Pssst...

Hello there.

I didn't expect to be gone quite so long. I've been up to a few things since my last appearance here.

I've been on a fabulous trip to Boston. Oh, how we loved Boston. It fit us to a T. And we rode the T. Ha! If you get a chance to go to Boston you won't want to miss taking a tour with this gentleman. He works for the Freedom Trail Foundation.



We ate A LOT of seafood. Here is the rundown for me (my goal was to have seafood for lunch and dinner every day):

cod
lobster roll x 2
swordfish
crazy good lobster bisque
clam chowder x 2
shrimp
crab
my first raw oyster (I don't think I get the appeal)
some whitefish

Yum! And The Girl discovered that she loves mussels. Who knew? I mean, she wouldn't try a hush puppy but she eats mussels.

I spent a lot of time volunteering at school.

I did quite a bit of cooking; here is a sneak peek. This was one of my proudest moments as a home cook. I even told my husband to 'be more effusive'.




I went to the farmers' market. I never got to take photos some weeks but here is my most recent trip:




Isn't that kale pretty? Too bad it went to waste. I never did figure out what to do with it (that my family would eat).

I did a fair amount of reading.

Last week I met my new best friend.



Come here, lover.

I also spent some time thinking. Thinking about this space and what to do with it. Thinking about what has been bothering me about blogging and the like. Being put off by the popularity-contest aspect of it all. You know what I mean.

In addition, I am not a writer. I don't want to be a writer and writing is not why I'm here. I'm here because I love books. I came across a brilliant post last week at Kiss a Cloud. I identified with so much of what Claire wrote, especially this:

I would really rather spend more time with my children, read my books, read your thoughts on your books, than write.

Ahhhh. So true.

So what to do? I decided I wanted to come back to this space but I think it will be in a slightly different way. I think most books I read will get more of a 'blurb' and less of a review, and the really special books that stand out to me will perhaps get a highlight post. Or something like that. We'll see. Most of all, I know that if I'm going to do this it needs to be for me, a journal for ME. Not to please someone or to advertise for anyone. Not to generate traffic or more followers. Just for me.

Back in the Saddle Again....(I think)

Today was the big day - the first day of second grade. There were some nerves on the walk to school, but as soon as the girl saw her best friend, I literally felt the pull of her body towards her friend as they embraced. They hadn't seen each other for 3 weeks after spending the summer together at day camp so there were big smiles all around. I can't wait to hear about her day.

So, I've been back home for a few days and when I wasn't at work I was making tomato sauce and doing laundry. I did go to the farmers' market on Sunday, but unfortunately there is no photo as I didn't have a camera here. I spent 8 hours on Sunday doing this with tomatoes. I don't really have words for how tired I was afterwords. I don't know how those pioneer women did it. This year I prepared 30 meals worth of sauce, unbelievable that I made dinner for one month, in one day.

Chicago was fun as always and it's great to enjoy old favorites as well as new pleasures. Highlights of our trip included the new German U Boat exhibit at the Science and Industry Museum - it's inside now - and yours truly got to enjoy the Harry Potter exhibit by myself there. There are many costumes on display and props from the movies. I even got to throw a bludger! The detail of the props is AMAZING and I would have loved to have brought home a replica of the Marauder's Map if only it hadn't cost $45. (!!!!!! for a piece of paper !!!!!!)

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting the Old Town Oil Shop. It's my idea of heaven - casks upon casks of oils and vinegar to try and bring home.



You can taste as much as you want, then when you decide what you'd like, your oil or vinegar is poured into a lovely bottle from these silver casks. That way you know exactly what you're getting. I brought home some olive oil and an amazing black current balsamic vinegar.

There's so much more. I've been reading so hopefully I'll get to reviewing books in the next day or so. There are also new books to share. But for now, I'm going to celebrate the first day of school by treating myself to a movie - Julie and Julia. Originally, I had quietly boycotted this film. While I loved Julia's book, I actively disliked the few chapters I read of Julie's. In addition, from what I've read and heard, Julia was not a fan of Julie - she had no interest in her project. So....is it a bit insulting to Julia that the film we now have of her life includes Julie? I'm not sure. But, now the reviews are so good, I've decided to go anyway. C'est la vie.

Photo from Seasoned Solutions Culinary Tours.

We're Off to See the Wizard...

Well, okay, not the wizard. Can you guess?



We're headed off for next few days by car, then I'll be flying back since I have to work THE ENTIRE HOLIDAY WEEKEND starting Friday and except for Sunday when I may try to make my famous tomato sauce. And do all my family's laundry for the past week.

Then school starts and then I will be back to regular posting. BUT! I am scheduling a post of an about-to-be-released-book while I'm gone so stop by and check that out.

See you!

Where in the world is.....Tara?

Here I am!

It's been a strange week here at Chez Books and Cooks. After a long weekend of working (me), the girl traveled off to visit her grandparents for most of the week. It's been very quiet around here! Every evening, we're not sure what to do with ourselves.

We celebrated our 9th anniversary yesterday, so took a little mini-trip on Monday to one of those lovely old river towns, Stillwater, MN. I hadn't been there for a few years so was eagerly anticipating browsing in the many used book stores I remembered and hoping to find a few more green Viragos for my collection. Alas, things have changed. There are only two bookstores there now; one that sells new books and the other that sells 'rare' books, that is to say, expensive. There was an extremely small literature section at the rare bookshop which surprised us. My husband made the astute point, that if he wanted to read, say a history book (there were a lot of those), he would read a current one with updated information rather than one that is 60-80 years old.

In any case, we had a lovely time, and spent the evening at a beautiful bed and breakfast after dinner and drinks overlooking the river. Other than that, my schedule has been very off, full of dinners out and cleaning in expectation of my in-laws coming to stay this weekend. This involved a thorough cleaning of the girl's room and much trash removal of various do-dads.

Incidentally, she will be arriving home soon! I cannot wait to put my arms around her. I can tell it's going to be trouble when she goes away from home based on the meal I'm planning for tonight after only 4 days away...


flank steak
salad
chips with homemade salsa and guacamole
lemon cake

All her favorites.

Something sort of bookish, is that I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife yesterday. Despite the lackluster reviews, I had hopes that this would be a satisfying movie and it just sort of...wasn't. I cannot remember details of the book, but I do remember how incredibly moved I was by the story. The dialogue in the move seemed stilted to me. It wasn't until later in the film that I felt connected to it, and in fact cried from the part when they're trying to get pregnant until the end. I cried during the book too; it all just broke my heart. I'm not sorry I watched the film since I would have always been curious, it's just that this book perhaps doesn't translate well to film.

I'm Back... and With More Books

The girl and I returned from the thrilling suburbs of Cincinnati yesterday afternoon. We had a great time visiting my sister and her family, and this year the kids played together better than ever. There was little time for reading and while I'm enjoying both books I brought very much, I only read a total of around 175 pages on the whole trip. I'm still dreaming of that reading vacation too, Nan! Thanks so much to everyone for your well wishes. I was peeking in to see what everyone was up to while I was gone, but I still have over 150 posts to read in my bloglines account. Since I cannot offer any reviews today, I thought I'd share the books that have made their way into my home lately.



Here are some ARCs and review copies that I've received lately. The Blue Notebook looks to be an important but devastating account of child prostitutes in India. Secrets to Happiness on the other hand looks like and easy, breezy read. I'm intrigued by The Lace Makers of Glenmara and it's Ireland-set, cozy-seeming storyline. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is probably the nicest looking ARC I've ever seen - they're not kidding about a major marketing campaign, and finally I was thrilled to open up the envelope containing Lisa See's newest book, Shanghai Girls. I adored Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and have recommended it often.



Here are a few used/swapped/new books. Judith Lennox is somewhat of a comfort author to me, so I was happy to obtain The Winter House. Consequences of Sin is one that I just keep reading about on various blogs (Iliana? Danielle?) so I picked up a used copy along with another Ruth Rendell mystery. Cocina de la Familia is a Mexican-American cookbook that came from Paperbackswap - nice!



I'm really intrigued by this book, The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart. It's part of the 'Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Reading' that I'd never noticed before. The Circular Staircase is described as a 'popular 1908 thriller' complete with a 'feisty spinster' and a 'disastrous summer house rental'. Has anyone heard of this author or read this?


I thought I was done. But UPS showed up today and delivered these.



Tessa Kiros' Falling Cloudberries is gorgeous. Gorgeous! Thanks to Librarything's Early Reviewer program for that one. And finally, The Walking People, described as an old fashioned novel (yeah!) that fans of Meave Binchy are sure to love (another plus) in the tradition of The Memory Keeper's Daughter (hmmm). This one looks great actually, like something I'd enjoy.

So, I have my reading cut out for me.

I have brown rice in the oven in my newly painted kitchen (thanks hubby) and am off to devour my new cookbooks. Have a great weekend - I'll be stopping by!

And She's Off!

I am taking a break from packing to tell you I'll be away for a bit. I'm not going anyplace exciting, but it will be a little warmer than here and I am assured that I will not wake up to 17 degrees and new-fallen snow on the ground as I did here today. It's just the girl and I this time around, and besides the rain boots and hundred pairs of underwear that I somehow fit into our suitcase (I am an excellent packer, you should know) I will also need a book light (sharing a room with the girl) and BOOKS! Ahh, vacation books. There's nothing like them! There are of course a few requirements that a book must meet to come on vacation with me. I generally prefer authors that are known to me - I'm looking for comfort reading here, books must be easily replaceable, that is, I won't bring any that are dear to me or arrived from the UK, and I generally don't travel with ARCs for the same reason.

So here is what I have lined up.




Penny Vincenzi's books are deliciously trashy and long, long, long. I've already begun Windfall and am looking forward to losing myself in the story.



A Monstrous Regiment of Women is the second book in the Mary Russel/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie King and I'm definitely packing this for a bit of mystery.

Is that all? I'm not sure. I don't think there's any chance I'll get through these but I might have to bring that Just In Case book along. What would you bring if you were traveling tomorrow?

Part of my preparations for this trip included finished the books I had started including The Meaning of Night, and today's feature book, Etta by Gerald Kolpan.




Etta is the story of Etta Place, an elusive woman who had a relationship with legendary train robber Harry Longabaugh, otherwise known as The Sundance Kid. Aside from one clear photograph, there is nearly nothing concrete known about Etta Place, if Etta Place was even her true name, and nothing is known of what became of her. Author Gerald Kolpan was intrigued enough with what he did know about Etta Place to conjure up who Etta might have been and what might have happened to her. The result is this novel, his first.

Kolpan uses a variety of narrative methods to tell his story, from newspaper clippings and letters, to Etta's diary and a traditional narrative. I enjoyed the various points of view of this story, but found Etta's words to be most interesting. I am not traditionally a reader of Wild West sorts of stories, so while the Wild West tales were probably my least favorite parts of the book, they don't distract from the focus of the narrative which is Etta's life. Born into a wealthy family, circumstances send Etta off to Colorado, and eventually into cahoots with the Wild Bunch. Life eventually brings her back east to New York City where she becomes close friends with Eleanor Roosevelt (hard to believe) and works in Buffalo Bill's rodeo show (easy to believe). Etta is a fast-paced book, plot driven and entertaining. Naturally, my own interest in Etta Place has been peaked and I'd love to know the real story like many others.

Many thanks to Ballantine Books for this review copy.

So I'm off, and will see you in about a week. Cheers!

Single Motherhood, Two Ways

Before I get to the subject of this post, can I just tell you what is so great about Chicago in January? This city is ready for winter. It's totally acceptable to walk around completely bundled up and there are coat racks at every restaurant you go to. One thing that Chicago has and I miss here are coat checks. I love coat checks! Who wants to walk around a museum for 3 hours carrying your huge down coat? Not me, and I'm happy to pay a dollar or two so I don't have to. Also, you can take your kids to Ed Debevic's for the first time and stun them with loud music, rude waiters, and dancing.




So, single motherhood. When the two books I'm about to talk about were sitting in my pile of ARCs to be read, I never thought I'd review them in the same post. I read Asha Bandele's memoir Something Like Beautiful first. This book, not quite 200 pages long, took me ages to read. A little bit about Bandlele - she married a convicted murderer who was incarcerated at the time after meeting him through a college program. Bandele wrote about this part of her life in her memoir The Prisoner's Wife which I have not read. Something Like Beautiful deals primarily with her journey as a single mother but she muses on a variety of topics. I enjoyed the middle section of this book the most. This part was more about how she dealt with everyday life and frustrations, her struggle with depression, and her struggle with an abusive relationship. This part is bookended with sections that I would describe as lyrical and poetic, yet also melodramatic and repetitive. I think books can create an atmosphere as you read them, one of terror or suspense, one of laughter or sadness. Every time I picked up this book I felt as though I were sinking into the depths of melancholy. I think a big problem I had and this is, I'm sure, prejudice on my part, is that I couldn't get past the fact that this woman married a convicted murderer serving time. My feeling is that if you're considering doing this, you have issues. Along with that, I couldn't help but wonder why prisoners should get conjugal visits, and get to spend nearly 2 days in a trailer with someone and the opportunity to create children. But that's just me.

I literally put Something Like Beautiful down and picked up The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson. What a breath of fresh air! I went from melancholy to laughter as I read her self-deprecating account of the failure of her marriage and her journey as a single mother. Dickinson writes the column 'Ask Amy' and appears on radio shows. I hadn't heard of her myself before reading this book which is warm and chatty and real. Dickinson comes from the small town of Freeville, where pretty much all the women in her life have raised families on their own, together. This memoir covers a vast period of the author's life and her story is told in vignettes, each chapter detailing a different period or subject. Dickinson has a conversational and funny writing style that makes for quick reading.

I wondered if I would have liked Dickinson's book as much if I hadn't read Bandele's right before it. It's hard to say as these women are so different.

Would you care for some beans?

I'm getting ready to go on a mini-trip tomorrow, not a terribly well planned trip since I'm headed to The Windy City where it's to be well, windy, and cold. I'll be the woman wrapped in the down coat. Anyhow, I'm having a bit of book stress today since I just finished two books and am in the middle of nothing! Not a good way to start a trip if you ask me. The third Simon Serrailler book of Susan Hill's arrived and I think that'll be a shoo-in since I'm already involved with the characters. But I feel I need something else, and since I'm nervous about traveling with books that are difficult to replace - Viragos, advance copies, books from the UK, I'm in a bit of quandary.

In light of all this packing and book decisions, I thought I'd share my black bean technique with you since we'll be eating the leftovers tonight.

I soak my beans overnight. In my opinion this keeps them more firm than the quick-soak method and reduces the, um, gassy qualities of the beans. I drain them, cover them with liquid (probably too much) and then bring to a boil with a cut up onion, a few cloves of garlic, bay leaves, and cilantro. You don't want to add salt now or the beans will have trouble becoming soft. That's what I hear anyway.



So bring the beans to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender! I have to keep them partially covered for this or they stop simmering. I start checking for doneness after 30 minutes or so, but they can take as long as an hour. It just depends on your beans, and mine seem pretty fresh since they never take quite as long as the books say. In the meantime I prepare this:



Sauteed onions, red pepper, jalapenos, garlic, spices - paprika and cumin, and throw in some cilantro towards the end as well as salt and pepper. I let this get pretty soft.

Since I usually cook my beans in too much water I remove the excess along with the other flavorings I added at the beginning. Add the onion mixture. There's a pretty high ratio of onion mixture to beans here; I actually started this thinking I had more beans to cook.



And that's it! Adjust the seasonings and you could serve these with rice, as a taco filling - mashing them a bit helps with this, or as an enchilada filling. They're yummy and my family is actually happy about this dinner.

I wanted to say, please forgive me if it seems I've not been around much lately. I've mentioned this before, but I have some problems with my right hand and they're flaring up pretty badly right now. I'm trying to rest it. I'm still reading posts, just not commenting very much.

See you next week!

Chit-Chat and Catch Up

Or, I'm about to write about a bunch of things that have nothing to do with one another.

It was good to come home this past Monday and sleep in my own bed. Ahhh. I was happy to see that bloglines was fixed but not so happy that I had over 500 posts to catch up on. I'm still working on that.

Here's what I learned in Florida:

* It is a profound experience to take your child to the ocean for the first time. I will never forget the utter joy on her face as she played on the beach for hours with no toys except what washed up. I said "She's never been so content in her life as she is right now." My husband agreed.



* It really makes you feel as though you are on vacation when you eat lunch at a restaurant on the beach where you don't need shoes and your child can wear a bathing suit.

* The Magic Kingdom was fun but we never need to be there for a week. The best ride is Buzz Lightyear. Those Disney princesses work a lot harder than you might think. Seriously.

* I'm not as bad at canoeing as I was when I went to Girl Scout camp. Thank goodness.

****************


Speaking of traveling, I love travel guides. I couldn't agree more with European travel guru Rick Steves (who I ran into in Amsterdam on my honeymoon) who said that when you're spending so much money on a trip, it's worth it to spend and extra 15 or 20 dollars to figure out what to do when you get there. Online publicist Lisa Roe offered some travel guides on her site and I requested one about the Wisconsin Dells by Dirk Vanderwilt for two reasons: 1. I have been to the Dells four times in the past 5 years so I figured I knew the subject and 2. I'll probably go back and I thought this guide might come in handy. It turns out I was right on both counts. This guide is part of the Tourist Town Guides series which seems to focus on destinations that might not necessarily have already had an entire book written about them. This guide offers a great history of the Wisconsin Dells area, extensive reviews of everything from accommodations to attractions and even a few photos. Overall, I agreed with the authors assessments though I wished the restaurant reviews were more detailed. I learned about some things to do that I hadn't known about and I look forward to trying when I go back. I would definitely recommend this guide to those visiting the Dells, and I would consider using the other Tourist Town Guides myself in the future.


I finally got around to reading something by Shirley Jackson besides The Lottery. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously creepy tale of the two Blackwood sisters and their Uncle who live in the big family home alone because the rest of the family are dead. Their rather bizzare life is quite insular as they have little contact with the outside world. Jackson slowly reveals why the Blackwoods live as they do and why they are ostracized by the people who live in the village. Cousin Charles arrives and things turn even more upside down. I find these sorts of books difficult to review because I don't want to give anything away! This book made me uncomfortable in a good way as I learned the horror of the Blackwood's life. Something that I noticed was a scene at the end of the book that reminded me of The Lottery. It made me think that Jackson must have a sort of fascination with the idea of an entire community turning against one person or family. Did anyone else notice this? In any case, I'll definitely be reading more of Jackson's work.

And They're Off......

See you next week!

From Cornfields to the Big City

We drove to Iowa last Sunday so that my daughter could attend vacation bible school at the church my in-laws belong to. We saw some of the flood damage the next day. We could see how high the water of the Des Moines river was in several different places. This is supposed to be a parking lot.



Things are still a bit of a mess in lots of places.

On Tuesday, my husband and I drove past mile, after mile, after mile of cornfields. What used to seem fairly boring and benign, now looks poisonous to me. Fields of corn, unfit for human consumption, government subsidized and headed for cows, high fructose corn syrup, and ethanol.

Our destination though - far from boring. One of my favorite and arguably one of the best cities in the world. My old hometown.



My kind of town, Chicago is.

Stayed steps off of Michigan Avenue. Enjoyed happy hour with old friends along the Chicago River. Wonderful meals, old favorites and new restaurants discovered. A museum visited. A walking tour of the Gold Coast.



Walks by the lakefront.




Could there be a more beautiful city? The first time I drove along Lake Shore Drive, right here, between the beach and the high rises, I said "I'm going to live here." And I did.

I even bought a few books.



I love the small independent, but there is something to be said for the huge chain. While I feel like I've seen everything in my local Barnes and Noble, the Michigan Avenue Borders had new things to discover, books I'd never seen or heard of. Love that.

Love being home, too.

Neither here nor there

I meant to review two books today. I meant to thank 2 lovely people for giving me a generous and kind award earlier this week and last week, and bestow it on some well-deserving friends. I can't do either justice right now, so I'll have to do them later. I'm just going to share this instead.



I'm packing and getting ready to work all weekend, then leave town Sunday until next weekend. So, I'll see you after that. Take care.

What we found on the North Shore....food and books

We had a lovely time on our trip to the North Shore. We drove to Duluth, played at the wooden playground, saved a child who had wandered off from his daycare provider and was in a parking lot, walked on the lake walk, and enjoyed the rocky shore.

We then drove north, stopping at Gooseberry falls, and ending up on Lutsen mountain, where we stayed and again rode the alpine slide and gondola up to the top of the mountain. Great scenery, cooler weather, the sound of water, it was pretty relaxing despite a child with a listening problem. Here are some photos from last year.

Somewhat amazing to me, there are some really good restaurants up north. I've mentioned this in the past. We dined again at the Angry Trout - my husband had the fish and chips with the best.tarter.sauce.ever. Seriously. We had a very elegant meal at Chez Jude complete with a hushed dining room and edible flowers. We didn't even get to try all the restaurants I wanted to, which is really saying something for this village of 1400 people. There is even a fantastic natural foods co-op there, which naturally I toured. Yes, I am the sort of person that sees grocery stores as attractions in places I travel. I've toured others in Mexico, Paris, London, and Quebec.

Here are some treats we brought home, blueberry-sour cherry jam from The Pie Place (great breakfast), wild huckleberry jam, and some really nice looking peanut butter.



Here are some books we brought home. Yeah!



I bought these at Northern Lights Books in Duluth. I just love these tiny little shops, with each book there for a reason, each one handpicked by someone who loved it, and not just there because they sell well.

Keeping the House has a beautifully retro-looking cover which seems to fit well with the book description. Here is the description from Ellen Baker's website. Sounds charming, no? I can think of a few of my blogging friends who might like this one.

The other title I picked up will probably appeal to most of us booklovers, Novel Destinations, a travel guide to all places literary. I was a little disappointed that only one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's home made it into this guide, but I suppose they only had so much room.

How cute is this bookshop?



That's Lake Superior just past the shop. I think I wanted to go up to Grand Marais just to return to this bookshop. Don't tell my husband. But this place is perfectly adorable and charming. My daughter found a couple of books to read and a pretty window seat to read them in.



This is where I purchased Give Me the World by Leila Hadley. I feel as though I've seen this book before, but the description didn't seem familiar: a young woman bored with her life,leaves New York with her 6 year old son on a cargo ship headed for Hong Kong. She winds up traveling around the world. Oh, and this takes place in 1951. Wow! I'm really looking forward to this.

I picked up Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey at another bookshop in town. This speaks to my love of the pioneer story.

All in all, a nice time. I'd love to see what it's like up there in the winter...but that would really require some bravery. Perhaps someday. I'm not really the sort of person that goes on the same vacation every year, however this was our third time to travel to the North Shore. It won't be the last. There's something about it.

What we found on the North Shore.....beauty

..in the pristine landscape, rushing water, beautiful waterfalls...



..in the architecture, and the usefulness of the aerial lift bridge in Duluth...



..in the sunset at Grand Marais, on the the pebble beach...



Next up: books, bookstores, and food.

I'm Leaving, On a Jet Plane....Oh wait, strike that...

Well, I meant to leave on a jet plane.


For my summer vacation that didn't include my in-laws.

But fuel prices and airplane ticket prices have dictated otherwise.

So the plans have changed not once, not twice, but three times.

But I'm off on a mini-trip today.

See you!

Aftermath of the Flood

You've probably heard about the flooding that has been going on in the Midwest United States, along the Mississippi river. One of the earlier states to experience flooding was Wisconsin and in particular, the Wisconsin Dells tourist area where I visited last week. Lake Delton, a man-made lake, basically broke through a dam and drained right into the Wisconsin River, taking with it the livelihood of a lot of people for the time being.

We took a ride on the Wisconsin Ducks.



These are pretty amazing vehicles used in WW2 that can travel on land or by sea.




The ride we took used to go into Lake Delton. But now all you can see is what remains. There is part of a house on the left. If you saw the footage on television, you might remember that some houses were dragged right into the lake.



Here is a view of the lake from where the Tommy Bartlett Air and Water Show usually takes place. All their water skiing equipment is sitting in mud and most of the seats were empty. They are putting on a variety show to get through this season without the lake. We were only there because our hotel was giving away tickets.



We had a good time on our trip, despite the Dells being a very touristy area. The scenery there is really beautiful. Thank you for all the good wishes!

Dream Vacation

I'm going on a Dream Vacation in the Dells, complete with my in-laws. See you next week!

Been saving now for over a year
Let's pack the kids get outta here
We'll leave behind our troubles for a week
We'll borrow the pop-up from Phyllis and Steve
Just tell the boss I gotta leave
Be the best week of our lives as I can tell
We'll take our dream vacation in the Dells

We'll see the robot world and the water show
Go anywhere you wanna go
Circus world Museum in Baraboo
We'll play mini-golf at the Jellystone
And we'll finally see that house of foam
And if the kids wanna buy a t-shirt what the hell
It's our dream vacation in the Dells

And at night when the kids is all asleep
Then off to the lounge for a nightcap we can sneak
I know our lives they ain't the stuff of dreams
But for one full week we can live like kings and queens

So let's board the dogs lock the door
We'll roll down Interstate 94
Be the best week of our lives I can tell
We'll take our dream vacation in the Dells

And at night when the kids is all asleep
Then off to the lounge for a nightcap we can sneak
I know our lives they ain't the stuff of dreams
But for one full week we can live like kings and queens

So let's board the dogs lock the door
We'll roll down Interstate 94
Be the best week of our lives as I can tell
We'll take our dream vacation in the Dells
Gonna take our dream vacation in the Dells

Many thanks to the Gear Daddies for their lyrics.

Dipping my toe back into the waters....

Hello! First of all, I want to thank everyone that left me such kind and supportive comments on my last post. It really meant a lot to me that you took the time to wish me well and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The bad news is, that the morning after I wrote my last post I awoke with terrible ear pain which became worse and worse and by lunchtime my eardrum burst and my ear began draining.....some stuff. I went to the doctor the next day for confirmation and antibiotics, also to the pediatrician to find out that my daughter would be placed on her fifth course of antibiotics since late December for ear infection, and then we went to see her dentist. What a day that was. Did I mention we also had tickets that night to the Children's Theater to see a well reviewed play? Yup. I don't really know how I sat though that. As a result of the rupture/infection/fluid, I had no hearing in my right ear at all. I was scheduled to work the following weekend and then fly to see my sister and her family on Tuesday. Over the past few days I have regained some hearing in my ear, but not all of it by any means. I am going to wait and see and hope that it continues to improve. The trip to Ohio went well and I got lots of baby holding in as she has a five month old baby boy who is just sweet and adorable. We did some napping together.

I've gotten a fair amount of reading done, but today I'll start small - a small book that is, but not a small story. I read about Address Unknown over at Nan's and was just fascinated by what she wrote about it. I requested the book from the library and when it arrived, I had forgotten the premise as I am wont to do.

Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor was first published as a short story in 1938 and was so popular that the magazine that published it sold out. Reader's Digest then reprinted it and in 1939 it was released in book form. The story is a series of letters between two men - business partners in California, both from Germany, one Jewish and one not. The Jewish man remains in the US while the other man has emigrated back to Germany with his family in 1932 and subsequently falls under the spell of the Nazi party. His attitudes toward his friend change and after tragedy strikes, there is a twist in the story that left me speechless. I was confused for a moment but then experienced that 'aha!' moment that a brilliantly told tale can bring. I read this book in less than 30 minutes, and I highly recommend it. I don't think I will ever forget it.

I am still trying to catch up on my emails and get my bloglines posts to read under - gulp- 200. So I'll be around soon to visit!

What to do when you visit The North Shore:

Go to Grand Marais and walk on the pebble beach.



Visit some waterfalls. If you're brave you might jump off this cliff. We saw some young men doing this.



Visit a lake along The Gunflint Trail.



Hike to The Devil's Kettle. Apparently, no one is certain where the water going into the crevice on the left goes.



Visit more waterfalls..



and some more. There is a spot here where you can see five different waterfalls at once.





Throw rocks into Lake Superior.




Don't miss the alpine slide at Lutsen mountain; I do not have any photographs of that sans faces.

Home Sweet Home

We've returned from our mini-vacation to the North Shore along Lake Superior. It is so gorgeous up there, just state park after state park and so many waterfalls I couldn't even tell you how many we saw. The photographs are all in my husband's camera so hopefully he'll load those online one of these days and I'll be able to share the amazing scenery.

We are not originally from Minnesota, we've lived here since 1999. There is a big tradition in Minnesota of vacationing 'up north' and of spending summer weekends 'at the cabin'. We had always wondered what all the fuss was about, so we traveled to Duluth and along the North Shore for the first time last summer and were pleasantly surprised enough to return this year and travel further north. I had particularly wanted to visit Grand Marais.



Grand Marais is a little village with a beautiful pebble beach and a well established artist's colony. We ate at a well-known restaurant there, The Angry Trout Cafe which is known for their local menu and the sustainable way they run their business. It is truly amazing to see how committed they are to this way of life and it shows in every aspect of the restaurant. Not only that, but the food is wonderful. I was tempted to buy their cookbook, but decided to see if I could borrow it from the library (I can!).

We visited a tiny bookstore in Grand Marais, Drury Lane Books. I was really impressed with their small but well chosen selection. In particular, I was happy to note that they actually had 2 Virago Modern Classics on their shelves including Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs Palfrey at the Clermont and another by Elizabeth Von Arnim. I own both already, but was very surprised to see these at a little shop in Northern Minnesota. The bookstore puts out a newsletter which included what books the local book groups are reading. I love that! Here are the books we purchased.



I was not planning on buying anything but could not resist My Lady Ludlow by Mrs Gaskell. I have never heard of this before, and again, what are the chances I would come across it in northern Minnesota. The preface states that it was published in installments from June to September 1858 in Dicken's Household Words. Has anyone read this one?

I have just been heartsick since learning of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis yesterday evening. This bridge is about 10 miles from my house and it is just devastating to see a disaster in your hometown. It really started to sink in when friends and family began calling and emailing us to make sure we were fine. Things like this tend to remind me how fragile everything is; cities, bridges, and life itself.