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  • I’m Sorry, Apparently I Just Crawled Out From Under a Rock

    Yesterday we got a new caregiver in the house, Mary, and she seems very nice.  Soon after she arrived I had to go out to run a few errands and she asked if I could pick up some dinner for her at Burger King.  She said she wanted a burger and fries, or at least that is what I thought she said.  I actually thought she said a "buh burger" and some fries, so I asked if she wanted a particular kind of burger like a whopper and she just said just a "buh burger", so asked if she wanted a plain hamburger and she repeated herself again and then when I asked yet again, she said yes, a hamburger.   So I said OK.  What else could I say?  It was pretty obvious that I was a bit confused, and the truth is that I haven't been to Burger King in at least 4 years, maybe more and have also managed to remain pretty much oblivious to any advertising from the franchise or any of their competitors.  

    So eventually I get to Burger King.  And I am thinking that I have no idea what I am doing, what kind of burger I should get, and I had better not go through the drive up window, so I park and go inside where I am faced with a big wall listing all the various options. And then I thought I would go outside and call Mary and just check to be sure she wanted a burger and fries.  I suddenly recalled that she said she only ate goat and chicken,  or was it that she only cooked goat and chicken?  Perhaps she wanted a chicken sandwich and I had completely misunderstood.  So I stood outside by the highway where I could barely hear and she said she wanted a "buh burger" and I thought that I didn't remember her having such a stutter, but that I had better just buy a burger of some sort and so I went back inside.  

     

    I asked the girl at the counter what was the most popular burger and she said the "BcBurger" or at least that is what I thought she said.  I wondered if I needed to have my hearing checked.  Then she said the one on the poster up front, but I didn't see it.  I've known I badly needed new glasses for at least a month now, but I did think I should be able to read a big advertising poster.   I saw a poster for BK Burger.  I thought that perhaps I was out of date and a BK Burger was not pronounced "bee kay burger" but "buk burger" so I asked what came on that and told her to go ahead and get me one with an order of fries. 

     

    It wasn't until I was back in my car with the burger and fries safely on the passenger seat that I noticed the sign.  It said Buck Burger and it suddenly struck me that Mary was asking me to pick up a buck burger, meaning a burger that sold for a buck.  I could have just stepped off the shuttle from Mars for all I knew about what she was saying.  I could only shake my head and smile, and think of all the stories the nice girl at the counter would have to tell her friends about the crazy old lady who had never been to Burger King and couldn't understand English.

     

    I really do need to get out more.

  • Book Review: Wrong

    41ZNMqfNnnL._SL500_AA300_ I picked up Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us and How to Know When not to Trust Them  by David Freedman on a whim.  If anything I was biased toward enjoying a book like this ever since I read Good Calories, Bad Calories, which made me incredibly angry even as I questioned everything, both the research which Taubes referred to in his book, and Taubes own conclusions.  

     

    But Wrong is not nearly as good or compelling as Taubes' book.  Although the book was somewhat interesting, it really offered very little that was new or particularly enlightening; it was more useful as a reminder of how even well-meaning and well-constructed research can go wrong as well the realities of publishing and the ways in which the need for new and compelling materials magnifies the problem.  All of this is interesting but not interesting enough to fill an entire book, a book that basically tells the reader to trust his or her own common sense and approach expert information with a healthy dose of skepticism.

     

    The simple truth is that we are all overwhelmed with too much information and too much media all competing to win our attention and loyalty.  We want simple answers and are too willing to accept them simply because it makes life easier and less frightening.   I think this book is appealing to that all too human desire to know how to know who you should believe and how to discern the difference, but of course any simple answer to that question would probably be wrong.

  • First snow of 2011

    Only six inches this time instead of the 20 we had after Christmas.  But it is still just as pretty.

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    I love the way snow blankets the world in silence and the almost mystical whiteness before the plows scrape the snow into gray-brown piles and sounds of civilization resume.

  • What I wore.

    IMG_4279 I had mixed feelings about this coat at the beginning of the season.  It obviously fit. And I've always loved it, but perhaps I have been reading too many style books or something because I struggle with whether it is attractive or appropriate or just dowdy. 

    I like the elongated double-breasted cut and double breasted jackets have always been good on me.  I do love the length, but it is difficult to wear.  A shorter coat is easier for the car.  It is too long in sloppy weather.  I have to hold it up to climb stairs so it would be impossible to wear if I had to take public transportation.  I read that long coats make one look dumpy.  So what?  I love it anyway. I feel glamorous and romantic when I wear it.  Do glamorous and romantic go together?  Can one be romantic in a tailored double breasted coat?  

     

    Now that I think about it, every year I tell myself it is too long, that I should get rid of it, that it is not attractive or practical.  And every year I end up wearing it more than I anticipate.  After 4 or 5 years it still looks good.  Who am I to argue?

     

    IMG_4273 Yesterday I put it on because I was wearing a tunic-vest with an asymmetric hem that hung in points below my knees and therefore below the hem of several other coats.  This drove me crazy.  With this coat the pointy bits were all hidden.  With the coat, the look was completely different than without.  I liked that.

     

    Most of these items are new.  Well most of my wardrobe is new as the old stuff no longer fit, or just looked old, or both.

     

    White turtleneck, Carlisle, is rayon/lycra and several years old.

     

    The striped vest and slim pants were purchased in mid November at a store in Cold Spring called Art to Wear.  It was my first solo shopping trip in several years, and I was a bit apprehensive, thinking I wouldn't find much, but I found several pieces and everything I took to the dressing room fit and worked.  I've been living in these clothes ever since.  Both of these pieces are by a line called Comfy, frankly a name which I would not have sought out as it evokes images of shapeless fleece. But I was wrong. I bought three pieces and I love them all.  Truthfully the pants are a bit short on me, but they are slim and warm and work perfectly with boots.

     

    I obsessed about a pair of over-the-knee boots with wrap ties all last year and never bought them.  When I saw these in September I realized that this was obviously not just a passing fancy and bought them.  I have no regrets.

    The earrings are the same ones you saw here.

     Obviously I've been fooling myself if I believed my style was "classic".

  • 2010 Reading List, Part 2

    Somehow I rarely managed to review books last year, and although I thought of doing a book review of the last one or two read in December, I instead opted to just start fresh with the new year.  In early July I posted a list of the books I read in the first six months of the year, and I shall finish out now with books read in the final six months of 2010, with a few comments in lieu of reviews, as in the previous post, and links to the very few reviews. 

     

    31. Robert Ludlum, The Paris Option

    32. John McPhee, Assembling California

    33. David Byrne, Bicycle Diaries

    34. Sue Grafton, B is for Burglar

    35. Lee Child, Tripwire

    36. David McCullough, John Adams

    37. Arthur Krystal, A Company of Readers

    38. Anna Quindlen,  Every Last One

    39. James Hollis, The Middle Passage (not a review as it was written when I was only partially through the book)

    40. Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater (thought provoking)

    41. Allegra Goodman, The Cookbook Collector

    42. David Cullen, Columbine (riviting, well written, disturbing and ultimately heartbreaking)

    43. Peter Murphy, John the Revelator

    44. Abigail Thomas, A Three Dog Life (hit surprisingly close to home in ways I did not expect).

    45. Laura Munson, This is Not the Story You Think It Is

    46. Kate Christensen, The Epicure's Lament (compelling.  Spot on humor and good writing)

    47. Clara Parkes, The Knitter's Book of Wool

    48. Barbara Sher, I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was

    49. Sam Wasson, Fifth Avenue, 5 AM (entertaining fluff but a let-down)

    50. Tonya Plank, Swallow

    51.  Barbara Sher, Refuse to Choose (really helped me)

    52.  Betty Fussell, My Kitchen Wars (Fussell's journalistic prose is not up to the story, but her repetition of pat phrases really managed to capture something of the age and milieu)

    53. Leslie Chang, Factory Girls. (eye-opening)

    54. Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap. (interesting, well-written novel, mostly unlikeable characters who in the end have to decide what they want in life and where they wish to draw the line)

    55. Marie Bostwick, A Thread So Thin

    56. Dominique Browning, Slow Love

    57. Margaux Tartarotti, The Fine Art of Dressing

    58. Helen Garner, The Spare Room (unsentimental and beautiful novel about friendship and death)

    59. Annie Dillard, The Maytrees (poetic.  I need to read this again to truly form an opinion.  It may be groundbreaking; it may be merely difficult, I remain uncertain as to my reaction as I was not focused enough when I read it.  Dillard has an amazing talent for putting abstract feelings and those fleeting moments of emotional clarity into words)

    60. Janie Bryant, The Fashion File

    61. Elizabeth George, This Body of Death (very satisfying)

    In the future I will subject you to only one master list, but also to more frequent reviews.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • There were gifts: The Books

    I would have been perfectly happy this Christmas without any additional gifts this Christmas; my main gift was having G come home to me, and it was topped off with a visit from family including my adorable grandson.  But of course, Santa did not forget Grandma.

     

    Among those gifts were two wonderful style books, and since I have a fondness and weakness for style books, these were gifts that were particularly close to my heart.

     

    0399525688.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_ First there was The Fine Art of Dressing by Margaux Tartarotti, which is a very interesting book and one which I like quite a bit.  It is not a book that requires a lot of reading.  The introductory chapters are brief and give a brief summary of color, pattern and line.  

     

    It is after this introductory setion tht you get into the fun part of this book.  Rather than using the commonly used body types of pear, apple, rectangle etc, the author defines six body types naming them for the artists who tended to portray them in their work. Gimmick perhaps, but it works. First of all it avoids the stereotypical associations of "apple" or "pear" and makes each figure type seem desirable.  After all, who wouldn't rather be a Modigliani than a pear, or a Gaugin rather than in inverted triangle?  Since the author uses line drawings of the figures used by each artist, these figures are also somewhat easier to identifiy with than the illustrations in many style books.  The descriptions of each figure are also simple, highlighting key points without going into complicated descriptions.

     

    What I found most useful was the way the author gives a chart for each figure type defining the key shapes and why they work, including shoes and accessories.  There are several illustrations  of key looks with bullet-points describing key features and why they are important.  Then each body type ends with a summary  consisting of line drawings showing the key lines, including side and views, and the major silhouettes to avoid.

     

    As you move from your body type to the end of the book there is another series of charts showing key garment lines and ranking them from worst to best for each body type.  After the charts is a greater discussion of various figure issues and how to dress for them, including a discussion and illustration of the best swimsuit shapes for each type.

     

    What I liked about this book is its simplicity.  You don't have to read a lot.  You don't really have to measure anything, the descriptions are good, and the charts are convenient too.  I can see keeping a copy of the chart handy for those times when I am looking at patterns and can't decide if something will actually work for me or not.  Of course no formula will account for everything, and styling matters too, but there is useful information in this book.

     

    8255371 The second book, The Fashion File by Janie Bryant, was more exciting, visually appealing, and just fun to read, but ultimately less useful.  The book is "dishy" and fun  but it offers nothing really new.  It looks at dressing with the eye of a costume designer, which is fine and not at all unexpected considering that Janie Bryant is a costume designer, and as I mentioned before the illustrations are fabulous.  The sections where Ms. Bryant wrote about how she defines the character by clothing and cut and color was fascinating, and her take on vintage clothes and how to combine them to create a modern silhouette was also interesting.  I am happy to have read the book but it is not a book to hold my interest after the initial thrill.

     

  • What I cooked: Black-eyed pea and chorizo soup

    I'm not a big new year's eve fan, and never really have been.  Yes there were a few years in my youth where I would have a party, but it was more an excuse than a real celebration.  It just isn't a holiday that means that much to me.  A new year, a new beginning, but the revelry at the end of the old year somehow doesn't capture my imagination.  Birthdays seem more significant.  Perhaps I am missing something but I am just as happy to greet the new year after a good night's sleep as I am to stay up.  

     

    That doesn't mean that I don't welcome the new year however.  New Year's day is a day of promise and reassessment, a day with its own traditions, at least for me, and the main tradition involves the lowly black-eyed pea. Usually I make a big pot from dried black eyes, but I didn't feel like that so much this year, perhaps because there are a few big pots of things still in my refrigerator and freezer from recent family visits.  

     

    IMG_4264 But I still needed black-eyes.  I'm not particularly superstitious but I am a firm believer in rituals. Luckily for me, Lisa, who write the blog Homesick Texan, had just posted a recipe for black-eyed pea and chorizo soup and I thought it would be just perfect for a quiet New Year's Day at home. 

     

    I altered the recipe slightly.  I reduced the quantity considerably and probably changed the proportion of a few things as well.  I also used my own chorizo, which is perhaps not quite as authentic as a good Mexican chorizo, but which suits my taste better than the one currently available at my local Mexican market.  As you can see I also didn't use crushed tortilla chips, but fried up a tortilla and cut it in strips, adding them on top of the soup rather than stirring them in. Doing it my way was a tad more work but I would happily do it again.

     

    Now I can rest easy, knowing that another year has gotten off to a good start.  

     

    What about you?  Do you have rituals, food  related or otherwise, associated with the turning of the New Year?

     

  • Happy New Year

    The new year is dawning shiny and bright with promise.  

     

    Although I do have goals for the new year, they do not, at this point, comprise a specific list of bullet-point items that I wish to share here.

     

    However it can be said that:

     

    * There will be sewing. (yes, it is true)

    * There will be knitting.

    * There will be thoughts/posts on fashion, style, outfits, etc.

    * There will be many changes and projects around the house and yard.

    * There will be reading.

    * There will be music.

    It sounds like a pretty fabulous year, doesn't it?  The year I stop putting all my dreams on hold.  The year of Mardel.

     

     

     

  • Have a Happy Holiday

    I've been caught up in a whirlwind of baking and preparing for family here.  It is such a big change from the empty house and anticipation of the previous month.  I shouldn't be surprised at how much fun I am having or how exhausted I am at the end of each day, but somehow I am.  I have to admit it is a very good kind of exhausted though and I am looking forward to kicking back and beginning this evening I am looking forward to kicking back and relaxing and reveling in a week filled with family.

     

    I wish you all peace and joy and the pleasures of good company.  I don't anticipate being back here before 2011, when some kind of more regular scheduling should resume.

     

     

  • Pan Lust

    Picture 32 I've been looking for a large, roughly 12", deep, sauté pan and have not been happy with what I have seen. Until now that is.  I recently discovered Iittala's line of cookware named tools and I covet them all, especially, this large 30 cm saute pan.

     

    Suddenly I am thinking that even things that are used everyday should be beautiful and make my heart sing each time I use them.  But is it as perfectly functional as it is beautiful? It must be more than just a pretty pan to hold its own in my kitchen and in my heart.