But I Really Needed All Of Them...

Ok...one of my pleasures is clothes...I have always always always loved clothes...and when I find something I love...I tend to get it in every color.  Spring is such a luscious time to shop...I happened to discover an online site called Alternative Apparel.  They happen to make the best tees, tanks, tunics and dresses that I have discovered this season. The fabric is a fine soft cotton and everything is made in the USA.  I bought the long sleeved tees...with sort of a twirly shape...earlier and just recently I needed these tunics...they are so comfy and long and slouchy and with leggings or shorts underneath...perfect for almost anything.  Actually it is now available in 4 colors...a really neat sort of sandy brown color, black, a sort of a grayish color and also this subtle purple.  I love them all...

Patty's Newest Toy...

I am crazy about my brand new aerolatte.  How to describe it...hmmm...a teeny tiny magical little wand...batteries came with mine.  It froths milk...and I have been using 1% for this...into high firm frothy creamy peaks!!!  It is truly a miracle machine!!!  The foam is so thick that I have to spoon it on top of my coffee.  Then it just stays there in lovely peaks...waiting for a dusting of healthy shaved dark chocolate...mmmm...I have had my aerolatte for a few days now...and I am not the least bit tired of using it.  It is such a tiny clever little kitchen appliance...mine came with a stand and it sits nicely on the counter next to the coffee pot.

I'll Cry If I Want To...

I am totally drained after finishing this fabulous fabulous book.  It touched my heart and my soul and my conscience.  It is so heartbreaking that I cried at the end of each chapter.   It is Gone With The Wind and The Help and much much more all tied up nicely in a most beautiful way.  I don't even know now if I am capable of letting go of this book...I literally just finished it and I feel exhausted.   It is the South and the horrible parts of the early 1800's.  It is women and men who are treated lovingly and intimately within these plantation families and after years and years of the most intertwined family service meeting with brutal punishment  for the most trivial  of disobediences.  I can feel the tears now...it is such a masterful story.  The author's reasons for writing this book are almost as compelling as the book itself and the reasons of course are based on fact.  I absolutely hate telling the story of the book within a review...but I will say that it is based on the true story of an educated Irish family who was trying to come to this country. Unfortunately the parents died during the voyage.  The only one who survived was the littlest daughter and The Kitchen House is her story.  The captain of the ship took her home to the South with him to be an endentured servant and her life becomes intertwined with the many slaves that the sea captain owned.   You have to steel yourself for the harshness of this story and usually I shy away from this sort of tale but within the reality of the harsh lives led by these people there was magic and happiness and love.   This is a thought provoking book and I loved every word in it...I began reading yesterday and finished it this morning at noon...I guess it was my own little readathon...This book simply cannot be overlooked.  It is very powerful. 

Down Came The Rain...

I just finished The Summer We Fell Apart...moments ago.   It was truly wonderful in a "you pretty much have to love flawed characters"  kind of way.   It was interesting to read about a mother of four children who is so self absorbed and selfish that the care and feeding of her own children was left to her oldest daughter, Kate.  It is the one year anniversary of my own mother's death and I think of how her entire life was devoted to me and my two brothers and my sister.  She loved us so much and cared for us so much and was so concerned about our needs...quite a contrast.   The flaws within this family are serious and life threatening.  Is this what happens when you have a mother and a father who just don't care?   The parents in this book are so caught up in themselves and their roles as  second rate writer and second rate actress that their many affairs and  on and off interest in the lives of their children are truly  responsible for shaping  the personalities of their children even as they become adults.  Whew!!!  The book is wonderfully divided into the family's early days and then chapters that profile each adult child.  The ending is thought provoking and satisfying.  A really interesting first book by this author.

Yahoo!!!

I just received this from "books with coffee".  I am thrilled and pleased and jump up and down happy!!!

Sunday...Sunday!!!

Today was a lovely laid back day...a trip to Bailey's Dairy for farm fresh delicious milk and Wickersham Eggs...fresh and brown shelled with amazing huge bright yellow yolks.  It is worth a few miles out of our way for these special products because there is always a new baby or two to see at Bailey's and also a new cheese or milk product to try.  Today it was three brand new baby goats...white and delicate and beautiful...they were making the softest gentlest little cry I have ever heard.   Today it was also a new cheddar cheese with threads of horseradish...just enough to give the cheese a bit of a bite...very delicious.  Then on to a local barbecue called Hood's...for a pulled pork sandwich and pickles...and a rack of ribs to stow away for dinner and our official no grill no cook Amazing Race watching Sunday.  We tend to be almost vegetarians but every once in a while...a huge meat craving will take over our veggie loving souls...and we give in...oh well...

I am still reading and loving The Summer We Fell Apart.  In a way it resembles Arcadia Falls...the intense writing, the delicious slowness of the actual book and the lovely dysfunctional characters.  Each character is slowly delivering that family dysfunction that is quite lovely to read about.  This book has many layers and each one is more and more interesting.