a little pick-me-up


photo by DJ Bizze

I can’t believe it’s the end of the month already!

There are so many other delectable comfort food dishes to sample. Don’t worry. We’ll serve up more comfort sometime soon. But for now, I’d like to add some cozy thoughts and a few chuckles to your bowl. Nosh, nourish, pass it on. Offer someone a little comfort today as you go about your business (a smile or hug works wonders).

"From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting….On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.”  ~ E.B.White 

"Some sensible person once remarked that you spend the whole of your life either in your bed or in your shoes. Having done the best you can by shoes and bed, devote all the time and resources at your disposal to the building up of a fine kitchen. It will be, as it should be, the most comforting and comfortable room in the house." ~ Elizabeth David, French Country Cooking

"On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally’s cellar." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"I love to cook comfort food. I’ll make fish and vegetables or meat and vegetables and potatoes or rice. The ritual of it is fun for me, and the creativity of it." ~ Reese Witherspoon

"I like rice. Rice is great if you’re hungry and want 2000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch." ~ Orson Welles

"That would be cool if you could eat a good food with a bad food and the good food would cover for the bad food when it got to your stomach. Like you could eat a carrot with an onion ring and they would travel down to your stomach, then they would get there, and the carrot would say, ‘It’s cool, he’s with me.’" ~ Mitch Hedberg

A little somethin’ to go with your soup:

Did you miss any of the Comfort Food Month posts? Check here.

library love is the best love!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

I reached my goal of 100 comments in the Bloggers Library Loving Challenge!

Actually, I topped out at 114 warm, beautiful, generous, lovely, inspiring comments. I gave out a lot of chocolate cupcakes and had a lot of fun checking my totals throughout the day yesterday. I must admit, early yesterday morning I still needed about 25 more comments, and I had some wee doubts. After all, many folks were on spring break or out enjoying weekend activities, rather than reading blogs.

A few comments began trickling in — even more after Susan Taylor Brown sent out a call for help on a Facebook update, specifically stating that I was close to my goal and needed a little boost. By early evening I was 8 comments away, and by 9 p.m. (EST), only about 4 comments away! Ah the suspense!! WOULD I MAKE IT?

Then the magic of internet linkage kicked in, as others posted on forums, twittered, or nudged friends via their blogs. When I went to bed at 11 p.m., I had 107 comments. Yay!! This morning, I had 114, which translates into $114 for my library!

Huge thanks to everyone who commented. It was heartening reading about how much the library has meant to you over the years. Thanks to everyone who touted the challenge via their social networks, who hosted challenges on their blogs, or who made flat-fee donations. Thanks especially to Susan for all her hard work in spreading the word, and *drum roll please* THANKS MOST OF ALL to Jennifer R. Hubbard, the mastermind behind this effort, our fearless leader. 

Raising money for libraries is important, but equally as important is raising consciousness about its significance in our lives. The public library is one of the most precious free resources we have in our communities. It’s there for us, but we have to share the responsibility for taking care of it. 

Be sure to check in with Jennifer for additional updates and final recaps. Some bloggers are still accepting comments, with deadlines extending through April 1st or beyond. Susan Taylor Brown is very close to her goal cap, and will be accepting comments through noon today, March 29th. Keep spreading the love, and visit your library today!!

library lovers, where are you?

Thanks to everyone who’s already commented on my Library Loving Challenge post!! I appreciate your support and all your gushin’ love for libraries.

But alas and alack, my deadline, midnight tonight, is fast approaching and I still need about 10 more comments to reach my goal cap of 100. Yes, just 10 more good-looking, smart, generous, cheerleading folks who want to see me spend more money for a good cause. Oh, I’m so close I can taste it!

Do you know anyone else who would like to leave a comment to help a library? 

All of us, listed below, would love it if you would go outside, drag somebody off the street, give them a cup of coffee, and ask them nicely to comment on these blogs (tickle them if you have to):

SusanWrites (Susan Taylor Brown) for Friends of the Cambria Library, San Jose, CA (thru March 29, noon)
Jama Rattigan for Friends of the Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA (thru March 28, midnight)
Sara Lewis Holmes for Flying Horse Farms library (thru March 28, midnight)
Angela DeGroot for Burlington County (NJ) Bookmobile (thru March 31)
Jumping the Candlestick (Debbie Diesen) for Delta Township Library
Kurtis Scaletta for Books for Africa (runs for 2 weeks or until 150 comments)
Armchair News for Jackson Heights Library (Queens, NY)
Tabwriter’s Writer Musings (Tabitha Olson) for her local library
Kelly Fineman of Writing & Ruminating for her local library and Books for Africa (thru March 28, midnight)
Cynthea Liu for an Oklahoma library (and she’s giving stuff to commenters too! thru April 1); see also her library-loving game thru which you can win cool stuff!
Josh Berk for Friends of the Philadelphia Libraries (thru April 1)
SeaHeidi (Heidi R. Kling) for her local library (thru March 29)
4IQRead for her local friends of the library
LizanneWrites for BooksFirst!
kwerg for the Sunnyvale Library
EclecticMum for Placer County libraries (CA)
DampScribbler (Kristi) for Multnomah and Washington County Libraries, plus matching contributions linked to Kelly Fineman’s entry (linked above).
Fuse 8 at School Library Journal for Project Cicero in NYC.
Jennifer R. Hubbard for the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, Township Library System.

Just yesterday, I visited my recipient library and took these snaps just for you.


"Time Out Boy," by Gary Price (donated in memory of a deceased child).


In a little room through this door, I met a 57-year-old woman twice a week for five years and taught her how to read.

That’s only part of the power and magic of libraries.

So please comment if you haven’t yet done so, help spread the word by linking to this post, and help us give back!

Here’s the link to my Library Loving Challenge post. Your comment is worth $1 for my local library, plus you score a chocolate cupcake!

Edited to add: The challenge is now closed, and I’ve reached my goal!

friday feast: are you more french or japanese?


photo credit: chachahavana

Bonjour, mes amis! Konnichiwa!

The other day, I found this wonderful poem by Beth Ann Fennelly, and it made me think how very Japanese I am.

Unlike the narrator of the poem, I don’t even have to pledge to be more reserved. I am, after all, the subtle avocado in the middle of a California roll, that first light of day (never glaring), the first one to bow in your presence. I rarely wear yellow, worship at the temple of tempura, and prefer to speak in hushed tones. Wrap me in a kimono, and with small, silent steps, I’ll follow you home, and grace your life with the fragrance of haiku.

Continue reading

bloggers library-loving challenge!


IF YOU LOVE LIBRARIES, PLEASE COMMENT!!

For as long as I can remember, libraries have been my second home.

In my life, they have served as a safe haven for a latchkey child, a cool spot to hang with friends, an invaluable resource for study and research, a meeting place for like-minded folks, and a venue for attending awesome literary events, like hearing Ann Beattie read from her novels, or Nikki Giovanni recite her poetry.

I have given presentations at the library, tutored a literacy student, volunteered, and even joined my first critique group there a few years ago. It is truly one of the few places, outside my home, I have always felt comfortable.

That’s why I was so excited when I heard that Jennifer R. Hubbard was organizing a Bloggers Library-Loving Challenge. As she points out, libraries all across the country are hurting from the economic crisis. Branches are closing, programs are being eliminated, staff are being let go, and fewer books are being purchased. All this at a time when people need (and are frequenting) libraries more than ever — to borrow books, CDs, or videos instead of buying them, to attend free programs, and to access the internet.

None of us are asking for money today — just your library loving support! Each participant has pledged a per unique commenter amount, and the total will be donated to the library of his/her choice.

Chantilly Regional Library in Fairfax County, Virginia, has been my touchstone for over 20 years. I’ve spent countless hours there doing research and browsing the stacks. It is where I taught Roberta, a custodian for a local elementary school, how to read. We came from such divergent backgrounds, but our love for words made us into lifelong friends (see my post about Roberta here).

For every comment received on this post between now and midnight (EST), March 28th, I will donate $1 to the Friends of CRL, up to an amount of $100 (but if you swamp me with love I’ll dish out even more)!

 

How easy could it be? You comment, I cough up the money, the library gets a gift! If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do. 

 

Note that my pledge is “per commenter”—so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can do more by spreading the word … please link to this post, and send your friends here so they can comment and raise more money. For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to visit other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving a comment!) visit the writerjenn blog

Thank you veddy much in advance!

Of course, you get a cupcake — chocolate with vanilla cream cheese frosting:

photo by Glorious Treats
 

Read more about my Library Love here.

Edited to add: The challenge is now closed, and I’ve reached my goal!