Animal antics

I don't think I'm going to be able to post once per day this month, but at least I can use the pets in the household for an excuse. It has been busy, and I'm still figuring stuff out & still recovering from the long trip to Kansas.

Here's some information about Róisín (and that's how it is spelled... not sure how to make the mark over the o! so am cutting & pasting) : her name pronounced at this link. She's had her first tracking lesson (this is where dogs are taught to follow people & find what they've dropped), she's had a vet visit (probably the third or fourth or fifth visit in her life, but this is the first one with me) and charmed everyone. She'll be at work tomorrow (outside, not in the building) and will meet people there too.

So we've been busy this week. Next week I go back to work full-time, and I'm sorry about that. The half days have helped a lot in making adjustments. I don't think Róisín thinks my being gone at ALL is a good idea. I don't either, but it sure is a joy to have her in my life.

Animal antics abound around here. Annie-the-cat has really come a long way, and I think it is due to feeding her Wildside Salmon when Róisín is around. She still does the ugly face & yargles when Róisín insists on being too close & getting too inquisitive. The yargle is a YRRRR-GRRR-L! sound that only Annie makes. She's pretty impressive when she's getting mad. She REALLY loves it when Róisín is in the crate.

Annie decided that she wanted my plain yogurt and managed to stick her foot in it before I could dodge her. (Man, what a bunch of food grabbers around here! Róisín was very insistent on sharing my lunch one day. That's why she's in the crate when I eat, I don't have enough arms or feet to keep her off of me). Just before that, Róisín decided to tear up newspaper, attack my face, and to run madly around the house. I put her in her crate and she's sleeping quite peacefully, thank goodness! Crates are a blessing, used the right way. I'll try to get more pics up of Róisín & Annie soon.

historical moments & other things

Love getting the Britannica news every day. I am hoping it is teaching me more about history. As much as I love history, which I never realized until I took a class from a local mayor in Minnesota, I've not taken very many classes. I would love to rectify that and learn a good deal more.

Here's a couple of things from today's newsletter that I thought were interesting: " Howlin' Wolf
American blues singer and composer Howlin' Wolf, one of the principal exponents of the urban blues style of Chicago and noted for his brooding lyrics and his earthy, aggressive stage presence, was born this day in 1910."
and

"1567: Casket Letters found
The Casket Letters—which directly implicated Mary, Queen of Scots, in a plot with James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, to murder Mary's husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley—were said to have been discovered this day in 1567."

Yesterday got a little too exciting when, after watching the Top Chef reunion for season 4, I managed to kick a jar of pickling salt that was on the floor. Let's just say that thing feels like concrete. My toe is not broken, but it is bright purple, double its usual size, and it doesn't feel very good right now. I slept with an ice pack all night. My doctor doesn't think it is broken & judging on how my other foot felt when I broke the second toe, I would agree. Come to think of it, I joke that my kitchen activities are more like a combat sport. I guess the bright purple toe bears that out!

And speaking of Top Chef, when the contestants were asked what they would tell people who were coming on the show for the next season, the unanimous comment was, "Run the other way." After hearing that you have to ask permission for everything, from going to the bathroom to going to bed, etc. and that you have to be available 24/7, I think I would agree. No thank you. (not that I would ever be a candidate, but still.... )

About the picture, sorry about the washed out cat face, because Annie is gorgeous & the picture doesn't do her justice. Sure thought that little kitty (3 pounds, six months old) was pretty cute perching on the rim of her cat tree. Thanks to her surgery for her diaphragmatic hernia (fancy word for having a hole in her diaphragm, which resulted in her liver going up into her thoracid cavity & collapsing a lung) she's hale & hearty at all 7-8 pounds of her.

(segueing yet again) I'm still hoping to go pick strawberries tomorrow, at a local farm. I used to go to U-Pick farms with my family, and have good memories of going with my mom, sis, and aunt, plus her children. My littlest cousin would have a bright red mouth, and much fun was had by all. This will be my first adventure into canning (hence the pickling salt.. I am hoping to do pickles or pickle relish)
and I hope all my time watching Mom will pay off.

Lita Judge & One Thousand Tracings

Oddly enough, one of my favorite books from last year was One Thousand Bones by PJ Parrish (mystery and a really good one. This is a new series for the Parrish sisters), and for this year, it is One Thousand Tracings by Lita Judge. (what's odd about that, you may ask? The fact that two of my favorite books both have the words One Thousand in the title) The book has won at least 8-10 major awards so far this year & it is fabulous. I got to talk to Lita at Marshall District Library, in two separate sessions. The first was for writers, and there were only three of us, so we all got to talk & share stories, etc. The second was about the book & Lita's presentation is fabulous.
If you have a chance to go see her, do... she's great.

Work has been busy, but we also have a new student working with us who is fabulous. We also had an ice cream social, which was great fun.

And spring really must be here. I think I pulled up about five dozen dandelions in my backyard, maybe more. Was outside for about 75 minutes & filled two yard bags full of debris & .... dandelions. So far, I've managed to get most of them out of the front yard over the last six years. But the backyard.... I still remember waking up one morning my first spring in this house & seeing the backyard as wall-to-wall dandelions. Beautiful & golden, but the neighbors hate you if you let them grow & blow seed onto their yards, so I pull them. Good exercise. Must admit I miss my doggie companion, who always hung out there with me. Instead, I had my sweet cat, yelling cat swear words out the window, because she wanted to come outside & eat grass. She's a great deal of fun. Even when she's yelling cat swear words out the backdoor.

Earthquakes in the Midwest

Just thought I'd mention that there was some news about an earthquake in Illinois this morning, around five a.m. EST, four a.m. CT. I actually felt it this morning, but assumed it was my cat pawing the side of the bed for fun. Oddly enough, a friend & coworker (Hi Kate!) also blamed her cat for the earthquake.

Dear Sweet Annie had nothing to do with the earthquake, I think. I hope. I'll see if I can find a picture for a future post that has her eyes open.

Loren Estleman, Jane Austen, and my Annie update

This is Loren Estleman at the2006 Night of Notables, held at the Library of Michigan. In the very background, you can see a silver haired man in a grey suit, and this is former Governor Milliken. Since I've been talking about Loren Estleman's books in previous posts, I thought I would include his picture here.

Loren was great, and I loved talking to him. In fact, at the earlier reception just a few moments ago, I had walked by his truck and said to him, "Hey, I love your truck!" and he smiled & waved, said "Thank you. The truck was beautiful, a clear bright cherry red, and of course, he is a pretty cool guy. The book he was being honored for is in the Amos Walker series, and is called Nicotine Kiss. Do read it if you can, as nobody does dialog better than he does. And his plots are fun.

Back to Jane Austen, whose letters I am still reading & whose various biographies I'm still reading. Her letters really convey the sheer fun, humor, and wittiness of Jane. She would've been a fun correspondent, had she condescended to write to me. Her biographer comments that one of the things that keeps Jane's novels so timeless is that she does not put many details about food or clothing into the books. The books are very much about the people and the houses they live in, but descriptions are usually relatively cursory, consisting of "how elegant your furnishings are!" and such, rather than lengthy descriptions of what people wore or how their houses were arranged. This writer (the Double Life author, by the way) also talks a bit about how much thins were changing for Jane's culture & society & describes in great detail all the class consciousness that exists then. This helps a lot in putting her tart remarks into perspective and also is explaining a lot about British culture to me, especially at that particular date in history. There's one part of the book where the biographer comments on the things Jane would not have heard on her walks... things like cars, airplanes overhead, etc. I'm learning a lot, and best of all, enjoying the writing as well.

Back to Annie, she is continuing to eat her bubble-gum antibiotic in tuna fish. I even splurged & brought her some canned Salmon as a special treat. Here's hoping I can continue to fake her out! I just have to get to Monday after next. I am also hoping this round of antibiotics will do the trick, but if they make me give her pills, I plan to crush them in the tuna fish. (bleah! better her than me). She is currently yelling at me about the fact that she wants to go out. She gets particularly bad in the spring & in early fall about this. I do take her out & watch her & walk around after her, to make sure she'll be ok, but I can't do this every day or for very long. It is an indulgence, but I can't help spoiling her. I wonder if Jane Austen would approve. ;)

Speaking of which, Masterpiece will have Sense & Sensibility on, on Sunday at 9. I am looking forward to it very much. It is a new movie, and it'll be interesting to see how it compares to the one with Emma Thompson & Hugh Grant. It is also longer, so they are showing it in two parts. Goody!

Last, but not least, I made my first ever quinoa salad. It went pretty well, I think. Recipe is linked here and I understand that the salad improves if it stands overnight. I am hoping to make this for the family reunion & since my family (extended ones too) are adventurous eaters, I think they'll at least try it.

Question of the day : I've been growing my hair out for a while, because I didn't want to spend the money for a haircut. Shall I grow it out & cut it for Locks of Love? Saw a program about it & wondered..... but I'm not sure I have the patience to have my wild curly hair long and in my eyes for however long it takes to grow my hair out to seven cuttable inches.

back again

Had to post my little sweetie's face here. if you wonder what she's thinking, she's thinking, "Can I come out too?" She tended to break out of the back gate (my burglar dog!) and come find me, which ws not a good thing. Not very safe.
In case this turns out to be helpful to anyone else, if you have a cat that doesn't like bubble gum flavored antibiotics, these can be nicely hidden in tuna fish. I know vets don't recommend this as a steady diet, but for the sake of getting the antibiotic down her and for my sanity (Annie was terrified by the whole process of forcing meds down her throat) this will work for two weeks.

Am reading Jane Austen-related books. We have some old books in the library where I work, and one of that was a woman who talked about the little that was known about Jane Austen's life. She mentions that Jane Austen's brother George was thought to be mentally disabled, and that he was basically put away. Turns out he had fits (epilepsy) and she speculates that Jane learned to talk on her fingers (her expression) for his sake, so that they could communicate. Interesting book & full of lots of information. She also comments that Cassandra, Jane's older sister, burned all her letters so that family information couldn't get out & heavily blacked out parts that they didn't want outsiders to find out, which is why we know so little about her life & her own opinions.

I should list the books here, before I forget. Only a Novel : the Double Life of Jane Austen by Jane Aiken Hodge. (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc, NY, 1972).

The two I mentioned in an earlier blog : Jane Austen by Margret Kennedy. (Alan Swallow, Denver, 1950), which talks about the period that Jane Austen lived in, the novels, etc. Very tiny book. Speaking of Jane Austen by Sheila Kaye-Smith and GB Stern. (Harper & Brothers publishers, NY, 1944. Verso says that this book was published in England under the title Talking of Jane Austen. The book is lighthearted, pokes fun at popular concepts of Jane Austen, and is a little snotty. Both women are authors, writing around the very early 1900s.

The other really tiny book is: Jane Austen: Selected Letters -- 1796-1817, Selected & edited by R.W. Chapman (Oxford University Press/Geoffrey Cumberlege, 1955). Let's see if I can cook all the food for the family reunion (first week in April) AND finish all the books.

Battles with Annie & a new Austen book

This is Annie, when she weighed three pounds at six months of age. She was small enough to sleep on the edge of the cat condo, as you can see here. Neither position looks comfortable, does it? But three pound cats do what they want to do, right? I am happy to report a small advance in the antibiotic-giving regime, which, I have to say, smells repulsively sweet. I used to clamp 18 pound Cooky-the-Cat between my knees, so that I had two hands free for the head part. Despite the fact that Annie weighs 11 pounds less than he did, this technique works well on her too, just a little less "big" cat to hold on to.

Am reading two small books, Jane Austen's letters and another book which is a commentary written by people who were publishing books around 1900s or so. The current chapter is a commentary on what one woman calls the chumps in Jane Austen's books. It is amusing, and they do have some interesting things to say about what books people in general like & why. I'll report back the exact titles tomorrow, when I have the books in hand again.

Annie, Persuasion, and Conrad's Fate

Just picked up Annie's antibiotic for her UTI (infection) and remarkably enough, it is bubble-gum flavored. If it isn't enough that this thing is disgusting shade of pink, it is also bubble-gum flavored. Yuck. Surely there's a small child out there that would rather have chicken flavored antibiotic? It would certainly make things easier for the cats of America if the pharmaceutical company would not cater to the children of America. (yes, that's a joke. Sort of.)

Needless to say, I have pink stains on my brown trousers, and Annie refused to be near me for the next ten minutes. (she forgives quickly, but is still wary of being picked up). If you are wondering about this picture, this particular posture is the "Don't Touch My Tail!" look, but it works for the "Don't give Me Antibiotics" look too.

Forgot to add in this quote from Persuasion, which I really liked:

p.154

"Yet, in spite of all this, Anne had reason to believe that she (Mrs Smith) had moments only of languor and depression... How could it be? She watched -- observed -- reflected -- and finally determined that this was not a case of fortitude or of resignation only. -- A submissive spirit might be patient, a strong understanding would supply resolution, but here was something more ; here was that elasticity of mind, that disposition to be comforted, that power of turning readily from evil to good, and of finding employment which carried her out of herself, which was from Nature alone. It was the choicest gift of Heaven ; and Anne viewed her friend as one of those instances in which, by a merciful appointment, it seems designed to counterbalance almost every other want."

I love this quote because it gives a wonderful word picture of a woman who has lost nearly everything, but still manages to be cheerful, to look forward to life, and to enjoy what she can. Austen has some very poor people in her books (people in reduced circumstances) and very often, they bear their misfortunes so very well. She does contrast this with complainers & people who talk too much. ;) Another thought about Persuasion follows.

Much later on, toward the end of the book, Anne & Captain Harville discourse on marriage, love, and the differences (based on gender) in attitude toward both situations. It finishes with Anne saying, basically that women love longest even past all hope. Whether you agree with Anne or Harville, this section really sets the stage for Anne's speaking more openly than she ever has, and her own beloved Captain takes the hint & proposes again. Really beautifully done here. Wish I could write something so well fitted together.

Finished Diana Wynne Jones' Conrad's Fate : A Chrestomanci Book. I love Diana's imagination and her varied characters. Definitely fantasy, probably for the mid-teens & up. Basic summary of the beginning is that Conrad is just a kid when he discovers the magical world of books (he lives above a bookshop, what a dream life!) and also that he has terrible karma. It would ruin the book to say too much more, suffice it to say that Diana's books are that rarity, books that actually make me smile while I'm reading them, and upon occasion she's actually made me laugh. Very few books tickle my funny bone like hers do. She has a marvelously sly sense of humor.

More later....

Dead Heat, Mrs. Pollifax, and Carl Sandberg

Finished Dead Heat last night and it is every bit as suspenseful as any of his books. The chef makes a fine showing, and like other Dick Francis protagonists, is intelligent, inspiring, and an all-around good guy. Some really wonderful moments in this book, which I won't ruin for you by describing here.

Read Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Dorothy Gilman this morning. She's another one of my favorite authors and as always, her books have a nice blend of philosophy of life, suspenseful plots, wonderful bits of derring-do, and great descriptions of foreign places. I loved her descriptions of China, and admired her adroit explanation of what to eat & what NOT to eat in foreign countries. Well worth reading, if only for the fact that she believes no matter what age you are, you can still live life to the fullest. I've read Gilman's memoir & it is an excellent one, all about her life in Nova Scotia (I think that's where she was?) and the pace & healing she got there.

Third & last book I read this morning is a picture book, called A Love Poem by Carl Sandburg, pictures by Anita Lobel. Anita is a Caldecott Honor Book artist & her illustrations are wonderful. She has an interesting back history as well. The poem in question is something Carl wrote for his wife Lena, and is about 6the aurora borealis. Wonderful blend of poetry & illustrations in this one. I picked up the book at the Sandburg's place in Flat Rock, North Carolina, where they retired so Lena could raise goats. The descendants of those goats are still there (I patted them), and the place is lovely, full of books on every single wall (including the staircases). The joke told by the Park Service Ranger was something about Biltmore being down the road & how different the two places were. Would love to have the Sandburg's house & start reading my way through all of Mr. Sandburg's books. Picture above is from the NPS website.

Have to head out now to buy Annie her replacement Da Bird feather toy, since she's succeeded in annihilating her latest one. Am going to look for Panic Mouse too, because I think she would love it, although I admit that the little plastic toy that does backflips, causes her to sit down & glare at it intensely. I think she is either a little afraid of it or offended by it, perhaps both.

This is for Kate

Just because! The picture is of Misty & Mandy, curled up together in the sunshine.

I have just asked for review copies of Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow. This is apparently a free-verse novel about werewolves. Should be fun to read! Toby is a Detroit resident & this is his first novel. Another requested review book is a more sobering story about the car accident in Michigan, where two young women were confused with each other for several weeks.

My mother has confirmed that they would like me to bring my family favorite recipes of "The World's Best Green Bean Casserole" and Austrian Raspberry Shortbread (recipe from the Smitten Kitchen). Links above will take you to the original recipes & I'll also mention my variations.

For the Green Bean casserole, my variations included adding in red bell pepper, mostly because I like the color & because I think this dish can use a little extra punch. I also added in water chestnuts, because I love the crunch. You can do the same, or follow the recipe exactly. She's right that the French fried onions on top add exactly the right topping. This recipe is actually quite fun to make & adds that extra fillip of green vegetables to the dinner table.

The Austrian Raspberry Shortbread is quite fun to make, but I will admit that having a food processor to grate the shortbread will save you some time. I hand grated this & it is well worth it. The first time I made the recipe, I thought it was short on the wonderful raspberry fruit spread I used, so I doubled it for the 2nd time. This made the interior of the shortbread a little soggy & The Smitten Kitchen is absolutely right in the amount of time it takes to bake the shortbread. So what I think I will do is split the recipe between two pans and cut the amount of raspberry spread to one & a half small jars, rather than my two jars from last time. It is delicious anyway you make it, even if Annie-the-cat leaves the kitchen while the mixer is running.