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READING RIGHT NOW: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel (Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.

JUST FINISHED: The Help (Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle); if you haven’t heard about this book, you should! It’s a novel written from the voice of the black servants and some of the people they work for, all residents of Jackson, Mississippi. In the 1950’s. The maids generally are disrespected, still have to ride in the back of the bus, and some are prevented from using the bathroom in the houses where they work. The story is about a young woman (daughter of one of the society ladies) who decides to write a book about the stories of the maids. Anonymously. But not quite, of course. So it’s not only the stories themselves, but about the society-ladies’ relationships, and about the stealth required to interview the maids and write the book. And the repercussions when it’s published. A fantastic read.

FINISHED: The Moonflower Vine: A Novel by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition); Chosen by a Horse by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); Bound: A Novel by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)

IN THE POWDER ROOM: Our guest half-bath has a little table with a pile of books that I change every now and then. They’re books that might pique someone’s interest even if for a very short read. The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy; Sara Midda’s South of France: A Sketchbook; Spain…A Culinary Road Trip (Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); Other People’s Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See; (edited by Bill Shapiro); Monet’s Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet (by Joyes); The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems (Billy Collins).

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Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small engraved sterling silver tea spoons that I use to taste as I'm cooking.

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Rogue River scenery

Roadside waterfall on Rogue River

Roadside waterfall on Rogue River

If you drive north out of Medford, Oregon, you’ll go through some really beautiful forests. Part of the road parallels, or snakes next to, the Rogue River. It’s a 2-lane road, hard to view the scenery and still pay attention to the driving. But this scene popped up just beside the road and I quick-like pulled over and hiked back to this view.

Posted in Travel, on June 29th, 2009.

1 Comment

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  1. christine

    said on June 30th, 2009:

    i lived in ashland oregon for a semester back in my college days. what a wonderful part of the world. i loved medford, loved that whole region.

    you’re bringing back some good memories for me with your road trip. aaaah.

    Camping I don’t do anymore . . . but I agree with you, the area is really beautiful. We may stop in ashland on our return trip. I got some good restaurant recommendations from somebody else’s blog. We may be really over the top with food by then and ready for a simple salad, no sauces, no garnishes, etc. Don’t know. . . . carolyn t

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