Simon & Garfunkel - Sound Of Silence

My dad influenced me in many ways (all of them for the good) one of his influences was music. My dad loves classical music and Simon & Garfunkel. This is a very lovely version of this song. Often when I hear people sing live it bothers me because it doesn't sound like the recorded version. With Simon & Garfunkel the differences are what makes the song. The slightly different nuances that Art Garfunkel employs are so beautiful as to be almost indescribable. Just close your eyes and listen.

September Illistrator of the Month: Eloise Wilkin

Okay- I've come to terms with the fact that when it comes to children's books it's often all about the illustrator. Sometimes it's going to be "illustrator of the month". I grew up poring over many of the Little Golden Books illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. In many ways they sum up childhood for me. They helped me envision what I wanted my own family to be like one day. I simply cannot leave her out.

Some fascinating things I learned about Mrs. Wilkin:
- She was an award winning baseball player.
-Jane Werner Watson, author of many of the books she illustrated said that Eloise was "the soul of Little Golden Books". I agree.
-She illustrated paper dolls early in her career.
-She often used family members as models.
-She revised some of her work as society evolved. For a re-print of a book of prayers that had originally shown only Caucasian children she altered it to portray children of many races. A picture that had originally shown an infant sleeping on her stomach was changed with a re-release in the 70's as there was an increase in awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
- She was a devout Christian who often illustrated books of prayers for children.
-She grew up in New York City but spent her summers in rural western New York state. The rural setting and domestic environs influenced her illustrations later in life.

Now, you can find some books with her illustrations at the library. My absolute favorites are a little harder to find. I will review some of both and let you know if it's worth trying to track them down on ebay or in your grandma's attic.

What I read in August

"The Lightkeeper's Daughter" recommended to: people who want a light read with a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance and who don't mind a moderate amount of befuddlement (the characters aren't befuddled, the reader is and not because the reader is dense about mysteries either).




"Chess for Dummies" recommended to: those who want to learn how to play chess. Not recommended to cheese enthusiasts, however. (I also watched some videos on playing chess and WOW. #1 Can't some normal people get interested in chess anymore?!?! Floods and untamed cowlicks are not a requirement people!!!
#2 Someone needs to make a new video. The only one I could find came out circa 1990. The music was awesome. Karate Kid meets Chariots of Fire).






"Team of Rivals" recommended to: Americans with a forgiving attention span. People who want a greater appreciation for an admirable, to say the least, past president. People who don't give Lincoln enough credit and need to be put in their place.




"Ghostwalk" recommended to: People who enjoy lovable and quirky minor characters. Those who don't mind an intriguing story being effectively murdered by the protagonists insufferable blandness.









"My Fair Godmother" recommended to: teenagers. Women who want to take a break from reading books about chess, historical figures, bad mysteries, etc. and want to pretend they are 15 for a day. Please ignore the silly cover, this book was so fun!

Warning: reading this book may result in neglected children and burned food.







"Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague" recommended to: People who have read the first two books of this series and want a reason to read the last two books of this series. This is the hump that SAVED the camels back.

Hourglass (LIVE Music Video) - Mindy Gledhill - feat. Robbie Connolly

I LOVE the "Anchor" video (posted previously) but this song is really beautiful. Even more so now that I have a son of my very own!

What I read in July

Okay, Okay. I read this in June. Somehow it got left off the list and some crazy part of me can't let the random blogger void think that I read this in July when I did not. There. I feel better.

"Wait Till Next Year" recommended to: Memoir readers. Baseball lovers. Yearners after a simpler time and darn good writing.






"Fablehaven" recommended to: Fantasy lovers. Series lovers. People who promised their husbands they would read this series and are going to see it through to the end because he promised it gets better.





"Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star" recommended to: Once again, fantasy lovers and series lovers. And now I can see a slight light at the end of the tunnel but that thing better get brighter and fast!





"Big Stone Gap" recommended to: People who like quirky, lovable characters. Women in their 30's who want a little romance and haven't found it yet and want to believe it's still possible. (It is.)










"Stardust" recommended to: People who haven't seen the movie. People who haven't ever read a book and ended up liking the movie more and want to experience that.










"Still Alice" recommended to: Anyone who ever wondered what it was like to have Alzheimer's. Anyone who never wondered what it's like to have Alzheimer's but like to read well-written, clever books that make you think.

Roasted Red Pepper Salad

I love this!!! It isn't a very kid-friendly dish so you may want to save it for a social occasion where you need to bring something. OR, you can do what I do and fix this for the adults and make mac & cheese for the kids.
This picture is to help you realize HOW blackened the red peppers need to be. I have gotten mine blacker than this in the past and pulling the skins off was a breeze. I got a little impatient this time around and let them cool off at the point you see below and it was torture getting the skins off. LESSON LEARNED. Be patient and let those skins get nice and black.
A friend of mine gave me this "recipe" which is really a list of ingredients. Basically if you are one of those people who likes to play around with ingredients and amounts (me) then this "recipe" is for you. IF, however, you are one of those people that follows directions down to the last 1/8 of a teaspoonful, well then... you may want to look elsewhere.

Here's the general idea:
2 large red peppers
2-3 hearts of romaine
2 grilled chicken breasts
1 handful pasta of your choice
1/4 C. red wine vinegar
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. crushed garlic (I buy it in the pre-crushed jar)

to taste:
crumbled bacon
parmesan
salt & pepper

Now- I wrote in amounts trying to gauge about what I do when making this. But if you like it meatier, pasta-ier, more lettuce, etc. It's really not gonna mess this up. You almost can't ruin it. First you cut the peppers in half and broil them until blackened. I would say 7-10 min. (as previously stated, I DO mean blackened, just don't murder them). Let them cool. I baste my chicken in EVOO salt & pepper before grilling and I grill them butterflied (because that's how I like to do it) while the pepper is cooling. Then I peel the skins off the peppers and cut them into slices. Marinate the pepper slices in the EVOO, vinegar and garlic as shown below.
I've always let mine marinate for at least an hour, but again maybe you like your peppers less vinegar-y. The rest is super easy just toss everything (assuming you have also cooked your pasta) in a large bowl. I save the oil and vinegar mixture and pour the desired amount over the salad. Usually the amount it took to marinate is way too much for the dressing- but I don't like much dressing. Be creative- add some ingredients I don't have listed. I've been thinking of trying sauteed mushrooms in this for a while but I always wimp out. Afraid to ruin a good thing I guess.

Now, I know that a close-up picture of a hand isn't very appetizing but I just couldn't leave this out. As I was taking my peppers out of the oven I burned my wrist. This occurred TWO MONTHS before I took this picture. It looked pretty nasty. My daughter was very impressed that it looked like a heart. Please, even if you happen to like hearts, be careful in the kitchen!!! (I realize that most likely no one will ever read these posts except for myself and my daughters so this is a mom speaking to her children down through the years. Be careful. If you are anything like me and I know you are.)

The Knight Books

"The Kiss That Missed" This book was our introduction to David Melling. Dew Drop Fairy picked it out at the library one week and it was an instant favorite for all of us. The drawings are so clever, comical and full of detail. Another plus: it's short. There are many children's books that I love but I wish that they weren't quite so wordy. No one gets tired of reading this story or tries to sneakily leave out parts to speed up the read.

A somewhat quick rundown: the king is in a hurry (from the pictures we gather he is on his way to a royal bath with royal rubber duckie in tow) Instead of properly bestowing a good night kiss on the prince he haphazardly blows a kiss to his son. As you may have guessed from the title the kiss misses. A trusty knight, whose horseback riding abilities are questionable at best, rides off to catch that kiss. He finds himself in a rather sticky situation surrounded by slathering beasts when the kiss floats past and SWAK's each animal in turn sending them off to dreamland. After being chased by a good night kiss giving dragon the knight successfully returns with the kiss and everyone is happy. The king has learned his lesson and even takes the time to read everyone (slathering beasts included) a bedtime story.

"Good Knight Sleep Tight" The continuing story... there is now a princess who has a special extra-soft bedtime pillow. The royal kitty destroys said pillow and the knight is once again sent on a quest. This time to find something soft enough to fill a new pillow and assist the very unhappy princess off to sleep. He tries bear hair (too coarse) leaving open patches on the bear's bottoms showing material which I can only assume are the boxer shorts bears wear under their fur. The wolves are too bristly, owls aren't enthused at giving up their feathers and take the knight to the feather tree. The knight returns to the sleep deprived castle with a nice fluffy pillow but it doesn't help the princess sleep. The prince, who as the story began was unconvinced of the new princesses charms, gave his little sister a cuddle and she calms right down. Everyone in turn gets a hug and some much needed rest.

While I didn't find this story as clever as Melling's first story it was undeniably adorable and the pictures held the same charm to the delight of my children!