(by Kate Morton, on my Kindle); several generations of women pepper this book with the story of their lives. It all revolves around a young girl who arrives on a pier in Australia in 1912 with no papers, no family. Nothing except a small white suitcase with little concrete information about her past. She’s four years old and keeps silent about what little she knows. Her story starts there, but then it jumps forward to 2005 when her granddaughter inherits a house in Cornwall (England), purchased by the grandmother and kept secret until after her death. There’s some secrecy going on with all the women. Then the story jumps back to 1975 when the grandmother is a middle-aged woman and you hear part of her story. Much of the book revolves around a walled garden at this house in Cornwall, and how it relates to the “big house” where the grandmother lived some of her early years. It’s quite a complex web of a family saga. I liked it, although each new chapter jumped to a different time, and it’s not until the last 10 pages or so that everything resolves. Good read.
(by Karen Harper, on my Kindle); this one is about a young girl from an impoverished family who is taken to Court and eventually becomes a playmate/governess to Elizabeth I (the story is based on fact, but is a novel). The two girls grow up together. It tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth I’s mother) and others of the court at that time, the intrigues, the murders, the beheadings, and the perseverance of all of the potential kings and queens. Fascinating story, particularly since we visited Castle Howard where where a small part of Henry VIII’s story transpires.
(by Julie Orringer, on my Kindle) too; a riveting story about a young Hungarian Jew who goes to Paris to study architecture, just before the start of WW II. He manages to scrape together enough money to eat, but barely, falls in love with an older woman, yet his work comes to the attention of some of the school’s teachers. He’s one of only a handful of Jews at the school. Then the Nazis begin invading. And the story goes into plenty of detail about the hardships, the imprisonments and eventual deaths of many of his friends and family. I could hardly put it down, though. Heart-wrenching, however.
– by Alison Weir (paperback from Costco). I was expecting this book to be along the same genre as Philippa Gregory’s novels – honing in on a particular English royal woman – telling her story in novel form. This is not one of those types. It’s non-fiction, and tells the factual story of Katherine Swynford, who eventually became the Duchess of Lancaster. But her journey from young bride to Hugh Swynford (this takes place in the 1300′s) to the Duchess is bursting with intrigue as she was John of Gaunt’s mistress for some time (eventually he married her when she was 46 (certainly an advanced age for that century), which caused all kinds of royal scandal). In that period of history no one related to royalty married for love. It was all about family, bearing many children to inherit land and wealth, to fight for the king, to maintain title and fortune. The Duchess’ children eventually became the House of Tudor (King Henry VII). Katherine Swynford was both reviled (because of her immoral behavior) and loved (by nearly everyone who knew her). Alison Weir is obviously a stickler for research – the footnotes comprise over 40 pages of fine print. She paints a different picture of this woman than was done by Anya Seton in her world-famous novel 
, first published in 1954. I was infatuated with that novel – it was one of my all-time favorites. But it’s a romance, and apparently many of the supposed facts – well, aren’t. Life in those times were not romantic. This Alison Weir book is not exactly easy reading; it’s almost like reading a textbook. But it’s fascinating and I’m enjoying it very much.
– by Jack Finney (paperback); read for one of my book clubs. Written in the 1940′s it was a runaway hit back then. An early look at time travel. It’s about a U.S. government experiment in the 1960′s (this is fiction, remember), sending a selected few men back to the 1880′s in New York City. They were told to observe. Not to change anything. To be unnoticeable. Yet one of the young men, just couldn’t quite do that (of course, otherwise there wouldn’t be a story!). It’s his adventure you read. The writer is a master at description. The reader feels transported to that time. Our book club really enjoyed it. Generally I’m not into that kind of book at all, but I found the book fascinating. There is a sequel as well, called From Time to Time.
— autobiography by Laura Bush (hardback from Costco). What a delightful read. It’s not about politics. It’s about Laura’s journey from her young years growing up in Midland, Texas to loving parents, to college grad to school teacher, librarian, to meeting George, whom she barely knew even though they grew up in the same small town, then marrying him. She didn’t come naturally to being a public speaker, but did it, to help her husband. I enjoyed reading about her early years more than the years at the White House. Much of that part was about all the social events required of the President and First Lady. Still interesting, though. I enjoyed the book very much.
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Whenever we come home from a long trip abroad we always talk about it on the flights, what exactly we have missed the most and what must we buy at the grocery store when we arrive. We always miss our beds. I miss my pillow, big time. And my usual morning cup of coffee latte. Naturally we buy the usual stuff: bread, milk, yogurt, fruit, cream for my coffee, fresh vegetables, coffee beans. On this trip to England, we did have vegetables. It’s just that they were the same ones, day in and day out: carrots, cauliflower and maybe green beans. Steamed only. And often just flavorless.
But usually we crave some one thing. I’d say that 75% of the time we crave green salads with a vinaigrette dressing. So our first night home I defrosted some rotisseried chicken we’d done just before we left and I made a lovely big salad with celery, carrots, tomatoes, cilantro and chunks of tender chicken. I also made my old tried-and-true Creamy Garlic & Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. It tasted wonderful.
With still more chicken left, the next day I searched around in my beanie for what sounded good. It was beastly hot here that day and I craved something cold. Nothing inspired me until I began reading blogs again and sure enough, there was a curried chicken salad over at The Pioneer Woman. Oh yes, that sounded really good. Fortunately I had all the ingredients, and I amplified them a bit – I put the chicken on a bed of greens (see, more greens we were craving), and I added apple slices. I was out of almonds, so I used pistachios, which were delicious, actually. As for the apples – the first night I sliced them (in photo at top) to decorate the top. With the leftovers of that, I cut fresh apple into small bits and tossed it in with the salad without the greens. Each time we’ve had leftovers I’ve added the fresh apple into it. Altogether delicious and worth making again. Once the salad had been refrigerated the pasta absorbed all of the dressing, so I might reserve some of the dressing to add to the leftovers (if you have any, that is).
Curried Chicken, Pasta and Green Salad
Recipe By: Inspired by a recipe from Pioneer Woman blog
Serving Size : 6
NOTES: You can vary the proportions here with no difficulty. You can add chutney instead of golden raisins, if desired, although it will make the salad sweeter. If you don’t want it to have greens in it, just don’t add them. Once the greens are added, though, they will wilt if the salad isn’t consumed, so I’d suggest you mix in only as much lettuce as you or your family will eat at that meal. If you have leftovers, chop up the apple each time (it will turn brown otherwise). You can also make this salad (without the lettuce) as a luncheon type chicken salad. Or as a sandwich filling. It would go very well with an afternoon tea for “tea sandwiches” if you’re into that kind of thing.
3 1/2 cups cooked chicken — skinned, boned, diced
6 ounces pasta — your choice of type, cooked, drained, cooled
4 whole celery ribs — thinly sliced, including leaves
1/2 cups golden raisins
1/2 cups sliced almonds — or pistachio nuts, or walnuts
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fat free half-and-half
3 tablespoons curry powder — or more if desired
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon kosher
salt freshly ground black pepper to taste
5 cups romaine lettuce — chopped
1 whole granny smith apple — peeled, sliced thinly
1. DRESSING: Combine the mayo, light sour cream, cream, half and half and stir. Add the curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper. Set aside
2. In a large bowl combine the chicken, cooled pasta, celery, raisins, and nuts. Stir to combine. Pour in most of the curry dressing and stir to cover all the ingredients. Add more dressing if needed. If time permits, cover and chill before serving. Add more dressing just before serving if you have any left.
3. At the last minute chop the Romaine lettuce and slice the apples. Add them to the chicken mixture and serve.
Per Serving: 607 Calories; 35g Fat (49.9% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 105mg Cholesterol; 380mg Sodium.
A year ago: Sugar Snap Peas with Mushrooms
Two years ago: Asian Baby Back Ribs
Three years ago: Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
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