The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner

What a read! Faulkner is a total headache...if you let him be, but brilliant at the same time. This book has been on my shelf a long, long time, and although somewhere back in the gene pool we are related (this correlated to me liking his stuff, how??), it has never been something that I was easily drawn to. Notoriously difficult. I still can't believe this is Katie's favorite author. I must admit, I'm a Faulkner virgin. Thus, I had nothing else to compare this to, nor really knew what I was getting myself in for. I sought guidance alot online when the storyline was too convoluted for me. I do, however, highly recommend it -- if nothing else, just to appreciate Faulkner's signature style.

This is the story of the Compson family, a dying member of aristocracy in the South. On the surface, it is about 3 brothers and how their sister, Caddie, affects each one of them. It's about family : good, bad and ugly and how each of us are affected by the clan that we come from. It's told from different points of view, each with a differing style.

I've included a bit here that I stole from someone else to give you a jist:

The opening section, told from Benjy’s point of view, was particularly difficult. Because of Benjy’s mental illness, he doesn’t understand the difference between past and present. So all of the stories he tells about his family that occur in the past are told as if they are currently happening. To add to that confusion, the scenes we see through Benjy’s eyes are not told linerally – they are told out of order, and only after many careful readings of the section was I able to put all the pieces in to their correct place. Quentin’s section, however, was almost more difficult to read, seeing as how I expected him to be able to narrate much more smoothly. But his constant neroticism kept muddling up his narration, although I found the scene when he and Caddie discuss killing themselves to be absolutely wonderfully crafted. After these two highly difficult sections, it was a relief to get to Jason’s section and the final portion, narrated by an omniscient 3rd person. True, Jasons whining was really extreme, but at least he complained in a normal, easy to understand fashion.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Erik Larson

I am always a sucker for a good historical non-fiction, so this book ranked right up there for me. I was not only able to fly through it (thanks to some long flights), but I was captivated with the story and all that I was learning. This book includes two parallel stories that took at the same time: during the World's Fair in Chicago, IL, 1893. First story being about the extraordinary events that took place surrounding Chicago winning the bid for the World Expo and all of the unusually difficult odds that were beat to pull this fair together. I can't say that I knew much about this historical event before, but now I totally have an appreciation for the thrust this Fair gave mankind into the 20th century. Can we say Ferris Wheel? Shredded Wheat? PBR? The second story was about a psychopathic doctor who built a torture palace and murdered many (mostly) women during the time the Fair was in town. Each woman's murder being a remarkable feat.

Both stories are so well written, so meticulously researched, that both are to the point of being otherwise unbelievable. I truly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it for anyone knowing very little about the World's Fair in Chicago.

"Cities began to see it as a prize to be coveted, mainly for the stature it would confer, stature being a powerful lure in this age when pride of place ranked second only to pride of blood." Part 1, Page 16

Explosion!

My right brain explodes sometimes and this is a small snapshot of the result.

Who cut the cheese? I proudly did.

Cheese making is really not that hard to do. Don't be intimidated. It's actually kind of fun. I get asked often how I make my cheese, so this is a rough sketch of the process. *Anyone that wants to come to Mississippi to Cheese Making 101 in person is welcome anytime.*

Please do not plan on making cheese following these instructions. This is only meant to just give anyone interested the confidence that it can easily be done. Here is where I bought my first kit.
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I like making cheese. I don't know if this is because it falls in-line with a self-sufficient mindset or simply because I hate to spend $$$ on something I can easily do myself - without all the preservatives, not to mention a fresher version...

Two of my favorites are Ricotta & Mozzarella. They are very versatile cheeses and can be kept in the fridge for awhile -- or even frozen. It's nice when I luck up on bookoodles of cheap clearance milk and I can make what I will need for awhile and simply store it. Plus, I feel super spendthrifty when I do this, which is a double bonus. Compare prices and see which would be most cost effective.

So, here goes:

SJ's Latest Ricotta Cheese Making Session
Start out with time and milk.

Mozzarella & Ricotta are by far the easiest to make, which makes them great starter cheeses. (Ricotta being the simplest of the two.) They are essentially the same with a little tweaking. This is the process for Ricotta...

Start off with a stainless steel pan, clean utensils and a warm stove.

After the milk is poured into the pot, the very next step is to add the 'goods' to make it curdle. You more than likely will be following a cheese recipe when you make yours, so roughly -- rennet, citric acid and cheese salt are what you add, in varying amounts, to make different types of cheese.

Milk burns super quick so warming the milk should be done very slowly. Roughly around 200 degrees F is the goal. (every recipe will be different) Stir constantly. One word on the milk: It MUST NOT be ultra-pasteurized milk.

Once the cheese has reached the right temperature (you'll know b/c you'll be standing a the pot constantly stirring and watching the thermometer), you remove it from the heat and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

At this point is when you can begin to see the whey separate from the cheese curds. Do not touch it during this time...just let it do its magic.


I usually go ahead and get my cheese cloth ready over another pot while the curdling is taking place.

After about 10 minutes or so, the whey will be very obviously separated from the curds.

With fresh cheese cloth lining a colander, slowly pour the whey/curds mixture...


**Whey is an awesome by-product of cheese. I attempt to substitute it in all sorts of recipes--especially baking. Definitely do not throw it out. Use it in the place of water or buttermilk in muffins, breads, pancakes, etc... The great thing is that it can even be frozen! If you have farm animals, consider feeding it to them or pour it on your vegetables in the garden. I've done both and it never goes to waste. Check this out. **














I slowly lift up the cheesecloth and tie it above the pan to finish draining. Depending on how 'dense' you want your ricotta, the time for draining will vary. I like mine fairly dense, so I let it drain for roughly an hour or so.



Take the cheese cloth down and voila--ricotta cheese. I then transfer it to my little cheese tub and throw it in the fridge. It's so much fun! -- and even more fun to eat.
















This picture is a finished product! of Mozzarella. I ate all the Ricotta before I remembered to take a pic.

My life through a Lens..

I have a thing for Mushrooms & with all the rain
around here these days they are growing like crazy! Scoping out mushrooms is a new hobby. It
really is amazing!

Mushrooms on my own printed stationary. Check your mailbox.







I love this pic for so many reasons. I think Elizabeth was in the middle of some hilarious
something (no, Mom...it was just tobacco) and I was taking my last puff/suck/toke?? before joining her in laughter. "Creative picture taking" : Go, Mom.








"Morning has Broken" will be the name of this print, if I ever print it.

It was taken right at daybreak one chilly morning at the pond in front of the cabin. I loved that I was up early enough to appreciate it. Buster and I just sat and watched as the fog went back into the clouds.






I love noticing the little things...
and these certainly were the little things. Beautiful little parsnip seeds. Who would have guessed!

...and along with the parsnip seeds came the radish seeds that took my fancy!










My main man these days...

These pics kind of go together. Ever had a spider as a friend? Buster would literally lay on the porch and stare at the spider w/ me. We watched it for days, hoping something exciting would happen w/ the web...never did. Spider's gone now.

Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!! What a great read. I literally flew through this book b/c I physically could not put it down. Being in the medical field, I could truly relate to everything he said. However, this was not the reason I liked the book so much. I liked the book because it was a fresh, honest and very humble approach to the 'operation' of medicine today. So much was true!! and totally not the way medicine is viewed by the typical patient.

Atul Gwande is a mastermind when it comes to being able to articulate the complexity of the world in which I work, the intricacies of the culture and the failures of the field. I recommend this book to just about everyone; you certainly don't have to be 'medical' to appreciate his message. In fact, if you're NOT medical, I recommend you read it even more to gain a fresh perspective of 'your' doctor, empathy for the humaness behind the face and respect for the limitations of treatment.

This book is Gwande's first book, a New York Times best seller and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award. His other book is Better, which is in my pile too.

http://www.gwande.com/
He also writes for The New Yorker, where he recently wrote a fascinating article re: our current healthcare debate. Find it here.

103.2

miles, that is. Spread across 2 days and 10 hours, Elizabeth (sister), Benjamin ("promise-ring-giver" to Elizabeth) & I biked our asses off ( & hips, shoulders, bunions, and backs -- and everything else that added up to cause pain between us), but surprisingly we never woke up sore. Go, us!...right? well.... considering the fact that I am to be studying for the GRE now, I sorely missed my goal last week. Except my math-whiz of a sister was kind enough to turn our timings, distance and expected arrivals into math quizzes for me. Yeah, she loves me enough to make me study for the GRE while fighting a headwind & wiping sweat from my brow. Thanks, EJ...I think. I did learn, however, that 50% (1/2 or 4/8) of my Cliff Bar alottment + 2 hours of riding left = stomach pains & plans of how to knock my sister off her bike to steal the "terrible" Macadamia Nut Crunch/White Chocolate thingy she had in her pack. (Moral: Carry the food yourself & never listen to Benjamin on what tastes bad!)

What started out as a 4 day ride from Jackson to Natchez and back, turned into a "we can leave on Friday after our class", to a "it's supposed to rain in the morning. Let's see what happens", to a...."let's go to the farmer's mkt. and ride the loop to Canton and then bike the Trace tom". Needless to say, 'God laughs in the face of plans'. Nonetheless, it was a fun, sweaty, challenging and memorable 2 days of biking.

The Natchez Trace proved to be a perfect biking spot. There isn't much to see -- that is if you don't appreciate rural MS -- but far less traffic than anywhere else and perfectly paved roads the whole way. (There definitely were 'rolling hills' whether you noticed or not! ) One day, I'll do the whole thing. For this go-round, the first day we road from Elizabeth's front door to old town Canton, and the second day we road from Elizabeth's front door to some sketchy "we be out uh ketchup" gas-station in Port Gibson, where Benjamin retrieved our sweaty selves 7 hrs later with 2 cold beers in tow. ... not to mention loud music, that I'll never forgive him for.

Overall, I've come to appreciate having days where the only agenda is to have fun. We probably all have far less of these days than we actually need for a truly balanced head-space. Thank you, EJ & Benjamin, for such a fun weekend, as per usual. ( I can speak directly to you now that I know you're like the 3rd and 4th confirmed readers of this blog! )

Fun memories:
grilled salad. hookah pipes & completely drug-free laughing fits. having a completely full morning of running, biking, grocery shopping and breakfast by 9:00 a.m. the official kick-start to my new ricotta/yogurt addiction. homemade flax seed bread. capresse. "I can tell by looking at your eyes that you're somebody special." pink flamingos. blown up pumpkin "not canned". V-E-C-T-O-R. chicken farms. Tadpole Road, flying spit & cash-only cheese. making mozzarella. dinner sailing cruises/ antipasto platters. The Friendship Cruise Ship. Relationship Drama over "some tall skinny bitch/Warhol woman" pizza. Outdoor Symphony inside a church. sleeping on 1/5 of a queen bed 2/2 Monty. tick, tick, and tick on the application to-do list. shortening pumpkin bread. seasonal beer. orange label madness. restoration hardware. Rainbow grocery.

Thanks, guys! It was so much fun.