Oysters



photo courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

as one of the best heminway quotes goes

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”


― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

a festival dedicated to those precious pearly little shellfish. i'll take 'em cooked, baked, or raw on the half shell. (no frying, please!) the festival in Shelton, on October 1st & 2nd will have tastings, pairings, schuckings, and... fresh oysters.
so, who's coming with me?

SEASONS

here is a jewel of a book that i checked out from the library for my kids. little did i know how i would fall head over heels with its vivid, iconic depictions of the seasons. fit for any age- i want to buy 2 of these books- one to set on the coffee table and one to take apart and frame pages. arguably the best whimsical decor i've seen thus far. what a bonus that i found a youtube video of it! enjoy!

Crafts for Poor People

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

For someone who cracks me up, yet leaves me wondering just how off her rocker she is, her new book, “Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People,”  seems to hit home more than i'd like to admit. She did a little interview on PBS where she is asked what rich people craft like- while she didn't come up with a solid answer, she was full of hokey ideas for "poor people". Although its a little (or lot, you judge) satirical it also has much truth in it. Why else would there be such an inundation of "craft blogs" out there? Well, it resonated with me all too much this Christmas as there is less than a week left before D-Day and I still have 5 projects left to finish. New ones keep popping in my head every minute. (Including making a linen closet door before the guests arrive on Saturday. That brainstorm resulted in a google search: "painting plywood")

My final point on this subject of humble creativity? How do you know you are a poor crafter? Answer: The finished "vintage inspired" result bought at Target is just too expensive.

eat pray [i] think

in honor of this month's cover article on Christianity Today- "Eat, Pray, Think" by Leslie Leyland Fields, addressing CAFOs, an issue that i have been passionate about, i wanted to suggest to you a few books that are must reads on the subject of food and it's ugly truth.

the first book i read on this "conspiracy of the truth about our food" was Animal Vegetable Miracle, where Barbara Kinsolver questioned everything i knew to be true about food. whether it was the Ed Hume seed packets i bought every spring (warning, they will self-destruct) or the little perfect "mini-carrots" that are so meticulously shaped unlike nature's true shape.

however, i think both Kinsolver and Pollan in Omnivore's Dillema address a more shocking and sobering picture and that is of the animal industry. no longer should they be called farms (although the package of bacon, eggs, or other meat product has such a pretty landscape picture of such) but instead these CAFOs should be called something much more horrific. the restrictions (or lack thereof) that "farmers" have in regards to the animal's cancerous, virus ridden, antibiotic filled bodies and what they can get away with slapping a "USDA prime" sticker and feeding it to the general public. ok, ok, without me going on and on about the issues of where and how chicken nuggets are made, why we are so lackadaisical about when we buy watermelon (really? in middle of december is it such a must?) or other out of season foods imported from chile or some other 3rd world country, i will just direct you to a few sources so you can become as much of a raving lunatic like me.

who knows, maybe you will have a little bit more insight into where your food comes from and at what cost it is to other human beings, the environment and animals- all who were created by God for us to respect and steward in such a way that is not always coherent with this nation's addiction to cheap & manufactured food and it's toxic byproducts.

a cup of coffee, book & a song

since i can't have coffee with you on this foggy autum Monday morning, i'd love to share something with you. i got up at 5am to read, crochet, and drink coffee under a cashmere throw- all while the rest of the house's occupants were dead asleep. it was heaven. in Christianity Today's "Bits & Pieces" sections, i came across a book that jumped to me just from the title. the whole concept- seasonality is something i have blogged about before.. seasonality within our spiritual lives, homes, and food intake is of great interest in our family. so, without further ado, check out this book: Spiritual Rhythm: Being With Jesus Every Season of Your Soul by Mark Buchanan.

here is a new singer/songwriter that both my iTunes "genius" reccommended along with CT's music section: Doug Burr.

"Burr is the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, and his previous albums have explored the intersection of faith and doubt, sometimes obliquely, as in his original songs, and sometimes more directly, as in the straightforward folk settings of the Psalms on his 2008 album The Shawl. Throughout his career he has been obsessed with mysteries human and divine; the savagery that lies just beneath the surface of civilized men and women, the conundrum of an all-loving God who is simultaneously ever-present and hidden."

more on Doug from Christianity Today here.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I was looking for a light summer read with a bit of substance, lilt and character depth. With GL&PPPS, I found it and more. This was a beautiful story written in letter form- from the protaganist's pen, Juliet, to her recipients. Set on a beautiful British Channel island after the German Occupation, it sheds light on the strength and weaknesses of the human spirit after such a devastation as WWII. The main character, Juliet is so endearning that you want to be like her and be friends with her at the same time. Lastly, the setting for the book on a breezy, salt air, wildflower laden, farm filled island made me long for my own Guernsey to be able to admire egg shells, plant radishes and paint with watercolors.

Hope you pick up this book someday. It is worth a read.

Next up? Alexander McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club series or the 44 Scotland Street series. Not sure how I will like these, but I am willing to try even though mystery novels are not my cup of tea.