Lucky Me

I've been the lucky winner of a couple of contests lately, and the lucky recipient of a couple of freebies as well. And I have been remiss in writing about them here, but I can fix that!

First up: I'm a member of the Pets Blogroll (see the widget in the right sidebar), a sister community of the Foodie Blogroll, in which I also participate. As a member, I get to participate in giveaways, and I actually won! I'm very excited to read One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (check out her Facebook fan page here and find out more about their promotion and how you and your good dog can participate). I'm a sucker for a good pet story, cried my eyes out when I read Marley and Me, and I know I'll love this one: 

"Fans of Marley and Me will find a new dog to cheer for in Wilson's (Beauty) insightful heart-tugger about Adam March, a Boston man recovering from the shame of a foolish crime, and Chance, a scrappy pit bull mix trying to escape the illegal dogfight circuit." 

From Publishers Weekly

I also won this fantastic potato masher from OXO. They are having a contest to celebrate their 20th anniversary, where they post a close-up shot of one product of the year every week. If you guess right, you might win that product. Get more information at A closer look at OXO. I really like OXO products and used this masher to make some delicious mashed sweet potatoes. I've been using my food processor for jobs like this for a while, but the masher really makes everything fluffy and light, not gluey and dense.

I love books! I signed up BookSneeze (also on my right sidebar), a site that sends bloggers free books to review. I chose A Century Turns by William J. Bennett, because I'm severely lacking in my knowledge of American history. This book covers America from 1988 through 2008, and I have greatly enjoyed reading it, though I've barely cracked the cover, since this is the time period that covers my childhood. I look forward to reading about more of our recent history; as Ronald Reagan is quoted as saying in the book: "... if we forget what we have done, we will cease to be who we are" (p.18). The book is very accessible and engaging, and I believe one of Bennett's earlier books has been used in history classes in schools.

I was also sent a package of dried mushroom samples from Marx Foods, as a promotion through the Foodie Blogroll. And boy were they generous! I have, clockwise from the top left: Chanterelles, Black Trumpet, Porcini, Morel, Matsutake, and Lobster mushrooms to try. They also sent me Szhecuan Buttons, but I didn't see the note on the pack that they had to be refrigerated and they spoiled. I'm bummed by this since I was really looking forward to trying these strange little things (sorry, Marx Foods!), but at least I still have my mushrooms. I've been putting some time into thinking about what I want to use this bounty in since I haven't worked with dried mushrooms before, and I'm foreseeing risotto, homemade ravioli, perhaps some sort of luscious boozy sauce... I'm hoping to start experimenting this weekend!

Lori, this one's for you. This guy always makes me feel like a winner. He's shoved his head between my knees while I'm sitting here, so he can put his favorite ball in my lap so that I'll throw it for him. I've got some wrinkles to smoosh now.

I've been reading lately...

But those are just a teaser...

What I really want to talk about is a book I finished a few days ago, Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon. Check out her blog - she's a rocking funny writer, which I totally did not expect since I read the book without researching the author at all. I will definitely be adding her to my author list.


"Godmother" is about a lonely old woman, Lil, who works in a dusty Manhattan book store. But there's more to her than what you can see. Namely, wings. Giant, white, gorgeous, feathery wings that she keeps bound on her back and hidden under her clothing during the day. She possesses this magnificent pair of wings because she's actually a fairy godmother; in fact, she's the fairy godmother, responsible for sending Cinderella to the ball and her fate. However, that's not exactly what happened, hundreds of years ago. Things didn't quite go as the fairy tales would have us believe. Something went quite wrong.

Lil succumbed to human emotions and desire, and fell in love with the prince. Due to certain circumstances, she went to the ball in Cinderella's place, and for this she was banished from her magical world. A long time later, in the little book store, Lil meets the beautiful and vibrant Veronica. She is dark and light, a girl with her own tragedy and a passion for life, and so much like the other fair beauty from so long ago. Lil suddenly understands that she has been given a second chance: if she can unite Veronica with her own Prince Charming, she will be able to return to her dearly missed fairy world and friends, and suffer no more.

"Tous mes anciens amours vont me revenir..."

* * *

This book is dark and beautiful, magical and gritty. I found myself yearning as Lil yearned, falling in love with the sweet and animated Veronica, wanting Lil to succeed and return home. Without giving too much away, I finished the book feeling both joyous and broken.

After reading this and Gregory Maguire's Wicked series, I am definitely a fan of the re-imagined fairy tale. Taking a different perspective than the usually Disney-fied, saccharin storylines we all know is very refreshing. And reading the original Grimm tales are eye-opening (I haven't read the original Wizard of Oz); they are brutal and not often ending happily. Its like looking in mirror and only noticing, when you get right up close to the glass, the tarnish and spots that aging has left behind; from a few feet away the reflection is perfect, but up close it becomes wavy and uncertain. Maguire has done a few other books in this vein, and Turgeon is working on a little mermaid story; I'm very much looking forward to reading more. According to Turgeon's website, "Godmother" has been optioned for a film... I will definitely watch it, and I will most certainly cry. I can't wait!

* * *

So, back to my teaser earlier. I've been debating whether or not to write about this, but since I have very few readers, I'll go ahead and do it.


I do not remember how, but I'm part of a program from Random House Publishers call Read it Forward. Every month or so I receive an email about new releases and reviews, with the option to request an advance copy of soon-to-be-released books. So far I've received and read Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram (wow, its incredible and heartbreaking!) and "Godmother." Last week in the mail I received Something Missing by Matthew Dicks and Where the River Ends by Charles Martin, apparently a guaranteed tear-jerker since it came with its own pack of tissues. Due to some current circumstances, I'm not really up for a sob-fest right now, so I started "Something Missing" today and already have high hopes for this novel about a "... career criminal with OCD tendencies..."

Check out Read it Forward, but don't take my books! Just kidding... kinda. :)

A Long Weekend

It was very nice to have a long weekend, though we didn't do much. Valentines Day we went to Costco (romantic!) and Chris attempted a lemon meringue pie since I cannot for the life of me make a good one any more. His failed, and I am secretly gratified and validated that its not me that is the problem. I don't know if its the recipe either, since I've tried a couple. I need to do some research and find a good contender. In the meantime, I've picked up a box of Jello Lemon Pie filling (no gelatin!) to try out. Or we can just admit defeat and resign ourselves to picking up our pies at Nob Hill Foods or Marie Callendar's.

Sunday was Christopher's 31st birthday (Happy Birthday!). He spent the day gaming with his friends while I made him the requested bechamel lasagna and garlic bread, and bought him a pie from the store since he said it would be a great present if I didn't attempt to make one. Monday Chris took me to lunch at Pleasanton House Thai Cuisine. It was spicy and good, and Chris really liked the hot Thai tea so I need to find a source to have some at home. We went to the pet store to get toys and treats for the dogs, because they are spoiled. We took the dogs to the park since they hadn't been outside in a quite a while due to all the rain. And then we relaxed at home. A Good Day.

Its been raining a lot lately, so to perk up our spirits a bit I made Mai Tais and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. Tropical!


I used a recipe over at Baking Bites, and omitted the lime (I'd add it in next time, just for a new taste). These are really, really good. I toasted the macadamia nuts a little long, so there's an unexplainable faint taste of popcorn, but they're still good. Definitely do not over bake these, so they stay chewy.

Its been a good, if busy, week so far:

- I finished A Lion Among Men, loved it and am looking forward to the next book (I can't imagine Maguire doesn't have another in the works). I'll be sending this on to you, Mom. Luckily, Liz sent me Philippa Gregory's The Other Queen so I have another book in the wings. I'm also looking in to the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. I think I might have bought the first one for Chris already, I'll have to check.

- I started (and re-started) a new knitting project, the Soap Bubble Wrap from the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. I knit on this last night while watching Evan Almighty, which I recommend, it was quite funny.

- I played with the USS Hornet Band at the Union City senior center today and we had a big crowd, probably 30 or 40 people. One of the regulars asked me about my parents attending the other week, and said they are beautiful people. :)

I leave you with a picture of Gretel, where she looks enormous. She's a big cat (and a little overweight, though she'll tell you she's starving). In this picture she's completely flattened herself so she looks even bigger. I have a kitty blanket.

Stay warm!

Old Friends

Yesterday I got together with Mary, an old friend from high school. I hadn't even known she lived so close by until Liz let me know and convinced me to start up a Facebook account - which is like an ongoing high school reunion and very addicting. We met in Walnut Creek for coffee and walked around the Broadway Plaza area, chatting and catching up. We haven't seen each other for about ten years, though we did talk on the phone once or twice in the meantime. It was great to see Mary, and its very nice to know more people in the area. We'll be getting together again soon.

***

I finished the most recent Sookie Stackhouse book, From Dead to Worse, in one evening. I picked it up at Borders Saturday afternoon, started it at about 5pm, and was done by 10pm. Its been a while since I was so into a story as I have been over the past few weeks with these books. I think its partially due to how easy they read, but they are incredibly engrossing. (Liz, let me know if you'd like them and I'll send them on your way) The next book comes out in May and I'm just trying to cool my heels until then.

In the meantime I'm reading the third book in Maguire's Wicked series, A Lion Among Men. I also downloaded Free Range Chickens on my iPhone (wohoo!), a collection of short stories from author and Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich. I've heard good things about this book, so I'm excited to start it, and see how the reader on the iPhone works for me.

***

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a few pictures from the weekend. Have a good week ahead!

Being unbearably cute

Sunny Nose

Hobbies

I think I've always been an avid reader. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is probably what really kicked off this hobby for me, somewhere back around the fourth grade. Ever since then I've very often had a book in my hand. In fact, my freshman year in college I remember sitting on campus and reading a 700-page book in two days during finals... I just couldn't study any more and sought refuge in my roommate's copy of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. A consequence of reading something so heavy so quickly seems to be that I can't remember the story any longer, but it definitely served a purpose for me at the time.

I just finished reading Nobel-laureate Jose Saramago's Blindness (1997). This is the best novel I've read in quite a while. That said, it is most certainly not an easy read. It is graphic and raw, and written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style with page-long "sentences", little punctuation and no quotation marks, just capitalization to indicate a new speaker. The style is mostly dialog interspersed with thoughts and philosophy, both of the characters - who are never given names - and of the author, in the form of clauses joined by commas. And its all translated from the original Portuguese. If you can get through the difficulty of the actual reading, the story is disturbing and incredibly rewarding. For a synopsis Wiki it here.

A film adaptation came out this year starring Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore. Unfortunately, Metacritic gives it rather lukewarm reviews. I can understand though, if its true to the book at all it would have to be quite an ugly film. I'll definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD, if only to be disappointed. Saramago wrote a sequel in 2004 entitled Seeing, and I've written about my love for series-books, so I'll be picking up at my favorite used book store on my next trip. This was an incredible book.

So, what do I read next? I have a stack waiting to be read: a lot of sci-fi, some David Sedaris, Gregory Maguire, the newest Phillipa Gregory is out now... but Liz has me thinking of revisiting Beckett. What are you reading?


I've been busy with music lately, which I'm still ecstatic about. This past Thursday I played with the Hornet Band at another senior center, this time in Fremont. There was a larger crowd and we had a singer with us (I wasn't the only girl!). And I got paid again... I've made $9 as a professional musician so far! Getting closer to that new sax by the week, only 18 years and 11 months to go at this rate. That same evening I had rehearsal with the PCCB again. Our next performance is in two weeks and we're nearly ready for it. The lead alto from the band invited me to sit in with his jazz band next week while one of their altos is on vacation. I know that when I play with musicians a lot better than myself, I get a lot better, so I'm very excited about this chance. That said, I was practicing early one morning at work and didn't hear someone come in. He asked me later that day if that was my "musical stylings." I'm not that bad, am I? I've since redoubled my practice efforts. Funny how much of a hit my self-confidence took from one comment by someone who admitted to knowing nothing about music.


I'm still chugging away on the Cable-Down Raglan, working on the left sleeve now. I'm more and more convinced that it isn't long enough, so once I finish the sleeves I think I'll go back and lengthen the body by another inch or two. Still happy with it!

And the close-up:
I might put this project on the back burner for the weekend though. The Hornet Band has a gig after Thanksgiving for a city tree-lighting ceremony, and I'm told its always cold since its outdoors at night. I want to knit a pair of wristwarmers to keep my hands a bit warmer that night since gloves would be too bulky for playing music. I've seen quite a few really nice patterns, but I think I'll go with Knitty's Voodoo Wristwarmers since they are basic and I should be able to finish them in plenty of time.


Here's Mac and Ayla at one of their favorite hobbies: bone/rawhide chewing!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Thinking about what I did this weekend, it seems like a lot now!

Last weekend I got my hair cut, and I suppose I got what I deserved for going to a cheapie hair salon. I'm in the process of growing my hair out since cutting off 11 inches last winter, and its at the awkward stage where it likes to flip up on the ends as it hits my back and shoulders. I asked for something more even, and ended up with tons of layers that looked awful and the front chopped off. It was so awful I had to go buy shoes to feel better. I didn't want to go back for fear she would make it worse and it would be too short to fix again. Chris teased me about my quasi-mullet all week. Seriously, it was that bad! This weekend I called up the fancy salon where I got last winter's cut, and my new stylist was able to fix it, thank goodness. The previous layers were cut all wrong and choppy, but now they look nice. She had to cut off an additional 3 inches, but it should grow out nicely now. Crisis averted!

After my hair appointment I headed to the mall. I like to shop, but rarely find anything I like enough to buy, and I'm cheap when it comes to clothes for myself (though not for Chris... hmm). I ended up with a few cute things for myself this time, and nothing for Chris! It was really busy at the mall for some reason, but I enjoyed myself.

Saturday night I cooked up some minestrone soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The weather is definitely cooler now, which means its time for lots of soup! I used the recipe from my Bittman book, with some of the extra butternut squash I chopped and froze from the risotto last week, zucchini and summer squash, and frozen peas and chopped spinach. I usually see pasta in minestrone, and this recipe didn't call for any. I have a ton of soup left over, so I'll toss some pasta in next time.

Comfort food

Today I made a quick run to the store for a few things and spent the rest of the day cooking, knitting, and reading (The Omnivore's Dilemma while cooking and World War Z otherwise). I'm making progress on my Cable-Down Raglan. At first I worried that it would be too small, but now I'm thinking it might turn out too big. I'll just keep going and see what happens. This shot is three balls in, the sleeves are on waste yarn and I'll finish them when I'm done with the body of the sweater, and I've begun the waist cables:

Cable-Down Raglan

For breakfast I made danishes for Barefoot Bloggers, but more on those later this week. For lunch I threw together black bean and cheese taquitos, with my homemade salsa and guacamole as well as store-bought tomatillo salsa, for dipping. I baked these to be a bit healthier, but they'd be great fried.

Mmm... taquitos!

Mac spent most of the day in the kitchen with me. He sleeps on this rug Chris got from his Grammy years and years ago, hoping that I drop something and he can snatch it up before I get to it. This infrequent payoff must be worth it, because I'm always stepping on him or hitting his bum with the fridge door.

I can haz hot dog?

After lunch and some knitting/reading time, I made a bunch of cookies: two dozen of Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies and three dozen Lemonade Cookies. I had to try out my new cookie scoop I picked up at Macy's, and am in love. It makes perfect, round, same-sized cookies and it much easier than using two spoons. The lemonade cookies are basically sugar cookies with lemonade concentrate added. They are light and fluffy, and the lemon flavor is nice. The chocolate cookies are one of my favorites. I first found the recipe when I had a subscription to Martha's Everyday Food magazine. I loved this magazine, and while the recipes are available online it was always nice to thumb through the pages each month too. I've given this as a gift subscription a few times and really recommend it for someone looking for good basic recipes and wanting to learn more about cooking.

Sugar overload

This evening I took the beasts out to play fetch. If there's only one ball Ayla will grab it and run home. I've found that if I take two balls, and one squeaker ball, I can get the dogs to play fetch and actually bring the ball back to me when I squeak the squeaker ball. Its a lot easier to get them running and burning energy off that way, and a lot more fun for me. Otherwise Mac is always trying to steal Ayla's ball, or they're standing there chewing on the tennis balls but won't drop them for me. We have a really nice lawn area to play on too, overlooking the golf course and by the spa.

Smiley dogs

By the way, my new dish soap is green apple scented. Whenever I wash dishes it makes me think of the dogs' shampoo, which is also green apple. Washing dishes makes me think of washing dogs, a very odd association.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

I was perusing Diana Gabaldon's website and she has an excerpt from An Echo in the Bone, the next novel in the Outlander series! And she plans on another book in the series to follow.

I will not read the excerpt, but I am unutterably happy right now!

Of course, I have to wait until September 2009 for the release... that makes me a sad panda. :(

Mac-Gyver

I came home from work on Friday, opened the door, and the first thing I said was, "Dude!"

The scene of the crime

So about a quarter of the time when we get home we find that Mac has escaped his pen by the bed. We don't know how soon after we leave that he escapes, but he hasn't had an accident in the house for at least a month and hasn't really destroyed anything so I haven't worried too much. I do, however, wish to keep him penned to give Ayla a break from him pestering her - though they probably both just nap anyway. Back to the picture above, though, I had noticed his interest the night before in a cat scratcher we keep on the lower shelf of the cat tree in the photo. Sometime during the day he escaped his pen, pulled the cardboard out of the scratcher, and shredded it, leaving bits of cardboard and catnip everywhere. When I came in he innocently jumped out of the chair he was sleeping in and came to greet me. I could only laugh. After all, Gretel didn't even use the scratcher and he hasn't destroyed anything else, or shown interest in destroying anything else. He's nearly ready to be left out all day I guess. And it could be worse.

We saw The Dark Knight yesterday. We got in to the theater just as the movie was starting, missing the ten minutes of previews that attend a matinée, thinking we were going to a later showing. That worked out quite nicely. The movie was pretty good, with decent action scenes and good acting. Heath Ledger was fairly chilling as The Joker. But it seems to me that movies lately don't trust the audience to understand what is happening. Rather than have good dialog and let the story speak for itself, they resort to telling the audience the what and the why of what is happening. This makes the emotional connection to the story tenuous at best, and while critics are lauding the movie for how dark and emotional The Dark Knight is, I rather disagree. I wasn't allowed to forge my own connection to the characters and story and understand the movie; they told me what to think and how to feel. I think that's a shame and undercuts the power of a story. This seems like a lot of thought to put into Batman, but its a trend I don't like. And I did quite enjoy the movie, which is perhaps why this patronizing irks me so.

Okay, now that that's off my chest... I just finished reading the last of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Its bittersweet - I very much enjoyed the story and read voraciously, not being to wait to find out what happened next, but I hate when a story ends. I want to follow the characters more, find out what happens next in their lives, especially when the story has covered six books of roughly 1,000 pages each. That's quite an investment, and I don't want it to end. I do recommend this series though, what Chris took to calling my "romantic time machine" books. She does have three ancillary books, following a character from the Outlander series, that I am excited to read. But perhaps first I'll take a break with another author... Suggestions?

Finally, we visited with some friends for lunch today. When I asked what I could bring I was very happy to hear "dessert." So this...

Bing and Rainier Cherries

... became this:

Sweet Cherry Pie
from Martha Stewart

2 pounds Bing cherries, pitted and halved (I used 2/3 Bing, 1/3 Rainier)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
All-purpose flour, for rolling
large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Pie crust (I used a pre-made crust from Pillsbury)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in lowest position. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll one disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap dough around rolling pin; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and sides of plate (do not stretch dough). Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhand all around. In a large bowl, combine cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss until cherries are coated. Pour into prepared bottom crust.
2. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll second disk of dough to a 14-inch round. Cut into eight 1 1/2-inch-wide strips; discard the shortest two. Weave strips over filling to form a lattice (see photo, page 28). Using kitchen shears, trim strips so they hang over rim by 1 inch. Tuck strips under rim of bottom crust; press to seal. Crimp with a fork all around the edge.
3. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush lattice with egg wash, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
4. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is bubbling rapidly all over, 60 to 70 minutes (tent with aluminum foil when crust starts to brown, about 40 minutes). Transfer pie to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, at least 3 hours.

What I learned: A cherry-pitter would be a useful tool if you use a lot of cherries. My fingers are still a little stained from halving and pitting two pounds of cherries with a knife. But it was almost meditative once I got into the rhythm, so maybe I wouldn't want another kitchen tool after all. Although... a pastry wheel to give my lattice top edges a nice scallop cut would be nice though, instead of using my pizza cutter.

Here we go again!

The home improvement machine is starting up again. Yesterday we spec'd out closet organization systems at Home Depot for our bedroom closet. I spent the evening drawing and using online tools to lay out the system we'll put in. Then today we went back to Home Depot and bought almost all of the components; they didn't have enough drawers in stock but we can always add those later.

Ayla says, "Again? Really?" She doesn't care for it much when we do home improvement.
So in the next few days we'll remove the 3 huge mirrored doors and take everything out of the closet, including the old wire storage system that came with the place. Then I'll remove the baseboards, spackle all holes and divits, paint the interior to match our walls, and vacuum and clean the carpet on the floor. Then its putting together the new organizer, which is usually Chris' forte, and installing. There will probably be a few trips back to Home Depot for parts that come out of the box damaged (Chris already found one drawer that looks like a candidate) and for stuff we forgot to buy. Luckily the HD is only 5 miles or so down the road.

Its been a nice weekend otherwise. Ayla and I went for a run yesterday. She kept stopping short, which really interferes with trying to exercise, so I finally unclipped her leash and said bye-bye while I ran away. After that she trotted along right at my left heel the entire time - awesome! So as long as we're not on a main road running should be a lot more enjoyable for us now.

Other than that I've been reading. Right now I'm addicted to Phillipa Gregory and her chronicling of the English Tudors and the women in King Henry VIII's life. I've read The Other Boleyn Girl (soon to be a major motion picture!), The Boleyn Inheritance, and The Constant Princess in the past few weeks. I tend to latch onto an author and read most of his/her books before moving on to another author. I've got another half dozen or so of Gregory's books to read, then I've got to find a new obsession.

I watched De-Lovely, Irwin's biographical movie about Cole Porter with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. It was simply wonderful. If you're looking for a musical about one of the Jazz Era's greatest composers I definitely recommend it. It made me cry, but I'm sappy like that. There are surprising guest appearances for some of the numbers that were great. The way Irwin framed the story was very imaginative. Delightful.

I also made some more progress on the scarf I'm knitting (Knitty's Wisp, for those who might want to know). This is going to be a Christmas gift. I can't wait to get it finished and blocked so that the lace pattern opens up. I'm about 2/3s done here:
I suppose that's all for now. For anyone traveling over the holiday, stay safe! And you're welcome to come join us for a Tofurkey on Thursday. I figure that for our first Thanksgiving as vegetarians we should go all out. :)