« April 2007 | Main | June 2007 »

May 24, 2007

alice munro II

My pure delight in Alice Munro's short stories continue. This time Andy picked up her newest collection for me: The View From Castle Rock. This collection of stories, almost a memoir, begins with Munro building upon the historical records of her Scottish relatives and then moves on to stories built from her own memories. These stories are not only captivating themselves, but also contribute to an intriguing larger narrative. Munro describes the process of writing these stories as

"exploring a life, my own life, but not in an austere or rigorously factual way. I put myself in the center and wrote about that self, as searchingly as I could."

As I read the latter half of the book, I found myself oddly relating to her story. Not necessarily in the specifics of her circumstances, but rather her specific emotions. Most of these connections were made in the moments in her story when she realizes she doesn't fit into the life she grew up in. In the story What Do You Want To Know For she writes:

I notice something new in the readiness of both this older woman and the energetic younger woman in the log house. They do not seem to find it strange that anybody should wish to know about things that are of no particular benefit or practical importance. They do not suggest that they have better things to think about. Real things, that is. Real work. When I was growing up an appetite for impractical knowledge of any kind did not get encouragement ... If you had to learn history or foreign languages to pass out of school it was only natural to forget that sort of thing as quickly as you could. Otherwise you would stand out. And that was not a good idea.

Posted by charity at 08:06 PM | Comments (2)

May 21, 2007

tater tot casserole

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I had ever heard of or eaten tater tot casserole. Her husband has been doing some work in Western Nebraska (Broken Bow of all places) and when he inquired about this menu item the waitress exclaimed, "What!? You've never had tater tot casserole before?" Though he didn't order it at the restaurant, he did pick some up at a grocery store buffet, but unfortunately, choose to ate it cold and didn't care for it too much.

I responded to my friend, yes, indeed, I have heard of AND eaten tater tot casserole. Yum. She was inquiring whether this was just a Broken Bow thing or a Nebraska thing. I think it's safe to say it's a Nebraska thing. :)

Posted by charity at 03:11 PM | Comments (5)

May 17, 2007

As I was thinking about what books to bring on our upcoming trip, the idea grew into a full fledged summer reading list. I've never had a summer reading list before. And I can't remember the last time I had a stack of books in front of me that I was really excited to read. While the stack below sits on my desk, Andy's summer reading books are intermingled with mine. So, while I'm reading Rebels in White Gloves, Andy will be reading Running the World. I guess there is some similarity there!

You can see the books I've completed on the sidebar under "Summer Reading 2007." The (*) is my rating for each book with **** being best.

Posted by charity at 09:18 PM | Comments (2)

summer reading

Posted by charity at 09:08 PM | Comments (1)

May 07, 2007

graduation

While I won't consider it "officially" official until I have the diploma in my hand (which I believe is mailed today), I went to the Lincoln Journal Star website and my name is listed under the 2007 graduates! The best way to find me among the 2,175 graduates is to Ctrl+F and type in my full name.

My heart skipped a beat when my name wasn't listed under North Carolina. But then I found myself under the "Nebraska - Lincoln" section. What I find somewhat hil-arious is that there are other people in North Carolina who are graduating from UNL this year!

Posted by charity at 09:58 AM | Comments (3)

May 02, 2007

hungry for provence

We've been reading Peter Mayle's books on his experience as an Englishman living in Provence. My favorite so far has been A Year in Provence where Mayle records his and his wife's first year living as locals in southern France. The following passage makes my mouth water:

All good Sundays include a trip to the market ... At one end of the market, a van from the wine cooperative was surrounded by men rinsing their teeth thoughtfully in the new rosé. Next to them, a woman was selling free-range eggs and live rabbits, and beyond her the tables were piled high with vegetables, small and fragrant bushes of basil, tubs of lavender honey, great green bottles of first pressing olive oil, trays of hot-house peaches, pots of block tapenade, flower and herbs, jams and cheeses -- everything looked delicious in the early morning sun.

We bought red peppers to roast and big brown eggs and basil and peaches and goat's cheese and lettuce and pink-streaked onions. And, when the basket could hold no more, we went across the road to buy half a yard of bread - the gros pain that makes such a tasty mop for any olive oil or vinaigrette sauce that is left on the plate. The bakery was crowded and noisy, and smelled of warm dough and the almonds that had gone into the morning's cakes. While we waited, we remembered being told that the French spend as much of their income on their stomachs as the English do on their cars and stereo systems, and we could easily believe it.

Posted by charity at 09:39 AM | Comments (3)