I hate green beer...

wrong wrong wrong

and lots of things that have to do with St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States. Wearing green on a particular day is annoying. It's one of my favorite colors to wear, but not because of some basically made up holiday. Don't tell me what to do - I don't like it. And if any body pinches me, they get popped one right in the chin. Parades... groan. Maybe it's because by now, we've been through Mardi Gras and the whole Carnival season, which is a huge regional celebration, and seen plenty of parades - more parades than is ever necessary - adding a green themed one is just annoying. Everyone pretending to be Irish for the day must be an insult to those that truly are Irish. It's sort of silly, really. And the biggest travesty is green beer. Who would do something like that? It's ridiculous, it's insulting to good beer, and it's just plain moronic. 

If you're going to celebrate St. Patrick's day, drink a real Irish beer - and the first one that comes to mind is one of my favorite beers of all time - Guinness. Guinness is complex. It's rich, slightly thick, tastes of coffee and chocolate and is creamy and smooth. It might be an acquired taste, but I think if people just went to it with an open mind instead of the "I don't like dark beer" mind set, it might be an easier transition from pale green swill that has been dyed green. 
So stop with the green beer already. 
Please.

Laptop

I have to go out of town tomorrow for work - groan. But to keep up w/some meeting I'm planning for next week, I have to take a laptop with me. Consequently, I'm giving it a run for it's money in the blog department as I have been debating if I want to get a laptop or not or maybe even a netbook. So I'll work on the Citivolus sus tonight and see how I like it. That should help me decide.

We'll see. Yes, I'm sceptical of almost everything.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Becton

Do you ever wonder what happened to Charlotte Collins in Miss Austen's Pride & Prejudice? Yeah, me neither, but I have just burned through Jennifer Becton's Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. 

Summary: When Charlotte Lucas married Mr. Collins in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she believed herself to be fortunate indeed. Her nuptials gained her a comfortable home and financial security. If she acquired these things at the expense of true love, it did not matter one whit. To Charlotte, love in marriage was nothing more than a pleasant coincidence. 
As the years of her marriage dragged by, Charlotte began to question her idea of love as she suffered continual embarrassment at her husband's simpering and fawning manners. When Mr. Collins dies, finally relieving everyone of his tedious conversation, she must work feverishly to secure her income and home. She give no further thought to the prospect of love until her flighty sister Maria begs her to act as her chaperone in place of their ailing parents. Hoping to prevent Maria from also entering an unhappy union, Charlotte agrees, and they are quickly thrust into a world of country dances, dinner parties, and marriageable gentlemen.
But when an unprincipled gentleman compromises Charlotte's reputation, her romantic thoughts disappear at the prospect of losing her independence. As she struggles to extricate herself from her slander, her situation reveals both the nature of each gentleman and of true love. (source: bectonliterary.com) *


Comments: As mentioned, I burned through this book. It is a great read and so very enjoyable. Charlotte, as a character in Pride and Prejudice, was so practical and in my mind lowered herself by accepting the odious Mr. Collins. No one could want to get married that badly, could they? Really? But Jennifer Becton has really made Charlotte Collins into a more complete, three dimensional character. Evidently intelligent (she must be, to be Lizzie Bennett's best friend), she's rational and conventional, but in reviewing her life with Mr. Collins she sees that perhaps she had made a mistake by agreeing to marry for security instead of love or even for respect. She does not want her younger sister Maria to make the same mistake. 
Bring in the ugly Americans - a devise that I find absolutely charming in this case because it is handled so very well.  Mr. James Westfield and his uncle and chaperone, Mr. Benjamin Basford arrive in the area on Mr. Westfield's tour his historical homeland.  Westfield is practically worshiped by the younger ladies in attendance as he is both handsome and rich (which a young man should be, if possible). He shows a decided interest in Maria and they make a handsome couple. While Basford seems to have an odd sense of humor and plagues Charlotte with what she considers inappropriate comments. He's also relaxed and dressed quite differently from what she is accustomed to - but that's only the beginning. I adored him from the first - what a charming, disarming,  and fun gentleman. Ms. Becton's description of the first ball in the novel made it almost feel like I was there - a nice place to be, I have to say. 
Ms. Becton creates real characters, real situations and real tension. I do so hope there is a follow up to this book because I would like to see what happens next to both Charlotte and Maria. 
Questions: Does rosemary grow in Kent? In England? I don't remember seeing any there while I was there, but who is to say.
Would Charlotte have used "Mrs. Charlotte Collins" on her calling card? What was Mr. Collins's christian name? Did he have one in Pride & Prejudice?
Would Sir William and Lady Lucas have sunk like that financially?
I totally think about random things like this while reading. 


*The last sentence of this summary isn't clear if you don't know that there are two gentlemen interested in Charlotte.

Victory Prima Pils

I found this beer at the 2010 BAM Fest (Beer, Art, Music) at the Bridge Bar in Gulf Breeze. I had never had anything from Victory before that time and just finding this pilsner was worth the cost of admission to BAM. I hope they will hold the festival again this year - need to call and find out.
Victory Prima Pils - it's just so clean and so refreshing. I can't get enough, but what's great is that now my local grocery store carries it. Craft beer seems really to be making it mainstream - a lovely thought indeed. 

From Victory: Though we'd been through a few (pilsners) in our years with other breweries finally, with the choicest, freshest European hops and the finest German malts, we had achieved what we'd sought for so long Prima... an exclamation of our Victory.

Heaps of hops take the stage as elegant German malt supports this classy quencher beautifully. Grand Champion Pilsner - US Beer Tasting Championship '02 - '05 Approx. 5.3% a.b.v.
www.victorybeer.com

Comment on Japan

I think Ruth Reichl sums up my feelings pretty clearly here.


"But in the face of ongoing disaster, it is also our moral responsibility to appreciate what we have.  That is why cooking good food for the people that I love is so important to me; in a world filled with no, it is a big yes." 

First of the Month - March Edition (almost)

Oak - 6 March 2011

Well, it's just been a dismal March so far - until today. I guess it means that spring is here when the lines of storms start to come our way from the west. Unfortunately, there have been tornados in parts of the south, which almost always means someone dies. I hate hate hate tornados - they scare me more than any other weather thing - hurricanes no problem, but tornados - hate them. 
I just keep thinking that spring is here, that said, the high today was 53˚but I can hear the cardinals chirping as they pig out at the bird feeder and that's good enough for me .... so far. 

Bald Cypress - 6 March 2011

River Birch 6 Mar 2011

Realizing that this is the 6th and not the 1st, this isn't quite right, but I couldn't make it through the rain and then the cold and the wind - what the heck - like a tropical storm - but it appears that's over - just in time to go back to work. Woo.

River Birch #2 - 6 Mar 2011

I'm sure to someone up north, I'd sound like a lame-o, but you know, it should be warm by now. I'm sure this has something to do with me gloating (just a bit) to the Verizon tech that helped me this week. She innocently asked me "How's the weather in Florida?" and I went on about how we'd been wearing shorts for two weeks and eating at outdoor restaurants on the water. She in Utah. Oops. Well, it does get humid here and we have gators (at least that made her feel better). 
When are things going to get going in the backyard? It's driving me nuts. Come on. Get going. Um, now. 

Wisteria - 6 Mar 2011

Camellia - 6 Mar 2011

It's the book club I don't have

I've tried to get my friends to start a book club, but they are resistant. Seems my reputation as a food snob has informed my reputation as a reader of literary fiction (in particular Jane Austen). No one wants to read with me, even though I've explained that I would only pick the books on a rotating basis -- we would all get a turn. I would like to get more experience in contemporary fiction, which I don't have.  
I guess this is why I like the book challenges on the blogs so much. I feel like I'm reading things that like minded people are reading. Here are the reading challenges I'm in this year (so far):
Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival (here)
Being A Jane Austen Mystery Reading Challenge 2011 (here)
Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011 (here)
Sense & Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge 2011 (here)

National Grammar Day - March 4th, 2011

National Grammar Day

This cartoon says it all. My absolute pet peeve of the grammar world.

Go check out the rest of the comics at AngryFlower.com.

March 3, 2011 World Book Day

Today is World Book Day

Anne Elliot & Captain Wentworth

So what are my favorite books? Harder than I thought to do this.
Fiction:
Persuasion - Jane Austen - Always first. Two better characters were never created than Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth - not even Lizzie Bennett and Darcy compare.
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - The only Bronte book I have enjoyed, but it's one of my favorite books of all time.
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell - Truly a romance, but so very much more about class, society, and the industrial revolution in England. Fascinating.
Howard's End - E.M. Forrester - Again a commentary on wealth, class, and society, with a true romance.
Miss Pettifrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson - New for me, but this is a most charming, well-written, funny, fast-paced book. It's a quick read, but very enlightening about society.

John Thaw as Morse

Mysteries:
The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins - Told through the recounted tale of many (many) characters, it is one of the earliest mysteries.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman - PD James - Cordelia Gray is such a well written character. The story is believable and it's great to see a young female detective in a man's world. Her age, in this case, helps her detective work.
Death is now my Neighbor - Colin Dexter - Morse is one of my all time favorite characters - small, difficult, sensitive (believe it or not), and quick to drink and this is my favorite in the Colin Dexter series. And in this wonderfully complex murder mystery, we find out his Christian name. All set in the beautiful city of Oxford - that doesn't hurt either.

Non-Fiction:
Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell - fascinating way to think about those among us who seem to have something special - maybe they do - it's lots of hard work.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - Barbara Kingsolver - details Kingsolver's family's attempt to eat local (w/very few exceptions) for a year. I now know I could never kill a chicken. It was a learning experience in many ways.

February Challenge - 24 - 28 February

24 Feb - books

25 Feb - sweater set

26 Feb - sweater set

27 Feb - shirt

28 Feb - mini blinds