It Should be Interesting

Remember Paul Milliron, Supt. of Montana Schools, charged with closing the one-room school house that he had attended in the early 1900s? Remember Rose, and her brother Morris, and the comet?

I lose track of time, but not too long ago we read The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. I was listening to NPR (91.5) and heard that he is the guest on New Horizons this Friday, April 17th at 5:30 and it's replayed on Sunday at 11:00. You can also go to this link
http://radio.boisestate.edu/NewHorizons.html
and download the show to your computer or ipod after it airs. I don't catch the show very often, but the host is Bob Kustra, the president of BSU and he's a good interviewer. It should be interesting. I've wanted to read some of Ivan's other books. There were so many things about The Whistling Season that I liked. I think all of them are set in western landscapes. He's sometimes compared to Wallace Stegner.
(I figured out how to post pictures!)

Tending Roses

I enjoyed this book. I don't think it's the most outstanding writing, but it is a sweet story on the importance of family and different stages of life. I'm looking forward to discussing it. I've started a second book by Lisa Wingate titled Good Hope Road.

Lyn's Brownies

1/2 c. shortening
2 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. broken walnuts

Melt shortening and chocolate together over very low heat stirring constantly (or at half power in microwave); cool. [If it's not cool enough, it will partially cook your eggs and the texture of the brownies won't be good.]
Beat eggs til light; stir in sugar, then chocolate mixture and vanilla.
Add sifted dry ingredients, mixing well. Add nuts.

Bake in greased 8x8 pan at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Double the recipe for 9x13 pan. You can frost these with any chocolate butter frosting or with a chocolate cream cheese frosting after the brownies have cooled. I sometimes don't add the nuts to the batter, but put them on the frosting. That way I can put nuts on just half in case there the people who don't like the walnuts. This recipe is from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. The cover of the book has long since fallen off, but the edition has to be before 1967.

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Christopher Paul Curtis has created another masterpiece with his new (award winning) novel, Elijah of Buxton. Like his previous books, Bud, Not Buddy and The Watson's go to Birmingham - 1963, Elijah of Buxton depicts the struggle of a young boy to understand and overcome the atrocities of racial injustice. Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman takes readers on a journey to the final destination of the Underground Railroad, the Canadian settlement of Buxton. As the first child born free to parents who were former slaves, Elijah is sheltered from the harsh realities of slavery. His only knowledge of slavery is obtained through secondhand accounts painfully recounted by residents of Buxton. A vivid cast of characters peppers the book with spicy personality and captures the reader's interest. Readers will laugh out loud as they accompany Elijah on hilarious adventures, and will feel empathy for him as he realizes that he isn't the brightest bulb in Mr. Travis's class. When at last Elijah crosses the Detroit River into America and encounters slaves, the reader feels as if he or she is alongside Elijah, facing danger, feeling nauseous, and desperately searching for methods to free the trapped victims of slavery.

Lyn brought in interesting information about the author, and the real settlement of Buxton that still exists across the river from Detroit, near Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where the author now lives with his wife and two children.

A treat from our Ella Minnow Pea discussion:

School Fuel
(From Judy)

2/3 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons corn syrup

Micro fro 2 minutes. Stir.

Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Stir.

Add 8 cups Corn, Rice, or Chocolate Chex (or Crispex). Stir.

Micro for 1 minute. Stir.
Micro for 1 minute. Stir.
Micro for 1 minute. Stir.

Pour onto a cookie sheet to cool. Break up and serve.

About Ella Minnow Pea

ELLA MINNOW PEA is the masterpiece of a very creative mind. Some approach this story thinking that perhaps the book is meant mostly for English majors or those individuals who just love words. They would be right and also wrong. This is a very clever story filled with interesting word play that everyone can enjoy. It's also an imaginative fable that is told in the form of letters that are written in lovely prose.

The story takes place on the fictional island of Nollop that was named after Nevin Nollop, the author of the very famous pangram* sentence, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Mr. Nollop is revered by the islanders and most especially by the officials who are members of the town council. On the island there's a monument to honor Mr. Nollop and beneath it the famous pangram is printed,"THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG." One day the letter Z falls off the word LAZY and as time passes more letters continue to fall from the monument. The council members decide that the voice of Nevin Nollop is speaking to them from the grave and telling them to discontinue the usage of the fallen letters. Severe penalties are issued to the islanders if they use any of the forbidden letters in dialog or in print. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. Ella Minnow Pea, a young girl living on Nollop, now finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism. The result is both a hilarious and moving.
One must admire Mark Dunn not only for his lively imagination but for his awe-inspiring power over words. It is fun to see how he manages to continue telling his story while avoiding use of a growing number of letters in the alphabet. You'll reach for your dictionaries, but find that soon they don't help, and you don't need them.

*pangram: a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet

“This exceptional, zany book will quickly make you laugh.” --Dallas Morning Herald
(A pangram with 46 letters)

In the Beginning

The beginning was really years and years ago - probably decades ago, but this book group is still going strong. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month to discuss our latest read, usually in someone's living room, kitchen, or out in their yard. There's often a pot luck dinner with fab food, but everyone is welcome even without a dish. We discuss so much more than the book. There's always good laughs, semi-deep discussions, new ideas, updates on things like vacations, new babies, local events, and our lives in general. It takes us a while to get around to the book. (Everyone is welcome even if they didn't read it.) The discussions are always interesting, and if we haven't read the book, we usually want to after the discussion. We learn about authors, places, history, and philosophy. Most of all, as we relate to different ideas and characters, we learn about each other and ourselves. The books we read and times we spend together enrich us, so this blog is started to share and organize some of our books, thoughts, and recipes. (We take field trips too!)

"If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."