Book a Week in 2014 - BW6

[Stacia]

Eliana, I had noticed that you had been quiet on as of late, and I'm sorry to hear all the worry you have had. Sending good thoughts & prayers to all of you.

[Stacia]

In my region, the tea is high because after you put the Lipton teabags and a couple gallons of water in your jar, you put it up on the cab of your pickup in the sun to brew.

Hahahaha! Thanks for the huge laugh this morning!

 

(Btw, this is how high tea is served in my region as well!)

[Onceuponatime]

Totally off-topic, but I just need to post & say my inner fangirl is already ga-go over the Winter Olympics. (Anyone else who watched it tonight?) I know my reading counts will go down a good bit over the next couple of weeks.

 

Had a great time watching tonight. For teams skating, I just have to say *wow* to Japan & Russia for their male skaters (Yuzuru Hanyu; Evgeni Plushenko), plus another *wow* for the Russian pairs team (Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov). Bravo! I totally love this stuff.

 

FYI, here is Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2013 Japanese Nationals skating the program that he did tonight. He blew everyone away & the commentators even mentioned that all the skating teams (from all the countries) were standing to give him an ovation.

 

http://youtu.be/eTXmva9Ds8w

 

And, here are Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov skating their routine (different event, but same skating program they did tonight):

 

 

Enjoyed the other events too such as snowboarding & moguls. Hard to believe Canada has 3 sisters who are all competing in this Olympics & even in the same event.

 

Thanks for humoring my fangirl moment! :001_smile:

 

I watched the bits on NBC between 8 and 10 pm. last night. I looved the Canadian Pair skater's routine more than the Russian's, but that just could be my inclination to prefer skating to look delicate and romantic. :rolleyes:

[Mom-ninja.]

Finished two books yesterday, Why I Am Not a Christian and Lies Homeschool Moms Believe. One of them resonated with me and the other most certainly did not.

 

 

 

 

 

Moving on to Jane Eyre which I have not read since 9th grade!! 

I reread that last year and liked it much better the second time around.

[prairiegirl]

Loose tea as opposed to bags, my dear.  A proper tea is loose.  (I guess this means you are not a loose woman!)

 

I became a loose woman this past year.  I cannot possibly imagine using teabags any more.  

 

Eliana,  my thoughts and love are with you and your dd.  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[mumto2]

Too be honest I am just talking having to do my turn on the tea rota at any social gathering not high tea. Tea is a way of life here......

 

One od d example that happened a couple of years after we moved here, while at a home ed gathering a friend got a phone call that her dh was badly injured(he is fine now) and being loaded in an ambulance. I naturally asked what I could do. Expecting to be handed her dcs to drop at her mom's. She asked me to make her a cup of tea????? Seriously tea. She drank her tea, handed off the kids, and was gone. The British affection for their tea never ceases to amaze me. :lol:

[marbel]

Detouring from the (fascinating) f-word discussion for a moment to affirm that for me, as well...

 

 

The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.

 

Disagreement is a form of engagement.  If we don't think each other's ideas are worth discussing, we just... walk away!  (Of course, disagreement should be civil!)

 

We are just back from a 36-hour power outage.    I despair of catching up on this thread!  But this caught my eye, and I am so glad to see that thought out there.  It is so true!

 

I love disagreeing.  Not for the sake of argument but for the sake of learning.  I have a few friends with whom I can't talk about anything interesting because, ooh, it's too scary to disagree.   I treasure them but there is a piece missing, you know?  We can't ever learn anything from each other because we can only talk about "safe" subject on which we know we'll agree.  Honestly it becomes rather dull, agreeing all the time.

 

And this is completely off topic but may I just say I'm excited to have my first cup of "real" coffee in two days?  My husband is a genius, but one cannot properly grind coffee beans with a mortar and pestle.   But thankful for that, and the french press, and the little burner on the gas grill with which to boil water.    Luxury amidst the inconvenience!

 

I didn't even get much reading done; in fact I added a new book to my in-process pile: reading aloud And Then There Were None by the fire.

 

Eliana, so sorry to hear about the pregnancy troubles.  Please keep us updated!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

. 

 

[Jane in NC]

Several unrelated rambles ahead...

 

First, sending best wishes for a quick recovery to Eliana's daughter and good cheer to Eliana.  You were quiet--and missed.

 

The timing of the Olympic games is perfect for my life.  I am knitting a second sock, a Valentine's gift for my son, with the clock ticking. His package must go out by Tuesday.  So last night I finished turning the heel and started the gusset while watching the ice skaters.  The Russian skaters were exquisite as was the young man from Japan.  Such grace! 

 

Of course, I am also sneezing my way through life.  Fortunately I slept really well last night--but awoke to a runny nose.  I suspect I was shedding virus all over the conference yesterday but at least I wasn't in blasto sneezy mode. 

 

Fortunately I don't have to be anywhere but home today.  Lots of hot tea for me (after my morning coffee, of course)!

 

More on tea:  Barbara Pym's excellent women are those who immediately recognize that a cuppa is needed in a "crisis"--large or small.  And while I too appreciate my cuppa, I have never learned to appreciate milk in my tea or coffee for that matter.  I drink both black, even my PG Tips.

 

ETA:  More tales of Southern tea drinking.  Where I live, "tea" means sweetened ice tea.  Imagine my surprise when I moved to NC decades ago and ordered "tea" only to receive a glass of sweetened ice tea!  The puzzled look on my face!  Now I know to order "hot tea" or "unsweetened ice tea"--I am a bitter woman who does not like sweet beverages.  Clearly I lack Southern genes!

[mumto2]

Jane -- I hope you start feeling better soon.

 

Just a general Olympic question -- Aren't the opening ceremonies today? I think BBC starts coverage at 3 today per the commercial.

[Jane in NC]

Jane -- I hope you start feeling better soon.

 

Just a general Olympic question -- Aren't the opening ceremonies today? I think BBC starts coverage at 3 today per the commercial.

 

Yes, but some events were added to the games that forced schedulers to get the ball rolling before the opening ceremony!

 

And thank you.  Ah choooo!

[Pam in CT]

On Tea:

 

 

More on tea:  Barbara Pym's excellent women are those who immediately recognize that a cuppa is needed in a "crisis"--large or small.  

 

And that cuppa stands for so much more, too, right?... the solidarity, the support, the empathy, the small act of service, the deep breath, the ordinary gesture that puts the crisis at least a little bit into perspective...

 

 

... and then to bring the discussion back around: is this a human experience, or a female one?  Personally I would answer, human.  Yet I would also say that the (Excellent Woman, and also excellent writer) Barbara Pym has still not crossed over to be considered a mainstream author.

 

 

 

And while I too appreciate my cuppa, I have never learned to appreciate milk in my tea or coffee for that matter.  I drink both black, even my PG Tips.

 

 

Well, now see this is a matter on which engaged-and-interested-and-mutually-respectful people might passionately disagree...    :laugh:

 

[Runningmom80]

I've fallen off the wagon again this year, but I'm determined to get back on. I think my problem is I keep getting stuck with the same book, A casual vacancy. I don't know why, but I cannot get into it! I did read "steal like an artist," which barely counts as a book, and "laura ingalls wilder: a writer's life." I really enjoyed the laura ingalls book. Please excuse the lack of capitals, I'm on my phone.

[Violet Crown]

Y'all have convinced me, what with all the discussion of Feminism: What It Is and Isn't. My reading only two women writers last year was disgraceful. This year I assign myself The Distaff Challenge. St Hildegard has me off to a good start (and also doubling as a Chunkster; and if someone starts a Timothy Leary Challenge, I'll have a trifecta).

 

There was a $1 Colette at the used book store yesterday; today I'll swing by and pick it up. Never read any Colette.

[Onceuponatime]

 

ETA:  More tales of Southern tea drinking.  Where I live, "tea" means sweetened ice tea.  Imagine my surprise when I moved to NC decades ago and ordered "tea" only to receive a glass of sweetened ice tea!  The puzzled look on my face!  Now I know to order "hot tea" or "unsweetened ice tea"--I am a bitter woman who does not like sweet beverages.  Clearly I lack Southern genes!

 

I've lived in the South most of my life, but I know I lack Southern genes. I also must drink my tea naked, well sometimes a little lemon in plain black tea is okay. I absolutely can not take sweet tea at all. If I accidentally get some, I have to work very hard not to spit out the first mouthful, then I hand it to dh who is a true Southern tea drinker.

[shukriyya]

Typing from the iPad in bed in the dark so brevity and typos a la autocorrect are the themes here and multiquoting is out. Ramblings ahead...

Eliana, your erudite and inclusive presence has been missed. Sending heart-prayers for your dd, her babe and her dh. Hugs for the grandmama. May you all be well and at peace.

On tea, my father was British and further the kind that never left England, really. "Oh to be in England" and all that. Tea in our home, growing up, was a serious affair, a meditation. Water had to boil for just the right amt of time, teapot had to be heated, tea had to steep in the pot for at least five mins. Fine bone china cups. Milk went first, always. And so on and so on. It has left its mark :D

On coffee...yes, yes to the French press and freshly ground beans. Marbel, was it you without power for 36 hrs.? I could taste your utter delight upon drinking that first morning cup. It's one of my morning meditations, too.

I find I am bristling in reaction to the comments about it ultimately coming down to the human experience over the female experience. Which is good as it offers much poetic food for thought for me. I disagree to a certain extent though just what that extent is will need some ruminating upon. Anne Klein has written a marvelous book called 'Meeting the Great Bliss Queen' in which she touches on the profound differences in the spiritual awakening of women vs. men, that it is inherently different. I think this is where some of my ruminations might lead me.

Finished 'The Shadowy Horses' last night. Not as good a read as 'The Winter Sea' and with a bit of a hasty twist in the plot towards the end, kind of clunky but it held my interest enough to finish it.

The light is now peeking through the curtains...coffee meditations await :D

[Jane in NC]

I've lived in the South most of my life, but I know I lack Southern genes. I also must drink my tea naked, well sometimes a little lemon in plain black tea is okay. I absolutely can not take sweet tea at all. If I accidentally get some, I have to work very hard not to spit out the first mouthful, then I hand it to dh who is a true Southern tea drinker.

 

I like the term "naked tea".

 

But the real question is can you make a decent biscuit?  I had wondered for years if this was genetic but must admit I seem to be getting the knack.  My secret is good buttermilk.

 

When my son's British girlfriend came to visit after Christmas, I made some "biscuits" as in Southern baking powder biscuits.  The English definition of a biscuit is yet again something else with the Southern biscuit being closer to a scone.

 

Funny how something as simple as tea and biscuits can take on other meanings.  No wonder there is confusion when people react to words that mean different things to different people.

[Onceuponatime]

 

 

But the real question is can you make a decent biscuit?  I had wondered for years if this was genetic but must admit I seem to be getting the knack.  My secret is good buttermilk.

 

When my son's British girlfriend came to visit after Christmas, I made some "biscuits" as in Southern baking powder biscuits.  The English definition of a biscuit is yet again something else with the Southern biscuit being closer to a scone.

 

Funny how something as simple as tea and biscuits can take on other meanings.  No wonder there is confusion when people react to words that mean different things to different people.

 

I do make Southern baking powder biscuits often. My family loves them. After years of experimenting, much to my chagrin, I realized that the ones we like the most are made with artery clogging shortening. However, I use yogurt and milk instead of buttermilk. :blushing:  What can I say?  I always have plain yogurt on hand and never buy buttermilk. 

[shukriyya]

Funny how something as simple as tea and biscuits can take on other meanings. No wonder there is confusion when people react to words that mean different things to different people.

Indeed, if you were offered tea and biscuits in my home the implication would be a pot of hot, strong tea and some kind of delicate cookies.

[marbel]

I've lived in the South most of my life, but I know I lack Southern genes. I also must drink my tea naked, well sometimes a little lemon in plain black tea is okay. I absolutely can not take sweet tea at all. If I accidentally get some, I have to work very hard not to spit out the first mouthful, then I hand it to dh who is a true Southern tea drinker.

 

Well now my husband is a good ol' Georgia boy, with Southern roots that go way back, yet he cannot stand sweet tea.  When we travel south he always remembers to order "unsweet tea."  I'm a Yankee girl (much to his parents' chagrin) and I always forget, till it's too late and I have a mouth full of super sweetness. 

[Stacia]

ETA: More tales of Southern tea drinking. Where I live, "tea" means sweetened ice tea. Imagine my surprise when I moved to NC decades ago and ordered "tea" only to receive a glass of sweetened ice tea! The puzzled look on my face! Now I know to order "hot tea" or "unsweetened ice tea"--I am a bitter woman who does not like sweet beverages. Clearly I lack Southern genes!

Truly, honey, you do lack Southern genes because Southerners never ask for "iced" tea (or "sweet" tea for that matter). Tea = sweetened & iced, per the natural order of things. ;) (If you want unsweetened &/or hot tea, you definitely need to specify as those are definite aberrations.) :p

 

Please know I'm just poking you with a stick, Jane. :lol: I will say I was born in the South, but moved around a lot as a child (my dad was in the Navy). Even though I live in the South as an adult, I don't really consider myself Southern (or anything really). Both of my parents' families are Southern, so obviously I've had some great exposure to the whole tea issue (just not in the British way). Once I was old enough to realize how much sugar my grandmother put into a pitcher of sweet tea, I was :blink: and :ack2: .

 

I often do drink a mug of hot tea in the morning (using a bag :blush: , though I have some loose tea on hand too), but resort to coffee most (all) of the time. (An aside.... This is making me think of my grandfather -- other side of the family from my sweet tea making Mema -- always drank hot tea, never iced. But he was of Russian descent, so maybe that explains his errant ways, lol. Plus, he managed to burn down their kitchen not once, but twice, when making tea. It was a family joke that he would know his tea was ready when it was too smoky to see the tv screen. And two of his sons were firemen.)

 

As a terrible cook (for one thing, I can't make sweet tea properly for some reason -- it always tastes bitter; I'm thinking perhaps it's because I've never owned a pickup per VC's helpful tea-making instructions), I will sidestep the whole biscuit discussion.

 

I can say that if all you BaWers show up at my house, I can serve you a great cup of coffee (French Press, a cappuccino or latte, or drip machine -- whatever is your preference) & some great chocolate (w/ a Belgian dh, you can be assured that good chocolate is a staple food in this house). And then we can all retire to the treehouse (as long as it's not mosquito season).

[shukriyya]

 

I can say that if all you BaWers show up at my house, I can serve you a great cup of coffee (French Press, a cappuccino or latte, or drip machine -- whatever is your preference) & some great chocolate (w/ a Belgian dh, you can be assured that good chocolate is a staple food in this house). And then we can all retire to the treehouse (as long as it's not mosquito season).

 

 

 

I AM IN! :drool: (says she as she nibbles on her standard breakfast of dark chocolate and french press coffee)

 

[shukriyya]

Seriously, how often does that happen? That someone posts something delectable looking and I am having *that very thing* at that very moment! It's like some kind of self-completing micro-universe :D

[mumto2]

Indeed, if you were offered tea and biscuits in my home the implication would be a pot of hot, strong tea and some kind of delicate cookies.

Scones very greatly too. Never seen a triangle shaped one here. This http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream would be considered rather fancy but very nice here. Cheese and fruit scones are the norm.

 

Cookies are the new in thing with British teens. Think Mrs. Fields type varieties with biscuits in teens eyes now being digestives etc. Many of dds friends are spending tons on cookies. They have been thrilled to discover dd can make good ones -- an American background has its uses.

[aggieamy]

Eliana - praying for your daughter and grand baby.  Medical stuff is so stressful.  And amazing at the same time.  I'm completely in awe of what we can do and understand feeling wealthy beyond belief.  

[shukriyya]

I grew up on Peak Frean's digestives and arrowroots or McVitties digestives. Or gingernuts. My parents rarely bought the 'decadent' oreos, fudgeos or mallomars and when they did they were doled out with a parsimony that at least once or twice gave rise to mutiny on the part of the children :lol:

[Violet Crown]

Right, road trip to Stacia's house!

 

It's clear yet again that Texas is not really part of the south. You order iced tea here; pronounced "Ah'll have a ice tea."* And if you want sugar in it, you say "with sugar please." Otherwise it will come brewed plain with a wedge of lemon.

 

A few years ago waiters started asking "sweet or unsweet?" which is a foreign affectation and no part of Texan culture. I never heard the word "unsweet" west of the Big Thicket until about ten or so years ago.

 

 

*My children have, each in turn, wrestled with the bizarre spelling rule that "a" must have "n" written after it when it precedes a vowel. I swear I say "an."

[marbel]

<snip>

 

On coffee...yes, yes to the French press and freshly ground beans. Marbel, was it you without power for 36 hrs.? I could taste your utter delight upon drinking that first morning cup. It's one of my morning meditations, too.

 

I find I am bristling in reaction to the comments about it ultimately coming down to the human experience over the female experience. Which is good as it offers much poetic food for thought for me. I disagree to a certain extent though just what that extent is will need some ruminating upon. Anne Klein has written a marvelous book called 'Meeting the Great Bliss Queen' in which she touches on the profound differences in the spiritual awakening of women vs. men, that it is inherently different. I think this is where some of my ruminations might lead me.

 

<snip>

 

Yes, that was me.  And yes, that first cup of coffee this morning, with electricity, was lovely indeed.

 

Now on human experience vs. female experience.    Yes, men and women have distinct differences, and different experiences.  I can see that daily in my own house, when my husband and I come out of a conversation with completely different ideas of what we just talked about.  Without going all theological I don't think I can say much more about that, except to say that absolutely male and female experiences are different, vastly.

 

 I can't quite put my finger on the difference in books between a female/male experience vs. human experience.  The closest I can come is:  some books are self-consciously about a particular experience while some are not.  The Age of Innocence was already mentioned.  That to me is a classic example of great writing about the human experience that "covers" (for lack of a better term) both male and female.   It lacks something - not sure what but something, maybe it's that self-consciousness - that I found present in The Awakening.  I've never gotten through any book by Virginia Woolf and maybe that's why.   Maybe it's because Wharton was just a better writer and just better at describing human experience in its variety.    Maybe Anna Karenina is the same way.   Maybe it's more of an emotional response and thus harder to explain. 

 

I am trying to think of books other than war stories which are self-consciously male - war (really I am talking about combat) has been the realm of men.  I guess I don't read books that are specifically about the male experience.  The closest I can come is Hemingway, but I don't think of his books as self-consciously male. 

 

It's muddy, isn't it?

[Stacia]

I don't think patriarchal vs matriarchal society means that one gender's view is (or should be) considered a default view...

I totally agree. But, I'm saying the dream/hope is perhaps different than the reality. So, in a way, whether we want to do anything or not, we as females still have a long way to go in many societies today. I just see that as the reality of the situation (& one that will continue to hopefully improve over time to the ideal you're stating; to reach the ideal, though, takes lots of work, lots of people trying to make a difference, etc...).

The Tain is part of the "Red Branch" of Irish story/mythology, also called the Cattle Raid of Cooley and has the hero Cu Chulain as the super-hero at the center of the story. Have you dabbled in some of the other Celtic tales?

No, that's one area where I have little exposure to literature (other than reading some of the Iron Druid books). LOL.

since words are one of my love-languages, when I talk to someone, when I want to discuss their ideas, I'm saying "You're awesome! You just made me think and react and have new ideas! I like you. Please discuss this more, so I can have more neat new ideas." ...perhaps *especially* when I'm disagreeing. To me, disagreeing says that someone's ideas are worth discussing, it says 'I value you'. I'll try to make that more obvious in the future, okay? :grouphug:

Exactly! That's why Eliana & I can be like this:

 

 

 

and then like this:

 

 

 

It's all good.

 

:)

[Stacia]

...

[Guest]

Praying, Eliana, for your daughter and your family. :grouphug:

[shukriyya]

Right, road trip to Stacia's house!

 

It's clear yet again that Texas is not really part of the south. You order iced tea here; pronounced "Ah'll have a ice tea."* And if you want sugar in it, you say "with sugar please." Otherwise it will come brewed plain with a wedge of lemon.

 

A few years ago waiters started asking "sweet or unsweet?" which is a foreign affectation and no part of Texan culture. I never heard the word "unsweet" west of the Big Thicket until about ten or so years ago.

 

 

*My children have, each in turn, wrestled with the bizarre spelling rule that "a" must have "n" written after it when it precedes a vowel. I swear I say "an."

 

There is just so much to like about this post I don't even know where to begin :lol:

 

[Onceuponatime]

I grew up on Peak Frean's digestives and arrowroots or McVitties digestives. Or gingernuts. My parents rarely bought the 'decadent' oreos, fudgeos or mallomars and when they did they were doled out with a parsimony that at least once or twice gave rise to mutiny on the part of the children :lol:

 

I've always wondered, why "digestive?" Are they somehow more wholesome than American cookies? When I hear the phrase digestive biscuit, I don't hear yummy. :D

[Stacia]

I love disagreeing. Not for the sake of argument but for the sake of learning. I have a few friends with whom I can't talk about anything interesting because, ooh, it's too scary to disagree. I treasure them but there is a piece missing, you know? We can't ever learn anything from each other because we can only talk about "safe" subject on which we know we'll agree. Honestly it becomes rather dull, agreeing all the time.

I agree. (Please don't think me dull! LOL.) I totally know what you mean about people irl being like that (too scary to disagree). Plus, it's no fun w/ people who are perpetually close-minded & who take everything very personally. Maybe it's just the region where I live or maybe it's just the people I know, but this seems to be sadly common around here.

 

Just commissering really because I'm in a similar boat (w/ friendships where a piece is missing). I am working to remedy that, though.

And this is completely off topic but may I just say I'm excited to have my first cup of "real" coffee in two days? My husband is a genius, but one cannot properly grind coffee beans with a mortar and pestle. But thankful for that, and the french press, and the little burner on the gas grill with which to boil water. Luxury amidst the inconvenience!

Will have to file that tidbit away should we ever be in a power outage. Glad you're back with power & coffee.

 

Now... let's argue! En garde! :lol:

[Stacia]

This year I assign myself The Distaff Challenge. St Hildegard has me off to a good start (and also doubling as a Chunkster; and if someone starts a Timothy Leary Challenge, I'll have a trifecta).

Ok, I don't think I even fully understand your sentence ( :tongue_smilie: :lol: ) -- I haven't had much coffee yet today -- but I read I Have America Surrounded a few years ago & thought it was quite interesting. (Leary was before my time, so I really didn't know much about him.)

 

(Can't remember if Texas was included in the part he had "surrounded". ;) :p)

[mumto2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/digestive_biscuit

 

Think of digestives as very nice and really good Graham Crackers. The sugar and fat content are way higher I think. They come chocolate covered etc and everyone has a couple of packs to pull out in case someone stops in and tea is needed. They are more filling then graham crackers imo.

[shukriyya]

To keep this conversation on the bookish path. Here is a list of possible tea reads. And I'm remembering a Japanese tea ceremony I attended years ago--a very different experience than the taking of tea at home--having at once nothing and everything to do with tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kareni]

Eliana,

 

Wishing good health to your daughter and the baby and peace of mind to you.

 

 

I've always wondered, why "digestive?" Are they somehow more wholesome than American cookies? When I hear the phrase digestive biscuit, I don't hear yummy. :D

 

When they're covered in chocolate, they are definitely yummy!

 

Regards,

Kareni (who drinks neither coffee nor tea but rather hot chocolate)

[shukriyya]

I've always wondered, why "digestive?" Are they somehow more wholesome than American cookies? When I hear the phrase digestive biscuit, I don't hear yummy. :D

 

Mumto2 has properly situated them. Though I would add that I recall digestives as being richer than the dry, cardboardy grahams which I detested as a child.

 

Yummy, well I don't know if I'd describe them as yummy as I haven't had one in years but perhaps if I did I'd be overcome with Proustian nostalgia :lol:  We enjoyed them as kids though ours were never the chocolate variety just plain old plain. I seem to recall that they were also very good with sharp cheese.

[Kareni]

Last night (okay, it was really o'dark thirty), I finished Jayne Ann Krentz's River Road which I enjoyed very much.

 

"It’s been thirteen years since Lucy Sheridan was in Summer River. The last time she visited her aunt Sara there, as a teenager, she’d been sent home suddenly after being dragged out of a wild party—by the guy she had a crush on, just to make it more embarrassing. Obviously Mason Fletcher—only a few years older but somehow a lot more of a grown-up—was the overprotective type who thought he had to come to her rescue.

Now, returning after her aunt’s fatal car accident, Lucy is learning there was more to the story than she realized at the time. Mason had saved her from a very nasty crime that night—and soon afterward, Tristan, the cold-blooded rich kid who’d targeted her, disappeared mysteriously, his body never found.

A lot has changed in thirteen years. Lucy now works for a private investigation firm as a forensic genealogist, while Mason has quit the police force to run a successful security firm with his brother—though he still knows his way around a wrench when he fills in at his uncle’s local hardware store. Even Summer River has changed, from a sleepy farm town into a trendy upscale spot in California’s wine country. But Mason is still a protector at heart, a serious (and seriously attractive) man. And when he and Lucy make a shocking discovery inside Sara’s house, and some of Tristan’s old friends start acting suspicious, Mason’s quietly fierce instincts kick into gear. He saved Lucy once, and he’ll save her again. But this time, she insists on playing a role in her own rescue . . ."

 

It was a fun read and the mystery element added to the storyline.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Onceuponatime]

Okay, I was still curious, considering what I know of the history of the graham cracker (which is rather shocking). So I looked up the history of digestive biscuits. Apparently they were originally supposed to help digestion because of the baking soda, hence the "digestive" part. They do look rather bland, but of course anything is better covered with chocolate.

 

Kareni, I also drink hot chocolate througout the day, especially in the winter. I keep a mason jar of a 1:1 cocoa and sugar mixture to mix into hot milk. It is an addiction.

[shukriyya]

Okay, I am surprised by you hot chocolate drinkers here as well as those who add sweetener to their hot drinks. Apart from my daily extra dark chocolate habit I seem to have lost much of my sweet tooth which I thought was a function of age. But apparently not judging by the 'sweet' posts here. My cravings tend towards the savory, cheese and cured meats in particular. Am in the minority?

 

And while I'm at it I'll share that I'm viewing this whole, wonderful week-long tangential conversation as the rambling, stream-of-consciousness musings of a single collective feminine body. It's fascinating.

[Violet Crown]

Of course not -- it's not even a part of the US. I thought everybody knew that Texas is it's own country. So, certainly, I can understand how they would have their own (different) beverage traditions.

 

 

;) :001_tt2: :lol:

Can't put up the image on my iPad, but this is pretty much the mindset:

http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/United%20States%20of%20Texas.jpg

[Onceuponatime]

Can't put up the image on my iPad, but this is pretty much the mindset:

http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/United%20States%20of%20Texas.jpg

I have to agree. My Husband is a Texan and I did not understand this until I married him. We lived in Florida at the time, but had to go to Texas for our honeymoon. :rolleyes:

[Just Robyn]

 

 

Thoughts please :) I've only given her a cursory read but she is on my list for a deeper delve.

 

 

I read just one small book with two long poems and an introduction: Requiem and Poem Without a Hero

 

Here's what I posted on Goodreads after reading it:

 

Honestly, there's just too much here I don't understand. And Russian history is not high on my list of topics to study - not because it's unworthy of study, of course. It's too far removed from my own life and is not often important to the understanding of what I read. Anyway, it would take a lot of time and effort - researching reference after reference and allusion after allusion - for me to really understand these poems. What more, Akhmatova admits "Poem Without a Hero" is difficult for people to understand when she says, "I frequently hear of certain absurd interpretations of Poem Without a Hero. And I have been advised to make it clearer." This she declined to do, so I don't feel too bad saying I find parts of it unclear and difficult to understand.

 

Regardless, some of the beauty of these poems is apparent. Some of the content is explained well enough in the introduction, and some ideas provoke emotion because they are universal. For instance, I think we can all understand and respond to the lines (from "Poem Without a Hero"):

 

As in the gut of the dolphin

I saved myself from the shark

 

Even if our dolphin is not her dolphin, and our shark is not her shark, we all have our own sharks and dolphins. And these lines from "Requiem" are clear, haunting and transportive.

 

There I learned how faces fall apart,

How fear looks out from under the eyelids,

How deep are the hieroglyphics

Cut by suffering on people's cheeks.

 

Like the hieroglyphics on the cheeks of the suffering, her words leave their mark on the reader.

[Jane in NC]

Can't put up the image on my iPad, but this is pretty much the mindset:

http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/United%20States%20of%20Texas.jpg

:leaving:

 

Oh my word is that frightening!  Who needs Stephen King?

[mommymilkies]

Truly, honey, you do lack Southern genes because Southerners never ask for "iced" tea (or "sweet" tea for that matter). Tea = sweetened & iced, per the natural order of things. ;)  (If you want unsweetened &/or hot tea, you definitely need to specify as those are definite aberrations.)  :p

 

Please know I'm just poking you with a stick, Jane.  :lol:  I will say I was born in the South, but moved around a lot as a child (my dad was in the Navy). Even though I live in the South as an adult, I don't really consider myself Southern (or anything really). Both of my parents' families are Southern, so obviously I've had some great exposure to the whole tea issue (just not in the British way). Once I was old enough to realize how much sugar my grandmother put into a pitcher of sweet tea, I was :blink: and :ack2: .

 

In KY and NC where I lived/family from it's "sweet tea" every time instead of just "tea".  Must depend on which "southern" area you're in. :)

 

:grouphug:  Eliana

 

I haven't been reading much.  I was sick and kept falling asleep when I'd start.  So instead I had a Lost Girl marathon.  :lol:

[Pam in CT]

 

And while I'm at it I'll share that I'm viewing this whole, wonderful week-long tangential conversation as the rambling, stream-of-consciousness musings of a single collective feminine body. It's fascinating.

 

Yeah, I do believe the Orson Scott Card, that undercover feminist, calls that phenomenon a....

 

 

 

 

... hive.   :laugh:

[Angel]

 

My eldest, who is at 24 weeks, was in the hospital these past few days, and had emergency abdominal surgery... she got home today and she and the baby are doing well, thank G-d, but my mind and heart have been caught up in this, keeping updated, praying, updating family, praying some more...

 

 

Eliana, I will be praying for baby, mama, and grandmamma! 

 

 

 

Oh, honey!  I'm sorry.  You just got me all excited - your observations triggered a whole cascade of questions, ideas, and various types of musing... imho, that is a *wonderful* thing... and that I saw those things so different is, again imho, also fabulous... it makes for much more interesting conversations... and it helps me think more about the texts and my own perspectives.

 

So, from my standpoint, you are perfectly suited to these discussions!  You have strong reactions, you are thinking about what you are reading and connecting it with other things you've read or seen or thought about.. and then you are trying to put a small piece of that into words so the rest of us can have our own thoughts and connections and reactions! 

 

 

LOL!  You've got me pegged!  I told dh that if I could moderate by emotions I would be less tired.

 

 

I'm so sorry that my enthusiasm made you feel diminished.  Your perspective and reactions are as important and as valid as mine, and I feel horrible if I implied anything else.  I value and respect you and your voice in conversation here.  :grouphug:

 

(re K & P, I don't at all disagree about P completing K... I just see it as a mutual process - they complete each other... it is how I see romance in general... and it all ties into a semi-mystical piece of theology (Jewish)... that Adam and Chava were created as one being and then separated, and that my husband is, literally, the other half of my soul, and I his. )

 

 

I agree with that!   They do complete each other.  It wouldn't be a love story if it was just one sided!  And as a side note, I have never heard of Adam and Chava.  Is Chava Hebrew for Eve?  Or am I way off?  That is different from any account I've heard so I'm just super curious. Where does it come from? 

 

 

 

I like you!  ...and since words are one of my love-languages, when I talk to someone, when I want to discuss their ideas, I'm saying "You're awesome!  You just made me think and react and have new ideas! I like you.  Please discuss this more, so I can have more neat new ideas."   ...perhaps *especially* when I'm disagreeing.  To me, disagreeing says that someone's ideas are worth discussing, it says 'I value you'.    I'll try to make that more obvious in the future, okay? :grouphug:  

 

 

I have never heard this before!  I would have never thought of it like that.  It is not my experience IRL.  Many times disagreeing is more about trying to get me to understand why I am wrong and they are right.  I will try to remember this throughout the year here  ;)   My love language is words of affirmation, followed closely by gifts  :D  I think possibly the way I was raised and being an only has something to do with that.  

 

 

Ok, I don't know how to multi-quote from the same post so I had to do it this way!  Sorry!

 

I really LOVE sweet tea!  Unfortunately, I cut it out of my diet these past 6 months as I changed my diet.  I miss it!

 

When I hear biscuits I automatically think GRAVY!   :drool5:   My family is not super south (Kentucky/WV roots) but south enough for that!

 

And I like my chocolate nice and dark!

 

I think that covers everything :laugh:

[Stacia]

Sorry, hive-master Robin, that we've been buzzing about all different things this week other than books!!!!

 

So, for a back-to-the-books topic, someone posted a comment/link about Isabel Allende a week or two ago. Was it VC? Someone else??? I totally can't remember, but the link was in re: to Allende's newest book Ripper. Just got the library's copy & I have a brand spankin' new one! It's the first book I've had my hands on this year that has copyright 2014 in the front. :001_smile: Not sure that I'll have time to get to it before it's due back (because I already have teetering stacks & because of the Olympics), nor am I sure I will be brave enough to read it (it seems a little creepy). Time will tell...

 

In the link I provided, I enjoyed this tidbit:

In a letter to reviewers, Allende (now signing letters as a "certified assassin"), writes that she was enticed out of retirement by the idea of co-writing a novel with her husband, mystery author William C. Gordon. Both soon realized that such a plan would end with them murdering each other, so she set out to kill her own characters alone.

:lol: