Saturday Afternoon Visit to the Library

"I have found the most valuable thing

in my wallet is my library card."

LAURA BUSH, former First Lady

Ping! A message from the library says the book I reserved is now ready for pick up. I rush off to get it as I'm eager to read The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, the novel having been recommended by Miranda Mills on a recent YouTube book vlog.

Having parked in the 15-minute zone, I could not loiter. No matter... for even in that space of time, I easily came out with five other books: four from the 'Books About Small Things' display at the entrance, plus a novel from the Staff Picks shelf that looked interesting. On my return home, I've been sitting in the garden sipping a glass of iced raspberry-flavoured sparking water and browsing through my stash.

Titles and covers beguile, and quick glances at back covers, inside descriptions, and a flip through a chapter or two usually settle whether or not the book comes home with me. It's all a matter of 15 seconds or so. And, just to be clear, I have not read any of these so far, so I cannot recommend them.... but I will share a peek at what drew me in. Perhaps something below will catch your eye.  

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The Tiny Book of Tiny Houses

by Lester Walker, 1993

"the book that launched the tiny-house movement"

It really is a tiny book, about the size of a small greeting card. I loved the look and feel of it in my hand. It's the author's collection of plans, models and photographs of seventeen tiny houses - from the Cape Cod honeymoon cottage to Campground cottages built in mid-nineteenth century to Henry Thoreau's cabin to George Bernard Shaw's writing hut. This slim volume was written to provide readers "with plans for very, very inexpensive small dwelling projects that would take a week to two to build . . . to inspire people of all ages and degrees of carpentry skills . . . to take hammer in hand and build themselves a little dream."

Although my sister might be intrigued, I'll stick to being an armchair carpenter and dreamer of these cute little cottages that would make a perfect art or writing studio. 

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Six Square Metres (memoir)

Reflections From A Small Garden

by Margaret Simons, 2015, 2020

"Sometimes you reap what you sow.

Sometimes you reap what other people sowed."

I really enjoy memoirs. I like reading about other people, how they live, what they've experienced and believe is important. Australian journalist and gardening enthusiast Margaret Simons "takes readers on a journey through the seasons, through her life, and through the tiny patch of inner-urban earth that is home to her garden."

Looks like a nice little read while sitting in my own garden on a sunny afternoon.

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Little Weirds (essays)

by Jenny Slate, 2019

"From the title, maybe I could try a little weird reading.

I'll see how it unfolds. I like the book cover—

a feel of the eclectic, would you say?"

BL

Jenny Slate is an actress, stand-up comedian, and author. From the inside cover, "In her dazzling, impossible-to-categorize debut, Jenny channels the pain and beauty of life in writing so fresh, so new, and so burstingly alive, we catch her vision like a fever and bring it back out into the bright day with us, and everything has changed."

Though I am not familiar with the author, I am intrigued enough to take some time to read these essays.

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Small Wonder (essays)

by Barbara Kingsolver (2002)

"Out of the chaos the future emerges

in harmony and beauty."

A book of essays with parrots on the front cover. How intriguing. Exotic. I'm drawn in.

"From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects, ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter." - from the inside cover

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Rules for Visiting (novel)

by Jessica Francis Kane, 2019

Found on the Staff Picks shelf at the library, this novel is about "a woman who sets out on an odyssey to reconnect with four old friends over the course of a year . . . (it's her) exploration of friendship in the digital age."

A quick browse, and yes, there's an actual list of rules for visiting. Here are a few in the list: Do not arrive telling stories about the difficulties of your trip. Bring a gift. Help in the kitchen, if you're wanted. Don't feed the pets.

  

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The Reading List (novel)

by Sara Nisha Adams, 2021

And now for the novel I had on hold. The title grabs me - who among us doesn't like a recommended reading list? You'll be happy to know that The Reading List is described as an "unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb." - from inside cover

I'm ready to settle in with this one. You?

Do any of these book covers or descriptions make you want to explore more?

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"The library in summer is the

most wonderful thing because

there you get books on any subject and

read them each for only as long as they hold

your interest, abandoning any that don't,

halfway or a quarter of the way

through if you like, and store up all that

knowledge in the happy corners of your mind. . ."

POLLY HORVATH, My One Hundred Adventures

quote found at HookedtoBooks.com

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Wishing you a beautiful day and a pleasant week ahead,

Brenda

Vee, We Shall Miss You!

Remembering

Oh, I am so very sorry to receive the news that a lovely blogging friend Vee from Haven for Vee passed away. I 'met' Vee years ago through blogging. She was a joy to follow, and I was always glad for her sparkling and thoughtful comments on my own blog. Vee's presence here will be greatly missed. I learned something new upon reading her obituary - her name is Vickie. I'll always remember her as Vee.

My heart condolences to all her family and friends. God bless Vee, and God bless those who mourn her passing. What a reunion for Vee and John, now both safely with the Lord.

Click HERE for the link to her obituary.

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Heart hugs,

Brenda

Photo credits:

(Top) Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay

Potato Salad Season: Three Favourites

Potato salad is very personal;

everyone makes theirs differently.

TRISHA YEARWOOD

found on quotely.org

I've always loved a good potato salad. And it still is a family summertime favourite. Doing a Google search, I was somewhat surprised to learn how often potato salad is mentioned when people share their childhood summer memories. An integral part of the family tradition. Every family probably has their favourite version of it. My mom used to make a creamy dilled salad that I loved, and still do – with cooked potatoes, hardboiled eggs, cucumber, celery, tomatoes, in a creamy dill mayo dressing. I do enjoy making potato salad: chopping the potatoes, boiling the eggs, putting the dressing together and pouring it over still warm potatoes. Sampling as I go. 

Today I share two longtime favourites plus a new-to-me French Potato Salad which is declared a new favourite in our household.

Sour Cream Potato Salad

This recipe is based on the traditional mayo dressing with a twist. It became an instant favourite when a work colleague brought it to a staff luncheon years ago. It's the dressing that makes this recipe especially yummy. I love the contrast of the sweet-tart from the vinegar-mustard-brown sugar combo, and the sour cream mixed with the mayo makes it lighter and really creamy.

Salad Ingredients

3/4 cup diced cucumber

1/4 cup chopped green onions

6 cups diced potatoes

4 hard-cooked eggs (Once cooked, separate the yolks and whites.

Chop whites, add to salad. Mash yolks, add to dressing.)

Salad Dressing

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons white vinegar

3 Tablespoons brown sugar (or less, if you're watching sugars)

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

1 teaspoon celery seed

salt and pepper, to taste

Mashed eggs yolks (see note under salad ingredients)

Mix dressing ingredients together.

Add to the salad.

The secret to great flavour in this salad is to dice the potatoes

raw and cook in salted water until tender, and to add the dressing

while cooked potatoes are still warm.

Serves 10 - 12 (unless you love it a lot!)

Potato Salad with Mint,

Onion, Capers

'Insalata di Patate Siciliana'

from Sun-Drenched Cuisine (1986)

by Marlena Spieler

This recipe is from a book I bought at a library book sale years ago. At first, I was unsure about using mint in a potato salad, but along with the onion and capers, it really is delicious. Alas, I have no photos of it for you.

I first served it at a long ago Canada Day celebration back in my single days. My housemate and I invited friends for a BBQ; we served salmon which paired nicely with the potato salad. My dear hubby Rick, who was still 'just a friend' at the time, was one of our guests. As you can guess, this recipe has special memories attached to it.

 

Salad Recipe

6 to 8 medium waxy potatoes, red or white

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil

1/4 cup (60 ml) red-wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 teaspoon (1.5 ml) dried oregano leaves, crushed between your fingers

3 Tablespoons (45 ml) chopped fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon (5 ml) capers

1 medium tomato, cut into wedges or slices, for garnish

Boil or steam potatoes in their skins.

When cool, remove skins if desired and slice

(1/4 to 1/2 inch (6- to 12-mm) thickness).

Toss with everything except the tomato.

Serve immediately at room temperature, or serve chilled.

Garnish with tomato.

Serves 4 (small portions) 

French Potato Salad

Lorrie from Fabric Paper Thread recently mentioned she made French Potato Salad for a meal. I was intrigued and went in search of a recipe and found one that appealed to me. I made it last night for supper. It was delicious with grilled steaks.

Made with a Dijon vinaigrette, the recipe uses a variety of potatoes—such as purple fingerlings, red potatoes, and Yukon gold—and includes herbs like tarragon, parsley and chives. The author from feastingathome.com describes the dish as simple but deeply satisfying. I agree. As you see from the photo, it turned out beautifully and is now added to my 'favourites' collection. You can find the recipe HERE.

Does potato salad feature in your family summertime celebrations? Do you have a favourite version?

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Wishing you a beautiful weekend, and

maybe with a little potato salad on the side.

Brenda

Photo credits:

All salad photos are mine.

Mint photo is by Abdul from Pixabay. 

Afternoon Visit to St Albert Botanic Park

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience,

everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature,

is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."

MAY SARTON

quote found at guyaboutthehouse.com

It's so smoky and hazy today. My goodness, we hardly know what blue skies look like anymore. Thankfully it wasn't so bad on Thursday when we visited the St Albert Botanic Park. The gardens were stunning in their summer glory. To think there is such a place to visit right here in northerly Alberta—what a gift. A huge thank you to the many committed volunteers of this wonderful place.

Today I'm dedicating this post to my dear friend, Sandra Lambiotte. I miss her so much here on my blog—she would have stopped by, and together we would have celebrated all this beauty. I think of her often and her dear Michael who is missing her more than we can ever know.

It gives my heart joy to share these photos from our visit with you. Happy day, beautiful friends!

"Flowers always make people better,

happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine,

food, and medicine for the soul."

LUTHER BURBANK

quote found at guyaboutthehouse.com

"Gardeners tend to be the most adaptable of human beings. In fact,

gardening . . . trains you to be flexible, and to find consolations

where you can. So the poppies never came up and deer ate the roses?

Well, the irises looked great, and the lilacs were fabulous."

CONSTANCE CASEY

quote found on guyaboutthehome.com

So true!

"There is a garden in every childhood,

an enchanted place where colors are brighter,

the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again."

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

quote found on southernliving.com

"There is nothing I like better at the end of a hot summer’s day

than taking a short walk around the garden. You can smell the heat

coming up from the earth to meet the cooler night air."

PETER MAYLE

quote found on guyaboutthehome.com

"I think this is what hooks one to gardening:

it is the closest one can come

to being present at creation."

PHYLLIS THEROUX

quote found on www.southernliving.com

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

Photo credits:

All photos on this post are mine

What Would You Say to Your 15-Year-Old Self?

"I was a quiet teenager,

introverted, full of angst."

NIGELLA LAWSON, as seen on brainyquote.com

A fellow Instagrammer, whose daughter was turning fifteen, posed the question to her readers: What would you say to your daughter who is turning fifteen? Right away I knew what I'd say... if I had a daughter. They're lines found in the ancient book Song of Solomon, lines I read years ago that resonated deep in my heart at the time:

"O my dove, (here) . . . in the sheltered

and secret place of the steep pathway,

Let me see your face,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your face is lovely."

If someone had spoken those words 'your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely' when I was a quiet, insecure young woman, I probably could have lived on them for the rest of my life. How I longed with every fiber of my being to be found lovely, and not to be found wanting in any way. My fifteen-year-old self always felt nervous that she would never quite measure up, never be pretty enough, or good enough. She worried the boys would never notice her or be interested in what she had to say. The beautiful movie stars of the 1950s were her initial standard... with their swishy dresses, beautifully styled hair, and lovely nails. Oh if I could only look like that, she yearned. Instead, my teen self would look in the mirror and see a pale face and the slight bump on the bridge of her nose from a childhood encounter with a swing. I couldn't see the pretty green eyes that looked back at me. Or that my blonde-turned-brown hair glinted with hints of auburn in the sunlight. I knew definitely what I'd say to Anne of Green Gables when she asked, "Which would you rather be if you had the choice—divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?"

Barely twenty, I met my beautiful friend, Jean, and it wasn't long before we discovered we were kindred spirits. Enjoying similar things, finishing each other's sentences. Bosom friends, like Anne and Diane. One afternoon, maybe a lazy Sunday, we were hanging around in my tiny apartment. She wrote a poem. Which she gave to me. Titled The Rosebud - in which she wrote how she saw my life as a tightly furled rosebud that would one day mature and blossom. Several stanzas... those words were like water to parched ground - I drank them in.

Some years later I came across those words from Song of Solomon, and I felt the love and acceptance in those words all over again. My soul bloomed into maturity. I felt beautiful in my own skin, and I began to find my way to live a beautiful life as a single woman.

Of course it took a lifetime to learn that beauty is not just skin deep, that beauty is also shaped by our daily choices and attitudes, how we present ourselves, what we choose to focus on. It took me a lifetime to learn in my inmost self that God so loved me, so that I could 'hear' and believe for myself those beautiful words, 'your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.'

They've been in my heart ever since. And so I know the great value of speaking words of beauty into the lives of our girls and young women. Maybe not every woman needs to hear those particular words, but I think we all need to know we are loved as we are and accepted by the Beloved One. It helps us to love ourselves. Then, in response we turn to love and accept others.

 

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Wishing you a beautiful day!

With love,

Brenda

Photo credit:

Top image by Silvia Rita from Pixabay