December Book Slots

Hi gals!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season! We just cut down our tree today and our house smells AMAZING right now. I love this time of year. Seems like there is something fun and festive happening almost every day, even if it's just reading a story book that only gets to come out for one month out of every year (we just got Fancy Nancy's Splendiferous Christmas and all three of us are loving it!).

I just wanted to try again to get a date nailed down for our Christmas outing, if in fact we're going to do one this year. Ironically, I pushed in my last email to keep it on the third Thursday (the 17th) and now I'm going to ask if there are any other days that might work for folks. Kurt's only holiday party that he wants me to go to is that night, and I'd like to try to go if at all possible. I will choose you guys over the party if I have to, but if there are other nights that could work, maybe we could work it out. Here are some dates that work for me:

Tuesday December 8
Thursday December 10
Tuesday December 15
Saturday December 19

What do you all think?

Out of Africa

I just finished the book, and I encourage you to do so as well. I believe you could skip the "from the journal / diary" part - I think that's what the middle part is called. If you're not liking that, head directly to Farewell to the Farm. Be sure to read the chapter called, The Grave In the Hills - Cheryl, this is where you hear more about her relationship with Denys and the depth of their relationship and the profoundness of her unexpected loss. It is interesting to wonder what it might have been if he hadn't passed away. I wonder if she would have been more likely to return to Africa.

Kim, was she buried in Denmark? Or in Africa? I'd like to think she was returned to Africa to lay next to Denys. But I suppose that was very tough to accomplish in those days.

Again, I encourage you to read the last pieces. Especially after watching some of the movie last night, it will make you feel very good.

Love you all - I hope you enjoy The Thirteenth Tale!


Molly

November Book Slots

Hey ladies,

Thought I'd try this route to plan for this Thursday's book club...see how it goes :) In the spirit of Out of Africa, I'm making African Peanut Stew for dinner. Definitely not authentic, but I don't have a goat or an outdoor spit and chapati's are tougher to make than I thought. Alas, we're just going with the African Peanut Stew :) Here's what you all can bring:

crusty bread
salad
dressing
wine
dessert

Looking forward to our discussion! Also looking forward to showing a few clips from the movie. I think this is one of the rare circumstances when the movie actually lives up to the book, and Kurt's insisting that we use the projection screen downstairs, so it'll be all the more impressive.

Hope you girls are having an ok week so far. See you Thursday!
Kimberlee

(just post a comment on this post and we'll all be able to see it.)

Moroccan Chicken Vegetable Soup

Moroccan Chicken Vegetable Soup

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

1 1/2 lbs chicken (skin & fat removed)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. Turmeric

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Cumin

8 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup couscous

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Heat olive oil in Dutch Oven, add onions and cook until tender. Then, add chicken broth, chicken, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from soup and remove bones. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to pot. Add couscous and green onions. Simmer until heated through.

Thoughts on a Thursday Evening

Hi girls,

Just sitting alone on my couch, snuggled under a blanket, and thinking about things. Thought I'd write a few things down...and share them with you. I'd love to hear any thoughts and/or suggestions, should you have them.

Molly, I totally resonate with the underlying angst/questioning/searching that you've been experiencing and describing lately. I know you've shared that your dad's death was your catalyst, which is totally understandable. I'm not sure what mine is (my grandmas' deaths have been impactful, certainly, but nowhere near as impactful as a father's death). I feel restless nearly all the time with this overwhelming drive to create something. This is not necessarily new for me. I've had periods in my life where I've felt similarly, and I am always in the middle of creating something, whether small (dinner) or large (Madelyn's childhood). But this time, I'm questioning my career. It's not that I don't like child welfare or feel that I should've chosen something else. I love working in this field, and it fulfills me in a way that nothing else in my life does. Social work has always felt like a calling for me, and I'm not sure that I ever really thought too hard about whether I did or didn't want to go into it because I just knew it was the "right" thing for me to do. It kind of always felt like an obligation but without the resentment. Social work definitely feels like ministry to me--at least I feel like that's the primary way I serve God. And I can "hack it," so to speak, so I've always felt like I should keep doing it.

I'm passionate about child welfare, but I'm learning that I'm passionate about other things as well (strictly speaking about career--this restless feeling doesn't apply to my family life). I love healthy food. I love growing it, cooking it, eating it, and sharing it. I love learning about how healthy food is good for your body and good for the earth, and I am becoming more and more interested in helping to change the way our culture views the production and consumption of food. I also love making yummy things to fill people's tummies and, hopefully, nurture their souls a bit. And then there's writing. I love to write and have always dreamt of doing something in the creative writing realm.

I read this article in this month's Eating Well magazine about a farm out East somewhere that grows veggies and fruits and donates 100% of the loot to local food banks and shelters. It's a non-profit organization that is funded by private donations as well as federal subsidies. Doesn't that sound so awesome? I was thinking as I was reading it, "Ok, I just need to buy some land and grow some food and get some volunteers and, oh, apply for non-profit status." Something like that would so perfectly blend social work and healthy food...but is that really what I want to do, and my goodness, what on earth would it take to get something like that up and running?

I just feel kind of directionless. I have all of this desire and energy and motivation, but I'm not totally sure where I want to put it or where I should put it, for that matter. I feel like I'm at some kind of fork in the road. I just don't know specifically what the choices are...therefore I don't know which one to choose.

And that's unsettling.

So if anyone has any words of wisdom or anything else to offer, I would so appreciate it!

Glass Castle and Other Thoughts

Hi all! Merri, I'm sorry it has taken me this long to respond to your post. My other grandma died last Tuesday (my first grandma died three weeks ago), and Maddie and I were out of town all weekend attending her funeral with my family in Idaho. It's been a crazy, emotional week, and unfortunately it's not over. My first grandma's memorial service is this coming Saturday, so we're gearing up emotionally to do this all over again in six days. Wild.

Anyway, I loved your comments about The Glass Castle. This book is so powerful, and as Cheryl said last Tuesday, if it was fiction, you would think "This author went way too far; there is no way any family could be this dysfunctional." But it's totally true! Crazy. This was my second time reading it, and I found this time I was a lot more forgiving and sympathetic to the parents. Not sure why, as my child-welfare-lens typically makes me want to club neglectful parents over the head and ship them to a desert island somewhere. Nevertheless, I saw lots of ways that they built those kids' self-esteem and nurtured them emotionally despite the glaring physical neglect. I was, however, really angered by the mom's response to the uncle trying to molest Jeanette. That might have been the only time I thought there was just no excuse for her. Great book. We had a good discussion and marveled at how Jeanette turned out even remotely functioning :)

As far as next month's book goes: I chose Out of Africa by Karen Blixen. I have read it twice, the first time being when I was living in Kenya, and the book is very close to my heart. I identify very powerfully with her experience--a white woman with no connection to Africa arriving (somewhat haphazardly) in Kenya only to discover, rather quickly, that her soul feels at home there. Her writing is not the most consistent writing you'll ever read, but she has moments of poetry that are just beautiful--the way she describes the land and the people. It's primarily a love story between her and the land, but it's also a love story between she and Denys (which the movie focuses on a bit more than the book. I also love the movie. I hope to show a few clips when the girls are here in November). Anyway, please join us in reading it if it sounds good to you! If not, no worries :)

Hope everyone is well. Cheryl, if you could post that recipe for the chicken soup you made us, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm in full "soup mode" over here and am making all the yummy soups I can find.

Glass Castle

So...I am sad to have missed book club yesterday. Did everyone enjoy the Glass Castle? I had forgotten I had read it before...but I enjoyed reading it again. Hard in places though. I have a few thoughts to share:

* The book makes me thankful for all that I have!

* I don't feel quite so bad about my parenting anymore. :-)

* I am sickened by all the neglect, abuse, and daily hardships that this family went through.

* I am amazed at the resiliency of the kids. They took most things in stride - especially the lack of food in the house.

* I am curious about Maureen. What happened to her? Was it really a chemical thing? It's interesting to me that the other 3 kids survived their upbringing and went on to be fairly successful, and yet Maureen struggled. I guess it was in the fight for survival that the older kids bonded together and grew stronger. Maureen missed that somewhat since she was taken in by others and wasn't around as much.

Your thoughts?? I'd love to hear them.

And the next book is.... ??? Let me know and I will go purchase mine.

Love ya.

Does the book get any easier?

Hey friends, I have a question - do the circumstances in the book get more or less difficult after the incident with Erma in Welch after the parents leave?

I had to stop reading there because it was a bit too much for me emotionally ... I'm trying to stay away from stuff that's too sad.

What do you think? Are there more difficult scenes? I may stop reading here.


M

Friends, Wine and Good Conversation

What more could you ask for?! Great to see you all last weekend. Thanks for rearranging schedules to be there on a Saturday night. Kim, thanks for hosting in your beautiful home. The food was wonderful everyone. Cheryl and Molly - Thanks for sharing from your hearts. I am praying for you guys.

Cheryl, great pick on the next book. I am already enjoying it...and wondering if I've read it already. Funny, isn't it? I can't seem to remember. Either way, it's good. :-)

All for now. Have a good week.

--Merri

Testing

Ok this is a test to see if we all get an email letting us know when someone has posted. Email me and let me know if you get an email! If I don't hear from you, I'll assume it hasn't worked...

Favorite Quote

I've finished the book already - yes, it was that good. And there are some great quotes in it. I'll post one of them here...

"Once his own Bundling Up was attended to, Morris Bird III had to help Grandma get rotten little Sandra ready. This meant helping Sandra into her coat, checking her mittens to make sure they were attached to their strings, making sure she had a fresh handkerchief (not that she'd ever been known to use one), inspecting her galoshes when the weather was bad, determining whether the right galosh was on the right foot, the left galosh was on the left foot and so on and so forth and so on, praise the Lord and give us all strength." p. 64

I think why I like it so much is b/c he sounds so grown up in his own "voice"/thoughts, using words he learned from his parents or Grandma or whomever, and yet shows us his immaturity too in made-up words (galosh??) and tone. So funny.

What's your favorite quote?

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Hi all. I am so sorry I forgot to call you all last night. I got focused on putting Emilee down to sleep after I got back from my bible study and forgot. Sorry about that.

By now you've discovered that the next book we're reading is "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread." As perhaps Molly told you...Molly suggested this book to me when it was my turn the last time around. She was reading it and thought it was good. It's from a boy's perspective. I have begun reading it myself and it is clever and interesting and gives you a picture of what life was like back in the 40's. (I think that's when it was. I don't have the book in front of me at the moment.) So far I particularly like the part about the "oar" and the salami sandwich, which you will read very soon. So humorous! Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it! (Molly, I am sorry I picked a book you've already read. I hope you have other things to read this month or wouldn't mind rereading it.)

I look forward to talking with you more about this book when I come in September. It looks like Saturday the 26th is the best date for everyone (right?) so I will plan on that date. Please let me know if something changes on that. I will probably get my ticket this weekend. Any suggestions for a fun place to eat out that night?

All for now. Enjoy.

Merri

Mr. Berry

Sounds like some of the rest of you have become Wendell Berry followers! I had a feeling that might happen. I really enjoyed reading my first of his fiction, and I want to read more about Port William. But I do love his essays. I have one book of them, and want to get more. I also just love who he is, which comes through so clearly in his writing. It will be fun to talk about Hannah! See you tomorrow night.

Becky

Mr. Wendell, Yeah That's His Name...

...no one ever knew his name 'cause he's a no one; never thought twice about spending on an old bum until I had the chance to really get to know one...

I will bring cupcakes for the first person to correctly reference the above quote :) (Hint: it also cross references the name of a TV show that was canceled about three years ago.)

But seriously. Mr. Wendell. LOVE HIM. I didn't even start underlining quotes in this book because I just knew I was going to end up underlining the entire book. Refreshing. Delicious. Heartening. Like a 71 degree day after a week of 107's... I was at Powell's the other night and looked at his whole body of work. His other fiction looks fantastic, of course, but I think I want to read his essays on rural life and "simple" living first. I'm re-reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now, and I think his essays will flow very nicely from Barbara (who, by the way, is doubly awesome the second time you read her. I want to move into her guest house and apprentice myself to both of her green thumbs. Her garden is 4000 square feet. Just let that sink in...)

This blog thing is so cool! Molly, I changed the font for you. Is this one better?

Love to each of you!
Kimberlee

HELLLO ladies!

Hi there everyone! I'm so glad the blog is up and running! Way to go, Secretary KIM!! And I'm proud to see all of us up and excited to be posting already.


Kim, can you do something about the font? The current courier (I think that's what it is) is kind of hard to read.

So I loved loved loved Hannah Coulter, and I am especially pleased because I know that Wendell Berry has other books in the same setting that I can look forward to enjoying!

Hello from Merri

OK.. that last post was from me -- Merri -- and I forgot to follow my own advice and sign it. :-)

--Merri

Hello Fellow Book Slots!

Hello fellow book slots!! Wow...this will be a cool way to talk about our books. Thanks, Kim, for initiating!! Remember to sign your posts so we know who "authored" that particular comment.

All for now but just wanted to say hello and that I am officially ready to go! :-)

Let the wild rumpus start!!

I think it's the title of someone else's blog (Took?) but it painted a picture in my head of what this could look like--crazy posts, back and forth between all of us. I'm excited to see how it turns out.

As for this month's book selection, I'm just starting. However, don't count me out yet. I may just get it done in a few days.

Love to you all!

Welcome Book Slots!

So I just got our blog set up, but there are still kinks to work out. First off, I need to figure out how to add each of you as an author to the blog so you can post as well. I think you each need to have a gmail address, but let me check on that. This will be fun! I'm super excited about it! Let the posting and discussions begin!