Saturday Morning Walkers - August 4, 2007

Hi everyone!

Sorry I missed the walk this morning but I did catch up with Barb, Cass and Mary for coffee at Caffe Sole. From there, I headed down to Lakewood for a meeting with a group of women who have created a referral agency for doulas and postpartum doulas, called With Women http://www.with-women.com/. It was definitely worthwhile and will certainly pursue that as a way of connnecting with clients.

Book Report: it is a short one this week. I just finished Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union which Jack highly recommended a couple of weeks ago. It was slow getting into it for me, a bit confusing, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It definitely became a "page-turning" mystery and detective story with the most interesting background of a fictional Jewish district in Alaska.

I'm just beginning Ireland by Frank Delaney. He's one of our presenters for the upcoming Literary Sojourn in October and I think this will be a wonderful read.

From Publishers Weekly
BBC reporter Delaney's fictionalized history of his native country, an Irish bestseller, is a sprawling, riveting read, a book of stories melding into a novel wrapped up in an Irish history text. In 1951, when Ronan O'Mara is nine, he meets the aging itinerant Storyteller, who emerges out a "silver veil" of Irish mist, hoping to trade a yarn for a hot meal. Welcomed inside, the Storyteller lights his pipe and begins, telling of the architect of Newgrange, who built "a marvelous, immortal structure... before Stonehenge in England, before the pyramids of Egypt," and the dentally challenged King Conor of Ulster, who tried, and failed, to outsmart his wife. The stories utterly captivate the young Ronan ("This is the best thing that ever, ever happened"), and they'll draw readers in, too, with their warriors and kings, drinkers and devils, all rendered cleanly and without undue sentimentality. When Ronan's mother banishes the Storyteller for telling a blasphemous tale, Ronan vows to find him. He also becomes fascinated by Irish myth and legend, and, as the years pass, he discovers his own gift for storytelling. Eventually, he sets off, traversing Ireland on foot to find his mentor. Past and present weave together as Delaney entwines the lives of the Storyteller and Ronan in this rich and satisfying book.

Rae read and recommends Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
In this ambitious fourth novel from Whitbread winner Atkinson (Behind the Scenes at the Museum), private detective Jackson Brodie—ex-cop, ex-husband and weekend dad—takes on three cases involving past crimes that occurred in and around London. The first case introduces two middle-aged sisters who, after the death of their vile, distant father, look again into the disappearance of their beloved sister Olivia, last seen at three years old, while they were camping under the stars during an oppressive heat wave. A retired lawyer who lives only on the fumes of possible justice next enlists Jackson's aid in solving the brutal killing of his grown daughter 10 years earlier. In the third dog-eared case file, the sibling of an infamous ax-bludgeoner seeks a reunion with her niece, who as a baby was a witness to murder. Jackson's reluctant persistence heats up these cold cases and by happenstance leads him to reassess his own painful history. The humility of the extraordinary, unabashed characters is skillfully revealed with humor and surprise. Atkinson contrasts the inevitable results of family dysfunction with random fate, gracefully weaving the three stories into a denouement that taps into collective wishful thinking and suggests that warmth and safety may be found in the aftermath of blood and abandonment. Atkinson's meaty, satisfying prose will attract many eager readers.

Website of the Week - found by Rae - www.results.org - a website of a grassroots lobbying organization - "RESULTS: creating the public and political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty" - Rae just joined the local group in Washington, D.C - we all need to be empowered to make real change in our own communities!

Podcast of the Week - Seder on Sunday - http://www.am1090seattle.com/pages/84914.php?contentType=34&contentId=1199 - from Seattle's progressive radio - until recently, Sam Seder co-hosted a show on Air America with Janeane Garafalo.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - from Mandy - I came across this word in a Salon.com letter to the editor. I had never heard it before--thought the word origin was particularly
interesting:

Shibboleth [shib-uh-lith, -leth]

–noun

1. a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that

distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.

2. a slogan; catchword.

3. a common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

[Origin: < Heb shibboleth lit., freshet, a word used by the Gileadites as a test to detect the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the sound sh (Judges 12:4–6)]



Cooking and Food Report: I did some cooking this week - here goes!

Spaghetti all Amatriciana from Michael Chiarello of the Food Network - I used whole wheat spaghetti which works real well with this hearty sauce.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35291,00.html


Grilled Steak Salad with Green Beans and Blue Cheese - from Epicurious.com by way of the Culinary School of the Rockies - a great source of recipes - check them out online - www.culinaryschoolrockies.com

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105157 - I cut this in 1/2 for the two of us and used one strip steak (about 3/4 lb) which I sliced very thin. I also used just a tiny bit of blue cheese - a little goes a long way.


Dry Rub Ribs by Dave Leiberman of the Food Network and Balsamic Barbecue Sauce from Giada de Laurentiis - I wrote these up several weeks ago but they deserve another mention. They are so easy to do and absolutely yummy - the ribs cook very slowly in the oven so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get them in before you're ready to eat.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36115,00.html?rsrc=search

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36958,00.html


A Great Baby Shower Gift Idea - if you know anyone in your life ( a friend, co-worker, relative) that is expecting a baby and you have a shower gift to get, consider giving the services of a postpartum doula. It is a great idea for several friends or relatives to share the cost.


That's it for this week - I leave on Wednesday for Los Angeles. I'm joining Jex, Joe and Jacob for a 3 night cruise out of LA with Joe's extended family. Joe's mom, Barbara, graciously invited me along for this family reunion and I am really looking forward to it. It will be my first cruise and of course, my cabinmate is the one and only Jacob Milo Rowland! I return on Tuesday the 14th - my blog email may be late or non-existent next week - we'll see how things go!

Love,
Susan