When my sister and I were in elementary school, we spent much of our time before and after school at our father's mother's house. In addition to being home to hundreds of porcelain dolls covered with see-through plastic sheets, plates which had been modge-podged with whatever holiday-themed fabric was available, and an above-ground pool with a fountain in the middle, it was also home to our father's youngest sister, Jessica. Jess is and always has been an avid fan of Danielle Steel. She has a copy of pretty much everything Danielle has ever written; some in both hardcover and paperback, as well as VHS recordings of all the made-for-TV movies which have been adapted from her novels. I have always been familiar with Danielle Steel.
I'm not [horribly] ashamed to admit that I, too, have read a few Danielle Steels. I usually pick them up at a yard sale or Goodwill, read them, and before long they are resigned to the same fate as before- sitting on a yard sale table or Goodwill shelf. Just this weekend I picked up one I had not seen before- a love story between a brooding, widowed, compassionate cardio-thoracic surgeon and a guarded, nationally acclaimed news anchor with trust issues. Sigh. Here's the thing though: I LOVE these books. I can't explain it. They generally have little to no literary merit, and consist primarily of characters who spend the vast majority of the book thinking what it MIGHT be like to be together, before they come across some sort of obstacle that makes it impossible, and then miraculously overcome the odds and live happily ever after. Of course, that isn't always the case- there are occasionally extenuating circumstances- they might happen to be on board the Titanic, for example.
In spite of all this, I can't help but get caught up in the stories, and if I see one I have not yet stolen from my Aunt Jessica's shelf or borrowed from a Goodwill, I can't help but pick it up and find out what happens. D.S. sure seems to know what she's doing, but I'll be damned if I can figure out HOW she does it.
...
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Wedding Plan Winning.
This is a story about the most amazing wedding menu that there has ever been. In fact, oh mighty blogosphere, I challenge you to think of a time when you have had a more delicious meal at a wedding than the one I am about to describe. But before I get to the absolute amazing-ness that was this meal, and really this wedding as a whole, I must tell you about how I got to said wedding. It was the wedding of my best friend's older sister, which is a trip all in itself, but it also took place in a state that I have not been to- a part of the country that, until last weekend, I had never journeyed remotely toward. To get to this wedding, I had to travel to Colorado. Woahh.
I could take this time to give you all a discourse on the dangers of flying with the airline that I chose. However, in spite of the fact that there were no complimentary beverages offered on board, and that the flight crew was completely unpleasant and proffered such preposterous threats as turning the plane around and returning to the gate upon finding that someone hadn't turned off their cell phone (a behavior that I would not have believed if I had not bee sitting next to the gentleman it happened to...), the flight was cheap AND it is the only airplane I have taken out of LaGuardia to date that has actually left on time. So we'll skip any further elaboration on that.
Rachel's wedding took place in an area of Colorado called Pine. It is a quasi-remote location- the strange looks and repetitions of “Where did you say it was?” from the Denver natives caused me to double check my invitation hundreds of times, but there it was in black and white, PINE, Colorado. In order to get there, you must drive through out of Denver and directly into the mountains- I was pleased that I got to make the trip in the daylight- the sky was incredibly blue, bluer than I have ever seen, due to the higher altitude, and the mountains were amazing- green. Green trees growing out of red, red rock, and sprawling into the sky higher than I could see, even if I craned my neck. And there we were, at a ranch nestled in between a few of the massive rocks. I was encouraged by nearly everybody upon my arrival to make sure and drink plenty of water, and to be honest, I hadn't even noticed the altitude change until I had tried to walk up the bluff to our cabin- I was as out of breath as I had been when I tried to run up the steep sets of stairs that littered the Manayunk hill in Philly. Phew!
I think that my favorite part of the ceremony itself was watching Rachel's new husband, Pat, stomp on the glass and being able to be a part of the excited crowd which shouted “MAZEL TOV!” Ever since I watched “Fiddler on the Roof” as a child, I have anxiously awaited the time in my life where I would be able to replicate that excitement. Don't even get me started on the rest of the ceremony- all it takes is THINKING about seeing Sam in her dress, and her parents trying to hold back their tears and I am all weepy too.
...Which brings us to the reception, and the best meal ever served at a wedding, ever. Are you ready for this?? A little bit of salad (which I only record here to ensure that there WERE veggies present. Sort of..), macaroni and cheese, garlic and herb mashed potatoes, barbeque chicken, pulled pork, and the most delicious, moist, soft, slightly sweet rolls. All comfort food, all the time, all awesome, all helping me ensure that the three glasses of wine I had at high altitude wouldn't render me totally useless. There is a large part of me that wants to copy this menu, right down to the tiny shreds of salad that were pushed to the corner of everybody's plates. Is that a faux pas?
I could take this time to give you all a discourse on the dangers of flying with the airline that I chose. However, in spite of the fact that there were no complimentary beverages offered on board, and that the flight crew was completely unpleasant and proffered such preposterous threats as turning the plane around and returning to the gate upon finding that someone hadn't turned off their cell phone (a behavior that I would not have believed if I had not bee sitting next to the gentleman it happened to...), the flight was cheap AND it is the only airplane I have taken out of LaGuardia to date that has actually left on time. So we'll skip any further elaboration on that.
Rachel's wedding took place in an area of Colorado called Pine. It is a quasi-remote location- the strange looks and repetitions of “Where did you say it was?” from the Denver natives caused me to double check my invitation hundreds of times, but there it was in black and white, PINE, Colorado. In order to get there, you must drive through out of Denver and directly into the mountains- I was pleased that I got to make the trip in the daylight- the sky was incredibly blue, bluer than I have ever seen, due to the higher altitude, and the mountains were amazing- green. Green trees growing out of red, red rock, and sprawling into the sky higher than I could see, even if I craned my neck. And there we were, at a ranch nestled in between a few of the massive rocks. I was encouraged by nearly everybody upon my arrival to make sure and drink plenty of water, and to be honest, I hadn't even noticed the altitude change until I had tried to walk up the bluff to our cabin- I was as out of breath as I had been when I tried to run up the steep sets of stairs that littered the Manayunk hill in Philly. Phew!
I think that my favorite part of the ceremony itself was watching Rachel's new husband, Pat, stomp on the glass and being able to be a part of the excited crowd which shouted “MAZEL TOV!” Ever since I watched “Fiddler on the Roof” as a child, I have anxiously awaited the time in my life where I would be able to replicate that excitement. Don't even get me started on the rest of the ceremony- all it takes is THINKING about seeing Sam in her dress, and her parents trying to hold back their tears and I am all weepy too.
...Which brings us to the reception, and the best meal ever served at a wedding, ever. Are you ready for this?? A little bit of salad (which I only record here to ensure that there WERE veggies present. Sort of..), macaroni and cheese, garlic and herb mashed potatoes, barbeque chicken, pulled pork, and the most delicious, moist, soft, slightly sweet rolls. All comfort food, all the time, all awesome, all helping me ensure that the three glasses of wine I had at high altitude wouldn't render me totally useless. There is a large part of me that wants to copy this menu, right down to the tiny shreds of salad that were pushed to the corner of everybody's plates. Is that a faux pas?
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Finished Book Depression
Yesterday morning I started a new book. It was called Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (and yes, it is the same Warm Bodies that sparked the movie which was released earlier this year). I downloaded it to my kindle and opened to the first page before I left for work. 10 hours later, I was finished, and I couldn't help but feel a little deflated. I knew that later in the night, I would want to read Warm Bodies again, but would have already finished it. And this morning when I woke up, I wanted to read only that particular book- I could start it over again, but it isn't the same.
I felt a little like this...
This happens to me a lot, this sort of finished book depression. I find a book, tear in, lose myself, finish the story, and then don't know what to do. This all usually happens in the course of a day, maybe two. Perhaps I need to read more slowly- only allow myself a certain number of pages a day- to extend my stay in these worlds. Maybe I need to pick books that are longer, which will not only prevent me from finishing too quickly, but also- if I get the hard copy- from carrying it with me everywhere I went. My purse is already heavy enough.
I felt a little like this...
This happens to me a lot, this sort of finished book depression. I find a book, tear in, lose myself, finish the story, and then don't know what to do. This all usually happens in the course of a day, maybe two. Perhaps I need to read more slowly- only allow myself a certain number of pages a day- to extend my stay in these worlds. Maybe I need to pick books that are longer, which will not only prevent me from finishing too quickly, but also- if I get the hard copy- from carrying it with me everywhere I went. My purse is already heavy enough.
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