Today is National Book Lovers Day: My Lists

 I like that there is a special day to honor those of us that love books. Recently I saw a poll that asked readers to choose the best book they have ever read. Who could ever decide? I have a hard enough time narrowing down a list to ten. 

 I have a list of books I share with people looking for book recommendations. I call it:

If You Haven't Read This Book , Add It to Your "To Read List" . You Won't Be Sorry!

(of course, strictly my opinion)

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Outsiders by S,E, Hinton

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Educated by Tara Westover

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer ( all titles by him)

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

My next list is books people have recommended to me and I have not yet read , but are on my "To Read" list:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Between Two Worlds by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

anything by Michael Lewis

The Big Burn and others by Timothy Egan

What books would you add to either list?

Two Summer Recipe Favorites

 

I am always looking for a recipe to use with zucchini in the summer. I also love this cobb salad recipe. Bon Appetit!

Garden Pasta Pie

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups cooked linguine

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 medium tomatoes, cored and sliced

1 ½ cups sliced zucchini

1 ½ oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Spray 8 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. In a small skillet, heat oil, add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent. Transfer to a bowl and add cooked pasta, parsley, lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon each of oregano and basil. Add pepper and toss well.

In small bowl combine ricotta, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and remaining oregano and basil, stir into pasta mixture and blend.

Place half the pasta mixture in the prepared pan. Arrange half the tomato and zucchini slices on top. Add remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining tomatoes and zucchini. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. 

Cover with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil, bake until golden, 5-10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

6 servings

Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad

For the Shrimp:

16 oz cooked large shrimp, peeled

 chili powder to taste

1 tbsp lime juice

salt to taste

For the Salad:

6 cups romaine lettuce, shredded

15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup corn

2 tbsp red onion, divided

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

1 seedless cucumber, diced

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 ripe hass avocado, diced

1 cup reduced fat Sargento Mexican Blend shredded cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse shrimp and chop into large chunks. Toss shrimp with a little salt, chipotle chili pepper, and fresh lime juice.

2. Combine drained beans, corn, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste.

3. In a large glass trifle dish or clear bowl, layer salad ingredients starting with the lettuce, black bean mixture, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, cheese and shrimp on top.

4. Use dressing of choice.

Six servings.

A Perfect Sunday

 

As the week winds down again it is already Sunday. This is my perfect Sunday:

Sleep in.

Go to church or read the Bible or visit a spiritual place.

Drink coffee and read the news.

Take a nap.

Pick a bouquet of flowers from the garden.

Take Riley for a run.

Take a nap.

Enjoy family dinner with the family.

Read a favorite book.

Go to bed.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Confessions of an Obsessive Plant Shopper

 I love to buy plants, particularly flower plants. In the spring I recall posting on Facebook that I was going to cut back on the flowers I purchased this year. Ummmmm..... I started out pretty well. I don't know what happened. Perhaps stress shopping, sad shopping, happy shopping, no will power, a need to support people and businesses, or just the need to bring plants to my happy yard. 

I have to purchase geraniums every year from the P.E.O. chapter because the profits provide scholarships for high school girls at our school. That is a good cause!

I also had to purchase flower plants from the KHS greenhouse because the students worked so hard to grow them. They were healthy, and I am sure the profits are for some good cause.

I like to support local nurseries, so it was necessary for me to purchase beautiful, healthy plants from Susi at the Pine Creek Nursery. Knowing that plants are started in healthy soil and raised organically made a big difference.

I really like the woman at Ace Hardware that takes such good care of the plants out in the heat, wind, and rain. The same goes for Jennifer at Yoke's. How could I not show my gratitude by purchasing plants?

When I discovered a nursery I had never heard of I just couldn't drive by and not support their business.

This is the face Riley gives me when I have spent too much time planting in a day. His face is saying, "It is time for us to go for a run. Stop the madness Christy."

"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul." – Alfred Austin

 

Garden Stories: Everett's Memory Garden

As I shared last week I had a friend that toured my backyard gardens recently. Showing her my gardens and decor I realized that my gardens hold stories. The gardens tell stories of people important in my life.

Tonight I am going to share the story of Everett's Memory Garden. My husband Everett died on November 30th. I knew as it moved into spring that I wanted to create a memory garden. My P.E.O. sisters had gifted me with a rose that would be coming later in the spring. Other people had gifted me money knowing I was going to create the garden. I came up with the design when it came closer to planting time. 

I purchased a galvanized water trough first. I got help filling it with filler and dirt.  I knew I wanted roses since that was his favorite flower. I also wanted to add annuals so there would be color all summer. I found a stone that I could personalize and placed it in the middle of the garden. The first plant in the garden was the "Walking on Sunshine" rose.

Our granddaughter Monica gifted me with the solar cross and I added the 

watering can that lights up at night. 

Another special gift was this California fuchsia called "Everett". 

It is a ground cover fuchsia and just looks beautiful.

Here it is this week thriving and blooming and honoring Everett. 

The Journey Through Grief, Continued

I found this in the "Journey Through Grief" publication put out by Hospice of North Idaho. Yesterday  I met with a grief counselor at Hospice of North Idaho. This passage was the heart of our discussion. I have the desire to do the suggestions from Ammons, but sometimes it is hard. The last part is the most difficult for me. It is easy to cry and feel empty. I talked to a person today that has also lost a spouse. What he said to me made it clearer. Is that what Everett would want you to do? Cry and feel empty? No,  he wouldn't. He would want me to smile, open my heart, love, and go on. One step at a time.

Each step in the journey of grief can contain wisdom to help me move forward. Today, I will take that.