Ireadthereforeiam: One, two, buckle my shoe

I love the Penguin series of books. All bar the orange ones, perversely.

Completed Books February
11. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (230p)
10. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (220p)

Completed Books January
9. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (290p)
8. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston (233p)
7. Other Halves by Sue McCauley (283p)
6. An American Childhood by Annie Dillard (250p)
5. Crossing Open Ground by Barry Lopez (209p)
4. Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel García Márquez (105p)
3. The Body Artist by Don DeLillo (126p)
2. The Great Degeneration by Niall Ferguson (152p)
1. Portrait of a House by Simon Devitt

At the Movies:
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
August: Osage County
Frozen
American Hustle
Labor Day

Currently Reading:


Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, The Demon in the Freezer, Erewhon Calling, and The Scarlet Letter, plus a few *ahem* others. :)

Reading BINGO

Hi Megan... Maybe an early start will help me keep up?

Happy new thread, Megan! Grabbing my seat early.

Heh, I took the monsters to see "Frozen" last night for dinner. We liked it a tad more than you, it seems. Sorry for the flop!

Agree with you Megan on the Penguin's except I think I like all the editions. Their coloured cover series are very "classic" IMO and each series is undoubtedly collectible.

I believe that now you are getting into yoour stride Megan threads will be collected with some rapidity. I'll be along for the ride of course.

Have a lovely Sunday. xx

Hi!
Look at this. I got a front row seat ;-)

Hi Megan- I will sit in the second row if necessary. Are you going to do yoga? I LOVE those Penquin covers. What is book 3 and 4?

Yippee, all my favourites have already turned up in my absence. :)
A scorcher today, 32°C, 2 swims, a paddle in the paddling pool, and it was the beer that cooled me down. A victory for alcohol.

Kath: I hate to break it to you, but it is virtually impossible to stay caught up around here :)
But thanks for trying, and YAY for being first. I award you 5 stars.

Mamie: getting in early is a good idea. You get all the cool pictures and the "books read" and can then call back later for a drink and a chat :)

Luxx: I may have been too hard on Frozen......I am not used to Disney films and found it a bit cheesy. But- I did like that it promoted sister love over 'Prince Charming' love. That was a good model for girls I reckon.

Paul: I love the Penguins, as you know (now). The orange ones are lovely from a design perspective, but too small a format for me to actually read. I would like a framed enlarged one maybe, but will leave the books. I love the Silver ones featured up top the most, I think. Then the white title Modern Classic series.
*delicious*
Oh, and I have no chance of totalling a mega-post count this year. I simple started too late compared to everyone else.

Cee: yup, front row has exactly 6 seats and you are in one! And if you weren't, I'd save you one.

Mark: #3 is The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and The Street both by Mordecai Richler. They mean nothing to me and were chosen for the pretty pitchers on the cover ;)

As for the yoga question....is that a reference to the buckle my shoe thing in the heading? If so, no- as no shoes are worn during a yoga session. And if not, no again. I am not :) I bunked my first yoga session for the year as my dad was staying, and am out of practice!

Well to be fair the year before last I didn't start until 31 December 2011 and my numbers were ok. You are climbing steadily closer to your normal spot.

Fair!?
No one has a fair chance with post-master Paul in the arena ;)
Maybe I need to play dirty and get some photos up pronto of my cute little angels!

That must be worth 30 posts at least. :)

^OK, I'll need 57 photos then (at least). Check. I will get on to that asap ;)

Have on post to boost your numbers...it's on me!! : )

^the $$$'s are on their way, Kim. Thanks as I hear if anyone tops Paul's post count this year he is going to buy them a bookshop! Full of books! Can you imagine?
;)

This is the copy I read, and the next one is the copy that I saw in almost every house I went into as a child in New Zealand. Everyone seemed to own this truly ugly book. Lucky it was great to read.

BOOK 7
Other Halves by Sue McCauley (NZ, fiction)

Liz feels she is going mad. In the first paragraph of the book she calls an institution in 1970's Christchurch and asks about gaining admittance. She ends up being admitted and while recovering meets a young man known as Tug who is there as a ward of the state, who doesn't know what else to do with him. He is half her age, is homeless and can't read. He is also Maori. Liz feels protective of him an genuinely likes him. So they become friends. So begins a book-long relationship that is extremely complex. Tug is fiercely independent and also needy. Liz is fragile and also responsible. Plus, they are an odd couple- she a Pakeha in the 30s and he a Maori schoolboy, if he had been at school that is.

1970s New Zealand was a very conservative place, and a racist place too it seems. Tug tries to get work and is declined as soon as they see him. Taxis speed away from him once they take note of his skin tone and hooded sweatshirt. Since he and his friends are sidelined from society, they think nothing of resorting to drinking, taking drugs and stealing. Liz wants him to be honest, and under her roof as a border, he tries his hardest. But the couple go from disaster to disaster. They fight and make up, and regularly take off on each other in exasperation.

It had only recently occurred to her that when they had arguments Tug was at a considerable disadvantage. She could trot out worn old homilies and regurgitated theories with some semblance of authority. He found it difficult to organise and present even the words he was familiar with under the stress of battle. She could twist and tighten sentences around him while he struggle to sharpen up one small salient word.

This book is a love story but not of the sort we are used to. The downs are more prevalent than the ups and to me this is why this book makes sense. It presents to us the lives of two very different cultures within New Zealand, and does so realistically. I was a fool to put off reading this for so long.

10 - Oh, Disney films are incredibly cheesy, so Frozen was consistent in that way. There are several holes and other narrative problems (such as the final solution to the winter - really?!), but that's consistent with *all* children's movies, from my perspective. Disney is trying to respond to the criticism of its princesses, and I thought this was a decent move.

The boys have been playing Olaf and Queen Elsa since we went. Anna and the ice guy apparently don't hold any interest, but an ice queen and talking snowman? Playtime gold for my guys.

Awww thanks ! I never had stars of my own before ! Oh wait, when my daughter moved out and I moved into her bedroom there were stars on the ceiling... but these are the first LT stars I'v received :)

And you are so right, no keeping up anywhere here on LT

Hi, I found my way here from your comment on rosalita's thread about reading The Leopard. I'm the type to just pick something up with no advance notice as well. In fact, I seem to do badly at planned reading (I hate authority? Even if I impose it on myself?), so I'm happy enough to hear that we'll all be reading it in the same year, probably.

Luxx: the snowman was pretty funny, I have to admit. His voice sounded familiar, but I didn't recognise his name in the credits.
Wilbur was most interested in the fact that the parents died in the storm, and also, he sought clarification from me at one random point as to whether or not he would be getting a flu jab this year. !?@?!

Kath:

Some more then? For being first returning visitor :)

Ursula: hello! I try to pretend that I am organised by having lists. And then I go against all my intentions and puck up whatever fancies me. I think that is why I like the category challenge, as if you make it broad enough you can read whatever you like and it fits in!
I am looking forward to seeing what The Leopard has to offer, as the copy I have looks not much, to be honest ;)

We liked Frozen pretty well - the ice queen scene was quite dramatic - sort of American Idol dramatic - lol. My favorite was that she chose her sister over the guy. Absolutely. I also thought it was hilarious when she was heading up the mountain and the guy (can't remember his name already) was giving her grief about marrying a guy she just met. My youngest also loved Olaf. Keeps quoting bits of his lines over and over.

Good review of Other Halves. It sounds interesting but I take it it's an older book that was popular in NZ. Our library doesn't have it and there are no reviews of it on Amazon and not very many copies available but I tossed one in my cart!

Ohh, I want to see Frozen too! I'm really looking forward to that threat!

A wave from afar...

I really should go and read some more Mordecai Richler. Thus far, I think my fave is his non-fiction riff on the idiotic extremes of French language purists, written in the late 80s or early 90s, during the last major round of constitutional crises.

Nice review of Other Halves, Megan. Onto the wish list it goes.

>22 nittnut: hi Jenn, I guess me and Disney just don't go that well together :)
I am a huge fan of going to the movies though, so was happy enough to just sit there and see Wilbur having a great time.

>23 phebj: hi Pat- yes, Other Halves is old. 1982 I think? It is possibly the first book I remember seeing other than kids books. There was a review of it on Goodreads that I found when googling, it was succinct but praising.

>24 connie53: hi connie- when I saw it I was shocked to see about 4 or 5 previews for kids movies, plus a Mickey Mouse short film. I had no idea there were so many kids movies even out there. I am such a recluse, you see....;)

>25 Chatterbox: hi Suzanne- perhaps I should read some Mordecai Richler. I hadn't heard of him until I grabbed those Penguin covers from the net. I certainly like the sound of his name, if that is anything to go by....

>26 EBT1002: hi Ellen- good luck getting a copy of it though, is all. I suspect, as Pat thinks too, it might be difficult to get hold of. Unless, that is, you come to NZ after Scotland and cruise the second hand shops....then you might find a copy. And I can assure you, it'd be worth the extra $$ on the air ticket!

I have started the group read thread for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and here is the link.

Come and join the fun.

My son (13) and his friend thought Frozen was hysterical! And Other Halves sounds interesting. Thanks for the review.

Hi Kim
I had been meaning to read Other Halves ever since I read/heard somewhere that it is based on her own real life situation. The quote I remember, and which rather gives away what happens, is "ours is the most-produced marriage certificate in New Zealand". I pricked up my ears when I glanced over/heard that as I thought she had meant the other meaning of 'produced' and wondered what on earth she meant.

Oh, now that is just mean. Base your whole comment on a spoiler! Sheesh. I didn't cheat , but now I really have to get it.

17 > Nice stars on Other halves .... it is very reflective of a time & place in NZ

Promising review of An American Childhood, Megan - I will join the Pilgrim at Tinker Creek group read - I had plans to read it last year, but some other memoirs came in between - The Cloister Walk and The Long Loneliness - but looking forward to spend some time at Tinker Creek.

Happy New Thread Megan. I'm sorry to see the Hobbit movie didn't really take off for you. Missed a good portion of your last thread, so don't know if you mentioned it there? Will have to have a look. Great review of Other Halves. That quote is devastating, excellent.

Kim- sorry ;)
I Knew the spoiler when I read it , and it didn't ruin my experience, but I get it. Let me know if you have issues getting hold of a copy and I could send you mine if it turns out being difficult. I owe you that after that last post ;)

Alex: I bet it is representative of a time and place. It was wonderful to read about it because it was my time and place, only I was 6 years old and was sheltered from the rampant conservatism in my lovely liberal home. :)

Carsten: I saw you had signed on for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, great. I cannot figure out if it is a collection of essays, a memoir or a philosophical nature book....I guess I could file it under any of these titles.

Ilana: yea, the Hobbit. I think I said somewhere back there that there seemed to be so much happening, but very little in the way of character/relationship development. And by that I mean, I was dazzled by the action, but not the story. Plus those spiders were terrifying!!! I have a thing about spiders, so it was always going to happen.
You are tempting Kim with your comment on the spoiler quote ;) I would actually like to hear more about the author of Other Halves, to see how it all turned out.

I am putting together a costume for a 40th coming up this weekend. The theme is "I cant believe you wore that".....I was thinking to go as a trashy housewife, a-la Peggy Bundy!

Not sure I can achieve that waist-size though....I have the snake-skin leggings, the peep-toe wedges, the false eyelashes. Now I just need a loud tight top, cigarette holder and some hair curlers. I love dress-ups!

The host is reported to be wearing a latex body stocking dress patterned in the 80's floor game "Twister", I am thinking she is going to get hands put on places she didn't anticipate!

You know that photos of the weekend are mandatory, right? :-) You've got to do the big hair as well for a complete Peggy Bundy.

Loved your review of Other Halves .. that's definitely going onto my OWL.

Agreed - photos are required. What good fun!

Caro- you will definitely see photos, IF they are photos that make me look skinnier and more beautiful than I actually am. :)
(goes without saying on the internet, doesn't it?)

Luxx- I also hope to be able to present a photo of my sister and her husbands matching "glamping PJs" which did not get photographed in their natural environment, but with the addition of fuzzy slippers should make a great party costume.

Hi Megan- I hope you are not finished with Tinker Creek. Slow down a little and let me catch up. I saved a block of time this afternoon to read it.

Hi Megan, hope things are ok with you my dear, seven books read already (very jealous).

Mark- no way! I have only read 24 pages. :)
I am actually going to have a run on my other (page-turner) book- The Demon in the Freezer as its bedazzled style is distracting me from the subtle style of Dillard. Fear not good man.

John: hello- I don't want to rain on my own parade, but most of the books I have read so far have been very short. And one was mainly pictures.
The way I read is to put in 2 hours each evening, as soon as the kids are in bed. It is lovely and quiet, and me and my lovely other sit on the couch and read in each others company. :)

Megan, that sound a wonderful way to read, going to have to mention that to my lovely other half.

Frozen was Owen's first movie in the theater. He was captivated, except for one part he thought was boring. He asked to go to the bathroom, but I think he just wanted to get out of the theater for a minute. He liked Sven the reindeer and "Frosty" the best. Not much more feedback, but he's 2.

Oh boy Megan, you got me with Other Halves. Your enticing review was just a bit too much and I find myself heaving it to the top of the teetering tower.

I am on page 50 and I LOVE it. All that arm-twisting was worth it.

>43 johnsimpson: I hope you get what you are looking for, John. I am lucky it seems, to have a partner who loves reading too. No way near as much as I do, mind, but he does :)

>44 jayde1599: 2 is very young to have to sit still for the whole 2 hours. (we had 20 minutes of previews and shorts to contend with too). So he did well! I would never take Lenny...not yet. I am sure he would be running the aisles like a lunatic.

>45 brenzi: hi Bonnie- gotcha. Hehe...I do like a resounding wallop with a BB. I hope you can get hold of a copy- I am not sure it is exactly stocked....*fingers crossed*

>46 msf59: Mark, come now. Arm twisting? I may have hurried you along a little, but it was only seeing as Pat was starting so soon.....*blaming Pat*.....but see? It all turns out well in the end :)
I am dying to start it properly tomorrow, perhaps this evening if I can carve out some time just now to knock off my other one (and my this I mean other book, not lovely other!).

Yikes (as to the blaming Pat)! But I'm thinking Mark will be thanking me seeing as he's loving the book so much. :-)

Hello Megan - definitely hanging out for the photos!

Oh good. I've been needing an excuse to come to NZ. I mean, other than the Sauvignon Blanc.
:-)

35 > Very, If remember rightly Sue is still married to Guy who inspired the book ....

Pat: Oh, you saw that I blames you? *curse the internet* ;)
But you're right- I think you might be getting all the praise actually!

Prue: hehe, I took a test shot today, and then the camera ran out of batteries so I could not post it. The test shot didn't cut it anyway, and it was only taken as I dont have a full length mirror to see what I actually look like!

Ellen: you are always welcome. Our good Sav Blanc can be bought at a supermarket for as little as $10-15. And the really good stuff, $20 ish.

Alex: uh oh, maybe put a spoiler alert in front of that comment! Just in case the people who got hit with the BBs come by here again.
But- that is nice, I am glad :)

Twister body sock? Must be anticipating hands being put... :)

Tempted by Tinker Creek, but it's not reasonable. I can barely read stuff I have, let alone stuff I don't have yet.

52 > sorry didn't think about that after all the book is over 20 years old - how do you do this spoiler lark?

Lovely review of An American Childhood from the previous thread. It seems odd that I've lived my whole life without hearing about this Annie Dillard. Hrm.

Good luck with the Peggy Bundy costume!

Jenn: anticipating may be right, we do have her on about her area being known for 'key' parties - you know, where everyone who goes drops their keys in a bowl, and on the way out you grab a set and that is who you go with!

Alex: the spoiler thingie is really cool, just use the triangle brackets to enclose the word 'spoiler' before it, then again to enclose the word '/spoiler' afterwards.
I hope it works for you.

Kerri: I lived my whole life without hearing about her too- until I saw that book at the second hand shop. I took a chance on an ugly cover and it paid off big time!
I swear, ever since I mentioned on Paul's thread that I couldn't stand to even hold an ugly cover, I have read at least 4 that qualify.

Oh, and the trashy housewife costume is looking great! I am really pleased with it now. All I need to figure out is how to set my hair in big curlers and then tease the tops to make big hair :)

Hi Megan, re >47 LovingLit: and 43, I should have mentioned that Karen is an avid reader, she reads quicker than me but sometimes prefers a magazine to a book. I read about 95% of the books she prefers but she only reads 5% of the type of books I prefer. I sometimes get accused of putting books on my shelves that she would like and so we have a little battle and I always lose but get to read the books anyway.

Just keeping up here. *settles in to await the photos of the big hair and trashy housewife costume*

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2014
JANUARY
1. Clandestine in Chile by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (biography?) $15 (yikes!)
2. An American Childhood by Annie Dillard (autobiography) $3
3. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer $7
4. The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa $1
5. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler $4
6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, $4
7. Crossing Open Ground by Barry Lopez $4
8. House of Meetings by Martin Amis $5
9. Monkey Grip by Helen Garner $3
10. The Industry of Souls by Martin Booth $5
11. The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer $4
12. To Die in California by Newton Thornburg $3
13. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano $4
14.Other Halves by Sue McCauley $4
15. Gullliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift $3
16. The House Gun by Nadine Gordimer $2
17. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie $2.50

FEBRUARY
17. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank .50c
18. As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong $2
19. A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler $2
20. Amongst Women by John MaGahern $2
21. Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler $2

How do you do the strikeout thing, Megan? That's pretty neat.

I've been good so far, I've only bought The Guest Cat for $9.99 and all the other books on my Kindle were free. I wonder how long this is going to last.

Not going to tell how I know this, but for the biggest hair, you need to tease underneath...
Key parties?!? My goodness. ;)

What's a key party ?

Hair teasing.. yikes! is it ever the same again after that sort of abuse? :P

Nice list of books...

>57 johnsimpson: Hi JOhn, it seems to always be a balancing act, I suppose :)

>58 Crazymamie: Mamie- the party isn't til Saturday, so you might be waiting a while! I will get you a chair and a cosmopolitan while you wait :)



>60 cameling: Caro, the strike thing uses the triangle brackets, with the word "strike" between them, and after the section you want crossed out use "/strike". I like it too!

>61 nittnut: Jenn, it is NOT a key party....(that I know of), but it IS funny to laugh about it.

>62 mckait: Hi Kath, a key part is where everyone who goes drops their car keys in a bowl, and on the way out you grab a set and that is who you go with! And I have never been to one. And I will never go to one (knowingly).

BOOK 8
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

Concerning my reading, it is style over substance that I go for. If there happens to be beauty in both, I rate highly. This book was definitely substance first, style last. But the substance was so substantial it still gets a tick from me.

The Demon in the Freezer is in this case (I wonder how many cases of there being demons in the freezer there are?) the smallpox virus. Officially eradicated in 1979, scientists kept specimens of the virus alive and frozen. With the increasing threat of terror invasions of the biological weapon type, there is now a school of thought that says all stocks of the virus should be destroyed so that it cannot fall into the wrong hands and be used against human populations. This virus is not a nice one. You can get if from someone easily and unknowingly before they even know they have it, and for ten days after they show the first flu-like symptoms. Its spread in today's interwoven societies would be exponential. You die in pain and slowly if you are the one in three that it is likely to kill. This is all before the notion that stocks of the smallpox virus are probably held in freezers in Iraq, North Korea and other states of questionable repute. That they could be being modified on a genetic level to resist vaccines is of great concern to scientists and governments around the world.

Concerns about other biological weapons are discussed here too, in particular anthrax which was distributed post 9/11 via the mail in the US and proved to be both deadly to those who were exposed to its spores, and very costly to clean up after.

On a more lighthearted note, my favourite part of the book follows:

Pox hunters have so far discovered mousepox, monkeypox, skunkpox, pigpox, goatpox, camelpox, cowpox, pseudo-cowpox, buffalopox, gerbilpox, several deerpoxes, chamoispox, a couple of sealpoxes, turkeypox, canarypox, pigeonpox, starlingpox, peacockpox, sparrowpox, juncopox, mynahpox, quailpox, parrotpox and toadpox........There's dolphinpox, penguinpox, two kangaroopoxes, raccoonpox and quokkapox........snakepox and crocpox.

(Quokkapox: an ideal name for a band I am thinking!)
But fear not, only the animal in the title gets the virus just as smallpox only uses humans as its host.

This was a fast and fantastic read.

Megan- I read The Demon in the Freezer a few years ago and thought it was pretty decent. I think the Hot Zone is his masterwork!

Mark- I am pretty sure I have read The Hot Zone a few eons ago. It was scary, and intense and very very good if I remember right.

I thought The Hot Zone was excellent! 'Perhaps not as good perhaps, as that epidemiological thriller And the Band Played On, but pretty darn good.

Megan, you are paying way-too much for books. My local Goodwill Outlet charges 25 cents for paperbacks, textbooks and children's; and 50 cents for hardcover. You want a really fine copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare? 4 bits. The Holy Quran? Two bits.

Pretty soon, I will be able to insulate my entire house with TBR books!

Hi Steve,
I don't think I pay too much for books. (and I am an official tight-wad) Only 3 of those books were purchased from an op-shop (our term for a goodwill store), the rest are from second hand book shops.
Here the full price book is much much more than in the US (around NZ$40 for new releases) and the second hand bookshops always stock books in very good condition. A lot looking used once or brand new. I could find dusty well-used copies of popular fiction (I include Shakespeare/The Bible/The Qur'an in this) for peanuts in op-shops, but like the pretty new ones better.

Good luck with your reasonably-priced insulation project!

56 > done thanks, is rather neat, I must admit, but was rather amused at description "triangle" brackets :)

^oh, are they called something else? ;)

70 that would be " less than" & "greater than" symbols - I will assume maths classes from when you were younger have left a trauma/scaring so deep you cannot recognise these anymore :)

#70 I call them 'angular brackets' but no idea if this is their official title!

I've seen "HTML brackets" and "pointy brackets" used. The HTML escape code to actually type the brackets so they appear, though, does reference them as "less than" and "greater than." :)

>71 roundballnz: Alex, OMG. Of course! haha, I remember now. I am so used to using them as brackets, I forgot their original use. I used to really like maths actually, but I think I learned the name of the symbols way back in primary school.

>72 SandDune: hi Rhian- either way, we all know what we are talking about now, don't we?

>73 ursula: hi Ursula, I think I would grasp the meaning if you used any of those descriptions. Maybe we are like the Inuit and their 40 words for snow.....out priorities being computing. ;)

Lenny-ism

Lenny: *excitedly* look! Look mum!

Me: what is it?

Lenny: *holds up whistle*
It like a bowel-cano!

Me: *in my head*
(a) Bowel-cano!!?? lol
(b) How on earth is a whistle like a volcano?

Well, it can erupt noisily! That Lenny is too clever!

OMG Megan, you WILL be taking photos, right?? I agree with Jenn: surely she's anticipating hands in all kinds of places...

Very behind, but caught up for a brief second!!

From your last thread....OMG at the wooden spoon story!! How cute was that??? How did you not keel over laughing at that one??

Mamie: he is a crack up, that is for sure. Today he wanted me and my sister to watch him on his bike (with training wheels). So we watched. He blatted it towards the gate, crashed into it. Half fell off. Jumped up looking a little surprised and said "I hurt my brain" while checking his foot to see what had happened.
What the?
He is hilarious!

Anne: I will definitely be taking pictures :) There should be some fantastic costumes knowing the crowd that is going. I cant quite fit my camera in my 80s chain-strap hand bag, but will keep it handy.

Tina: I keel over laughing a lot around here! (see the story I relayed for Mamie just above). I think Lenny might be the class clown, the joke-teller, the crush-the-can-on-your-head-to-impress-the-crowd guy :)

I can't wait to meet Lenny! The "I hurt my brain" story reminded me of one time when my youngest bumped his elbow pretty hard, grabbed it and said "I hurt my butt!" I think he might have been 2.

RD - I have a solution for you. How about a New Zealand meet-up? Come on over. It's nice here. :)

Love that Lenny! We NEED a current photo!

Chiming in to say that I can't wait for photos of your costume! What a fun party idea!

RD: poor dear! Reality has its way of doing that :(
(((hugs)))
I like that B&W image, it is as bleak as you feel maybe?

Jenn: haha, it must be a 2 year old thing. Getting body areas confused :) Brains toes butts elbows, it is all very tricky.
Nice idea on the NZ meetup, there are a few of us already here, we now just need to get the other 438 on a plane......

Mark: OK Mark- I will work on that....I should really try for some audio as that is his forte at the moment.

Amber: I cant wait for it either! The couple whose combined 40th is it are both really cool people with nice friends, so it will be fun. Plus their place is lovely, its about 45 minutes drive from where I am, rural, idyllic and peaceful. I am camping out there to solve the problem of having to drive somewhere under the influence.

Lenny taken by Wilbur, and Lenny 'surfing' on recent camping trip.

Lenny is lovely! There is a real heartbreaker in the making!

What a cutie you have there, Megan. And I love the 'bowel-cano' story! Too funny... and I'm never going to be able to look at the volcano again without thinking of his name for it.

Good review on Demon in a Freezer .. definitely something up my alley, so away to the OWL it goes.

Megan, how do you get those big red check marks on your Reading Bingo card?

Nice Lenny pics. No pics of Wilbur?

Megan - A word also for Wilbur. Already picking up the family trade I see in taking the photos of his younger brother. His Grandpa will be proud.

Connie: I think Wilbur (his older brother) will impress with his intelligence, and Kenny with his charm :)

Caro: The OWL and the Camel went to sea, on a beautiful pea-green boat.....you know this poem is going to end well (and not involve runcible spoons). I'll give it away, you (the camel) end up directing the boat to a deserted island (with hammocks and a bar) and read your OWL to the very end :)

Kelly: I have photoshop on this old computer, and if I pedal fast enough can actually use it :) Just use the 'Custom Shape Tool', select the tick, and the colour and Bob's your uncle.
Wilbur didn't feature on this occasion as it was Lenny we were talking about up there, and there was a request! But now that there is another request, I shall source one.

Paul: Wilbur recently took about 45 photos on his way around the house, a few were quite good, and my dad actually thought it would be a funny idea to enter one into a photo competition- just to see.
This is exactly what dad did with a photo of mine I took while helping dad test a new film. (he said to point it at that raft in the rapids, and just keep your finger pressed down on the button. So I did) One of my pictures got a high achievement award- in the Canon Asia Pacific competition! I have still got the award, but no cash prize unfortunately.
*buff nails on shirt*

Lenny pics :) What a smoochable cutie.

Sorry to hear that you have been fighting a night cough as well... try my recipe, and feel better soon..

Oh, I love the Lenny photos! Especially, the surfer boy pose! He's getting to be a big boy.

I am nearing 200 pages in Tinker Creek. She gets a bit over my head at times. She is one DEEP DEEP woman but I am really enjoying it.

And no fear, I will never ever hold a grudge, if you choose not to participate in anything. Hey, we read, what we want to read. It's that simple.

What a blondie Lenny is! Such a cutie!

I listened to The Hot Zone 19 years ago on audio, as a newlywed moving to Colorado with my hubby. We had been married for all of one day when we loaded up a Uhaul trailer and started the drive in a truck with no AC...during the middle of the heat wave in the summer of 95. The drive sucked, the book was great, and we are still married!! The Demon in the Freezer sounds like a good read too.

Kath: would that recipe include whiskey by any chance?
:)
I have given up no-alcohol and decided a glass of wine is what was needed (see my next post directed at Mark). I have abstained for a long time in the hope it would aid in the reduction of cold symptoms, but am sick of abstinence now. hehe, no one ever said I was a saint!

Mark: I missed out on my reading for last night as I decided to have a few wines instead and I was not confident Annie Dillard would make sense to me a bit woozy. I cracked open a bottle of red half way through what turned out to be a half hour crying-fit from poor dear tired Wilbur- and it served its purpose. Turns out I am a far more patient mother under the influence. Go figure.

She is deep- isn't she, and some of the references are over my head, as well as the flora and fauna all being unfamiliar to me.....she is extremely deep, (like my ex, which is partly why he is my ex!) I am not sure my brain goes that far in....
but it makes for amazing reading.

Heidi: trucking across the country with no air-con in a heat wave. That is a great test for any relationship! I like to think Richard Preston would think that he had something to do with that.

Oh Megan, I hope you're feeling better soon! I would think that looking upon those adorable faces of your boys would do the trick!

Wilbur as a baby, and then a 5 year-old with a cut foot :(

Anne:
Wilbur was a seriously gorgeous baby, back in the day. Our midwife felt the need to reiterate how lovely she thought he was, and then to stress that she did not say this about just any baby (she had seen a few as well, being the oldest practicing midwife in this city at the time). I for one agreed with her!

Megan,your boys or so cute!

Oh my, your thread is full of cuties-patootie today! You've got some handsome boys on your hands, Megan.

Thanks Diana and Amber!
Saturday morning here, and I am gearing up for the costume party this evening.
Fake tan: over- applied (intentionally)
Nail polish: applied (for viewing through peep-toe shoes)
The rest can wait til closer to party time....but it does pay to be prepared :)
*excited*

Hi Megan!
Sounds like a lot of fun. Can't wait for the pictures!

Your little darlings are cute at every age.
Hmmm. bowel-cano I have seen whistles spew liquid (sort of like lava) when too much spit is applied. Maybe you missed the main event. lol

I already have Tinker Creek and will be reading it - but not right away since I have an enormous lineup of books to tame.
I love "deep" as long as it doesn't come across as drug-induced and just plain whacked.

Lenny and Wilbur look like they are enjoying themselves.

#96 So cute! I love doing that sit-rep thing where you switch between the then and nows.

Also #94 I have found that too - re wine I mean. Sometimes a glass of wine is exceedingly necessary to keep me from shredding Cassie's homework when she's having a tired day. I hate homework :(

Hi Megan. Thanks for posting the pictures of the boys. They're both adorable. Can't wait to hear about the party!

The Party!
Left to right: my sis and BiL in their matching glamping pjs, friend in her old school ball frock (actually made from curtain fabric) and me pulling off the trashy housewife look quite well, I think. I look so different from my normal self that several people said they didn't recognise me!

It was a gorgeous 29°C evening, with many many hilarious costumes, such as the two below. ON the left we have a bathing beauty (with merkin) and one of the hosts, a naughty (and late) Christmas elf, *sampling* some tequila.

Cee: I think you will appreciate the depth of Annie Dillard's writing as it is not seeming to be drug-induced, just thoughtful deep.
Bowel-cano, still makes me smile. His wee chubby face was so sincere.

Lori: they sure are happy kids! Happy, fast, loud, busy.....just as kids should be.

Bekka: so long as you dont get wine stains on the homework- this could cause the teacher to start asking questions.

Pat: see above :)
The couple's place is gorgeous, we camped in their horse paddock and partied on their front lawn, and danced in their living room (this was a bit later). As parties go, it was a good one, helped on a lot by the hilarity of the outfits. Supermen, fairies, boy scouts, a man wearing chaps, and not much more! Australian sporting codes got a good showing, with cricket/rugby and netball uniforms all there (I can't believe you wore that, was the theme).

I loved The Leopard. Hope you do. Lenny is almost edible he's so adorable.

^ Tui, I pretend to eat him up on a daily basis. He loves it, when I nibble his chops. lol- I bet that won't last!

Between you and Jenn, my temptation to hop on a container ship and arrive in NZ in February grows. *smooch* Glad Annie Dillard is appealing to you!

RD - Woot! Although I can't recommend container ships. Ours was delayed by US customs and will be arriving weeks later than we hoped. I guess if you hopped in one full of good food and air conditioning...
As further encouragement, I will make Pavlova. We had it at dinner tonight and I think it's wonderful.

Love the photos Megan. :) Great trashy housewife outfit! Sounds like the party was good fun. We had an adventure today. We went to some friends for lunch and they said, hey, let's go for a walk. So we went tramping up the hill in Karori and got caught in the rain. We were as wet as if we had just jumped in a pool. Soaked. Good thing these friends happened to be storing a couple of suitcases for us and we were able to change clothes.

Megan- Love the photos. What a nice looking bunch and love to see everyone holding a beverage. And I like the "trashy housewife" look. LOL.
Sounds like you are having a great time.

Well, you are just the sweetest looking thing! That look suits you ;-)
Nice feet, too.

Glad to hear you had lots of fun.

I love the photo's. You really look like you had a good time!

Ha! You're the classiest trashy housewife I've ever seen! Love it!

I have to agree with Amber, you're the classiest trashy housewife I have ever seen Megan. Any more photos ?

RMD: container travel, a previously under-utilised tourist market? I am thinking if you got the whole container to yourself, you could pimp that baby out to quite a glam boudoir. Just make sure you get put on deck rather than in the hold....

ETA: the picture did a disappearing act on me! Hopefully this one will last.

Jenn: Pavlova....I have never made it. My Nana used to do a great pav, I have never tried one. Now I feel very un-NZ!
Impromptu walks are great aren't they!? Especially if you have spare cloths once you get back :)
Our impromptu trip to the river the other week went especially well because of my dad's duffel bag being in the back of the car, which I rifled through to find a towel and some river-shoes (my operated on feet are still sensitive to walking on stones).

Mark: I felt trashy! I am not normally one for cleavage or tight clothing or heels or make-up or big hair...all these things made an appearance as part of my costume.
I was drinking a Dutch beer called Bavaria, I carried half a six-pack in my hands with the plastic rings as a handle. hehe. Classy? moi?

Cee: My new feet fit in the shoes! I know! I bought them second hand, but they might actually get used again....I was so excited to fit them :) Plus, all 4 incision scars were visible so I could showcase my surgeries with little effort.
People were surprised at my look- maybe I can sauce up with the best of 'em.

Connie: It was a fun night out. Even though I have only known the hosts for 8 years or so, they seem to know a lot of people I knew from childhood, so it was a lovely catch up.

Amber: Classy- lol. Not me. I am street, and my outfit was a la Peggy Bundy. If she's classy then so was I :)

John: Again with the classy!? I should be so lucky. This is the look I was going for....all I was missing was the cigarette!

I agree with John; you didn't look trashy in the photo but it also didn't really look like you either - much longer hair?
Now your last photo looks like my mother cooking.

Love the photos, Megan -- sounds like a fun evening.

We've made Pavlovas several times -- they're amazing!

Hi Megan,
I had read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek eons ago (I was in grad school, so -- late 80s?) but now, based on all the conversation around here, I've gotten it from the library. I might even sneak it in later this week.

A classy trashy housewife. Of course.

>117 PaulCranswick: Paul, I have a low threshold for trashy, I guess :)
And yes, I don't think I have cut my hair since I met you. The last time I cut my hair it was a DIY job too. Step one: put in pony tail. Step two: cut pony tail off.
#lowmaintenance

>118 AMQS: Anne, how is it that you have out-New-Zealanded me!? I need to lift my game and get making a pav. Make my Nana proud....she was a spectacular pavlova-maker.

>119 EBT1002: ooh, goodie. You have a copy. It is solidly thoughtful. That must be my overall impression. And lovely, very lovely.

I have a soft spot for Peggy Bundy - love her. So, yeah, I think she's classy. Ha!

Hi Megan,
I just started Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I should find the thread for the GR. Reading this is as much a "feeling" adventure as it is a reading journey.
The title threw me until I read the first chapter. Then - surprise! It is what it says!

Have a good day with those lovable, huggable boys!

Amber: I used to love watching Married with Children.....perhaps as much because it was fun seeing my dad cracking up laughing as it was for me funny. Al was so long-suffering!

Cee: I am glad you are on the Tinker Creek journey! I see you found the GR thread where I commented wrongly that I an ½ way through when really I am ¾ through....never mind.
I would have read a lot more last night if I hadn't been up drinking wine with my dad, who returned from Antarctica! He has some funny stories, and he stamped the books I lent him with the Antarctica passport stamp :) (The Life and Times of Michael K, How to Be Alone and The Lighthouse). I now have well-travelled books.

If a tree falls in a playground and there are kids and mums everywhere and it hits no one, should just the closest person to it buy a lotto ticket, or everyone?

Here I was at the playground minding my own business (and my kids) and saw some movement out of the tops of my eyes, looked up in time to see a tree thwacking to the ground....bits of wood bouncing off the spongy ground covering, and one very wide-eyed mother and her toddler standing less than 2 steps from its tip. WOAH. It was 8-10 metres tall (before falling) and the people in the crowded play area all just stopped and stared at these two innocents who so nearly got thwacked. She was rather stunned.
*close call*
It was also a little bit exciting.....and Wilbur said "wow, if we weren't here we wouldn't have sawed that" (seen, Wilbur, seen!) lol

#124 OMG! That is a little too exciting for a playground trip. Glad no one was hurt!

Hello Megan - love the photos - and how great to have people not recognise you! Maybe it's time for an image change? And mess with the expectations of others.....

Wow that gives new meaning to the old---if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there does it make a noise? LOL

Love all the pics Megan but I'm particularly impressed by the Peg Bundy trashy imitation. I think you've just about captured it.

Megan- I intended to do a mini-review of Tinker Creek today and the time just slipped away. I am having the hardest time, staying focused for a review. Do I need therapy? It's like finding time to work-out. You'll turn to anything else...

I am very glad you gave me the nudge to read it. Hugs to my favorite trashy housewife!

Heidi: yes, it was a disaster averted, I think. The other tree next to it was rotten too- someone gave it a shove to see if it would go (once the way was clear) but it did not budge. Someone called City Care who deal with that stuff, they will probably remove all the rotten ones and perhaps should have by now.

Prue: I am all for an image change, but I don't think that style is what I would go for. Maybe my new image could be that I lose 10kilos! I'd like that for a change :)

Bonnie: why thank you! (for the Peg Bundy comparison)
I was hoping I'd pull it off, and I feel like I gave it a good go. That people didn't recognise me was a good thing. I love dressups.....I wonder what theme I should have for my 40th in 2015 (*yikes* that is only next year!)

Mark: I was JUST over on your thread. haha, love that.
I am up to page 201 on Tinker Creek. Am really liking it and get right into it every time I pick it up, but it is not in the league of others which have me carry them around all day in the hope of getting a second or two to read them :)

Drive-by hello, Megan. Yikes, playground sounds like it was a little too adventurous today.

Love your Mrs. Bundy costume.... that was such a great show! Glad to see no one was injured at the playground. Playgrounds aren't supposed to be that exciting. ;-)

A very late HELLO from me. Love your outfit (and hair!). And yikes to the tree falling the the playground.

LOL:) They looked so amazing, I just had to try one. They're pretty much the perfect summer dessert. Then when Callia went to NZ it was all over: she came back a true devotee. They all did, actually. Their accompanist is now known as "Pavlova" because she loved them so much.

"Solidly thoughtful." I like that description.

Nancy: a very adventurous adventure playground that is for sure. More so than our first playground visit of the day. Me and the kids had to wait 40 minutes to see the surgeon who fixed my feet this morning, so I felt I owed them a run about after they behaved so well in the waiting room.

Lori: This particular play ground is really exciting anyway- without the falling tree! I t has a huge tunnel slide that the kids all love. They can walk up the rocks that it sits on or walk around the hill to get to the top- it is really popular.

Cushla: My hair was on the large side. When it was first done it was way larger too- but a 40 minute drive and putting up a tent in 29° heat flattened it somewhat :(
The 5/5 strength hair spray needed an extra something I think!

Anne: I think it is the cream. I love properly whipped fresh cream, it is so easily done but some bakeries persist with the fake stuff- which is gross. When I was pregnant I craved whipped cream, I think because of it tasting cold and moist....what I really needed was water as whenever I did give in and have it, I got reflux straight away.

Ellen: It gets hard coming up with ways to describe Annie Dillard's writing, it is so.....well, you know. I want to say esoteric, and ethereal but right now I cant remember what either of them mean or if they relate to Dillard.
*I need a wine*
LOL- that is all.

Whoa Megan, that was a dangerous playground moment! Was there a sudden storm or no reason at all for the tree to fall?

Wow to the playground drama! So glad no one was hurt!

(Love the "sawed" instead of "seen" - seems appropriate, though. Ha!)

Hi, Megan!

Late as always, and this was a long thread to keep up with :) Probably a silly question (since I have not tead the whole thing), but how did you make that reading bingo thing, all up there in #2?

Wilbur said "wow, if we weren't here we wouldn't have sawed that" LOL

I'm glad everyone was safe!

Megan, I'm so glad your playground adventure has a happy ending!

Diana: the tree was actually rotten, and dead. It was just a trunk with some whispy top bits. They are beautiful trees when not in attack mode :)


Amber: 'sawed'! I know- it was rather appropriate :)
I always like the thought of seeing a random act of nature. Like a rock-fall or something, so I feel quite special to have been a witness!

Bente: the Bingo chart is pre-existing, I added the ticks to it using photoshop. There is a thread devoted to the bingo challenge.....here. I think it would be fairly easy to fill the squares, given the whole year is ahead of us still? I am hoping to anyway.

Kath: I guess he was trying to say that he was excited to have seen the dramatic event :)
Kids do word things oddly, I love it. He is still worried that he doesn't know what he is going to be when he grows up....I asked him what he liked doing, if he liked the idea of being inside or out, etc. He replied: 'well, I'd like to be outside playing rough games".
OK, maybe he'll be a professional sportsperson then!

Connie: me too! It would have been bad form indeed to see a person felled by a falling tree. :(

Hi Megan. You looked great as a trashy housewife! And it was fun to see your sister and BiL in their matching PJs. Glad all turned out well with the adventure at the playground.

I'm afraid I'm not getting anywhere with Tinker Creek. I've been spending my time reading Willa Cather's O Pioneers!. I don't think I have the concentration for Dillard's book right now. Too many passages were escaping me. Oh well, onward and upward to the next book!

Megan -- slipping in to say hello after hiding under a rock for a good while. Loved the pics of the boys AND the party! How fun!

Pat: oh dear, sorry to hear that you have not bonded with Pilgrim at Tinker Creek- but glad to hear you are not cut up about it :)
I have visited 2 playgrounds today, and not one tree fell on me, or anyone else, or even at all! This is good news, no? :)

Marianne: hi, and welcome back :)
It is a long way to my next dress up party, so I will be living off the fun of that one for a while.

Hi Megan,
I'm enjoying Wilbur's exploits and his creative use of words. Thank goodness the playground incident can turn into one of those funny stories.

Upright trees are good.

Oh, and I also love real whipped cream. I suppose one can put a piece of pie beneath it, but it's really not necessary.

Or Devonshire cream. On a warm fresh currant scone.

Hrmmm. I must be hungry.

Hi. Glad you were not smashed by a tree.

Did someone make scones?

Ellen: Mainly when you get something with cream here, it is real cream, and I would expect to take it back if it wasn't. It was only at Denny's that I got some sort of canned cream, I was completely shocked that they would even serve that crap. But then I realised that it was a $5 desert.....so laughed it off (and never went back).

Jenn: I appreciate your rooting for my survival! :)
I actually have not made scones in a long time, but I make a cracker of a Ginger Buttermilk Scone, if I do say so myself. They are a little bit spectacular (humility is my strong point).

Were those real scones without currants ..... with cream & berry

"I make a cracker of a Ginger Buttermilk Scone..."

I'm just off to buy my plane ticket. I'll be there, say, breakfast time tomorrow?

Can't afford a plane ticket but I'm pretty good at following directions, and I make a decent basic scone. Can you share the recipe for the Ginger Buttermilk variety so I can wipe the drool off my chin?

Ginger buttermilk scone? I'm with Tina: the recipe please...

xoxoxo for narrow escapes, 5/5 hair holding spray, and Wilby understanding that "sawed" is the REAL way to say it.

>150 tututhefirst:, 151 Yes! Yes! Recipe please!

>148 roundballnz: Alex, I am just going to go ahead and say yes....because it is the internet and you have no way of checking *mwa ha ha*

>149 EBT1002: If by tomorrow breakfast time you mean now, Ellen, then I am afraid you just missed breakfast. It was nowhere near as delicious as what you were expecting either, only cheese and marmite on toast. And coffee (that part was good).
I'll have you booked in for later afternoon seeing as there is a time difference and all :)

>150 tututhefirst: hi tutu/Tina! Directions. OK.
Head south near the date line, stop just before you reach Antarctica and head back up, look for the nearest city- that would be Christchurch. Welcome!

Ginger Buttermilk Scones

3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
2½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
170g (6oz) cold butter
½ cup crystalised ginger, chopped (optional, can swap out with 1 teaspoon powdered ginger)
240ml buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients, cut in butter (or grate in or rub in).
Add ginger lumps and stir in buttermilk. Mix lightly with floured hands to form 3 balls.
Flatten gently onto a greased baking tray and deeply score an 'X' into each ball (when cooked you will be able to break each blob into 4 wedge shaped scones). Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar (I use crystals for this part for extra crunch).
Bake 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes or until cooked through. (in my experience- it takes longer than 15 minutes)
Serve with cream/creme fraiche and a strong jam or compote.

>151 thornton37814: well, you are in luck as not only have I found the recipe, but I have typed it just there ^
:)
They are easy really, if you have the buttermilk. I use the remaining buttermilk in an Indonesian Chicken recipe which is also delicious. But you can take out coconut milk from a lot of recipes and just use buttermilk, I have found (it has way less fat).

>152 richardderus: RMD! You are here! You care! Nice of you to visit little old me.
Have you ever seen a random act of nature? I am still thinking about the tree falling like that. Just because it was its time. Fascinating....I wonder what Annie Dillard would have to say about it ;)

>153 michigantrumpet: yippee- Marianne, you hardly had to wait at all for the recipe. With all this talk of ginger buttermilk scones...I think I am just going to have to go ahead and make some today. It is all there is for it!
I am also going to make a slow cooked vege casserole (with slow roasted capsicum and eggplant) as we have an over abundance in the fridge. I will add sausages to it later to quieten the troops....

She would spend three pages of *gorgeous* prose on the tree, the insects, the weather patterns, and how people are, in the end, not lucky to survive so much as privileged to be there when Nature makes Her will known.

Thanks Megan! I have both crytalised ginger AND left over fresh ginger (from a pepper steak stir fry on Sunday. Do you think I could do the fresh? Have you done that before?

^ I think you are right. I still have a few pages left of her book, maybe she will see a tree fall and describe it to me like that!

>hi Marianne- I think the fresh ginger could be too damp, it might just soak up all the flour. Maybe you could mince the ginger and stir it up in the milk and put them both in together? I have no idea of course, you should try it.
I use crystalised and powdered as like the oomph you get from the combination.

Megan, we were on the same wavelength. As I wrote that, I thought "but it's already tomorrow there when here it's only today and here it's past breakfast time but there it's well on toward lunch and besides it will be Saturday soon in both places, although it will be Saturday there before it is Saturday here."

Or something like that.

^I had my practice run for when you decide to come (I have an open door policy so whenever is good). The scones turned out very well and I am glad my lovely other's dad came by to help me with them otherwise they would have all gone the way of my stomach :)

BOOK 9
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (Pulitzer Prize winner 1975)

After seeing past the exceedingly ugly cover of An American Childhood I discovered that I had discovered, all by myself and against all odds, this 'new' wonderful author, Annie Dillard. Imagine my delight when I hear she has written more books. And that some of them won prestigious prizes. And, I hear there are more books yet.....

This book though, not a collection of essays as has been suggested, but recollections and observations collated while living by Tinker Creek, Virginia. The story talks of all the seasons she experienced there, and of the thoughts that struck her- and she has many of these. To me, the intensity and passion of these thoughts were very much there, but so well balanced with a shrug to fate that the story does not read like a wall-to-wall rant. She re-frames the human experience by comparing it with the harsh realities of nature, and in doing so, I think, is able to make us step back and view ourselves and our own lives in a more balanced way.

The reading of this book requires concentration. You want to read each word in its chosen place, carefully. Consequently there are sections that went right over my head, but this did not stop me enjoying them purely for the language used and the way it sounded in my head. I feel I missed out a bit from not being local- most of the birds and plants are foreign to me so had to be imagined. But otherwise- this books flows so nicely, has many fascinating anecdotes and a tonne and a half of food for thought.

Oho, I'm yoinking that recipe - they sound amazing!

Dillard, huh? Don't think I've ever read Dillard. So many books, soo little time...sigh.

The ginger scones look yummy. I do like scones! I haven't made any scones for a couple of years... I should. Soon.

Love Ginger. Gingerbread is of course a Yorkshire delectable sometimes called parkin for some reason in God's Own Country.

This is delightful stuff and probably the real reason that Dracula decided to land in England where he did.

Mmmm! Gingerbread! Served warm with a lemon curd on top!

Amber: yoinking!? lol- I reckon that must be like our yanking. Yoink away. I just had them for breakfast, toasted with blue cheese on top. Oh boy- that was an inspired decision!

Kath: Dillard won the Pulitzer for that book, in the year I was born. She was only 27 when she wrote it an according to her afterword, was filled with the exuberance and confidence of youth.

Paul: I love ginger too. I love chopping discs off the root and steeping it in hot water with lemon, and sometimes honey. The gingery-er the better!
And I recently tasted the best ginger loaf I have ever tasted, from a local bakery- nice to know the supply is nearby....I suspect I will be heading there regularly.

But why parkin?

Marianne: lemon curd- I have never heard of that combo. But I am willing to give anything a go when it comes to sugar :) It's just my way.

My hubby has recen't become addicted to non-alcoholic ginger wine. My nearly-3 year old came up to him the other day asking for a sip of his drink... needless to say he was unimpressed and there was a lot of of 'pthe, pthe, pthe' going on from the boy!

Also Parkin is just... parkin - even google can't give me an answer why ;) But to me, ginger cake has alwasy been parkin. And it's so yummy!

^ huh. Parkin: still mysterious :)
I am very fond of the alcoholic ginger wine (Stones)- ancient. Zingy. Makes boring lager beer taste really good. I bet my kids would not like it either, that ginger taste is just too strong for little taste buds.

Parkin/gingerbread is excellent coffee-food. Hi Maudie, glad you found Annie Dillard. I loved that book the first time I picked it up. She has never disappointed me with her writing, but she has never risen above the level set in this book either. Every writer has The One Book in 'em, I suppose, and that was hers.

So far, anyway.

Oooh Megan I snaffled that recipe into my folder before I could blink! Yum. And I loved your review of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek which has been on my BD WL for like ever. You inspire me to move it along to my basket!

Glad you so enjoyed Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Megan. I am totally caught up in The Blue Place but then I think I'll dip into the Annie Dillard.

RMD: coffee food :)
I often put the jug on for a coffee only to rationalise my sweet-treat habit. And more often than not, my sweet treat is gone before the jug has boiled :(
Dillard was 27 when she wrote that, I think 27 is a magical age. It was my 'grow up' year, when I freaked out that I must now be an adult, seeing as I was 27 (not 25, not 30 but 27).

Prue: Funny you say that, I just ate another one. Luckily (again) my lovely other's lovely dad is due for another visit so I will try to get him to eat one (again). It really is just me eating them all otherwise, not that I mind, it is only my waistline that minds.

Ellen: your love of 84 Charing Cross Road has made me check the library website, write down the places it is, and have then intention to go there. So, a BB, in effect (nice shot). I wish you happy dipping into Dillard :)

Hi Megan- Good review of Tinker creek. I hope I can put my thoughts together for a short review. No promises though. I also really liked it.

165 > Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Gingerbread .... nothing better now need to find some

Found this on Parkin/Gingerbread could be a salt of truth in it

http://tvnz.co.nz/content/1334844/2527449.xhtml

>175 roundballnz: Interesting to compare gingerbread and parkin recipes! But I admit I got distracted by pear and ginger cake with pear compote. *drool*

I think Alex's link is quite accurate. In West Yorkshire we have Parkin which is darker gingerbread with oatmeal and we have also gingerbread which is much paler in colour (golden syrup instead of treacle).

This is another recipe for Yorkshire Parkin

http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/yorksparkin.htm

Mark: no promises! I don't accept that, sorry Mark. I need to know your thoughts on it please :)
Afterall, it was you who made me hurry along and read it...or...hang on, maybe that is the other was around? :)

Alex: ooooh, thanks, a geography and a culinary lesson.

RMD: pear and ginger cake with pear compote
*stop the buss I wanna get off*
That looks uber delicious! I love the sound of that combination. This place is turning into the kitchen thread!

Paul: my international kitchen is looking lovely now- I will make one or more of the recipes here I am sure. Probably the one for which I have most ingredients lying about.
I will also be calling all gingerbread loafs 'parkin' from now on, just as all microwaves will be known as 'science ovens' (I just saw American Hustle- it was very very good, I don't see a movies list on your new thread, is there one?)

Oh boy, all this gingerbread talk! So delicious. Also, ginger snaps, dunked in tea or coffee or milk. Yum.
And the only soda I drink these days is ginger ale.

I like ginger in many things.. tea is good.. cookies.... ginger candies.. but I dislike gingerbread. :P
Weird, I know. I do like all things oatmeal...

Fresh ginger tea, with lemon and honey:) keeps the cold away and tastes yummie!

LOL! You a funny person! I agree, I should still do it.

You all have convinced me to read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek if for no other reason than to pass it on to my 31 year old son who has just bought a house on the Appalachian Trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains, who has no TV and who has just finally finally finally discovered reading. He raves about Bill Bryson, so I'm thinking he's gonna love this one too. Can't wait to dive in.

Oooo....I loved the Bill Bryson about hiking the Appalachian Trail....A Walk in the Woods I think? Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek sounds good too.

No playground adventures today?

Amber: I never hardly ever drink fizzy, but if I do it is either ginger ale, or some sort of fruit juice with soda. I prefer my sugar to come in its purest form :)

Kath: that is odd, that you like ginger but not gingerbread- what is it about it you dislike, the texture? I like it being dense and gooey and sticky on to- *drool*

Bente: then ginger and lemon is what I should have been drinking 3 weeks ago! I have a doctors appointment for Monday as my cold/cough has been here 3 weeks now and is moving to my chest....I think it has lingered enough.

Mark: hehe, no pressure around here is there!? You know I am (mostly) kidding. I hope you are having a great meetup soon! I bet you guys will have a blast!!

Tutu: finally finally discovered reading! Great. I hear some people never get there, perish the thought! Now you can shower him with book gifts, what fun!

Heidi: playground adventures? Not today- just a 90 minute drive (return) to drop my lovely other off on an 8 hour walk across the tops of the Port Hills, and then a play on an old railway carriage at Little River, then a play by the lake, then a swim at the pool with the littlies, then....now. A rest- yay!

Great review of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Megan. I must get back to Dillard and this looks like a great place to do that.

Bonnie: back to Dillard? What else have you read? I am obsessed with the fact that she wrote that aged 27....even though I have read a lot of young authors works, I just reckon she had balls (so to speak) to pull that off.

Hi Megan,
Got your paws on a copy of 84, Charing Cross Road yet? ;-)

Hi Ellen- I had the number of it written down in my pocket, to collect from the library....and somehow I never made it to the library that day. But. I am going to the library tomorrow morning to meet a friend for a coffee, so I hope it is a library that has a copy :)
I shall keep you posted!
Meanwhile, I finish up with The Big Sleep :)

Really enjoying reading your thread this morning, coffee in hand, wishing I had one of those scones of yours! De-lurking at the mention of American Hustle - so glad you enjoyed it! I think it is the best movie I have seen in a long time. I just love David O. Russell!

>190 Cait86: hi- thanks for delurking, and for noticing that I saw American Hustle. I loved the story, and the acting but also the feel of it. The colours were warm and the costumes so fun!
Is David O. Russell the actor that played The FBI middle manager? He was so funny- and I absolutely loved that running joke about the ice fishing. I am laughing now just thinking of it.

>191 LovingLit: - David O. Russell is the director - he also directed Silver Linings Playbook, which I love!

Totally agree about the feel of the movie - the costumes, and music, the colours - so good :)

^The Director! (oops) :)
I also really liked Silver Linings Playbook, it was fabulous.
In a couple of scenes of American Hustle, Bradley Cooper was acting his a$$ off! It might have just pushed through that boundary into pantomime for me, but aside from that, I couldn't fault it.

January Roundup:

Books: 9
US Author: 5
NZ Author: 2
Colombian Author: 1
Scottish Author: 1
Male: 6
Female: 3
Fiction: 2 (and one of these is based on truth)
Non-fiction: 7

On target to beat 2013 already. Gingerbread, parkin and scones. All three would be welcome with my coffee this morning.

Paul, I keep saying it- but this year is the year of reining in my reading. I am sure that at any moment my free time will be up in a puff of smoke. I'll take it well if that is not the case though.
And I was very surprised to see that my reading was more than mainly non fiction so far!

Nice round number of books there, Megan..I hope your coffee meet up was enjoyable and that the book came home with you..

January was a great reading-month for you, Megan! Way to start off a new year ...

Hey Megan!! Many kisses and hugs to Lenny and Wilbur!! Such cute little ones! I don't know how you do it every day! I'd never get any work done for hugging and kissing all over their little faces! hahaha

I'm adding to the chorus of "you looked classy" when you thought you looked trashy!! ;)

Hey Megan - just waving as I try to do a quick catch-up

Hi Megan- Checking in from the winter wasteland. Had a great time in the Pacific Northwest and an even better time at the Meet-Up.
I also saw American Hustle with my sister. I loved the film. Jennifer Lawrence nearly stole the show, as the wife and that cast was terrific.

Just so no one panics, Megan is going to be AWOL for a time, but is not ill or threatened with natural disaster.

I was just coming here to look for her.. since the thread has been unusually slow. Glad to know all is well rd.. thanks..

Megan...leaving a hug for you!

Sending hugs to you!!

Hi everyone, thanks for visiting.
My friend died in a motorbike accident on Monday, so we are all reeling a bit around here. I'll be back when the mood takes me, which won't be too long I hope. xx

Hi Megan, so sorry to hear about your friend, sending hugs to you my dear.

Oh Megan - how awful. Comforting hugs going your way as I write.

Oh dear Megan. I am so sorry for your loss.

(((((((((Megan)))))))

So sorry Megan

(((((Hugs, Megan))))). So sorry.

Sorry to hear about your friend, Megan

Very sorry to hear about your friend Megan. Thinking of you and your family.

Sorry about your friend, Megan. Hugs.

I'm so sorry Megan. We will be thinking of you all. Take care.

Oh, no. I'm so sorry, Megan. I'll be keeping you and your friends and families in my thoughts. Also sending virtually the hugs that I wish I could give you in reality.

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. Big hugs to my pal!!

I'm very sorry for your loss, Megan. Take all the time you need; your friends will be here when you are ready to come back.

I'm so sorry as well. We'll be here.

So so sorry for your loss. Take care of yourself and your family.

So sorry to hear about your friend!

I am sorry you have the epic cold Megan. If you're at three weeks, you are nearly done. But in my defense, I swear I haven't been anywhere near the South Island...

Take care :)

Very sad. {{{Megan}}}

Oh Megan, how sad! I'm so sorry for your loss.

Sorry to see the very sad news regarding your friend, Megan.

Megan, I'm very sad at the news about your friend. That is such a blow when it comes out of the blue like that. We will be right here when you feel like posting again.

Very sorry to hear about your friend, Megan.

{{{{Megan}}}}

That is sad news about your friend. Prayers with his friends and family.

Hi everyone,
I am not "back on LT" yet....just popping in. Me and my lovely other and the kids spent the morning with Paul's mother (over from the UK) and partner this morning, plus his neighbour and another friend. We talked about funeral 'songs'. Paul was a conceptual noise artist, as well as being a serious good sort/audio visual engineer/motorcycle tour guide. So the funeral is shaping up to be a very interesting and non-conventional affair. Just as he would have liked, we hope.
Still crying every day (normal) and at ridiculous times (normal?) and thinking about the injustice of it all.
Such is life I suppose.
Thank you so much for dropping in on me, I so appreciate the comments and will be around more after the funeral and have more to say then.

Crying is normal if you are mourning. Whatever the time may be!

Crying is normal Megan, Karen and I are thinking about you and your family and you are in our prayers my dear.

>230 connie53:, 231 What they said.

There isn't "normal" for anyone but you in your process of grieving. Each of us has his or her own emotional landscape and you are the only one who knows yours.

*smooch*

Such sad news about your friend Megan. Sending my thoughts to you as well as well as lots of virtual hugs. One day at a time.

Dear Megan - Sorry to hear of the untimely passing of your friend. Our friends are right; we all grieve in our own ways - there isn't a right or wrong way - it is tough whichever way. Snuggle the boys close; their innocence and love of life will give you a focus to concentrate upon. Hugs to you dear lady ~ your friends are here and waiting for you as and when. xx

OK, I am back.
We had the funeral yesterday for our good friend Paul. It was fitting and wonderful to see people queuing up to speak of his character, uncompromising integrity, warmth and intense love of life. My lovely other spoke of his friend and how much us and the kids would miss him.

This links to an interview Paul did fairly recently about his musical life- he was insanely passionate about music, even if 99% of people would not call what he did music at all ;) Conceptual noise art is a lesser known music genre to say the least.

And here is a cute cartoon a friend drew of him, using his music name. I hope someone memorialises me in a cartoon when I am gone!


There still seems to be a lot of tears left to cry- so I will let them come and go as they please. No point in damming them up I say. And so, I move on!

((((Megan))))))

^thanks Kath- I have had a few great lasting hugs in the last week, they really do help. I am now going to attempt to say hi to all who have visited me.....wish me luck :)

>197 mckait:(>203 mckait:) it's Kath again ;)
Yes, I got to read 84 Charing Cross Road it was fabulous, and I found myself really liking the author. Plus, her observations on the differences between London and NYC were so interesting.

>198 lit_chick: Nancy- numbers-wise, Jan was a great reading month yes. But if you look closer, at the page numbers....it wasn't that monumental ;)

>199Tina- hi! The kids are completely wonderful and their flip side is incredible ;) They enjoy scrapping these days, as well as demolition derby on the bikes. They call is playing 'crash'.

>200 PrueGallagher: hi Prue! Planning Bali yet? :)

>201 msf59: Hi Mark- re: American Hustle...the Radio NZ review I heard said that they thought Jennifer Lawrence was mis-cast!*!@# I disagree, and am really glad I went to see the film in spite of the review.

>202 richardderus: Hi RD- thanks for dropping by with updates :)

>204 ChelleBearss: thanks Chelle, glad to see via fb that you are having a great time with family

And now, thanks to you all who visited to commiserate with me. John, Prue, Bonnie, Kath, Marianne, Nancy, Jayde, Rhian, Diana, Jenn, Amber, Mark, Nora, Dr Jim, Bekka, Connie, Cee, Pat, Donna, Roni, Lori, Connie, John, RMD, Heidi and Paul C. You are all so kind, it is lovely to know you were thinking of me.

And my reading BINGO is coming on well...



More than 500 pages:
Forgotten Classic:
Book that became a movie: Other Halves by Sue McCauley
Published this year:
Number in the title: 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Written by someone under 30: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (she was 27)
Book with non-human characters:
Funny Book:
Female Author: Other Halves by Sue McCauley
Book with a mystery: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
One-Word Title:
Book of short stories:
Set on a different continent:
Non-Fiction: Portrait of a House by Simon Devitt
First book by a favourite author:
Heard about online:
Best-selling book:
Based on a true story: An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
Book at the bottom of TBR pile:
Book my friend loves:
Book that scares me: The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
More than 10 years old: The Body Artist by Don DeLillo
Second book in a series:
Blue cover: Crossing Open Ground by Barry Lopez

Megan - Part of the mark of a person is the friends he/she keeps. Paul clearly had wonderful friends. I only know you in the context of this group my dear and our meeting in Cchurch but I am safe to say you have a solid core of friends too. xxx

Hi Paul,
Thanks for your kind words above, and in post #234.
I believe I am paraphrasing Morrissey in saying that I don't generally like many people.....I guess I have high standards which can leave one feeling lonely at times. But those I do have, really are in my solid core and I am sure they would draw a cartoon of me to memorialise me if I wished it :)

eta: and I missed your whole last thread, my first thread of yours that I have not visited maybe? :(

Megan, I had completely missed this whole thread until just now! I don't know how I managed that, but today I started thinking "I haven't seen Megan around lately; I wonder why" and went looking in the blessed Threadbook to find you and re-commence by long-distance Internet stalking. I won't even try to comment on everything that's happened to you since last we "met" but I hope to keep up from now on!

Hi Julia- you missed a lot of not-much from me here on LT, I took a weeks break thinking to save the book talk til after my friends funeral. I now feel I have some head space for book talk again, so am back :)
Oh, and btw, I am reading On Equilibrium properly now. It is philosophical and so relevant to life and I am loving it.

It could be the first Megan, but since you have traditionally and actually visited my threads and left posts more than anyone else in the group I am not inclined to grumble. xx

^
*yay*
I am forgiven. I shall post twice on your current thread to make up for it. Just after I have poured myself a wine that is. *hoping that you aren't keeping up with international time zones and consequently noticed that it is only nearly wine-o'clock here*
;)

I don't know why Megan but, spending so much time here, I seem to automatically feel the time where my pals are. Cannot sleep....ok.....so a few posts and plentiful vino.

Excellent- I could sleep right now (but am not) and I can have a glass of Merlot, so am :)
And still have not dropped by yours for my promised second visit! But at least in my procrastination it is actually wine-o'clock here now. :)

Book Haul from the other day:
18. As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong $2
19. A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler $2
20. Amongst Women by John MaGahern $2
21. Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler $2

All in near new condition. I love that.

In other news, we are having internet-inspired octo-pizza for tea tonight. Pictures will come. If you wish to hazard a guess, you may. It is fairly easy, but Wilbur hasn't cracked it yet.

Oh Megan! I don't know how I've missed both your threads. But I'm here now.

So sorry to hear about your friend. My thoughts are with you.

Hi Stephanie- thanks for your condolences. Death is never easy, but when the person was SO enthusiastic and SO vibrant and SO intense and SO into life....it does seem a huge waste.
I am glad you re-found me :)

Megan, yes I understand. Don keeps saying, "I'm not ready to go."

And it's hugely unfair for you to lose your friend like that. I'm sorry.

*plumps pillows awaiting octopizza pics*

Stephanie- ah yes, Don. I had momentarily forgotten about him, sorry. I bet he isn't ready. When given a timeline you all of a sudden realise how much you cannot put off. It is for the reason of my friends death that I have decided to definitely study this year (when I had been having cold feet) and that I have gone out late so see bands I really admire. Generally I am doing more, and making more plans.

RMD- just gone on FB! And presented to you via semi instant internet transmission:

I give you the Octo-pizza.

Full marks for an excellent ocotopizza. Hope the kids appreciated it.

241 > Nicely said .....

243 ... will wait with interest on your thoughts, I know I love it at the time i read it

So wonderful to have you back amongst us, Megan.
And the Octopizza is amazing! Love it.

Hi Megan- Welcome back, my friend! Let the tears flow, when necessary. Good for the soul. Hugs!

Cool Octo-pizza!

Oh, that is one cool pizza!

Octopizza looks fantastic... and I love black olives on pizza! YUM!

Oh, goodness Megan!! I am so very sorry to hear about the untimely death of your friend Paul! (((((Megan))))))

There must be something about that name, huh? If you folks name you Paul, you turn out to be a good character!

Here's wishing you loads of lovely memories to bask in while the pain is deep and comfort knowing that your friends here love you immensely. You are a treasure here, my friend.

>254 BekkaJo: ha- funny you should ask about the kids appreciating it. When W first saw it he went "wow- it has tentacles!" and in the next breath requested a dolphin pizza. Apparently I am now the pizza-animal shapeshifter.

>255 roundballnz: Alex, I am really enjoying John Ralston Saul. I *shocked* my friends when for my 30th birthday I spent their book voucher on Voltaire's Bastards (people are so easily shocked these days). I have also read The Unconscious Civilization, and have one more between the last two to call it a trilogy.
It is all so pertinent.

>256 scaifea: Hi Amber, it was a fun pizza to whip up :)
I hid it from the kids to do the big reveal, and even though I told them it was an octo-pizza they still didn't guess what that might be!!

>257 msf59: Hi Mark- thanks for that. I appreciate your support! I will have to search the internet for other cool pizza shapes I think. It was a hit.

>258 drneutron: hi Jim, thanks. RDs picture that I went off was a little better as they had a bigger tray to spread the tentacles onto, but I like to think I nailed it.
(have you seen that series of memes online....there is a picture someone saw on the internet, and then the 'attempt' of it is shown next to it, with the words "nailed it". Basically what you get is hilarious. A perfectly sculpted Grover cupcake, then a blue gloopy mess.)

>259 lkernagh: hi Lori- I got to eat all the tentacles based on the fact that there were olives all over them ;)

>260 TinaV95: Thanks so much Tina for saying such nice things. I know a few Pauls, they are all pretty decent :)
I have some really fun and funny memories to keep me going which is a blessing.

Hello Megan - I'll bet the tentacles were the best bit - crusty, crunchy and salty. (now I'm salivating). Never heard of John Ralston Paul but he sounds fascinating....***sigh*** wishlist.

Prue- I suppose you could call John Ralston Saul a philosopher. More in depth than Alain deBotton, for sure, but not impenetrable. Chuck him on the WL, you'll get there eventually!

Oh! A REAL octo-pizza - that looks like it sounds! Very cool. You nailed it all right!
I was thinking maybe a seafood type pizza with calamari :)
*sigh* I want to make one. Maybe when my grands visit. Or I visit them.

*smoochings* for summer-havin' beasts from icebound northern climes

>264 -Cee-: Cee, it was quite easy and really fun. I now have had requests for horse and dolphin shaped pizzas.
My friends have pancakes on Sunday mornings and make the kids whatever shape they ask for. The 4 year-old girl called out "fairy"...the dad poured a random blobby shape and delivers it labelling it a fairy. She pronounces it the best pancake she has ever seen. It is magic, considering the thing looked nothing like a fairy ;)

>265 richardderus: RMD, howdy there. And appreciations for your smoochings, delivered chilled.

I finish this thread with good riddance to a bad few weeks. I hereby am moving on to a new thread filled with nothing but happiness joy and fun times!