Grillo Center Labyrinth

Grillo Center Labyrinth
Meander and Meet....designed by George Peters and Melanie Walker of Airworks For more information contact Susan at susan@well.com

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Saturday Morning Walkers - December 16, 2007

Hi everyone,

It is starting to feel a bit like last winter with these back to back snowfalls - not nearly as extreme, but enough to keep the Saturday Morning Walkers inside drinking coffee. Yesterday, Christie, Andrea, Laila, Mary, Barb, Jan and I stayed warm at the Dragonfly Cafe in Louisville.

Book Report:

Andrea recommends John Grisham's first non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - sounds like a chilling story of an innocent man wrongly convicted of a crime.
Amazon.com
John Grisham tackles nonfiction for the first time with The Innocent Man, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town (that reads like one of his own bestselling novels). The Innocent Man chronicles the story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man was sent to death row. Grisham's first work of nonfiction is shocking, disturbing, and enthralling--a must read for fiction and nonfiction fans. We had the opportunity to talk with John Grisham about the case and the book, read his responses below. --Daphne Durham

Andrea's son Scott read and recommends Cormac McCarthy's novel, The Road.
From Publishers Weekly
McCarthy's latest novel, a frightening apocalyptic vision, is narrated by a nameless man, one of the few survivors of an unspecified civilization-ending catastrophe. He and his young son are trekking along a treacherous highway, starving and freezing, trying to avoid roving cannibal armies. The tale, and their lives, are saved from teetering over the edge of bleakness thanks to the man's fierce belief that they are "the good guys" who are preserving the light of humanity. In this stark, effective production, Stechschulte gives the father an appropriately harsh, weary voice that sways little from its numbed register except to urge on the weakening boy or soothe his fears after an encounter with barbarians. When they uncover some vestige of the former world, the man recalls its vanished wonder with an aching nostalgia that makes the listener's heart swell. Stechschulte portrays the son with a mournful, slightly breathy tone that emphasizes the child's whininess, making him much less sympathetic than his resourceful father. With no music or effects interrupting Stechschulte's carefully measured pace and gruff, straightforward delivery, McCarthy's darkly poetic prose comes alive in a way that will transfix listeners.

Website of the Week: www.Shelfari.com - this is another site to catalog books you've read and share them with others in the online community. It is similar to www.librarything.com which I use and really like. Check them both out.

Podcast of the Week: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4985903 - NPR's Morning Edition's Holiday Story of the Day

Vocabulary Word of the Week - apocalyptic
Main Entry:
apoc·a·lyp·tic
Pronunciation:
\ə-ˌpä-kə-ˈlip-tik\
Variant(s):
also apoc·a·lyp·ti·cal \-ti-kəl\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1663
1 : of, relating to, or resembling an apocalypse 2 : forecasting the ultimate destiny of the world : prophetic 3 : foreboding imminent disaster or final doom : terrible 4 : wildly unrestrained : grandiose 5 : ultimately decisive : climactic
— apoc·a·lyp·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Cooking and Dining Report:

Restaurant recommendation from Barb - the new Sobo restaurant in the Table Mesa Shopping Center (in the strip facing Broadway) - hip and trendy has arrived in South Boulder!
No website yet but here's a brief description that I found - "SoBo Bistro opened recently in South Boulder's Table Mesa Shopping Center. They use organic, sustainable and local ingredients where possible to create new American dishes. The official address is 657 South Broadway, but that's not as important as knowing which shopping center it is in; 303-494-SOBO.'

Restaurant recommendation from Jack and Susan - in Littleton, Cafe Terracotta, a lovely cafe that we went to this morning with Mae (Jack's mom) for breakfast - it is a very warm and charming place with a great menu - they do serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. http://restauranteur.com/cafeterracottalittletoncom/

Some recipes to share - I made this recipe from Pino Luongo and Mark Stausman, Fresh Pasta with Meatballs and Mushrooms - so tasty and just a bit different from the usual spaghetti and meatballs. Note that I didn't use the pasta they suggest, I used store-bought spaghetti and I also used panko breadcrumbs. http://pinoluongo.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/fresh-pasta-with-meatballs-and-mushrooms/

Libby and David had a wonderful birthday dinner party last night - here are a few of the yummy dishes she served to her friends:

Emeril Lagasse's Lobster Roll - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_20191,00.html
Ina Garten's Sagaponack Corn Pudding - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_23371,00.html - Libby described this as decadent and when you see the list of ingredients, I'm sure you'll agree!
Spinach Balls with Mustard Sauce - a Wadle family favorite - I found the original recipe at this site - http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,191,157163-243193,00.html

A Random Tip! If you still have packages to mail out, a couple of suggestions to avoid the long lines at the post office or the mail box stores - there's a postal sub-station at the Ace Hardware Store at the BaseMar Shopping Center at Baseline and Broadway - the store is usually empty!
Also, there are a couple of obscure mailbox stores - I go to one at the Lucky's shopping center at Quince and Broadway - they're just never crowded.
For those of you who live outside of Boulder, I'm sure there must similar places in your neighborhood.

We're pretty excited about heading out to L.A. this coming Thursday to spend Christmas with Jexy, Joe and Jacob. We'll also be with Joe's mom, Barbara and her husband, Morrie for Christmas Day.
I'll try to check in with you all next week but not sure that will happen.

Enjoy the holiday - stay healthy and safe!

Love,
Susan

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