Nigella Lawson

Nigella is an English chef whose book I happened across in the cooking section a while back. Last night I sat down and read the entire thing. She is a charming, old-world soul reminiscent grandmotherly wisdom, though she is quite young. To read her life story go to

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1336420.stm

Anyway, the book I picked up is Nigella Bites, which is also the name of her cooking show. There are stories intertwined in her cookbooks. Where she picked up the recipes, why she altered them the way she did, who makes them differently and how. She has published at least a couple of other cookbooks including the dessert recipe collection How to be a Domestic Goddess, which is next on my list to read.

She has an online listing of most of her recipes at www.nigella.com but to experience her wit and charm and class you really must read the writings in her books.

Mediterranean Gourmet Night

We had about 13 people come to our first of many dinner parties.
Adrienne & Paul brought Greek salad paired with Chianti
Becki & John brought stuffed mushrooms with a white wine and a pumpkin couscous dessert with a grape "honey" paired with a port
Kate & Andrew brought a lamb roast (it stole the show) and a Greek white wine
Elaine brought hummus and a red wine
Ray & Pat brought Chicken Cacciatore with Chianti
Kelly & Glen brought a Chicken salad with peppers and olives with a dry white wine
Dollye & Walker made Chicken Schwarma, Baklava, Tabbouleh & Challah bread paired with a french white wine. Next month will be Irish food, on St. Pat's.

dinner party

1. Mediterranean--check
Others:
Korean-Becki
Cuban
Mexican (Elaine)
Chinese
Indian
Italian
French
German
English
Scottish (for Tony)
Irish
Swiss (fondue)
Japanese
Carribean
Cajun
Tex-Mex

Madeline L'engle

I'd also like to pick up a Madeline L'engle book to read. I was never required in school to read A Wrinkle in Time....oddly enough.

One to read...

A book that I've been meaning to read is 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done. This is personal account and life lessons from teaching third grade. It is supposed to a be very inspirational and funny account of being a teacher. This is officially added to my list of 'need to read' books.

The Monks of New Skete

a dog training book. This was written by a group of monks who spend their days, among other things, by training German Shepherds. This is a very informative books that described in great detail how to do a variety of tasks ranging from potty training to following commands, to being led on a leash. I have read many books on this subject as well as watched a DVD and video and read hours of online information. This is by far the most straightforward, calm and collected approach to ensuring that your dog becomes the obedient, well-trained puppy that we all wish we had. Truffle is a wild hair, in more than one way, and only time will tell if she is picking up on any of these training methods. She seems to want to be obedient and wants to please us, it is that we need to use the same terms consistently so that she will be able to understand by association what we mean and what we are wanting from her.

Starting with Stories

by Pam Schiller. A great teacher resource for promoting literacy and accomodating various learning styles. Incorporates numerous ideas for teaching certain books and using these books to bring out the best learning in the children.

Snow Truffle

Wicked

by Gregory Maguire. Delightfully funny and hilariously witty. Can't wait until the show comes to Dallas so we can go and see it. I'm sure it's smashing.

1776

by David McCullough. Just started listening to this one. The narrarator is also the author and I usually can't listen to elderly men with low toned mono-syballic voices for too long without getting bored. I was hoping to learn some history from this one, hope it gets more interesting.

The Tenth Circle

by Jodi Picoult. Jodi Picoult is a highly requested author. I recently read an article in The Writer magazine about her writing style. She chooses topics that are current issues and makes the characters in the story have to consider these issues. She never really comes out and says her opinion, she just presents the 'what if...'. This story is about a girl who gets raped, then the young man accused of raping her is found murdered. The mother of the girl is having an affair, the father has no idea. The daughter is a cutter. Once you get past all of the depressing family issues, you see a family wanting and trying, despite all odds, to stay together. This is the heart of the book and is worth the read and worth the thought.

The Undomestic Goddess

by Sophie Kinsella. I've started borrowing books on cd from work to listen to on my way to and from school. The first one I listened to was this book. Witty and mindless troubles and romance. The story has some unexpected twists in the last couple of chapters, other than that it pretty much follows an expected plot path. It is funny although vulgar at some times.

All the Road Before Me

the diaries of CS Lewis. Interesting reading. Nice to see that someone as revered and respected in modern literary culture had day to day struggles and problems to work through. I've been reading this off and on for about a month. I think I'm a little more than half way through it. Gives great insight into his personal and familial relationships. Also chronicles his schooling, fellowship and scholasticism. My favorite parts include his ever present writings and thoughts on what he's reading. Reading is a vital part of his daily routine and writing is a natural progression of reading. His frankness and honesty are appealing.

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This is a very easy read. I read this on my lunch breaks for about a week to finish it. I liked the story line, very interesting and unusual in the sense that it deals not only with the people who have lost a loved one, but the main character is the person who was killed and she is looking down from "heaven" on her family and friends, wishing she were there...pointing them towards clues of her murderer, etc. I liked her writing style and applaud her ingenuity in the idea and concept development. The only thing that I struggled with through the entire book was the language. The point of view is from a 13-14 year old. The language in this is not necessarily reflective of that. It seems that the book is closer to an adult thought process and perspective. This sometimes made the story hard to follow because it wasn't always believable that this is a young adult telling the story. It was interesting to see the concept of heaven that is portrayed, as well as what happens to us when we die. This was recommended by Kelly at work.

The Secret Life of Bees

by Sue Monk Kidd. A highly requested book at our bookstore. I usually don't like to follow the crowd or read every book that Oprah recommends, but a co-worker also recommended this one and I found it interested me from the beginning. A young girl loses her mother and runs away from home escaping her abusive father. She finds love and "home" in a place where society tells her she can't or shouldn't find happiness. It's a love story and a path of self-discovery and addresses social issues of the 50's and 60's. There are some controversial parts including their folk religion, but the story is inspiring and worth the read. Thin book, approximately 300 pages...could easily be read in a weekend. Recommended by Kelly at work.

Serendipity Books

The Serendipity books by Stephen Cosgrove are staple bound children's books with witty stories promoting values and morals in children. I discovered these quaint books while working in the children's section at work. I started to collect the original books printed in the 70's with psychadelic cover art. These are so adorable. The reprints just don't do as much justice to the art. There are at least 30 to 40 books in this complete series. Would recommend to any parent looking for creative ways to incorporate morality into your child's teaching.

Dee Henderson

Dee Henderson writes inspirational suspense that keeps you turning pages and burning the midnight oil. She has written a dozen or more books. I read the first in a series of Naval romances. This is a good easy read when you need a romantic thriller and a good cry. Get constant requests for any Dee Henderson from Christian women coming in to the bookstore.

School, Marriage, New Year

I will be starting school next week and dropping down to part time at work so that I can take more hours at school. Yay! I went and talked with an advisor at UNT yesterday who was exceptionally encouraging and had a completely different attitude toward me than the advisor at TAMU Commerce. (Reminder to write a letter).
Here are a few pictures from Kara and Tim Ellcey's wedding this past weekend. The two are quite well suited for one another and make a lovely pair! They are honeymooning in the Smokey Mountains. Also enclosed, a picture of our new doggie, Truffle!
Happy 2007!!