Old-Fashioned Fun...New Fangled Yum!

Okay, that was pathetic rhyming. What can I say? I'm sorely out of practice at writing eye-catching titles. Have any of you ever read the maple sugaring scene from the Little House on the Prairie series--I'm not sure of the exact book--where Ma pours some hot syrup on the snow and makes homemade maple sugar candy? For any of you who've never had it--you are missing out on a critical life experience--it's delicious! Very sweet/creamy with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. An all-natural truffle! So....trying to duplicate that ethereal experience, I ventured outside into our sub-zero weather--okay, a bit of a hyperbole, but not by that much!--armed with a jug of raw material and fierce determination. Perhaps because I didn't heat the syrup first, or maybe for some chemical quirk, the syrup didn't harden, but oozed into the snow. :-( Not to be deterred, I seized my nearby spoon, and ate my first maple-sugar flavored slushy. Ummmm...almost worth the incessant driveway shoveling!

Yay! Kathy Tyers autographed my book!!!!

The title is fairly self-explanatory...but (yay!) all the same. I've been a fan of Kathy Tyers' books since reading Firebird last year--which at least partially influenced the name of my gmail account. On her website (http://www.kathytyers.com/) she graciously offered to autograph books, so I sent off my copy a couple weeks ago along with a little note. She actually answered my letter with an entire typed page! Hehe! I danced a happy jig!!

If you're at all interesting in sci-fi/speculative fiction, I would definitely recommend her books. Shivering World--another favorite--is excellent, abet very intense and a trifle confusing at first. It escapes classification, at once a mystery, but also a bit sci-fi with a dash of romance--altogether a very winsome combination. Although I haven't read them, Mrs. Tyers is also known for her two Star Wars books: The Truce at Bakura and Balance Point.

Some photos of me, ridiculous with excitement and sporting a pronounced winter look--no? ;-)

PS--The fuzzy thing in the corner of the photos is our Christmas tree.

Vocab Word: Environing--Archaic for 'encircle' 'surround'

Visual Argument

So...this is my visual argument. Originally it was arranged in a square, but my untechy self had an exceedingly difficult time working with this...thus the lineup! The argument itself is a bit simplistic, basically exploring the effects of technology on our lives. Pretty straightforward. Anyway...feel free to comment!

Sprainkle

Pretty cool word, huh? Sprain + Ankle=Sprainkle--The unfortunate state of my poor foot.

While dashing around my elder sister at last night's modern dance class, my right foot slipped, and suddenly crunched sideways in a rather painful manner. After limping through the last five minutes of class, Dad discovered that it was sprained, swathing the entire area in yard upon yard of downy gauze and simultaneously christening it. While at CVS (does that need a little copyright symbol?) getting our passport photos taken--a fiasco!--we picked up a neat little elastic fabric foot thing, now snugly encasing The Foot. Aside from being a teeny bit swollen, my ankle is scarcely uncomfortable--the sheer novelty is still intriguing. :-) I wonder, can I scribble on my "cast?"

The Why and Wherefore Behind Common Ecconomic Terms

A very cool website--who knew that Karl Marx invented the word, "Communism"?

http://louisville.edu/~bmhawo01/econpage/meanings.html#Communism

I've recently been working on a paper about Socialism, and ran across this nifty quote: "Democracy," said Marx, "is the road to socialism."

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Here's a really interesting website that I--or rather my lovably scatterbrained aunt--found. In recent years, the difference between the two hemispheres of the brain have been emphasized, and so I was curious to see which hemisphere I'm dominated by...it turns out that I'm about 2/3 left brained. Rather curious because I can't do math or spell to save my life--traditional left-brained territory--but I'm not much of an artist either...go figure! Anyhow, give it a try! You might be surprised by your results...

http://web-us.com/BRAIN/braindominance.htm

Working Bibliography

Here's my working bibliography--hopefully updated frequently between now and March, when my research paper on Bread and Culture is due.


Glezer, Maggie. A Blessing of Bread: The Many Rich Traditions of Jewish Bread Baking Around the World. New York: Artisan, 2004.

Glezer, Maggie. Artisan Baking Across America: The Breads, The Bakers, The Best Recipes. New York: Artisan, 2000.

Hafner, Dorinda. United Tastes of America: The Cultural Origins of Your Favorite Dishes. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998.

Harbison, Elizabeth M. Loaves of Fun: A History of Bread with Activities and Recipes from Around the World. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1997.

Jacob, H. E. Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc, 1944.

Kaplan, Steven. Good Bread is Back: A Contemporary History of French Bread, the Way it is Made, and the People Who Make It. Durham : Duke University Press, 2006.

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking. New York: Collier Books, 1984.

Metro: Grocers by Profession. Metro Richelieu Inc. 11/21/08.

Meyer, Carolyn. The Bread Book: All About Bread and How to Make It. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1971.

Scholl, Jan, and Patreese Ingram. Breads around the World. State College: Pennsylvania State University, 2004.

Taber, Sara Mansfield. Bread of Three Rivers. Boston: Beacon Press, 2001.

The Story Behind a Loaf of Bread. Elizabeth Botham & Sons. 11/21/08.

Visser, Margaret. Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos of an Ordinary Meal. New York: Grove Press, 1986.Jacob, H. E. Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc, 1944.