterns in Turkish rugs, letters written by nuns – but as an adult, all her concentration has gone into cooking. Whenever Ginny isn’t cooking, she’s online looking up recipes, giving advice to other cooks in discussion forums, or reading about other people’s adventures in the kitchen.

When Ginny’s parents die of carbon monoxide poisoning while on vacation, her entire way of life is threatened. Her protective younger sister, Amanda, wants to sell their parents’ historic Philadelphia home and for Ginny to move in with her and her family, but Ginny cannot imagine living anywhere but in her childhood home. She tries to talk Amanda out of this, but she’s never paid bills or held a job or dealt with any household emergencies in her life. Unable to see a way out, Ginny takes refuge in food, but even cooking becomes unsettling, as when Ginny cooks from old family recipes, she finds she is able to summon up the ghosts of the people who shared their recipes. While Ginny is originally frightened by her new ability, she begins looking to the ghosts for advice for her future and answers to questions from the past.

I’ve been looking forward to Jael McHenry’s debut novel, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was initially drawn to this novel because it’s about cooking. I love to eat and I’ve recently begun to love cooking, so I wanted to read about this young woman who structures her days around food. I did enjoy the culinary aspect of this novel. Each chapter begins with a recipe, and whenever Ginny is focused on food, the language is very lyrical and beautiful. McHenry, a food blogger, loves to cook as much as Ginny, and it shows.

As much as I enjoyed the cooking scenes, what McHenry does best is create a memorable and believable main character. Whenever Ginny felt trapped in a group of people or was soothed cooking a familiar recipe, her emotions were so perfectly conveyed, that I also felt her anxiety or her relief. I would get mad during her fights with her sister and feel proud when Ginny would step outside her comfort zone.

THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER is a great summer book. It’s a fast read, but it’s a good read, and one you’ll remember long after you close the book. For more May book reviews, please click on the icon at the top of this post, which will take you to Barrie’s blog.

2011 Resolutions: April

2011-05-02T22:23:00.000-04:00

And I continue to work at my 2011 resolutions.

Completed Resolutions:

40 Recipes: I have now tried 40+ new-to-me recipes this year, 44 if we are to be precise, 13 of which were attempted in April. I’m pretty sure my mother thought I was crazy over Easter when she saw me cook from a couple different cookbooks plus two issues of Bon Appetit in a two day period. Here’s what I’ve cooked this month:

1. Risotto with Lentils – The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker (4/3)
2. Quinoa Skillet Bread – 101 Cookbooks (4/3)
3. Nikki’s Healthy Cookies – 101 Cookbooks (4/3)
4. Chickpea Tacos – Veggie Terrian (4/4)*
5. Horta – Vegetarian Traditions (4/5)
6. Spring Tabbouleh – 101 Cookbooks (4/10)
7. Kabocha French Lentil Soup – 101 Cookbooks (4/10)
8. Yellow Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Corn, and Feta – Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen (4/17)
9. Roasted Chickpeas – Super Natural Every Day (4/20)
10. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Chive Pesto – Bon Appetit May 2011/Epicurious (4/24)
11. Spring Ragout – 101 Cookbooks (4/24)
12. Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble – 101 Cookbooks (4/24)
13. White Beans and Cabbage –Super Natural Ever Day (4/26)

Recommended recipes include the roasted potatoes with chive pesto. My favorite way to eat potatoes is roasted, and the chive pesto adds an interesting touch. As the recipe makes lots of pesto, you can use the leftovers in pasta the next day.

The chickpea tacos will definitely be made again, as will the spring tabbouleh. The quinoa skillet bread actually has been made twice, but I tweaked the recipe when I made it for my parents.

The healthy cookies are really amazing, especially if you like desserts with banana. I’m not usually much for vegan baking, as I am a fan of eggs and butter and am easily frightened by the food substitutes used in many vegan baking recipes, but these are really tasty and use no weird pseudofoods.

The crumble, made for Easter dinner, was another winner. The topping contains pine nuts and black pepper, which add a unique flavor.

I’ll continue to try new recipes through the year, but likely at a slower pace. The cooking I have done so far really has helped ease the transition to total vegetarianism.

Bought new dining room furniture: And I gave the old furniture to a local charity. Here is what the new set looks like. At first, I thought it was too big for the space, but now I love it.

Ongoing Resolutions:

Reading: I finally finished Dracula. I liked the characters, the story, the epistolary style, but it was a bit more saccharine than I expected it to be. Did anyone else feel the same way about this novel?

Also, I’ve started on my history reading goals for the year, as I’m currently reading The Americans: The Colonial Experience by Daniel J. Boorstin. I read one of Boorstin’s books (the third in The Americans trilogy, I believe) in college and really enjoyed it. This one is a bit drier, but I’ll get through it. It’s also from a pre-PC era, as I was a bit startled to read about clashes with “the Indians,” but I’ll get used to that.

Writing: This has gone well this month, and I think things are starting to come together. I wrote 4,841 words this much, which makes for a word count of 18,770 YTD.

Plans for May? I seriously doubt I’ll be able to cross anything off my list in May, but I’ll continue with my reading, writing, and cleaning goals, and save for vacationing and car buying goals.

In Honor of the Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Or perhaps I should say “In Honour of the Royal Wedding.”

If you’ve been on facebook at all during the last few days, you’ve seen the royal wedding guest names that people have created for themselves. There are a few variations on this, but the aristocratic name I created involved beginning with “Lady” (or “Lord” if you are a bloke), adding the first name of one grandparent, the name of your first pet, “of,” and then the street on which you grew up. This made me Lady Sofia Kaitlyn of Kettering.

Lady Sofia has been keeping company with Lady Anne Muffin of Gulfstream, Lady Nadia Cheeky of Wenonah, Lady Frances Liu Liu of Mayflower, and Lord Doyle Toostie of Ranier. As you can imagine, this is quite an eccentric cast of characters, and I found myself wondering what Ladies Anne, Nadia, and Frances and Lord Doyle would be doing if they were in books. Some names seemed suited to Regency romances, others to gothic novels, and yet others to parodies. I won’t speculate on the characters of my facebook friends, but I will give you the story of Lady Sofia Kaitlyn of Kettering:

The Heiress and the Seducer

As Lady Sofia Kaitlyn comes of age, she learns that her wicked guardian has squandered her fortune. All she has left is her good name and the family estate, which she must keep her guardian from selling. Lord Vincent, the Duke of Fakenshire, has heard the Kettering estate, which conveniently borders his own, is up for sale. He is determined to purchase it, as he desperately needs more room for stables, but he does not expect to become smitten with the Kettering heiress. As he gets to know the violet eyed maiden, he begins to doubt her guardian’s claim that the young lady has gone mad and must be sent to an asylum. Is there treachery at Kettering Hall?

The Romantic Times has said, ” The Heiress and the Seducer is exactly the sort of book Georgette Heyer might have written if her parents had not taken the time to educate her.”

The Romance a Day book blog said, “ The Heiress and the Seducer is a page turner. Once you reach the first ‘heeving bozum,” you will turn to the very last page, skipping that pesky middle.”

The Highway Men and Heroes book blog has said, "This story has two villains; the guardian and the editor. It is unclear which one has done more damage."

Coming soon to a badly edited e-book near you!

Congratulations, Prince William and Kate! I will do my best to keep Lady Sofia from attending your wedding.

Vintage Thursday

2011-04-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Packing my bags

2011-04-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

Gil and I need your help. We are looking to revive the Armchair Traveler blog series, but we need some advice on where to go. Please comment with a recommended travel destination, and we will take the advice of one commenter (or more).

Some tips on picking a successful Armchair Travel location:

1. It needs to be popular enough for travel literature to be written on the topic.
2. I need to have access to the travel literature in question. (Hint: This is the online catalog for my local library. I never buy travel guides to write these posts. I occasionally use the internet, but prefer books.)
3. There shouldn't be too much travel literature on the location. I've considered doing an Armchair Traveler, Paris Edition many a time, but that encyclopedia sized Fodors Paris 2011 stops me every time. This sounds like a silly complaint, I admit, but with famous travel spots, you run the risk of being cliche or random. So if you're debating between London and Budapest, I beg of you, go with Budapest.
4. If it's different from previous AT locations (Prague, Marrakesh, Vanuatu), I'm more likely to go for it.

What does the winner get? My gratitude, of course. Also a cameo in the post in question.

My mother on tipping . . .

2011-04-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

. . . a waitress who can’t seem to keep her pants from falling down.

“Do we pay her extra because she showed us her dupa?”

Vintage Thursday

2011-04-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

The original fashion plate to be placed on the LWG blog soon. Or soonish.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas or Easter or some religious holiday involving snow

2011-04-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

So this is what mid April looks in Michigan. This is the oh-so-lovely view from my office window. I know you're jealous.

The new Pulitzers were announced today. I'm pretty sure this is the first time that anything with "goon squad" in the title ended up on the Pulitzer list. Or on my reading list. I think I like it though. (The title of the 2011 fiction winner that is. I haven't started the book itself, so I can't like or dislike it yet.)

I am currently carless, as my car's ignition recently died. I had lots of fun with tow trucks over the weekend.

I am getting new dining room furniture on Wednesday. This almost makes up for the temporary loss of my car.

I made an accidentally good dinner tonight. Not that I was aiming for a bad dinner, but my hopes were no higher than "preferably edible," as I haven't gone grocery shopping lately due to my lack of a vehicle. Lentils pair surprisingly well with pasta and pesto. Who knew?

Yes, is quite possibly my most random blog post ever. I'm hoping it's an improvement over no blog posts, but I'm not quite sure.

Chocolate Hazelnut Granola Bars

2011-04-10T23:15:00.002-04:00

My starting point with these was Nigella Lawson’s breakfast bars recipe (from Nigella Express), but I’ve modified her recipe a bit. Usually, I make these on Sunday afternoon, set aside just enough bars for a workday snack each weekday, and then bring in the rest for my coworkers. If I don’t share with the office, I end up eating way too many by myself.

If you don’t like coconut or nuts, just omit them and increase the amount of oats slightly. Also, you could get away with using a bit less sweetened condensed milk if you wanted to cut down on sugar.

2 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened if you can find it)
½ cup raw hazelnuts, crushed
½ cup dried cherries, chopped (raisins or dried cranberries also work here)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan with parchment paper. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Place hazelnuts and coconut evenly on a cookie sheet. Place in oven for approximately 7 minutes, until browned. You may wish to stir after the first 3 or 4 minutes.

While the coconut and hazelnuts are in the oven, warm sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan on medium low heat. This doesn’t need to come to a boil; it just needs to warmed so that it is thin enough to mix with the dry ingredients easily.

Place oats and dried fruit in a medium bowl. Add toasted coconut and hazelnuts. Stir in warmed sweetened condensed milk, blending well.

Pour oat mixture into the prepared baking pan. Use the back of a spatula or spoon to press down on the granola, making sure it is even.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the granola. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, let cool for 15 minutes, then cut into 12 bars. Wait until the bars are completely cool before serving.

Variation: Replace the hazelnuts with macadamia, the cherries with cranberry, and the semisweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips.

Vintage Thursday

2011-04-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

2011 Resolutions: March

2011-04-04T22:36:00.000-04:00

I haven’t been blogging much lately. I’ve wanted to, but I haven’t had much to say. So, what’s going on? Not much. I’ve been working, working out, writing, cooking, observing Lent (I miss coffee!), and reading. I’ve taken a cooking class and I’ve joined a small group at church. I’m doing pretty well, but not much feels blogworthy.

Anyhow, here are my March contributions towards my new years goals.

Completed Resolutions:

Find a Soup Recipe for When I’m Sick: This was a weird resolution, I admit, but this is kind of a conundrum when you don’t eat meat. While I stopped eating most meats a few years ago and stopped eating all meats this year, I’ve always had problems when I had a cold or other illness. Because what sounds better when you’re sick than chicken noodle? I’ve tried a vegetarian version of French onion soup, which was completely disgusting and should never (ever, ever) be made vegetarian. I’ve tried some Asian noodle soups, which were always either a little off or required too many exotic ingredients to be practical in such situations. I’ll admit that, in my pescetarian years, I cheated and ate chicken noodle soup while sick, figuring it was a special case, but I don’t want to do that anymore.

So I think I found something. Basic Garlic Broth from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook. It uses items in a basic pantry and then proceeds to make vegetable broth taste tasty. Throw in some pasta, veggies, Parmesan (whatever is in the house, really), and it becomes a substantial soup. Exactly the easy sort of recipe needed when not feeling well.

Plus garlic cures everything. Or so my mother tells me.

Confessions: Also, I finally completed The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Now to be completely honest, I am a bit foggy on the last 50 pages or so because they were so incredibly boring that my eyes kept glazing over. I read them, but I didn’t absorb much. It’s funny how different this book was from what I was expecting it to be. The thing that surprised me the most was that it really only followed Augustine’s life up until shortly after his conversion, which was in his early thirties. Did the book end there? No, it then talked about Augustine’s theology for a shockingly long time. It was as if he ceased to be flesh and blood post-conversion and became purely cerebral instead. Now, some of his observations were interesting, I admit, but I wanted to know more about what kind of a man he was after he became a Christian, not about his more random thoughts on creation.

Let’s just say I won’t be reading his City of God any time soon. I won’t say never, but I will say not soon.

Resolutions in Progress:

Writing is going well. I, like in January and February, forgot to write on a few days (a back-to-back Friday-Saturday-Sunday, in this case!), but overall word count is okay at 4,714, making a total of 15,094 words YTD.

Vegetarianism: Yes, still vegetarian. I’ll admit I ate a paczki without checking to see if it was lard or oil-fried, but I discovered later it was vegetarian, so no lapses. I think I’m getting better at balancing my diet, getting enough protein and iron. I also found this vegetarian food blog, which is completely amazing.

Cooking: And it seems I’ve been cooking quite a bit lately. Lessons learned? 1) Macaroons burn quickly. 2) While I might like tofu, I do not like tofu leftovers as they reheat with a weird texture.

Thirteen new recipes attempted this month, which makes a total of 31 recipes for the year. One I made with my mother (the tres leches cake was a nonconventional birthday cake for my dad), but that still counts, right?

1. Mexican Lasagna – The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook (3/1)
2. Spiced Lentil and Black Bean Salad – The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook (3/2)
3. Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies - Epicurious (3/6)
4. Simple Garlic Broth – The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (3/6)
5. Kasha with Mushrooms – The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (3/9)
6. Tres Leches Cake – Bon Appetit Desserts (3/13)
7. Fennel with Beets and Oranges – The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without (3/19)
8. Aunt Holly’s Banana Bread - Epicurious (3/20)
9. Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraiche - Epicurious/Bon Appetit March 2011 (3/21)
10. Tofu Triangles with Creamy Nut Butter Sauce with Scallions - Epicurious (3/24)
11. Coconut Macaroons – Joy of Cooking (3/27)
12. Egg, Cheese, and Spinach Quiche (adapted from Egg, Cheese, and Onion Quiche) – The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker (3/27)
13. Pea and Radish Salad with Goat Cheese – Bon Appetit, April 2011 (3/28)

As for recommended recipes, the potato, leek, and cabbage soup was great and the flavors were very springy. I think it was the lemon crème fraiche that made the soup special. If you don’t like cabbage, it probably won’t be so wonderful, but I like cabbage.

The raspberry cheesecake brownies were amazing. Time consuming given that it involves chopping up baking chocolate, but totally worth it. I was a little hesitant as it’s topped with actual raspberries pre-baking instead of with a raspberry sauce, but that actually made the flavors more intense. Since some Epicurious reviewers complained about the recipe being too sweet, I cut down the sugar by nearly a third and it came out just right.

The banana bread is also a keeper of a recipe.

Goals for April? Continue with reading goals, finally buy dining room furniture, reorganize at least one closet, and keep cooking.

Vintage Thursday

2011-03-31T07:00:00.001-04:00

This was taken from an 1869 Le Follet print, which can be found here

Friday Flashback: Favorite Candies, Then and Now

2011-03-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

When it comes to candy, I have definite opinions and some serious snobbery. This wasn’t always the case. As a child, I’d eat pretty much any candy that came out of a vending machine. If it had sugar, I was happy. I now find this to be appalling.

1980s:

Butterfinger: By far, my favorite candy bar in childhood, showing that my enthusiasm for sweet/salty combos began early in life.
Snickers: A close second.
Reeses Pieces: ET ate them, therefore, so did all the children of the eighties.

1990s (middle school):

Sour Gumballs I Can’t Remember The Name Of: In middle school, everyone was obsessed with this one sort of gum. It was incredibly sour when you put it in your mouth, but as you began to chew it, it sweetened to normal gum sweetness.
Bubble Yum: Another hot item in the middle school. Chewing gum was forbidden, so naturally we all thought gum to be the greatest. In high school, no one enforced the no gum rule, so naturally the coolness factor of gum plummeted.
Jolly Ranchers: I loved these.

1990s (high school):

Hersheys: I have no idea what was wrong with me. Hersheys is chocolate flavored sand.
Peanut M&Ms: I ate a shocking number of these in high school. Which explains my high school weight problem.
Milky Way Dark: My cousin and I were obsessed with these.

Early 2000s:

Twizzlers: I had a brief obsession with Twizzlers after I finished college.
Twix: The caramel kind. Not the gross peanut butter Twix.
Brachs caramels: I am caramel obsessed, and I do not demand a high quality caramel.

2005-Present:

These days, I’ll only eat three things that come out of a vending machine.

Twix: Serious caramel obsession. According to Jillian Michaels, Twix has the most saturated fat of any candy bar, and that makes me so sad.
Kit Kat: I ignore that these are made with Hershey chocolate because I love the wafer crunch.
M&Ms: Either peanut or pretzel. I don’t like the plain ones.

Mostly, I like stuff from World Market or specialty shops. Including:

Rittersport: This is dangerously delicious. Favorites include the standard milk chocolate; hazelnut; neopolitan; and milk chocolate with rum, raisins, and hazelnuts. (The last one is near impossible to find, sadly enough.)
Ferrero Rocher: Oh, how I love hazelnut.
Caramel with sea salt. With or without chocolate.

There you go. My life in candy. I apologize to anyone who may have given up sweets for Lent.

What are your favorites, either past or present?

Vintage Thursday

2011-03-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

Fashion plate is from the March 1885 Lady Godeys Book and can be found here (second to last image in the post).

Pulitzer Prize Readathon

2011-03-23T07:00:00.007-04:00

As those of you who’ve read my life list know, I’ve decided to read everything that has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Since I like to make things difficult, I’m including both the Pultizer Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918-1947) and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1948 onwards). There are a few years where no Pulitzer was awarded for this category, but still there are 84 books on this list (to be 85 books when the 2011 pick is announced in April). Of these, I have only read fifteen, and there are dozens of books that I’ve never even heard of. Lamb in His Bosom, for instance.

I’m keeping this list on my blog for easy tracking to keep myself accountable.

1918: His Family by Ernest Poole
1919: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
1920: no award given
1921: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
1922: Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
1923: One of Ours by Willa Cather
1924: The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson
1925: So Big by Edna Ferber
1926: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (declined prize)
1927: Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield
1928: The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
1929: Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin
1930: Laughing Boy by Oliver La Farge
1931: Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
1932: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
1933: The Store by Thomas Sigismund Stribling
1934: Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller
1935: Now in November by Josephine Winslow Johnson
1936: Honey in the Horn by Harold L. Davis
~~1937: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell~~
1938: The Late George Apley by John Phillips Marquand
1939: The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
~~1940: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck~~
1941: no award given
1942: In This Our Life by Ellen Glasgow
1943: Dragon's Teeth by Upton Sinclair
1944: Journey in the Dark by Martin Flavin
1945: A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
1946: no award given
1947: All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
1948: Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
1949: Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens
1950: The Way West by A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
1951: The Town by Conrad Richter
1952: The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
~~1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway~~
1954: No award given
1955: A Fable by William Faulkner
1956: Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
1957: No award given
1958: A Death in the Family by James Agee
1959: The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
1960: Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
~~1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee~~
1962: The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor
1963: The Reivers by William Faulkner
1964: No award given
1965: The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
1966: The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter
1967: The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
1968: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
1969: House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
1970: The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford by Jean Stafford
1971: No award given
1972: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
1973: The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
1974: No award given
1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1976: Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow
1977: No award given
1978: Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson
1979: The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever
1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (posthumous win)
1982: Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy
1985: Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
1987: A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1989: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
~~1990: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos~~
1991: Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
~~1992: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley~~
1993: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1995: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford
1997: Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
1998: American Pastoral by Philip Roth
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
~~2000: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri~~
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
~~2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo~~
~~2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides~~
~~2004: The Known World by Edward P. Jones~~
~~2005: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson~~
~~2006: March by Geraldine Brooks~~
~~2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy~~
~~2008: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz~~
~~2009: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout~~
~~2010: Tinkers by Paul Harding~~
~~2011: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan~~

Edit: Status as of July 2011: 17 of 85 (20%)

Friday Flashback to the Nineties: Long floral dresses and Birkenstocks

2011-03-18T07:00:00.001-04:00

As I see long floral dresses filling the stores for spring, I keep thinking of the nineties. I’m not a fan of florals in general, but something about long, flowy dresses makes me nostalgic. I’m remembering long, floral dresses worn with platforms in high school and long, floral dresses worn with Birkenstocks in college. And that last thought is making me nostalgic for Birkenstocks. Yes, I can picture all of you wrinkling your nose at the thought of Birkenstocks, but I tell you, I miss mine. Even if they are just sitting in the basement, patiently waiting to be back in style for more than just the hard-core hippie set.

What do you want to see come back into style?

Vintage Thursday

2011-03-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

This is from the April 1863 issue of Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. A copy of the original fashion plate will go on the LWG blog soonish.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Belinda by Maria Edgeworth

2011-03-16T19:00:00.002-04:00

From a reading perspective, I’ve been living in another time. Most of the books I’ve read recently have been either written in or set during the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. I’ve been keeping company with misbehaving aristocrats, sheltered young ladies, matchmaking matrons, the house of Hanover, actors, bluestockings, and prostitutes. And they’ve all been quite lovely. Since I have books by Samuel Richardson and Ann Radcliffe on my shelf, I won’t be leaving this time period anytime soon.

One such novel is Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda. Clearly, this is a novel from the age when it was fashionable to name your work after its heroine: Pamela, Clarissa, Evelina, Cecilia. Rows of ladies all perched on the shelf. I wish this trend had continued, as I would enjoy seeing a novel named Stacy. Not Stacey or Staci or Stacie, but Stacy. Smashing name for a novel.

The novel follows Miss Belinda Portman’s entrance into society. Belinda is the youngest niece of Mrs. Stanhope, an infamous matchmaker. Mrs. Stanhope has not only married up herself, but has helped half a dozen nieces marry extremely wealthy men. Belinda was expected by her aunt to follow in the footsteps of her cousins and sister, making a lucrative – if not happy – match, except that Mrs. Stanhope’s health began to decline. Mrs. Stanhope then arranged for Belinda to go to London with the witty and fashionable Lady Delacour.

Once in London, Belinda is pursued by questionable gentlemen and she becomes acquainted with the numerous skeletons in the Delacour family closet. The more she learns of the world, the more Belinda realizes that she lacks good role models in her life and that she’ll have to learn to depend on her own judgment. She’s a very rational and reasonable heroine. At times, she is able to manage her own emotions so well that she’s not entirely believable. As the more emotional females of the story are constantly being led into folly, Belinda remains pristine, and so Edgeworth suggests that she is an ideal woman. However, it is the passionate and emotional Lady Delacour that dominates the page and gets to deliver the wittiest lines in the book.

If Belinda occasionally lacks sparkle, her love interest does not. Clarence Hervey is in many ways a traditional hero of that time period. He is gentlemanly and honorable. If he misunderstands Belinda in the beginning and gets off on the wrong foot with her, then he and Mr. Darcy and a legion of other heroes will be quick to tell you that could happen to any literary hero, and it generally does. In other ways, Clarence is less like Mr. Darcy and more like the men we see all around us. If you were to dine with Clarence, he would know more about wine than anyone else at the table, all of his knowledge quite made up, of course. At one point, he nearly drowns in the Serpentine because he bets a friend that he can beat him across, even though he doesn’t actually swim (though he read a jolly helpful essay that explained how to swim). At one point, he dons a hoop skirt due to, of course, another bet. The reader can’t help but watch Clarence’s shenanigans and think, Boys!

Belinda has a similar charm to that of Burney’s Evelina or the novels of Jane Austen. It’s funny and smart with memorable characters. On the downside, it is occasionally didactic and just a little longer than it needs to be. However, the didactic nature would have been intentional on the part of Ms. Edgeworth, who labeled her own book “a Moral Tale” as opposed to a novel.

So what have you been reading lately?

The Life List, Part 4 of 4

2011-03-14T22:28:00.001-04:00

And here we come to the more random items on my life list.

Finances*

78. Diligently save for retirement
79. Create a will**

Experiences

80. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity
81. Get a henna tattoo
82. Host a Halloween party
83. Throw someone else an extravagant party
84. Invent a board game (just for fun, not mass produced)
85. Drink expensive champagne on a perfectly ordinary day
86. Host a murder mystery, writing the story myself
87. See a ballet (other than the Nutcracker)
88. Be a passenger on a motorcycle***
89. Perform an act of kindness every day for a month
90. Help a child build a snowman
91. Wear (and look good in) a bikini
92. Buy a vintage dress
93. Buy nothing but absolute necessities for a month
94. Plant a tree
95. Get a dog, preferably a lab

Get Over Fears

96. Get over a fear of fireworks
97. Get over a fear of deep water****
98. Ask a man out
99. Take some steps to get over my fear of heights*****

Goals

100. Do at least three things on this list a year
(2011 - #s 19, 55, &58)

Notes:
*Ah, finances. The most half-hearted part of my life list. I kept thinking that I ought to have money-related goals, but I just couldn’t come up with much. I find that the only time I think about money is when I don’t have any. Which is not the best attitude to have when it comes to planning for the future.
**You know, once I have anything worth leaving to anyone.
***I have no desire to ever drive a motorcycle. I have no sense of balance, and I’m an awful judge of distance, so that’d pretty much be the most dangerous thing ever. But I’d love to be a passenger on one.
****I’m afraid of water that’s higher than my head. Once I get in deep water, I panic and tend to forget how to swim.
*****Kind of random. My sister, when we were growing up, used to climb up on to my parents’ roof. I was always too scared to get up there. So someday I would like to climb on to my parents’ roof. Where I will stargaze.

Friday Flashback: Shamrock Shakes

2011-03-11T07:00:00.003-05:00

Every year, my family forgot all about the existence of McDonald’s shamrock shakes until after St. Patrick’s Day. Around March 18th, someone would comment that we really should have bought one while they were still being sold. Sometimes, we would remember to get one, but this occurred as frequently as leap year. For that matter, it probably did occur on leap year as that extra day in February was about as much time as we needed to remember the existence of green milkshakes.

On the occasions when we did have a shake, I was one happy girl. I’d slurp it down, and then the coldness of the shake would hit me, forcing me to run for a coat/sweater/blanket, in order that I might feel something resembling warmth again. I always have been a defective Ukrainian, a bit unsure if I would survive the winter.

This year, I’ll pass on the shamrock shake. I’ve put on a few pounds in the last few months, so it’s time for me to eat other forms of greenery. Specifically, broccoli.

Will you get a shamrock shake this year?

Vintage Thursday

2011-03-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Source: 1870 Le Follet black and white fashion plate, to be added to the Little White Gloves blog (hopefully) this weekend.

The Life List, Part 3 of 4

2011-03-09T07:00:00.005-05:00

Food/Cookery

54. Make a tart
55. Make ice cream* (Completed June 2011)
56. Make a soufflé
57. Make my own pasta
~~58. Bake a pie from scratch~~ (Completed September 2011)
59. Find (or create) the perfect gingerbread recipe
60. Have five signature dishes that I can whip up perfectly without referring to the recipe
61. Learn to cook for non-vegetarians**
62. Learn to cook with tofu and tempeh
63. Take an advanced culinary course
64. Have my own herb garden
65. Join a CSA

Fitness

66. Go downhill skiing
67. Learn a martial art
68. Learn to ice skate
69. Go horseback riding
70. Do yoga every day for a month
71. Take dance classes (What type? Undecided.)
72. Be able to jog for 30 minutes without stopping to walk***

Skills

73. Sew a dress
74. Create a painting****
75. Learn how to play chess
76. Learn how to do a French manicure. Have fingernails long enough for a French manicure
77. Learn to talk in a specific accent. Speak in that accent for one full day

Notes:
*What flavor of ice cream shall I make? Rosemary, of course.
**One convenient thing about being vegetarian is it gives me an excuse not to cook with meat. Because handling raw beef/chicken/whatever is seriously gross. But I feel like that’s a handicap if I have guests. I don’t think non-vegetarians should have to eat vegetarian simply because they are at my house; that’s not very welcoming. So I’d like to be able to prepare one or two meat dishes for guests.
***It sounds like nothing, I admit, but I cannot jog. I get out of breath so easily. Of course, it might have something to do with having to wear two sports bras to even attempt jogging. Hmm, very possible.
****I cannot, however, promise it will be pretty. I did not get the artistic talent in the family.

The Life List, Part 2 of 4

2011-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

The resolutions that were the most revised were my travel resolutions. Initially, this part was longer and more fanciful, but once I began to reach 100 items (for the list itself, not just the travel ones), I had to start editing. Would my life be incomplete if I never see Petra? No, it won’t. Will I really ever make it to China? Probably not, as my travel budget is not all that large. So here is my whittled down list:

Travelling

28. Volunteer abroad
29. Go on a cruise
30. Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art
31. Check out a sample sale in NYC*
32. See a Broadway show
33. Visit both Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard
34. Visit Hawaii
35. Visit the Pacific Northwest
36. Attend the Stratford Festival
37. Visit Prince Edward Island, preferably with a fellow Anne Shirley fan**
38. Go dancing in Buenos Aires
39. Read Jane Austen in Bath (Bath, England, not my bathtub ;) )
40. Visit the locations in London that always pop up in Regencies and other historical novels***
41. Visit the British Museum
42. Visit Paris. Check out the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower. Spend an entire afternoon in a café.
43. Visit a French vineyard
44. Visit Prague’s Castle District
45. Find out what villages my grandparents grew up in (maternal grandparents – Ukraine; paternal grandparents – Belarus) and go there
46. Visit St. Petersburg during the White Nights Festival. Check out the Hermitage Museum while I’m in town
47. Ride a gondola in Venice
48. Go to museums in Florence and Rome
49. Attend mass/service in a European cathedral
50. See an opera in Europe
51. Visit Istanbul
52. Go to Cairo
53. Visit India

What are some must see places for you?

Notes:

*I feel like I always read about sample sales in the magazines. Well, I want to go to one, even if I won’t be able to afford to buy anything. I also want to visit Mood, the fabric/sewing supplies store, while in NYC. Why? That’s where the Project Runway contestants shop, and I want to see it, because I am a huge dork.
**I’ve always been a bit torn on if I want to see Prince Edward Island or not. Part of me feels I’d be disappointed to see a modern Prince Edward Island, as if the entire island ought to be frozen in the era of Anne and Gil. But ultimately, curiosity wins.
***Again, I’m a huge dork. I read so many books set in England that I feel like I need to see the real thing. I want to see the ritzy Mayfair district where so many Regencies and historical novels are set. I want to see Hyde Park because I can think of so many scenes in books that take place here. I would like to see Vauxhall Gardens except that it doesn’t exist anymore, having been sold in the mid-nineteenth century (HOW RUDE).

The Life List, Part 1 of 4

2011-03-07T07:00:00.003-05:00

I have finally yet reluctantly completed my life list (bucket list, whatever you chose to call it). The reluctance is due to the fact that it feels very permanent. Like I’ve sworn a solemn oath that I absolutely must do these things in my lifetime, when I don’t know who I’ll be a few years from now. I’ve therefore told myself that I may revise this list every five years, replacing up to four items that I feel no longer suit me with goals that are more suited to who I am at that time.

In my attempt to write a life list, which was harder than it seems, I spent a good deal of time online reading other people’s life lists. My discovery? A shocking number of people feel that they absolutely must milk a cow before they die. All I have to say about that is poor cows. If I were a cow, I would not want to be stuck with the novice milkers. My favorite list that I came across was probably one that I found on the Esquire website.

On the whole, I’m glad that I did this. It gave me a bit of clarity about who I am and who I’d like to become. A few of these surprised me, but most did not. For the sake of brevity, I will post the list in four blog posts.

Family/Relationships/Personal

1. Get married
2. Make a best friend*
3. Have a child – biological or adopted
4. Mentor someone
5. Write down the history of my father’s family
6. Write down the history of my mother’s family

Work Related

7. Teach a creative writing class
8. Work for a great nonprofit organization

Writerly Stuff

9. Finish a novel
10. Publish a novel
11. Donate a portion of novel profits to charity
12. Write a historical novel
13. Publish a story somewhere other than HDtS
14. Publish an article in a magazine
15. Write and post a fiction writing how-to series on my blog
16. Write a story for each of my nieces.
17. Write a story for any children I might have.

Read the following:

18. War and Peace or Anna Karenina**
19. ~~Vanity Fair~~ (Completed November 2011)
20. Ulysses
21. Moby Dick
22. Cecilia
23. Everything to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction***

Studies

24. Become fluent in another language
25. Learn more about major world religions
26. Pick a time period and study various aspects of it from historical events and social movements to popular literature to art
27. Study fashion history

Next: Part 2 of 4, travel goals

What are some of your goals? Are you longing to milk a cow?

Notes:
*The last time I had a best friend, I was in high school.
**Originally, I had both War and Peace and Anna Karenina on here, but then I realized that if I read one Tolstoy doorstopper and disliked it, I’d never convince myself to read another.
***Yes, I do recognize that even if I manage to read all of them and check this off, I'll still have to uncheck this every April when the new Pulitzers are announced. I may put an end date on this one. Like everything to win the fiction prize through 2020 or something. The other downside of this one is that I'll actually have to finish The Shipping News. I may require a full year for that one.

Vintage Thursday

2011-03-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

The base image is an 1869 Le Follet print, and you can find the original fashion plate here.

What happens in Vegas ends up on a blog somewhere

2011-03-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I spent five days in Vegas. What happened? Nothing shocking, I’m afraid. The only trouble I got into was with airport security when their scanner identified my spare projector bulb as a security threat (Yes, I do like to blind my enemies with light bulbs. It’s so unexpected.), but fortunately, security decided that both my light bulb and I looked too innocent to be terrorists.

The work event went really well, and then I got to spend a weekend with my sister. Today I was trying to remember the last time Ruth and I went on vacation together. Unless I’m forgetting something, that would have been our Philadelphia trip in 2000. It was really fun to have a girls’ weekend with Ruth, especially since we don’t talk as often as we should.

We stayed at the Venetian, which was wonderful in an over the top Vegasy sort of a way. No pictures, I’m afraid, as I broke my camera recently. Here’s what we did:

Phantom: Phantom was playing at the Venetian, so we saw one of the Saturday shows. It was definitely a spectacle with moving chandeliers and on stage fireworks and such. It is a must see show. Once. I can’t imagine wanting to see this one again. While it was impressive in the set and special effects and had a great cast, the characters are all quite flat, and it never really hits any true emotions. It’s an atmosphere piece, being beautifully gothic, but the story doesn’t have the same power as the special effects.

Gambled: Sort of. I lost $2 at slots and $10 at roulette before I was done, as it doesn’t take much for me. At least now I can say that I’ve gambled in Vegas and I never have to do it again.

Visited the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes: These were nice, but very pricey. I live many hours away from the nearest Jimmy Choo store, so it was fun for me to browse. It was a struggle not to buy stuff in the Michael Kors store, as I am in love with this in gold and this.

Dining: The Venetian and the Palazzo have some amazing restaurants.

Cut is one of Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouses. Even as a vegetarian, I found the menu to be very appealing, and everything I ordered was even better than it sounded. It is rather pricey (glasses of wine tend to be $15+), but so is everything in Vegas.

Bouchon was founded by Thomas Keller of French Laundry. Ruth and I had an amazing Sunday brunch here. My French toast was more like a bread pudding with apples, which can only be a good thing.

Table 10 is an Emeril restaurant. We just had appetizers here rather than a full meal, but it was tasty and the cocktail menu is fun.

Also, I had the best gelato at the Venetian. My sister began making fun of me because I apparently brought up the gelato two too many times. But seriously, if you’re ever in the Venetian, try the crunchy rum gelato (I think the crunch is toffee, but I’m not sure) in the food court area off the casino.

Have you been to Vegas? If so, what do you recommend doing while in town?

Haunted

2011-03-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

That is, the theme of the new issue of Halfway Down the Stairs is "Haunted." Check it out here.

2011 Resolutions: February

2011-03-01T22:33:00.001-05:00

This month has been less productive than January. I can only cross one item off my resolution list, though I’ve made progress on a few things.

Completed Resolutions:

I have completed the bucket list, which will debut on the blog at some point during March, and I’m quite glad that I made this particular resolution.

Resolutions in Progress:

Confessions of Saint Augustine. I honestly thought I’d finish this book during February, but no such luck, partly because I needed to get one-third through it before I could stop hating it. Currently, I’m not quite halfway through and liking it much more than I did in the beginning.

Classics. It is my goal to read four classics in 2011 and thus far I’ve read one, which is Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda. This is a funny and charming novel. I enjoyed it almost as much as Burney and Austen. I say almost because it felt a bit didactic at points, which to be fair to Edgeworth, I think may have been intentional. I’m sure I’ll review it here at some point.

Writing. In terms of word count, I did fine, but I did forget to write on some days. I wrote a total of 4,878 words in February, which makes for 10,380 words YTD. March will be better (fingers crossed).

Being more social. I have met more people during this month, though I must admit that this is more a result of recently switching churches than it is of me being a social butterfly.

Vegetarianism. Yes, I’m still a vegetarian. This month I’ve tried tempeh for the first time (at a restaurant, I didn’t attempt to cook it), which I liked quite a bit. I’ve also been surprised to find that I don’t hate tofu like I thought I did. The sesame tofu on the Whole Foods salad bar is actually tasty. I’ve also attempted to find the ideal veggie burger as you’ll see in the recipe list below.

I have to admit that the vegetarianism was much harder on vacation. In Vegas, I kept wanting to eat ceviche or lobster mac and cheese or salad nicoise. I can’t complain too much as this resolution has otherwise been pretty easy (so far).

Cooking. I’ve made progress towards my 40 recipes in 2011 goal. This month, I tried eight new recipes, which are listed below. This makes for a total of 18 recipes thus far for the year.

1. Bulgur Veggie Burgers – Epicurious (2/1)
2. Rosemary Flax Baguette – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (2/6)
3. French Lentil Soup – Epicurious (2/7)
4. Roasted Parsnips, Turnips, and Rutabagas in Ancho-Spiced Honey Glaze – Epicurious (2/13)
5. 100% Whole Wheat and Flaxseed Bread – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (2/13)
6. Red, Gold, Black and Green Chili – The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home (2/15)
7. Mushroom Kasha Burgers with Chipotle Mayonaise - Epicurious (2/19)
8. Parsnip Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting - Bon Appetit Desserts/Epicurious (2/20)

As for recommended recipes, the rosemary flax baguette had a lovely blend of flavors. Also, the chili was good and super healthy as it contains two types of beans (kidney and black), veggies (corn, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes), and bulgur. The lentil soup was good and tastes even better the second day, but it requires a liberal pour of the balsamic vinegar.

I’m not overly impressed with either of the veggie burgers I tried. The mushroom kasha one was pretty good, but not really worth the effort. It won’t overthrow Cooking Light’s southwest pinto bean burgers as my favorite homemade veggie burger.

Am I evil if I took the parsnip cake into work and didn’t tell my coworkers it has veggies in it? I promise it just tastes like spice cake and the frosting is unusually yummy.

Goals for March? Finish Confessions , read another classic (Dracula), reorganize my closets, and try at least seven new recipes.

Vintage Thursday

2011-02-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Snow and Sun and Blogging

2011-02-21T22:15:00.002-05:00

It’s cold! And very, very snowy! And I thought that the heater in my car stopped working today! (The heater is actually fine. My car was just feeling under the weather, which is quite literal as I park it outside.)

But that’s all right because I will be in Vegas in less than two days. I will spend three days running around in business suits, pretending to be someone Incredibly Important, and then I get to spend two days with my big sister. We will to go to a show (which one is yet to be determined), eat at fun restaurants, and flee the paparazzi as we always have to do whenever we’re together (It’s a rough life).

And now I have very important decisions to make: 1) What shoes should I pack? 2) Do I take the space efficient reading material or the super heavy book that I actually want to be reading? My priorities are clearly defined, as usual.

Since this blogger will be MIA until next week (except for Vintage Thursday), I have a question for all of you in the meantime. Do you have any recommendations for blogs for me to add to my blogroll? I'd really like to expand my bloggy reading a bit.

What I'm interested in: personal blogs, food blogs, writing blogs, book blogs, and (possibly) decorating blogs.

What I'm not interested in: blogs that get thousands of visitors each day. Maybe I'm a grinchy and jealous blogger with followers in the single digits, but I don't love the madly trendy blogs that everyone follows. There's no cozy sense of community like there is with indie bloggers.

Friday Flashback to 1987: First Movies

2011-02-18T08:00:00.005-05:00

I was raised Baptist. This meant restrictions on books and music, and for a long time, it meant no movies. The no movies rule finally bit the dust in the late eighties. Fortunately for me, the late eighties were still elementary school. Unfortunately for my older sister, the late eighties were more than halfway through high school.

I’m not entirely sure what came first: the VCR in the house or permission to go to movie theaters. I suspect it was the VCR; perhaps my sister will remember. There did seem to be a belief that movies watched in the home were less corrupting than movies watched in the hedonistic environment of popcorn and overpriced sodas. After all, my parents had watched movies like Sound of Music, The Birds, and Dr. Zhivago on TV and this had not transformed them into irresponsible alcoholics who beat their children, so probably the VCR came first.

I do know that the first film I watched in a movie theater was Benji the Hunted, which imdb tells me came out in 1987. I was with my sister and my cousin Debbie. We probably got candy and popcorn because we were at the movies and this was A BIG DEAL. There was definitely a feeling of deliciousness in doing something that had for so long been forbidden. Those little red movie seats were the very definition of luxury for me.

Over twenty years later, the movie itself is hazy in mind. Benji the famous dog had stranded in the woods for some reason or another, and he ended up adopting orphaned baby cougars because that is what one does in the wild. I do recall at one point that a hawk took one of the baby cougars and I took this very, very badly. I had no idea that movie going could be so heartbreaking. In the end, Benji was rescued, the baby cougars were safe (minus the ill-fated one), and all was well in the world.

Do you remember the first movie you saw in a theater? Or the first movie you remember watching in a theater?

Vintage Thursday

2011-02-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

This is another one of the many images used from March 1885 issue of Lady's Godeys Book.

Never Anger a Spinster

2011-02-15T07:00:00.003-05:00

Friday Flashback to the Mid-Eighties: Valentines

2011-02-11T07:00:00.006-05:00

As a little girl, I lived in fear of doing or saying something wrong. I thought if I offended with my words, the balance of the universe would be disturbed, and I would probably be exiled to someplace like Siberia, left to herd reindeer. Soon, left with only reindeer for company, I would forget all about things of civilization such as Judy Blume and long division.

One thing I really dreaded doing was writing out valentines cards to my classmates in elementary school. How did one know what was the appropriate card to send to which person? I found it to be very confusing and political. True, nothing in the box of Snoopy valentines was racy, but some cards did sound a bit more personal than others. You didn’t want to give a boy you didn’t like the impression that you were crushing on him. And you definitely didn’t want to give a boy you did like the idea that you were obsessing over him in a pathetic manner.

Therefore, I stared at the valentines for long periods of time before reluctantly addressing and signing each one. On Valentine's Day, cards would be distributed, and I would wait to see if anyone found anything to be amiss. Inevitably everyone would give their valentines cards a quick glance before turning to the true meaning of Valentine’s Day: excessive consumption of chocolate.

Did you enjoy writing out valentine cards in elementary school?

Vintage Thursday

2011-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

The base image is from the December 1863 issue of Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. Learn more about the fashion plate here.

Books that Blur in my Head

2011-02-09T07:00:00.003-05:00

You know when you meet someone who is so nondescript that five minutes later, you have no idea what they looked like? A lot of books are that way for me. I read them, then a month later, I can’t remember the names of characters or anything those name deprived characters did. I will admit that my memory is much like eyelet lace. What’s there is pretty, but there are an awful lot of holes.

These are the authors who give me literary amnesia:

Ernest Hemingway: Please don’t kill me. I know I’m supposed to like Hemingway, and as an English major in college, I was very much ashamed that I couldn’t like him. I don’t actually have literary amnesia for all of his work. I remember and even liked The Old Man and the Sea, and I remember a couple of his short stories well. But the novels, the novels I forget almost as soon as I close the book. I know I’ve read A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises, but I just can’t remember a thing about either one. A couple very vague images pop in my head when I think of those books, but that is it.

While I don’t enjoy reading Hemingway, I do enjoy reading Hemingway interviews. They are the perfect combination of good writing advice and Hemingway behaving like a total ass. If you get a chance, read his 1958 interview in The Paris Review. Love it.

Edith Wharton: On my bookshelf are Summer, The House of Mirth, and The Age of Innocence. To be completely fair to Ms. Wharton, I’m not sure if I actually read the last one, or if I just feel like I have since it’s been on my bookshelf for well over a decade. I know I read Summer and I very vaguely remember something about a rural library. I definitely read The House of Mirth as I did a fourteen page paper on it in college, but in spite of all that typing, I don’t remember the book.

James Fenimore Cooper: I have a recollection of deeply hating both the book (read in college) and the movie (watched in high school) of The Last of the Mohicans, but I don’t remember the plot. Or the characters. I only remember that Cooper is wordy.

Anything written by any of the Brontes: I can’t keep the Bronte sisters straight and I can’t keep their books straight. It’s like all the books are a cesspool of brooding men, bad weather, and orphans.

Does anyone give you literary amnesia?

I have underestimated the Victorians

2011-02-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

When I buy nineteenth century fashion plates on e-bay, the plates are occasionally accompanied by the magazine’s descriptions of the fashions pictured. For one plate from the Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine (1863), I happen to have the related fashion descriptions, and when I flipped over the sheet, I found something delightful.

I didn’t realize it was delightful at first because initially I had no idea what it was. It was labeled “The Englishwoman’s Conversazione” and each paragraph had a different topic. The meaning of flower arrangements? The origins of weaponry names? Statements on etiquette? Then I realized what it was: the magazine’s responses to letters to the editor. These days, magazines print reader letters, but they rarely provide responses unless they need to make a formal correction to something printed in a previous issue. Apparently, the Victorians did it the opposite way, as the reader does not get to see the original letters, only the replies.

What did the editors of Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine have to say to their readers? Here are the best of the responses:

AURORA wishes to “get up a flirtation” with a gentleman whom “she has not the pleasure of knowing.” We positively decline to furnish any hints on the topic. As to her handwriting, it is bad, and her spelling worse – “handwrighting,” to wit.

GEORGIANA is evidently fickle, and writes a worse hand than AURORA. She is to be married to a man whom she “hates,” and she is deeply in love with another. Could she not contrive to throw the first man down a well? – taking good care, of course, that he did not get up again. Perhaps, however, on second thoughts, it were well to let well alone.

“ECHOES,” “Shadows and Sunshine,” declined, with thanks. The “Shadows” want depth, the “Sunshine,” brightness, and the “Echoes” will not answer.

W.M. and several other correspondents are kind enough to inform us – and one, indignant at our supposed ignorance, employs the withering sarcasm “every schoolboy knows” – that “Excelsior” means onwards and upwards, and that it describes a Christian’s journey through life. We are deeply grateful, and very penitent for having ventured to laugh at the song. We may, in time, learn to admire and reverence the composition, but at present we can do neither one nor the other.

A CONSTANT READER – It is not usual at a wedding breakfast for the bride to respond when health and happiness are proposed. This duty devolves on the bridegroom; and if he is a man of sense and prudence he will say little: long speeches are always objectionable on a festive (or any other) occasion.

NELLY sends us a poem which she calls “A Little Lark.” It may be so to her, but not to us.

I now have a new respect for the Victorians.

Vintage Thursday

2011-02-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Because The Future Mayor knows the anecdote behind this one.

For more information on the graphic used here, please go to my fashion plate blog.

February Book Review Club: The Joke by Milan Kundera

2011-02-02T08:08:00.003-05:00

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

When Ludvik Jahn plays a joke on his girlfriend, he is not prepared for the consequences. His postcard goes into unexpected hands, and his sarcasm is taken for unwelcome political sentiments. He not only loses his girlfriend, but is expelled from the Communist Party and his university. Ludvik goes into military service, but finds he has been placed into a branch of the army for the political subversive. He and his fellow soldiers are considered too dangerous to handle weapons and are instead forced to work in the mines.

Ludvik is ruled by his resentment until he is distracted by Lucie, a simple country girl with a curious habit of taking flowers from cemeteries. Lucie is innocent while Ludvik is cynical; she is uneducated while he is intellectual. Ludvik swiftly falls for her because of their differences, rather than in spite of them. Only able to love her for what he wants her to be to him, rather than who she really is, Ludvik soon loses her as well and is left with only his resentment. Over a decade later, Ludvik is back in his hometown, on a questionable mission, when he runs into Lucie once again.

When I went to rate Milan Kundera's The Joke on Goodreads, I gave it 4 stars out of 5. A few minutes later, I moved it to 3 stars. The next day, I moved it back to 4 stars, where it has remained for a couple of weeks. Why so indecisive? By the end of the novel, I liked it a great deal, but it was also true that I hated it for the first third or so. It is a book that improves on acquaintance.

These are the things I liked about the book:

The multiple narrators were interesting and very distinct, enhancing the story in different ways.
The characters , narrators and non-narrators, are strong.
Mostly I loved the glimpse into communist Czechoslovakia. The characters in this story are of the generation that first supported communism in Czechoslovakia, imagining a new world with youthful optimism. At the story’s opening, they are all in their thirties and disillusioned, but the story moves back to their university days, allowing you to see what they’d once hoped for. It’s a story of a generation, and how they shaped how Czechs felt about politics, religion, love, the arts, and patriotism.

This is what I didn’t like about the book:

I found the beginning of the book to be extremely confusing. This is one of those stories that unfolds in such a way that you don’t grasp the story as a whole until you are nearly at the end. In the beginning all I could comprehend was that there was a man named Ludvik who once knew a girl named Lucie; everything else was unclear.
My other issue was with one of the narrators. While I appreciated how Kundera gave each narrator his or her own distinct style, I thought this went too far with one of the female narrators whose sections consisted of run-on sentences. While it did give the impression of a woman talking reallyreallyfast, I have to say that I’m not a fan of a page and a half long sentence.

Final conclusion: I liked the book and would recommend it to people who are interested in life behind the Iron Curtain.

For more February book reviews, please click on the icon at the top of this post, which will take you to Barrie’s blog.

2011 Resolutions: January

2011-01-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

As some of you will have noticed, at the beginning of this year, I created a resolutions list that was unusually long. Also unusual for me, I have actually completed three of them. How’s that for productivity?

I read two books by authors from non-English speaking countries. I originally made this resolution because I feel I read too many American and English writers and wanted to branch out. I thought I’d fulfill it by reading novels from South America, but instead I read books from Central Europe. First was The Joke by Milan Kundera. (I might review this for the February Book Review Club. I haven’t decided.) The second was An Exclusive Love by Johanna Adorjan who lives in Germany and is of German and Hungarian descent. (I’m 98% sure I’ll review this one for the upcoming issue of HDtS.)

I baked bread. A few times actually. The Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook is pretty cool, and I’d recommend it to anyone who has considered bread baking at home. The basic idea is that you whip up enough dough for several loaves of bread, keep it in the fridge. Once the dough is prepared, it theoretically takes only five minutes of prep time each time you want to bake a loaf. I need to try more recipes out of this, but as of right now, the whole wheat bread with olive oil is my favorite. I really like baking my own bread just because, living alone, I’m never able to finish an entire store bought loaf before it goes stale. This way, I can make little loaves two or three times a week, and it’s surprisingly easy.

I volunteered. I prepared and served breakfast at a homeless shelter on Saturday, along with some people at a church I’ve recently started to attend, and it was a really neat experience. I’d definitely do it again. All though, this is an on-going goal, I’ll still mark it as complete now that I’ve done it once.

As for ongoing resolutions:

Vegetarianism is going fine. No lapses thus far. Right now, I’m focusing on finding vegetarian recipes that have protein and/or whole grains. I’m planning to make a bulgur/pinto bean burger next, as that has both. I imagine it’ll be either amazing or disgusting. We’ll see.

Writing is going well too. I realize 100 words a day is nothing, and real writers are probably laughing at me right now, but I tend to procrastinate on anything that I don’t have a formal deadline for, so this is really good for me. Right now, I have ~~5,110 words~~ (5,502 words as of evening of 1/31) of fiction written that I might not have if I hadn’t made this resolution. I will admit that I missed one day (it was a Friday, and I just forgot completely), but I did 300 words the next day, so I suppose that balanced out.

I am working on the bucket list and hope to have it done before the end of February.

“Being more social” is kind of a hard one to measure. I’ve put myself in some situations where I’m meeting new people, so I guess I’m headed in the right direction.

Trying 40 new recipes this year. This one is going extremely well, as I’ve already tried ten. They are:

1. Master Bread Recipe – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (1/2)
2. Noodle Soup for Needy People – Nigella Express (1/2)
3. Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (1/9)
4. Dragon Potatoes – Isabel’s Cantina (1/9)
5. Breakfast Bars – Nigella Express (1/9)
6. Cream of Cauliflower Soup – Epicurious (1/10)
7. Pinto Bean Sweet Potato Chili – Epicurious (1/23)
8. Grissini (breadsticks) – Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (1/26)
9. Pizza with Potato, Sage, and Rosemary – Epicurious (1/28)
10. Berry Clafouti (modified from Sweet Cherry Clafouti) – Bon Appetit Desserts/Epicurious (1/30)

The best of these are:

The whole wheat bread with olive oil that was mentioned above. This dough is pretty versatile. I made bread, pizza crust (see recipe #9), and breadsticks (recipe #8) with it, and all were really good.

The pinto bean sweet potato chili was pretty amazing on the night I made it. I wasn’t expecting much as the ingredients are simple, but the flavors were great together. It’s not quite as fabulous as leftovers, I must admit.

The berry clafouti is ridiculously good. Technically it’s supposed be made with sweet cherries, but Whole Foods didn’t have those in the freezer section, and to buy them fresh would have been expensive and also time consuming given that I would’ve had to pit the cherries. I used raspberries and blueberries, and it worked beautifully.

The potato pizza was good, but it would have been better if I hadn’t burned it. Oh well.

Goals for February? Read Confessions, finish the bucket list, and continue with on-going goals. It's a short, busy month for me, so that'll likely be all I can handle.

Friday Flashback to the Early Nineties: Favorite TV Shows in High School

2011-01-28T07:00:00.003-05:00

Beverly Hills 90210: I was mostly obsessed with this in middle school, but I still enjoyed it in early high school. I gave up on it in 9th or 10th grade. They broke up Brenda and Dylan, and I simply could not watch it any longer due to my complete and total outrage that the writers would destroy what was obviously true love. (Don’t mock. I’m sure you were equally ridiculous at fourteen.)

Blossom: The nice thing about Blossom Russo and her best friend Six? They were normal girls. They were short, kind of geeky, and neither of them had a different boyfriend each week. They did have weird names and weird hats though. These days, Mayim Bialik has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. Go Blossom!

The Heights: This was an Aaron Spelling show that, believe it or not, did not involve blondes in California wearing tiny clothing. It was likely due to this lack that it did not last long. This was about blue collar twenty-somethings that formed a band. I watched this religiously. Me and about fifteen other fans.

My So-Called Life: Oh, I still mourn this show! And watch it on DVD. Angela Chase was the girl who everyone could relate to, and Rayanne and Rickie were the friends that we wanted to have. And there was some definite eye candy, obviously in the form of blue-eyed Jared Leto, but also in Tom Irwin, who played Angela’s dad.

What were your favorites in high school?

Vintage Thursday

2011-01-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

To learn more about the fashion plate used, please visit my fashion plate blog.

Top Five Literary Settings

2011-01-26T07:00:00.008-05:00

Avonlea, Prince Edward Island: For a setting to be appealing, it needs to either sound physically appealing or atmospheric, and it needs to be populated by interesting people. Avonlea had both characteristics. Reading the Anne books as a girl, I wanted to grow up in Avonlea. I wanted Anne’s beautiful walk to school and, of course, Gilbert Blythe in the schoolroom.

Barcelona, Spain as portrayed in the writing of Carlos Ruiz Zafon. When I picture Barcelona in my mind, I picture sunshine and Old World beauty. When I read the writing of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the image is quite dark and gothic, the shadow self of my normal idea of Barcelona. It’s not really a beautiful setting, but it is a memorable one, full of gloom and decay.

Hogwarts: A few years back, I was obsessed with the Harry Potter series. (If anyone is wondering, I’m a total Ravenclaw.) I’m not quite as crazy about the books as I once was, but I do think Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is one of the best settings ever created. What could possibly be more appealing than an enchanted castle?

Istanbul, Turkey as portrayed in The Historian. When I think about books that have strong settings, Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian is the first one to come to mind. This modern day Dracula story actually takes place in various European settings, but it didn’t seem fair to say my favorite literary setting is Europe, so I’ve singled out a single city. The scenes that take place in Istanbul are definitely some of the strongest in the book and the most beautiful. Turkey is now on my list of places to visit, solely because of this book

The Forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream: Not sure if plays count here since all of my other choices were from novels, but I've always loved the enchanted forest setting of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This was the first Shakespeare play that I fell in love with, and it remains my favorite of his work.

What are your favorite literary settings?

Damsel, 32, Kicks Ass

2011-01-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Just wondering, has anyone ever used the word “damsel” in conversation without the words “in distress” following it? It’s like damsels have no context except in worlds of woe and tribulation. This may be because “damsel” like “maiden” is an old fashioned word and not really one that any modern girl or woman would wish to apply to herself, but why is she always in distress?

It is my goal to redeem the word damsel. So if I introduce the phrase, “damsel kicking ass” into the everyday vocabulary, who will follow me? It’s time the damsels told those dragons who’s boss!

Lunch Lady

2011-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

On weekdays, I pack my own lunch about 90% of the time, and on the remaining 10% of days, I tend to get something from Whole Foods, usually a slice of veggie pizza. I feel like I’m constantly trying to come up with new things to pack for lunch. My recent move to complete vegetarianism further complicates things. I’m not one for faux meats, and I tend to get dizzy and hungry if I don’t have a proper carb/protein mix, so that leaves me trying to get creative with beans and lentils.

I’m also fascinated by what other people eat for lunch. Fast food everyday? A turkey sandwich and apple every single day? Gourmet concoctions whipped up in the office microwave or toaster oven? A can of Slim Fast that tastes curiously like its packaging? Oh, the things you can figure out about people from their lunches! Or at least the bad assumptions or stereotypes you can apply, anyway.

I will now confess you to what some of my favorite lunches are:

Spiced lentil tacos: These are amazing, but then, I am a giant lentil fan.
Greek salad with orzo and black eyed peas: Really good, as the black eyed peas blend really well with the traditional Greek salad ingredients. I usually make this with whole wheat orzo to make it a bit healthier.
Black bean, corn, and heart of palm salad: This is really tasty, but it needs something else – like bread or some fruit – to become a full meal.
Potato soup with leeks and tarragon: Potato soup is one of my favorite things. Leeks are another of my favorite things. Therefore, this is my favorite soup.
Amy’s brand cream of tomato soup with the addition of spinach leaves, hot sauce, and parmesan (This idea was from Self magazine). I usually eat this with a sandwich as tomato soup doesn’t really fill me up by itself.

So tell me, what do you eat for lunch? Do you pack your lunch or go out? Are you frequently bored with your choices?

Vintage Thursday

2011-01-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

You can find more about the fashion plate used here.

Litter

2011-01-17T21:28:00.001-05:00

There is always stuff on my front door. Every day, I leave home for work and my front door is bare and Spartan as all respectable front doors are. In the evening, I come home and there is paper all over my door. Half the time these are flyers from restaurants that I make a point never to eat at because I despise businesses that think they are entitled to litter my front door or the windshield of my car. The other half of the time, the papers are from the apartment complex office.

Dear Resident, please join us in the clubhouse for family movie night. Dear Resident, please do not place burning candles on your Christmas tree because this can lead to a house fire. Dear Resident, please join us for a community cross-stitchathon. Dear Resident, are you fat and repulsive? If so, please join us in our biggest loser weight loss competition. (That sounds healthy and doctor approved.) Dear Resident, please note all the windows in your apartment will be replaced within forty-eight hours of delivery of this letter. We do hope it is not at all inconvenient for you to move Every Last Piece of Furniture you own in that time period. Dear Resident, please join our community Christmas caroling event. Dressing like Mrs. Claus is optional, but appreciated.

Okay, I may have made the one about cross stitching up, but the rest are all messages I have been honored to find taped to my front door, right down to the Christmas candles one. (Are flaming Christmas trees an epidemic in some apartment complexes??) I may have reworded them slightly for my own amusement, but that is all. I have to admit I did appreciate the note about not setting thermostats below 50 degrees when leaving town for the holidays, due to dangers of frozen pipes, but that’s only because I’ve experienced what happens when pipes freeze (a waterfall where the ceiling used to be and a big watery mess to follow).

Today’s cheery message from the leasing office? It began “Dear Valued Resident” and ended with a reminder that renter’s insurance is mandatory in this complex and failing to acquire it may lead to an eviction.

We love you too, Leasing Office.

Vintage Thursday

2011-01-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

This image came from the March 1885 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, and the original image can be found here.

Top Five Literary Crushes (and other leading men)

2011-01-12T07:00:00.004-05:00

Alyssa and I seem to be thinking along similar lines since her most recent post overlaps with mine.

I’ve decided that Wednesdays on this blog will be for book related posts, just like Thursdays are for Vintage Thursdays and Fridays are for Friday Flashbacks (which I do mean to start up again), and Mondays are for, well, random stuff. These posts will mainly consist of lists. This week I’ve been thinking about literary leading men.

Top Five Literary Crushes:

Gilbert Blythe (of Anne of Green Gables) is every girl’s first bookish crush. At first, Gil doesn’t seem to be too much of a catch. He’s a bit of an attention whore, and he’s behind in school (though it was due to family reasons rather than lack of smarts or work). But soon, the reader sees that Gil is a perfect gentleman, completely loyal, and quite a charmer. And as Diana Barry points out, he’s “aw’fly handsome.” Too bad it takes Anne a while to notice. It’s been at least two decades since I first read Anne, and I still love Gil.

Mr. Darcy (of Pride and Prejudice) is the obvious and expected choice for this type of list. It’s a good thing he doesn’t exist because if he did, there’d be a mob of fan girls around him, and we’d all be pushing Helen Fielding out of the way to get a glimpse. What is it about Mr. Darcy? Is it because we all love to watch him crush on Elizabeth? I don’t know, but there’s just something irresistible about Mr. Darcy.

Remus Lupin (of the Harry Potter series) is a rather nonglamorous hero. He has no title or castle or overwhelming handsomeness. Life has kicked Remus around a fair bit, but in spite of all the reasons he has to be resentful, he still has a big heart. I love Remus for his gentleness and his wisdom. Requires a woman who doesn’t mind his “little furry problem.”

Mr. March (of Geraldine Brooks’ March) is, for those who have not read the book, a fusion of Bronson Alcott and the father of the Little Women novel. Brooks has written the story of Mr. March at war, while Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are at home. The real Bronson Alcott did not go off to war as he was much too old at the time, and Louisa May Alcott (who was a Civil War nurse) played with her family’s timeline to write Little Women. I found the character of March to be so fascinating and crush worthy because he’s this idealistic, sensitive man who seems like he’d be most at home in a library, but he’s instead in a war setting, serving as an army chaplain. Even Geraldine Brooks has admitted she fell in love with him. And if a woman who casually tosses out statements like, “I flew into Somalia sitting on a few barrels of fuel,” in the middle of author interviews can have a crush on March/Alcott, I suppose it’s fine that I do as well.

Sir Percy Blakeney is my random choice for the day. I’m not entirely sure how he made this list, given I haven’t read The Scarlet Pimpernel in at least a decade, but here he is. Make him my superhero option of this list.

Literary Men I Find Intriguing, but Best Viewed from Afar:

Sherlock Holmes. Brilliance is sexy, but let’s face it, no woman could live with his eccentricities.

Severus Snape always keeps you interested and guessing, but the man really needs to wash his hair.

Lord Vaughn, of Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series, was originally in the list above until I replaced him with Sir Percy. Definitely one of my favorite heroes of the moment, but not really a man I could live with. Everything Vaughn says has a double meaning, and I can’t imagine trying to keep up with how his mind works when I’m tired.

Literary Blind Dates from Hell:

Ned Nickerson of the Nancy Drew series. Poor Ned. He’s really only useful for heavy lifting, and I suspect that Nancy Drew can handle that on her own.

Hercule Poirot. You can admire his mind, but you’d never want to go on a blind date with him.

Gilderoy Lockhart of the Harry Potter series. “Did I tell you about the time I tamed a village of evil Hungarian witches by making them all fall in love with me? No? You can read all about it in Magical Me.”

What literary men would be on your list(s)?