Hi everyone,
Sure missed you all yesterday but I did have Barb's company early in the morning at the Farmers Market where we had a table to promote the labyrinth. Janet and Katie were with me for the afternoon - thanks!
Hope your walk and breakfast at Chautauqua was great!
Book Report:
Needless to say I haven't gotten much reading in this week but I do want to tell you that I heard an interview with Khaled Hosseini talking about his latest book (He wrote The Kite Runner), A Thousand Splendid Suns. It sounds like another amazing story and I can't wait to read it.
Amazon.com
It's difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner: a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon.com, readers reacted with a unanimous enthusiasm that few of us could remember seeing before. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope.
Website of the Week: http://www.imow.org/ - International Museum of Women featuring an online exhibit called The Motherhood Project -
The Motherhood Project
Entries from more than 30 countries from women in their 20s and 30s compose our online exhibit dedicated to the sometimes joyous, sometimes mysterious, and sometimes complicated realities of modern motherhood.
The exhibit runs March 8 through June 30, 2007 and will include contributions from journalists Lisa Ling and Marianne Pearl, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, author Rebecca Walker, activist Hafsat Abiola, comedienne Jenny McCarthy, actress Julie Delpy and Karenna Gore-Schiff.
View what young women are saying through art and the written word and participate in the dialogue.
Podcast of the Week: NPR's Driveway Moments - some of the most compelling stories from NPR - great to listen to anytime you want - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5183216
Vocabulary Word of the Week: insalubrious
in·sa·lu·bri·ous (ĭn'sə-lū'brē-əs)
adj.
Not promoting health; unwholesome: an insalubrious environment.
insalubriously in'sa·lu'bri·ous·ly adv.
insalubrity in'sa·lu'bri·ty n.
Cooking and Food Report: Nothing new from Susan's kitchen but we have recipes from Mary and Rae
From Mary a great summery citrus chicken:
Boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/2 Paul Newman's Lite Lime Vinaigrette
1/2 Premixed Margarita!
Marinate 2-3 hours, allow to drain then grill the chicken. The lime flavor is very light
but it cooks beautifully tender and a hint of the citrus! Lovely!
I served it (to myself) on greens with chopped tomato, guacamole and chips on the side!
With a Margarita, of course!
From Rae a Szechuan Carrot Soup that sounds terrific:
Szechuan Carrot Soup
2 medium onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2t. veg. oil
2 lbs. carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1 1/2 piece of fresh ginger root, peeled, sliced thinly
1/4" t. dried hot pepper flakes
6 c. chicken broth
2 T. soy sauce
3 T. cramy peanut butter
2 t. sugar
2 t. Asian sesame oil
2 c. skim milk
Garnish with 1/2 c. sour cram mixed with 4 T. heavy cream or just use plain yogurt (I don't think I did either but I think either would be good) and drizzle this on top.
In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in the oil over low heat until onion is soft. Add carrots, ginger, pepper flakes and broth. Simmer 45 minutes until carrots are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. In blender, mix soup in batches until smooth. Return to pan and reheat. Serve with sour cream or yogurt garnish, if desired. Enjoy!
That's it for now - I've got a short, busy week then we head out to Los Angeles for Jacob's pre-school graduation - pretty exciting! We'll be back on Sunday along with Jexy and Jacob for the week. If you get a chance, go over and check out the progress at the Grillo Center Labyrinth - join the volunteer crew, bring us food and drink or just cheer us on!
Have a great week!
Love,
Susan
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Saturday Morning Walkers - June 9, 2007
Hi everyone!
Cass, Mary, Jackie, Christie, Terrie, Laila and I had a wonderful walk along the Bobolink Trail (Baseline just west of Cherryvale). It is a lovely tree-lined walk along the creek - pretty crowded with runners though.
We had coffee at the Brewing Market at Basemar Shopping Center.
I'm excited to remind you that we start work on the PERMANENT Grillo Center Labyrinth tomorrow!! As many of you know, this has been a dream of mine for almost 10 years. I'm quite preoccupied with this right now and I do apologize for any lack of attentiveness and focus for just about anything else. I will keep you updated on our progress and hopefully share some pictures as we go along.
Book Report:
Cass is reading the classic One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. .
Amazon.com
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
It is typical of Gabriel García Márquez that it will be many pages before his narrative circles back to the ice, and many chapters before the hero of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Buendía, stands before the firing squad. In between, he recounts such wonders as an entire town struck with insomnia, a woman who ascends to heaven while hanging laundry, and a suicide that defies the laws of physics:
A trickle of blood came out under the door, crossed the living room, went out into the street, continued on in a straight line across the uneven terraces, went down steps and climbed over curbs, passed along the Street of the Turks, turned a corner to the right and another to the left, made a right angle at the Buendía house, went in under the closed door, crossed through the parlor, hugging the walls so as not to stain the rugs, went on to the other living room, made a wide curve to avoid the dining-room table, went along the porch with the begonias, and passed without being seen under Amaranta's chair as she gave an arithmetic lesson to Aureliano José, and went through the pantry and came out in the kitchen, where Úrsula was getting ready to crack thirty-six eggs to make bread.
"Holy Mother of God!" Úrsula shouted.
The story follows 100 years in the life of Macondo, a village founded by José Arcadio Buendía and occupied by descendants all sporting variations on their progenitor's name: his sons, José Arcadio and Aureliano, and grandsons, Aureliano José, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo. Then there are the women--the two Úrsulas, a handful of Remedios, Fernanda, and Pilar--who struggle to remain grounded even as their menfolk build castles in the air. If it is possible for a novel to be highly comic and deeply tragic at the same time, then One Hundred Years of Solitude does the trick. Civil war rages throughout, hearts break, dreams shatter, and lives are lost, yet the effect is literary pentimento, with sorrow's outlines bleeding through the vibrant colors of García Márquez's magical realism. Consider, for example, the ghost of Prudencio Aguilar, whom José Arcadio Buendía has killed in a fight. So lonely is the man's shade that it haunts Buendía's house, searching anxiously for water with which to clean its wound. Buendía's wife, Úrsula, is so moved that "the next time she saw the dead man uncovering the pots on the stove she understood what he was looking for, and from then on she placed water jugs all about the house."
Another recommendation from Cass is One Big Damn Puzzler by John Harding.
From Publishers WeeklySet on a fictional South Pacific island inhabited by black bantam pigs and a clan of nearly-naked eccentrics, this excessively zany British import has a raging conscience and a muted heart. Managua, a one-legged tribesman (most of his fellow inhabitants are missing limbs), is obsessed with transcribing Hamlet into island pidgin and finds his unconventional paradise disturbed when William Hardt, a white American lawyer, arrives to arrange reparations for natives whose limbs have been blown off by the landmines left behind years ago by the American military. Hardt soon witnesses a staggering array of peculiarities: the "the shitting beach" where villagers empty their bowels every morning; transvestite men forced into dressing in drag by parents who wanted girls; vision quests brought on by consuming "kassa," a red hallucinogenic paste. A few years after his departure from the island, Hardt's successful mission has drastic consequences for the island. Journalist Harding (While the Sun Shines) is an equal opportunity and brutally sharp lampooner, though he sometimes misses (notably in his invocation of 9/11 as a parallel to corporate America's exploitation of the island). Folly, silliness and cultural sucker punches come at full speed in this ribald, imaginative farce. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Jackie read and recommended:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Amazon.comOne of Chinua Achebe's many achievements in his acclaimed first novel, Things Fall Apart, is his relentlessly unsentimental rendering of Nigerian tribal life before and after the coming of colonialism. First published in 1958, just two years before Nigeria declared independence from Great Britain, the book eschews the obvious temptation of depicting pre-colonial life as a kind of Eden. Instead, Achebe sketches a world in which violence, war, and suffering exist, but are balanced by a strong sense of tradition, ritual, and social coherence. His Ibo protagonist, Okonkwo, is a self-made man. The son of a charming ne'er-do-well, he has worked all his life to overcome his father's weakness and has arrived, finally, at great prosperity and even greater reputation among his fellows in the village of Umuofia. Okonkwo is a champion wrestler, a prosperous farmer, husband to three wives and father to several children. He is also a man who exhibits flaws well-known in Greek tragedy:
Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.
And yet Achebe manages to make this cruel man deeply sympathetic. He is fond of his eldest daughter, and also of Ikemefuna, a young boy sent from another village as compensation for the wrongful death of a young woman from Umuofia. He even begins to feel pride in his eldest son, in whom he has too often seen his own father. Unfortunately, a series of tragic events tests the mettle of this strong man, and it is his fear of weakness that ultimately undoes him.
Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents by Jane Isay
Guest Reviewer: Po Bronson
Po Bronson is the author of the brilliant bestseller What Should I Do with My Life?, the powerful and poignant Why Do I Love These People?, a hilarious novel called The Bombadiers, and The Nudist on the Late Shift, a collection of "true stories" about Silicon Valley.
When we tell family stories, we so often focus on the beginning and the end. The beginning is the two decades of our childhood and adolescence, and it's been the favorite narrative arc ever since Freud. What happens in your childhood does not stay in your childhood--it haunts the rest of your life. In the last decade, we've suddenly heard more stories of the end--narratives constructed around a parent's death, and often the year spent caring for that parent on their deathbed.
Because these are the conventional narratives, they often distract our attention from the many decades in between. We barely even have a terminology for these years--and the terms we employ sound like oxymorons: "Adult Children," "Parents of Adults." There's an old saying: you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. In the beginning this is true--we're in the care of our parents, like it or not. And in the ending this is also true--they're in our care, like it or not. But in the long middle, this isn't so true. The middle is a period where both child and parent can keep their distance, if they prefer. And often do, harboring resentment. We too often accept that this is just the way it is. "She's never going to change" is a common, fatalist refrain.
In Walking on Eggshells, Jane Isay shines a much-needed light on these years. With a graceful respect for the families she investigates, she tells their stories--how they lost their love, and how they regained it. Isay covers the many ways families develop resentment, and the many techniques they employed to make peace. She shows that small changes in routine can go a long way to restoring goodwill. But it's not a self-help book; it's more of a literary contemplation, and we learn more by inspiration than by emulation.
Though this book addresses the parents directly, I suspect it will be passed back and forth, between generations, in many a family. --Po Bronson
Website of the Week: I heard about this site on Satellite Sisters - http://www.arzurugs.org/ - ARZU, meaning hope in Dari, is a not-for-profit organization that aims to provide sustainable income to Afghan women by sourcing and selling the carpets they weave. It really is an inspiring project and worth reading about.
Podcast of the Week: Barnes and Noble's Meet the Writers - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writers_cds2.asp?PID=12289&z=y&cds2Pid=1302&linkid=726996 - great interviews with writers
Vocabulary Word of the Week - avuncular:
avuncular \uh-VUHNG-kyuh-luhr\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to an uncle.
2. Resembling an uncle, especially in kindness or indulgence.
Both uncle Frank and uncle Stephen Austen had made it a point of principle to be rigorously unsentimental in the discharge of their avuncular obligations.
-- David Nokes, Jane Austen: A Life
Thornton's reputation was that of a soft-hearted and avuncular veterinarian known for getting teary-eyed while listening to even slightly sentimental stories
-- Vicki Croke, "New leader of the MSPCA moves to tame budget woes", Boston Globe, September 20, 2003
A man with such a nice, avuncular personality would not blow up the world.
-- William Schneider, "The New Shape of American Politics", The Atlantic, January 1987
Avuncular comes from Latin avunculus, "maternal uncle."
Cooking and Food Report:
Only one meal worth reporting on this week and that was our Soprano night Italian dinner that we had tonight. The last show was disappointing but the dinner was great!
We started with Proscuitto and Melon - what a great combination! Next was one of our favorites - Caesar Salad - I do cheat on this - I use the whole romaine leaves and place them on a long rectangular plate, I shaved Parmigianno Reggiano on top along with croutons, then I drizzled on bottled Caesar dressing. Usually I use Paul Newmans but tonight I tried Whole Foods' brand - pretty good.
Dinner was Linguine with Red Clam Sauce from Food and Wine Magazine - http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/linguine-with-red-clam-sauce
Jack took care of dessert and he outdid himself - Blackout Cake from The Cheesecake Factory - this is an old favorite that I used to have as a little girl in New York. It is a rich dark chocolate layer cake with a pudding like filling. Blackout Cake originated at the Ebinger Bakery in Brooklyn and then was taken over by the more well-known Entenmans. I don't think they make it anymore. Here's a bit of the history and a recipe if you're ambitious and want to try it home - http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/1999/0609604201_2.html!
That's it for now - have a great week - come help us out at the Labyrinth!
Love,
Susan
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Saturday Morning Walkers - June 2, 2007
Hi everyone,
We had a fantastic walk yesterday, courtesy of Barb. She mapped out a whole new route in South Boulder - it is hard to imagine that our group of walkers hadn't covered every square mile of that area during our training for the 3-Day but this was new to all of us - Barb, Mary, Christie, Laila and me! Of course, we followed up with our monthly planning meeting and coffee date. I'll be leading next week (more on that later in the week), Christie is taking June 16, Jan is taking June 23 and Laila may take June 30.
BOOK REPORT
Laila: reported on two books this week -
One is Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald - this is a memoir about Ms Macdonald's time spent in India - Laila loved the book but has taken India off her list of "must -go-to" places!
From Publishers Weekly
Australian radio correspondent Macdonald's rollicking memoir recounts the two years she spent in India when her boyfriend, Jonathan, a TV news correspondent, was assigned to New Delhi. Leaving behind her own budding career, she spends her sabbatical traveling around the country, sampling India's "spiritual smorgasbord": attending a silent retreat for Vipassana meditation, seeking out a Sikh Ayurvedic "miracle healer," bathing in the Ganges with Hindus, studying Buddhism in Dharamsala, dabbling in Judaism with Israeli tourists, dipping into Parsi practices in Mumbai, visiting an ashram in Kerala, attending a Christian festival in Velangani and singing with Sufis. Paralleling Macdonald's spiritual journey is her evolution as a writer; she trades her sometimes glib remarks ("I've always thought it hilarious that Indian people chose the most boring, domesticated, compliant and stupidest animal on earth to adore") and 1980s song title references (e.g., "Karma Chameleon") for a more sensitive tone and a sober understanding that neither mocks nor romanticizes Indian culture and the Western visitors who embrace it. The book ends on a serious note, when September 11 shakes Macdonald's faith and Jonathan, now her husband, is sent to cover the war in Afghanistan. Macdonald is less compelling when writing about herself, her career and her relationship than when she is describing spiritual centers, New Delhi nightclubs and Bollywood cinema. Still, she brings a reporter's curiosity, interviewing skills and eye for detail to everything she encounters, and winningly captures "[t]he drama, the dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in playfulness and the embrace of living day by day..--he drama, the dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in playfulness and the embrace of living day by day."
Laila's other recommendation is Love Without End by Glenda Green
Book Description
For almost two thousand years devoted believers, mystics, innocents, and even non-believers have reported to have near-to-life, fully perceptual, visitations with Jesus Christ. In 1992 He appeared to Glenda Green and spoke with her daily for almost four months. The expressed purpose of their visit was to paint His portrait, but nothing in the history of her career as an artist or university professor had prepared her for the life transformation that was about to take place. During this time, they spoke…as friends do, of many wonderful things—both miraculous and practical. Nothing would ever be the same. Her penetrating report of this experience is sincere, unbiased, and free of religious contrivance. In many ways her perceptions provide a bridge to the new millennium.
Never before has language or a state of consciousness been present to examine the nature of such a miraculous occurrence as well as to develop the profound implications of it. Here is a brilliant glimpse of eternity, rich with practical applications to life. These messages are sparkling and direct with great contemporary relevance, Imparting in every way the impact of Divinity in communion with a thoughtful and well educated woman of our generation. Amazing answers are given to more than 300 penetrating questions.
Rae just finished The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud - she really liked this one and recommends it highly
From Publishers Weekly
Marina Thwaite, Danielle Minkoff and Julian Clarke were buddies at Brown, certain that they would soon do something important in the world. But as all near 30, Danielle is struggling as a TV documentary maker, and Julius is barely surviving financially as a freelance critic. Marina, the startlingly beautiful daughter of celebrated social activist, journalist and hob-nobber Murray Thwaite, is living with her parents on the Upper West Side, unable to finish her book"titled The Emperor's Children Have No Clothes (on how changing fashions in children's clothes mirror changes in society). Two arrivals upset the group stasis: Ludovic, a fiercely ambitious Aussie who woos Marina to gain entrée into society (meanwhile planning to destroy Murray's reputation), and Murray's nephew, Frederick "Bootie" Tubb, an immature, idealistic college dropout and autodidact who is determined to live the life of a New York intellectual. The group orbits around the post"September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement"and around Murray, who is, in a sense, the emperor. Messud, in her fourth novel, remains wickedly observant of pretensions"intellectual, sexual, class and gender. Her writing is so fluid, and her plot so cleverly constructed, that events seem inevitable, yet the narrative is ultimately surprising and masterful as a contemporary comedy of manners.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK - this is the site that Barb and I have used to map out our walks - it is really well done and fun to use - www.mapmyrun.com
PODCAST OF THE WEEK - Broadcasts of talks at the New York City 92nd Street Y - it is an amazingly dynamic place that draws highly regarded and diverse speakers and programs - http://www.92y.org/content/direct.asp?adsource=hpcolumn_direct -
Here's a brief history and description of the 92nd Y from their website -
http://www.92y.org/content/about_the_y.asp
VOCABULARY WORD OF THE WEEK offered by Rae -
atavism \AT-uh-viz-uhm\, noun:1. The reappearance in an organism of characteristics of some remote ancestor after several generations of absence.2. One that exhibits atavism; a throwback.3. Reversion to an earlier behavior, outlook, or approach.
Occasionally a modern whale is born having sprouted a leg or two -- a genetic throwback known as an atavism.-- Douglas H. Chadwick, "Evolution of whales", National Geographic, November 2001
Read avidly in Europe and the United States in the 1890s, The Female Offender argues that women criminals are atavisms or throwbacks to earlier evolutionary stages, marked by physical anomalies such as coarse features.-- Nicole Rafter, "Breaking the Codes: Female Criminality in Fin-de-Siecle Paris", The Women's Review of Books, October 1, 1997
COOKING AND FOOD REPORT
A few good recipes this week:
Panino di Proscuitto e Fontina from Giada di Laurentiis - great for a lunch or light dinner - I served it with tomato soup (out of a can!) but it would be good with a salad - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25162,00.html?rsrc=search
Chicken Parmigiana from Bobby Flay - (time-saver tip - ask the butcher in the meat department to flatten the boneless breasts for you - should be a free service and one less hassle for you!)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25162,00.html?rsrc=search - (another tip, I have been known to use a favorite jarred marinara sauce instead of making it myself - Rao's is a bit pricey but oh so good!
Balsamic Barbeque Sauce from Giada di Laurentiis - I made this to accompany the ribs below - great combination
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36958,00.html
Dry Rub Ribs - Memphis Style from Dave Lieberman
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36115,00.html?rsrc=search
Have a great week!
Love,
Susan
We had a fantastic walk yesterday, courtesy of Barb. She mapped out a whole new route in South Boulder - it is hard to imagine that our group of walkers hadn't covered every square mile of that area during our training for the 3-Day but this was new to all of us - Barb, Mary, Christie, Laila and me! Of course, we followed up with our monthly planning meeting and coffee date. I'll be leading next week (more on that later in the week), Christie is taking June 16, Jan is taking June 23 and Laila may take June 30.
BOOK REPORT
Laila: reported on two books this week -
One is Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald - this is a memoir about Ms Macdonald's time spent in India - Laila loved the book but has taken India off her list of "must -go-to" places!
From Publishers Weekly
Australian radio correspondent Macdonald's rollicking memoir recounts the two years she spent in India when her boyfriend, Jonathan, a TV news correspondent, was assigned to New Delhi. Leaving behind her own budding career, she spends her sabbatical traveling around the country, sampling India's "spiritual smorgasbord": attending a silent retreat for Vipassana meditation, seeking out a Sikh Ayurvedic "miracle healer," bathing in the Ganges with Hindus, studying Buddhism in Dharamsala, dabbling in Judaism with Israeli tourists, dipping into Parsi practices in Mumbai, visiting an ashram in Kerala, attending a Christian festival in Velangani and singing with Sufis. Paralleling Macdonald's spiritual journey is her evolution as a writer; she trades her sometimes glib remarks ("I've always thought it hilarious that Indian people chose the most boring, domesticated, compliant and stupidest animal on earth to adore") and 1980s song title references (e.g., "Karma Chameleon") for a more sensitive tone and a sober understanding that neither mocks nor romanticizes Indian culture and the Western visitors who embrace it. The book ends on a serious note, when September 11 shakes Macdonald's faith and Jonathan, now her husband, is sent to cover the war in Afghanistan. Macdonald is less compelling when writing about herself, her career and her relationship than when she is describing spiritual centers, New Delhi nightclubs and Bollywood cinema. Still, she brings a reporter's curiosity, interviewing skills and eye for detail to everything she encounters, and winningly captures "[t]he drama, the dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in playfulness and the embrace of living day by day..--he drama, the dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in playfulness and the embrace of living day by day."
Laila's other recommendation is Love Without End by Glenda Green
Book Description
For almost two thousand years devoted believers, mystics, innocents, and even non-believers have reported to have near-to-life, fully perceptual, visitations with Jesus Christ. In 1992 He appeared to Glenda Green and spoke with her daily for almost four months. The expressed purpose of their visit was to paint His portrait, but nothing in the history of her career as an artist or university professor had prepared her for the life transformation that was about to take place. During this time, they spoke…as friends do, of many wonderful things—both miraculous and practical. Nothing would ever be the same. Her penetrating report of this experience is sincere, unbiased, and free of religious contrivance. In many ways her perceptions provide a bridge to the new millennium.
Never before has language or a state of consciousness been present to examine the nature of such a miraculous occurrence as well as to develop the profound implications of it. Here is a brilliant glimpse of eternity, rich with practical applications to life. These messages are sparkling and direct with great contemporary relevance, Imparting in every way the impact of Divinity in communion with a thoughtful and well educated woman of our generation. Amazing answers are given to more than 300 penetrating questions.
Rae just finished The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud - she really liked this one and recommends it highly
From Publishers Weekly
Marina Thwaite, Danielle Minkoff and Julian Clarke were buddies at Brown, certain that they would soon do something important in the world. But as all near 30, Danielle is struggling as a TV documentary maker, and Julius is barely surviving financially as a freelance critic. Marina, the startlingly beautiful daughter of celebrated social activist, journalist and hob-nobber Murray Thwaite, is living with her parents on the Upper West Side, unable to finish her book"titled The Emperor's Children Have No Clothes (on how changing fashions in children's clothes mirror changes in society). Two arrivals upset the group stasis: Ludovic, a fiercely ambitious Aussie who woos Marina to gain entrée into society (meanwhile planning to destroy Murray's reputation), and Murray's nephew, Frederick "Bootie" Tubb, an immature, idealistic college dropout and autodidact who is determined to live the life of a New York intellectual. The group orbits around the post"September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement"and around Murray, who is, in a sense, the emperor. Messud, in her fourth novel, remains wickedly observant of pretensions"intellectual, sexual, class and gender. Her writing is so fluid, and her plot so cleverly constructed, that events seem inevitable, yet the narrative is ultimately surprising and masterful as a contemporary comedy of manners.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK - this is the site that Barb and I have used to map out our walks - it is really well done and fun to use - www.mapmyrun.com
PODCAST OF THE WEEK - Broadcasts of talks at the New York City 92nd Street Y - it is an amazingly dynamic place that draws highly regarded and diverse speakers and programs - http://www.92y.org/content/direct.asp?adsource=hpcolumn_direct -
Here's a brief history and description of the 92nd Y from their website -
http://www.92y.org/content/about_the_y.asp
VOCABULARY WORD OF THE WEEK offered by Rae -
atavism \AT-uh-viz-uhm\, noun:1. The reappearance in an organism of characteristics of some remote ancestor after several generations of absence.2. One that exhibits atavism; a throwback.3. Reversion to an earlier behavior, outlook, or approach.
Occasionally a modern whale is born having sprouted a leg or two -- a genetic throwback known as an atavism.-- Douglas H. Chadwick, "Evolution of whales", National Geographic, November 2001
Read avidly in Europe and the United States in the 1890s, The Female Offender argues that women criminals are atavisms or throwbacks to earlier evolutionary stages, marked by physical anomalies such as coarse features.-- Nicole Rafter, "Breaking the Codes: Female Criminality in Fin-de-Siecle Paris", The Women's Review of Books, October 1, 1997
COOKING AND FOOD REPORT
A few good recipes this week:
Panino di Proscuitto e Fontina from Giada di Laurentiis - great for a lunch or light dinner - I served it with tomato soup (out of a can!) but it would be good with a salad - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25162,00.html?rsrc=search
Chicken Parmigiana from Bobby Flay - (time-saver tip - ask the butcher in the meat department to flatten the boneless breasts for you - should be a free service and one less hassle for you!)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25162,00.html?rsrc=search - (another tip, I have been known to use a favorite jarred marinara sauce instead of making it myself - Rao's is a bit pricey but oh so good!
Balsamic Barbeque Sauce from Giada di Laurentiis - I made this to accompany the ribs below - great combination
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36958,00.html
Dry Rub Ribs - Memphis Style from Dave Lieberman
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36115,00.html?rsrc=search
Have a great week!
Love,
Susan
Saturday Morning Walkers - May 26, 2007
Hi everyone!
Well, it has been an enormously successful Memorial Day Weekend for the Grillo Center Labyrinth at the Boulder Creek Festival. We had 3 almost perfect weather days and "throngs" of incredibly enthusiastic visitors to the Labyrinth. Great thanks to those of you who "hung out" there with me - I am truly grateful. We do plan to start construction very soon and I will keep you posted on our progress. I know that Jan, Barb, Mary and Christie did a walk on Saturday around the Creek, Farmer's Market, and Festival. Lots going on!
Book Report:
Susan is almost done with Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope - I'm sold! He is just so smart, thoughtful and filled with integrity. I'm not sure how he'll do but he's got my support!
Amazon.comBarack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.
Jan is reading a Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda by Alison Des Forges.
Most extensive,authoritative account of this genocide. This is the most extensive and authoritative account of the Rwandan genocide yet published. Drawing from Rwandan government documents and other official and unofficial sources, the principal author, Alison Des Forges, and her collaborators, have done a remarkable job pulling together the complex and disparate strands of this story. For interpretation and discussion of the meaning of the Rwandan genocide - which this volume largely eschews - interested readers are referred to the works of such expert scholars as Rene Lemarchand, Gerard Prunier, Catharine Newbury, and Jean-Pierre Chretien.
Website of the Week - http://booklust.wetpaint.com/?t=anon - Nancy Pearl's Community for Book Lovers
Podcast of the Week - http://www.authorsontourlive.com/ - from Denver's Tattered Cover
Vocabulary Word of the Week - submitted by Barb - "quotidian" -
quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\, adjective:1. Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever.2. Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.
Erasmus thought More's career as a lawyer was a waste of a fine mind, but it was precisely the human insights More derived from his life in the quotidian world that gave him a moral depth Erasmus lacked.-- "More man than saint", Irish Times, April 4, 1998
She also had a sense of fun that was often drummed out under the dull, quotidian beats of suburban life.-- Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy
Quotidian is from Latin quotidianus, from quotidie, "daily," from quotus, "how many, as many, so many" + dies, "day."
Cooking and Food Report: Not much cooking at home this weekend but did make some good "stuff" earlier in the week:
Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette from Giada DeLaurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36759,00.html?rsrc=search
Penne with Beef and Arugula from Giada DeLaurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_33971,00.html
Italian Meatloaf from Jan - source unknown
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper (I recommend red)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup coarse dried bread crumbs, preferably sourdough or Italian (I used Panko Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs)
Optional: 2 Tablespoons dry red wine (not optional for me!)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf panIn a large bowl, combine beef, sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, bread crumbs, optional wine, egg, Worcestershire, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, Parmesan and 1/2 cup each tomato sauce and mozzarella. Spoon into prepared pan and gently pack down. Bake 45 minutes. Pour off drippings.
Spread remaining tomato sauce on top of the loaf and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake until an internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. The cheese should be melted and the sauce should be bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes, pour off drippings , and remove from pan before slicing.
Jack and I had a great dinner at the Lazy Dog Saloon at the corner of Pearl and 14th (across from the 14th Street Grill) - outstanding ribs and the corn fritters were heavenly! - http://www.thelazydog.com/
Looks like we had a pretty "meat-filled" repertoire - just the way I like it!
Hope you all had a terrific long weekend - have a great week!
Love,
Susan
Well, it has been an enormously successful Memorial Day Weekend for the Grillo Center Labyrinth at the Boulder Creek Festival. We had 3 almost perfect weather days and "throngs" of incredibly enthusiastic visitors to the Labyrinth. Great thanks to those of you who "hung out" there with me - I am truly grateful. We do plan to start construction very soon and I will keep you posted on our progress. I know that Jan, Barb, Mary and Christie did a walk on Saturday around the Creek, Farmer's Market, and Festival. Lots going on!
Book Report:
Susan is almost done with Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope - I'm sold! He is just so smart, thoughtful and filled with integrity. I'm not sure how he'll do but he's got my support!
Amazon.comBarack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.
Jan is reading a Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda by Alison Des Forges.
Most extensive,authoritative account of this genocide. This is the most extensive and authoritative account of the Rwandan genocide yet published. Drawing from Rwandan government documents and other official and unofficial sources, the principal author, Alison Des Forges, and her collaborators, have done a remarkable job pulling together the complex and disparate strands of this story. For interpretation and discussion of the meaning of the Rwandan genocide - which this volume largely eschews - interested readers are referred to the works of such expert scholars as Rene Lemarchand, Gerard Prunier, Catharine Newbury, and Jean-Pierre Chretien.
Website of the Week - http://booklust.wetpaint.com/?t=anon - Nancy Pearl's Community for Book Lovers
Podcast of the Week - http://www.authorsontourlive.com/ - from Denver's Tattered Cover
Vocabulary Word of the Week - submitted by Barb - "quotidian" -
quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\, adjective:1. Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever.2. Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.
Erasmus thought More's career as a lawyer was a waste of a fine mind, but it was precisely the human insights More derived from his life in the quotidian world that gave him a moral depth Erasmus lacked.-- "More man than saint", Irish Times, April 4, 1998
She also had a sense of fun that was often drummed out under the dull, quotidian beats of suburban life.-- Meg Wolitzer, Surrender, Dorothy
Quotidian is from Latin quotidianus, from quotidie, "daily," from quotus, "how many, as many, so many" + dies, "day."
Cooking and Food Report: Not much cooking at home this weekend but did make some good "stuff" earlier in the week:
Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette from Giada DeLaurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36759,00.html?rsrc=search
Penne with Beef and Arugula from Giada DeLaurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_33971,00.html
Italian Meatloaf from Jan - source unknown
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper (I recommend red)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup coarse dried bread crumbs, preferably sourdough or Italian (I used Panko Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs)
Optional: 2 Tablespoons dry red wine (not optional for me!)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf panIn a large bowl, combine beef, sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, bread crumbs, optional wine, egg, Worcestershire, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, Parmesan and 1/2 cup each tomato sauce and mozzarella. Spoon into prepared pan and gently pack down. Bake 45 minutes. Pour off drippings.
Spread remaining tomato sauce on top of the loaf and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake until an internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. The cheese should be melted and the sauce should be bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes, pour off drippings , and remove from pan before slicing.
Jack and I had a great dinner at the Lazy Dog Saloon at the corner of Pearl and 14th (across from the 14th Street Grill) - outstanding ribs and the corn fritters were heavenly! - http://www.thelazydog.com/
Looks like we had a pretty "meat-filled" repertoire - just the way I like it!
Hope you all had a terrific long weekend - have a great week!
Love,
Susan
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