Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Vacation Reading

Throughout the last two weeks I finished the books I brought and bought.

I have several waiting for me when I get back to the CHU, so I am not going to buy any more. Afterall, I have text book I need to read....

Mr Toppit


Synopsis
And out of the Darkwood Mr Toppit comes, and he comes not for you, or for me, but for all of us.
When The Hayseed Chronicles, an obscure series of children's books, become world-famous millions of readers debate the significance of that enigmatic last line and the shadowy figure of Mr Toppit who dominates the books. The author, Arthur Hayman, an unsuccessful screenwriter mown down by a concrete truck in Soho, never reaps the benefits of the books' success. The legacy passes to his widow, Martha, and her children - the fragile Rachel, and Luke, reluctantly immortalised as Luke Hayseed, the central character of his father's books. But others want their share, particularly Laurie, the overweight stranger from California, who comforts Arthur as he lies dying, and has a mysterious aganda of her own that changes all their lives. For buried deep in the books lie secrets which threaten to be revealed as the family begins to crumble under the heavy burden of their inheritance.
Spanning several decades, from the heyday of the British film industry after the war to the cut-throat world of show business in Los Angeles, Mr Toppit is a riveting tale of the unexpected effects of sudden fame and fortune. Not since Jonathan Coe's What a Carve Up! has a novel managed to capture a family and a society to such wonderfully funny and painful effect.



Life Begins by Amanda Brookefield. website link

Life Begins, Amanda's latest novel, tells the story of 39-year-old Charlotte Turner, trying to get her life back on track after a miserable marriage. She discovers in the process that readiness to embrace a better future is not in itself a reliable route to happiness. Her forlorn twelve year old son is a constant source of anxiety, while her once close still-married girlfriends seem to treat her differently now that she is single, as do their husbands... Yet the biggest hurdle Charlotte faces is her own past, boomeranging back at every turn, flinging out answers to questions she has spent thirty years trying to leave behind.

Pics from Hydra, Greece







Sunday, September 13, 2009

...

I will have to wait until I get to stable internet to post and upload from my PC.
I missed the 9/11 posts and events.
I am so thankful for the freedoms we have as clearly others do not.

I finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo.
It came highly recommended.
It reminded me of Og Mandino's writing style. It is easy to ready the story is good.

University of Michigan won!
OSU lost!

Public transportation has made it easy in Athens.
I have an upset stomach since leaving Iraq. So, moral of the story. Do not have Iraqi food the night before heading to R&R in Europe.

Also, I cannot find a movie theater....

Sunday, September 06, 2009

will be visiting here soon

wonderful book

Too Many Cooks by Emily Franklin
I could not put this book down. It is a cooking memoir.
Seriously, I enjoyed ever inch of it.

I enjoyed the writing syle and how the book and recipes were wrapped around adventures with her children. I may pass this along to several people that is how much I enjoyed it. Emily Franklin is a YA author so I might try a few of her books as well.

Info from the publisher:
Emily Franklin’s food memoir Too Many Cooks was born of two simple loves: food and children. A foodie and former chef, Franklin wants to pass on her love of food and cooking to her kids; she wants them not only to enjoy what they’re eating but to know what they’re eating. So, over the course of a year, she introduces her children to new dishes — some exotic, some thrown together with whatever she has in her cabinets — with varying degrees of success. Undaunted by failure (“This tastes like sand!”), Franklin pursues her culinary mission from the heartland of Indiana to the Umbrian countryside. Some meals conjure visions of pleasure while others are utter catastrophes. Along the way, she discovers how a delicious (or even disastrous) meal can bring families together and feed the soul.
As Franklin chronicles her family’s year around the kitchen table, season by season, she shares original recipes. From comfort, kid-friendly food like Mummy Nuggets, to the more adventurous Saffron Fish Chowder, to food made on the fly like Orange-Oaty-I-Don’t-Know Cookies, each recipe follows a charming or bittersweet or laugh-out-loud anecdote that captures the chaos of cooking for four young kids.
Franklin seasons her stories with how-I-did-it advice on cooking and parenting that makes this such a delightful and inspiring read. And with more than 100 simple, mouthwatering dishes, Too Many Cooks is a happy mix of recipes, memories, and good storytelling.

carb lunch

Just had had carb Lunch:

One pancake blueberry compote
One hash brown
Banana Pudding
Sweet Tea

strange combination.....

carb lunch

Just had had carb Lunch:

One pancake blueberry compote
One hash brown
Banana Pudding
Sweet Tea

strange combination.....

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

..

It is already Tuesday.
September First.
Time is going by pretty fast.
I have gotten a few cute pics of A & E. That is what I am calling them from now on.
I am reading an amazingly good book and listening to some good music. it is nice.
I am ready for the adventure. details soon.

could have spent hours on this site

Just looking at the pictures.

to my suprise

The Duggars are having their 19th baby soon.