cameling and the traveling library - Part 1

For anyone who hasn't yet stumbled onto my thread in previous years, I am a camel-mad, food-loving oddball who calls Boston home these days. I travel a fair bit during the year and will share my adventures (some call them mishaps) with all who visit. My thread will never be as well organized as some other LTers, and neither will it be an altogether serious place. It will carry photos of places that inspire me, food I probably ate too much of, and objects that made me laugh. I shall endeavor to write insightful reviews of the books I've enjoyed, and not rant over the ones that bored me to tears.

I welcome all to contribute as you wish on this thread, but ask that you please keep your posts respectful to other members, even if you disagree with their opinions. And most of all ... have fun!







Male Authors: 5
Female Authors: 2

January Reads
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
The Shameful Peace - Frederic Spotts
Room No. 10 - Åke Edwardson
Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P.G. Wodehouse
The Lady and her Monsters - Roseanne Montillo
Still Foolin' 'Em - Billy Crystal
Eva's Eye - Karin Fossum

Hello there, Richard. You deserve a star for being the first to find me!

Heavens, it's trivially easy since I put that tracer on your laptop! I mean, I mean, ahaha, yes of course thank you!

*skedaddles*

Hi Caro- Congrats on the 2014 thread! I hope to see you more on LT. I can never get enough of my pals. And we go back away's over here.

Hooray for Caro in 2014! That's a handsome gentleman at the top, and I like the bespectacled reader, too.

LOVE the thread topper! Welcome to 2014, Caro!

I'm here and you are starred. Happy New Year, Caro.

Consider yourself followed. Or starred, if that's slightly less stalker-ish....

Welcome back!

#5 : Richard - could you get your tracer to track down some good reads for me in 2014, please? And maybe help me manage keeping track of my LT peeps more effectively as well?

#6 : Welcome, Marky-Mark. Thanks for finding me. I hope to have a good 2014 in LT posts as well and keeping up with everyone. We do go back aways don't we? and I love it all! Bring on the new year!

#7 : Hey ho, Joe ... can't wait to see what's being served in the cafe in 2014 and sharing more Camilleri reads and DVDs with you. The handsome gentleman up top, grunts his hello and gives you a toothy grin.

#8 : Hellooo there, Mamie. I can't believe how 2014 is soon to be upon us. I hope the new year will travel along a little slowly so we have more time to savor every moment ....and have more time to hang out in LT.

#9 : Heya Bonnie. It's so nice to see you here. Happy new year to you too! Thanks for starring me.

#10 : Hi Katie - wheee... I am being followed. Stalking is welcome .... here on LT ...... I would advise you not to attempt any stalking activities in RL because I tend to walk some rather uneven paths and I wouldn't want you to suffer any unexpected injuries.

#11 : Hi Jim. Thank you so much for setting the group up for 2014. What would we do without your tireless enthusiasm?

Oh I feel cozy and welcome with the camel and the bulldog.

Caro - So you would say you are "food-loving" and that you "travel a fair bit".
Noooooooooo you think so?
Hahahaha don't know how many books you'll manage or how many times you fall on your tush but it will surely be fun.

Hi Caro!

Wait wait wait! Where's the laughing girl/camel pic that we've come to know and love?

Love your handsome fellow up top, Caro! A thread full of camels, food, and fun sounds like just the place for me. I'm looking forward to following your reading adventures in 2014.

#13 : Hi Stephanie - I used to have a dog who loved wearing sunglasses when I was a kid. I'm so bummed I don't have a photograph of her with a pair on. All my other pets since have refused to even let me put them on for more than a second.

#14 : Paul - You're going to start the year off with snippy sarcasm? Hmph! I shall have a word with Santa about your stocking gift next Christmas. What's wrong with that description? You don't think it a fair one? I'm sure I travel less than the average flight attendant or pilot of a commercial airline. I thought I'd throw in the food-loving description there so as not surprise anyone unfamiliar with my threads when I start posting meal descriptions or photos of food. There are a few parties I'm attending or hosting later in the week so you've been warned.

I am hoping to keep bruises to a minimum in 2014. Btw, I'm very likely to be in KL during the week of Feb 10. Will confirm actual dates soon.

#15 : Hi there Diana. Thanks for visiting.

#16 : Morphy - she and the camel were starting to suffer from TMJ and were in dire need of a good bath, so they've toddled off to rest their laughing jaws and a good scrubbing. Kissy-faced camel has taken their place for the new month of January.

#17 : Julia - welcome, welcome. I am looking forward to exploring some new authors (new to me, anyway) in 2014 and doing something about the teetering TBR Tower I've managed to construct. The number of literally teetering piles of books on the floor next to some of my already overfilled bookshelves is starting to look ridiculous.

I am hoping to close out 2013 with reading 160 books. I'm in the middle of The Shameful Peace but it's quite a hefty read, and I don't think I'll be able to finish it by tomorrow afternoon. So I might 'cheat' and start a quick read this evening so I can squeak it into my list of completed books for 2013 by tomorrow morning.

I'm still trying to figure out what my reading plans should or will be for 2014 ... and am coming up blank. I think I'd like to get involved in the American Authors challenge but am a little hesitant. I don't do all that well reading to plans. Maybe I'll just blithely skip along just picking up whatever strikes my fancy at the moment .... again.

Oh, for all Nick Bantock fans, his newest book, The Trickster's Hat is being released on Jan 7. If you've read the 2 Griffith and Sabine trilogies, The Venetian's Wife or tried to solve the puzzle in The Egyptian Jukebox, I know you're probably on the look out for this latest creative work.

Hi Caro! I'm all for reading whatever strikes your fancy. Looking forward to following all of your adventures in 2014.

Hi, Caro. Can't wait to hear your latest adventure, and vicariously taste your latest exotic meal. Happy New Year to you and Edd.

>18 cameling: Ha! You make me laugh.

*Starred* again, and I look forward to all of your reading and adventures in 2014, as always! Thanks for the heads-up about the new Nick Bantock! YAY!!!

Sooo, I starred your thread when you made it, but must have fallen asleep before posting or something. I am here!

Balsamic roasted pear crumble with mascarpone.

some call them mishaps

yep

.

Happy New Year, and Happy New Thread !Be careful out there !

Happy New Year Caro! Hope you have a great 2014!

A Happy New Year, Caro! I'm looking forward to sharing book notes, food notes, and nonsense with you, as well as virtually travelling.

Happy New Year, Caroline! I'm hoping to keep up with you in 2014.

I like kissy-face camel. :-)

Happy New Year of Reading (and running and traveling and eating), Caro!!

Before I forget .. here are the picks from NPR's Best Books of 2013: http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2013/

Camel Caro! Yay!! Just dropping by to wish you a wonderful New Year Caroline. Wish you the very best and only pain-free incidents that make for more great anecdotes we can all smile at! And plenty of amazing reading, duh! ;-)

Dear Caro - no sarcasm on this visit just heartfelt wishes of a wonderful 2014 to one of my very bestest friends in the group. Looking forward to more meet-ups home and away in 2014. xx

Happy New Year Caro!

Happy New Year!

#20 : Hi Amy - good to see you. I'm looking to a nice fresh start to the year.

#21 : Judy - nothing exotic, just plain good food yesterday on New Year's Eve. It was 22F in the afternoon when we went into Boston so of course the first sensible thing to do before attending the various festivities, was to hop into our favorite bar for a couple of delicious hot toddies, a cheese board with a beautiful wedge of blue cheese, a generous wedge of Manchego, a soft and creamy mini wheel- of goatcheese, and a wedge of Port Salut, and a charcuterie board with slices of spicy chorizo, proscuitto, a thick slice of bacon wrapped country pate, a jar of brandied chicken liver pate, slices of cured beef tongue and smoked duck. With little pails of thick slices of toasted country bread, dishes of sliced sweet pickles, a piece of honeycomb, pickled pearl onions, stone mustard and quince jelly, we were 2 happy thawing souls.

We thawed out again after watching the parade and freezing our hands which we had to remove from our gloves in order to take photos with our phones by going to Max Brenner for some hot chocolate, and fresh churros with a little fondues of chocolate and butterscotch.

We headed to a party at some friends' after and feasted on duck l'orange, pear & gorgonzola pizza, lobster & prosciutto pizza, meatball subs, cranberry and beet salad, garlic fried rice, Southern fried chicken, mac & cheese, cheese & crackers, crudites with a spinach & artichoke dip, hot crab dip, and fruits. The sound of champagne corks being popped was as regular as the bursts of laughter exploding within the house.

#22 : If I can't hit you with a book bullet, Morphy, I'm glad I at least managed to make you laugh. :-)

#23 : Laura - I can't wait for the The Trickster's Hat to be released. I received a Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas, and you can bet this will be one of the books I'll use my card on. I'm wondering if it's going to be something along the lines of The Egyptian Jukebox. I loaned my boxed set of the first Griffith & Sabine some years ago and I was so annoyed when it was returned damaged. The friend I had loaned it to read it with her 15 month old playing next to her and some of the 'letters' were ripped, or drooled over or chewed. Ugh!

#24 : Wow, Kathy - you may have just won a medal for being the first person I've put to sleep by the simple act of starring my thread! Yikes... what will happen when you actually read some of my posts? Please be sure to surround yourself with soft and comfy cushions to break your fall should you keel over in a stupor ....and we will need to figure out what to use in lieu of smelling salts to bring you round.

#25 : Oh yum, Richard ... I'd welcome balsamic pear crumble and mascarpone as dessert any day. That looks delicious!

#26 : Kath - managed to avoid a mishap on the very last night of 2013 last night ... I was walking in the park on the grass , looking up to take photos of the fireworks, tripped over a tree root and managed to grab onto the arm of the unsuspecting hubster to break my fall. Whew! close call.

#27 : Happy New Year to you too, Chelle .. can't wait to see what you're going to be reading over at your thread too. I will try to be better at keeping up in 2014.

#28 : Hi Gail - you're certainly in the right place if you enjoy a dose of nonsense and food. I had a pretty good year last year in terms of good reads, and I'm going to try and continue along that track in 2014. It's thanks to reviews by LTers like you, that help steer me away from potential reading quicksand. Before I joined LT, I know I read many more books I disliked or downright hated .. what a waste of my precious reading time.

#29 : Love the gif, Pat. At first glance, I thought it was a skier doing a stunt jump over the wagon of tall books and I was thinking if I was the skier, I'd crash on top of the structure and break something. On closer look, I was relieved to see it's a boy pulling books on his sled. Whew! Much better.

#30 : Ellen - I like kissy face camel too. I am looking forward to improving my running distance and time in 2014. That's the only resolution I'm comfortable making ... all others I considered I almost immediately laughed cynically at and tossed aside .... like buying fewer books, organize my study an leave it tidy at all times, take better care of the plants in my yard ...

#32 : Hi Ilana - Happy New Year to you! I'm going to do my best at doing more than lurk on your thread in 2014.

#33 : Sweety Paul - It's so nice of you to start the year on my thread with such lovely sentiments ... I know the witty sarcasm and jokes will not be long coming ....you just won't be able to hold it all back for long..... and I'd miss them. I'm so excited about starting another year with you ...even if my OWL isn't ....and living vicariously through your book hauls. Looking forward to seeing you again in the very near future. :-)

#34 : Hi Rhian, Happy New Year to you too! I love the feeling that this is the first day of a sparkly new year .

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Has there been a work by Gaiman you could put down before you read it through to the end? I started this last night after I got home from the party and couldn't go to sleep until I finished it.

From the moment the narrator flees from a funeral reception, you flee with him, snug in his pocket, to a farmhouse at the end of the lane. His memories, sketchy at best, gain strength with each minute he sits beside the ocean he knows to be a pond.

His memories take him back when he was a seven-year old when a dead opal-miner starts a chain of events which brings him into the lives of the 3 Hemstocks from the really old world who safeguard the one he lives in from Hunger Birds and Varmints.

It's a thrilling fantasy, one I can see myself re-reading for years to come.

4 stars

Some pictures I took last night at First Night in Boston. First .. some of the ice sculptures:

A lion, a boy and a lamb


A giant octopus fending off an attack by underwater warriors


A tadpole playground ...but with 2 frogs playing... chess?


A tribute to the Boston Marathon

To thaw ourselves out...

A glass of double espresso with kahlua, a biscotti, and a shot of hot chocolate to add to the espresso


A double macchiato in a Kangaroo cup ...the heat from the coffee melts the 2 squares of chocolate and it drips into the coffee ...


Fresh churros with a dark chocolate fondue, a butterscotch fondue and raspberry sauce

Some pics taken at the parade in downtown Boston

Happy New Year, Caro! I hope you have a fantastic year ahead of you! And thanks for taking over the Christmas Swap. It was a HUGE hit and it exploded in ways I could never have imagined.
I am glad you enjoyed the latest Gaiman! It was a top read for me too!

#42 : Mark - Happy New Year! Thanks for letting me host the Swap last year. It was oodles of fun, and I'm glad everyone had a good time with it.

I was blown over by the latest Gaiman. He never fails to deliver such absorbing stories and the best thing about them is that they are all re-readable and whenever I read them again, they're as fresh as the day I read them for the first time. They never lose their magic as far as I am concerned.

More parade pics

And what's New Year's Eve without fireworks over the Boston Common.

>39 cameling: So happy you're so enthused by read #1!

Lovely photos, dear Caro, and thanks for sharing them. Of course now I'm craving churros with butterscotch fondue.

Looks like you had a great New Year's Eve! Love the photos!
Glad to see you started 2014 with such a great book and great author! Cheers to a wonderful year of reading!

Ooh, you took photos of the ice sculptures as promised! Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Caro! Between your luscious descriptions of the food you had on New Year's Eve, along with the gorgeous photos of your Boston celebration, your thread wins the Most Festive Award for January 1. I loved reading your comments on "Ocean at the End of the Lane". I am not as familiar with Gaiman (I've only read three of his books now) but I adored that one when I read it late last year. He so perfectly depicts the mind of a little boy.

37: My God, the horror! The book-maimed horror! Ugh, I am SO SORRY that that happened to your lovely set! She clearly must not be a true book person, as if there was even a hint of potential injury to the pages she would have set them aside for a safer time. Oh, that's heartbreaking.

Thanks for posting so many lovely pictures for us to look at! I'd show you one of my NYE, but there wasn't much to photograph - just a couple of sleeping cats and me in pajamas on the couch, drinking champagne. Woo!

Lovely photos, Caro!

And for heaven's sake, you didn't put me to sleep! I'm giggling like a drunk hyena at the thought of swooning cushions and smelling salts. I promise to stay awake in here.

#47 : If I can't hit you with a book bullet, dear Richard, I am glad to have at least caused a little tummy rumble. The butterscotch fondue was perfectly delish.. light and not sickly sweet.

Gaiman is a genius! I'm feeling the pull of Good Omens once again. I think that's my favorite because it's got that delightful bit of lunacy that Terry Pratchett brings to the mix. Speaking of which, perhaps I should re-read Discworld this year and get a good dose of Pratchett. It's so tragic that he's been hit with Alzheimer's. :-(

#48 : Thanks, Chelle. I'm am optimistic that my first finished book of the year is an omen of more good reads for the year. Gaiman never fails ... IMO anyway. I introduced my nephew to The Sandman and he's well and truly caught in his grips, and wants to know if I have any others to loan him. He, at least, has been trained from a young age, to treat any book I lend him with great care. My brother is the same with his books, so his son was denied access to some of my brother's old comic books when he returned one he had borrowed in a slightly grubby state when he was 7.

I take an evil, triumphant schadenfreude in typing the next words: Snuff, the NEW Discworld book, is One Dollar and Ninety-Nine Cents today! Yes, that's $1.99 at the Kindle store.

Great description of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Caro! I found it as riveting as you did - maybe his best? No wonder you slept in late!

Happy New Year! This should be another great LT year.

#49 : Katherine, I'm only bummed that I didn't round to all the ice sculptures that were in the city. They had placed them in different locations this year ... a tactic, I'm sure to get people to spread themselves out to more venues instead of having them all crammed into a smaller neighborhood. But since it was so cold and we'd already been out for more than 6 hours, we felt First Nighted out, and didn't want to walk to the other end of the city to see the other ones. I also had some other photos, but they didn't turn out that nicely, so I decided not to post them and have everyone squinting trying to make out what they're supposed to be.

#50 : Julia, I read somewhere that Gaiman fashioned the little boy in The Ocean at the End of the Lane on himself at that age.

SPOILER.....SPOILER......SPOILER....SPOILER

I liked knowing that he returned through the years, and remembered albeit briefly, all that had transpired, before going away and forgetting again. I liked thinking Lettie was still keeping to her promise to watch out for him.

SPOILER.......SPOILER.....SPOILER.....SPOILER

#51 : Laura .. all pictures of LTers comfily (yes, it's a word ...because I like the sound of it) reading in all manner of attire are welcome on this thread. :-) More so if they have cute socks and are accompanied by animals.

It was my fault really for not checking that the friend I loaned my Bantock boxed set to treated her own books well. I'd never been to their house before and therefore had no chance to take a peek at her library. I have since the incident, and I shuddered at the sight of a number of books being used as .... coasters for mugs, glasses, a plate of chicken fingers for her 3 year old son, and a laptop even. Granted my bookshelves are crammed higgeldy-piggeldy with books, some 2 deep and totally unorganized, and some are a little tattered if I'd bought them from used book stores, but I would never put a wet glass or plate of greasy food on top of any one of them.

#52 : *keeping the bottle of smelling salts* .. it must have been the photos to have revived you, Kathy. ;-)

#54 : Well, you can just choke back your evil laugh, Richard ... I have the whole Discworld series on my Re-Read bookshelf ... nyahny, nyahny, nee-ner!

#55 : Joe, I'm too old to keep reading through the night... but it felt wonderful to sleep in this morning for a change.....and still be in my jammies. It looks as if we may skip the New Year's party at our friend's ... we're just feeling deliciously lazy, watching a recording of an Inspector Morse episode, and the contemplating a swim later on at the gym ... just to ease our conscience and not feel too slothful.

Curses! Foiled again.

Sounds like a great way to spend the day to me, Caro. We're getting our exercise by shoveling. The snow has been constant for hours.

Caro, my last book for 2013 was Pratchett's Dodger and I enjoyed it so much. Not a Discworld book but still a wondrous use of language and ideas. I am woefully behind on the Discworld series, something I aim to fix. And yay! Another person who loves Good Omens, that was my introduction to Neil Gaiman.

Hi Caroline - Stopping by to wish you a Happy New Year and to start the year off right as a poster and not a lurker on your thread!

Hi, Caro! Stopping in to star you & hoping to keep up with your reading this year. I really need to read The Ocean at the End of the Lane soon!

#58 : Tip-toe through the tulips... dancing rings around Richard! I have armed myself with a stronger shield this year as I plan on reading more books off my TBR shelves than adding to my OWL........ *chortle* ..ok, even I can't say that with a straight face.

#59 : Joe - alas, with all well-laid plans (see? I told you I was bad at sticking to plans), they topped by the wayside. We did end up going to our friends' for their New Year's Day party because we felt guilty about not showing up, even for an hour. Had a nice time and they had an immense spread on the buffet table - homemade beef empanadas, Vietnamese springrolls, roast chickens, fried rice, Swedish meatballs, tortellinis in pesto, honey baked ham, braised beef short ribs, pasta salad, eggplant moussaka, pasta casserole (or at least that's what it looked like to me .. i stayed away from it), stuffed grape leaves, lox, creamcheese, onion slices, capers and bagels, caesar's salad and a separate long table covered with various pastries, cookies, cakes, kanafeh and homemade baklava.

We went to the movies after and if anyone's thinking of going to watch 'The Wolf on Wall Street', the new DiCaprio/Scorsese movie.. I would say ... DON'T ! It's a waste of time and money. The whole thing seemed to glorify greed, excess, drugs (a whole lot of drugs) and random sex. It reminded me of Valley of the Dolls but with guys, more sex and nudity and set in the world of illegal investment brokerage practices. I had watched DiCaprio being interviewed by Charlie Rose, and he said he bought the rights to the book because he wanted the movie made so the audience sees the negative in a life of excess. He's on the mark on that particular point because you leave the movie feeling really disgusted with the people, especially Jordan Belfort, the role played by DiCaprio, but I also came away thinking that the movie was highlighting how immoral stock brokers scammed their victims with penny stocks or bad trades while making a whole heap of money in commissions for themselves .... and Scorsese and DiCaprio have just scammed movie goers into forking over heaps of money to watch a rubbishy movie.

#60 : Stephanie - Discworld was my first introduction to Pratchett and then Good Omens came after that. I've been hooked on him ever since. I gave a copy of Good Omens to a friend who doesn't usually read much fiction, and he loved it too! It's my go-to book when I want something that lifts my crabby mood.

#61 : Hi Lori. Now that's a good start to the year. I'm giving myself until the end of the week to get around saying hi to everyone on their thread. Is it my imagination of has the number of members in this group grown since last year ...and it's only the 2nd day into the year!

#62 : Hey Marcia, thanks for stopping in. I would like to do a better job at keeping up with more threads this year, including yours, this year. Last year, I was woefully behind, especially in the second half of the year. Maybe I'll do better at time management this year ... and it would help if work wasn't half as manic as it was last year too. ;-) I can't recommend The Ocean at the End of the Lane highly enough for anyone who likes fantasy and Gaiman.

2. The Shameful Peace : How French Artists and Intellectuals Survived Nazi Occupation - Frederic Spotts

There's been little written about artists, musicians, writers and intellectuals who lived in Paris at the time of the Nazi Occupation. Given how many books have been written about regular residents of Paris, of Occupied and Unoccupied zones in the city, the lack of written material about the individuals who had been very much a part of the cultural identity of Paris, is glaringly sparse.

Hitler himself, recognized the importance of culture and encouraged an artistic life among those in Occupied France, but an artistic life dictated by his belief in German cultural supremacy, and one subject to censorship.

After the war, the artists and members of the social elite who were known to not only have lived, traded with, entertained or partied with the Occupiers, were denounced as collaborators and held more responsible for France's defeat than her military and political figures.

But how does one define collaboration?
"Was it accepting German hospitality to visit or perform in Germany, attending a reception hosted by a German official or even just seeking German approval to publish a book, perform a play or exhibit a painting?"

And how is resistance defined?
"-fleeing the country, refusing to publish, to exhibit or to perform? Or was it just the opposite - staying to fling French culture into the face of the Occupier?"

This is a detailed study of cultural icons such as Matisse, Picasso, Henri Jeansson, Serge Lifar, Jean Cocteau, Marc Chagall and Simone de Beauvoir, and what they did to survive during this period of history, as well as a study of the strategies adopted by the Nazis to encourage if not compel cooperation by the French.

It's not a book you can zip through, but neither is it a plodder. It is, however, rich with detail and you will want to absorb it all by reading a bit more slowly .. I did, anyway.

4 stars

Happy New Year, dear Caroline! I'm sorry that we weren't able to get together this time around, but we'll certainly meet up later this year.

Great review of The Shameful Peace; I'll add it to my wish list.

I hope that you stay safe and warm. My flight back to ATL leaves PHL at 3:30 pm, so I'll miss the start of the storm here.

Holy Buffet, even your friends are foodies, Caro! I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. That's quite a New Year's Day spread you describe in >63 cameling:.

Too bad about Wolf of Wall Street. I've grown to respect Di Caprio's acting, but that sounds like a pretty sour outing.

Okay. Crossing Wolf of Wall Street off of my list of movies to see - thank you very much for that. However, my savings there have been offset by the book bullet that you hit me with for a The Shameful Peace.

And Joe is right. Holy Buffet!

#66 : Happy new year, Linda. Thanks for stopping by.

#67 : Darryl, I'm sorry we didn't get to close out the year together, but I'm sure we'll make up for that in the not too distant future.

I hope your flight isn't delayed and that you get home well before the storm starts in Atlanta. Over here, we're well and truly in the middle of lots of fluffy white stuff and 5F temps outside. But since it's powder, it's at least easy to shovel, which we've done once already even though it's accumulating so fast, all our hard work has already been covered with more snow, but at least we won't have as much to do tomorrow after it snows all night too. I am just hoping it stays nice and fluffy and doesn't sleet and freeze.

#68 : Joe - there were at least 40 people at that party, and some of us brought food with us too, hence the variety, although the hosts covered the majority of the mains and the kanafeh and baklava. All the other pastries, cookies and cakes were brought by guests.

I was disappointed with the movie and shocked that DiCaprio would want to involve himself in something I consider a B movie and a bad one at that. I can't fault his acting though ... if you focus on that aspect of the movie, his acting was actually stellar.

#69 : Mamie - yes, this would definitely not all into the category of a movie for the family. On the other hand, a movie I would recommend is Philomena. Judi Dench is superb in this movie.

I'm glad I've managed to hit you with a book bullet. :-) Payback, my dear, payback is sweet!

Egads Caro! I can't believe it too me this long to find your new thread! I guess it was covered by all the snow falling over there.
Wow, Boston really knows how to bring in the new year. A fun and tasty time!

#65, damn it! That's the fourth book bullet already this year! Seriously though, that sounds utterly fascinating so onto the wishlist it goes.

OK so you've already read two books and it's Jan. 2. At this rate Caro you'll read a lot more than 160 books which kind of boggles the mind haha. Stay in and stay warm. Nasty weather....again. This is getting to be monotonous.

My first Terry Pratchett was The Colour of Magic. I loved Good Omens, but I felt that had just much Neil Gaiman in it as Terry Pratchett. It was an interesting combo.

Hi Caro!
I see it is a happy new year for you!
I'll bet that tree root that tripped you up the other night is well buried under snow now!

Don't know why I've been hesitating on the Gaiman book - you've made me bump up it's priority. I love his books.

Thanks for all the great pictures of food, ice, parade, fireworks!

Hi Caro! Found you and starred. Happy reading :-D

Hi Caro... just checking in on you...have your fleet of GA appeared for duty, yet? I have a feeling you will need them this weekend.

I don't go out to movies but now I know not to even get Wolves from Netflix.

Heidy-ho, good neighbor! So glad you enjoyed the new Gaiman... it's in the mail, winging its way to me as I type, and I expect it to arrive on Monday. I'm quite excited...!!!

#72 : Lynda - no worries ... I'm still trying to track down threads for some LTers I followed in the last couple of years. And snow is right... we shoveled three times yesterday and it didn't look as if we did anything when I woke this morning. So a lot more shoveling in store for us today. We keep saying we'll buy a snow blower before each winter, not the ones for light snow, but the proper heavy duty ones ...but we keep putting it off and before you know it, we're in the middle of a snowstorm ...and sweating buckets lifting huge shovel-fulls of snow and sometimes ice off our front walk, steps and our long driveway. Oh well.... maybe we'll get one during the sale in the Spring. :-) In the meantime, we're getting some great arms, back, core and legs workouts.

#73 : ding ding ding! Bulls-eye! It was a fascinating book though, Stephanie .. I'm sure the other occupants in your wish list will happily welcome a new addition.

#74 : Bonnie - 160 in a year is laughable to the big hitters like Suzanne. I managed 160 last year and didn't count books I had re-read, so the number was much higher. Still, for me, that was an achievement. I don't know what my year will be like, but I'd like to aim for at least 150 if I can.

The sun is out and it looks absolutely pretty outside. The hubster is up and has volunteered to dig out my car so I can go meet a friend for lunch and drop something off at the post office. What a sweetie.

#75 : Hi Rachel - After I read Good Omens I wished Gaiman had teamed up with Pratchett again for another book or 2, but alas, that appears to be the only time they collaborated. A shame because they made a good team and I think the lunacy that Prachett brings to his stories added just the right amount of levity to Gaiman's slightly dark fantasy, resulting in a compelling and entertaining story.

#76 : Cee - Yes, this is not a good time to be leaping and running across acres of snow hiding rocks, tree roots and ruts. BUT, it's the perfect time to wax my skis and head out to the trails for some xcountry skiing ... tomorrow morning. I'd go today but I have to work this morning, and later in the afternoon, the hubster has dental surgery so I need to accompany him so he won't be driving back all dopey from the GA.

Yaay..another Gaiman fan. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't enjoy Gaiman's works.

#77 : Hi Barbara .. thanks for starring me. I will have to be sitting in a dentist's waiting room this afternoon, so I will be sure to get some good reading done while I wait for my husband's dental surgery to be completed. It will be a nice break in my work day. :-)

#78 : Hi Kath - no injuries as yet. And why will I need the GA fleet this weekend? Do you know something I don't? Spill the beans ... do I need to don armor and helmet as well this weekend?

Having woke early this morning and spent a half hour just shoveling our front walk. The ordeal was sufficient to convince my conscience that I had enough of a workout, and that I didn't need to dig my car out yet. So I came in, shucked off my coat, gloves and hat and whipped up a batch of triple berry (raspberry, blueberry & strawberry) muffins.

Looks gorgeous 😋

OK. Now you are talking MY kind of food.
TRIPLE berry muffins... sigh Are they still warm?
Pass a couple of those over here and I will be your slave for the day ...

Your muffins look lovely Caro. I'd swap your snow for our wind and rain. It snows so rarely here that I've never quite got over the idea of it being very exciting!

Oooh, all this talk of Gaiman, Pratchett, cross-country skiing and muffins has me sold, this thread is awesome! *pulls up a chair and starts hanging out by Caro's fireplace*

Judy and I saw "The Wolf" and had the opposite take on it Caro.

Di Caprio is honing in on these kind of powerful men, like "Gatsby" and Howard Hughes and even J. Edgar. This could have been another slacker comedy but Scorsece was after bigger game - and I think he hit the mark - the "greed is good" culture of the time.

It's a sideways look at the American Dream and I think a though provoking - and a funny one.

Hello and Happy New Year from a fellow Bostonian. Glad you're surviving the storm! The cold does bring out the domesticity in one, eh? Pancakes and hot amaretto cocoa, here. Enjoyed your review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Not generally a reader of fantasy, but so many people loved it, had to give it a go. Was not disappointed.

Wishing you many happy reads/lovely dinners/pleasant. Travels in 2014.

P.s. Where did you have that chacuterie plate NYE? Have got to have me some of that!!!

#85 : Barbara - there is nothing I like more than a hot mini muffin. If you've been to the US, you'll know that the muffins generally sold in the bakeries here are as large as the baseballs if not larger sometimes. I like making cupcake sized ones.

#86 : Haha Cee - so finally.. not a food posting here that has you gagging? Hooray! Maybe I shouldn't mention that I also scarfed a handful of Cheetos prior to going out with my trusty shovel this morning. Oh.. i just mentioned it... oh well. I needed energy to shovel out a path to the street after all. Wouldn't want me keeling over from depleted energy, would you?

*heats up a couple of muffins and plates them for Cee, puts the kettle on.... fluffs up a beanbag* - come on over. *ponders a list of chores for my slave-for-the-day*

#87 : Kathy, when I lived in London, I remember one year it actually snowed so much my poor white car was buried and as I had forgotten where I had parked (I knew it was on the street outside my apartment..somewhere) I ended up having to kick snow off the license plates of more than 12 cars before I finally found mine ...and in the process I inadvertently set off no less than 5 car alarms. Oops.

The snowy landscape looks all pretty now, especially since the sun has come out, and I'm not complaining because this storm brought in just powder, and not the horrid mix of sleet & snow, so shoveling the driveway yesterday wasn't difficult ...it would been actually quite a pleasant if it hadn't just been so darn cold! Temps dropped to about -24 Celcius last night, I think. Not fun.

Advice for Brits who may want to visit the US, especially the North East during winter ... hilarious, but true.
http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/2013/12/23/10-must-items-extreme-u-s-wint...

#88 : Ok, I need to know, Megan ... what's the story behind your handle. There must be one, and I'm sure it's a good one... 'evilmoose'? I love it!

*Fluffs up a cushion by the fireplace* ... come make yourself at home.

#89 : Jim - that might explain things a little ... see, I didn't like DiCaprio's Gatsby either. The hiphop music put me off, and everything was so OTT - i know, typical Baz Luhrmann style, but the book is still way better than movie-tie-ins. I wasn't wild about the Robert Redford/Mia Farrow version but I did like it better than the DiCaprio version. I didn't think he did a good job playing Gatsby... which is a shame because I think he's a very talented actor.

I agree that Scorsese did well emphasizing the greed and culture of excess for that time, but in the interview with Charlie Rose, both he and DiCaprio said they wanted the movie made to show that excess does not lead to happiness and they wanted to show the negative side of all that greed. I think, though, that especially in our present day culture where misbehaving celebrities and sports figures (at least in the US) are not just championed but held as icons with a lifestyle to aspire to, that their message may not hit as hard on the younger generation as it does, us oldies and the (ahem) more mature thinkers.

I also thought it was way too long and somewhat repetitive. I think they could have cut a few scenes and shortened it to 2 hours without losing the message they were driving. I did think the scene of the 'lemons' delayed effect very funny.

#90 : Hi Marianne - wow, I am so pleased to meet a fellow Bostonian here on LT. I'm sure there must be more around, but you're the first I've met. Thank you for your lovely wishes, and I'd like to bounce happy new year wishes over to your corner of the city too ...and hope you're hunkering down and staying out of the cold for most of the day.

Was The Ocean at the End of the Lane your first Gaiman? If so, I'd like to nudge you towards Good Omens and Anansi Boys. If you like graphic novels, then I'd also push you towards The Sandman.

Hot amaretto cocoa sounds divine! Now why didn't I think of that?

The charcuterie plate on NYE was at The Salty Pig over on Dartmouth Ave down the street from Copley. I love the coziness of the place, and if you sit up at the bar, the bartender is wonderfully chatty, and will sometimes give you samples of liquor that you may be unfamiliar with. Once he even wandered over to the huge leg of jamon iberico, and had them slice a couple of slices onto a plate so I could compare it against the Serano that I had ordered.

Caro -- my office is between Arlington and Copley -- I've walked by the Salted Pig SOOO many times. Don't know why I haven't been there before. On the list now.

Haven't done much fantasy at all, and no graph novels at all. However, might dip my toe in if as good as the one Gaiman I read.

Engaging in a little comfort food, plus clearing out from the pantry. Hence the pancakes, hot amaretto cocoa and homemade Mac and Cheese using up all the bits and pieces of cheese from NYE.

Hope you are nesting as well!

Hello Caro! Lovely photos from NYE in Boston. I love the ice sculptures. I am amazed that someone can do that.

I am enjoying the conversation about The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I've only read one Gaiman, The Graveyard Book, and I think I need to explore more by him. I mean, I liked that one fine but it was definitely written for a young audience. So, you're convincing me.....

I'll make a pitch for American Gods by Neil Gaiman, a sort of sequel to Anansi Boys. I gave my copy of American Gods right after I read it, no idea why. Fortunately, I've replaced it recently so I can re-read it. :-)

*sneaks in*
I really thought I had already visited for my first hello of the year! Honest.

I love the new camel! He /she looks cheeky and inquisitive. Qualities I admire in any person/animal.

Looking forward to more photos of food, and I suppose some books?
Happy New Year!

eta: went looking for ice sculptures and found muffins, thinking to myself they are really great ice-sculptures as look so much like muffins. Almost exactly!

Hi Caro- Good discussion on The Wolf of Wall Street. I am a big Scorcese fan but he's been hit or miss lately. I really liked Hugo Cabret though, which was so unlike him. I am sure I'll see "Wolf" on DVD at some point.

Raspberry crumble with brown-butter hazelnut ice cream. Because I can.

Yum. Richard made me hungry.

Oh, I've been an evilmoose for so long I've forgotten how it began, but have instead grown into the name - particularly since moving to Canada!

(That crumble looks ridiculously delicious)

Hot Amaretto cocoa; my God what a find this Marianne is!

Is it something about the sweet Bostonian air that generate such a virtuosity for the epicurean?

To another sweet Bostonian, have a lovely, accident free, weekend.

Books read... I tend to average around 130 ish.. the ones I count. I was surprised that I ended up there this year past, as it seemed like I was in a funk so many times during the year. And I realized that there were one or two I forgot to count.. but, whatever.

They were showing someone cross country skiing in Boston on our news yesterday.. I mmediately assumed it was you, and hoped that you had a GA nearby :)

I see that winter is in full force in your part of the world, Caroline! I was surprised to see a lovely layer of frost covering the rooftops and the grass when I woke up this morning so its colder than usual even where I am.

I agree with you about the ginormous muffins and baked good sold in a number of North American stores. Making your own smaller sized muffins sounds perfect to me. Thankfully, one of the markets in town makes smaller-sized scones that satisfy my baked good urges without it becoming a meal in itself or cutting it in half and wrapping part of it for later consumption. Small is good, but I haven't figured out how to convince the majority of the food retailers that!

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

#95 : Marianne, oh what a crime ... to walk past the Salty Pig many a time and not have stopped in?! Ye gods and little fishes, madam, what thoughts have so consumed you during your walks that you were not lured into the tavern? I hope you pop in before long, and I look forward to your review of the place. I can, however, if you haven't already discovered this for yourself, to avoid the Russell Tavern in Cambridge's Harvard Square if you want a good charcuterie board .. they serve the most pathetic one I've ever had the misfortune of having placed in front my starving gaze.

I should confess that I picked up the first volume of Gaiman's The Sandman series, Preludes & Nocturnes when I was a bookstore and waiting for the hubster, ended up reading the whole thing in a corner, and proceeded to bring the other volumes home with me, to savor slowly in the comfort of home.

My cold weather comfort go-to has to be a thick grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of hot tomato soup... I made this last night and was as happy as a Winnie finding an Aladdin's cave of honey pots.

I am also a fan of the smaller sized muffins - they are more moist, I think. The larger muffins are gorgeous, though. They are the perfect portion size for sharing - my girls and I like to get one of those and share. I do wish that retailers would offer both.

Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous, Caro!

Catching the train out of Back Bay station always seems to win out over stopping at the Salted Pig. If I miss the train, my default has been a quick martini at the Oak Room. I see I have been far too limited...

Grilled cheese and tomato soup ... A classic combination. Funnily enough, that was dinner option two when we decided on the mac and cheese. Either way, nothing beats the smell of melty-cheesy goodness on a cold evening!

#96 : Ellen - I think Gaiman, on the surface, appeals to younger readers because many of his main characters are young children or teens, but his stories are such that there are deeper darker levels which will attract the more mature readers, regardless of age. I hope you will give him another shot, but I wouldn't recommend Coraline or Stardust because those, like The Graveyard Book seem to be targeted at a much younger audience compared to something like Anansi Boys or American Gods.

#97 : Stephanie - You gave your copy of American Gods away?! If you weren't victim to some mind-altering drug or under the influence of alcohol, then I can only surmise that you have the biggest heart in the entire Universe! There are some books I would be loath to part with, American Gods, Good Omens, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Lord of the Rings, my J.D.Robb In Death series, and A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy being among them. These are some of my re-read books who have become old and very dear friends - I don't say family because you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends.

I am glad you came to your sense and got yourself another copy. ;-)

#98 : No need to sneak in Megan ... I was wondering when you might stumble upon my little thread. I haven't yet tracked down some other threads I followed in 2013 .. this is turning out to be quite a treasure hunt, not that I mind. On the contrary, my hunt for certain treads have allowed me to stumble on to some new people I'd not previously 'met'.

So glad you like kissy-faced camel. I think she's adorable, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Sorry to disappoint..but I couldn't come up with any ice sculptures realistic or otherwise of muffins.

I would, however, be suitable ecstatic if someone would sculpt me a little ice chess set in my back yard. Wouldn't that be a fun activity out in the cold ... playing with the giant chess set, that is, not carving the thing.

For adults checking out Gaiman I highly recommend Dream Hunters a graphic novel set in the Sandman universe. It is a gorgeous story and beautifully illustrated. I also think it is more approachable then some of his other work without being aimed at children.

#99 : Mark - I'll be interested in what you think of 'Wolf' when you get to watch it. I loved his adaptation of Hugo Cabret and I have liked some of his movies, but I think he's actually a better producer of documentaries than he is of movies.

I came across this article in the New York Times ...serendipity perhaps, given the discussion we've been having on movie tie-ins? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/books/review/what-are-we-meant-to-get-out-of-m...

I think Zoë Heller makes a better argument for movie tie-ins and she brought a good argument to point, that many of the movies are mere adaptations of books, and not meant to be a full visual rendition of the books themselves. That's a perspective I hadn't spent a lot of time considering, and now that I have, I think if I keep this in mind, I may be able to enjoy movie tie-ins more in the future.

#100 : RD - me too, me too.... or rather, I would like to! I love raspberry crumbles. Why oh why did I not think to log into LT this morning before I did my grocery shopping, instead of attempting to battle the elements in -11F temps and going out to xcountry ski at 7am across an open meadow ........ for all of 10 mins before my numbed lips, frozen (and I suspect brittle) face, frozen fingers (even though they were encased in gloves) and tearing eyes convinced me of the folly of my ways. That was a monumentally stupid idea. Needless to say, I turned myself around and hurled myself as quickly as possible back to the car, shucked off my gear, and whimpered as the heat blasted through the car, sending painful prickles under my skin as I slowly thawed out.

#101 : Alan - Richard has a tendency to do that... when he's not taking pot shots with his rather well aimed book bullets.

#102 : evilmoose - I just love that handle, Megan. I can just picture a young moose, with glinting eyes, a cigar i his mouth and sharpened antlers (those things on their heads are called antlers, aren't they?)

#103 : Thank for kindly sending a virtual safety bubble to protect me, Paul ... so far, no mishaps ... unless you count near frostbite this morning when I attempted some xcountry skiing.

I think one look at Joe's thread is enough to convince anyone straying into this group out of curiosity to realize that there's a fair number of seemingly rapacious members who enjoy discussing food as much as they do discussing books.

I haven't as yet, but I might start including new cookbooks I've read for the first time, as part of my book count. I do like reading them from cover to cover before I even attempt to try out any of the recipes. So I'll pose this to the jury ... should they count as a read book?

*smooch*

I think if you are reading them from cover to cover, they count.

#104 : Kath - you had me laughing when I read that you immediately thought I was the person filmed crosscountry skiing in Boston. I hope that person was smarter than I was, and bundled up more appropriately, including a face and ski mask. I think if I had thought to don those, I could have had a lovely time this morning out in the snow instead of wimping out.

I do remember you suffering from a number of book funks in 2013 so you really do deserve a medal for going through 130 books last year. Well done! I hope you'll have a wonderful funk-less year in 2014.

btw - aren't you proud of me for not grossing you with my dinner last night? Grilled cheese & tomato soup.. how much more comfort can you get, right?

#105 : Lori - I am hoping that this it the last of the arctic blast. I like snow and the cold, but not temperatures that dip too far below freezing. This morning I woke up and it was -12F and windy, so it felt a lot colder.

Food retailers in the US have surreptitiously increased the size of portions and food items such as burgers, muffins, cookies, scones and cup sizes so nobody seems to remember when things were not all supersized. I remember reading an article a few years back about the size of dinner plates and in the article, the author wrote that a current day dinner plate would never fit into a 1950s kitchen cabinet because they'd be too big. Back then, a dinner plate was, I think, 9" in diameter, but they are 12" in diameter today. When I visit my mom, her old dinner plates look more like salad plates in comparison.

Four days into the New Year and so far no casualty reports on this thread. Hopefully this will last at least another week or two.

I don't know about the Northeast, but the temperatures will plummet in the Deep South starting tomorrow night, with low temperatures that haven't been seen here for over a decade. It's supposed to drop down to 19 F in Atlanta by Monday morning, after a cold front passes through, but it will drop down to 4 F by the Tuesday morning rush hour. I think it's only hit single digits here once since I moved to Atlanta in 1997, and I'm positive that it's never been as cold as 4 F in that time. I wouldn't put away your long johns just yet.

Any muffins left? I'll trade a couple of muffins for a quarter pound of pastrami salmon from Russ and Daughters.

#107 : Mamie - I find the bigger muffins dry and I always need butter or cream cheese to go with them. But with the smaller ones, I can nibble at them without needing any spread. I do like buying muffin tops from a bakery I visit from time to time. They have that nice little crunch on the edges and are delicious warmed up, with some butter and a mug of tea.

I love banana walnut muffin tops.


#108 : Marianne, I've had my share of dirty martinis at the Oak Room and nibbles. I like their kobe beef slides and chicken pot pie. I haven't been there for dinner yet though.

I think I could eat grilled cheese sandwiches everyday. :-)

#111 : Oh good call, Oberon. I didn't know there were 2 illustrated works by this title. I'd only read the Dream Hunters that was illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. Then about a month ago, I was browsing at a bookstore and noticed one with a different illustration by P.Craig Russell. I much prefer the original version by Amano though. The version by Russell seemed to me to be rather flat in comparison.

#115 : smooches back, Richard ..by the way, watch out for a package next week. :-)

#116 : Thanks for the vote, Mamie. I've just finished reading Le Bernardin Cookbook by Maguy Le Coze and the pictures and recipes are totally drool-worthy. I'm still in two minds about adding them to my book count ... hmm..will have to give this a bit more thought.

3. Room No.10 by Åke Edwardson

It's been a while since I read a Scandicrime so this was like welcoming an old friend home after a long vacation. Part of the Inspector Winter series, Detective Chief Inspector Winter and his homicide team are stumped by the death of a young woman found in a hotel room. Her hand is painted white, and by all accounts, it appears to have been a suicide except nothing adds up. There are no prints in the room and although there's is what appears to be a suicide note, Inspector Winter is unconvinced.

Trying to trace her actions leading up to her checking into this hotel is an exercise in frustration for the team, raising more questions at every junction. Her parents, coworkers and friends claim to have no knowledge of this woman's personal life, not where she went for a holiday or even if she has a boyfriend. Nobody comes forward when the news of her death is released through the media.

In addition, a still open case of more than eighteen years returns to haunt Inspector Winter. It was a case in his first year as a homicide detective where a woman goes missing and it troubles him that it remains unsolved. Why does he keep seeing the husband of the missing woman? Is there a possibility that he could be involved in the present murder? And what are the parents and the friend of the current victim not saying. There is a deep and dark secret at the bottom of her death but it is only after another woman goes missing that things start to rapidly unravel even as Inspector Winter walks further into a trap that might make this his very last case.

3.8 stars

The hubster had to have some dental surgery yesterday and he's not allowed any physical exercise to raise his blood pressure for the weekend and not allowed hot tea/coffee or hot soups. Since he's also to avoid any hard foods for a while, I made some fish tacos for dinner last night.

Today he requested vichyssoise which was simple enough, except I came downstairs to see him standing by the stove, bowl in hand, while the soup was still bubbling away. He'd forgotten that he wasn't to drink hot soup. I looked out the window at all 18" of snow on our back deck, grabbed the pot from the stove, opened the back door and deposited the pot right down onto the snow, letting it sink in. Gave it a couple of stirs, slammed the door shut so I didn't turn into a popsicle, waited a few minutes, opened the door, gave it another couple of stirs, slammed the door shut again, waited a few more minutes and then opened the door and retrieved said pot of soup. Would you believe it was so cold out and with the pot sitting in the snow, it took a mere 5 minutes to cool it so it wasn't even lukewarm.

#109, Caro, I have been known to give my books to flight attendants who express an interest in what I'm reading. I really don't know what I was thinking in regards to American Gods and Anansi Boys which I still need to replace.

#119, Caro, I too enjoy a very yummy grilled cheese sammich. I get this bread called Dave's Killer Bread (the Blues bread) and it makes terrific grilled cheese sammiches. In fact, I think I will make some today. :-)

You dinner last night not only did not gross me out, but had me wishing I were there to share :) and yes.. very proud.

re: Dinner plates, Yes. I use luncheon plates for dinner.. I have some 12 inch plates, typically used for Thanksgiving or pancakes so I can keep the bacon or sausage away from the syrup. I remember the fifties, but not well enough to remember plate sizes :)

I agree with Mamie. Cookbooks should count when read cover to cover. I count interior design and fashion books when I read them cover to cover and they are predominantly pictorial in nature.

Yes the cookbooks count - but I'd want you to review them as it would almost help to assuage hunger pangs.

Yes, absolutely count cookbooks if you're doing more than just dipping in here and there and browsing recipes. And I agree with Paul that you really should review them. With pictures, please. ;-)

>117 cameling: I remember reading an article a few years back about the size of dinner plates
That is true! We have my parents old set and the big bug serving plates are what my lovely other fills to the edges with tea, and the other ones he considers side plates!

#123 : Stephanie, I often leave books I've finished on a flight in the back seat pocket so the next passenger will have something to read. Sometimes my seat mate will notice that I'm not taking the book, ask me what I thought of it, and if I minded if they had it. It's nice to know used books will have a new home. ;-) I also leave books in hotel rooms when I'm done with them. Granted now that I have a Kindle which I use when I travel so I don't have to lug 8 - 10 books with me (depending on the length of the trip), I'm leaving fewer books than I used to. But I still carry a few print books with me because while the Kindle is convenient, I still prefer the tactile feel of actual books.

Also, I don't download books with illustrations or photos on the Kindle... they don't show up as nicely as they do in print.

I need to replace my copy of The Story of Sushi, also published as The Zen of Fish. I had sent it to a friend in California whom I know would take good care of it while on loan, but alas, it must have raining very heavily enroute or the parcel may have fallen into a massive puddle, but it arrived all soggy and rather messed up. My friend had to dry it out in his oven, and it was still on the verge of falling to pieces.

I love thick grainy bread for grilled cheese sarnies. There used to be a bakery down the road but they couldn't keep up with rental increases, and had to leave. That was a sad sad day .. i used to love buying fresh loaves of bread from them. So much better than sliced loaves from the supermarket.

Have you ever baked bread? There are some really good recipes out there, and it is a very satisfying thing to make, kneading and watching it rise.. or even beer bread! hmmm Maybe I will make some of that today... to go with the stoup.

#125 : Kath - what are luncheon plates? Are they different from dinner plates in size? We don't have a formal dinner service ... we're pretty bohemian and I love mixing and matching different colors and styles of plates and bowls when we have dinner parties. My in-laws despairs of us. They tried to gift us a full dining set once, but the hubster convinced them to return it because we'd never use it .. plus they were bone china and I was deathly afraid I'd break them all just by breathing on them.

Mamie, Lori, Paul & Julia

OK, I think that's enough to persuade me to count cookbooks if I've read them cover to cover, but only after I've tried out a few recipes from them to properly review with pictures. :-) We are having a dinner party next Saturday and among our guests are 2 who are pescatarians, so I shall be testing out a few recipes from Le Bernardin a present I received at Christmas.

#129 : Megan - the scariest thing I've seen was at a tavern a couple of years ago where an order of loaded nachos was delivered to the group sitting next to us .... on a platter the size of a serving tray. It was ridiculous but given that the diners were college students, their eyes lit up with the brilliance of incandescent blubs, and they dove into the pile like ones held from food for a week.

That's one reason why I like tapas. They're all very tasty but small bites, so you can eat a variety of things. Most of the time, when we're in restaurants here, even the appetizer portions are so large we have to share them if we are to make a dent into our own main course.

4. Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P.G. Wodehouse

Whenever Lord Ickenham, ever altruistic and wanting to spread light and happiness to all around him, comes up with plans, you may be sure there will be sufficient impromptu changes in the execution of these plans to test the patience and sanity of the unwitting victims and beneficiaries of these plans.

In this installment, dear Uncle Fred has to plan the rescue of a prized pig, pass himself off as a reknown psychologist to prevent a ducal houseguest from throwing eggs at a whistling gardener, find a way to help his nephew come up with money to repay gambling debts, engineer the purchase of an onion soup bar, and above all, avoid being unmasked before he's ready to leave the country seat of his friend, the pig owner.

All good fun and entertainment.

4 stars

#131 : Kath - I do like baking bread but haven't done that in a while. I used to make rosemary focaccia, sourdough and olive bread. Now that you've given me a nudge, maybe I'll pick up some yeast later this afternoon when we're out and make some bread later in the week.

Happy New Year! This lovely trio are singing a few lovely notes to wish a warm day filled with books.

>122 cameling: I love that story! It made me smile.

Luncheon plates... just smaller plates.. 8-9 inches. Olive bread??? is there a recipe?

Uncle Fred is always entertaining. :)

I'm increasingly determined to read The Ocean at the End of the Lane soon: everyone who reads it seems to say marvellous things about it. I don't think I've read a negative review. *bumps it slightly higher up the wishlist*

OK, the singing Mexican camels made me laugh out loud! I'm sure the mariachi band camels are just out of view ...

Grilled cheese is my downfall but add bacon and Sadie, bar the door.

OK Caro, it's looking more and more like I'm going to have to try Gaiman. Where to start...

140: I'm going to have to try Gaiman. Where to start...
Well, American Gods is currently ranked 1st in the voting for One LibraryThing, One Book.

>120 cameling: I completely agree about Amano as the illustrator. Don't miss it.

I'm arriving a bit late to your party, Caro, but I have placed my star and I am ready to start living vicariously through you with your many exotic trips, fantastic food and, oh yeah, a book bullet or two along the way. Here's wishing you a great 2014.

>141 qebo: what!??! I actually own that book, and I have yet to read anything Gaiman has written for adults...this is a sign. (not unlike the grilled cheese sandwich)

I second Kath's intention to make beer bread, I will use some of my lovely other's failed less good home brewed ones :)

I feel somewhat accomplished that I made it over to your thread less than a week into the new year! Whew....life has been extremely busy over the last two weeks.

I'm glad you loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It was only my second Gaiman, but it certainly won't be the last.

With the subzero temperatures we have been experiencing, I have also been craving grilled cheese and tomato soup...yum!

#135 : LOL ... I love the singing Mexican camels, Linda. Thank you for that giggle and smile this afternoon. I'm in the middle of a rambling conference call and I'm bored, so thank you for this. This is why I've continued to reject invites for video conferencing. I'd never be able to do actual work or check in on other things during boring conference calls if I was on a video conference ... plus they'd see me yawning all the time. ;-)

#136 : Morphy - I thought that was quite ingenious. Haha.... Might as well make some use of all that snow besides making snowpeople and snow animals. I tried making a snow camel but the hubster thought it was it was a snowscape of 4 pine trees. Really? *sigh*

#137 : Kath .. here you go. What I like about this is that it's a no knead recipe. :-)

Olive Loaf Ingredients:

3 Cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, pitted, drained, roughly chopped
3/4 Teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 Cups cool water

Drain the olives and pat them dry. Then give these guys a rough chop and make sure that all the olives actually don’t have pits. Sometimes I find a couple of olives in the batch with pits that have been missed. So watch out. You don’t want Broken Tooth Bread!

Mix your yeast and flour together in a large bowl and then toss in your chopped olives. Then add the water and mix everything together. The dough is going to be very moist. Cover the dough and let it sit and rise ... I usually wait about 16 hours for it to rise into a nice bubbly mess.

I then scrape the dough onto a working surface that I've already sprinkled liberally with flour and cornmeal. I use cornmeal because it adds a nice crust to the loaf. Fold the dough a couple of times and form a ball or loaf shape. Cover it with a towel and let it proof for about 2 hours.

Heat oven to 500F. I like using a cast iron pot for no knead bread and I heat the pot up in the oven for about a half hour until it's blazing hot, then I place the dough into the pot ( i usually drop the dough onto a tea towel so I can just roll the dough into the pot). Put a lid on the pot and bake for 30 mins, then remove the lid (be careful of the steam) and bake for another 20 mins so the crust turns a nice dark brown.

Let cool and happy snacking. It's great with creamcheese & anchovies, dipped in soup, with hunks of cheese and pate and by itself :-)

Oh, I love Linda's trio of singing camels! Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup = the best. Perfect in the cold months.

I loved Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it may be my favorite of the Gaimans. I'm also a big Neverwhere fan, although I've seen some other LTers don't like that one. I get a big kick out of it, and even tracked down the original BBC series, which is very well done.

#138 : Caty - I wish I had a relative like Uncle Fred. Sure he'd probably give me more gray hairs, but life would certainly never be dull with someone like him around.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with The Ocean at the End of the Lane .. I had such a great time reading it, and he did such a great job of holding me captive with his dark tension that I gave up sleep just so I could finish it.

#139 : Julia - haha.. that's what I was thinking too ... that there would be a band of mariachi camels pulling up the rear. The only other thing that would make it perfect would be a band of camels with bottles of tequila and shot glasses in their saddles.

#140 : Bonnie ... oh well now .. with bacon added to the mix, Sadie had better have multiple steel bars because I can hear the stampeding and drooling hoards running towards you!

I think if you ask 6 people what Gaiman book to start with, you're going to get 6 different answers. My personal favorite remains Good Omens but Anansi Boys come a close second.

#141 : Katherine - Ok. American Gods is a good one to start with as well ... I don't think there is a bad Gaiman book, actually. But Stardust, Neverwhere, Coraline and The Graveyard Book may not appeal as much to all readers, especially if they don't enjoy YA or books for younger readers.

#142 : Oberon, have you seen other Amano illustrations? If not and if you liked his work in The Dream Hunters, I'd recommend Tale of Genji .. a story by Murasaki Shikibu and illustrated by Amano. The artwork is incredible and I think illustrates the story very nicely.

#143 : Judy's here, Judy's here! Yaaay.... there's no such thing as being too late to this party...the door's always open, food and drink aplenty, and I'm sure you'll find interesting folks hanging out. Welcome and thanks for your good wishes for the year.

I'll try to find more interesting subjects to photograph and share this year. I can't promise to test out even more exotic foods than I already have ....I mean, how much weirder can you go beyond whale and bee larvae, right? Actually, an image of maggots have just crossed my mind .... there's a cheese in Sicily that's a delicacy because it's full of maggots. I haven't been exposed to that as yet. :-)

#144 : Megan - ahah... time to get cracking on dusting off American Gods from your TBR shef ...and enjoy a grilled cheese while you read it.

Decided on olive loaf actually since I had let my dough rise overnight. But maybe beer bread this weekend so the hubster has some good bread next week while I'm in Puerto Rico. :-) He was supposed to join me, but has some work issues and to have the stitches in his gum removed next week, so he'll have to stay home after all ...and deal with the snow/ice while I grab some sun time, albeit with a few coworkers after our conference.

#145 : Hi Heidi - so good to see you. I had my first full day in the office today and after being on vacation for the last 2 weeks, it was a rude shock to the system when I jumped right in this morning at 8.30am and had to survive a couple of meetings and a terribly boring conference call. I have another 2 conference calls scheduled for tonight, so the year is starting out on a very busy note indeed.

Thank you x 3 for that recipe.. it looks delicious, and I will be trying it soon.. mmmm!

I was also a huge fan of Ocean at the End of The Lane

#147 : Joe - I wonder how many grilled cheese sandwiches and bowls of hot buttery tomato soup are consumed during winter every year. And especially as we're 'enjoying' temperatures that are hitting record lows. I'm so very glad I'm not lactose intolerant. I'm not even sure if I could handle going gluten-free if I suddenly developed Crohn's disease because I love bread, pasta and noodles so much, but to have to give up cheese and dairy? That would be the death knell for me.

I didn't know there was a BBC version of Neverwhere.... *makes note to search through Netflix* This is the only book I've actually enjoyed in the audio version. I usually don't like audio books because I get distracted too easily and lose track of what's going on in the story, but for some reason, this one worked really well for me.

What I picture when you say "olive loaf":



Basically bologna with olives stuck in.

#153> And an abomination unto Julia Child, if you ask me. Yuck!

#151 : Kath, if you leave it to rise overnight, you won't be impatiently peeking to check on how much it's risen every hour or so ... or maybe you don't do that anyway... but I do. :-)

#152 : RD - I haven't eaten olive bologna in what seems like forever! Probably when I was a child. Can't stand the stuff now.

#153 : You said it, Julia. Made worse when someone adds Miracle Whip to a sandwich with it.

I've never actually eaten the stuff, it scares me a little with all those bloodshot frog-eyes staring out of the meat jell-o.

Wow... blood shot frog-eyes .... definitely not eating that now.

Ok. I chanced upon this article and photographs ... I have to post ... too adorable for words!

http://www.natureknows.org/2013/12/toddler-naps-with-his-2-month-old-puppy.html?...

>149 cameling: I have not read other books illustrated by Amano but the Tale of Genji just went on my Amazon Wishlist!

>158 cameling: OOOO EEEMMMMM GEEEE
That is just about the ca-UTE-est thing I have ever seen.
Almost makes me want to have another baby and get a puppy.
Aaaw. Srsly.

#158 So cute! You can see that the puppy would love that. The toddler will be a replacement for all his brothers and sisters that he'll have been used to curling up and going to sleep with!

Hi Caro- Just a quick check in! Hope the week is going well. Looking forward to Spring! How about you? Hugs!

Olives? Ew, Yuck, Ptooey. (Sorry, I'm just not as articulate as RD when it comes to insults.)

Hi, Caro. I didn't like Patience of the Spider as much as some of the others in the series when I read it, but I'm enjoying it much more in the tv movie. First time that's happened. Maybe I just read it at the wrong time, or maybe there's something that makes it better-suited to the movie format. Have you read that one? It has some of the inside jokes that I enjoy, with one fan assuring Montalbano he's better than Poirot or Maigret.

Oh, that olive bread sounds wonderful - will be copying that down to try soon!

>153 richardderus: Richard: I had many a lunch sandwiches made with that business when I was growing up. *whispers* I kind of like it...

I've never had it, so I don't know if it's good or not. It *looks* awful. I love olives (sorry Morphy) but when they're suspended in goo the color of pureed road kill guts I can't...I mean...just No.

Richard: Ha! Yeah it doesnt look all that's appealing, but it's very olivey which is delicious.

#159 : Oberon - I look forward to reading your review once you've read Tale of Genji illustrated by Amano. In my opinion, he's one of the best there is.

#160 : Megan - I know, huh? Aren't those seriously cute photos?! So... have another baby and then get a puppy and you can create your own set of adorable photos ... but you have to share them with us. :-) Actually since then, the boy Beau has grown and the puppy with him... and they still take naps together. I think it's too precious for words. Good thing the boy doesn't have allergies to pet dander!

#161 : That's true, Rhian .. when we had puppies they really liked snuggling next to their siblings when it was naptime.

Caro- not having another baby, ever. :)

And that olive loaf stuff, we have similar and it is referred to as mystery meat. Or luncheon meat, oddly.

#168 when we had puppies they really liked snuggling next to their siblings when it was naptime.
It reminds me of when we went to choose Daisy when she and her eight siblings were six weeks old. As we eliminated each puppy we put them back in their box one at a time. By the time we put Daisy back, all the other ones were fast asleep in a little heap. She just dived straight into the middle of the heap, created a little gap for herself by pushing puppies out of the way, curled up and went to sleep. None of the others woke up at all despite all the pushing. Obviously the middle is the place to be!

Reminds me of Belle and Yasmyne last weekend both snuggled up and sleeping their long, movie nights off.

#162 : Hi Mark .. having had to struggle to open the trunk of the car today because it had frozen, I too am looking forward to Spring ...which, in MA, means.. sometime in late April. Ha!

Well, it's been a very busy week .. we have business review meetings for each department this week in our company, yesterday, I was called into a meeting with our senior managers, to be informed by the president of our business unit and our corporate HR, that our Managing Director has been let go. This is a man who was one of the 3 original developers of our software solution, and has been with the company, moving up the ranks for the last 36 years. Oh well .. I can't say I'm surprised but I'm saddened by the news because he's really a nice guy. Still, we did expect some restructuring to take place when our new corporate CEO came on board last summer, and we're not the only division in the corporation to be hit with executive and senior management changes.

So it was quite a somber mood at the office yesterday and I had to hold a team meeting with my staff after a company wide email announcing the 'event' was sent out by our president to reassure them that it doesn't mean doom and gloom for the company and it is an opportunity for some new blood from the outside to give us new ideas and take us into the growth we want. Whooof... I hated having to look into panicked faces especially when this came as a shock to most of the people in the company who saw our MD as the rock on which our division had been built and had assumed he would stay forever.

Needless to say, there were a lot of little hallway huddles, cubicle huddles and closed door office huddles all afternoon with very little productive work done by most while the shock wore off.

We had a town hall meeting this morning with the president of our business unit, who will step in as the managing director of our company in the interim, while they search for a suitable person to replace the previous guy. I thought he answered questions really well but it's definitely going to be a challenge making sure the morale doesn't take a nosedive. A number of us will be at a conference in Puerto Rico next week ... I can't wait for sun, surf, work and hopefully a little time to relax.

#163 : No like olives, Morphy? What about olive oil? The hubster doesn't like olives on their own either, or in salads or pizza, but he loves olive oil. I can understand because I detest raisins in all forms except in raisin bread. I love raisin bread... especially hot, toasted and slathered with butter.

#164 : Joe - yes, I've read Patience of the Spider and I did enjoy it. Perhaps as you say, there was something going on around you when you were reading it that may have affected your enjoyment of it. But yes, I remember the comment about him being better than Poirot and Maigret.

Another series I wish they'd turn into tv movies is the Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon. If anything I'd love it for scenes of Venice and the food he consumes. But I happen to enjoy that series as well. Still, it's unlikely to happen since Ms Leon doesn't publish her books in Italy. They're written in English so she can maintain anonymity living in Venice.... pretty cool.

#165 : Amber - I was at a deli yesterday and noticed this olive bologna thing amidst the other lunch meats and I have to say I was tempted to try it. I didn't because I had a craving for a steak & cheese sub, but I did waver for a few minutes.

The olive bread is pretty good .. I hope you enjoy it when you make it. I making it because it takes so little time .. especially as that I can leave it to rise at night while I'm sleeping :-)

#166 : Wow, Richard .... trust you to turn my stomach on the thought of pureed road kill luncheon meat. I can't say I ever thought the color of bologna resembled road kill, but I know now that that's all I'll be thinking of when I next see it in a deli.

#167 : Maybe stick to raisin bread, Amber. That always looks appealing and tastes good too! :-)

#169 : Megan, my grandmother always referred to Spam as luncheon meat when I was growing up ... I think it was so she could just pack our sandwiches with whatever cold cuts she had on hand, and not have to tell us specifically what we would be eating when we got to school.

#170 : Aww Rhian, I can just picture that. What a great story .. and you clearly picked the best of the litter.. one who wasn't afraid to jump into the middle of things just because she knew it was the best spot to nap in. Way to go Daisy!

#171 : Paul - since puppies are always cute, I'm sure your girls won't mind being likened to small furry snuggly animals.

Olive oil is just fine.

Letting go of the MD just sounds let they wanted new blood in there - they didn't care who, especially since they are "looking for a suitable person." If it was an honest restructuring, they would have had somebody already in mind.

For some reason I got worn out the Brunetti series, Caro, and stopped after reading several. I agree they'd make for excellent tv movies like the Montalbanos, but you're right - since they're in English, it may not happen. Maybe the BBC? They did Wallander, right?

5. The Lady and Her Monsters : A Tale of Dissections, Real-life Dr Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo

I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw this at the library and brought it home, but I liked the title. Once I dived in though ...well .... it was a gory, cringe-worthy and yet oh so interesting read, part biography, part history.

The author takes you on a journey of animal dissections through to human ones, of medical men and scientists experimenting with the effect of electricity produced by batteries on exposed flesh or organs, of the belief even back in the 1700s that electricity could resurrect a dead person if the metal arcs were applied properly on a recently fresh body. There was a man who had been sentenced to death by hanging by a British judge and became the first 'fresh' victim to be subjected Aldini's electric arcs, causing his face to grimace horrifically, his closed eyelids to twitch open, his eyes to bulge, his hands to clench or spasm, his arm to rise and fall .. and the event so horrified the audience of medical practitioners and more specifically the official who had the job of confirming the death of each hung convict before their bodies could be removed, that he went home and apparently died of shock that very same night.

Mary Shelley was the child of Mary Wollstonecraft, the feminist and William Godwin, the philosopher, and as a child had snuck into one of her parents' parties to hear The Rime of the Ancient Mariner recited by Coleridge, and there are aspects of her book which reflect portions of the poetry that had so affected.

Mary's affair with Percy Shelley brought her into the company of Lord Byron and the physician John Polidori and it was said that it was during a summer spent together in Geneva that she became inspired to write Frankenstein. When it was first published, it was assumed her father had written to book, the notion that something so dark could have been written by a woman never crossing the minds of the public. She was prone to dark bouts of depression and her life was not a happy one for the most part.

This is not a particularly uplifting book but it covers a fascinating woman, and includes some extraordinary research into myths, history, science and literature between the 1700s - 1800s.

3.8 stars

Ooh, The Lady and Her Monsters sounds grimly, gruesomely great. Onto the list it goes!

#175 : Morphy - They actually have a few candidates they're running final evaluations on so it's not like they're starting the search from scratch. But yes, I think they just wanted him gone because they were not satisfied with the way he was running our division and didn't see him as a visionary to take us where they believed we should go.

#176 : Joe - I was too for a spell, and then I stopped reading the series for almost a year. When I came back to it, it felt fresh and I enjoyed it again. So now I'm careful not to read her books back to back.

Hmm... BBC? I wonder if they'd get all that food right. ;-)

177: Oh, interesting... Added to the wishlist not because I necessarily expect to read it, but one day on whim I might.

I am totally gun-shy when it comes to baking bread. I tried it once, but I killed the yeast. Been terrified of it ever since.

I know that feeling of terrible unease when things change at work. I always figure I am doomed.

When you say spring is in late April in MA, you do mean that that is when it starts, right? After all, we gotta keep the end of March and the first 3 weeks of April free for those last minute major snowstorms.

OHhhhh...that puppy and that toddler napping together...too cute for words!

And the olive loaf - the meat one - um...YUK! My mom used to pack that in my lunch all the time, and I hated it. I would tell her please, no more with the olive loaf; I hate it. And she would tell me that no, I loved it; she remembered these things.

Caro -- been a while since I posted...

1. Cookbooks read should definitely be counted. Reading cookbooks has solid tradition in my family for generations.

2. Sucks about all the changes at you company, if on,y because of all the handholding you'll have to do.

3. Ooh! Puerto Rico! Love drinks at the oval bar at El San Juan Hotel. Also Ponce and old San Juan. Assuming you've already been there, but had to chime in.

4. Enjoying happy hour at Flemings. $6 apps can't be beat.

I hate to do this (NOT), but to all who consider the Satanically Book Warbled The Lady and her Monsters, it's $1.99 on your Kindle!!

Has anyone here ever heard of mac and cheese loaf (as opposed to olive)? This was a big hit in my lunchbox as a child, and is still sold in our grocery stores. Its basically balogna with pasta and cheese embedded in it.

Whoa, I've never seen that before, but I'm slightly intrigued. What are the red specks?

#180 : Katherine - There were a few areas in the book when I wondered if the author was meandering and getting a little off topic, but she eventually meandered back on track and all was well again. So of you don't mind a few seemingly unrelated detours, I think you'll find this an interesting read.

#181 : I killed the yeast.
LOL Charlotte ... that's a good one. How does one kill yeast? This is a super easy recipe with very little work required ... sure we can't tempt you to give bread making another shot?

I had my one-on-one meeting with the interim MD of the company today and I think it went well .. at least I still have my job .. for now.... so that's a positive thing to get out of it. :-) But you are right, whenever a change as big as this one takes place, the atmosphere in the office reminds me of fat birds in a cage surrounded by lean and hungry wolves. They all flutter and flit about, nervously chattering to one another, eyes darting back and forth like someone on Speed. Well, there's a lot of that here this week, smiles are tight, jokes are thin followed by nervous laughter and nobody's gathering at the coffee machines to talk about Downton Abbey's new troublemaker. On the other end of the spectrum, there are a few walking around looking all stressed, grumpy and glum. Then there are some, like me, who has decided that what will be will be, and I'm just going to do my job as best I can, not hide in my office, but not walk around with doom and gloom epaulettes on my shoulders either.

Spring in late April .. yes, absolutely, I meant Spring in MA tends to start (and that's on a good year) at the end of April. Most often, she'll saunter in around mid May, being late to the ball to gather attention. With the current arctic weather, I'll be really surprised if that ol' gopher even shows his ears above ground on Feb 2.

#182 : Mamie - when you have grandkids, you know what you have to do now ... get a new puppy and Abby can start snapping away. :-)

You'd think the olive bologna loaf would taste good right? After all .. olives.. yummm (well, except to Morphy who doesn't like olives), bologna ..hmm...well, ok maybe not so much yum ... I wonder if you put olives in ham, if that would be a better combination.
My mother remembers food I apparently liked when I was a child ...but which I positively detest ... cauliflower being right at the top of the list.

#183 : Marianne - no worries ... drop in whenever you have time. :-)
The votes have all been positive on the cookbooks as long as I read them cover to cover, so I shall do so. I don't really buy that many cookbooks anymore, but I might add the ones on my kitchen bookshelves to my LT library when I have a free moment, so as to keep track of the collection.

I have been to Puerto Rico and love the island for a few getaway days, especially the bioluminescent lagoon. I won't have time during the first 4 nights we're there to go out on our own because I'm at a conference and will have to attend evening events. But I will have 3 days on my own with a few colleagues, and by that time, we'll be raring to get away from everyone else. There's a lovely restaurant in Fajardo called La Estacion .. have you been there? The food is incredible. Best to eat AFTER you clean up after snorkling or kayaking because if you ate before the activity, you're likely to just sink to the bottom of the sea.

mm.... $6 apps at Flemmings. Nice!

I was just at Toscano's last night .. I love their caprese with burrata.



followed with linguini vongole with a slightly spicy tomato sauce.

#184 : thanks for the post, Richard ... that's a nifty price for the book.

#185 : Heidi .. never heard of it, never seen it but now that i have ..... oh, my eyes, my eyes!!! Do you still like that? I know it's the wrong color but the first thing that came to my mind when I saw your mac & cheese loaf was Spongbob Squarepants. Don't ask... I don't know why the association ... but it just makes me think of that yellow cartoon character.

#186 : Julia .. does that mean you're going to see you can find some in your deli and try it? You'll have to post a review.

I'm finally caught up here!

>166 richardderus: Olives: food of the gods (except for those horrid pimento olives). Richard's description of olive loaf is spot on; that looks thoroughly disgusting.

>169 LovingLit: Caro- not having another baby, ever. :)

If I only had a dollar for every mother I've heard who said that same thing...

>172 cameling: I'm sorry to hear about that unexpected and massive shake up at work. I hope that things stabilize soon, that morale improves, and that you keep your current position. I like the attitude you expressed in a subsequent message; that's quite healthy.

>173 cameling: I love raisin bread... especially hot, toasted and slathered with butter.

You'll have to remind me to bring you a loaf (or 10) of the raisin bread made by Buckhead Bread Company in Atlanta, which bakes their loaves in the store. My best friend's wife in Madison usually greets me with the statement "Hi, Darryl! Did you bring bread?" whenever I visit them there, and my usually kind hearted and sharing mother turns into a rabid wolverine whenever I bring her some. One time I brought two loaves, one for her and one for her sisters, and she ate her loaf and half of the other one before they could visit. I usually go there soon after it opens, and often the raisin bread loaves are so hot that they can't be put into plastic bags until later.

>177 cameling: Nice review of The Lady and Her Monsters; it sounds like a gory but fun read.

>185 Cobscook: OMG. That macaroni & cheese loaf looks horrible. *loses appetite for dinner*

>188 cameling: Oh, yum! *regains appetite*

does that mean you're going to see you can find some in your deli and try it? You'll have to post a review.

No, no I don't think it does. My curiosity is the kind of curiosity that leads people to rubberneck at traffic accidents. :-D

>172 cameling: ...email announcing the 'event' was sent out by our president to reassure them that it doesn't mean doom and gloom for the company and it is an opportunity...
An opportunity!
Of course, firing people can be called restructuring can be called change management can be called destroying peoples lives and their trust and faith in a company they helped build. Can be called whatever they want to call it.
I think it stinks, even if it is commonplace and excused under the normal shrug-off comment of "it's just business".
*warning, that was an unscheduled rant*

>185 Cobscook: omg, I am sorry, but I hope never to try that.
Even if I do hold a secret torch for Segg (sausage and egg makes segg, not what the urban dictionary defines as When a man has sex and gets eggs cooked for him by his partner the following morning.!!!)
Basically it is like luncheon meat. One of the main reasons I have it the odd time is because its packaing has not changed since I used to be fed it regularly in the 1980s, so it's a nostalgia trip.

I too love raisin bread, especially hot and smothered in butter, goes the same with any bread really. My Nan (dad's mum) loved bread, and had a healthy respect for food since living through WWII and refugee camps, and was once given a loaf of it for Christmas after saying she *really* didn't want anything for the occasion. She loved her present and laughed and laughed. It was so nice.

Don't much care about bread, truthfully, except soft bread isn't my preference. Crisp, hard breads please me most. Raisin bread, IIRC, was pleasant enough but nothing to ask for, and the last time I had it was maybe 25 years ago.

French bread I adore. Curry toast I dote on. Other than that, it's a way to hold a sammich together or sop up gravy.

Adding The Lady and Her Monsters to the TBR list!

As for bread... well, dangit, I wasn't hungry before but now I need breakfast immediately...

#177: That one sounds interesting. Thanks for the review, Caro!

>185 Cobscook:: Yes! That was a frequent visitor to my lunchbox, too. Ha!

>181 Fourpawz2: & 187: You can kill the yeast by getting the water too hot, I think...

Have a wonderful weekend, Caro!

#196 - That is exactly what I did, Amber. I think I scalded the poor little yeasties to death! Maybe one of these days I will get up the courage to try bread again. Maybe.

>198 Fourpawz2:: Here's a trick I learned from my mom, who is a master bread baker: close your eyes and slowly lower your finger into the water. If you can't feel the water because the temperature is so close to that of your skin, then it's warm enough but not too hot.

Thanks, Amber - I'm going to remember that one.

#190 : Darryl, what about olives stuffed with gorgonzola, or anchovies? Like those? I love gorgonzola olives in dirty martinis.

Our corporate CEO has decided he wants us to change the whole agenda of our Sales Summit that's taking place next week. Arrghhh... I like that he wants it more focused towards strategic planning for 2014 and a 5 year projection, but he's in essence telling us to develop business plans to ensure a double digit revenue growth for 2014! So all the presentations I was slated to do for next week are not off the table, and all of us in the international team have whole new sets of market analysis to do for each of our regions, in addition to SWOT analysis of our partners in each country, our recommendations both from a technology standpoint and business standpoint, an action plan to get us to this double digit growth for our regions, and then the challenges we'll need to overcome if we are to get within a smelling distance of the target.

We were going to have a dinner party at our house tomorrow, but I've had to cancel that because there's no way I'm going to be able to do anything more than heat up 5 cans of soup for tomorrow evening for 15 people. The hubster very kindly called everyone and told them it's off and we'll reschedule. We will, I think, meet a few of them for dinner at a restaurant because one of them has just returned from a 6 month project in Wales. But dinner out will be a nice break and a sanity check ... plus we can come home after. If we had proceeded with the dinner party, even if it was calling in pizza, our friends are wont to stay till past midnight and I have an early morning flight to catch on Sunday.

*makes note to remind Darryl about raisin bread the next time he visits*

A colleague of mine brings a lunch sandwich of raisin bread and ham 3 days a week. He must REALLY like raisin bread.

#191 : Julia .. oh darn... and here I was going to sit back and nudge you towards a deli soonish. I wonder who i can get to try this mac & cheese loaf

Do you know any frat boys who like to get wasted on Saturday night? That would be a prime possibility ...

#192 : Rant away, Megan .. unscheduled ones are always best. I've had my fair share of them so I am happy to give the floor to someone else for a change. :-)

Sometimes organizations do need a little shake up, especially if the leadership is starting to get too complacent, not seek new ideas or can't come up with strategies that help a company move with the times (which today mostly means not making enough profit for CEO bonuses).... in the private sector that is. Non-profits and the civil service aren't usually measured in the same way. I wish they had done this differently and perhaps moved him laterally so he's still in the company but in a position where his skills could have been magnified, rather than shove him out the door without so much as a by-your-leave.

One of my coworkers who's known him for 27 years called him the day after he was let go and he sounded cheerful and said he was ok. He was expecting the axe because he didn't agree with what the board of directors wanted in terms of budget and direction. And he's got a great network so if he decides he wants another job, I'm sure he'll have offers coming in next week if they haven't already.

LOL ... oh Megan, you had me snorting water out my nose when I read your post on Segg. I only ever knew the urban dictionary meaning and not the sausage egg one. So is Segg where the egg is in the sausage? Or do you mean a plate of fried sausage and a fried egg?

Aww.. that's a sweet story about your Nan and her raisin bread present. We who haven't had to live through those times are so terribly lucky. My mom told me she's never eaten tapioca since the war because that's all they had to eat and not much else besides when they were hiding from the soldiers. The sight of it brings back some terribly sad memories for her, so when she's visiting or when we go out to dinners with her, we make sure never to have it on the table.

#193 : Mmm.. RD... I love bread... almost all kinds. I don't like sweet or jellied breads ..... with the exception of raisin bread. But a hot croissant in the morning with some brie is heavenly. Farmer's bread.. that's always delicious with good butter, some cheese or pate.

What's curry toast?

#194 : Faith - as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we on this thread who have contributed to reminding you to eat breakfast take a bow. :-) Some of my colleagues come to work without eating anything for breakfast at all. I don't know how they do it. I'd be sprawled under my desk foaming at the mouth by 10am if I hadn't already had anything before leaving the house.

Glad you are intrigued by The Lady and Her Monsters.

#195 : Hi Stas, you're more than welcome. Hope you're having another great semester.

#196 : Amber .... hmm that might explain some of my bread making disasters too. Touchy things, bread dough. ;-)

#197 : Thanks Diana. And the same to you too. It started snowing again today but nice little flakes, not sleet. I hate sleet.

#203 : Julia - no need frat boys .. I randomly asked someone from my techsupport department who came in to fix my phone if he'd ever had a mac & cheese loaf and he said he just ate that for lunch today! He's offered to bring me some when I come back from Puerto Rico.

Oh my! You know we will want a full report on that!

6. Still Foolin' 'Em by Billy Crystal

Mr Funnyman looks in the mirror when he's 65 and wonders how he started to look the way he does and with that he puts his jokes, his thoughts, his fears, his memories and most of all his heart in between pages of a book. At times hilarious and at times very moving, Billy Crystal did not lead a charmed life, things did not just fall into his lap like an over ripe apple off a tree. He worked and he worked hard. He listened, he learned, he loved and he laughed,... boy did he laugh alot and most of all, he liked to make people laugh.

He brings us into his friendship with Mohammad Ali, Mickey Mantel and Bob Costas among others. He shares some wonderful family stories and how his parents helped shape the person he is today. He shares the important milestones in each decade of his life thus far, how he got into show business, his successes and his failures, with a self-deprecating joke or a hundred and he makes life sound 'just mahvelous'.

I didn't have to go past the first chapter to laugh out loud a few times.

Humbling, entertaining and moving. A very good read.

5 stars

Curry toast

1 loaf gukky cheap soft white grocery store bread, crusts trimmed (reserve for croutons or crumbs)
1-1/2 sticks butter
3T curry powder
1T sweet paprika (optional)
1T brown mustard
zest of a lemon
1lb sharp cheddar, grated
2 jars (9oz each) Major Gray's chutney (Crosse & Blackwell is my favorite)

You'll need:
8x8 baking pan
2 baking sheets
waxed paper
1 table spoon and one fork from your silverware
1 dinner plate you won't need for dinner service later
1 small glass bowl
1 medium glass bowl
wire whisk
***WOODEN*** toothpicks WITHOUT colors or foofy little plastic ends
about an hour

Prep:
-grate cheese into medium glass bowl & refrigerate
-empty chutney into small glass bowl & refrigerate
-line baking sheets with waxed paper
-trim cheap gukky grocery store white bread's crusts off all four sides & shove into a gallon plastic bag to get them out of the way
-pile naked bread on a dinner plate

Oven at 350°, racks up high & down low

-stir 1T brown mustard and zest of the lemon into cold chutney with table spoon, which you then leave in the bowl
-bring out bowl of cold grated cheese
-put the butter in the 8x8 pan, heave into oven until butter is completely melted
-position baking sheets at the end of an assembly line: plate of bread, space for hot butter, bowl of cheese, bowl of chutney mix, box of toothpicks
-remove butter from oven and whisk in 3T curry powder (and paprika if you're using it, but not the hot stuff unless you know everyone's okay with heat)

Assemble as follows:
-take a slice of the gukky bread and submerge it quickly in hot butter with the fork. Remove with the fork before it's sodden but with a good coat of curry butter
-orient it on the dinner plate so it's a diamond shape as you look at it
-using fingers, pick up ~1t or so of cheddar & sprinkle in a solid mounded line across the diamond shape. You should see two triangles, one facing up & one facing down, NOT side-to-side
-using spoon, drop a scant mound of chutney mix in the center of the diamond
-fold top point of diamond to the bottom and stab closed with a toothpick
-onto the waxed paper
-repeat
DON'T put the first tray into the oven until the second tray is completed, then put both in the oven for ~5ish mins, switch top and bottom trays, then 5ish more mins.

Serve hot. Can be assembled & refrigerated for 12hrs, but baking time goes up to 7 or 8mins after 3hrs.

If this is your only appetizer, plan 3 per person; one is fine if there is other stuff for nibblements.
Seriously, bread snobs, don't use sourdough or wheat bread or homemade white bread or multigrain bread. Use Wonder bread. It needs to be flexible for folding and it needs to get the brittle-crisp buttery deliciousness that only (bitter experience here, heed me) cheap gukky grocery store white bread can attain.

You've been warned. If you use something else and it doesn't work, ha ha.

Wonderful for winter lunch parties, served with french onion soup and crudites (radishes, cauliflower {heehee}, green beans are best, carrots or celery kinda bland and tough) and/or shrimp salad. It's not so great for cocktail parties because the probablility of some idiot staining your sofa is high.

^ Sounds just interesting enough that I may try this one day! Just wish I knew someone who lived closer who liked curry nearly as much as I do. :/ Seems like it'd be a lot of curry bread for just one gal...

Hi Caro- I have Still Foolin' 'Em saved on audio and it's narrated by Crystal. I better move that baby up.

Have a great weekend. When do you leave for P.R.?

>210 LauraBrook: Laura: Start cooking - I'll be right over... (I *love* all things curry.)

Brilliant RD; A Texican Long Islander iving curry recipes to our gastronome of Asian extraction from the very land of curries (Chincapur). Will give it a try if I can persuade Yasmyne to buy some of the mentioned bread.

Caro - have a wonderful weekend. xx

#207 : Julia - I can definitely promise a review of the mac & cheese bologna loaf if I get to try a piece. Heck, I've eaten bee larvae .. surely I can't shy away from trying something that looks like a pink Spongbob.

#209 : Richard - that sounds interesting. I love Branston pickles (I have an aisle in my supermarket that stocks some of my favorite British goodies) so I'll use that instead.

It's not quite the same but here's a toasted curry sandwich I love to make every once in a while. The only thing is you need a sandwich toaster for the best results so that the filling doesn't spill out. Regular sliced white bread works best with this as well.

Filling:
1 lb ground beef
half a bag of frozen baby peas
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 onion - minced
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp curry powder (for meat, not fish)
chilli powder (qty depends on spice tolerance)
salt to taste

Add about 1 tbsp oil to a pot on medium heat, when heated, add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the curry powder and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon stick. Add the meat and cook until the meat is cooked through. Add the peas and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chili powder and salt to taste. Set aside to cool.

To assemble:

Butter slices of white bread.

Heat the sandwich maker. When ready, place a slice of bread buttered side down.. the unbuttered side should be facing up. Add a mound of filling and spread it out slightly. Place 2nd slice of bread, buttered side facing UP this time. Repeat if you have a sandwich toaster that makes 2 toasties at the same time. Bring down the lid, lock and try not to drool while waiting for that red light to blink off and and the green to come on, signalling that your patience is soon to be rewarded and you may now unlock and lift , releasing a nicely browned sealed toasted curry sandwich.

You'll want to take a giant bite, but be warned .... the filling will be really hot. then again, it's so good, it's almost worth getting burned. And besides, what's a burnt tongue every once in a while, right?

OOOOOO sounds nummers! I love the cinnamon stick idea. More subtle than powdered cinnamon.

#210 : Laura, maybe this will be something that will help introduce curry gently to those who fear spicy food and convert them into curry fans.

#211 : Mark - Oh boy! This is one time when I bet the audiobook of Still 'Foolin' 'Em will be better than the print version. I forget what program I was watching ... I think it may have been Sunday Morning Joe on CBS a couple of months back, when Crystal was being interviewed and they showed him on a book tour reading the last bit of his book, and it was what compelled me to get this. I could hear his voice in my head and picture his facial expressions as I read the book.

Raining cats, dogs and baby elephants over here today. We were supposed to have friends over for dinner but because I had to work today, we cancelled and we're going to meet a few of them for dinner at an Indian restaurant afterwards instead.

I leave for P.R. tomorrow morning. Sun, sea and...stress! The CEO and our interim MD have decided to come for the event and they've made changes to the agenda so some of us will be pulled out of the conference for planning sessions with them. Oy!

I am suddenly no longer envious of your PR frolic. Sounds like a bad day in a good place.

Have a safe trip and a relatively stress free trip to PR, Caroline.

I need to go back to find (and save) your lamb stew recipe. I think I'll try it tomorrow.

ETA: Found it!

#212 : Amber - you can eat vicariously through me this evening then.. I'm heading out to an Indian restaurant for dinner with some friends. I love all things curry too, not just Indian curry but, Malay curries, Japanese curry, Indonesian curries, Thai curries ... darn, my stomach just growled.

#213 : Haha Paul, that was definitely an interesting version of curry I've not come across before. But I'll try anything curried ... oh wait.. let's put in some caveats ... as long there are no raisins or corn in them.

The weekend is shaping up nicely. I've finished the work I needed to do today, I have oxtail stew in the slow cooker that will be ready to be transferred to a tub when we get home from dinner, I made onion soup and roasted red pepper soup, baked halibut with ginger, lemon & scallions, a big tub of guacamole, and a tub of mashed potatoes. The hubster's food for the coming week while I'm away. :-)

Here's hoping your trip to Puerto Rico doesn't devolve into a complete stress bomb, Caroline.

Yep raisins are rat droppings to curry or to most things in fact. Enjoy yourself in PR and no accidents please unless they are not painful and will cause some levity here.

#217 : Richard - depending on how the planning sessions and meetings go, I may be able to salvage a day and a half of sun surf and a good book before I leave. Formal meetings end Thursday evening. So I'm planning on renting a car and heading out to the other side of the island to do some caving and lie on a beach ... far away from any coworkers who are also staying over for a few extra days.

#218 : We want pics of the lamb stew, Darryl. :-)

#220 : Julia, I'm in a good frame of mine .... having just come home from a rocking good time with a few good friends. What will be, will be, and life will still go on. What ever happens, I just have to keep my eye on the good opportunities and not allow myself to be dragged down by negativity. A bag of Cheetos usually does wonders to bring me to my happy place. haha

#221 : Paul, dinner was completely raisin-free. We dove into a generous platter of pani puri, meat and vegetable samosas, baskets of fresh garlic naan, keema mutter, bindi aloo, saag gosht, tender rabbit tandoori, mutter panner, fried fish stuffed with spiced chilies and hot gulab jamun for dessert. Life is good. :-)

Came home to find the Patriots winning their game against the Colts ... yup, life is indeed good!

I'll need to start packing for my trip soon ..... after the game is over and after I finish my hot mug of green tea.

I am going to have to disagree on the raisins in curry comment. My family makes an Afghan curry and raisins are used as a condiment along with many other things. While I would agree it would be out of place in Southern Indian curry or a Thai curry, there is a place for raisins.

7. Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum

The latest in the Inspector Sejar series, Eva, an artist and her young daughter are walking by a river when a dead body floats up near the bank. Instead of calling the police, the woman places a call to a mystery man and flees the scene.

The dead man is identified as Egil, a man reported missing a few months ago, and there are no clues as to the identity of the killer or the motive behind his murder. It comes to the attention of Inspector Sejar that just a few days before Egil goes missing, a call girl was found murdered in her apartment. There doesn't appear to be any connection between the 2 cold cases but there are some oddities in the 2 cases which lead Sejar to wonder if the murderer might be the same person.

4 stars

172: lot of little hallway huddles, cubicle huddles and closed door office huddles
Been there, and glad to be out of it (for now anyway).

201:
Oh, fun.

222: So I'm planning on renting a car and heading out to the other side of the island to do some caving and lie on a beach
And at just about this moment, I’ll be arriving in Boston, visiting friends for the weekend.

Caro, coming here always makes me super hungry. If only we had taste-o-vision, or teleporters, or something! *drools*

Have a good time in PR!

Have a safe trip to PR, Caro!

Oxtail stew??? Ooh, I'm jealous...

Hmmm, I wonder how that sandwich would taste without all that curry crap? :D

Sounds intriguing.

>214 cameling:: Oh, yum! I do something similar, but bake them in pie dough (my version of some sort of pasty/samosa hybrid).

>219 cameling:: Oh, Thai curries are good, too! Sigh.

That Billy Crystal book sounds good, Caro. My MBH is a fan, and this might be a nice surprise for her.

>222 cameling: We want pics of the lamb stew, Darryl. :-)

And you shall have them, my dear, probably on Tuesday. I went to Publix and I have all of the ingredients, except for Guinness and fresh parsley. I'm making a pork and lamb stew now, and I'll make the Irish lamb stew either tomorrow or Tuesday. Is it okay if I use red potatoes instead of yellow ones?

The toasted curry sandwich sounds enticing! I may have to give that a try.

I saw oxtails at Publix this morning, but I want to get a recipe before I try to cook them. I may go to my favorite suburban Jamaican restaurant to pick up oxtail stew (and goat curry) in the meantime.

158 Ok that's probably the cutest puppy and baby pictures that I've ever seen!

Hope you have a great trip this week!

Oooh curried goat sounds so good. My favorite Jamaican place closed down *sob* and I haven't identified another source yet. Need to get on that.

*smooch* for our Caribbean traveler

Just trying to keep track of you.. are you about to set out traveling again? Take an extra angel this time, please....just for fun.
hugs

Caro, that toasted curry sandwich thing just may make a convert out of a few of my friends - thanks for the recipe! I'm currently studying up on healthy, easy-to-make foods for my Mom so when she's going through and recovering from chemo I can knock something together fairly easily that will keep for a couple of days if she's nauseated and will transport back and forth between my house and hers for when she goes back home after she feels better. My coffee table is loaded with books like The Cancer Lifeline Cookbook and Betty Crocker's Living With Cancer Cookbook - oof. Not necessarily uplifting reading, but needs must.

Hope you can sneak in some good quiet book-and-cave time in PR, Caro! And please, take an extra angel like Kath said! :)

Caro, I've actually been reclassifying a couple of bibliographies about Puerto Ricans in the library. They were in a call number that was changed probably 25 years ago. The cataloger before I came kept using the old call numbers, but we have finally begun reclassifying the books in this section as part of other ongoing projects (such as downsizing reference, moving older and less used books to storage, etc.) The food on this thread makes me want to get into my kitchen again. I wish I had more time through the week to cook, but I usually have to go with simpler things or crock pot meals during the week.

Hi Caro! I see that you are traveling once again and I hope your trip to Puerto Rico is a good one.
I can't totally catch up at this point, but I hope the shift in your CEO's focus ends up serving the company (and you!) well.

Safe travels to PR and hope all works out well re: the CEO and all! Once again mopping up the drool from the keyboard...

Have a safe trip, Caro! Soak up that sunshine!

Safe travels, Caro and I also hope the stress levels stay low and you get time to enjoy the lovely climate.

I'm in the middle of a boring session and since I'm sitting at the back od the room, I decided to log into LT on my phone. :-)

I will respond to each post later when I am back in my hotel roomand have access to my laptop.

Had a breakfast meeting this morning by the beach ... even though it was work related it was wonderfully relaxing. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore and the beautidul blue green water was so inviting. I mifht go for a night swim with a couple of my coworkers.

Oh ...so apparently there was a pretty strong earthquake around midnight last night .... I slept through it amd only learned of it thismorning at breakfast.

Apologies for typos ...

Only you, sweetness, could sleep through an earthquake and still be able to fall down so much. *smooch*

Caro -- was thinking of you and the earthquake. So much better to sleep throughit if you can!!

Was going through some of your posts above and came across this gem: "...not walk around with doom and gloom epaulettes on my shoulders either"

Once at Fenway Park I witnessed a drunken bleacher bum screaming profane Scandinavian slurs at then Tiger manager Sparky Anderson. A nearby Dad was clearly agitated to have his young son hear the barrage. When he finally could take no more, he rose to scream back ... "That's enough of your ethnic epaulettes!" I couldn't help but inspect their shoulders as I quietly chuckled to myself!! I can't read or hear the word without thinking back to that day ever since. Thanks for the smile.

>208 cameling: now that one does sound good! Billy Crystal sounds like a great guy to read more about. I am in the midst of a fantastic memoir right now, An American Childhood. Boy does Dillard write well!! Last night I couldn't sleep for composing my own memoir in my head, in her style. (ahem, in an approximation approximating an approximation of her style at least)

Oh, and back to Segg (sausage and egg makes Segg)....I googled to see exactly what is in it and why it is called that. And*spooky music* there appears to be no mention of it on the internet at all. Uh oh, am I in a vortex? My lovely other- without fail- says the tag-line whenever he mentions the product himself. And we have had it this century, honest.
Perhaps my googling skills are lacking.....

Oh, wow, you found the end of the internet!

245: LOL! That's great.

Caro, breakfast by the beach sounds heavenly. But pictures or it didn't happen! ;)

Re: Mac and cheese loaf. I can send you some by FedEx when you get home Caro if you like! LOL!! And yes, I have been known to occasionally eat it as an adult. Its best fried the way you would bologna. The red bits are pimentos I think??

Re: Still Foolin' 'Em by Billy Crystal. I was listening to this on audiobook before Christmas, got about halfway through and then stalled. I don't know why exactly, but some of the chapters read like lists of "famous people I have known". He performs some of the chapters as stand up routines in front of a live audience, those are the best. But I agree that he didn't have it super easy and I admire his work ethic.

I hope things are still going well in PR.

>247 drneutron: http://www.1112.net/lastpage.html

#226 : Oh Katherine... how long will you be in Boston for this weekend? If you're still around on Sunday and have no fixed plans, I'll be home Saturday night. We can try for a MeetUp in the city or near the town you're going to staying in, if you have time.

#227 : Kathy - taste-o-porters... I like that. Do you read J.D.Robbs' In Death series? There is a futuristic gadget called an Autochef - sort of a fridge, pantry and microwave all in one, that we could use to share some of the food that's talked about on the threads. :-)

#228 : Thank you, Diana. So far, so good. :-) The weather here in PRI is at least wonderfully warm and if it's not altogether sunny all the time, I don't mind since for the next 2 days, I shall be indoors all day anyway because of the conference or meetings, so I have no opportunity to sit out and soak up the sun anyway. But I hope it will be nice and sunny on Friday when I plan to become a piece of sculpture on the beach all day.

#229 : Darryl - how did you stew turn out? There's a version of oxtail stew in Indonesia that I really like ... it's very peppery and I think they roast the oxtail first. I have to figure out how to make it one of these days.

#224 : oops, missed you there, Oberon. Sorry. I've never had Afghan curry so I'll withhold judgement about raisins in curry until I've had a chance to try some .... but in general I don't like raisins.

#230 : Morphy.. oops, not a fan of curry either? Even if there are no raisins in them?

#231 : Amber - yes, the puff pastry version is known as curry puffs (but without peas) in Singapore and Malaysia and I could eat them everyday! There's a version that uses chicken and potatoes and has a slightly different sauce, instead of beef and is just as tasty. Darn.... now I want some.

>251 cameling: I decided to wait until this weekend to make your Irish lamb stew, Caroline. I made a batch of pork & lamb stew on Sunday, and I have enough for probably 6-8 more meals.

ETA: I posted a photo of the pork & lamb stew on my new thread.

#232 : Joe - It's a good present for your MBH. I thought it was quite well written and I liked that it wasn't all about show biz, he reflected on family, which clearly is very important to him. I'd love to catch '700 Sundays' the next time I'm in NYC if he's still performing. *keeping my fingers crossed that I don't miss this*. My SIL and BIL went to a performance and loved it.

#233 : Darryl - yes, you can use red potatoes instead of yellow ones. Just don't use Russets as they disintegrate too much. So ... it's Tuesday....... how goes the stew? where are the pics?

#234 : Thanks, Chelle. So.... how about getting a little puppy later too? ;-)

#235 : Smoooches back, Richard. It's been pretty exhausting so far. No time to relax nevermind read, and not much time for sleep either. With our new corporate CEO and acting MD present this week, and changing certain requirements for business plans after each planning session, a few of us have been having meetings after meetings to discuss what happened in the meeting and what needs to be changed before the next meeting. I feel like I'm on a crazy carousel. But on the plus side .... I haven't fallen into a sinkhole yet, tripped and broken a tooth, or sprained an ankle. There is an upside to the week! Yaaay.

#236 : Thanks, Kath. I shouldn't moan just because looking out over the terrace while I'm having a meeting and seeing all those half naked bodies tanning away on the beach makes me envious and want to trade places. It could be worse ... we could have had this conference in Minnesota and suffer severely cold weather.

#237 : Laura, I think my GA might be one of those glisteningly tanned bodies on the beach since she knows I can't really get up to much trouble stuck in a carpeted conference room, although I did almost break a colleague's nose when he leaned down to give me a kiss on the top of my head just as I raised my head. How was I to know he was standing behind me. Unlike my mother or the nuns at school when I was young, I don't have eyes at the back of my head.

I hope you manage to win over a few curry converts so you can enjoy some curry feasts together. :-) Good luck.. let us know how you make out.


#238 : Lori - do you have any recommendations for interesting books on Puerto Rico or any Puerto Rican authors you'd like to recommend?

#239 : Hi Ellen, thanks for stopping by and no worries about not catching up. I'm not even going to try and think of all the threads I'm going to have trouble catching up on when this mad week is over. I hope the new CEO and his odd consultant (yes, he hired one to review the entire corporation's processes to see if there are any areas we can become more efficient and sell more effectively (meaning, shorter sales cycle and for buko buko bucks) doesn't turn us all on our heads and that they calm down a little and work with us on some more reasonable plans.

I think the danger that most companies face when new CEOs from the outside are brought in, is that the person always wants to make his/her mark on the company too quickly.

#240 : Roni .. in case you need anymore in the near future, here's a roll just for you. :-)



#241 : Thanks, Mark. I hope things start calming down a little soon... real soon!

#242 : Judy - I'm enjoying the climate during breakfast and lunch. haha... Any additional climate appreciation will have to wait until Thursday evening and Friday.

#244 : Richard .. well, I was already in bed, so I really couldn't fall off my feet during the earthquake. The senior VP of Sales for our company confessed he was standing in the middle of his room and only in his underwear when the earthquake occurred and he wondered if he should just run out with his wallet. But he stood by his hotel door (still only in his underwear and wallet in hand, no shoes) to see if anyone else was rushing down. Since only a few worried folks shuffled by, he waited another 10 mins and then decided he'd just stay in his room.

#245 : Jennifer - you know, I had that thought myself the morning after when everyone was talking about the quake. I'd much rather sleep through a quake. One of my colleagues' wife was so freaked out that she insisted they moved to a room on a lower floor that very night.

Thank YOU for that ethnic epaulettes story. It put a smile on my face too. That's a good one.

#246 : LOL Megan - I googled segg and found a link to a page with pictures of female booty. Apparently it's a Hungarian slang for female ass. So can you take a photo and post it the next time you eat a segg so we can see what it looks like?

I'm encouraged by your comment that you are enjoying An American Childhood. I had purchased this for a friend's birthday gift and about 2 days after I gave it to her, I read some reviews that weren't very positive, and started to worry.

Oops.. break over .... got to head back into the conference again.

251: Hmm, difficult. I’m staying with friends in Jamaica Plain, only get two full days with them and have loosely defined plans that I wouldn’t want to disrupt; took us a number of rounds to coordinate schedules, and I don’t get to see them often. If you’ll happen to be in the vicinity of Back Bay Station on Monday morning, I have time before the train departs at 11:45. Otherwise, well, it won’t be my last visit to Boston, and I normally try to get there in a season other than winter.

Some GREAT food places in JP. I"m sure you'll have a great time.

>252 cameling: I don't like spicy. Not even black pepper.

>254 cameling: Hey! Minnesota ain't that bad! After all, it has me in it!

#247 : You know, Jim, I'd always wondered if there'd be something someone couldn't find on Google .... looks like Megan cracked the search engine. Folks at Google must be scrambling as we speak to find or maybe even add material up there on the sausage & egg so another search doesn't come up empty or with inappropriate and unrelated items.

#248 : Kathy - i'll have to bring my phone with me when I have breakfast tomorrow so I can share some pics.

#249 : Heidi - I was expecting there to be quite a bit of showbiz and famous sportsmen mentioned in his book because Billy Crystal is a big Yankees fan and of course is in showbiz. I didn't think it was a case of name dropping though because they were part of the stories he was telling, so I didn't find it off-putting.

Wow... a fried slice of mac & cheese loaf .... wow... I'm not sure if I'm appalled or intrigued by that thought. Haha...

I'm thrilled that this is the last day of work!!!! Yaaaaaayyyyy... I just have the rest of the conference sessions and 2 meetings to get through and I'll be free to enjoy the island and more importantly, get out of these business clothes. Whoever decided that business smart was to be the conference attire should be smacked with a cactus.

#250 : LOL .... that's so perfect, Morphy! I love it.

smacked with a cactus - great sound to that one!

#253 : That was a great photo of your stew, Darryl .. I wouldn't mind the recipe. I wouldn't have thought to mix pork and lamb into a stew. I've just acquired a copy of In Bad Taste? : The Science and Adventures Behind Food Delicacies that I'm planning to take with me on my next trip at the end of the month.

#259 : Completely understand, Katherine. I'll be in the office on Monday morning out in Billerica, so we'll have to try a meetup during one of your future trips to Boston.

#261 : Jennifer - We went to El Escobar out in Fajardo last night for dinner after some night kayaking. It was an incredible experience to kayak out in the ocean, with just the moonlight and a little lamp at the front of each of our kayaks, following the person who was leading us out into a lagoon. Very cool. The food at El Escobar was fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of mofongo, but I liked the version they served at this restaurant, along with the largest grilled grouper I've ever been served, seasoned with piquant spices and splash of lime, and sides of caramalized plaintains and coconut cucumber coleslaw.

We're heading out to some festival honoring St Sebastian in Old San Juan this evening and we're going to wing it for dinner. No reservations made for a change, we're just going to see what looks interesting and filled with local diners. :-)

#262 : Morphy - True, and under normal weather conditions, I'd have been very happy to be visiting Minnesota to attend a conference and to sneak out for a meetup with you. But under these arctic conditions, I think I'll take Puerto Rico ... no offence. ;-)

#265 : Judy - I had something else in mind, but I'm trying not to be vicious. ;-)

Just found you! Better late than never.
Thanks for the Olive Loaf recipe, which I've copied out. I just started making bread a few months ago so easy recipes are welcome, and I love olive bread.
I'd never heard of a kangaroo cup before, so I have something new to look for. I need to own anything that drips chocolate into my drinks.

Hello my friend, fb says you're having a good time?

>263 cameling: Folks at Google must be scrambling as we speak...
I knew had it in me to do great things. I just knew it. I out-foxed the Google folk. But I suppose, seeing as they can't even spell Googol, it is not that much of an achievement.

So I am guessing that Segg must be on the 10,­000,­000,­000,­000,000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000,­000, 000,­000,­000,­001st page of the internet!!!

While grocery shopping today, I saw these and of course had to snap photos to post here (and, yes, I did get a couple of strange looks doing so):

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