I loved this book!! It was a mixture between Rebecca and The Thirteenth Tale (both reviewed on this blog...and both really great books.) I loved the imagery and writting style that Kate Morton is gifted at giving her readers. At times it was a bit wordy - but I really do recommend this mystery.
Oh this was so lovely...I am serious...I fell in LOVE - until the end. The end stunk!!!!! Not in a World War II book- someone will probably die kinda way - BUT in a mean and hateful author kind way! I want to read more of her books because I really LOVED her characters and writing style but if she ever pulls a stunt like that again I swear I will be done with her for life!
Lauren reviewed this book last year...so I will make this one quick. I actually really liked this book - I listened to it on audiobook and I think that was a perfect fit. I could listen to him while driving or cleaning the house. It was a funny and eye opening experience for me and I felt inspired to dive into and explore my spirituality more - but without the beard.
Out of 10 stars I'd give this on 8.5. I really liked this book - it actually reminded me of To Kill A Mockingbird - so if you love that book like I do then I know you will probably love this one too.
Publisher's Weekly: Baldacci is writing what? That waspish question buzzed around publishing circles when Warner announced that the bestselling author of The Simple Truth, Absolute Power and other turbo-thrillers—an author generally esteemed more for his plots than for his characters or prose—was trying his hand at mainstream fiction, with a mid-century period novel set in the rural South, no less. Shades of John Grisham and A Painted House. But guess what? Clearly inspired by his subject—his maternal ancestors, he reveals in a foreword, hail from the mountain area he writes about here with such strength—Baldacci triumphs with his best novel yet, an utterly captivating drama centered on the difficult adjustment to rural life faced by two children when their New York City existence shatters in an auto accident. That tragedy, which opens the book with a flourish, sees acclaimed but impecunious riter Jack Cardinal dead, his wife in a coma and their daughter, Lou, 12, and son, Oz, seven, forced to move to the southwestern Virginia farm of their aged great-grandmother, Louisa. Several questions propel the subsequent story with vigor. Will the siblings learn to accept, even to love, their new life? Will their mother regain consciousness? And—in a development that takes the narrative into familiar Baldacci territory for a gripping legal showdown—will Louisa lose her land to industrial interests? Baldacci exults in high melodrama here, and it doesn't always work: the death of one major character will wring tears from the stoniest eyes, but the reappearance of another, though equally hanky-friendly, is outright manipulative. Even so, what the novel offers above all is bone-deep emotional truth, as its myriad characters—each, except for one cartoonish villain, as real as readers' own kin—grapple not just with issues of life and death but with the sufferings and joys of daily existence in a setting detailed with finely attuned attention and a warm sense of wonder. This novel has a huge heart—and millions of readers are going to love it.
Well this will make my second post of this sort today... Tyler decided that his toy box would make a better swimming pool. Yep. That's right. He emptied the toy box and filled it with water. Now when I say filled it. I mean one cup at a time. You see the toy box is too big and heavy to get hefted up to thier small sink in their bathroom. So Tyler attacked the bottled water supply in our food storage area and emptied them into the toy box. Where were this child't parents you ask? Well like I said earlier, I am pretty darn sick and Preston was out at the store getting items for my...sickness. So...they were unsupervised. I could hear their movie playing and assumed all was well. Seriously, have I learned nothing in my years of mother to insanity.
Tyler was naked and enjoying his own personal swimming pool.
I am actually sick in bed today...Preston is home taking care of the kids. So I haven't been privy to the many shenanigans I am sure are taking place outside of my quiet bedroom.
However, I have a good memory when it comes to these things.
Here is one of my favorites...
A few years ago when Ty was still in diapers - Ethan and Tyler took off Tyler's diaper and then stuck their feet in the "Stuff" and made beautiful brown foot prints. "Look Momma, we made a map for you to follow. Follow the footprints to the treasure."
I am actually sick in bed today...Preston is home taking care of the kids. So I haven't been privy to the many shenanigans I am sure are taking place outside of my quiet bedroom.
However, I have a good memory when it comes to these things.
Here is one of my favorites...
A few years ago when Ty was still in diapers - Ethan and Tyler took off Tyler's diaper and then stuck their feet in the "Stuff" and made beauitful brown foot prints. "Look Momma, we map a map for you to follow. Follow the footprints to the treasure."
Day 1 of this challenge and we already have one...
7:12am - Tyler unrolled several rolls of toilet paper all over the house...then in panic - when he realized I was coming downstairs...tried to flush them all down and hide the evidence.
Guess What Happened.
If nursing doesn't work out I think I could get hired on as a plumber or sewer specialist.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Caught them putting on their baby clothes...
So I have no idea how to compare boys to girls. In case you've forgotten, I've never had a girl. However, I do consider myself the expert on all things boy. I know my share about how silly and dirty and crazy they can become with a few unsupervised minutes.... So in honor of this I will be posting a new chaotic moment from my life everyday - this will be one challenge I will have NO trouble keeping. There is at least one moment of craziness every single day when you spend it with these two boys... I am kind of excited to see where this will take me. I think to start this new challenge I will back track a bit and share a few of my "favorite" Ethan and Tyler shenanigans of the past
1. So this one comes just from Saturday. Someone( we'll have to check the cameras to see who) decided to stop the sink in the bathroom and turn the water on full blast. We discovered this when the hallway carpet was soaking wet, the ceiling in the garage downstairs was starting to sag and leak and Tyler was laying on his tummy in the wet hallway and yelling, "Look at me, I am swimming!"
2. Another Saturday example(you see I told you it wouldn't be hard) Tyler squirted a full size tube of toothpaste all over the loft which, by the way, is carpeted...apparently he was drawing the ocean.
3. This one happened in Seattle. We were living on the second floor apartments and Tyler and Ethan took the 10 cases( Why did we have 10 cases of soda on our balcony, you ask? Well that is a story for another day) of soda out of their boxes - they then started to chuck them down into the courtyard. Yep, 120 cans of soda pelting the common area...Mess does not even begin to describe it.
Okay - I could go on and on...but I have done my duty for posterity...I'm tired. Stay tuned for tomorrow and I'm sure we'll have another
I did a little more baking this weekend...I tried a new Cheesecake that I thought was great.
Tall and Creamy Cheesecake Dorie Greenspan
For the crust: 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake: 2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 4 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two* *I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1/3 cup sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter leftover)—and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.
Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides—this doesn’t have to be a precision job. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
Place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the cheesecake: Put a kettle of water on to boil.
Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.
Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the brim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.
Serving: Remove the sides of the springform pan— I use a hairdryer to do this (use the dryer to warm the sides of the pan and ever so slightly melt the edges of the cake)—and set the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a serving platter. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.
Storing: Wrapped well, the cake will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to defrost the still-wrapped cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.
I don't have any awesome pictures to share but I charged the batteries in the camera this morning so my pictureless days are over.
( Oh and by the way, that is definitely not my photography! I wish. Too crazy tonight for good pictures. Maybe next time.)
I told you I was going to bake...almost eight months worth is all cooped up inside of me! I LOVE these cookies. I mean it, LOVE. In my opinion they are perfect. They are chewy, really chewy, and crisp on the edges and packed with spiciness. It's a nice change for a family that sometimes gets stuck in a chocolate rut. It makes my house feel like Christmas with snow and cheer when it's 115 degrees outside. Seriously, these will be on my Christmas cookie plate this year
Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies
(via Dorie Greenspan)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (339 grams)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar (217 grams)
1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap) (161 grams)
1 large egg
About 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and pepper.
Working with a stand mixer (or hand mixer in large bowl), beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for about 2 minutes to blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If some flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, mix in the last of the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula (to avoid overmixing the dough). You should have a smooth, very soft dough.
Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes, or refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Place the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a smooth ball between your palms. One by one, roll the balls around in the bowl of sugar, then place them on the baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar and use it to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the tops feel set to the touch.
Remove from the oven and, the cookies have spread and are touching, use a metal spatula to separate the cookies while they are still hot. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature.
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 8-inch-square baking pan.
COMBINE flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle nuts and white morsels over batter. Drizzle caramel topping over top. Beat remaining egg and reserved batter in same large bowl until light in color. Stir in semi-sweet morsels. Spread evenly over caramel topping.
BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.
