Reading: This weekend, I finished Undaunted Courage and A Painted House. Part of what I really enjoyed about Undaunted Courage is how the author portrayed Merriwether Lewis (and Thomas Jefferson, too). It was very balanced. Obviously, Stephen Ambrose really admires Lewis and what he did but the book is not merely a rave review of all Lewis did. Ambrose points out the mistakes Lewis made, both on the journey and in his life. He never tries to soften or pass over character flaws. These are very real people with very real flaws--alcoholism, bipolar disorder, racist attitudes. And yet, Ambrose doesn't dwell on those things. He gives the perspective of the time they are living in and also shows their vision and drive.

I enjoyed A Painted House. It never seemed far-fetched, always very real. The day-to-day struggles of cotton farmers in Arkansas--their struggles with the land and the weather, their relationships with the hill people and Mexicans who come to help with the harvest, their worry about Ricky, Luke's uncle, who is in the army in Korea, their worry that the people of the little town might find out that the poor sharecropper neighbor's daughter just had a baby she says is Ricky's, the secrets Luke is forced to keep about a death he witnessed, Luke's mother's dreams that they won't have to farm forever, that her son can have a better life.

I have now started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Eric got it and the 2nd Harry Potter movie for me the other day. I am about 200 pages into the nearly 900-page novel and like it a lot! I am a big Harry Potter geek, though.

Eating: Nothing new. I need to work on this.

Gardening: It sometimes pays to procrastinate--the hanging pots at Lynde greenhouse, which originally were about $15, are now only $6.99! I bought 2 gorgeous red ivy geraniums. The annuals are now only 79 cents so I can replace the plants that have not survived.

Reading: Currently in the "active" reading pile are: Undaunted Courage, A Painted House, and Foundations of Customer Service. Undauted Courage is excellent. I am completely sucked into it. I am awed by the courage and tenacity of the explorers. They are paddling and pulling heavily packed boats UPSTREAM! They have no medications (even though they have all picked up venereal diseases from the friendly Indians who share their wives), they are working hard all day everyday and need to consume 9-10 pounds of meat each day to keep their energy. I don't eat that much meat in 2 weeks! This book doesn't have a lot to say about Sacagewea but she really amazes me. She is 15 years old, just had a baby, is the only woman in the group and is hauling her baby on her back over the plains (they are not yet to the mountains). I think I will read about her next.

A Painted House is by John Grisham and I would not have picked it up if it weren't for Mom insisting. It is very good, so far! I generally don't read Grisham because once you have read one, you have read them all. This one is different, though. Not a lawyer in sight. It takes place in the 50's, in rural Arkansas, on a cotton farm. The narrator is a 7 year old boy, son of farmers who rent their land and therefore do not have a painted house. It makes me glad I am not a cotton farmer or a Mexican or "hill person" hired to pick the cotton.

Foundations of Customer Service is one I am reading for work. It is boring. I get $50 if I pass the test after reading it. (I wish I got $50 for every boring book I pulled myself through)

Eating: I don't think I have written about Enchilada Casserole yet but I can't remember the whole recipe so I will come back to that one. We had chicken fajitas last night. I use the Schilling season packet to make them. Not too difficult.

This weekend I hope to go strawberry picking. The berries should be ripe. Last year, the berries at Bauer Berry Farm were absolutely beautiful. Big, juicy and sweet! I froze a bunch of them on cookie sheets and then packed them in freezer bags so I could have a few at a time. The smoothies I made were delicious. I keep a big tub of vanilla yogurt in the fridge so they are a breeze to make. A couple big spoonsful of yogurt, a splash of whatever juice available, a handful of frozen strawberries, another of frozen blueberries (also from Bauer Berry) or half a frozen banana or a kiwi. Puree until smooth. The frozen fruit is easier on your blender than ice and the smoothies don't get watered down.

I also would like to go to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market. Besides all the good fresh produce, there is a stand there that has excellent tortillas in a variety of flavors (garlic, herb, tomato, etc.) and in a couple different sizes. I think I may have missed asparagus season but there is always something in season. My rule at the Farmer's Market is to avoid the stands where they sell pineapple. They are not selling local products and if I wanted California produce, I would go to the grocery store.

Gardening: On my day off on Friday (I work 80 hours in 9 days and get every other Friday off), I finished planting my shade garden. Finally! I only had a dozen or so plants left to put in--polka dot plants, begonias and coleus--and then I finished mulching the area. It looks lovely, if I do say so myself. I don't think I will ever be DONE but I am done with the plants I had already purchased. Saturday I planted my long-planned sunflower hedge and got a sunburn on my neck and shoulders. When will I learn?!

Reading: I am about a quarter of the way through Undaunted Courage and am enjoying it, learning more about Merriwether Lewis and Thomas Jefferson. Funny story--when I was younger, I always thought Thomas Jefferson was black. I was surprised when I discovered he was not. For years I have been trying to figure out what made me think he was. I now think it is because of George Jefferson, of "The Jeffersons".

Eating: Last night's dinner is today's recipe: Thai Chicken and Noodles. I don't know how authentic this recipe is (can't imagine they use spaghetti in Thailand) but it is good and easy. It comes from a cookbook that is apparently created by Kraft. The book was a shower gift. 1 C. Oriental salad dressing (I made mine from Betty Crocker's recipe, which I will post below--would be even easier if you buy some premade but I have not found any), 1lb chicken sliced into thin strips, 2 T. peanut butter, 2 T honey, 1/2 t. crushed red (cayenne) pepper, 8 oz spaghetti cooked, 1/2 C. shredded carrots. Marinate the chicken for 1 hour (or however long you have--I did for about 15 minutes) in 1/3 C. of the dressing. Stir together the remaining dressing, peanut butter, honey and red pepper. Cook the chicken until no longer pink. Stir together the chicken, spaghetti, carrots and peanut butter mixture and serve immediately. You can top with chopped green onions or chopped peanuts. It is a little spicy and you can adjust the amount of red pepper to taste.

Betty's Oriental Dressing--1/3 C. rice wine vinegar (whatever! I use whatever vinegar I have--red wine or plain old white vinegar), 1/4 C. oil, 1 T. sesame seeds, 3 T. soy sauce, 1/4 t. ground ginger. Place all ingrediants in a small jar and shake well.

I think Betty Crocker is the greatest ever.

Reading: Yesterday I finished The Handmaid's Tale. Can I just say again what a terrific, interesting book that is?

I have now started the selection for next book club, Undaunted Courage. I look forward to reading this rather daunting tome because I like Lewis and Clark, probably partly because my grandparents live in "Lewis and Clark country" in western Montana. So far, I find the reading easy and interesting.

Life of Pi was enjoyed by everyone who attended bookclub this past Sunday. Here is an interview with the author. I may re-read this book. There is a lot in there.

This weekend I started and finished the first book in The Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning. I picked it up for cheap, just curious what the appeal is. Very clever, very fun. I can see how it appeals to the 10-14 age range. The description of the author cracked me up. I will copy it in here later. I look forward to reading more of these silly, terrible books.

Eating: We are somehow out of ground beef. We have worked our way through 70 pounds in about 2 years. Now we have to buy it at the store!! Yuck!
Anyway, no new recipes or tips here today.