River Chicken Pasta Salad

from Mary Jo

2 c. shell macaroni (measured uncooked)

1 c. mayo

1 c. coleslaw dressing

2 c. diced water chestnuts (I am not a fan, so I never use them)

1 qt. cooked chicken pieces

1/2 c. chopped green onions

1/2 c. diced green peppers

2 can pineapple tidbits

2 c. grapes cut in half

2 c. diced apples (any kind)

2 c. diced celery

1 c. cashews

salt and pepper to taste

Works well to cut up most of the items ahead of time and keep refrigerated in ziploc bags. Add more or less of anything you like! Start by mixing the mayo and dressing with the cooked macaroni. Then add each of the other ingredients. Serve cold.

April Showers of Books

There are so many C.S. Lewis books to choose from! I'm working on Mere Christianity and Prince Caspian right now, but I also want to read Surprised by Joy. Too bad I have to go to work and clean my house. I'd really rather spend the rainy days of April curled up with a book and a plate of oatmeal cookies.

I don't have the list in front of me, but I'm thinking that we need someone to host our April 20th meeting and someone to bring refreshments. E-mail Sue Ann or me - and get reading!

C.S. Lewis Preview

by Kay

C.S. Lewis was an Irish-born British novelist, academic, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. He was a close friend and colleague of J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) who was instrumental in Lewis' conversion to Christianity. This conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on Christianity brought wide acclaim. In 1956, he married Joy Gresham who died four years later. Their story is told in the movie Shadowlands.

The Chronicles of Narnia contain Christian themes and ideas. The Great Divorce is a short novella in which residents of Hell take a bus ride to Heaven, and Screwtape Letters consists of advice from a devil to his nephew on how to lead humans into sin. He also wrote The Four Loves and Mere Christianity which was voted the best book of the 20th century by 'Christianity Today' in 2000. The first two books of Narnia have been made into movies in 2005 and 2008. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is to be released in 2010.

Salad Selections from March's Potluck

Chilled Orzo Salad from Trish

3 Cups Orzo
1/2 - 3/4 cups Italian Dressing
1/2 cup Spinach (julienned)
1/2 cup Red Onions (diced)
3/4 cup Fresh tomatoes (diced)
1/4 cup Black Olives (halved)
3 tblsp. Capers (drained)
1/4 bunch Fresh Parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (shredded)

Prepare orzo as directed on the box. Combine all ingredients. Toss gently to coat evenly. Keep refrigerated until needed. Start to finish: 25 minutes.

Bowtie Pasta from Mary Jo

6 oz. uncooked bowtie pasta (I used the mini bowtie pasta)

2 c. grape tomatoes, halved

1 c. grapes, halved

1/3 c. fresh basil, chopped

2 Tbsp. green onions, sliced

1 4oz. pkg. reduced fat crumbled feta cheese

2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Cook the pasta according to package directions. In a medium sized bowl, combine the white balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Stir in cooked pasta. Add tomatoes, grapes, basil, green onions, and feta cheese; mix well.

(If you want a bigger salad, I added more pasta (10 oz. - 12 oz. instead of 6 oz.) and measured 1 1/2 of everything else, except the olive oil-I kept that at 4 tsp.-that way you don't have to add more calories to the salad and I think it tastes just as great!)

Yummy from Mary Jo

Carmel Apple Crisp (from January book club)

Filling Topping

8-10 large granny smith apples; peeled, 2 cups brown sugar

cored and sliced 2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 cup instant oatmeal

2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I made mine without the nuts)

1/3 cup flour 1 cup butter; melted

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp. salt

1 (12 oz.) jar caramel sauce

In a buttered (or sprayed) 9x13 pan add apples and lemon juice; stir to coat apples. In a separate dish combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt; stir to mix. Pour dry ingredients over apples and stir until apples are well coated. Spread out apples and pour caramel sauce over the top.

In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, and walnuts; stir to mix. Using a fork mix in melted butter to form coarse crumbs. Spread topping evenly over apples.

Bake 375 degrees for 35 min.

A Message from our Missing Leader

Pam was going to be the discussion leader for The Watson's Go to Birmingham in February, but she stayed in bed with a stuffy head instead. Not one to leave us stranded, and not one to hold back an opinion, she e-mailed us what she would have said if she were there. Here's an excerpt:

As a girl growing up in the 50's and 60's in Idaho, I had no idea that there were racial injustices in the United States like those endured by African Americans in the South during these years. Books like The Watson's Go to Birmingham, 1963 give me an historical perspective that I treasure. Books like Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Chosen, and many others I read in my younger years (I am pretty dang old) have helped me understand the true nature of what it means to be brothers and sisters on this earth and I think it behooves us as members of the Restored Gospel's organized church during these last days to do everything we can to eliminate every aspect of stereotypical behavior toward other races and religions that we can. If a children's book can remind us of our responsibilities toward others, then hear, hear for that children's book.

We all loved the book and had an insightful discussion. Thanks to Lori who shared experiences she had while living in Mississippi. More than racial differences, we discussed economic and cultural prejudices. Thanks to Christopher Paul Curtis for writing such good books about the African American experience. Some have gone back to read Elijah of Buxton that they missed last year, and Bud, Not Buddy - two more by the same author.

What Happened to March!!!

We've been reading, and we had a potluck, but we just haven't been blogging. Since I'm on Spring Break, and I'm avoiding doing report cards, I'll try to catch everyone up on a few things. I don't have any pictures, but I know who does, so those might appear later.

Big Read Causes Big Change from Big Book

At our book club meeting last week, it was suggested by Kay that we switch our classic read, Les Miserable, to the Big Read selection this year, To Kill a Mockingbird. Apparently Kay has been trying to get everyone to read Les Miserable for decades! There were problems finding enough copies of the abridged version, but still, this was a big sacrifice for Kay. I was obviously in favor since I had blogged about it earlier. We did discuss just adding To Kill a Mockingbird in August since we're just getting together to talk about other books that we've been reading, but since we're going to combine the August meeting with a potluck and quilting in Sue Ann's backyard, we might get too distracted to give Mockingbird much attention. So I think we've decided to change our July selection. It will take me a while to get our new book on our bookshelf, and to change the list on the side of the blog. I need some technical help. Any of you that do a lot blogging (or even a little) feel free to edit for me.

Dick Francis Dies

In case you didn't see it in the Statesman this morning, I thought I'd post the news article here since we read Dick Francis mysteries last year.

Dick Francis, the best-selling British thriller writer and former champion jockey, died on Sunday in his home in the Cayman Islands. He was 89. A successful steeple-chase jockey, Francis turned to writing after he retired from racing in 1957. He penned 42 novels, many of which featured racing as a theme. His books were translated into more than 20 languages, and in 2000 Queen Elizabeth II honored Francis by making him a Commander of the British Empire. Francis won three Edgar Allan Poe awards given by the Mystery Writers of America for his novels "Forfeit" (1968), "Whip Hand" (1979) and "Come to Grief" (1995).

There was a good article about him in the New York Times today. You can go here to read it. I think we decided at our discussion that his earlier books were better, so if you feel like reading a horse-racing, mystery, maybe "Forfeit" would be a good bet.

Be There!

Book Club is at Mary Jo's house on Tuesday, February 16th, at 7 o'clock. I think Lori has signed-up for refreshments. We'll be discussing The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. As always, you don't have to read the book to join our fun. Just be there!

By the way, Mary Jo, you haven't posted the recipe for the yummy apple cobbler. I think you should get on it.

Big Read 2011

As I wrote the title for this post, it freaked me out that next year it will be 2011! Didn't this century just start!

Anyway, Boise's Big Read selection for next year is Jack London's, The Call of the Wild. I think it should be our book for January. There are always different activities at the Library! or around town. It would be fun to take part. Besides, I love the idea of a bunch of people reading the same thing at the same time. I'm sure there has been a movie made. This is not one I want to see, but I do want to read the book. I read the first chapter when Ty had the book laying around. It was pretty gripping - well written.

The Big Read - 2010

This year Boise is reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I've always considered this one of my top 10 favorites, but I haven't read it since high school. I think we missed the boat when we put together our selection list this year. If I don't reread it this summer, I'm going to suggest we put it on next year's list. I've only seen the movie once,even though I've always had a crush on Gary Cooper. If I were one that named my children after great literary figures, Ty would have the middle name Atticus. If Ty had been a girl, he would have been Scout.

You Might Be Interested

We can't read everything in book club. Sometimes a book isn't exactly right for RS, and will never make our list, but is worthy of a good read. Except for an occasional biography, I never choose to read nonfiction, yet now I'm completely enthralled with Outliers, and want to pass on this recommendation too. The Geography of Bliss was an award winning book in 2008, written by a former NPR foreign correspondent, Eric Weiner. He is smart and funny and insightful. It's easy to make connections with the places he travels to in this book - I had been to Switzerland, Ty had been to Nepal (the author visits neighboring Bhutan), my friend vacationed in Iceland (after she saw it on The Amazing Race) - and these connections draw you in to his theories on why different places are happier. The book is not for RS (warning, warning) because: He visits the Netherlands and uses pot there, which is legal, but not in line with the Word of Wisdom, and in the Bhutan culture, they hang something that might be offensive (if it wasn't so funny) from their houses to ward off evil spirits. The book is pretty free of swear words, except I remember there were a couple right toward the end. I think he was quoting someone, but I can't remember for sure. You actually could skip the chapters on the Netherlands and Bhutan and still get a lot of pleasure, good quotes, and insight out of this book. I give it two thumbs up, and I really want Nancy Butler to read it.

BSU President, Bob Kustra, interviewed the author a couple weeks ago on his radio program, New Horizons. You can listen to that broadcast at http://radio.boisestate.edu/NewHorizons.html. You can read more about the author and his book here. If you visit Eric Weiner's web site, be sure to go to the page 'Your Happiest Place' and check that out. (I'm really just trying to see how linking works. I hope it does.)

March Preview

We have chosen a nonfiction book, Outliers - The Story of Success, for our March book. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, is very insightful, and thinks about everything in a unique way. He's also a great story teller, so if you usually don't read nonfiction, you'll still be entertained by this book. Gladwell defines outliers as people whose achievements fall outside normal experience. He explains what the Beatles and Bill Gates have in common, why Asians are so good at math, and why you don't want a South Korean pilot. Stories of successful people usually focus on intelligence and ambition. Malcolm Gladwell argues that the real story is more complex, and you have to look at things like family, birthplace, birth date, culture, class, and even ancestry. We're anxious to discuss this book and how the ideas that are presented relate to us, and how we can succeed in the gospel. Our discussion will be at Robyn Brocksome's house, on March 16th. We're planning on a potluck dinner starting at 6:30.

This is a picture of the author, Malcolm Gladwell, not Robyn.

Before the Teasing Begins

I just want to take a minute and say that while all of you are listed by your first name, I am listed with every single letter plus a hyphen. I don't know why except that I have a blog and that's how I'm listed there. Don't worry, you can still just call me Pam. Or Your Royal Highness. It's totally up to you.

The Spirit of the Old Book Club

We had a nice chat about our January book pick, The Spirit of the Old Testament. Sue Ann looks like she was falling asleep, but actually the book wasn't that dry. Notice the smile on her face. It's always a good time at our meetings.

The book by Sidney B. Sperry is in the LDS Classic Paperback Library. Most of us read 2-5 chapters as an introduction, but plan on reading sections throughout the year, as it correlates to the Sunday School lessons. It's a scholarly work, but easy to read. There is something in every chapter that helps you connect and get more out of the Old Testament. I'll just share one quote. There is a chapter on LDS views concerning the Bible where the eighth Article of Faith, about believing the Bible is the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly is being discussed. Brigham Young said, "But it is no matter about that. Read it and observe it and it will not hurt any person in the world."

It was Tara's first book club meeting with us. I think she'll come back again. Let me just say that our group doesn't require you to read the book--or read at all. It helps sometimes, but I've often thought that I didn't want to read a selection, and after everyone has discussed it, I decide I do. I've read some books that I didn't even like, until everyone discussed them, and then I realized that I just didn't get it--they were good books. Everyone discussing together gives you insights into the books, life in general, and we get to know about each other.

Next month we will be at Mary Jo's house discussing The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963. Get reading...or not, you don't have to read....just come and join us.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963

We will be at Mary Jo's house in February (on the 16th), and Pam will lead the discussion. This book is by Christopher Paul Curtis who wrote Elijah of Buxton, which was one of our favorite picks last year. The Watsons is a wonderful book for 5th grade and up, with a civil rights backdrop. This is a delightfully funny and touching story about the Watson family (from Detroit) and their visit to Alabama.
We have several copies that we've borrowed from schools so just grab a book and get reading!

More Action!

We're getting a little more action with our blog. I'm just learning by trial and error, but you all can learn along with me. Right now, as people join, I'm making everyone administrators so that you can join in the fun. I was excited to see Mary Jo, Rachelle and Jennifer join. I think they're all experienced bloggers. I also started following Jenn's links and found goodreads.com which I remember Lola talking about a long time ago. I signed up and love it so far. Some of you are already on there. Of course, I'm really not up to speed on that either, but I'm going to figure it out. You all should join me at that too! We'll discuss it at our January meeting.

Thank You Stace!

Thanks to Stacey our blog now has a nice looking background design. Very classy--just like our members. Some of you might be wondering who Stacey is, because she hasn't been attending meetings. That's because she lives in Kansas. She's my step-daughter, and blogger extraordinaire! My computer skills are limited, but I know I can master a basic blog. I just won't mess with the backgrounds and fluffy stuff until I get some private tutoring when Stacey (and family) visit this summer. Even when I've mastered the fluff, we'll still keep Stace in our group. She's a reader and fits right in!

January Plans

We'll be at Judy's house for our book discussion this month. We always meet on the third Tuesday. Since we won't be having a potluck (just refreshments) we'll meet at 7:00. The book we've selected is The Spirit of the Old Testament by Sidney Sperry. We thought it would be good to start our year of study in the Old Testament with this resource book. There probably won't be anyone who will read this book straight through in time for our meeting, but instead, we can all use it throughout the year for more insights. The book is full of information on the history of Israel, different prophets, Hebrew literature, different cultures, contributions of the Old Testament, and some Latter-day Saint views concerning the Bible. It's well researched and easy to read. Even if you don't have a copy, come and join our discussion.