June Book Club

Tomorrow my book club will discuss City of Thieves by David Benioff. Set in Leningrad during the siege of WWII, we follow the main character, a young Jew, as he gets caught up with a soldier and get sent on an errand to find a dozen eggs. The cloudy weather we've had for days and days now was the perfect backdrop for reading this page-turning adventure.

Garden MagPo

Liesl gave me magnetic poetry for my birthday - the gardening version. Today I put all the magnets on my filing cabinet and composed a little haiku. A poem a day all summer long.....

If you are jealous and want to play with magnetic words, you can go get your own, or do it online at the magnetic poetry website.

A Lovely Day

A lovely way to celebrate my birthday today:

• Working out at the gym with Hal (well, it was lovely when it was over!)
• Having Claire take me to breakfast at Starbucks and Some Crust
• Eating Claire's wonderful vegan quesadillas for lunch
• Shopping with Claire
• Seeing the new Pixar movie, Up, with Hal and Claire at the local Laemmle
• Eating dinner at the Delhi Palace Express
• Talking to Liesl on the phone

Sunday, Sunday

This morning I spent a leisurely few hours reading full articles in the Sunday NY Times. I read about the Tuscan Shore (I want to go!), how some doctors are trying to reform health care by spending more time with patients in prevention, spending habits at discount stores during the recession, a compare/contrast article on Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, speculation on the recent plane crash, arranged marriages (I told Hal that I arranged our marriage...), and people who give up on their blogs.

Realizing that tomorrow is my birthday, Hal speculated on what he might get me. I really don't want more stuff, and I can't imagine what I need/want right now. Then I hit upon an idea. I asked him to give me his time today to rearrange my study. I knew it would take his help, what with the spaghetti of cords behind my desk and heavy items to shove around. Not only did he do that, but then he took down the old metal valence above the window, spackled the holes, sanded and painted the trim and hung a different curtain rod (left over from our bedroom when we changed window treatments last summer). Thanks, Hal!

I spent several more hours clearing out the old, rearranging, dusting, and now I feel fresh and new!

Weekend Food

Friday night Claire whipped up a vegan feast for us and Hal's three summer research students. On the menu: black bean burgers, quinoa salad, mango/papaya salsa and peanut butter/chocolate chip cookies. It was absolutely delicious.

Tonight we had a group of friends over for an olive oil tasting. The original plan was to have it in our new yard, but with our cool, slightly drizzly weather, we moved the party indoors. We had about 8 different kinds of olive oil to try out with various kinds of bread, and plenty of spirits to imbibe.

Weather in Claremont

Life in Claremont means rarely talking about the weather. Rarely doesn't mean ever, but this week has been unusual weather for June. We had lightning and thunder a few days ago, and this morning we awoke to a downpour that lasted more than 5 minutes. This afternoon, these clouds were still hanging around during my walk. I miss midwestern summer thunderstorms.

Plant Sex

Having enjoyed Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, I read The Botany of Desire. Pollan explore's the historic relationship between humans and four different plants: the apple, the tulip, marijuana and potatoes. Although these plants have been domesticated, each one has had a part of just how they have been "exploited." I'll have to say, though, that I will probably never eat a french fry from McDonald's again after reading the potato chapter.

Summer Time Dessert

All you cobbler fans....ever had zucchini cobbler? Now I have. Claire made this last night from the zucchini she got at the Farmer's Market. I believe she got the recipe from this website.

So, when you are drowning in summer squash, dig out this recipe, and you won't be disappointed!

Oh, yeah, it's vegan, too!

You Know it's June in Claremont When...

• The days begin with June Gloom

• June bugs hit our windows at night

• The jacarandas are in full purple bloom

Amazing Grace

The newly formed CUCC Women's Chorus sang for the first time in church yesterday. You can see our debut on youtube here. This version was for the 8:15 a.m. service, and the red balloons are for Pentecost.