a book review

I love books (see here)

I love food (uh..yeah...no kidding...we can tell)

I love and admire good writing

SO......I want to tell you about my new favorite non-fiction book. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.......

A Homemade Life

by Molly Wizenberg

I first became aware of Molly Wizenberg in Bon Appetit magazine, where she writes a column. I came across a wonderful story about her Father's rice pudding that really touched me. The next month there was a story about eating her way around France with her Mother.

Her writing style hooked me and I followed her over to her blog, Orangette.



I started reading her short essays about food, recipes and simple meals intertwined with memories of her childhood and college days. On the sidebar of her blog she modestly mentioned that she had just had a book published and after spending just 15 minutes reading through her archives I knew I had to own her book.



Now....I very rarely buy brand new books. I check them out from the library first, and then if I decide I need to own it, I buy a used copy from Amazon or my local used book store. And then I often end up passing them on to someone else anyway, since I love to share books that really speak to me in some way....BUT NOT THIS BOOK! I didn't even hesitate to order it immediately and I have not been disappointed! Even though is not really a cookbook, there are plenty of fantastic sounding recipes included.



Just wait until you read her story entirely about pancakes and how she and her parents would get together in the kitchen at midnight for a pancake feast. All of her memories revolve around eating or preparing food, from growing up as an only child, the death of her beloved Father, and how she met her cute musician husband through her blog.



Molly Wizenberg is one lucky girl! How many people actually end up getting to do what they love and make a living at it? According to the book jacket, she "has degrees in human biology, French, and cultural anthropology, but in 2005, she left the world of academia to write full-time".....and she gets to write about food!! She has my dream job.....and she just kind of fell into it!...Lucky girl!!



I won't be passing this book on. I'm selfishly keeping this one for myself, although I will lend it to Daughter since I know she'll enjoy it as much as I did.



For all you Foodies out there, especially if you enjoy good writing along with your food obsession, do yourself a favor and at the very least, get this book from your Library. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

A Snake Story

Daughter wrote a blog post yesterday about some childhood memories and has asked me to do a companion piece.....please go read what she wrote first, and then come back here for my story that we refer to as "the time I almost picked up the rattlesnake....."

A long time ago, when my kids were in elementary school, we lived on a 200 acre avocado ranch in North San Diego County. We often ran into visiting wildlife as soon as we stepped out the back door. Just off the top of my head I remember coyotes, tarantulas, horned toads, racoons, possums, roadrunners, bobcats, and even a donkey (never did figure out where he came from!)....oh, yeah, and snakes....LOTS OF SNAKES!

So, one day, while Husband was at work, I heard all the kids outside screaming for me "MOM! MOM! HURRY! HURRY! COME QUICK!" Of course my heart stopped as I ran outside to find all three kids following (from afar!) a large gopher snake slithering accross the driveway. They knew I wasn't afraid of snakes and shouted "GET IT! GET IT! We want to take it to school for sharing. GET IT!" I ran inside for a cardboard box and came back out just in time to see the snake's tail disappear into a waist-high row of bushes along the driveway. The kids were frantic by now that I was going to lose the snake! I stood above the bush, peering down through the branches, and there he was, just laying there quietly, all coiled up! I slowly, carefully, reached my hand down through the branches, and when I was only inches away I suddenly thought to myself "wait a minute! How did that snake get coiled up so fast and why does he look so much smaller than he did a minute ago?" As the kids started hollering again a few feet away "Here he is over here! He's coming out of this bush!" I FROZE! I quickly stood up and took a deep breath.....THAT GOPHER SNAKE PICKED THE ONE BUSH IN THAT WHOLE ENTIRE 200 ACRES THAT HAD ANOTHER SNAKE ALREADY IN IT...A BABY RATTLESNAKE!! AND I CAME WITHIN INCHES OF PICKING IT UP!

Well, I did catch that gopher snake. We kept it for about a week so all three kids could share it at school and then we released him back out into the 200 acres. And that rattlesnake never even noticed me. I think he was asleep and slept right through all the commotion until Husband came home right about then and really did pick him up (with a shovel of course). I don't remember what happened to him . I think I remember him in a big jar for a few hours (he was small) but after that I don't recall......

You know, now that I'm seeing this story in writing for the first time I realize how anti-climactic this story actually is! It would be a much better ending if I really HAD picked up that rattlesnake! Now THAT would have been more interesting for sure!! (I'll remember that for next time!...)

Words to live by.......

(I wish I'd said that.......)

For most of my 51 years, all around me, I've heard/seen/read about those who have "quotes" by other people that have meant everything to them, or even in some ways shaped their lives. I had never come across anyone else's words that had that kind of impact on me.....until about 3 years ago. I don't know if it's my "mature" age (mature??) or the place that I find myself at this stage of my life, but I recently realized that I had quite a nice little collection of quotes that I'd been writing down for future reference.

I'm sharing them here, with the hope that you might find some of them useful to you as well.....

1. My Daughter shared this one with me. She saw Oprah quoting it on her show one day and I only wish I'd heard this a lifetime ago (definitely words to live by for all of us!):

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the FIRST time!" (Maya Angelou)

2. A close male friend shared this with me. It was the barometer he used to know his wife was the "right one":

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having to neither weigh thought or measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away" (author??)

3. I wish I'd heard this one 35 years ago......

"Marriage is not a ritual or an end. It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together, and nothing matters more than your own sense of balance and your choice of partner." (Amy Bloom in New Woman)

4. This one has made a huge difference in my life. It's the one across the top of my blog.

"Time you enjoyed wasting is not time wasted" (T.S.Eliot)

5. This one speaks for itself:

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." (Judy Garland)

6. I found this one recently and have it posted in my office for everyone to see every day. I find that almost every stranger I deal with at work on a daily basis annoys me tremendously and I need this little reminder in front of me (**I would NOT be good at customer service! Bless all of you who do that for a living!)

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." (author??)

7. And this last one I would like to have tattooed on the foreheads of all of my granddaughters, backwards, so they could read it in the mirror everyday! Every girl in the world should have to memorize this one!

"I decided I wouldn't marry a man unless I could be proud if we had a son who turned out exactly like him." (Maggie Mason)

I only wish I was as smart and wise as all of the authors of these words.....but since I'm not, I'll just have to be content to pass on their words whenever possible.

25 Random Things

I've been tagged from several different directions to do a list of 25 random things about myself.

Even though I can't imagine why anyone would care about reading these things about me, I have to admit I really enjoy reading other people's lists.....

So...here goes the randomness:

1. I got married and had my 1st baby at 16.
2. I had my second baby at 18 (and 3rd at 23)
3. I became MIMI (grandma) at 37!
4. My first name is NICOLA and in 51 years, no one has ever gotten it right the first time.
5. I wish I could be a writer professionally....Pat Conroy and John Irving inspire me.
6. I could eat chips and salsa with a diet coke (lots of ice) every day.
7. I am a nightowl... I always think of one more thing, then one more thing to do before I can go to bed.
8. I own 5 pairs of Crocs (all different)...they're better than barefoot!
9. In my early 30's, I played so much Women's soccer that at one time I was playing 7 times a week on 4 different teams.
10.I have NEVER once in my life left my bed unmade.
11. I love cookbooks. I often read them from cover to cover, just like any other book.
12. I think I'm addicted to my Neti Pot (don't tell anyone...that's probably kind of weird)
13. I really enjoy doing laundry. The whole process...sorting, folding, organizing.
14. I like hanging laundry on a clothesline. I miss being able to do that.
15. Spiders and snakes don't bother me, but I'm TERRIFIED of grasshoppers!
16. I have been behind the same desk, in the same office, at the same avocado company for 24 years.
17. I am really good at looking in a refrigerator and making a decent meal out of whatever I find.
18. I am a list maker. Every day for all kinds of reasons. I once even made a list of lists!
19. I use Mentholatum for everything....chapped lips, cuts, burns, scrapes...my sons once said I'd probably put it on a bullet wound
20. I once almost, accidently, picked up a rattlesnake (long story...)
21. I have tasted alligator meat and kangaroo.
22. I love condiments of all kinds: hot sauce, dressings, salsas, whatever. My fridge is very often 50% full of condiments.
23. I am VERY afraid of heights.
24. In spite of #23, and the fact that I'm also afraid to fly, I'd go up with the BLUE ANGELS in a heatbeat!!(??)
25. I love pickled beets, lima beans, and brussel sprouts (separately, not together!) which most people can't stand.

There you go all you taggers...more than you could possibly care about!!

Now, how about you?? Go make your own list of 25 things about yourself and then leave me a comment so I can come read YOUR list!

playing along.....

Some of the members of my Sew Craft Blog group are playing this on their blogs, so here goes:

You can copy, paste, and play along, too!

1. Where is your cell phone? always in the pocket of whatever apron I'm wearing
2. Your significant other? it's been a long time since I've had one...
3. Your hair? shoulder length and blond (to cover the gray!)
4. Your daughter? busy stay-at-home mother of 3 girls: 13,11,8
5. Your son? 2 sons: 33 yr. old Detective and 28 yr.old Chef
6. Your favorite thing? planning my next sewing project
7. Your dream last night? I never can remember!
8. Your favorite drink? diet coke w/ fresh lime and lots of ice
9. Your goal? lose 50 lbs.?
10. The room you’re in? my bedroom/office/sewing space
11. Your church? when I actually get myself there: Rancho Community in Temecula
12. Your fear? GRASSHOPPERS!!!
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? still living in close proximity to all my kids/grandkids
14. Where were you last night? home, always home, cooking, sewing, playing with grandkids
15. What you’re not? thin
16. Muffins? english, with lots of real butter
17. One of your wish list items? a sewing studio
18. Where you grew up? Southern California
19. The last thing you did? got apron swap package ready to mail tomorrow
20. What are you wearing? loose fleece p.j. pants & mans XXL softball jersey (old and faded)
21. Your TV? cable shows: the Closer, Saving Grace, Breaking Bad
22. Your pets? No pets
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? full of 5 grandkids
25. Your mood? today, hormonal!
26. Missing someone? I'll I'm going to say is.....yes
27. Your car? company car
28. Something you’re not wearing? make-up
29. Favorite store? anywhere with a good fabric selection!
30. Your summer? too hot (I like cold weather)
31. Like(love) someone? My family
32. Your favorite color? purple, turquoise
33. Last time you laughed? today...I live with very funny grandkids (3 & 5)
34. Last time you cried? can't remember....it's been a long time!
35. Who will repost this? No idea!

Diving in headfirst

When I discovered the world of blogging , I never in a million years would have ever thought about writing my own. ...But after reading at least 20 blogs on a regular basis over the past year, I decided what the heck! I've wanted to be a writer since 3rd grade, when I had a teacher who was all about creative writing and we had to write multiple stories EVERY week and I loved it! So, move over Pat Conroy (my favorite author) I'm diving in headfirst......