Reading A Good Book

I recently read "The Good Earth" for the third time over the course of the last 20 or so years. The book was on the reader's club book list at our local library so I was inclined to read it again as it is one of my all time favorite books. I thought I would share a little about the "The Good Earth" with you.

The Good Earth was written in 1931 by Pearl Buck and was the bestseller book in the US in 1931 and 1932. It was reviewed by all the major newspapers and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.

In many ways the book is a study of culture, character, values, roots and hard work. The author has the ability to draw you in and allows you know the two main characters within the first page or two. She writes with such raw imagery that captures you and causes you to feel a connection to the characters and their lives. Pearl Buck enlightens the reader to the ancient traditions of China and in some ways emphasizes the injustice of these traditions.
The Good Earth is a portrayal of a poor farmer's life and his bond with the land which is as relevant to our own ancestral roots as it is to rural China. Wang Lung is a very complex man which is depicted in his relationships with his wife, children and village. He, along with his wife O-lan, work very hard to earn enough many to buy land. O-lan is a very unique character. She was a slave in a wealthy household until she comes to share her life with Wang Lung. O-lan is a very hard worker and Wang Lung thinks of her as a strong and competent woman to raise his children and maintain the home. Her relationship with her husband, as with all women and husbands of rural China, was in a subservient fashion. Again, the author empathizes the injustice of the culture and tradition.

Through the years, Wang Lung's family suffer poverty and famine but their strength of character sustains them through stark conditions that most would think inconceivable. At one time they were reduced to begging on the streets, Wang Lung refusing to sell his land. Things turn around as China begins to prosper and Wang Lung continues to buy land. He eventually becomes a wealthy landowner. What Pearl Buck shows here with the evolution of a proud hardworking peasant to a wealthy landowner is very disheartening. The disintegration of this man and his family as they become alienated from the land and its noble values is sad and is portrayed so eloquently by Pearl Buck.

Have you read The Good Earth? If you haven't read the book I encourage you to do so;The Good Earth should be on everyone's reading list. Here is a link with a summary of the book and actually has a review of each chapter.

www.bookrags.com:notes:ge:.webloc

What books are on your reading list this summer? Let me know, I am looking for some good books to read.

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

This, That and The Other

I always look forward to fresh herbs, produce and fresh cut flowers for the house. Since we have a newbie to the household, a 10 month old golden retriever, my gardening techniques have changed. If you remember from a previous post, Beau loves the smell of freshly turned soil and enjoys snapping flower blooms off the stem. He seems to think he is helping me by "fertilizing" the perennial bed!
The window boxes have been planted and are so pretty. I am concerned about the box at the breakfast room window. Just hope Beau doesn't find the plants interesting to him, after all, they are within his reach. It has been a week and a half and so far, so good, the plants are still there.

To combat the problem of the "plant removal" by Beau I have planted annual herbs in pots instead of the herb garden and have done the same with the tomato plants and other veggies. It is so exciting to see them growing and doing well! I sprinkled some seeds in the beds and they are little weaklings right now so we shall see if that make it.
Do you have a favorite herb? I have two favorites, basil and rosemary. They are so pungent and add a lot of flavor to most any dish. Don't you enjoy walking outside to gather herbs for a meal? I love it!

I have planted lots of parsley, basil, cilantro, thyme (oh yea, that's a favorite too!), dill and then some squash, ocra, tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula (favorite green!), eggplant and swiss chard. Yum, yum, just love all the flavor.

Just have to share a little about our photography business. Things are going well! We are exhibiting at a solo show at the local library in Thomasville for the month of May. The response already has been great. Rodney is presenting a slide show of nature work this Tuesday evening. The music that will accompany the slide show was written for us (Autumn Song) by a very good and talented friend, Ray Fredette. Ray has a heart for God and has been blessed with a talent for music.
After our presentation this week I plan to post a link so you can view the slide show, I think you will like it.

In the meantime, check out our blog at www.autumnsongphotography.com to see the latest in photo shoots, workshops and happenings at Autumn Song Photography.
Leave us a comment, we would love to hear from you!
We are hitting the prime season and wow, it is so much fun meeting so many new people as well as catching up with returning clients. We also have some exciting stuff happening with Black Daffodil Films.
Black Daffodil Films is our daughter's business creating vintage-like movies with Super 8 film and still photography. Lindsey is very talented and the artistry in her work is obvious with the film she has recently released. Check it out at www.blackdaffodilfilms.blogspot.com . We also have a post on our site about the marriage of still photography and Super 8 film which is so emotionally charged!

So, I am meeting up my friend Carol this week. I am sure I will learn something new, I always do AND we always have such a good time. I love her heart and her spirit plus she is a born again Christian too. God is so good and I know He reunited us at this time in our lives for a reason and know He has so much more in store for us!

I said this post is about this, that and the other and boy was I right! Sorry for the long post, just had a lot to say and could keep on writing (typing) but I am sure you are ready to move on so I will close now. God Bless!

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

ps
Sorry I did not post a pic of Layla in her newly knitted sun top. Stay tuned, hope to post a pic soon!

The Gift of Friendship

I recently reconnected with a friend from 30 years ago and it has been great catching up. Honestly, it is like we picked right up where we left off and haven't missed a beat! It has been so much fun talking, knitting, sharing plants and laughing; speaking of which, my friend makes me laugh more than anyone else I know or have ever known! My friend's name is Carol.

One of the things we have in common is a love for knitting, though she is way far more advanced than I am. She has been knitting since she was nine years old and me, only for five years; still such a beginner!
Carol showed me a little sun top and a teddy bear with a matching sun top she knitted for one of her grands. Both were so adorable and, of course, I wanted to knit the same for Layla. (I will, hopefully, share a photo of the sun top on my next blog post). The yarn Carol used was yarn recycled from a nice sweater she purchased from a local thrift store. I expressed to her my interest in using recycled yarn, especially with the economy and my need to restrain from spending.
This past week Carol brought over two great sweater finds from the thrift shop for the cost of a whopping $1.00. We took the sweaters apart and wound the yarn, not wasting very much at all. We had so much fun! I learned how to recycle yarn and now have "new" yarn for another project for a small investment of $1.00
















The next project I would like to learn is how to dye yarns with kool-aid. She dyed some yarn that looks so cool and knitted a pair of socks with it. Check out her blog at www.taddiebeeknitting.blogspot.com to see her recycled, dyed yarn AND her, way too cool pair of socks!

Friendship is a blessing and I look forward to sharing more special times with my friend Carol.

"God never loved me in so
sweet a way before.
'Tis He alone who can
such blessings send.
And when His love would
new expressions find,
He brought thee to me
and said.....

Behold a friend"

Gardening - Agapanthus

Gardening for the last couple of weeks has been so enjoyable. I love the smell of the soil, seeing the green breaking through and the opening of the flowers as they reach for the sun. Gardening is soulful; when I am in the garden I think about life, I sing and I pray. The garden is a peaceful place.
I moved a plant I am very fond of last year and thought that it had died. It doesn't do very well when it is moved. Several weeks ago I witnessed the first site of green as the plant broke through the soil and I was ecstatic! The plant is an agapanthus, belonging to the lily family. I thought I would share a little info on this little beauty.

The agapanthus is a native of South Africa and belongs to the lily family. They are known as African Lilies and Lilies-of-the-Nile. Agapanthus reach about two feet in height and are topped with cluster of pretty white to dark blue flowers from late spring to early autumn. The agapanthus is hardy in zones 7 to 11 and like full sun to part shade unless you live in a hot climate where they should be set in partial shade.

Go forth, plant an agapanthus and enjoy it's beauty.

Check out our photography blog at www.autumnsongphotography.com to see my new garden apron from France that Rod bought as a surprise; it is soooooooo pretty and very special!

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"

Gardening - New Projects

Spring is here and now it is time to do some gardening, another favorite hobby of mine (of which I have many). By the way, check out our photography blog at Autumn Song to see some photos of spring Rod took just in the backyard. They are so renewing, especially after the lull of winter!

I have been cleaning out the flower beds and getting ready to do some spring plantings. Beau, my golden retriever, has been hot on my heels; everywhere I go, he is there too! Beau, still just a puppy at 8 months old, enjoys pulling up plants and chewing on them. He has pulled up and eaten a three year old lilac bush, every pansy planted, a trumpet plant, the roses and five-leafed akebia on the arbor, chewed the bark on several trees, etc.... He does these things when I am not out to see what he is up to, darn him! Makes me wonder why we every decided to get another dog then I remember how much I enjoy the companionship of a dog.... most of the time.

What would Caesar have me do? I know he would tell me Beau needs more exercise but he gets plenty of exercise when we run and/or hike most every day of the week. And another thing, Beau has beheaded most all my tulips just before they opened, only to lay them down beside the stems. OK, enough about Beau..... but what is up with this dog!

He is a beautiful boy, don't you agree?
Ok, so I am thinking of, well another project; this one in the front yard. Just where the hill starts to peek I want to cut in to the hill (the hill is a little steeper than it looks) and dry stack some stone. Then I want to plant the upper part like a French cottage garden which goes with the style of our house (or at least I think it does). I have been studying this little plan for a couple of years now and am ready to proceed once I talk Rod in to the plan, after all, I will need his help too!

Managed to get a pic without Beau, thanks to the invisible fence.

I do believe I will keep him!

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"

The Juliet

Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways.......

Yes, I do love the Juliet, as fun to knit as it is to wear and I do wear mine often. Every time I wear it I get compliments and have been asked where I found such a unique cami. A friend even ask if it was a boutique purchase..... gloat, gloat, gloat.
I knitted my daughter one and it tickles me pink when she wears hers. Who knows, I may even knit sis one; she's been asking for one since last fall! (obviously she doesn't knit and doesn't even want to learn to knit)

If you are interested in the pattern, check out the Juliet on ravelry.com. There are lots of posts from knitters who have knitted the Juliet. Here is a link if you would like to purchase the pattern.

www.zephyrstyle.com

"Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow."
Shakespeare

"Dinner for Two"

Cooking is one of the things I really enjoy! To find a recipe with a contrast of texture and flavor is so delightful and then the nuance of what herbs can bring to a dish is, ummmmm....... yummy! Rodney and I had a very busy and productive day with our photography business so I was really looking forward to preparing a nice meal for us to enjoy as we unwind. Rod is so good about trying different recipes and never, ever complains, but I do read him well enough to know when he really does like a dish or not. This happens to be one of our favorites, Tangy Cherry Chicken.

We finished off the meal with a "light" dark chocolate pudding topped with whip and walnuts; nice finish to a nice dinner. What an enjoyable end to a wonderful day....


Below is the recipe, wish I new where the original came from to give credit. Our daughter shared the recipe with me and I have shared it with many friends.... so easy and so tasty; enjoy!


Tangy Cherry Chicken
3 TBS EVOO
4-6 oz. boneless chicken breast halves
1 TBS fresh thyme
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 small red onion chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 dried cherries
3 TBS cold butter

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with 2 tbs of EVOO. Season the chicken liberally with half of the thyme and salt and pepper; add to hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through. Remove the chicken and cover with foil to keep warm.

Return the skillet to the burner over medium high heat, add the remaining tbs of EVOO and add the onions, celery, red pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes or until the celery and onions are tender. Add the white wine and cook until the pan is almost dry (1 minute). Add the chicken stock, dried cherries and remaining thyme. Continue to cook for about 4-5 minutes or until there is only about 1.4 cups of liquid left in the pan. Turn the heat off under the pan. Add the butter and whisk until it has completely melted.

Serve the chicken breasts whole or sliced with the cherry sauce poured over them.

This recipe is great with brown or jasmine rice, asparagus, green beans or broccoli, and of course, a nice glass of wine!

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story