Saturday Morning Walkers - June 8, 2008

Hi everyone,

Barb took Mary, Christie, Jan, Laila, Andrea and I on a great walk through South Boulder - we then celebrated with breakfast at the Southside Walnut Cafe at Table Mesa. It was a fine morning!

Book Report:

Mary has a book to share - she said that there was some worthwhile info and it was entertaining - I am a bit skeptical about this title but here goes.....Make Every Man Want You by Marie Forleo.

Product Description
Did you know that most women have NO IDEA that many of their normal and traditional ways of relating damage their ability to have satisfying relationships with men - and with themselves? In this entertaining and enlivening guide, you'll discover how to break free from old conditioning, dissolve habits that wreak havoc on relationship bliss, and learn how to unleash your authentic irresistibility once and for all. * If you're not meeting the men you want, this book will show you why and what you can do to turn things around right now. * If you're stuck in bad relationship patterns and want to stop the insanity, this book will set you straight. * If you're already in a relationship but can't seem to hold his interest, this book will reveal secrets to keep him wanting more, more, more!

About the Author
Marie Forleo is a world-renowned life coach and fitness personality. She has worked with Self Magazine, Prevention, MTV, VH1, Crunch Fitness and has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, The Today Show, Fox News and on Forbes.com. Marie is a Nike Sponsored Athlete and Master Trainer. Her coaching clients include CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists and executives around the world who are interested in having excellence and well-being in mind, body and soul.

I finally finished Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. I was pretty enthusiastic for the first half of the book but then it kind of stalled for me. I got a bit bogged down with it and lost interest by the end. I do think that it is worth reading - there is much to be learned from the mistakes that our Puritan ancestors made. We're pretty slow learners!

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In the early 17th century, a small group of devout English Christians fled their villages to escape persecution, going first to Holland, then making the now infamous 10-week voyage to the New World. Rather than arriving in the summer months as planned, they landed in November, low on supplies. Luckily, they were met by the Wampanoag Indians and their wizened chief, Massasoit. In economical, well-paced prose, Philbrick masterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony from certain destruction. Indeed, there was a first Thanksgiving, the author notes, and for over 50 years the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims lived in peace, becoming increasingly interdependent. But in 1675, 56 years after the colonists' landing, Massasoit's heir, Philip, launched a confusing war on the English that, over 14 horrifying months, claimed 5,000 lives, a huge percentage of the colonies' population. Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick's account brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders, including William Bradford, Benjamin Church and the bellicose, dwarfish Miles Standish, vividly to life. More importantly, he brings into focus a gruesome period in early American history. For Philbrick, this is yet another award-worthy story of survival.

Website of the Week: another blog this week - Janet Tyrell-Eads and her three sons have embarked on their journey to the East Coast to enhance the boys' American history studies. Richard is joining them at points along the way but mostly it is Janet and the boys for the entire summer. They left last Sunday and there are a few posts there already. http://tyrrelltrips.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-road.html

Podcast of the Week: A specific podcast from This American Life on NPR - The Prosecutor - pretty unsettling story of our political climate but an important story.
"A lawyer in the Justice Department gets the professional opportunity of a lifetime: to be the lead prosecutor in one of the first high-profile terrorist cases since 9/11. But things go badly for him. His convictions get overturned, he loses his job, and he ends up on trial himself, in federal court. His accusers? His former colleagues at the Justice department."

Vocabulary Word of the Week: from the winner of the National Spelling Bee 2008, Sameer Mishra - guerdonAlternative spellings
gerdon (obsolete)

[edit] Etymology
From Old French guerdon, from Proto-Romance and mediaeval Latin widerdonum, from West Germanic ( > Old English wiþerlēan), literally ‘again-payment’, with the second element assimilated to Latin donum ‘gift’.


[edit] Pronunciation
IPA: /ˈgɜ:dən/

Noun
Singular
guerdon
Plural
guerdons


guerdon (plural guerdons)

(now literary) A reward, prize or recompense for a service; an accolade.
Late 14th century: — Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Franklin's Prologue and Tale", The Canterbury Tales
My gerdon is but bresting of myn herte.
1819: Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
"That will I do blithely," replied the Pilgrim, "and without guerdon; my oath, for a time, prohibits me from touching gold."

Verb
Infinitive
to guerdon
Third person singular
guerdons
Simple past
guerdoned
Past participle
guerdoned
Present participle
guerdoning


to guerdon (third-person singular simple present guerdons, present participle guerdoning, simple past and past participle guerdoned)

(transitive) To give such a reward to.

Usage notes
Guerdon was the winning word at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guerdon"


Cooking and Dining Report:

Several winning recipes from my kitchen this week:

Penne with Tomatoes, Artichokes and Black Olives from Fine Cooking Magazine - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/penne-tomatoes-artichokes-black-olives.aspx - a nice light pasta dish for a warm summer evening.

Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette from Epicurious.com - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/FLANK-STEAK-WITH-CRISPY-POLENTA-AND-ROASTED-SHALLOT-VINAIGRETTE-101713

Orrchiette with Fennel, Sausage and Tomatoes from Fine Cooking Magazine - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/quick-orcchiette-pasta-fennel-sausage.aspx?ac=fp

Blackberry Cornmeal Cake - http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2006/08/blackberry-cornmeal-cake.html


Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan