Category Archives: Other

Everything other than book reviews

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Library Loot

 

After walking tonight with my group, I ran over to the library and picked up a few things to tide me over for the upcoming holiday weekend.   I picked up MidwinterBlood and White Crow both by Marcus Sedgwick because several bloggers seem to like his work.  It is a different genre for me, I usually steer clear of YA novels, just not my cup of tea, but there was enough good written about these that I thought I’d give them a go.

I also grabbed some cozies. but it always seems that my library never has book one in a cozy series…sigh.  This does give me an excuse to visit Booktrader of Hamilton this weekend though.

Off now to finish up Iced Chiffon.  I’m about two thirds done and really liking it. Looking forward to book two in this series already.  I’m supposed to be reading Turn Right at Machu Picchu but can’t seem to get going on it.

 

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Weekend Cooking

My daughter has been home from Europe about a week, but it has been so hectic with other things going on that we haven’t really had a big “Welcome Back” style family dinner, so I’m thinking tomorrow will be it.  Certain foods have always meant home and family as far as I am concerned.  Tomorrow will be some of her favorites:

  • Ginger Glazed Ham (Cooked out on the grill,  kinda, sorta adaptation of one of Nigella’s early recipes. )
  • Macaroni and Cheese
  • Roasted Vegetables in Olive Oil with Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper (bought some pink sea salt to try for this)
  • Cornbread (Chef Spike’s recipe, a family favorite)
  • Chopped Salad
  • Dessert , hmmmm maybe Sticky Treacle Pudding  or Creme Fraiche with Berries drizzled with some honey

Along with the food, we have several bottles of wine and some beer so it should be a good time.

 

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Independent Book Stores

Just a quick post to push forward a small second hand and new bookshop I found and visited yesterday: Booktrader of Hamilton. I

Anyway, I had gone to their shop years ago when they were in a different location and I lived closer. I assumed that it had gone the way of many of our other independents and closed its doors, but it hadn’t. It had just moved. They had a great selection of books and several that are on my to-be-read list and on top of that, they gave very good credit for books I turned in. Yay! I will definitely be returning with a list in hand.

Now, I just need to get rid of this cold. It is making my head hurt so bad I can’t read for any extended period of time :(, very sad, so very sad. My pile of books is sitting next to me all lonely and neglected.

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It was a dark and stormy night…

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents–except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
English dramatist, novelist, & politician (1803 – 1873)

 

There it is, the often parodied quote, “It was a dark and stormy night..”. and tonight, at least here, it is.  But for me, no worries, home in bed with a cup of tea and  a stack of books and a book light too, in case of power outage.  Starting The Elegance of the Hedgehog tonight, finally.  I’ve had it about a week and am  just now cracking the cover.   I also have a few others in case I can’t get into it right a way.  The first sentence was enough to make me want to put it down for a minute, but I’ll give it a try.

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Memories of My Dad

Go first in the world, go forth with your fears
Remember a price must be paid
Be always too soon, be never too fast
At the time when all bets must be laid
Beware of the darkness, be kind to your children
Remember the woman who waits
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your gate

–  Gordon Lightfoot

Tonight, having both my children home, made me think of my Dad for some reason.  He loved music and the Yankees with equal passion.  My strongest childhood memories of  him always were linked to music.  He had eclectic tastes including Big Brother and the Holding Company, Caruso, Sinatra, and the Beatles, but he seemed to  really love the folk-rock singer songwriters like Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot.  I remember listening to this song with him as clearly as if it were yesterday.

 

 

 

 

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Tea and Elephants

 

“There are few nicer things than sitting up in bed, drinking strong tea, and reading.”
― Alan Clark

So true…as I sit here living this quote.  I’m a huge fan of Williamson Tea, particularly the English Breakfast and the Afternoon varieties.  There is something about  a pot of tea all to yourself, when the rest of the house is sleeping, that seems decadent, in a most comforting way.  It reminds me that sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best.

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Jersey White and sunshine

Today’s wine was Jersey White and it paired perfectly with today:).   The sunshine was beautiful this afternoon. I sat out in the yard with my Mom, carefully ignoring the fact that the yard needed mowing. We read and drank a bottle of Jersey White. Lovely afternoon. This is what weekends should be about.