This 'n That Thursdays: My Blog Is Back!

From Cookie Bouquets

Much to my relief, access to my blog has finally been returned to me!  For some reason the spam algorithm that Google uses erroneously decided that my blog was spam, but after several requests from me to re-evaluate, Google came to the conclusion that I am an actual person so my blog was restored.  Even though I have not been blogging as much lately, I still depend on this blog to find recipes that I have posted, and many of my posts are of great personal importance to me, such as the ones remembering pets that I have lost, so I am so happy that I can access my posts again.  I plan to try to post more often, especially in the month of October when I love to post about Halloween-related topics.  See you all next month - it is good to be back!

Wish List Wednesdays: OXO Good Grips Little Salad & Herb Spinner

I have been wanting to replace our old, oversized, difficult to use salad spinner which we never use with one that was smaller and better designed for a while now, and I finally did it.  I decided to purchase the OXO Good Grips Little Salad and Herb Spinner ($24.99) and could not be happier with with my choice!  It just arrived yesterday and I have already used it to dry salad greens as well as blueberries - it worked perfectly for both.  The pump-style spinner is so much easier to use than the handle we had to turn on our old one.  The bottom has a sturdy nonslip surface that keeps the spinner firmly in place while in use.  I like the fact that the bowl is attractive enough to be used for serving, and the basket can be removed and used as a colander.  It even has a brake button to stop the spinning as well as a lock that holds the pump button down and out of the way until needed.  This salad spinner is easy to clean and the smaller size is so much more convenient to use and store.  I don't know why it took me so long to replace our old salad spinner, but this new one will definitely be getting a lot of use!

Wish List Wednesdays: L.L. Bean Women's Sunwashed Shorts

I have been looking to add some new shorts to my wardrobe that are comfortable and casual but nice enough to wear into town if necessary.  The L.L. Bean Women's Sunwashed Shorts ($39.95, in denim or canvas) check off all of these boxes and even come in colors that I prefer (I am trying to slowly increase the number of apparel items in rust-colored and light to medium denim shades in my wardrobe, as I find these colors to be more flattering to my coloring now).

The canvas shorts shown above are in a color called Copper Brown, while the denim shorts below are the Medium Wash color.  Both canvas and denim are super soft and a comfortable relaxed fit, especially the pre-washed denim.  These shorts sit as the waist rather than slightly below, which is better for me as I am long-waisted.  I would love to see the canvas shorts become available in an olive hue, which is another color that suits my complexion, and I will probably buy the Coastal Tan color as well.  That should be more than enough pairs of shorts to get me through the summer!

This 'n That Thursdays: 2022 Online Reading Challenge Update #3

The vintage girl's novel I chose to read for the month of May was Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time by Fanny Fern.  As I had never heard of either the novel or the author before, I looked forward to finding out more about both.  As a girl's novel this title fit the category only marginally, as the main character's youthful years are covered rather quickly.  The story focuses mainly on her young adult life, especially after the death of her husband when she must struggle to find a way to earn a living for herself and her two young daughters.  I did enjoy reading this semi-autobiographical work which incorporates many of the author's same difficulties in life during a time when women were not expected or encouraged to earn a living.

The author became a successful writer first as a newspaper columnist, at one time being the highest-paid columnist in the United States.  Ruth Hall is her most successful novel, and was very popular when it came out, although it is less well known now.  While the novel starts out strong and the story is well written and cohesive throughout the middle portion, I found the last portion of the novel a bit weak.  After her heroine achieves financial success, the succeeding chapters seem a bit more haphazardly thrown together, almost as if the author had a few more bits from her own life she wanted to include in her novel whether they enhanced the narrative or not.  For example, Ruth Hall and her daughters spend some time in a seaside hotel before moving to their new home.  While they are there, a fire starts in the hotel which they just barely manage to flee with their lives.  This may add an exciting tough to the story, but it just seems to have been thrown in to the story for no particular reason.  While the novel's conclusion is not as strong as it could have been, the book is still a worthwhile read for the character descriptions as well as an insight into how difficult life was at the time for a woman with children who had no husband (sadly, it seems that not much has changed for a lot of women even now).

The reading challenge for June is to read a classic novel by an African-American author.  I have decided to read Beloved, the 1987 novel by Toni Morrison.  This is a genre that I have yet to experience, and it is high time I changed that.  Unlike the older classics I have read thus far, this newer book is not available free online, so I will have to buy or borrow a paper copy.

Wish List Wednesdays: A Couple of Summer Crustacean Finds

Even though we now live in arid and land-locked New Mexico, I am still always on the lookout for items with a crustacean theme, and summer is the best time to find them.  I recently found two that I could not resist.  The first is the Pull On Cotton Voile Shorts in Allover Lobster Print from Talbot's ($69.50, currently with a 30% discount).  Made of a lightweight cotton fabric that is perfect for summer, these high-waisted shorts are 100% cotton lined, with a drawstring elastic waist and on-seam pockets.

My other irresistible crustacean find is the Earthenware Crab Pitcher from Zara ($49.90, but unfortunately currently out of stock).  This 10-inch tall pitcher with a 4.5-inch diameter would be lovely on a summer table as either a pitcher or as a vase for flowers, which is how I envision using it:

Have you discovered any must-have items for summer yet?

This 'n That Thursdays: Online Reading Challenge Update #2

In my last reading challenge update I mentioned that the adventure novel I intended to read for the month of April was The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.  I finally finished it a couple of days ago.  I really enjoyed it and do recommend it, but with a couple of caveats.  First, Jules Verne was fascinated by scientific detail and there is plenty of it in this novel, where five castaways land on a remote and uninhabited island and must find a way to make everything they need with just the raw materials available and their own knowledge and abilities.  Fortunately the leader of the group is an engineer with a broad background in many scientific fields, so they are quite successful, but Verne does go into great, sometimes tedious, detail as to the methods used for making such items as pottery, gunpowder, glass, various metals, etc.  I found the descriptions of these processes to be fascinating, but must admit that I merely skimmed through a lot of the information (hopefully I will never find myself in a situation like the castaways where I wished I had paid more attention to these details!).

I also found it interesting to read yet another 19th century novel which again reinforced the very masculine view of the world during this time period (the Conan Doyle novel I read last month had similar views).  All of the castaways are men, and their main focus seems to be conquering their environment rahter than living in harmony with it (one of their first tasks is to blow up one end of a lake to lower the water level for access to an underwater cave!).  They are obsessed with coming into possession of guns, which they cannot make themselves, and which, fortunately for them and somewhat miraculously, they find in a chest adrift in the ocean.  There is even a brief warlike conflict with some pirates who come across their island - even remote castaways cannot escape war!

The only other problem I had with this novel came at the very end.  The five castaways were accompanied by a loyal dog, who did his fair share in helping them all to survive.  After the rather catastrophic end to the island, the only survivors are these men and the dog, but they fear that without supplies they will soon perish from hunger and thirst.  Just in the nick of time they are rescued, but no further mention is made of the dog.  Did he survive or perish before the rescue?  Jules Verne did not think to let us know, and I for one as a confirmed dog lover found this overlooked detail maddening!  It pretty much ruined the whole ending for me - I even reread the last few pages twice to see if I had missed this detail, but there was nothing.  I will just assume that the dog managed to survive, but it would have made me happier to have had this conclusion verified.  Otherwise, as I said I found the novel a very worthwhile read and would certainly recommend it to anyone looking to read a classic adventure tale.

Next month's reading challenge is a vintage girl's novel (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a classic example), and I have decided to read a lesser known work called Ruth Hall by author Fanny Fern.  I am completely unfamiliar with this novel and the author, so I look forward to learning more about both when I read this semi-autobiographical book.

Wish List Wednesdays: Tiny Pantry Cookbook by Isabel Paige

Last fall I posted a recipe for a dish called kitchari based on a recipe from a digital cookbook I purchased called Tiny Pantry by Isabel Paige.  Isabel Paige is a YouTube vlogger who makes the most fantastic vegan meals in a tiny house she built herself.  Recently she made her cookbook available as a hardcover book ($34.95; also includes a free digital copy), and I wasted no time in placing my pre-order (the book is published independently so copies must be pre-ordered).  The original e-book has been edited and updated, with new photos and ten new recipes added.  The updated version is also available as a digital download only ($14.95) if that is your preference, but as an ardent book lover I can't wait to get my hands on the hard copy!  It will take a few weeks for the book to arrive, but once it does I intend to make a few more of the tantalizing recipes.  I recommend watching the following episode from A Cookbook Collector vlog which shows a non-vegan making and trying out some of the recipes from the original e-book, just to get an idea of how user-friendly and tasty these recipes really are: