Happy Friday--Spell it out.

There is a name for someone like me... but I don't know what it is.

Someone who  just lurks and picks and chooses what games (meme's/blog hops) to play.

I say that because today I found this one.. the Spell it out  Challenge. 

I think tho, that is is in the middle of another blog hop or challenge which I'm not doing.  (Bout of Books 10.0?)

I just saw this and thought it might be fun to try.

(forgive me all other blog hoppers/challengers---I just like to do what I like to do.  I mean,  I have no rhyme or reason for my blog---it's just a hobby for me, so sometimes YOUR challenges sound like fun.  And I take part.)

and truly, only my mother-in-law reads my blog.  And  a random friend or two.

The point of this challenge is to use books you have read or want to read to spell out a word.

For example, my I am going to spell out my name.  So I went to my book shelf and found a book in which the first word of the title  also  was a word that started with the first letter of my name.

The Spell It Out Challenge is being hosted by Kimberlyfaye over at Kimberlyfaye Reads! 

I am not going to link up, because I am not in their  reading challenge, but it is fun to hop over and see what other bloggers are spelling out!

My name is Debbie

and all these were taken from my bookshelf this morning.

 d-- I love a good vampire love story.  I actually do like  Sookie Stackhouse and also the TV Show.  I haven't read the whole series, but about half of it so far.

 e-- when we file a book on a library shelf, we never us 'the', so I felt justified using  "The" End of your Life...

This was a good memoir.

 b-- Yes, the is on my book shelf, but I have not read it yet.  I want too--my TBR Pile is just TOO BIG!

 b-- read this one for my  Totally Lit Book club-- about a year ago.  We all loved it.

 i-- I have not read this one either, but I have read the first in the series. Very good!!

 e-- and this one?  Very disturbing, but very good.

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  You try it!

The 'e' was hard.  And I have two of them.

Just find books on your book shelf and a word to spell.

Just thinking

Yesterday, I had a question for my book club friends, it was   a question about Robert Redford.   The Robert Redford of the olden days.

First, I must backtrack---

---there is a new mystery series coming out in June by Annamaria Alfieri.  The first book in the series is titled: Strange Gods and is set in  British Colonial Africa in 1911.

I found  out about this new series while reading  Jungle Red Writers.  I love to read Jungle Red Writers. What is Jungle Red Writers?   They describe themselves as: 

7 smart and sassy crime fiction writers dish on writing and life. It's The View. With bodies.

I love the authors who contribute to the blog.  I don't read all of them/their books, but I am faithful to a couple.

But back to the book at hand... 

Alfieri says that her book was inspired  by the real life characters known to us from Out of Africa, West With the Night, and The Flame Trees of Thika.

In my book club  "Totally Lit",  we read "Out of Africa" about 5 years ago.

I loved that book!!  And I loved that movie!

(we also read "West with the Night")

Out of Africa was one of the most romantic books I have ever read, and one of the most romantic movies I have ever seen.

And I do not mean that in the 'lovey-dovey' sense of the word, but in the scope and extensiveness and the beauty of the story.

I am excited to read this new series, because the author uses and intersperses real-life characters into her story along with her fictional characters.

Read her interview from Jungle Red Writers here:

I am very excited.

Having said that tho....(that I'm excited for the series to come out)

I asked my book club members and now I'm asking you too...

the old school Robert Redford?  Yay or nay?  Do you love him?

from Out of Africa:

the director said no one could project an image of elusiveness on the screen like Redford.

Do we like elusive?  RR---yay?  or  nay?

I'm just sayin' ----- I do.  And while I read this series, my mind will be inserting mental images of  Denys Finch-Hatton, the real-life character Robert Redford plays in Out of Africa.  I mean I will be picturing Robert!  Not Denys.  

Happy National Chocolate Chip day and Chocolate Chip Cookie #12

Not being a food photographer, I am running out of unique ideas to take photos of cookies.

Look!  Look at this really cool wine glass my friend April made for me? She wrapped beads around the stem.

I love them.

Just right to stick in a few cookies and take some pictures!

This cookie is #12 in my chocolate chip cookie countdown (and 10 from this book),  today is also  National Chocolate Chip  day, so I thought, why not?  I'll make some cookies.

You know how I love the elusive taste of the perfect, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, melt in  your mouth chocolate chip cookie like my mom used to make?

Well, this one is not it.

BUT....

this is a great cookie!

It's more like a shortbread cookie with chocolate chips, and a great almond taste (almond extract is included in the recipe).

I loved them. So did the  Handyman.

And so did my friends at  6am Bible Study this morning.

They are named "Nutty" chocolate chip cookies, because you can either put the pecans in chopped OR ground.  I just did the chopped version.

The note on the recipe also says to add  1/4 cup flour to make the cookies chewier, but we liked them very much as they were.

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter (the recipe said margarine, but I didn't have any.  This could be why they had a shortbread texture)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 finely ground pecans

Sift together the flour, soda and salt three times.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, almond extracts.  Stir the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture, along with the pecans and ch chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

and I also wanted to show you this picture of some homemade spudnuts--which my daughter-in-law made for me on Sunday.

YUM---MEEE!!!

You haven't heard of Spudnuts?

click here.

I love to read

I love to read weird books about books.  

I don't  think the books about books are weird, I just think it's a weird thing to like as much as I do.

These three are following me around right now.

They go from my book table to my computer desk to my book bag here at work--the one I bring with me every morning.

(DANG----I just said, here.  Here at work.  I'm going to get found out one day that I'm writing a blog post, and then, well... I already gave my 3-year notice the other day.  Perhaps they'll let me finish out my time)

 First...the Read-Aloud Handbook.  Seventh edition.  I have editions 2-6 already.  I read every word of every one.

Edition 1 is out of print or I would buy that one too.

I just like to keep up on what is happening in the area of children's lit and reading. 

I like to be at a party and spout stuff like this:

As you read to a child, you’re pouring into the child’s ears (and brain) all the sounds, syllables, endings, and blendings that will make up the words she will someday be asked to read and understand. And through stories you are filling in the background knowledge necessary to understand things that aren't in her neighborhood—like war or whales or locomotives.

(from Jim Trelease and his Read-Aloud Handbook)

because I'm a big dork.

But still....

...I love to read and I want my grandchildren to love to read too.

It's really, really important to me.

(sad sometimes when I take them to Barnes and Noble and all they want are the Legos. I know, I know...that's why an Indy book store is the BEST!)

I want every child  to love to read.

The 2nd book is this one:

Read for the Heart, by Sarah Clarkson. I just got it in the mail, so I really haven't had time to read the whole thing.  I've just skimmed it.  I do think it has really good reading lists, but it's from a very conservative perspective.

There is nothing wrong with that of course, I'm just sayin'.... lots of classics and older books.  I do love them too tho.

And then #3.

Book Lust by Nancy Pearl.  

A real bookworm, a bibliophile!

Book Lust is about books for adults!

While I have also just started this one,  I love her quirky structure in the book.

There are not  just lists of good books to read, but chapters with---well QUIRKY lists.   Very original and unpredictable. 

Chapter one is  "Call Me Alice" and after a short little essay  she lists many books that she has loved  with authors named Alice.

I love it!

Some of her other chapters are titled:

Bird Brains

Lost Weekends

Shrinks and Shrinkies

Zero: This will Mean Nothing to you

 I can't wait to see what books she has listed under those themes.

And so, there you have it.  

I like to read books about lists of books to read.

Have a good evening and remember--tomorrow is national  chocolate chip day!

Books and cookies go together!

Outdoor Wednesday (and other rambling stuff)

Do you ever wonder if....in 50, 75, 100 years, people will be taking photos of our toilets?  It's kind of scary when you think about it.  Because that means our homes will have been abandoned and deserted and left to rot.

I don't know if you see this in the East, but in the West?  There are lots of abandoned places.  Out in the vast rural areas.  They are called Ghost  Towns, and there midst the old town ruins,  bathrooms/toilets still stand.  In fact, they are treasure-troves filled with all kinds of goodies.  

I am not kidding.
If you are out searching for  great finds,  search the old abandoned outhouses.
I have a few skeleton keys and old bottles which were found in outhouses.  

I DID NOT go searching for these things in old outhouses,(that's gross) but people I know, who know I like skeleton keys and old bottles, did.  (and I thank them, because--they are really pretty old bottles)

I might be giving you too much old toilet information.

I will just proceed with some photos for OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY, hosted by A Southern Daydreamer.

This is the kind of 'vastness' we are talking about.

The High Desert of Northern Nevada.

And those are old abandoned homes or homesteads or just random settler buildings.  Most likely from miners looking for Gold.

And this?  A luxury toilet for your use! 

I don't like the idea of  no door. 

I do like my privacy!

At least it's not a 2-seater!  I've seen those. 

And.... I don't get the point of a 2-seater outhouse.

As I said--I like my privacy.

And here is the home you get with this lovely outhouse!

Notice a nice little carport in the front?  or would it be a horse port?  Or covered patio?  for entertaining?

Your guests would not have far to go to the toilet there.

(and hopefully when  you entertain,the wind is blowing in the opposite direction)

Can you spot the Handyman walking around the property?

He LOVES to look for treasures in old abandoned sites.

This one looks a bit more modern with some 'tin' siding added!

(and there was still some TP in this one)

A different day...

a different part of Nevada.

Some water!  And something green!

Still tho... when you gotta go, you gotta go.

I am not making fun of old Nevada homesteads or mining camps or whatever.

I love them... or else I wouldn't be taking pictures of them.

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Cooking--Chocolate Crunch Brownies

If you love chocolate, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, well you might want to try these brownies.

That's it.  That's all I have to say.

You can tell by looking that they are good.

Great for a special picnic or lunch box treat!

I am still 'slowly' making my way thru all of my cookbooks.  This will be cookbook #64.

My own Cookbook Countdown.

Want to see my list?

Just click here.

I have bookmarked many recipes in this cookbook.   Not fancy or done by a celebrate chef--but one can't really go wrong with Taste of Home recipes.  Especially since they are recipes sent in by readers.

Like you. And me.

Chocolate Crunch Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup baking cocoa

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

• 3 cups crisp rice cereal Directions In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture until blended. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool in pan on a wire rack. Spread marshmallow creme over cooled brownies. In a small saucepan, melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in cereal. Spread over top. Refrigerate until set. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Thanks again to  Beth Fish Reads and her amazing WEEKEND COOKING blog posts, where I can share my crazy cooking posts.  I am linking to her meme. 

This Mother's Day

This is  a picture of my parents on their wedding day.

This  mother's day is a strange one for me.

My dad passed away 2 weeks ago and 1 week ago, my mother moved to an  assisted living community.

Most of the time, she thinks she is in Hawaii  (if you have to be someplace, that's a good place to be, I guess),  but  she also forgets that my dad has passed. 

Every day.

That is very difficult for my brother and his wife.  I don't live there, so I don't deal with it every day like they do.

The good thing is---she gets distracted very easily.

Show her a picture of a baby and she is all smiles and laughter.

She loves babies.

A few days after my dad passed away, I was lying in bed with her and she wanted to know the story of dad.

They grew up on the same block

They played hide and seek with the neighbor kids and hid together in a chicken coop when they were 10. Dad tried to kiss her and she turned her head away and he kissed the wall.

I went on like this for a while and then stopped thinking she had fallen asleep.

She hadn't... she said  "then what?"

I said,  you got married then and moved to California, where you had a baby...

My mom then said, in a really soft voice,  "a beautiful baby"

That baby was me.

and that makes me get tears in my eyes.

That is a short, short version of my parents story.

I love it.

We all have our stories---and I hope on this mother's day we can all realize how lucky we are to have had such stories.

I hope they make you smile today... memories of your mother.

Smile today---don't be sad.

God is good.

Even in  (especially in) this (sometimes difficult ) journey of life,

(but most times it's a beautiful journey.  I have to make that clear.

My mom, in her pre-dementia days, was the most optimistic person ever.  I want to hold to that in her honor.  And my dad's)