December 31 - New Year's Eve

1817 - James T. Fields is born in Portsmouth, N.H. A partner in Ticknor & Fields, publishers, he will succeed James Russell Lowell as editor of the Atlantic Monthly. 1830 - Alexander Smith, Scottish poet and writer, is born at Kilmarnock. 1874 - Editor, poet, critic, essayist, and journalist Holbrook Jackson (The Anatomy of Bibliomania; The Fear of Books; The Printing of Books) is born in Liverpool. 1900 - Edward Everett Hale, 78, presides at a Boston civic ceremony welcoming in the new century.
--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

Happy New Year to you and yours! And, to start the New Year, a message from May Sarton, one of my favorite authors:

"Under the light of eternity,
things, the daily trivia,
the daily frustrations, fall
away. It is all a
matter of getting to the
center of the beam."

Happy New Year and one more passion

I hope 2008 has treated you all well. Our family has expanded this year and what fun that is! I am grateful for all of you, new family and old. So... eat, drink, be merry, and sleep in tomorrow!

I realized I forgot one of my more "simple" passions. Starbucks. Enough said. :)

A Different Kind of Book

So,

I'm a little behind on Suite Francaise...I will catch up!

But, I justed wanted to share what I have been reading lately. The weather down here, or over here has been quite blustery, and when the weather gets blustery, I think of one thing...SOUP!

One of my favorite cookbooks, and one of my favorite soup cookbooks is Maryana Vollstedt's Big Book of Soups. Whatever your ingredients you have, you can find a recipe. Usually quick, usually easy, I haven't yet found one to yuck at. I've been making the minestrone out of this book for as long as I can remember cooking.

So, I figured everyone but Toni (sitting beside a pool down south), is feeling the winter weather. And if you want something warm and yummy to warm you up while your reading a good book...take a look at this cookbook! I know my mom (Linda), has no idea who this Maryana Vollstedt person is, and will enjoy some 'good' recipes! :)

Oh, and I guess cooking soup is one of my passions. There is nothing so happy for me as standing over a hot pot, pitching things into it, and ending up with a nourishing and tasty pot of goodness. Perhaps it's a bit of witch in me...loving to stir a cauldron. :)

Happy Eating and Reading

My Passions

I have been putting off writing this blog because it has been REALLY hard for me to find things that I am truly passionate about. So I will probably stumble through this but here goes!

My first passion is my family. Some of my most pivotal developmental years were spent without a mother and my father and older brother worked very hard to make sure that that didn't negatively impact my life. I can't explain how thankful I am for this and how much love I feel for them. Now I also have a step-mother who fits in very well with the family and I feel blessed for this as well.
Also I found the love of my life very early in my life. Derek and I have been together since 2001 and our life together has been a whirlwind-very traumatic and dramatic things have happened in our lives! But we somehow always manage to come out on top! I am passionate about the person that he is and I feel like he makes me a better person. I could go on and on but....

Another passion I have is learning. Mostly learning about subjects in my field (mental health) but more and more I am trying to branch out and learn about other things that have not always interested me in the past (cooking, politics, the economy, etc).

I am also passionate about movies, music, and books! I am usually reading two or three books at a time and if not reading, I'm watching movies! Also I drive about 30 miles a day to work and 30 miles a day back and am always listening to music!

I feel like I am passionate about helping. Of course the field I am in allows me to help young ladies and, although I am often frustrated with the work I do, I also love being able to learn about these young ladies and hopefully help make their lives more healthy and positive in the future. Besides the type of work that I enjoy doing, I have a special place in my heart for animals. Just as Linda said I would not be able to work in this field-I cry at the commercials where they show all these poor animals and Sarah Mclaughlin is singing that horrifically sad song. But all animals have a special place in my heart!

This is just a brief look at a few of my passions. It actually come out easier than I thought and I could probably add several more things but will leave some to post later! I have enjoyed learning more about each of you and the things you love!

Suite Francaise

I just finished. Read every word, cover to cover. More later but for now, some images...The first is of residents fleeing Paris, and the second is of Irene Nemirovsky.

More Heretic's Daughter

I was organizing some book stacks this afternoon and ran across "The Heretic's Daughter". There are two pink "sticky notes" in the book. I had forgotten about them. Here is what they say:

#1 - "Uncle is redeemed in Sarah's eyes by his suicide by poison. Alexander's death was by poison. Alexander's horse was Bucephalus. Good writing here."

This is the passage from the book: "I thought more of the stories he had told us by the light of the hearth. Tales of rampant Indians and wandering spirits and the deaths of pagan kings. I thought of him proudly astride Bucephalus, named after the war steed belonging to Alexander. The ancient king so beloved by his men until he led them off the face of their circumscribed maps into the lands of specters and strange men. The king who was given the cup of poison so that his men could return to the known world. But Uncle had taken up the cup of poison with his own hand in the hopes of returning those he loved safely back from the land of monsters, and for that I wept long and hard for him."

#2 - "I held my breath to slow my heart..." and "My head throbbed and my eyes danced in their sockets..."

The sticky notes are destined for my writing notebook. One of the secrets of good writing is to "put it on the body" when describing emotions. This allows the reader to identify with the character's feelings in a personal way. The bit about Uncle and Alexander was just very well done, I thought.

Teaching Animals about The Ocean

I used to set up little desks in my bedroom and I made my cousin, Bee, and my brother, Jeff, be the students. I loved making up worksheets and all kinds of busy work for them. I was always "the teacher". I also loved putting on large, variety shows where we roped certain family members into performing year after year. I may have really loved being a theater director, but girls in l972 were not really encouraged to be anything other than nurses or teachers. I deviated and became a mental health worker (that was somewhat acceptable). But.... as it would be, I burnt out on the crazies and decided to go teach. I loved it from the beginning. I was absolutely passionate about it. I was at school from dawn to dusk just to set up one nutty, fun thing for "my kids" after another. I couldn't believe that they paid me to do it!!

I would say that my reigning passion throughout my life has been "to teach". I even like to teach the cats and the goats. They are really the only students I have in my grasp at the moment. (Be wary.... Alivia and Ducky!!) I have always thought that teaching was an honorable and extremely important profession. Not the way it's currently being done in our schools, though. (I will not rant on about that, but it's why I finally quit!)

My second passion would probably be my love of animals. I can't help myself. I will jump out in the middle of a freeway to rescue some poor stray without even pausing to think about danger. I have 20 cats at the moment. Only 3 are mine by choice. The rest have been sent to me by the spirit of Ed Unanian, a true animal lover who passed over to the other side about 5 years ago. ( That's what I tell Mike, anyway!) I could never work in this field, though. It would break my heart to really know what goes on with all the unwanted and neglected animals worldwide.

Third would be my passionate love of the ocean. I have wanted to live by it's side my whole life. I was lucky enough to have a house on Kauai for 10 years . It was so close to the Pacific that the surf actually flowed under the deck of the house at stormy high tides! As I sit and write this, the waves are breaking about 2 blocks from me. I hear them everyday and it always makes me feel "right". When I was young, and things went screwy in my life, I would get in my car and run to the coast. It always seemed to soothe the problems. My mom said, " You can't just always run off to the beach to solve your problems." She was wrong.

And now for some of the smaller passions..... books (of course.... they are piled everywhere in the house.... I hide them when guests come who don't already know about my bibliophiliac problems)
anything having to do with France and Paris, in particular.... Herbs..... I may even start a little medicinal herb business...... Decent Food.... I am a devoted grower's market shopper and try to teach everyone I know about the benefits of eating well..... Baking..... I bake every day. And last, but definately not least.... Jigsaw puzzles. ( I know, that's a sad one.)

So.... summing it all up.... if I could "teach" "animals" about the "ocean" or beside the "ocean", I would probably be a pretty happy person every day. Linda

Passions....

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! Carlin, can you share some of your snow with us?? I was hoping for a white Christmas......bummer.
My first and biggest passion is traveling. I haven't been out of the country yet, (besides Mexico) but I am looking forward to someday traveling to Europe (too many specific places to list) and there are a few states I would really like to see that I haven't yet....New York, New Mexico, Illinois. However, I love traveling even to the next town, familiar places, places of sentiment, and places I have never been. I am always down for packing up, even at the last minute, and going wherever the road may lead.

My next passion is photography. I love taking pictures! Be it artistic, or simply a family photo, I love everything about photography. The expression, the memory, the feeling, looking in the subject's eyes and wondering what there life is/was like. I took a class in college, and loved it, but I could use some brush up on technique and modern technology. I have looked into taking classes, but unfortunately, since I have a college degree it would go towards Graduate credits and has some pretty hefty tuition! Maybe someday I will find a mentor and pick their brain. I think I would also need a new camera, since I only have a cheap digital purse size that I can't get too artistic with.....This is something that will definitely be pursued in the years to come!

The next one is really corny, but I love getting mail. Any kind of mail, text, email, cards, letters, photos, voicemail, calls. I guess I just love acknowledging and keeping in touch with the people I love. I love giving Thank You cards when someone thinks of me, remembering special occaisions, getting sappy cards from Kevin, homemade cards, or simply a note in the mail to say hi. It simply brightens my day! (Linda I love this about you!! The stickers too!)

And finally, my family. My family means the world to me. My life revolves around my beautiful daughter whom I could not live without. Nothing is greater than spending the day with Kevin and Alivia....driving, hiking, drinking coffee, watching kiddo movies, baking sweets, or just sitting around. I am so blessed with them. I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember, and it is everything I imagined it to be and more. I love living life as a child again, seeing the awe in Alivia's face as she learns something new and teaching her to be a polite and kind little girl.

I think a lot of people also think of your career when you think of your passions. I have never known what I wanted 'to be' when I 'grew up.' So I guess as far as a money earning career I have failed, but I am doing what I love. Being a mom. I am so thankful to have Kevin as the so called 'bread winner' making just enough for us to live on....even though we don't have a lot of money to do some of the things we would like to, we have each other, and we have our daughter being raised at home and don't have to leave her at daycare everyday. I love my job working part time at an insurance office, where I am blessed to have an amazing boss that pretty much lets me make up my schedule each week, and two other employees whom I look forward to a little 'adult conversation' with each week. It gives my brain some stimulation, my body some exercise, and a little extra money to help out at the end of the month.
For all these things I am thankful. Great idea Linda to add this to the blog!

Baby Goats...

Here's a picture of Linda and Mike's new baby goats.

Delia Deets, Wyatt, and Bill Cody.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from the Phillips down in southern Oregon!!

Christmas Eve

1822 - Matthew Arnold, poet and critic, is born in Laleham, Middlesex. 1863 - William Makepeace Thackeray, 52, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at his newly completed home in Palace Gardens, Bayswater. 1881 - Embarking for his celebrated American lecture tour, Oscar Wilde boards the Arizona, whose captain later swears: "I wish I had had that man lashed to the bowsprit on the windward side." 1912 - D.H. Lawrence writes a friend: "I always say, my motto is 'Art for my sake'." 1933 - In his diary Harold Nicolson describes his marriage to the novelist and poet Vita Sackville-West: "had I been a passionate man...we should now have separated, I living in Montevideo as H.M. Minister and she breeding Samoyeds in the Gobi desert."

--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

Holiday cheer

Greetings to all! I hope this post finds you all warm, well, and safe on this Christmas Eve. My husband just came in from starting his car (it's 12 degrees this morning) and informed me that it's snowing. Again. Another 2-5 inches expected by tomorrow morning. I sure love Montana! (Please note a mild sarcasm, which is sometimes lost in internet blogging)

I have been pondering Linda's proposal, about posting about things we're passionate about. Maggie, I'm glad that task wasn't a difficult one for you. I'm finding that the more I think about it, the harder it is to come up with things that I can truly say I'm passionate about. So, Maggie, good for you for knowing what those things are. I think that's a gift.

I know I am NOT passionate about my work. I think I used to be. That's changed. I am passionate about thinking about other things I could spend that time doing and still generate an income (Kerry and I want to open a book/yarn/coffee shop but are still waiting for that mysterious, rich uncle from Belize to pop in and spontaneously offer up a financial backing). Anyway, I digress. I don't want to talk about things I'm NOT passionate about. That's not the point.

I am passionate about my family. About watching my daughter grow (and stand!). I am passionate about teaching her how to be good people (she is already saying 'thank you') and to love herself. I am passionate about finding comfortable places with good reads, cozy slippers, and warm cups of coffee (or tea!). I guess there is one part of my work that I am passionate about: I am passionate about teaching these young women how to treat others as they would want to be treated (which usually includes not commiting crimes- the get so pissed when they've been wronged, why wrong others?- not abusing alcohol and drugs- being 'that' guy, anywhere, who gets drunk or high and does stupid stuff is NOT an admirable trait- and take care of themselves- they get so worried about the other people in their lives who make equally or worse decisions than they do, yet they can't seem to transfer that level of concern and commitment to their own stuff.). I AM passionate about that. And teaching them that using the word "gay" to say something is "stupid" is not acceptable. Is that a passion? I don't know.

I am passionate about knowing people. About meeting new people. My husband gets SOOO annoyed with me because almost any time we're out together (which is rare, now, with the wee one in our lives) and he's trying to be all romantic and woo-ey, I make BFFs with the person sitting at the table behind us. But I LOVE people!! I LOVE talking to people about things they do, where they go, and what they are passionate about.

I don't know if this is AT ALL what the proposal asked for. Then again, I know Linda also said something about this group not really having any rules or constraints, or something. I can't even remember what it was she said. Regardless. Those are things I feel passionate about.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, or whatever the "reason" for your season. My reason? Is family.... and hopefully some fudge.

Love,
Carlin

What Floats Your Boat

First, I want to thank Linda for suggesting we think about our passions, and then share them with the group. This "exercise", for me, has really been a good way to clear out the cobwebs and get down to the "bones" of what makes me tick.

So...the first grand passion of my life was and still is this place, western Oregon. I was born in the same town where I live, in a maternity home that is still there but now a private residence, kind of a shabby little house, but I love to drive by it anyway. I have never been happy living anywhere else and have instigated major upheavals and risk taking for my whole family so that I could be here. When dislocated from this place, I would just pine away, making everyone around me miserable. Every day, as I drive to work, I see the familiar landmarks (the river, the quarry with the goats, on a clear day the Three Sisters, Bear Mountain, the site of our old house now part of I-5, the glimpse of Eugene coming over 30th Avenue) and it warms my heart in a way nothing else does. There must be an imprint of 43.81 N/123.06 W in my DNA (Maggie is this possible?).

The other grand passion of my life is books. Not just the reading of, but the actual physical book in my hand, on the bedside table, filling bookcases, in piles on the floor. I spend grocery money on books. I cannot have too many books. It is impossible. My mother says I was reading the dictionary by age 3, but I do not know if this is really true. She says my Uncle Dave will attest to it. At one point, I was ready to "chuck it all" and open a used book shop. I did research, visited other booksellers, tried to think of a way to combine being a bookkeeper with running a book shop. But, at the time I was also the mother of two teenagers, working on my college degree (trying to finish it before my first child graduated from high school...and did!), working full-time in a dreary job (police/fire payroll for the City of Eugene), and so it was an "impossible" dream. This is the gut wrenching truth of the "weight of personal responsibility", as Annelle rightly says. Plus, I had no money.

I still have no money, and little time, but I will have more time in a few years. So, I am thinking about selling books online when I retire. I have a web domain name just waiting: cottagebookseller.com. It is never too late!

So, these are the two constant passions in my life. One since birth, the other since the age of 3, I guess! Constants, passions, touchstones - - they are REAL and they are powerful. Ignore them at your peril.

And Linda, although my haircut might give one the impression that I resemble Colette, a lot of good it has done as I am now walking off a cliff book in hand. It must be "Suite Francaise", a WONDERFUL book. Thank you Kerry!

December 22

1639 - Jean-Baptiste Racine, dramatic poet, is born at La Ferte-Milon in northern France. 1849 - Fyodor Dostoevsky is led out for execution, then pardoned at the last moment. 1869 - Poet Edwin Arlington Robinson, author of "Miniver Cheevy", is born in Head Tide, Maine. 1880 - After returning from a trip to the Continent and catching cold at a London concert, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) dies at 61 in Chelsea. 1940 - Nathanael West, aged 37, and his wife, Eileen McKenney -- the heroine of Ruth McKenney's My Sister Eileen -- are killed in a car accident in El Centro, Calif.
--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

A Cottage Near the Sea...

OK,

Here are some of my passions, large and small, cheap, free, and expensive.

I'm going to list them numerically because I'm a Virgo that way. :)

1. A warm mug of tea in my hand. A cup or mug of tea represents to me, the beginning of something good. A good morning, a good evening, or a good endeavor. Tea feels like a magical entity. You can leave tea, brewed or loose leaves, in your garden as a welcoming gesture to garden faeries.

2. My husband Derek says I have a passion for interacting with people in a way that remembers etiquette and small details. Remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and etc. and acknowledging them. To me, those acknowledgments are one of the many threads of a gracious human being, and why not thrive for that! :)

3. I'm always wanting to know the ocean better. For the last few years, that way has been through scuba diving. There is nothing more profound than lying on the bottom of the ocean, looking up at the infinite mass of water, with the sunlight streaming through pristine blue.

4. The active pursuit of the 'perfect' day. Something movie worthy. :)

5. The acquisition and pursuit of music that moves me, and makes me feel alive.

6. Expressing myself through some form of art. Poetry. The writing of, and reading of poetry. And more currently, tattoos. Tattoos have become an integral part of my person. For me, having the certainty of mind, and wanting to express those certain thoughts on my body, is a beautiful thing. A road map of my life...on my body. Even now, when I look at my tattoos, I remember what was happening in my life when I got them. And I can see how I've changed and grown as a human being.

7. Food has always been a passion. Cooking, touching, learning about, tasting, and shopping for food. Food is a root of life, and to maintain and embrace a broad and adventurous relationship with it is a wonderful thing.

8. Books. There is no greater feeling than being surrounded by the books you love.

9. Driving. Very much my father's daughter in that regard. I love the feeling of driving anywhere, music on in the background. Someplace old, someplace new...I love hitting the pavement to find it! All my best thoughts come to me on the road.

10. Pursuing my dream to live in a cottage on the North Shore of Kauai for 6 months to a year. Right now, that dream looks farther away than near...but I keep it on the horizon. :) The picture above is my cottage.

11. Learning about people. The individuals. The details. The reason why. The history. The good. The bad. The beautiful, and the ugly. What makes people tick.

There you have it. Some of my passions. I think this is a great way to learn about the women in our book club! I look forward to reading your passions!

Snazzy New Look

Hey, I love the new Blog cover. Very classy! Thanks to Goonie for snapping up the cool photo and updating the booklist.

I am halfway through Suite Francaise. Without giving much away, I have one phrase for you guys..... City of Darkness, City of Light! I will expand on that when others are well into the book.

At the end of Annelle's post, I have a proposal.... wanted everyone to see it, so I am yammering about it out here. I know that this time of year is very busy, but we could all give it some thought and then when you have an extra 20 min., whip it out. If it doesn't suit you, don't worry. We are a losey goosey gang. Linda

December 19

More random information....

1732 - In Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin begins to publish Poor Richard's Almanack. 1776 - The American Crisis by Thomas Paine appears, with its famous opening: "These are the times that try men's souls...." 1832 - Poet Philip Freneau, aged 80, lost in a snowstorm while returning from a tavern, dies near his home in Middletown Point, N.J. 1848 - Emily Bronte dies of consumption at 30, in Haworth, three months after having taken cold at her brother Branwell's funeral. 1910 - Jean Genet -- the subject of Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist biography, Saint Genet: Actor and Martyr -- is born in Paris.

--A Book of Days for the Literary Year

Better Late Than Never.....

Hello everyone! Well, I just finished the Heretics and am on to Sharper your knife.....I know, I am behind; life has been busy, and this is the first chance I have gotten to get on here. I don't think I have much to add that hasn't been said already....Heretics was definitely not a very uplifting book, however it was very interesting (and sad) to see how people lived back then. There are so many luxuries we take for granted today that our grandparents and ancestors before us wouldn't dream of. This was a hard one for me to pick up, and I didn't look forward to reading it like some of the others, but once I start a book I feel compelled to finish it for some reason, except for Marge...I had no problem dropping her...(oops, sorry Linda picked this one! I stand corrected Kay!!) I guess I have to see what happens at the end....
So onto Sharper Your Knife; even though I think everyone has started Francaise now; it is much lighter, but I am with Kerry on her curiousity of how these people do it financially?? I think it's awesome that Kathleen dropped the corporate job and went on to chase her dream, but for some people it just wouldn't be possible....life, family, bills, all get in the way. I admire her for her courage to do so! Especially when the teachers were jerks! I love that she recalls playing restaurant as a child, and has known her passion her entire life. Well more to come. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Only 8 Days away!

December 17...In Case You Were Wondering

1660 - M.P. Andrew Marvell petitions the House of Commons for the release of John Milton from prison. 1807 - John Greenleaf Whittier is born near Haverhill, Mass. When the Atlantic Monthly gives a party to celebrate the poet's 70th birthday in 1877, Mark Twain, giving the principal address, shocks the diners by comparing Longfellow, Emerson, and Holmes (all dinner guests) to three drunken tramps in the Sierras. 1843 - Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is published. 1873 -Ford Madox Ford is born in Merton, Surrey. 1903 - Novelist Erskine Caldwell (Tobacco Road) is born in Coweta County, Ga.

- A Book of Days for the Literary Year

The Sharper the Knife....Finally!

So I finally finished The Sharper Your Knife. When I read it it went really fast but I really had to force myself to pick up the book. Of course the story is inspiring to a degree. It would be difficult to take the leap, move to Paris, invest your savings in a cooking school, "putting all your eggs in one basket" sort of deal. However, she had the full support of a man, apparently plenty of money to spend on her new undertaking, and opportunity, as she had just been fired from her current job. So, although this might be difficult, all of the things she needed seemed to fall in place for her. For this she is very lucky-I wish things worked like that for me!!!
Also, I agree with what several people have said about the writing; seemed to be choppy, more of a report from a journalist than a narrative from an author to me. Also, I felt like every chapter was sort of the same story only with a different food; she goes to class, makes the selected food, gets yelled at (or gets complimented further along in the book), takes the food home, eats it with Mike, and gets up and does the same thing the next morning! Another thing that sort of annoyed me was that neither her nor Mike were working and she was putting all of her savings into LCB, yet they were always going out with friends or, during Kathleen's breaks from class, traveling! How do they do it!?!?!
I did enjoy the very subtle idea of overcoming adversity and not giving up. It would have been really easy for Kathleen to say "these chefs are mean, there is no hope for me, I can't to anything right," etc. but she stuck with it, even when she was consistently getting a hard time from Chef. This obviously paid off in the end because Chef praised her for not giving up and she seemed to be doing everything right towards the end of the book!
There were feel-good moments for me and moments that made me smile but overall I was not really into this book.

City of Darkness, City of Light

Hello all,

I noticed on the previous reads list the book City of Darkness, City of Light. I came into the book club with the Welsh Girl. Was this book worth reading???? If it was good let me know so I can get a copy and read it South of the border.

Toni

Cordon Bleu, You're a Dinosaur!

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry was a very enjoyable book. I always love reading books about people who make shifts in their lives. It's stimulating to think that you can always do something new. It takes alot of courage to go in a new direction, especially when you are successful in what you are currently doing. Our author was fired, but she still could have clung to her old career skills instead of launching out in her cooking direction. And what about her new hubby? Wasn't he great!! Bravo for a supportive husband who also came to live in Paris when he had a good career going in Seattle.

Writing skills are often not the forte of the journalist. Doesn't that sound weird? They're so used to "reporting" that I think they sometimes forget how to just write from the heart and the soul. Kathleen was an excellent reporter of her days at the cooking school, but something was missing in her prose. I would love to see what she's doing now..... let's keep an eye out for anything new she does.

Now, about the "Dinosaur". I wonder where this school has been concerning the food revolution that is currently taking place; especially in France. France is on the cutting edge of the organic movement and anti-genetically modified front, and anti-animal cruelty front. Don't they realize that people are marching in the streets to get Wolfgang Puck to STOP using Foi gras in his restaurants???? Where are these chefs in this revolution? It appears that they have their heads in the sand or are just so set in their ways that they have missed the boat. Now, I realize that there may have been some action by the school on this topic and that Kathleen just didn't report on those conversations. I certainly hope so. But.... to write a book about cooking and food and not make a mention of the quality of products that go into the cooking.... Hmmm.... I've seen the ocean in the south of France.... don't think I'd want to eat too many fish that came out of that body of water. Anyway, I got to thinking that Cordon Bleu might want to snap ahead to 2009 and drop the foi gras that seemed to go into everything! If you want to read a good book that will explain foi gras and the many other atrocious cruelties that are done to animals in the name of "fine dining" pick up a copy of Jane Goodall's Reason For Hope".

Thank you, Maggie, for picking a book that had Severs Baby Metro stop and BHV mentioned. Brings back the good old days!!

Suite Francaise

So far, I love it! I was reading it in the doctor's office this morning and felt a bit resentful when the doctor interrupted me. Good choice, Kerry!

Begin To Be Happy and to Make Plans

So, I'm almost done with TSYK, and not really having the same views as Carlin. Obviously, I wouldn't be having the same views, since we are not the same person. :) So, here are mine...

The majority of the food actually sounds quite tasty (I'd eat it all right now if I was to find myself in Paris). For example the coq a vin; the blood used in the sauce, I can see how that would add a really nice salty richness to any sauce...especially since the blood is from the same animal. And that fact that it's a rooster, well, I've looked at our rooster (Chip) and thought he'd make a really yummy dinner. Purely for his size. Obviously, I couldn't eat Chip...knowing him, but I can see how rooster could be considered a delicasy.

I'm not really feeling the choppiness she described. I do find the book to be a very direct and unfluffed account of her times at LCB. Perhaps I would have wished for her writing to be as whimsical and romantic as A Movable Feast by Hemingway...(my all time favorite book, well, paired with The Great Gatzby). But I'm wandering. I have really enjoyed my stay in Paris through Kathleen's eyes. The Intermediatte Course at LCB actually sounds fun to me. Granted, I do love to cook, but learning about the regional cuisines of France sounds compelling and tasty!

I find myself actually wanting to pick up The Sharper Your Knife to read. Whereas most of the book club choices...including my past choices, I look at them sitting on the coffee table, and end up thumbing through another book I have found in my unread, reserves. Although I would not say the writing of the book is tres bon, I would however say the dream and the execution of the dream IS tres bon! To realize your dream...especially in Paris...is something I'd always love to tag along for. And for that reason alone is why I have enjoyed The Sharper Your Knife!!

I really have no idea what Suite Francais is about, but I'm already looking forward to it. Granted, I just really like the cover. :) I've included my two favorite passages from A Movable Feast! Happy reading!

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintry light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason."

"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."

Another Francophile

Kerry has selected the next book...... "Suite Francaise" by Irene, Nemerovski. For those of us who haven't even finished Maggie's book, don't panic. Toni just wanted to know what was on the list next. She can now pack her bags for Mexico and enjoy another Paris related read. If the holidays are setting you back on your reading, just relax and enjoy the books and catch up when you can. I will be trying to pick up "Suite" this weekend, but if there isn't time, it'll be at least a week until I can get the new book to everyone. Have a great weekend. Linda

Fini!

I finished The Sharper Your Knife last night. It was okay. I feel badly that I'm not more excited about these books. They haven't been bad and it's been fun to pick up books I'd probably not otherwise read. But TSYK, I struggled a little with because I was curious how it was that a woman who had been a writer and went on to LCB wrote a fairly ho-hum narrative. The story was interesting. I can't imagine doing what she did. I can't believe they ate some of the things they ate (I did NOT know coq au vin was rooster! Wow!). But, I felt like the way she wrote the story was choppy and sometimes I had to go back and re-read information to find my place in the story. Par example: The sister's broken heart over Sarbonne... I felt like Flinn did explain the sister's love for Paris but the part about the Sarbonne packet coming when their dad got sick got pretty lost in all of that "how I came to want to be at LCB"... but then referring back to sis's heartbreak and wanting to SEE Sarbonne... I didn't get it until I went back and found that place again.

Anyway, I'm curious to know what Flinn is doing now. Did she do it just so she could say she did, or did she actually use that knowledge in her foodie writings and reviews? So... comme ci, comme ca... "so-so". I was excited that not only did I know previously mentioned garlic smashing trick, but I also understood SOME of the French in the book. And I did know how to pronounce it in my head. That was fun. I do want to find the guy with all the hair... Marc? and drink some of his wine... :)

More soon!
Carlin

Next Read

Hello Book Club Friends!

I was asked to pick the next book for book club! I am honored and after much debate have decided on Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. It's one I have wanted to read for some time so hopefully it will live up to my expectations! Happy Reading!

Kerry

French Crepes

Ok, Girls...... page 208 of The Sharper Your Knife!!! The very best crepes I have ever eaten. Ever.... even in Paris and Brittany. Ed and I decided it had become too chilly to really do any kind of work, and I had seen that crepe recipe earlier in the day and it'd stuck in my mind. Home we came from the farm and whipped them up. The batter even smells delicious. And while you are cooking them your kitchen smells decadent. We didn't have Nutella (I can't eat it anyway) so we put a variety of toppings. Ed ate 4 and I had 2. Three left over for snacking tonight! Try banana-powdered sugar-lemon juice and strawberry jam. That was my favorite. But there's just no end to the creative crepery one could launch into. What fun! I sent a big thank you through the universe to Kathleen for writing the book and also a more local thank you to Maggie for picking the book. Bon, bon, bon!

100 Notable books from 2008

A friend of mine posted this on my Facebook. I haven't had time to read the entire list but I figured you all might enjoy checking it out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Happy Books

Hi, Girls.... There they were. Just sitting right by my big chair. Two books that I had started and abandoned. Two happy books. Book #1: Cider With Rosie.... by Laurie Lee. A man, Laurie, has writted a beautiful book about his childhood in Wales right between the two world wars. It is simply enchanting. He has written several other books, but this is the first of his I have read. Book #2: Only When I Laugh, by Gladys Workman. Gladys moved to Scottsburg, OR in about 1950 when her husband became ill. She writes about her days in the small town. I was reading part of it aloud to Ed, ( my husband) and we were just laughing out loud. I haven't laughed that much while reading a book..... ever. It was a scene where some city slickers happened in to their really dumpy cabin and became overwhelmed with the pathetic circumstances. Well, Ed and I just bought a little cabin in Scottsburg so we are tickled to read about the surrounding area.

So.... here's to happy books..... especially in the holiday season..... Linda

Hello from the Beach

Hi all! I am glad Maggie started this blog site...too cool!

I have found the comments about The Heretic's Daughter very interesting. This was my pick, sorry to put a somber pall on the book club but I am glad that I picked this book. I was impressed with the author's writing, I feel engaged in a book when I feel like I can hear, taste, smell etc. all that is going on in the plot. The ending brought me to tears....I was sitting in my booth smelling my lavender at the time so all was not bad!

I finished the Sharper Your Knife and have already passed the book on to some friends that I am sure will enjoy it. I was going to save it for the recipes, but quite frankly they sounded like a whole lot of work and I am not the most patient cook. So anyway, it was fun to read and it did bring back some great memories of the times I have been to Paris.

I am looking forward to the next selection. My husband and I are traveling to Mexico for the holidays and won't be back in the states until February 2nd. So, what is the next pick so I can get it before we head South?

Happy Holidays - Toni.....

Love the blog!

Hello all~unfortunately I have nothing to say about The Heretic's Daughter that hasn't already been said! I sort of felt like I was reading a book with a story-line that could be summed up in about 50 pages but was almost over-established. If that makes any sense. I agree with Carlin about feeling like a was in a Salem prison for about 100 years.
There were some parts of the book that I found somewhat interesting. I think the author did a good job of describing the time, again she sort of over described it so that you could really "feel" yourself there. Also, being a psych major and having an interest in sociology as well, found the ostracism that these accused women went through to be very interesting. It felt like it went something like this-"so and so, from 12 villages over, said they saw this woman sewing a doll and another woman, 12 villages away became sick! SHE MUST BE A WITCH!!!!!" And what little else I have read about the Salem Witch Trials confirms this idea-it didn't take much to convict a woman of being a witch during that time. So....sorry for the rant but I found that to be interesting!
Looking forward to getting a little deeper into The Sharper the Knife! Nice to meet you all :)

Time For Chatting with Christmas Coming!

Hi fellow book lovers!! I think this Blog site is a great idea. Now we can really get the ideas going. I think we all seem to see pretty much eye to eye on The Heretic's Daughter. And I'm sorry we didn't get to discuss the others a little better, but now... we're set!!

I am halfway through The Sharper Your Knife, and am enjoying, as Maggie said, strolling around Paris. I wouldn't want to go to the Cordon Bleu. The chefs sound kind of nasty. I think the gal would have more fun if the teachers were a little lighter and more fun. I don't think cooking has to be such a demanding art. I had a stint with a stage director that was like that. I didn't really think he got the best out of his actors and actresses with his overbearing and mean behavior. It gets to be kind of an ego thing. Anyway, I am looking forward to finishing that book.... possibly this week.

I was looking for a new book to read through the Christmas holidays. I was hoping to find something kind of light and fun and happy. Dang, alot of books are not that. I have a big library to choose from and it was a little late at night, but I didn't see too many that weren't just a bit "dark". I will continue the search this afternoon and let you girls know what I come up with. I may have to go into the older books. Ta Ta for now..... Linda