“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy.” Kahlil Gibran
Author: Mapgirl
I eat. I pray. I read. I write. I share. Here.
The Paris Wife
by Paula McLain
This author has the ability to draw us into the sweetly sad story of Hadley & Ernest from Chapter One. Elizabeth Hadley Richardson was the first love and first wife of Ernest Hemingway. She was, in truth, The Paris Wife. 
Real, not overworked dialogue between two people can’t be very easy, and Ms. McLain brings it to life with a smoothness that many historical fiction writers don’t accomplish. Schruns, Pamplona and the Riviera are a few of the stylishly chic backdrops where this couple worked and played. This account of the now famous couple’s travels and circle of artistic friends is fascinating!
By the way readers, I’m in my official “French Phase”, and so this was absolument parfait! (I wish I hadn’t had to use Google translate just there ; ) Stay tuned for “A Year in Provence”.
“A bulb planted in fall is a letter sent to spring.”
This simple truth came to me after planting nearly 300 bulbs in rocky countryside conditions last weekend. Where was there anything to show for my aching back and knees? As fatigue and discouragement set in, the garden gave me one of its secrets. Now sleep tight daffodils!
White Fang by Jack London
I grabbed this book as I was about to go out of town with nothing to read. My father had read Jack London and I tend to like wilderness adventure tales, so that’s all it took. If Mr. London does not have you hooked in the first 3 chapters, I’d be surprised~ I. The Trail of Meat; II. The She-Wolf; III. The Hunger Cry. Two men, and six dogs, sledding across the Arctic, transporting a corpse in a coffin, when daylight comes and goes in a brief 6 hours. Oh, and they only have 3 cartridges for the rifles. A lot can go wrong quickly~
London then gently transitions into part anthropomorphic narrator and finds a way to bring us into the world of Kiche the she-wolf whom the native Indians had once tamed. She bears White Fang, her only offspring to survive that spring’s litter, and he takes us along on first hunts, first terrors, and many encounters with humans, or “man-gods” as London calls them.
You won’t look at your own sweet pup in the same way~
Florent and a walk in the Gaslamp Quarter
Fifth Avenue in San Diego. The beating heart of tourism in a city with a siren’s call to tourists and conventioneers. First time staying in SD, first time eating there. Sunday night found us walking up 5th. Sights, sounds, and yes smells. Some delicious, some not so much. The lack of rain may be to blame for a distinctly pungent aroma in doorways and vestibules where the street folk and the colorful play. Ask Mark about his idea for street sanitation. There’s a patent in the works.
Lovely and inviting nonetheless, we walk up one side of the street checking out menus and being invited in to a table by hosts and hostesses as the early dining crowd saunters along. Italian? Too heavy and traditional. Can you say “Spagetti Factory?” Irish? Yeh, so have a pint and something fried.
Florent was a standout in the crowd. Clean fresh decor. Light modern menu. Could this be the one? No, its early. Its only Sunday night and there are so many sirens calling.
We cross 5th and start down the street. This time, we mean it. Searsucker was a standout. Clean rustic decor. Light modern menu. This was the one. And it was very good.
But this review is about Florent.
Fast forward to Friday. Hotel check-out but flight isn’t until 7 and its a sunny, mild day in San Diego! Feeling peckish long after a delicious breakfast at Cafe 222 – but this review is about Florent!
One last walk in the Gaslamp District. The lovely, fresh decor, the light modern menu. The siren’s call can’t be ignored. We drop in at the silvery, sleek, stylish bar and feel at ease. Our bartender (see a prior epr post “Always listen to a good bartender”), chats about the Del Mar races which are opening that week, and about his east-coast roots. Oh and food. It’s 3:30 and there is some confusion about what time happy hour starts, what time the dinner specials start. What’s going on here? “Oh this place just opened last week.”, he says. “It was a soft opening.” “The Chef is Rich Sweeney, he was on Top Chef. And, oh by the way, he’s here, if you’d like to meet him.”
We are excited. Top Chef is one of my guilty pleasures. Except I’m not guilty because if I’ve ever cooked or prepared any food for you in the last 5 years, you’ve benefited from my watching Top Chef. I’ll confess to being a little guilty that I now might actually use the term “cheftestant.”
Rich Sweeney was gracious, engaging and proud of his new venture, Florent. It’s open air, flirty vibe upstairs contrasts with the club jailhouse decor downstairs. The 3 p.m. scene is certainly not going to be the same as the 3 a.m. scene. Let’s let that be someone else’s review. So what did we order off the Happy Hour Menu?
Jicama Sticks – togarashi sea salt, micro cilantro, sriracha aioli – my only recommendation – thinner jicama please!
Vanilla Bourbon Pork Belly Salad – crispy pork belly, argula, vanilla bourbon vinaigrette, gorgonzola, chorizo cornbread croutons, grilled corn, citrus segments
Boudin Blanc – celery root puree, plum buerre blanc, micro celery – I confess I had no idea this a weisswurst! I ordered based on the celery root, plum buerre blanc alone!
Crispy Brussels Sprouts – spanish cured chorizo, asian chili sauce, micro cilantro
Blood Orange Panna Cotta – gone in a flash of two competing spoons. Sometimes sharing the dessert is just dumb.
And what’s a little ironic? The chef at Searsucker, Brian Malarkey, also a Top Cheftestant!
Can we pick ’em or what?
Mark reviews (and lives), ‘We Wanted A Farm’ by M.G. Kains
A first hand account of a couple starting a garden in the city, then renting a home in the suburbs, and finally taking the plunge to buy their own farm. Originally published in 1941, some of the prices obviously seem quite dated.
Kaines has good recommendations for seed varieties which should be heirloom quality in the present day, as well as good tips on how to prepare your soil and how not to buy manure from a local farmer! Good tips on pruning perennial fruits and vegetables for max yield, how to mail order and store plants for the coming season.
His food was so fresh and of high quality that visitors from the city became a problem which was solved by a well placed sign on his driveway.
Intro on how to use dynamite – I’m not going there even if we could buy it today!
Funny comments on his hired help which were the cause for more work than help!
After reading this I now see that farming is a year round activity with plenty of hard work, but the bounty of fresh food brings pleasure year round.
I’m going on a trip, and in my suitcase I need to pack a book. What should I bring?
Here we are finally in full summer and that means we are all hopefully digging into some good “summer reads”. Time for a “What are you reading?” post to pull all sorts of good recommendations out of you epr followers.
So? New? or not new but a favorite? Or, just share your favorite summer reading memories! Mine might have to be reading a creepy book called The Other by Thomas Tyrone or maybe The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough.
Stories from Shakespeare – or how to follow the Bard
If you have watched a Shakespeare play and said to yourself, “What are they saying?” or “What’s going on?” or “Why don’t they speak English?”, you are not alone, and should not have high school flashbacks either. The play is the thing! Just prepare for it. I did my research back when we first subscribed to Chicago Shakespeare Theater all those years ago. The hands-down best resource to prep for the play is ‘Stories from Shakespeare’ by Marchette Chute. The title of Marchette’s work says it all in the word “Stories”. These are great stories and we want to hear the words, watch the action and learn to tell them again and again.
Most people can probably share a common High School English class experience of reading an assigned Shakespeare play. Mine was ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ I’ve since come to believe that these richly layered, intensely crafted plays were not meant to be read, and that is why the torturous memories of my first exposure to Shakespeare still linger. That said, I am thankful to have found that at 15 years old, I was able find real truth and a peak at the genius that Sir Will shared with the world in the eloquence and cunning of Portia v. Shylock.
After many years as subscribers to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, we are down to only one or two of the histories before we can say we’ve seen the entire canon. This is not like saying, “Shakespeare Bucket List – Check!” The guy’s works are enduring and wouldn’t still be staged all over the world every day and night if he was a one hit wonder. Seeing a Shakespeare play more than once is like looking at a bright object through a prism. It is every changing and beautifully fascinating. Proof of that can be found as the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth brings a celebration of Hamlet to be performed in every nation on earth within 2 years. http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/hamlet-globe-to-globe
But back to the plays, because, the play is the thing. Hamlet: “I’ll have grounds, more relative than this—the play’s the thing. Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.”
Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 603–605