Summer Reading 2012

Those two words strike fear in some middle schoolers' hearts just one week into summer vacation, but not mine. I look forward to summer so that I can stay up too late finishing a chapter or even a whole book if I want to. For Christmas, Son #1 gave the Ex-Ex and me a Kindle, just the basic model. I was convinced that I wouldn't like it, but I really, really do. I can download samples, read a few pages, and decide if I want to purchase the book or not. It is very lightweight -- perfect for sticking in my purse during the upcoming trip to France. Unfortunately for the Ex-Ex, he hasn't gotten his hands on it very much since December. But now, fortunately for him, there is a Kindle app on my lovely little iPad. So, my books are downloaded on both.  I suppose showing what's on my Kindle is a glimpse into my private life, n'est-ce pas?

At the moment, I am reading a book I picked up at The Dollar Tree for yes, you guessed it, $1.00.

I am learning about Drancy where Jews were held before being loaded onto train cars and taken to death camps during WWII. When I picked up the book, I did not realize that would be the focus. The story just looked interesting-- a middle-aged woman, scarred by the time she spent in a Nazi camp when she was a child. She is reunited with the boy-turned-man who was there with her as well as the older man who tried to look after the two children.

Then today, Head Butler, Jesse Kornbluth, hooked me with his description of Mission to Paris by Alan Furst. Paris in the late 1930's. Nazis. Spies.  Now downloaded on the Kindle.

I also plan to reread a book I read a few years ago.

This is one of the summer reading books for our sixth graders. A colleague gave me a copy because she said she recognized me in the story of Dovey, a mountain girl in North Carolina. I was very surprised (and secretly thrilled) when I realized that Frances Dowell is the mom of one of my advisees. We even talked about her writing a couple of times. She and her family head up to Bakersville, the county seat of Mitchell county, where Spruce Pine, my hometown, is located. I do not usually reread books, but it's been a while since I read this one and I miss the little mountain girl I used to be.

Mme P, MLQ, ma très chère amie française, whom I will see very soon, has asked for the second and third books in the Hunger Games series. She bought Hunger Games when she was here in April. I read all three of them, too, in a very short period of time at the suggestion of one of my eighth grade girls.  I haven't seen the movie yet (filmed totally in North Carolina).  That's on my summer to-do list.

Ah, les grandes vacances... And more free time to read (and to take an afternoon nap in case I stay up too late reading).

Bon appétit et bonne lecture, mes amis!

Optimists and pessimists

(This is really my Saturday post, day 9 of vacation.  I am just posting 6 1/2 hours late...)

The Ex-Ex and I stopped in at the Family Fare just up the street from our house yesterday evening.  We  took what we needed to purchase up to the counter and the friendly young fellow asked if we wanted to buy a Powerball ticket.  The drawings are on Saturday nights and the jackpot was up to 40 million.  I promptly said we would take two.  And then I actually start daydreaming about what I would do with the money.  The Ex-Ex just says it's a waste of $4, that we will never win.  And yes, I know the odds are a bazillion to one, but my heart starts beating a little faster anyway because I am thinking that someone has to win... Why not me?
Let's see...

• Pay off Son #1's student loans.
• Put away enough for the next three years of Son #2's college expenses.
• Figure out how much I can legally give my mom without her needing to pay taxes on it.  (Guess one needs a good attorney when one wins the lottery, n'est-ce pas?)
• Set up a scholarship fund at my school.
• Make a contribution to the Durham Rescue Mission or TROSA, local programs I strongly believe in.
• Start the search for my little house in the south of France.

That's my short list.

Oh!  David Lebovitz is giving away a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker on his website.  I am sure I will win that, too.  But you can go ahead and enter, too, if you want.  The contest is open until Tuesday, June 19th.

Guess I will go check those numbers now.

Bon appétit et bonne chance!

Summer Vacation- Jour Huit

Paris.
Pont des Arts.
Padlocks of Love.
Are you a romantic soul?  In March, I discovered that romance is alive and well in the world of 8th graders.  We had been to the Louvre and were ready to head somewhere else when I discovered we were getting ready to cross the Pont des Arts.  Non, I had not warned the kids or told them to bring their locks with them.  Non, non, I had not even told Best Guide in the World that we wanted to do this.  So, I got fussed at a little bit.  But there was an enterprising young woman selling both locks and Sharpies so we were in luck.
This is a tradition for sweethearts.  Lock the lock on the bridge and throw the key in the Seine to seal the deal.  I think that they are mysteriously removed periodically, but someone starts it up again and before you know it, the bridge is covered in them once more.
Some locks were dedicated to friends--

Some even engraved beforehand--

Some to a special someone (who says middle school boys aren't romantic??)--

And then some just for fun (also a middle school boy!)--

But definitely for BFFs--

I've already told the BFF group that we will indeed stroll across this bridge and to be sure to bring a lock if they would like to.
17 days to go, but who's counting?
Can't wait!

If you can't go to Paris and snap on a lock to pledge your undying love, whip up some cream puffs or éclairs.  They will do the trick.

Chou Pastry for Cream Puffs,  Éclairs or Profiteroles

1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sifted all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400˚F.
In medium saucepan, slowly bring to boil one cup of water with butter and salt.
Remove from heat, beat in flour all at once with a wooden spoon.
Return to low heat.  Continue beating until mixture forms ball and leaves side of pan.
Remove from heat.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating hard after each addition until mixture is smooth.
Continue beating until dough is shiny and satiny and breaks into strands.
For cream puffs, drop by rounded teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
For éclairs, drop by rounded teaspoonful three inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread each ball of dough into a four-inch strip.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool completely on wire rack.
Slice off tops (lengthwise for éclairs), scoop out any filaments of soft dough.
Fill with sweetened whipped cream or custard for cream puffs or éclairs or ice cream for profiteroles.  Glaze with melted chocolate, if desired.  Or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Bon appétit, sweethearts everywhere!

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Snoopy's great novel always begins with that sentence.  The first sentence is important and he is well aware of this.  It's the hook.  I wish I knew what mine is going to be and that I could sit on top of my dog house and work on my novel all day.  Just like Snoopy.
He has long been my favorite cartoon character.  He just has that certain je ne sais quoi.  A definite joie de vivre.  He sits in little cafés in France and quaffs root beer after shooting at the Red Baron. He has an amazing art collection down in that dog house.  He is the very essence of cool when he slips on his shades.  He dances whenever he feels like it.  I used to practice drawing him in the margins of my school notebooks...

(Now I can draw it in Skitch on the iPad using a stylus that the Computer Guru lent me to practice with over the summer, email it to myself and attach it to the blog... sometimes I am definitely in over my head...)
Back to Snoopy and writing novels.  I have actually written a beginning, two of them, as a matter of fact.  And a rough outline of the chapters.  I just need to channel my inner Snoopy, find his fearlessness, and get to work.  Right, Snoopy?  But of course, madame.  What are you waiting for?

"So what on earth possesses an almost 50 year old woman to pack her bags and leave home for six months?  To give up the apartment that has been home for three years, store all of her worldly goods in a friend's garage, and find herself sitting in a bar in the Toronto airport sipping a glass of overpriced wine waiting for the flight that will eventually take her to the Marignane airport in Marseille, France?"

or

"It all began innocently enough in the fall of 1973.  I was fifteen years old.  I had no idea this relationship would become my lifelong obsession instead of just a casual passing flirtation.  What did I know about exotic?  I was naïve, born and raised in a small town in the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by a large extended family and others just like us, Baptist, white, and blue collar.  There was nothing different or strange or exotic in this town.  Of course, looking back, I can see that this very trait is what attracted me most.  It was a blind date-type of relationship for the first few years.  The 1970's equivalent of internet dating, I suppose."


Actually, instead of sitting on top of a dog house writing my novel, I'd rather be sitting in a Parisian café slathering butter and jam on a baguette, sipping café au lait, putting my thoughts on paper (on this computer screen, actually, but it doesn't sound as romantic, does it?), but that, and my pain aux raisins, will just have to wait for a couple more weeks...

I will now make my healthy breakfast from Eat To Live and get ready for work.  The middle school director has asked if he can take me to lunch today.  That will get me through a morning of filing report cards.

Blue Apple-Nut Oatmeal
serves 2

1 2/3 c. water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 Tbsp. dried currants
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 banana, sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped or grated
2 Tbsp. walnuts

In a saucepan, combine the water, cinnamon, oats, and currants.  Simmer until the oatmeal is creamy (about 5 minutes).  Add the blueberries and banana.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until hot, stirring constantly.  Mix in the apples and nuts.

Bon appétit, Snoopy and all writers out there!  Bon courage!

Madame Eiffel, you are bringing me down

Actually, it appears that your elevator will not be taking me and my BFF group up as we had planned. I cannot get tickets to the top because you only have one working ascenseur. What's up (or not up) with that, chère madame? I've been trying for several weeks and have asked everyone I know in your beautiful city, but it seems it will not be in the cards this time. I guess we will just have to admire you from below. Watch you sparkle, take your photo many times, and miss our date at the top. (heavy sigh). Non, madame, I must admit that I never get tired of riding to the top and looking at the twinkling lights that make up La Ville Lumière, the City of Light. A couple of the tour groups say they will substitute in the Montparnasse Tower if you aren't available. But I am not interested. Non, merci. Personally, I think that would be like kissing your sister, as the saying goes. I still love you, though, and will continue to wear my cute new earrings from Target.

Bon appétit, la Grande Dame!

Summer Vacation- Jour Six

It is summer vacation and I am feeling a bit relieved, but I am not totally free.  I have moved to the desk across the sidewalk from my classroom, working the front desk of the middle school.  I spent my first morning (after an hour of yoga... still trying to stretch these muscles) finishing honors cards, stuffing some envelopes, mailing out my 7th graders' final penpal letters from their Frenchie friends (received the day after our last class, of course), and meeting some of the new Student U folks who are taking over our campus.
As part of my 8th grade final exam, I asked my students to write a thank you letter in French.  Twenty sentences to anyone they wanted to.  Here's who they chose:
Actress Juliette Binoche
(Wish that I had starred opposite Johnny Depp in Chocolat...)

(photo: thesnipenews.com)

Macaron-maker Pierre Hermé
(Wish I had a couple of his little treats right now...)

Best Guide in the World and my favorite Parisien Thierry
(Wish I were having dinner in that little restaurant tonight... excellent Boeuf Bourgignon)

M. le Président François Hollande
(Wish I was sharing that sandwich...)

(photo: guardian.co.uk)

Our penpals in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon
(Wish I could wiggle my nose and be there now...)

And to me, their devoted professeur de français for the past two or three years of their young lives.

Now, out of the office (yes, I am cheating and blogging) and off to Arles Lucy's house for Wednesday W&W!!

Bon appétit et santé!

A New Look?

photo:  zillow.com

Yes, I am trying a new look-- on the blog.  Non, not me personally, although this is the look I would try out if I could pull it off.  Oui, I have decided that Meg Ryan will play me when the movie rights to my life are sold.  I think she is just adorable.  I do.  I decided to update the blog and maybe I will like it and maybe I won't.  On verra.  Give me few days to figure it out.  I do not do change easily.  I actually fight it tooth and nail, no matter how hip and happenin' I seem.  Oh, stop guffawing, those of you who really know me.  I lived in the same house for my first 18 years of life, went to the same university for 3 1/2 years and now have been in the same job for 32 years.  I have lived in the same state for 53 years except for my all-too-brief stays in France.  What can I say?  

I've just listened to a TV show about the friendship between Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts.  There are tears in my eyes as I watch just what Diane has been doing for Robin as she battles a rare blood and bone marrow disease.  You know what Diane did?  She brought Robin take-out from Popeye's.  Yes, she did.  Against hospital rules.  Dressed in white socks and sweats (or at least it appeared that way).  Everyone should have a BFF who would, without even thinking, sneak in whatever your favorite food is.  I mean, really, if you are hooked up to a machine pumping in God-knows-what into your body do you really need to worry about calories, carbs or fat?  I think not.  I imagine you just want something that tastes good, something that soothes your soul, that reminds you of Grandma or Mama.  

I know that my BFF would bring me some really good stuff-- bacon, maybe even a BLT sandwich (bacon from a pig raised at Elodie Farms, cured by Seth at BCBB).  She would find the perfect food for me.  She knows me that well. 

Everyone should have a someone who could do that... 

The Perfect BLT

One sandwich

(really only perfect in summer when tomatoes are in season)

2 slices of really good bread  - maybe with sunflower seeds baked in it

4 slices of bacon, fried crisp

1/2 ripe avocado, sliced

1 ripe tomato, sliced thickly

Lettuce

Mayonnaise (even garlic mayo would be really good)

Assemble and enjoy.  Best if the tomato juice runs down your chin!  

Bon appétit, Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, and BFFS everywhere!