I think posting recipes worked a sort of ineffible magic. (Either that, or fantastic culinary gifts from Dude + Dudette, April, John, and my parents cry out to be used...)
This morning I used my new waffle iron (thanks, Mopsy!), and right now beans are soaking on the stove in preparation for tonight's supper. Sixteen varieties of dry beans (great Goya package, to put a plug in for them), extra barley, extra lentils, carrots, onions, green beans, ham, and spices will simmer in ham stock I'll prepare soon-ish from a ham bone that's been cramping our freezer. And, to top it off, I plan to ooze my way out to the kitchen to make some Oat Bread! A barely believable triumph of the Slug.
(Regrettably, my feet haven't been sighted in the storage space yet. I have yet to use those Christmas-y hunks of plastic to save the earth.)
John's mom gave us all (including Baby Blueberry) gift cards to Borders, and Millie, after waffling between a stack of paperbacks and a few hardbacks, chose a book for her and the Nixie that is as much a gift for me as it is for them. (I may have replaced a few musical Barbie books from her preliminary stack of choices, but it was with her knowledge, so my conscience remains clean.) I haven't used my card yet because my mind turns to mush when confronted with choosing between so many desired books. Any recommendations?
I've posted a few pictures from their book, The Bee-Man of Orn, below. The illustrations by P.J. Lynch are marvelous and perfectly suited to Stockton's tale. Brand-new children's books are ridiculously priced, and this was no exception, but if you're given a gift card or see a used copy for sale somewhere, snatch this big, beautiful book!
I've also posted a few of the illustrations found in my anniversary gift-book from The Bakka-Phoenix bookstore. Again, this is a special occasion book, but if you've a special occasion or find this for a reasonable price, don't think twice before buying it. What are greenbacks compared with a nearly 200-page hardback treasure? I'm especially happy to see exquisite illustrations so liberally spread throughout a book with the unabridged story intact. Hurrah for Collodi and Innocenti !
The remaining snapshots are all of sorry, soul-less objects, which sorely serve as replacements for Millie and Annika. Someone needs to enliven this space, but they're exploring Slumberland as I write, so you'll have to settle for the dregs.
Cheers for fairy tales!
ReplyDeleteRubbermaid tubs do indeed save the environment--my mom had hers for at least ten years. When the last munchkin outgrows the last straggly remains of a certain size of clothes, church friends and Salvation Army get a whole delivery of stuff wrapped up in plastic trash bags. The older children (girls, in our house) fill the empty tubs with all the books, memorial scraps, and tea-sets, Christmas ornaments, and pictures that don't fit anywhere in the house (and that's a lot of stuff, because our house is one-story and lacking in shelves).
The illustrations are quite lovely, and though I haven't had time to comment everywhere here, the laundromat pictures are GREAT. From my limited laundromat experience, I distinctly remember the distraught child falling asleep on a pile of something somewhere--even in a basket of clean laundry, if we weren't watching closely... and those soap operas playing on television (shocks and horrors!) and the rows and rows of monstrous machines that ate baby-socks as a sort of dessert after the quarters had settled...
The Bee-Man of Orn looks WONDERFUL. I am definately going to keep my eyes peeled for it!
ReplyDeleteYour Dude and Dudette give the GREATEST gifts EVER! I WISH! Instead Corynn got FOUR musical books (and she likes STORIES)and SIX, count them SIX stuffed animals. Like we have room for six stuffed animals that she doesn't even play with?!?! Not that I am ungrateful....well.... :-)
A.I.,
ReplyDeleteThankfully, no television at the laundromat (hence, no droning soap operas!).
Thanks, too, for affirming the plausibility of my intent to save the earth. I know that my mom never had tubs like this when we were growing up, but I'm sure some of the garbage bags and boxes storing things in my parents' basement have been there almost since the dawn of time!
Rebecca,
We were completely overwhelmed with wonderful gifts this year, from the gift certificates (and cool gifts) from Dude and Dudette to the equally cool gifts and cash from the Johnson side. It was fun, but, like I said, a bit overwhelming, too. Although Christmas is most certainly not a time to rack up an equal number of "points," I would like to swarm our generous parents and relatives with just a portion of the good with which they blessed us this year.
{Corynn racked up more stuffed animals than Millie and Annie combined! They each got a stuffed horse, a stuffed bear, and a doll, so I was glad that I gave up on the idea of giving monsters on time for Christmas. In the midst of all the rest, they wouldn't have cared a bit about them!) Now about that room issue...