How To Train Your Dragon

What a delightful movie!  I'd kind of lost track of animated movies.  There were those years where we had seen all the animated movies--good and bad--innumerable times.  In the interest of watching movies the whole family could all enjoy, animated movies dropped from the list.  Frankly, in the past few years there weren't a whole lot that I even thought I might like to see.  Cars?  A movie about talking cars?  Not if I don't have to.  I fell asleep during Wall-E.  I hear it's great (and picks up in the second half) and maybe I'll finish watching it sometime.  And how many movies about penguins were there?  But lately?  What great movies, especially Up (one of my all-time favorites) and Toy Story 3 (sob!  Andy goes to college!  More about that later...), and I really want to see Tangled.  As for How To Train Your Dragon, I read a good review and tucked it away that I wanted to see it.  The story is simple:  Young Viking Hiccup wants to fight dragons like the rest of his village.  His father, however, doesn't think he has the right stuff, so to speak.  Hiccup, determined to prove him wrong, wings a dragon and from there begins a relationship that changes them all.  It's not complicated, obviously, but it is very funny and heartfelt.  I laughed.  I cried.  The family laughed at me for crying, but I think they enjoyed it just as much as I did.  Don't let this one slip past you.  A real gem for boys and girls, kids and adults.

Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis

This was on my son's summer reading list last year.  He wasn't enamored of it, and I'm not sure he even finished it.  I feel compelled to finish reading books, even if I don't like them.  Perhaps I felt sorry for poor Babbitt, with it's bookmark stuck 73 pages from the end, and that's why I picked it up.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad I did.  It was written in 1922 but still feels relevant today.  Businessman George Babbitt wants to get ahead, and he's willing to bend the rules a bit -- that's just how business runs, he justifies -- to succeed.  As Lewis states, "He serenely believed that the one purpose of the real-estate business was to make money for George F. Babbitt."  Style is preferred to substance, and success is measured in money and social capital.  George is no deep thinker, but he does notice the emptiness that lurks about him and his life.  Babbitt has a poor understanding of the reasons for his unease but an all too keen perception of its effects. Stepping even just an inch outside the norm is a societal taboo.  In Zenith, "they all had the same ideas and expressed them always with the same ponderous and brassy assurance."  To be conventional is to be accepted.  To think or act differently is to invite suspicion and, heaven forbid, ostracism.  Babbitt is ridiculous but pitiable, but Lewis allows the reader to sympathize with George and root for him, turning the farce of George's life into a touching story.

Babbitt snuck up on me, and I was surprised to find how much I was enjoying it.  I understood George, the emptiness he felt, and also the fear of stepping outside the established bounds.  I understood, also, why he made the choices he did.  Lewis captures his time but also manages to capture our own as well.

On a side note, I highly recommend the film adaptations of two of his works:  Dodsworth, one of my favorite movies and showcasing a fantastic performance by Walter Huston, and Elmer Gantry, which has great performances by Burt Lancaster.

Beef and Snow Peas with Pan-Fried Noodles

This is another Epicurious recipe.  It's easy, flavorful, and different.  The recipe is a basic stir-fry of flank steak and snow peas.  What makes this different is you pan fry the noodles on both sides, pressing into a kind of cake.  The first time we made this, the flipping was problematic.  The second time, we pressed more and it was much easier.  You then transfer the noodle cake to a cutting board and cut into wedges, serving the beef and snow peas on top.   I thought of serving this with an wonton soup, maybe, but it didn't happen.  It was a stand-alone dish and quite filling on its own.

*Note:  Obviously photography isn't my calling.  The dish looked much more appetizing than it does in the picture.  I'll try to stick to images I find on the web.

Avatar

I think most everyone has seen this, so I won't say too much.  Just like everyone else, I thought the effects were great.  I really did lose sight of the fact that I was not watching real people.  Unfortunately, there was dialogue such as: 

Look, at first, it was just orders, and then, everything changed. Okay? I fell in love. I fell in love with the - with the forest, with the Omaticaya people... with you... with you...

GROAN.  The story was predictable (Pocahontas anyone?), and the dialogue actually hurt to listen to.  But, hey, isn't it good to see Sigourney Weaver working?!  And...and...weren't the effects great?!

The Passage, Justin Cronin

A government experiment goes badly awry and virals (vampire-ish creatures) are released into an unsuspecting world, creating havoc to say the least.  Is there a hero that saves the world?  Most everyone left alive is too focused on merely staying alive.  Well, there is a little girl.  As Justin Cronin begins:

Before she became the Girl from Nowhere--the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years--she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy.

 Amy, you see, was one of the subjects of the experiment.  She's a strange and vulnerable little girl who for some reason wasn't destroyed or disfigured like the others.  The first half of the novel is destruction.  The second half is the realization that the status quo is unsustainable.  There is continuous juxtaposition between journeys and imprisonment.  What is safe?  Where is safe?  Can safety be counted on when the barbarians are always at the gate?

The Passage was heavily promoted this past summer, and I bought into the hype (I'm so weak) and ran out and bought a copy.  Am I glad I did?  Ye-es.  I missed the whole dragon tattoo craze (and I have no intention of catching up), so I thought I'd get ahead of the game with The Passage before the movie comes out (the rights have been sold already).  It's a long book, and I read it over a long weekend.  I was sick at the time so perhaps I didn't appreciate it as much as I might have if I were feeling more like myself.  That being said, it was a good story and Cronin is a good storyteller.  There was only one point - during an "is he dead or not" section - that I thought a good editor should have suggested that Cronin make some changes because he and the story are better than what's on the page.  It's a quibble only.  I do have a heads up, though.  This book is reported to be the first of a trilogy, which I didn't know until the last page, and then I wanted to throw the book across the room.  It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but the end is a shocker.  Chances are pretty good I'll be back for part two.

Oven-Fried Panko Chicken

Yesterday was hectic.  We were out of town, so we are behind in a lot of tasks.  Trying to catch up, we had a ton of chores and errands to complete before the Steelers game at 8:15.  I did not have the time or energy for an elaborate meal, but after such a busy and cold day, a good meal was in order.  We decided on one of our fall-back favorites, Oven-Fried Panko Chicken.  It's super-easy, juicy, and tasty:  chicken (I used boneless breasts) dipped in butter and coated in panko with salt, pepper, and cayenne and baked at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  I chopped a few potatoes (left the peels on) and coated them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary and put that in the oven along with the chicken.  The potatoes came out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.  The rosemary wasn't a great complement to the panko/cayenne chicken, but it was okay.  I also steamed a big bunch of fresh broccoli to offset some of that butter in the chicken.

I served a 2007 Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay with dinner.  The prep was maybe fifteen minutes, and I was able to run to Wal-Mart while dinner was in the oven.  It was a satisfying meal leading to a satisfying Steelers win!

Iron Man 2

This is not a bad sequel.  It certainly doesn't replicate the fun of the first one, but it's not an awful way to spend some time, especially if it's a slow night and there's not much else going on.  I liked it, but I also finished a crossword puzzle during the movie so obviously I wasn't glued to the television during it.  Robert Downey, Jr., is a kick again as Tony Stark, I think Gwyneth Paltrow was sick throughout filming, Scarlet Johansson looked great, and Don Cheadle didn't make me miss Terrence Howard, slipping seamlessly into the role of Stark friend Jim Rhodes.  Mickey Rourke was good, as were the effects.  I hoped for more, but the original would have been hard to match for sheer enjoyment.

Bad Things Happen, Harry Dolan

At the start of Bad Things Happen, Harry Dolan introduces David Loogan by telling us he "looks nothing at all like a man heading off to dig a grave."  We're not sure exactly who David Loogan is, but we want to find out.  As the story begins, Loogan submits a story to a mystery magazine and is subsequently given a job as an editor and befriends the publisher.  There's a murder, and David is a suspect, along with several other people.  In this literate, well-told tale--which had me stopping frequently to marvel over a well-crafted sentence or phrase--police detective Elizabeth Waishkey tries to discover the murderer and the unravel the mystery of David Loogan.  I don't know that I was very surprised at outcome, but I absolutely enjoyed the journey.  I don't often read mysteries, but I highly recommend this book.

Hurray for Hallmark

We all have our weaknesses.  One of mine reared its lovely head this morning.  As I skimmed the TV listings, I came across this:

Daphne Zuniga stars in "A Family Thanksgiving" (Hallmark at 9) as a single attorney too busy to celebrate the holidays who suddenly wakes up one day as a wife and mother in an alternate universe. 

My heart leapt and a smile stole across my face.  My plans for tonight are set.  This movie looks to have everything:  Daphne Zuniga (Jo from "Melrose Place"!), holidays, family, realizing what's really important in life, alternate lives, and--I'm quite positive--a dashing love interest.  And it co-stars Faye Dunaway.  Really.  I've already alerted the family that I am not to be disturbed from 8:55 pm until 11:00 pm tonight, unless it is to refill my wine glass or bring me tasty hors d'oeuvres.

It also reminds me of another thing I'm thankful for:  The Hallmark Channel, the last refuge for these kinds of movies on television since Lifetime Television for Women abandoned us.  Today's line-up on Lifetime Movie Network is typical (the descriptions are theirs): 

• 4 pm:  "Night of Terror" - Forget about enjoying a relaxing family boat trip: This troubled family must contend with a deadly storm and, to add to their misery, a vicious stalker who's out to get them. 
• 6 pm:  "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger" - A naive college student (Tori Spelling) falls in love with a charming pathological liar, credit card scammer and murderer (Ivan Sergei). When her mother (Lisa Banes) attempts to break off the relationship, the crazed boyfriend abducts her daughter and hides her in his cabin in the woods.
• 8 pm:  "Confined" - Victoria and Michael Peyton move from the big city to the suburbs after Victoria's job loss and possible mental breakdown. When she starts to suspect that her next door neighbor is keeping a young woman locked in his basement, her husband thinks she may be losing touch with reality. But the neighbor's evil starts to become all too real.
• 10 pm:  "Homecoming" - A jilted ex girlfriend has a plan in store for her ex beau who is coming back to their small town with his new love.

Argh.  Seriously?  There are certain times when I must have chick movies:  when I'm sick, the day after major holidays, when I'm home alone, and from Thanksgiving to Christmas (New Year's if it's not pushing my luck).  At these times, I do not want stalkers and murderers, and not just because they don't go with Chardonnay.  If I want the twisted side of life, I'll take "Cold Case Files" and "American Justice" on A&E (I might actually have a crush on Bill Kurtis--so serious, so solemn, so reliable).

So, thank you, Hallmark.  I love your Countdown to Thanksgiving (and the ticker! 18 days until Thanksgiving!), and I will be watching "A Family Thanksgiving" and "An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving" (Hallmark calls it "a holiday story of family and forgiveness").  I look forward with great anticipation to the "Countdown to Christmas" and movies like these:

• "The Town Christmas Forgot" - An urban family that can’t seem to get along gets stranded in a remote, impoverished lumber town two days before Christmas. When they become involved in the town’s home-grown Christmas pageant, they not only help solve the town’s problems but learn to connect with each other just in time for the holidays.
• "The Good Witch's Gift" - Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale always has a few tricks up her sleeve, but is surprised when her handsome sweetheart, Police Chief Jake Russell, proposes. Getting into the spirit of the season, they set their wedding date for Christmas Eve--only six days away! As the two hurry to plan the wedding, trouble clouds their happiness when a mysterious man from Jake's past returns to town. 

Not a brutal crime in sight.  I can feel the holiday spirit already.

NaNo Not

I look forward to November.  I count down the days actually.  All because November is National Novel Writing Month. 

Somehow, and it always seems to happen, November does not behave as it should, and I can't find the time to write.  I have found a way to win two of the last four years, although last year it took 13,000 words in the last weekend to finish, an accomplish I still draw strength from.  It's usually a week or two before I start to think I can't do it, but that moment always comes.  The first win I owe to my sister, another NaNoWriMo-er that year.  She was a huge inspiration--largely in trying to keep up with (beat) her word count.  The second win was fueled by the memory of and determination for the sweet taste of victory again.

After writing zero words on Days 1 or 2 this year, I was still hopeful and optimistic about my chances of success...or near success...or participation even.  This November is a different beast altogether.  I have the exact moment this year when my prospects dimmed:  Wednesday, November 3rd at 1:09pm.  My world has been spinning since then (up is down, left is right, etc.)  I still have a small shred of ambition and a dim glimmer of hope, but I can't start writing until I can see straight, and the outlook for that is not promising.  I know:  poor me.  But it really is a hard, cruel world.

Happy Halloween and Braised Short Ribs

I'm not good at Halloween. I like it, theoretically and in moderation. In contrast, I LOVE Christmas. I know what to do for Christmas--tree, garlands, wreaths, presents, parties, etc. But Halloween? I'm burdened of memories of Halloweens past. There was the year that my mother pinned a few leaves to my multi-colored coat, told me to hold my arms out because I was now a tree, and marched me down main street in the community Halloween parade that way. That was one of the better years. I'm not good at costumes, either. Is it because of nature or nurture? I'm not sure. We are invited to an annual Halloween bash hostessed by friends who love Halloween. I'm always happy when we get the invitation, and then I stress for the next two weeks over what to wear. My ideas this year: Dora the Explorer (where do you find orange shorts in late October on the East Coast?), an American tourist (I hate to disrespect my fellow countrymen/ women), Amy Winehouse (or is it Cher? Snooki?).  Despite my extending worrying, I was still costume-less the afternoon before the party.  I found my inspiration this year in a satin dress I bought on clearance for $5:

I saw it as Audrey Hepburn-ish.  The scarf on my head was practical, too, because we were outside all night and it helped to keep the heat in.  (Apparently, scientists are hard at work debunking the myth that we lose so much heat that way.  Go Science!)

Sunday, of course, was the actual holiday, except where my parents live.  Their township had trick-or-treating on the 30th.  ????  Who does that?  Is this common in small towns?  Any why would you do that?  Is it only Halloween that gets this special rescheduling? Why again?

Anyway, the Steelers were playing at 8:15 so we had that to consider as well.  I needed something for dinner that I could put on early and didn't require much attention, what with all the trips to answer the door, but was hearty enough for a cold, football night.  We decided on Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes.  I love this recipe.  (I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of how good it looked.  Sorry.)  You braise the short ribs, carmelize carrots/onions/celery/garlic/thyme, deglaze with broth, and then roast in the oven for 2.5 hours.  The recipe calls for 1.5 hours, but that's not long enough for the meat to get tender enough (this I have learned from experience).  You will have to skim the fat off of the surface before serving.  I have skimped on skimming in the past and sorely regretted it.  The ribs and gravy are fantastic over mashed potatoes.  I started with a salad (green! raw! fresh!) to balance the heavy meatiness and served it with some rolls to sop up the gravy (mmmmm).  We went with a Rhone (sigh):  Domaine Grand Veneur 2007 Clos de Sixte Lirac, a Robert Parker 93.  I did remember to take a picture of the wine (okay, the empty bottle):

So delicious.  It was good with dinner, but just as good on its own.  We bought three bottles but might go back for a case.

Time Slayer

I'm often amazed at my ability to wile away the time.  Here's how yesterday progressed.  This may be typical.

7:30 am - Take son to school.  Yell at him the whole way for missing his carpool this morning, insisting on better time management.

8:00 am - Realize sore ankles are probably from run yesterday.  Read paper.  Have breakfast.  Think about work and looming deadlines, blogging, and sore ankles.

9:00 am - Google local running store:  Metro Run & Walk.  If going to continue running without serious injury, need right shoes.  Today.  Store not too far from home.  Appreciate good luck in finding store in such close proximity.  Peruse entire website to get true sense of who they are and what they do, including who and what they link to.  Discover they hold running clinics.  Think about signing up.  Put off decision until tomorrow.

9:45 am - Justify reasoning for pending shoe purchase to husband.

10:00 am - Think about work deadlines for a few minutes.  Shower.  Watch end of Rick Steves' travel to Italy's hill country (Orvieto!  Assisi!)

10:25 am - 25 minutes late for work.  Get back to home office.  Check mail and blogs for ten minutes.  Put nose to grindstone.

11:05-11:40 am - Phone meeting.

11:40 am - Leave for Metro Run and Walk.  Schedule is free until 12:30 so have plenty of time.  Drive 20 minutes to store (oops, wrong turn).

12:05-12:40 pm - No other customers so get personalized and prolonged attention.  Understand that shoe shopping should not be rushed.  Find right shoes.  Sign up for loyalty program.  Discover $10 reward off next purchase!  Browse apparel in store for ideas on next purchase.  Wear new shoes home.

12:55 pm - Hungry.  Make lunch.  Call Mom and Dad.  Read article in magazine.

1:45 pm - Notice time!  Put nose back to grindstone.

3:00 pm - Get reprieve from car pool duty.  Be thankful for extra hour to work.  Try to stop mind from wandering to new sports bra I'll need since I'm going to be running more.

3:15 pm - Search web for best sports bras and sales.

3:30 pm - Upbraid myself for lack of attention to work.  Get back to work.

4:25-5:15 pm - Drive to Kohl's to see what sports bras they have in stock.  Buy dress shirts for son.  Realize what time it is and leave without buying sports bra.

5:30 pm - Catch up on news of the day.  E-mail.  Facebook.

6:00 pm - Decide to walk the dog.  Realize much better idea is to go for run to try out new shoes.  Change clothes.  Stretch.  Short run (don't want to press it until shoes are broken in a little more).  Stretch.  Shoes are great.

6:45 pm - Catch up on news.

7:10 pm - Only worked 3 hours today?  How can that be?  Get back to work.  Dinner?  Too committed to job to be distracted by mere bodily needs.

7:20 pm - Reply to e-mail from friend.  Listen to stomach rumble.

7:45 pm - Back to work, slacker!

7:55 pm - Too hungry.  Congratulate myself on working late.  Resolve to work more tomorrow.

9:45 pm - Take off new shoes.  Compare to old shoes.  Congratulate myself on smart purchase.

11:00 pm - Have hard time falling asleep, thinking of looming deadlines.

Quick Italian Dinner Fare

 


Insalata di Puntarelle is apparently some kind of Italian chicory salad. This recipe is not made with chicory but with Belgian endive and celery cut into thin strips. The dressing is garlic, anchovies (I used anchovy paste because I had it on hand), extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and Kosher salt. Super easy to make. Seriously, the prep time was all of 10 minutes. The trick, and do not skip this step, is to place the sliced endive and celery into a bowl of ice water in the refrigerator for an hour. You drain it then and toss with the dressing. Fantastic! It's fresh and crisp and has a nice little bite. I also refrigerated my salad plates, too, to prolong the chill of the salad.

 

 I found this salad recipe when I was searching for a pasta dish for dinner.  I found a Capellini with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce that sounded interesting, and easy.  The good folks at Epicurious had made that recipe part of its Quick Italian Dinner Fare menu, which the salad as a first course and Apricots with Amaretto Syrup for dessert.  All the recipes were easy.  The Capellini was good but a little bland.  Next time I'll try some more red pepper to spice it up.  The Apricots were good, too.  They weren't what I had been expecting, but that was probably because I used canned apricots (sorry, it was what I had on hand).  It was also very sweet.  I think next time I'll cut down on the sugar (and use fresh apricots) and see if that helps.

All in all, it was an enjoyable meal.  Easy to prepare (hurray!) and tasty.  I should have probably started this post with the main course, but it's the Insalata di Puntarelle that I've been craving and has become a staple in my kitchen.







Excellent Women, Barbara Pym

I discovered Barbara Pym’s name on a list of authors you should read if you love Jane Austen. I love Jane Austen, so I made a beeline for my local library to find some Pym and Elizabeth Gaskell, another author mentioned in the list (I loved the TV productions of Gaskell’s North and South and Cranford). I’ll get to Gaskell in another post.

In Excellent Women, Mildred meets her neighbors who have some marital strife, her minister becomes engaged, and Mildred listens sympathetically, shares her observations with the reader, and makes tea. That's pretty much it.  Mildred is the same person at the end of the novel as she is at the start. There is never a point in the story where she has to make a serious decision or face more than a minor upset of her routine. Rather than a story arc, it is a story (straight) line. I looked in vain for that moment when Mildred’s story reveals something about the human condition or opens a new way of looking at a subject or…something. Mildred likes the life she has chosen. Good for her, but why should I care?

Excellent Women in written in first person narration.  It's Mildred's observations that we're meant to care about, but they did not seem especially keen or insightful.  Perhaps if the story were told in third person narration, the focus could have been pulled back and Mildred’s world expanded.  The reader would then be privy to the motivations and desires of some of the other characters and the story might have been richer. As it is, three-quarters of the way through I was ready to give up. The only thing that kept me going was the (futile) hope that Mildred would finally have some kind of revelation. Sadly, no.

Excellent Women is reputed to be wickedly funny. I don’t think so. I'll stay with Jane Austen. This book is also a reputed classic, and there was a time when I would have found a way to like it for that reason.  Happily, that day has passed.  I did not wholly feel that I had wasted my time with Barbara Pym and Excellent Women, but I am sure there are other authors whose work I will appreciate and enjoy more. I am also quite sure that I will not be reaching for anymore of Pym’s work.

Moscow, Belgium, Directed by Christophe Van Rompaey

From the opening scenes of Moscow, Belgium, the audience can clearly see - and almost feel - Matty's fatigue.  She's not the woman she used to be, and her appearance shows she believes it.  The 41-year old mother of three, separated from her cheating husband, has a fender bender on her way out of the grocery store, backing into a truck driven by Johnny, younger than Matty and, we learn, known by name to the police.  Johnny offers to fix Matty's car, and she invites him to stay for dinner.  There's a romantic spark, and Barbara Sarafian as Mattie is great at conveying the struggle Matty has with herself about whether to pursue a relationship with Johnny.  Easygoing, fun-loving Johnny seems to be just the tonic Matty needs.  Slowly, her transformation begins as she remembers the person she used to be and realizes that not only does she want to be that person again but that it's possible, thanks to Johnny.  It's not syrupy or false, though.  It's a hard process for her, and we sympathize and root for her at the same time.

There's a heaviness and pallor that hangs over the characters, their lives, and even the food in Moscow, Belgium, but Johnny is the ray of light shining through the clouds for Matty.  Or is he?  Are Johnny's issues evidence of human weakness or something deeper (not crazy deep but maybe unstable deep?).  In the end, Matty has a choice to make.  My main problem with the film is that I cannot convince myself that the Matty I had come to know would make the choices she did, and this left me feeling unsettled and almost angry.  My reaction may be atypical, though.  Moscow, Belgium isn't your typical romantic comedy, but it's authentic in its depiction of one woman's halting steps to making her own decisions and doing what's right for herself.

A Few Ruminations

• Why is it so hard to get a clean wine glass in so many restaurants?  From national chains to mom-and-pop joints, too often the waiter or bartender puts a spotted, lip-stick smeared, food-speckled glass in front of me and expects me to drink from it.  Is it just my luck or do others have this problem too?  At a chain steakhouse, the bartender held the glass to the light and the proceeded to wipe the glass on his dirty, stained apron and then pour wine into it.  I appreciated his effort but...yuck.  At a small Italian restaurant in Philly (that had Opus One on the wine list), I was brought a cheap glass that was also filthy.  We had the house Chianti, and it was awful.  I couldn't help wondering if they would have poured the Opus One into that same glass.  Shudder.  At a chain barbecue joint we used to go to often, the wine glass would look clean but had a foul odor, to the point where it was so offensive that I couldn't drink the wine.  At our local neighborhood restaurant, the glass invariably smelled of bleach.  Asking for a new glass doesn't always work because the replacement is sometimes worse and the server is irate at my request.  If a restaurant doesn't care what they're putting your drink into, will they care what they're putting into the food or how it's being prepared?  I only worked in a restaurant for three days, I think, before I quit, so I don't have any experience.  I'd really like to know if there's something I'm missing. 
• I know that, as a parent, my job is to raise my child (now a teenager) so that he will be able to leave the nest and spread his wings.  I know that you have to let go and let your children make their own mistakes.  Knowing that and being able to do it are two very different things.  What I've been wondering lately is how close do you let them get to that brick wall that you're sure they're going to run into before you step in?  I've learned my teenager is aware of the wall and has become rather adept at avoiding it (but too close for comfort too many times, in my view).  I trust that he's heard enough of what we've said over the years and that he's got a good head on his shoulders.  The big mistakes are easy to see and recognize that action is necessary.  It's those smaller ones that keep me up at night.  To a teenager,  parental advice is like white noise.  I remember that much.  But when do you step in?  When do you let things go?  How do you stand back and watch without losing your sanity?  At times like this, all I feel like I can do is apologize to my mother.
• We found this great website called Family Fantasy Sports.  It's made for families (duh) and it's fantasy football.  It's very user-friendly, and you can form your own league or join one (registration closed on September 30th).  My siblings and I formed our own league of eight teams.  My sports-crazy nephew loves it, my teenager loves it, and most of the adults love it, to varying degrees.  I've found that it's given my brothers and me an outlet for our sibling rivalry (my sister chooses not to engage--a lifetime's experience, I suppose).  Believe me, the last thing I needed was another distraction from work, but my team needs me.  I am currently the general manager of the third worst team in the league, but I feel my fortunes are about to turn.  And boy will my brothers hear about it then.  Omnivores rule!

Home Improvements

I spent the last few days trying to find paint for my office and son's bedroom.  I think I'm going with with a sage green-gray (Behr Koala Bear) for my office, but I think a warm brown (Behr Peanut Butter) might be a better and smarter choice in the long run, and it's what my husband prefers.  I'm conflicted.  Anything has to be better than the pale blue I have now which I despise.  I had curtains, but I think I'll put up mini-blinds instead.  I'm not sure whether to get the light blocking or light filtering.  My office still doubles as our spare bedroom for now, so the light is a factor.  Here's what we have now:

I definitely like warmer tones.  I had thought gray for my office, but I can't do it.

My son wants a gray with blue undertones (Behr Gray Tradition) for his room to cover the bright yellow and baby blue he picked out when he was 8 years old. He's leaving for college next year.  So yeah, it's definitely time for a change for him.

I tried the online paint designer apps at Home Depot, Lowe's, Valspar, and Benjamin Moore, but the colors don't look anything like the chips.  The last factor is our potential move out of this house in a few years.  I want to make smart re-sale choices, but ones I can live with.  Any suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated!

We're looking at front doors, too.  Our current front door is wood and has taken a beating from the direct afternoon sun.  I love wood doors, but it just doesn't make sense with the full sun and expense.  Fiberglass it is, then, which is what most of the neighborhood has, and a new screen door.  Here's what we have now.  You can clearly see the issues we have:

I'd really like to replace them this year, but it may have to wait until next year as windows are the bigger priority.  Outside talking to the neighbor, I looked at my house and saw this:

The damn woodpecker's been tearing apart one of my windows.  There used to be a cedar tree there, but one of the snowstorms this past winter brought it down.  I guess the woodpecker thinks my window trim is an adequate replacement.

We also had a new dishwasher delivered this morning.  We bought a Whirlpool when we moved in 9 years ago, and it hasn't been great for us and has been even worse lately.  We have to run the pots and pans cycle to get the dinner dishes clean.  I hate wasting all that water and still getting dirty dishes.  We bought a lower-end Bosch to replace it.  We were looking at a KitchenAid, but since Whirlpool owns KitchenAid we nixed that.  The Bosch model we ordered has good reviews and uses less water.  I'll let you know how it works out.  Here's the in-progress pictures:

We're still amidst a prolonged bathroom remodel necessitated by two leaks.  When we moved in, every room in the house had an ugly border on the walls, which you can see in the following pictures.  We painted over all of them, except the ones in the bathroom.  When we repaint, I may put the Behr Peant Butter or a shade or two lighter in here.  Do darker colors work in a smaller bathroom?  Here's the soon-to-be un-stalled progress:

Last but not least, we had carpet installed this summer in our family room to replace the carpet that had ripped on the seam.  What an ordeal selecting carpet was.  I'm not completely thrilled with the color, but I'm hoping it will grow on me as time passes.  On the plus side I hope, we bought the Smart Strand which is supposed to be better with and for stains.  After dog issues, red wine, and numerous other mishaps, that is a definite improvement.

I was tempted to post pictures of my husband's home office, but I won't because I'd like to stay married to him.

What has perhaps made me the happiest and most improved my life?

New felt pads on the corners of the drawers in the bathroom.  The old pads were smashed or missing and the drawers would stick.  Such a small thing.  I could have taken care of it a long time ago, but I always forgot to put it on the to-do list.

Now I really have to work (at my real job) after spending all this time paint, door, and dishwasher shopping.  Sigh.



Reluctantly Back to Reality

I'm just back from a super-relaxing Girls Weekend in Ft. Lauderdale.  If you ever head that way, I highly recommend the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.

Notice my toes.  I had a pedicure at the spa the day after we arrived, and it was fifty minutes of bliss--cucumbers and a cool cloth on my eyes, a back massaging chair, and foot and leg massage.  Then I went to the sauna.  And then the pool.  Then the beach.  Just heaven.  There was not a single thing that I would have changed--except to stay another few days.

I had tons of work to do for my real job before I left.  As luck would have it, my body revolted against me and I came down with a terrible cold two weeks before I was supposed to leave.  Ugh.  My main concern, of course, was that I would recover in time for vacation.  All the work I had to do?  I planned to do it, but I also needed a new dress, purse, shirt, and shoes for vacation.  I thought long and hard about my priorities and then went shopping.  I did not get shoes, but I should have.

How cute are they?  They shout girls' weekend, don't they?  If they had a heel, they would have been mine.  I think I may still get them.  It can be my welcome home present to myself.

I'm slowly but surely returning to real life.  Besides my pedicure, I'm left with two tangible reminders of vacation.  The first?  Sand in my suitcase:

The second is my little beach bag that I bought at one of the gift shops at the hotel.  It was the perfect size to fit my book (Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis) and keys, ID, money, phone, etc, and to carry to the beach and lunch.  Despite it being October, I refuse to stop using it.  I may look like inappropriate for the season (it's boot time, isn't it?  October 1?), but I don't care.  Here it is:

My husband was very productive when I was away, thankfully.  I have my office painted now, and I absolutely LOVE the color.  It makes me happy just being in my office now.  It's Behr Rejuvenate.

The color is warm and soft and has been instrumental, along with my scented candles and the Spa channel on Sirius, for holding onto my vacation attitude.  Oh, and wine.

Post Grad, Directed by Vicky Jenson

Post Grad got disappointing reviews when it was released, but the reviewer from The Washington Post said one of the bright spots in the film was the performance by Zach Gilford, known to Friday Night Lights fans as quarterback Matt Saracen. I LOVE FNL so I figured I had to come out to support #7. (I’m loyal if nothing else.) I sure hope he appreciates my loyalty, because it took a real effort to get through to the end of this film. Alexis Bledel tries her best as Ryden, the recent college grad, but I found her character’s whining insufferable. Ryden has her future planned out in her mind and, diploma in hand, she’s ready for her dreams to become reality. Of course, life doesn’t cooperate. Hilarity ensues. Or not. The movie isn’t funny, and the best thing about it is Zach Gilford as the best friend who suffers from unrequited love for Ryden. Anyone that’s been to the movies or watched T.V. can probably predict the plot and the travails poor Ryden has to overcome. I don’t mind predictable if it’s done well, funny, or moving. However, I didn’t find this movie to be any of those things, only tedious. Above all, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, predictable or not, and my heart was willing and eager for the pay-off.  Even that disappointed.  It’s a shame, too, because I had high hopes, despite the reviews, considering the cast includes Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett, and J.K. Simmons. They can’t rise above their material, unfortunately.

I’ll forgive you this time, 7, but only because you more than make up for it on FNL. Last season—so moving and so real. Thank you for that. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.



My Life in France, Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

The movie Julie & Julia brought Julia Child back into mainstream consciousness, (although I can still find her on my PBS station at off-hours). That’s a good thing. A friend had the movie tie-in edition of Child’s memoir, My Life in France, which she graciously lent to me. I had just watched the movie (really liked the Julia part; the Julie part needed more food shots—who cares about the lobster? I want to see the Lobster Newburg!). I was interested to know more. That often happens to me. I watch the movie and want to know the real story. I was only a few pages into the book when my stomach started to rumble and I felt like pouring myself a glass of French wine.  That feeling never really left me for the remainder of the book.

Julia Child’s tone is casual, but her approach to food is anything but. Listening to her awakening to food—good food prepared well—and accompanying wine is a delight. Her voice is strong and clear, and her enthusiasm, knowledge, and commonsense burst from every page. As a bonus, most pages are full of accounts of delicious food and memorable meals. My favorite is the description of her husband Paul’s fiftieth birthday dinner:

amuse-gueules au fromage (hot pâtes feuilletées topped with cheese, served in the living room with Krug champagne); rissolettes de foie gras Carisse; filet de boeuf Matigno (served with a nearly perfect Bordeaux, Château Chauvin 1929); les fromages (Camembert, Brie de Melun, Époisses, Roquefort, Chèvre); fruits; rafraîchis; gâteau de demi~siècle; café, liqueurs, hundred-year-old Cognac; Havana cigars and Turkish cigarettes.

 I don’t speak French and don’t know exactly what it all means, but I know enough for my mouth to water. I have no problem understanding how Julia and Paul ended up with digestive problems, living on a diet like that. I’m also inspired to copy the framework of this menu for my husband’s fiftieth birthday dinner celebration. And then he can copy it for mine. Many years from now.

There was one jarring note in My Life in France for me. Child’s life took her in a different direction from her parents, and those differing experiences showed her a different view of the world and led to different opinions, beliefs, and politics. That’s fine. However, I sensed rejection not just of her parents’ politics but of them too. I found that sad and disappointing. These references, which are sprinkled through the book, are jarring in their shift of attitude but are not numerous enough to spoil the appetizing journey Julia Child leads.

Child was committed to creating good food and, through her cookbooks, the ability to create it again and again. Her kitchen was her laboratory, and she was committed to excellence. It is said that you shouldn’t wait for a special occasion to open a good bottle of wine because when you open a good bottle of wine, the occasion becomes special. Julia Child’s life and work show that this belief is just as appropriate when applied to food.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Red Quinoa and Vegetables

I was looking for a recipe for the red quinoa I found in the health food aisle of my local grocery store. I had cooked quinoa before - I have a great, spicy vegetarian quinoa stuffed pepper recipe that I got from my sister - but not red quinoa. As is my habit, my first stop was Epicurious. I find myself at that site so often primarily because I can usually find a recipe that strikes my fancy using the ingredients I have on hand. Everyday cooking is so much more fun (and bearable) for me when I'm trying something new.

This recipe is easy to put together--a simple marinade, cooking the quinoa (like rice), and sautéing some snap peas and red bell peppers in the same pan as the chicken. I'm one of those people that like to eat my food separately--meat first, then veg, then starch--but not with this dish. The quinoa is rather bland on its own, but with the lemony chicken and vegetables it sings. This is a simple, two-pot meal that has great flavor.  The mix of textures adds another layer of interest to the dish and lifts it above the pedestrian. I served it with a Robert Mondavi Chardonnay (one of my Grandfather's favorites). The pairing was nice, but I think next time I'll try an unoaked Chardonnay. The Mondavi is a nice wine that I think I would have appreciated more on its own, both for its drinkability and for the warm memories it always brings to mind.

Stone Cold, David Baldacci

Dear Mr. Baldacci,

I recently finished your novel, Stone Cold, the first of your books that I have had occasion to read. The plot was exciting and, despite a brief lull in the action, I found the story entertaining. I found myself rooting for your characters, even those with questionable motives, decisions, and actions. Stone Cold also helped pass a few long hours on I-95 in Virginia and for that I am sincerely grateful. Most enjoyable for me, though, was recognizing the many DC area locations in which the story is set. (Every day I drive past the seedy motel that the Finns stay in, and I have eaten at that McDonald's, too.  Also, I used to get my car inspected at the gas station where Stone calls for a cab.) I think one of your greatest successes in this story is establishing a sense of place and creating characters that are products of their environment and interact realistically with it. I would love to gain more insight into your ability to do this so effectively and to share with you more of my thoughts on your novel. I’m sure it would be edifying for us both. I remember reading that you are an enthusiastic patron of Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria (mmmm, Lobster Risotto), and I think that establishment—rather than the McDonald’s up the street from the seedy motel—may be an appropriate place for what I’m sure would be an enriching and enlightening literary and intellectual exchange.

Cordially,
Amy P.

Fruit of the Vine

All this posting and redesigning has made me thirsty.  So, I made some grape juice from the Concord grapes we received the last two weeks in our CSA delivery.  The family gathered together to de-stem the grapes (good thing we don't own a vineyard--I never thought I'd say those words--as slow as my teen was working), and then I covered them with tap water and cooked them over a low boil for fifteen-ish minutes.  I forgot to mash them before we boiled, so we mashed after they were done with no apparent ill effects.  Luckily, I didn't listen to my husband who kept insisting we needed "like ten cups of sugar."  Easy to add later if necessary, I wisely counseled.  So we boiled, mashed, and then strained into pitchers and refrigerated.  (I forgot how much grape juice stains!)  Now it's chilled, I have to say that it's quite tasty.  And jam-packed with anti-oxidants.

Yes, yes, the grape juice was good.  But it's been a long day so I opened a 2009 Marlena Torrontés from Argentina.  It's fruity and crisp.  It would be a great wine for happy hour on the deck or at the pool.  Not so bad for sitting at my laptop on a Wednesday night either.  Apparently, and I did not know this, Torrontés is only produced in Argentina.  In case you're interested:  http://www.torrontes.com/.

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, Nora Ephron

This book is properly titled because these really are “thoughts.” They are amusing but more thought than deeply considered idea. Ephron’s ideas and opinions breezed into my own mind like a gentle breeze and drifted out just as quickly. I was ready to classify the book as a pleasant diversion, a not unsatisfactory way to spend several hours. On the way to my smug and certain opinion that Ephron had nothing of substance to offer me, she threw me two curves that have stuck with me. Writing of the illness and death of a friend, she says, “Death is a sniper.” Wow. Exactly, I thought. This image of death as a sniper is comforting to me. By identifying death as a sniper (I see the Angel of Death with a high-powered rifle coldly drawing a bead on someone, a precise but telling red dot from the laser sight on an unsuspecting forehead. Was it the hair, the clothes, the personal hygiene that prompted the decision?). If that’s the case, then the selection is less caprice and more impulse and there is an underlying spur, no matter how slight. I find comfort in that.

The second line is about grown children: “Meanwhile, every so often, your children come to visit. They are, amazingly, completely charming people. You can’t believe you’re lucky enough to know them. They make you laugh. They make you proud. You love them madly. They survived you. You survived them.” As the parent of a teen-ager, there are some days that I clutch this thought to my chest as if it were a life preserver, and I pray (and sometimes believe) that it may perhaps be true.

I'm back!

Be honest.  You thought I was never coming back, didn't you?  I wondered myself sometimes, but knowing myself as I do, I prepared for that eventuality.  I filled my laptop with reminders - from the ever-present red, overdue reminder in my Outlook taskbar, the half-written reviews mocking me whenever I opened my personal folder, and the link to this website on my Favorites bar that I tried to pretend didn't exist and hid from like that one bad old boyfriend.  I promise I'll be better this time.

Sugar, Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Sugar is the story of Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a Dominican baseball player with talent and a desire to play professional baseball in the United States. In the Dominican Republic, major league scouts are trawling for talent, vigilant but instructive in the game and the profession of being a baseball player, to the young men anxious for their chance and shot at big-league fame and fortune. Sugar’s curveball brings him to a minor league farm team in Iowa. The film communicates the joy and wonder of Sugar’s initial exposure to the US but also shows the alienation and isolation he experiences. He boards with an older couple on their farm. This sounds like an agreeable arrangement—put the kid into a family so he can feel at home. The reality is not nearly so simple or convenient. Sugar is not the first ball player in this home, and he certainly won’t be the last. Sugar is, to the baseball community and his Iowa hosts, merely a commodity, although they would not view the situation in such stark terms. His fortunes and future depend on his ability to perform satisfactorily on the baseball diamond. When Sugar begins to struggle on the field, he’s faced with a choice as to what his future will be and how he will handle the adversity he’s facing. Algenis Perez Soto as Sugar does a great job of conveying both the exhilaration of opportunity and the fear of failure in a county where everything is foreign, including ordering a meal in a diner. This isn’t a feel-good, edge-of-your-seat film where you know that Sugar will pull it together and rise to the top. Life’s like that for a very few, and this film shows the path is not easy and success is not guaranteed.  

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

An epistolary tale? What a novel idea. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) The format seems quaint and brings back unwelcome memories of college and slogging through Les Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos (but I like the movies versions Dangerous Liaisons and Valmont), La Nouvelle Héloïse by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and (shudder) Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. I heard recently that there was an epistolary novel not of letters but text messages. I can’t even begin to fathom it. I inevitably think at the end of such stories of how much more engaging they might have been if they were told in a simple narrative. So too with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It feels old-fashioned. That can often be a good trait, but here I think it merely shows the slightness of the story. It is the story of a writer who, post World War II comes to the island of Guernsey, which had been occupied by German soldiers throughout the war. This part was interesting to me. I had no idea that this had happened and wondered at the conditions that the residents must have lived under. This book only scratches at the surface of it. Instead, it focuses on an intrepid group who manage, by accident, to form a literary society, one where, as luck would have it, every member, no matter their station or education or ability, manages to find the perfect book not just to enrich their lives but to see them through the war. Oh and there’s a rather predictable love story thrown in for good measure. There is the laundry list of stock characters: the sympathetic gay man; the understanding German officer; the selfless and brave islander ready to sacrifice herself for others; the orphaned, precocious child; the quiet, brooding hero; the rich American; and Oscar Wilde. No kidding. I read it in about a day and half, so there is not much time commitment to give to it or to rue having wasted at the end of it.

Pork Stew with Hard Cider, Pearl Onions, and Potatoes

This is a time consuming recipe that I thought would be great for a snowy, cold lazy winter day and night. I found the recipe in the February 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. For a little background, pork was only okay in taste, in my opinion. That all changed when I bought some at my local farmer’s market, despite the higher price. What a stunning discovery! The pork chops and bacon actually tasted like they came from an animal. I was a convert and a beginner food-source snob.

My new attitude is well and good, but it’s winter now and the farmer’s markets are closed, Whole Foods isn’t convenient or economical, and so I have to take what I can get. I had never tried a pork stew before but, looking for new ways to make grocery store pork taste like something, I thought the recipe sounded interesting. It had parsnips in it, too, a vegetable I hadn’t yet tried to prepare myself. That was another plus this recipe had going for it because I needed something to help me out of my vegetable rut. You know, routine cooking with all the old faithfuls—beans, peas, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus on the grill in summer. I only recently started eating beets despite hating them my entire life because I think they taste like dirt. But, I hear they are good for your liver and, with the wine that I drink, I could use all the help I can get. Surprisingly, the flavor of beets grew on me as well. Anyway, a red light should have gone off in my head when I was reading the list of ingredients. You see, I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like my food to touch. Moreover, I eat one thing at a time until it’s gone—all the meat, then the potatoes, then the vegetables. I’m happy with this system and don’t plan to change either. So, when I saw that there were apples in the stew, I should have stopped to consider what I was planning.

The pork and vegetables smelled heavenly as the stew was simmering. I think I would have enjoyed it enormously if I had stopped before adding the final ingredients—Calvados (apple brandy), apples, and mustard. Those last few items seemed to throw the stew into overdrive. There was a whole lot going on in that pot and a whole lot of competing flavors in each mouthful. It didn’t help that I took the recommendation in the magazine and served Hard Cider with the stew instead of a nice Gewürztraminer like I was considering. It was apple overdose. On the Epicurious website, most reviewers who did not add the Calvados loved the stew, so maybe that makes the difference. Even hearing that, I don’t think I would make this recipe again, even with the changes and omissions. It really was laborious for a so-so result.

Here's the link to the recipe:  Pork Stew with Hard Cider Pearl Onions and Potatoes

Bright Star, directed by Jane Campion

I just watched the video Bright Star with Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw. I seemed to recall that it didn't get great reviews when it was released, but I wanted to see it anyway since I'm a sucker for period romances, especially if they have a literary theme. It's the story of poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne. My opinion of the story? Gosh, the cinematography was beautiful. I thought for a while trying to figure out whether it was the character Fanny or Abbie Cornish playing Fanny that I disliked. I think the answer is both. Fanny is brash and outspoken, with strong opinions and a healthy sense of self. These qualities were apparent. She seemed so modern to me, almost out of place, and this was disconcerting and continually prevented me from losing myself in the story. I can imagine that would be exactly why another person would like it, until Fanny starts mooning over Keats, that is. And, despite the poetry, I couldn't figure out what she or Keats saw in each other (perhaps there's my answer). Whishaw's Keats was pretty and pale and weak, and Cornish's Fanny was pretty and pushy and whiny. I don't like to stop a movie before I finish it, but I was sorely tempted to shut it off and end my misery. The movie seemed like a teenage girl’s fantasy of what love and romance is, epitomized in the film in one scene with Fanny and a room full of butterflies that symbolize her relationship, blah, blah, blah. All I kept thinking of during the scene was the welfare of those poor cooped-up butterflies. As I said, the cinematography was lovely and that’s was held me until the end. After the movie was over, I went online and looked again at the reviews and found them overwhelmingly positive. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood when I watched it, but even a few days later, as you can probably tell from this post, I can’t think of the movie objectively. It filled me with emotions, certainly—disbelief, annoyance, and impatience for it to be over.

That Old Cape Magic, Richard Russo

What a great book to start the year! I'm a fan of Richard Russo, especially The Whore's Child, and I was eagerly looking forward to this book. I have to start with Griffin's parents. What sad, repugnant, fascinating, believable people. I spent so much of the book analyzing Griffin and how his behavior and actions were influenced by his parents. Of course his mother is in his head! Whether our parents are with us physically or not, some part of them is always rattling around in our brain. As the novel progresses, Russo skillfully reveals how a son's memories and perceptions may not necessarily contain the whole truth and reality of a person or an event. This is a lesson he needs to learn, and it is a difficult one for him, considering the certainty of opinion that his parents have ingrained in him. Griffin's parents are full of pride and intellectual arrogance, but by the end of the novel I felt sympathy and pity for them, something I would have not thought possible earlier in the story.

One scene in the book really stuck with me. In it, Russo neatly captures how a relationship can change in an instant--satisfying and happy one moment and fractured and anguished the next--unspoken resentment, suspicion, contempt erupting from the smallest of fissures. This scene between Griffin and his wife, Joy, threw me for a loop because I didn't see it coming at all. I should have anticipated it--the foreshadowing was there--but I guess I didn't want to see the signs (gullible romantic that I am).

Griffin's life is in motion. He is a man on a physical journey and an inner journey as well. He moves east to west and back again, not satisfied with where he is or what he is doing. His parents, Joy's family, and his job are all sources of anguish for him. Satisfaction is elusive. Cape Cod, however, holds a special place for him and his parents. It holds the mythic pot of gold at the end of the rainbow--the elusive summer cottage--if they can only find the right one, which unfortunately all too often fall into the one of two categories: "Can't Afford It or Wouldn't Have It As a Gift." It is only right that Griffin returns here to put the past to rest and start anew.

I laughed out loud in parts and also felt the bittersweet pain of dreams lost and hopes smashed. The characters were real and their decisions and actions believable--sometimes maddeningly so. The best part of the book was the least surprising, having read other stories by Russo, and that was that the feelings engendered were true and earned.