Friday, September 30, 2011

Short stories and beeswax

What in the world happened to September??  My last posting was on the last day of August, and now it's the last day of September!  Maybe I slipped into a time vortex...

Well, even if I haven't been very good about updating the blog for the past month, I have been reading some great books.  I thought I would share two of them with you.

While I love reading novels, it isn't always easy for me to get through one in a timely manner.  That's why short stories are so great.  I'm making my way through a wonderfully quirky collection of stories entitled Tunneling to the Center of the Earth.  The author, Kevin Wilson, offers interesting characters with strange jobs, odd behavior, and peculiar tendencies.  Take the woman who works as a fake grandmother for families who no longer have grandparents, or whose grandparents are less than, shall we say, desirable.  Or the three college grads who decide to dig a tunnel beneath a town - and end up living in the tunnel for several months.  And wait till you meet the guy who works in a Scrabble factory and worries about spontaneous combustion.  The stories may be weird and disquieting, but they all contain an element of plausibility.

The other book I've been enjoying this month is Confessions of a Bad Beekeeper: What Not to Do When Keeping Bees (With Apologies to My Own).  I'm not a fan of stinging insects, but I am rather fascinated with the whole bee world.  Without them, we'd be in a bit of a pollination pickle, and we've all heard the scary news about bee colonies collapsing.  But how do bees and beekeepers do what they do?  Bill Turnbull, a BBC journalist, decided to find out the answer to this question by joining his apiary brethren in the fine art of beekeeping.  He has a very witty way about him, and even when describing serious bee stuff, he manages to make the whole process quite interesting.  If you're curious about bee swarms, hive management, or what it's like to put on a beekeeper's outfit and discover a bee inside your veil, give this book a try.  

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Last day of August.

Sigh.

I found myself trailing behind several school buses on the way to work this morning, and I couldn't help but feel like fall has unlocked the door and started to set up shop.  By the looks of all the pears and apples in my tiny orchard, nature also has it in mind that autumn is around the corner.  The question is: what to do with all the fruit?  Some deer have been helping themselves (more power to 'em!), but I, too, need to take advantage of the bounty in my yard.  Jams, pies, cider - these all sound good.

The Northwest has plenty of edible treats to offer, and a new cookbook offers tasty, tempting recipes for anyone interested in regional cooking.  Northwest Essentials: Cooking with Ingredients That Define a Region's Cuisine is now available to check out from the library.  From chapter 1 (Apples and Pears!) to chapter 11 (hazelnuts), you'll find delicious options for seafood, herbs, wild mushrooms and more.  Bon appetit!   

Friday, August 19, 2011

I hear that we're supposed to reach the 90s tomorrow and Sunday - true summer weather at last!  Of course, I'm already anticipating hearing people complain about it being too hot.  I say, let's avoid the whole "it's too cold/too rainy/too hot" comments for once, and embrace the great opportunities Mother Nature provides for Northwest readers. 

Find a cool place in front of a fan, or under a shade tree, and read some summery novels while enjoying the weekend's warm temperatures.  No sweating required :o)

* Blackberry Summer - RaeAnne Thayne
* Firefly Summer - Maeve Binchy
* Honeysuckle Summer - Sherryl Woods
* The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott - Kelly O'Connor McNees
* My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park - Cindy S. Jones
* Shadows of a Down East Summer: An Antique Print Mystery - Lea Wait
* The Summer of the Bear - Bella Pollen