It's Not About the Stuff

In the past, I've used collages for my personal Christmas cards. These are made 100% old school, cutting bits and pieces out of magazines and pasting them together with glue or tape on a piece of art paper.

The full-sized collages, which have been as big as 18" x 24", and have included pieces of dollar bills and actual debt-busting, cut-up credit cards, were then scanned, very minimally re-touched in photoshop and laser-printed on cardstock. In honor of the season, here is a holiday collage retrospective. (Click on any image to see the full-sized version.)

It's Not About the Stuff
magazine collage
each print hand-decorated with gold and silver glitter-glue

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
magazine collage
fork portion made entirely from one black and white magazine photo page



Peace
moon collage made from circular objects from the Sunday newspaper
(the letter "O", a shrimp platter, etc.)
overlaid with crinkled onion skin tracing paper



Joy Is Not in Things, It Is in Us
magazine clippings, credit cards, dollar bills, glitter



Happy Birthday
magazine collage, tape

Biological Clock

magazine collage, tape

(This post is duplicated on my other blog RESOURCE DESIGN. )

'Tis the Season

Read this piece by Heather Armstrong. If you are someone, or you know someone, who is feeling down and keeping it a secret because you are afraid of what someone else will think, don't be afraid. Pick up a phone and begin to find help.

I know what it feels like to contemplate whether the world would be better off without me, and I never imagined then that it would all change and I would have this much fun and love and laughter down the road.

During the holidays, it's too easy to create artificial standards for ourselves about how things should be, and how we should be, and those "shoulds" can seem like impossible walls to climb. No matter where you are today, no matter how bad you feel, you can begin to change things.
It's going to be ok.

The Week in Pictures

Scraps

You can see Oprah's favorite things here.

You can see a gray kitty wearing a pink wig here.

You can see badly dressed celebrities here.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Recently, as you may know, Oprah gave away her "Favorite Things" on television. The show, (which I watched because I was running on the treadmill at the gym, mind you, not because I would ever turn on the television before 5 pm at home) was as filled with screaming, crying and excess as the Saturday Night Live parody of it. I do like Oprah, in spite of all that. And I like some of her things, too. (Forget Obama-- Oprah for president.)

Then yesterday, I was reading Family Fun magazine at the orthodontist's office. In addition to all sorts of ideas for cute crafts, there were some touching columns about different things people have done to help make the holidays meaningful as well as plentiful. One that struck me as really beautiful was a story about a couple who had very little the first year they were married, so instead of over-extending their shoestring budget and buying each other new things, they wrapped things for themselves that they already had.

Now I know at first this sounds incredibly sad, which was my first thought. But what they did on Christmas morning was sit under the twinkling tree and reflect on how thankful they were for the gift of each other, and the things that meant a lot to them, like the first present or card he ever gave her, or a little token that reminded them of something special or something important in their lives.

The family still carries on the tradition. Each year, among the new gifts are a few meaningful things, such as a cherished toy that has been in storage, a guitar with a broken string that has been repaired, or a special blankie with a new name tag sewn in. Thinking about these old gifts again puts them in a thankful state of mind, which is often hard to achieve this time of year. It reminds them of the things that are truly special to them and to their family members, and to cherish those things and those people. One year, one of the parents had their two kids hide in big wrapped boxes as the other one came home.

A couple of things I thought of that are small but special to me:

Every time I see the giraffe's face (picture up top), I smile. It's not really a gift. The keychain was loaned to me with a house key on it. Last summer (seems like forever ago) my mother was in the hospital for almost a month in total, for a quadruple bypass. It wasn't until months later, when I knew my mom was safe and sound again, that I realized how stressful that time was, and how scared I was. My friends Ann and Enza let me stay at their house while I was helping out and visiting her at the hospital, giving me a vital oasis of calm and quiet to retreat to each night. Now they've moved, and I still have the keychain. And I'm still thankful for them and their generosity and support.

Speaking of keychains, I am never without the small black Swiss-Army knife keychain that my mother gave me years and years ago. I still have the tweezers, but the toothpick is long gone. (Who would use that in their teeth anyway? Gross.) It's totally worn and smooth, and the logo is completely gone. I use the screwdriver, the knife, the scissors and the nail file all the time. It's like a tiny emergency tool kit for just about anything. I feel capable when I have my little knife. Sort of like Mike feels when he has his Leatherman tool, I suppose, just on a smaller scale.

I have to take a break now, but as I go about my day and my week, I'm going to keep my eyes and my heart open to the good things in my life. I kinda feel like making some cookies, too. Maybe I'm getting a little Christmas spirit after all.

Lacking in Detail

I like how on the Butter Cookies recipe below, I didn't list oven temperature, cooking time, or just about any other detail. I think because the 3 x 5 card I copied from Ginny Dadasovich's cookbook twenty years ago doesn't have any detail on those particular cookies, most likely because I was copying down a bunch of recipes at once that all had the same basic mixing and cooking instructions. Or I was just being cocky and thought I'd remember the right ones. But that recipe is funny: Just make the damn cookies. You know what a cookie is, right? Just mash it all together and oh, turn on the oven or something and take them out before they burn.
Nice.

Whew!

(I finally discovered the source of the problem and replaced the old header. Of course now I want to change it again because I've been looking at it for so long.)

In other news, I got a speeding ticket today, but the officer was VERY nice (and handsome, too, if I may say so) and gave me a ticket that was on the generous side for the speed I was going. I am never angry or upset when I get a ticket, which doesn't happen very often. The officer was doing what he gets paid to do, and I totally deserved to get a ticket, because I was speeding. I didn't even notice the highway patrol car until it was right behind me. (By the way, he clocked me on the radar as we were going in opposite directions, in case you thought that wasn't possible.)

With any luck, my last ticket is far enough in the past that I can do traffic school online. (Traffic School to Go is pretty silly, but I found that it reinforces important safety points that I still reference, such as safe following distances at different speeds, and other rules of the road, besides speeding, obviously. And I can complete it online and not have to go anywhere.) The fine still hurts, especially during the holidays, but we can manage.

In addition, the other night we went out to dinner, and when we came out, there was a parking ticket on our car. We were parked next to a construction zone, so the red paint on the curb had been worn off or covered with dust and was impossible to see at night. The hydrant it marked was silver and behind silver chain link within the construction site. When we turned the ticket over, the officer had written: "You are parked in a red zone. Please be careful in the future when parking." No ticket, no fine. So I consider myself very lucky in the traffic ticket karma area this month. I promise to be extra careful in return for this niceness.

Which reminds me of my "escort" theory: when you're driving too fast, in a hurry to get somewhere, you know how there's always someone, some person wearing a hat (my grandpa says to watch out for people in hats- notoriously bad drivers) in a big boat of a car, or someone with stickers all over the back of their mini-van, who is going exactly or just under the speed limit, and blocking whichever lane you are in? That is your escort.

Instead of thinking of that person as the total pain in the ass that is in your way, think of them as sort of a volunteer guardian angel who has appeared to keep you safe. Sometimes shortly after this happens to me, I'll still be fuming that I can't get where I'm going faster, and then I'll see the police car that was waiting by the side of the road to give me a ticket, who now can't because I'm well under the speed limit. Then I remember about my escort, and I smile and calm down and think, yep, there's one ticket I won't get, or an accident I won't be part of. It's more important to get where you're going safely than it is to get there quickly. Be kind to your escorts if you are out there holiday shopping today.

As I write this, I think of Jen and Randy, Nate and Katie, out there in the Islands, and that Jamaican rum commercial where all the guys are talking about "road rage" when the town's only bus is stopped in front of a bicycle. Count "no holiday shopping traffic" among your blessings. Although "no holiday shopping available" might be the flip side of that. Got eggs yet?

Technical Difficulties

Ok, email is back on track. I am proud to say I found the problem and fixed it. I am, however, temporarily stuck with this header image and have no way to get rid of it... maybe there's a way to edit the source code, but that seems a little scary. If I thought I was going to get stuck with this one indefinitely, I might have made it less silly.

In other realms, I dragged my sorry, just-got-over-a-cold self to the gym yesterday and today, and I am feeling better about things in general. Yesterday, I ran/walked 4 miles and today I swam 3,000 yards. I feel like a noodle, in a good way. I've been pretty steady about the gym for the last 6 months, thus the -12 lbs, but I'm feeling myself start to get bored with the routine that's been working so far. I'm ready for something else. Horseback riding maybe. I have always wanted to take lessons, and there's a place not far from my house... does that really count as working out? I don't know. I need something to breathe some fire into my routine.

Blah, blah, blah. A friend is down from Seattle, and we are waiting to drive to meet her at Filippi's Pizza Grotto. I'm waiting for pictures to load to a calendar I'm making for Christmas over at Lulu. So I'm sitting here passing the time. Just ordered some Danskos from Scrubsrack, because my old ones are just about dead. I wish Danskos could be re-heeled. Maybe this time I'll take them to the shoe repair guy (Tip Top on 2nd in Napa is great) and see if he can put a heel on them before I wear them. I doubt it, because they are plastic. These would be perfect shoes if they weren't plastic, and if they were held together by something other than staples.

The other night, Mike and I were watching a lame movie called Sweet Land. (What is an Independent Spirit Award? This movie won one.) There was one actor in it who was familiar, but everyone else was b-list. The lead actress was pretty and did a decent job. The whole plot was loosely strung together, and the premise-- that a post World War I mail-order bride who was supposed to be Norwegian showed up German-- was sort of lacking in oomph. And though the bride and groom-to-be both spoke Norwegian, they chose to communicate in English, a language neither spoke very well. But the DUMBEST thing about this fairly lame movie was the costuming. One of the farmers was wearing a new, unweathered, clean Carhart jacket with a logo throughout the movie. In two scenes, there were close-ups of the woman's foot, and she was wearing modern, plastic-heeled, staples-in-the-side Danskos. I was stretching my suspension of disbelief, trying to imagine that they really had Danskos like that in the midwest in the 1920s, but I couldn't make it work. How could they spend so much money and be so careful with everything else and then just go, "Oh, these shoes will do, no one will notice."?

The only thing dumber than that that I've seen in a movie was the time a boom mike AND the tennis shoe of the guy wearing it came down into the frame of the living room in Desert Bloom. It's a decent movie, if I recall correctly, John Voigt and awards in abundance, but it's worth renting just for the tennis shoe. It was so obvious I wouldn't have been surprised if one of the characters had said, "Mommy, why doesn't our living room have a ceiling, and why is that man sitting on the top of the wall with a microphone?"

Hey, guess what, it's time to go.

More Cookie Ideas

Why am I posting so many cookie recipes? This time of year, my thoughts turn straight to sweets. I think it's keeping me from actually baking them and worse, eating them. I have lost somewhere between 10 and 12 lbs, and I'm determined to hold the line through the holidays. As soon as I finish this post, I'm off to the gym.

These recipes were from Ginny Dadasovich. Ginny was the mother of a high school boyfriend of mine. She's the one I remember who cried at AT&T commercials and sad moments in sit-coms. She had a big, wide smile and a great laugh. She and her husband were great parents, kind, funny and thoughtful when it came to raising their kids. Every night after dinner, they'd take a walk together, and sort out their thoughts about any issues with the boys, so that they could present a unified front. Robbie, her son, died in a car accident a year after we broke up. Ginny made cookies at Christmas, and I copied her recipes onto 3 x 5 cards in blue ball-point pen over twenty years ago. I still have the cards.

Petticoat Tails
A simple butter cookie that is great for making up in advance. Roll in nuts, crushed peppermint candies, grated orange or lemon rind, flavoring accordingly. Or use food coloring to make two different colors and roll them together. Store cookie rolls in freezer wrapped in parchment and plastic, and cut and bake anytime.

Ingredients
1 c soft butter
1 c sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring of your choice)
2 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt

Method
Cream butter, mix in all dry.
Gather dough into a ball, place on plastic wrap.
Roll dough into a long log, about 2" thick.
Form into rounded roll or press sides square for square cookies.
If you've made two colors, cut in fourths and swap alternate corners for a checkerboard effect.
Unroll plastic wrap, sprinkle with desired coating, and press roll into coating.
Re-roll in plastic or paper and seal in plastic bag in freezer if making ahead.
Chill for 30 min to 1 hour, slice into 1/2 slices.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Butter Cookies
1 c butter, softened
2 c flour
1/2 sugar
1 c chopped nuts

Cream yer butter and sugar, mix in flour and nuts. Chill, roll, cut, or roll into little balls. Dust with powdered sugar when they come out of the oven.

Ginger Cookies

Ingredients
1/3 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c dark molasses
2/3 c cold water
6 c flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ginger, cloves, cinnamon

Method
All I wrote was: Chill, roll, cut, so you're on your own.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

The directions I wrote down also say:
Add one more cup of flour if making gingerbread boys. Use raisins for eyes. I do not know why boys require more flour. Maybe it makes them more sturdy.

Damn Easy Coconut Cookies and Cookies Dammit

Here are two cookie recipes, one that's new to me but sounds easy and tasty, and one that's a tried and true favorite.

Coconut Cookies
(from chef Marcus Samuelsson, via Yahoo)
Makes about 2 and 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add shredded coconut, mixing well with a rubber spatula.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed, just to blend. Beat in sugar, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in coconut until thoroughly mixed.
4. Drop rounded teaspoons of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, until the tips of the cookies are pale gold. Slide the parchment papers, with the cookies on them, onto wire cooling racks and let the cookies cool completely.

Cookies Dammit- Peanut Butter Cookies

My favorite peanut butter cookie recipe ever, which was given to me by a pastry chef about 15 years ago. This makes a huge batch (not to mention using a whole pound of butter) so cut in half as necessary, unless you are making some to give for Christmas.

Ingredients
Full recipe
1 lb butter
2 C brown sugar
2 C sugar
4 eggs
4 1/2 C peanut butter
2 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 tsp vanilla
4 C cake flour, sifted before measuring (yeah, right)

Half recipe
1/2 lb butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 C peanut butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 C cake flour, sifted before measuring (yeah, right)

Method
Cream butter
Add sugars gradually
Beat in eggs one at a time
Add vanilla
Beat in peanut butter, use extra if your pb is chunky
Mix all dry ingredients together
Mix dry into wet

Using two spoons, drop by rough spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Use a long-tined fork dipped in sugar to mark traditionally, or shove a dark chocolate chunk into the middle of the flattened ball.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.

Spicy Gingerbread Thins

Spicy Gingerbread Thins
from Gourmet via Epicurious

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee at room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
Parchment paper for lining baking sheets

Method
Into a bowl sift together flour, pepper, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In a small bowl stir together molasses and coffee. In a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed beat together butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. With mixer at low speed beat in gingerroot. Beat in flour mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide dough into thirds. Form each third into a ball and flatten to form disks. Chill disks, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Break off egg-size pieces from 1 disk (keep remaining 2 disks chilled) and with heel of hand smear each piece once in a forward motion. Gather pieces together and give dough a few smears to bring together. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 disks.

On a lightly floured work surface roll out one third of dough into a 22- by 8-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick), making sure dough is not sticking to surface (use a pastry scraper to lift dough; sprinkle surface with additional flour if sticking). With a 2-inch gingerbread man cutter or 3 1/2-inch candy cane cutter cut out shapes, transferring with a spatula to baking sheets and arranging about 1/2 inch apart.

Bake cookies in batches in lower third of oven 6 to 8 minutes, or until crisp (do not let cookies get too dark). With spatula transfer cookies to racks to cool. Make more cookies with scraps and remaining two thirds of dough in same manner. Cookies keep, in airtight containers at room temperature, 1 week.

I made these last winter, and they were delicious and very gingery-hot. An adult cookie. I cut them into stars and dusted with powdered sugar. This recipe says it makes ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY cookies, so cut it in half if necessary. Tip for peeling ginger: use a small spoon to scrape the peel, rather than a knife or a vegetable peeler. Much easier. I grated mine with a microplane.

Coconut Cake

Here are two recipes for Coconut Cake, the de rigeur birthday and holiday cake (unless you are Emilio, in which case I have provided a chocolate cake recipe as well).

Double-Coconut Cake from Cooking Light

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (plus one tablespoon for dusting cake pans)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/3 c butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 14 oz can light coconut milk
1 tblsp vanilla

Fluffy coconut frosting (see below)
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut, divided in half for middle and top of cake

Method
Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

Combine 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (for about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap the pans once on countertop to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Fluffy Coconut Frosting

Ingredients
4 large egg whites (I recommend using powdered egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Dash of salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Method
Place egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. (I have to start with a whisk in my mixer bowl, as my Kitchen Aid doesn't reach to the bottom with this little liquid.) Combine sugar and water in a saucepan (I use one or two tablespoons of water); bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 238°. Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed. Stir in extracts.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1 cup Fluffy Coconut Frosting. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup coconut. Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle 1/3 cup coconut over top of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

Coconut Cake II
"Jamie's Coconut Cake" from Paula Deen
(According to Food Network, she'll be making this cake on television this Friday- check your listings.)

Ingredients
2(!) sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

7-Minute Frosting:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon white corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups coconut, flaked and sweetened

Cake Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and coconut milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4-inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Filling:
Stir together sugar, sour cream, milk, and coconut in a bowl until well blended. Add first cake layer onto pedestal. Using the wrong end of a wooden spoon, poke holes approximately 1-inch apart until entire cake has been poked. Spread a third of filling mixture on cake layer. Top with second layer, repeat process. Top with last layer and repeat process again.

Cook's Note: As each layer is stacked, stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting.

Frosting:
Place sugar, cream of tartar or corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in the top of a double boiler. Beat with a handheld electric mixer for 1 minute. Place pan over boiling water, being sure that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Beat constantly on high speed with electric mixer for 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with coconut.

Velvet Chocolate Cake
From Scharffenberger Chocolate

Ingredients
8 oz Scharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup strong coffee, kept warm but not hot
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar

Method
(Double this recipe for a 9 inch pan or larger. This makes a relatively flat flourless cake.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter or spray an 8-inch round pan (not spring-form) with vegetable oil spray. Line bottom with a parchment circle. Have a larger pan ready to serve as a water bath.
Melt the chocolate gently over hot water. Keep warm.
Whip the cream with 1 tbs of sugar until the mixture forms soft peaks. Set aside.
Whip eggs on high speed in a stand mixer until double in volume. Gradually add the 1/4 cup sugar to the eggs, 1 tbs at a time. Continue whipping until the eggs have fully tripled in volume and are light and fluffy. They should have some body.
Pour the coffee into the chocolate and stir until combined. Fold the eggs into the chocolate in three additions, working quickly to incorporate each addition. Fold in cream.

Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan. Place it in the larger pan. Fill the outer pan with hot water so that it reaches halfway up the side of the cake pan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cake still jiggles in the center when gently shaken. Cool completely on a rack. To unmold, slide small knife or spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen from pan. Cover the top of the pan with a sheet of waxed paper. Place a plate upside-down over the paper and invert pan and plate together. Remove cake pan and parchment liner. Place a serving platter on the bottom of the cake and turn right-side up.

Slice and serve with creme anglaise or whipped cream.

Makes 7-8 servings. Keeps up to four days at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic.

About Leap!

I've been reading Leap! for the last week or so. I find the author sort of whiny and directionless, perhaps because the book is one long whiny search for direction. She is in her 50s, and has found herself no longer as much in demand as a television writer and journalist. She wants to find a purpose for her waning years, so she sets off in search of one, interviewing celebrity friends, visiting ashrams, taking workshops and volunteering for charity missions.

I have a tendency to internalize books and movies, so much so that I once saw Brother from Another Planet very late at night and forgot that I could actually talk. Ok, maybe I was just tired. Maybe that's how I ended up watching that movie in the first place. I still remember how much I cried after I read The Yearling.

If I read a book that is sad, I'm sad. If I read a book that is triumphant, I am temporarily transformed. Which is why I loved Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Yes, I know, she was on Oprah yesterday, and women in the audience were gushing over the book, saying it had changed their lives. Today, Ms. Gilbert's site is coming up with error messages, probably due to the deluge of hits from gushers and wanna-be gushers. Usually I run the other way from Oprah recommendations, but I read this book first.

What was different about these two books was the tone, the character of the narration. Both women found themselves at a crossroads, searching for meaning and purpose. (I just realized this seems to be a theme in my recent reading...) Elizabeth Gilbert goes on a mission to see what it is about three different cultures that makes them so good at what they are good at. Her story is fun to read, a story told by a good friend over drinks in a cozy lodge, a friend you love so much and who has been through so much that you can allow her the pleasures you jealously want for yourself. I think Sarah Davidson went about it the wrong way, looking for a living, or looking for an end result. She hops from place to place, person to person, never sinking in or opening herself up to what the culture has to offer. She seems to be looking for a "thing" instead of looking for something in herself, and she seems dissatisfied and critical at every step of the way. On a volunteer stint in India, other volunteers tag her as "needy" and "critical". I don't want to hang out with her either.

I'll finish the book, but so far it's been difficult to pull any lessons out of it, because the visits with neat people are so brief and the writing style is so sparse.

If anyone has a suggestion for a non self-help, fiction book, I'd love it. I'm getting tired from so much purposeful reading. I always say that what I want is a story about someone like me, with a happy ending. But someone not like me works, too.

Rainy Tuesday

Well, it has finally, finally rained. Right now it's after noon, but the sky is gray enough that we need the lights on. I made chicken noodle soup for dinner later, and we had tuna melts for lunch. We need some fresh-baked bread, but I'm not sure I feel like making it.

I don't like to admit this, because I have delusions of being bulletproof when it comes to health, but I have caught a cold. Thus the soup. Itchy, scratchy eyes and nose and one day's worth of sore throat. With a bit of antihistamine, I'm good to go for the day, then I take a cold medicine at night. I'm chanting silently to myself that I WILL get through this in three days and feel fine as I usually do.

Other than that, my only frustration is that something has gone afoul between my computer and blogspot's layout pop-up menus. I suspect it is the fact that I am still stubbornly running 10.3.9 and can't upgrade to the most current version of Firefox until I get Leopard. I can't change any of my links, or my header image at the moment. I can load regular images, though, for some reason. Bear with me though, all will be fine, soon. But for now, you'll have to click here to see this cute site, The Daily Coyote, because I can't add it to my Fabulous section, and I can't remove the things I have there now. Annoying.

Email has been quiet, too. Possibly for the same general operating system reason. Or maybe it's because I've loaded up my formerly light-speed computer with thousands (and I do mean thousands) of fairly useless photos that now need to be archived.

This was the view out my front door last week when the sun was still shining:

Coupla Notes

Some more information about the links in this week's "Fabulous" section:

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, the comic strip most likely to be cut out and posted on an office cubicle near you, has found himself in the unfortunate position of being the owner of a restaurant. He has no restaurant experience outside of bussing tables as a boy. I found this out in a recent New York Times article. The restaurant is in Dublin, CA. I would love it if he started channeling his new experiences into some restaurant characters in the strip. We'll see. I think this blog will be a fun one to check in with.

Family Fun is a monthly magazine put out by (ugh) Disney. I read it at the orthodontist's, and I've found so many fun and imaginative ideas for things to do with kids that I'm finally going to break down and subscribe. I just went to their site, which is the other link at right, and there is a neat search feature for finding crafts and activities. You can search by age group, type of activity, as well as subject matter, such as princesses, animals, cars and trucks. Like epicurious for kid-related activities, it can help you find a "recipe" or just remind you about something you already know how to make or do but have forgotten. I just popped on there for a minute and found six ideas for fun things to do.

One of my all-time favorite birthday party ideas was the Obstacle Course party. This is great for parents who are in the one-upmanship party trap because it's inexpensive but imaginative and fun. You need a big driveway or safe school playground or parking lot. Set up an obstacle course using just about anything. The age of the kids determines the size and difficulty of the course. Each kid brings his or her vehicle of choice, be it car, truck or Big Wheel. Each kid gets a number pinned on his shirt and rides the course for "time". You can make up awards (certificates or prizes or homemade trophies) for just about anything you like so that everyone gets a prize. Or just hand out cupcakes at the finish line.