A while back it was suggested to me to try coconut flour in place of the traditional flours of all purpose, whole wheat pastry flours, etc. I've tried it twice now and apparently I had blocked out my first experience when I attempted this morning to modify a pineapple muffin recipe I found on the internet. When I saw how this was going, I did a quick search on the internet and found the problem . . . coconut flour acts like a sponge and absorbs liquids without seeming to add any moisture to the mixture. If a recipe calls for 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup of liquids, you need to cut back on the flour included and up the liquids. Hopefully I will remember that the next time I cook with coconut flour.
In addition, the recipe I was working from included dairy products, including eggs. Since I don't eat meat or dairy, I made other substitutions. You can usually get by with adding a banana or vegan yogurt in place of eggs in recipes and since I had a rotting banana sitting on my counter, I started with that. In hindsight I see where that would be a mistake when you are starting with a flour that needs all the moisture it can get and a banana really doesn't provide that.
So I added a single serving container of vegan vanilla yogurt. It helped but wasn't quite enough, so I added a second container of the vanilla yogurt. It was looking a lot better by this point but still not where it needed to be so I added 1/4 cup of canola oil. By now the batter was close enough to what I was looking for that I loaded up my muffin pan and started to bake.
The finished product, though delicious, wasn't quite the recipe I was looking for. It produced a moist muffin that didn't quite hold together completely. I obviously need to tweak the recipe some more and possibly cook a little longer.
Having said that, here is my working recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups coconut flour
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 banana (mashed)
2 5.3 ounce containers of non-dairy vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 fresh pineapple chopped
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup non-dairy butter
water (I kept adding trying to get the right texture - I probably added about a cup of water)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil a 6 muffin tin.
2. Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well.
4. Distribute mixture in the muffin tin (will completely fill tin).
5. Bake for 35 minutes.
Makes 6 muffins.
Obviously you can use a 12 muffin tin and adjust the time of baking but since I used a 6 muffin tin, this is how I did it. As I said, it produced a delicious, moist muffin but it didn't quite hold together properly. I still have half the pineapple chopped up so I see a take two in my future. :)
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Jury Duty
I've been called to jury duty three times in my life. The first time it involved a condo and maintenance fees for the property. I wasn't selected to sit on the jury but it had been an afternoon case and I wasn't going back to work so I stayed after I had been released to hear the case. Unfortunately, because it was so late in the day when it started, they didn't finish that afternoon so I asked one of the jurors to email me the verdict when they were done. I had already formed an opinion about the case and, as it turned out, the jury came to the same conclusion.
The next time I was called I don't actually recall what the case was about. What I remember is that the plaintiff didn't have an attorney. Nor did she speak English. They had an interpreter for her but there seemed to be some communication issues between them and I was dreading being selected for the jury. The defendant had an attorney though and she asked the panel a couple of questions. We were asked if we had ever been to small claims court before. I said I had and I was asked whether I had won or not. I said no. Apparently that was enough to get me eliminated from serving. I say that because the judge said he was going to take the first 6 people who weren't eliminated and I had been number 3 or 4. I was okay that with that.
The third time was today. I've always wanted to serve on a jury but today I was hoping to NOT be selected. So of course I was. And actually, it was an interesting situation involving a landlord / tenant dispute. Neither side had counsel. The landlord was claiming that the tenant wouldn't allow her to inspect the house. She said they hadn't been paying rent and owed for October, November and December. She said that she went by one day and that the kitchen cabinets were outside with the trash. She said they had painted the walls without permission. She said the tenants were verbally abusive to her. This was all told in her opening statement.
The tenant's side was that the landlord showed up one day unannounced and wanted to inspect the house. They scheduled an appointment for her to do so the next day but the landlord never showed up. They admitted to pulling out the cabinets but said they did so because the landlord had had them painted and that there were dead roaches stuck to them. They also admitted to painting the walls but said the landlord liked the color and was okay with it. They said they had always paid their rent but that it was refused in November. They also said the landlord had her friend present himself as a police officer to let the landlord into their home. This was all told in their opening statement.
I should mention that the arrangement between the landlord and the tenant was that the tenant was leasing with the intent to buy the house.
After their opening statements the plaintiff presented a letter she had written that was signed by the defendants. It was two pages long. The defendant admitted to seeing the second page and signing it but denied having ever seen the first page of the letter. The judge asked the plaintiff if she had proof they had seen the first page and she said "it's there!" and that was all she said. The judge ruled that the second page made no sense without the first page so he allowed it as evidence in the case. The first page accused them of violating specific rules allegedly put into place when they moved in (personally, given that it was a lease to buy situation, I'm inclined to believe that page one was created specifically for the case and believe the defendants never saw it) and the second just said she wasn't paying anymore and that they hadn't paid rent.
The judge said she should probably tell us what she was looking to get out of the case and the plaintiff said she wanted them to move out of their house in one week. The judge asked if she was looking for any rent payments and she said no. Then the judge asked the defendants if they could move in one week, they said yes so the judge said they had a deal and closed the case and told us we could leave. The plaintiff then asked if she could ask a question and the judge said "no you may not!" and that was that. The whole thing took less than an hour. In fact, the call time was 10:00 a.m. and I was literally pulling into my driveway at 11:00 a.m. So a short day to be sure!
I really wanted to hear testimony - particularly from the friend who supposedly presented himself as a police officer - but that didn't happen.
But, now I've served on a jury. Now I have a new goal for next time though, I hope attorneys are involved and that we get to the testimony. :)
The next time I was called I don't actually recall what the case was about. What I remember is that the plaintiff didn't have an attorney. Nor did she speak English. They had an interpreter for her but there seemed to be some communication issues between them and I was dreading being selected for the jury. The defendant had an attorney though and she asked the panel a couple of questions. We were asked if we had ever been to small claims court before. I said I had and I was asked whether I had won or not. I said no. Apparently that was enough to get me eliminated from serving. I say that because the judge said he was going to take the first 6 people who weren't eliminated and I had been number 3 or 4. I was okay that with that.
The third time was today. I've always wanted to serve on a jury but today I was hoping to NOT be selected. So of course I was. And actually, it was an interesting situation involving a landlord / tenant dispute. Neither side had counsel. The landlord was claiming that the tenant wouldn't allow her to inspect the house. She said they hadn't been paying rent and owed for October, November and December. She said that she went by one day and that the kitchen cabinets were outside with the trash. She said they had painted the walls without permission. She said the tenants were verbally abusive to her. This was all told in her opening statement.
The tenant's side was that the landlord showed up one day unannounced and wanted to inspect the house. They scheduled an appointment for her to do so the next day but the landlord never showed up. They admitted to pulling out the cabinets but said they did so because the landlord had had them painted and that there were dead roaches stuck to them. They also admitted to painting the walls but said the landlord liked the color and was okay with it. They said they had always paid their rent but that it was refused in November. They also said the landlord had her friend present himself as a police officer to let the landlord into their home. This was all told in their opening statement.
I should mention that the arrangement between the landlord and the tenant was that the tenant was leasing with the intent to buy the house.
After their opening statements the plaintiff presented a letter she had written that was signed by the defendants. It was two pages long. The defendant admitted to seeing the second page and signing it but denied having ever seen the first page of the letter. The judge asked the plaintiff if she had proof they had seen the first page and she said "it's there!" and that was all she said. The judge ruled that the second page made no sense without the first page so he allowed it as evidence in the case. The first page accused them of violating specific rules allegedly put into place when they moved in (personally, given that it was a lease to buy situation, I'm inclined to believe that page one was created specifically for the case and believe the defendants never saw it) and the second just said she wasn't paying anymore and that they hadn't paid rent.
The judge said she should probably tell us what she was looking to get out of the case and the plaintiff said she wanted them to move out of their house in one week. The judge asked if she was looking for any rent payments and she said no. Then the judge asked the defendants if they could move in one week, they said yes so the judge said they had a deal and closed the case and told us we could leave. The plaintiff then asked if she could ask a question and the judge said "no you may not!" and that was that. The whole thing took less than an hour. In fact, the call time was 10:00 a.m. and I was literally pulling into my driveway at 11:00 a.m. So a short day to be sure!
I really wanted to hear testimony - particularly from the friend who supposedly presented himself as a police officer - but that didn't happen.
But, now I've served on a jury. Now I have a new goal for next time though, I hope attorneys are involved and that we get to the testimony. :)
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
October Book Review
As October is the month for breast cancer awareness, I thought it would be fitting to write a review on a book about one person's journey dealing with breast cancer. I will be reviewing Amy Robach's book, Better.
Amy Robach is news journalist on ABC's Good Morning America. As you may know, she discovered she had breast cancer when she agreed to have an on-air mammogram to help raise awareness for the cause on October 1, 2013. She tells in her book how she was reluctant to have the mammogram when her producers first approached her. They asked her to think about it before she gave a definite "no" response. So she talked to her family about it and still said no. When she told her producers the reason she didn't want to participate was because she was only 40, had no family history of breast cancer and had no connection to the cause (other than her main job on GMA was to backfill for Robin Roberts who was being treated for a secondary cancer caused by the treatment she received from her breast cancer diagnosis). They once again asked her to think about it some more. So she did. She talked to Robin Roberts, someone she didn't know well at the time, about it. When Robin told her that 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease, Amy relented and agreed to have the mammogram live.
However, she still felt maybe she wasn't the right person to do this and felt it necessary to explain her decision to the public prior to stepping into the mammovan for the mammogram. In her pre-taped piece she explained that this was not something she wanted to do but that she was doing it in the hopes that someone else might see it and realize they should or could do it as well.
Shortly thereafter, because she had done this and a few necessary follow up tests, she found out she had breast cancer.
In the book she goes into detail about all of the tests and doctors appointments she went to. She talks about how sick she felt during treatment and how hard some days were to get through. She describes how uncomfortable it was to go from telling the story to being the story. Yet despite that, she did tell the story because she felt it was an important message. Here she had been very reluctant to have the mammogram that revealed she had cancer. It's a powerful message.
Amy really opens up in the book about what she went through but it's obvious that she's still not comfortable being completely vulnerable in this. She did go into detail what she was feeling at particular times but I had hoped she would reveal more. I realize it is very personal and not really anyone's business but something I had hoped she would discuss was how what she went through affected her intimate relationship with her husband. I remember when Ann Jillian was diagnosed with breast cancer 20+ years ago and how it initially had a very negative impact on her intimate relationship with her husband (per the movie made about it in which Ann starred in so I believe it's credible). Amy didn't delve that deeply into what she covered and I think it would be beneficial to women who go through this and read her story.
The other thing I would like to mention about her story is, I watched GMA a lot when she was going through treatment and I remember thinking she must've been fast-tracked on the treatment (not that there is a fast-track that I know of) because she looked great and I figured she had to have completed treatment, when in fact she was still getting treatment. I remember specific episodes where I thought that and some of those specific episodes are mentioned in the book - as hard days to get through because she was so sick.
Amy is a true survivor and after having read her book I have so much admiration for her and how strong she is. She was scheduled to cover the Olympics in Russia during her treatment. Her family and doctors said that might not be the best idea but she had determined that cancer wasn't going to take anything else away from her so in between treatments, she covered the Olympics! Such an amazing person, with a strong message . . . just because you don't have a family history of breast cancer doesn't mean you shouldn't get checked out. There always has to be the first one.
Even if it wasn't breast cancer awareness month, I would recommend this book. It was an engaging, easy read . . . I didn't want to put it down.
For more book reviews, go to www.barriesummy.blogspot.com.
Amy Robach is news journalist on ABC's Good Morning America. As you may know, she discovered she had breast cancer when she agreed to have an on-air mammogram to help raise awareness for the cause on October 1, 2013. She tells in her book how she was reluctant to have the mammogram when her producers first approached her. They asked her to think about it before she gave a definite "no" response. So she talked to her family about it and still said no. When she told her producers the reason she didn't want to participate was because she was only 40, had no family history of breast cancer and had no connection to the cause (other than her main job on GMA was to backfill for Robin Roberts who was being treated for a secondary cancer caused by the treatment she received from her breast cancer diagnosis). They once again asked her to think about it some more. So she did. She talked to Robin Roberts, someone she didn't know well at the time, about it. When Robin told her that 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease, Amy relented and agreed to have the mammogram live.
However, she still felt maybe she wasn't the right person to do this and felt it necessary to explain her decision to the public prior to stepping into the mammovan for the mammogram. In her pre-taped piece she explained that this was not something she wanted to do but that she was doing it in the hopes that someone else might see it and realize they should or could do it as well.
Shortly thereafter, because she had done this and a few necessary follow up tests, she found out she had breast cancer.
In the book she goes into detail about all of the tests and doctors appointments she went to. She talks about how sick she felt during treatment and how hard some days were to get through. She describes how uncomfortable it was to go from telling the story to being the story. Yet despite that, she did tell the story because she felt it was an important message. Here she had been very reluctant to have the mammogram that revealed she had cancer. It's a powerful message.
Amy really opens up in the book about what she went through but it's obvious that she's still not comfortable being completely vulnerable in this. She did go into detail what she was feeling at particular times but I had hoped she would reveal more. I realize it is very personal and not really anyone's business but something I had hoped she would discuss was how what she went through affected her intimate relationship with her husband. I remember when Ann Jillian was diagnosed with breast cancer 20+ years ago and how it initially had a very negative impact on her intimate relationship with her husband (per the movie made about it in which Ann starred in so I believe it's credible). Amy didn't delve that deeply into what she covered and I think it would be beneficial to women who go through this and read her story.
The other thing I would like to mention about her story is, I watched GMA a lot when she was going through treatment and I remember thinking she must've been fast-tracked on the treatment (not that there is a fast-track that I know of) because she looked great and I figured she had to have completed treatment, when in fact she was still getting treatment. I remember specific episodes where I thought that and some of those specific episodes are mentioned in the book - as hard days to get through because she was so sick.
Amy is a true survivor and after having read her book I have so much admiration for her and how strong she is. She was scheduled to cover the Olympics in Russia during her treatment. Her family and doctors said that might not be the best idea but she had determined that cancer wasn't going to take anything else away from her so in between treatments, she covered the Olympics! Such an amazing person, with a strong message . . . just because you don't have a family history of breast cancer doesn't mean you shouldn't get checked out. There always has to be the first one.
Even if it wasn't breast cancer awareness month, I would recommend this book. It was an engaging, easy read . . . I didn't want to put it down.
For more book reviews, go to www.barriesummy.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
June Book Review
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It's time for more book reviews. This month I will be reviewing two books that I enjoyed in the last month. The first is our gracious host's latest book, The Disappearance of Emily H. This book was reviewed last month by Sarah Laurence here. I had already pre-ordered the book and was excited about reading it but Sarah gave a great review that only upped my anticipation of receiving the book.
The story is about Raine, who can read people's memories through sparkles. She describes it this way "Some people come from a family with loads of money. Some ace math without trying. Some never get zits. Reading sparkles is my thing, my little talent."
Her mother's talent is getting involved with loser boyfriends and then relocating with Raine when they don't work out. And that is why Raine is a new student at Yielding. Because she has moved around so much, Raine has learned to adapt rather quickly. She can spot the popular kids, the nerds, the mean kids easily and she has learned how to deal with them and stay under the radar.
Raine has met the mean girls in her new school but they don't bother her much, that is until she stands up against them when she sees them bullying another new student, Shirlee. Once she does that she has a target on her own back for the mean girls.
Raine uses her talent of reading memories to put a stop to the bullying of Shirlee and herself in a very unique way, while also helping to solve the mystery of what happened to Emily H.
One of the many things I like about Barrie's books (characters, story, etc.) is that they tell a story that is good for any age. Disney movies used to be movies that you could take your small child to, as well as your elderly grandparent and everyone would enjoy it and no one would be uncomfortable by any of its content. That's how I view Barrie's books, people of all ages can enjoy them and no one need be embarrassed by the content. I recommend this book highly.
The second book I'm reviewing is Queen of the Trailer Park, A Rosie Maldonne Mystery by Alice Quinn. I came across this book quite by accident. You see amazon offers its prime service for free for a month every year or two and I take them up on it fairly regularly but this past year I forgot to cancel it before they charged me for it. It's my understanding that you can still cancel if you haven't had anything shipped but I decided to keep it, see how I liked it. Then I started getting all these emails about kindle books. I'm not a fan of reading ebooks so I would delete the emails without seeing what they were about. Turns out that you get one free ebook a month with your prime membership and I just realized it at the end of May and decided to check this book out from it.
It's a story about Rosie and her life. She doesn't have money, she lives in a trailer and she's raising three kids, one of which isn't hers. Then one day her friend and her friend's child go missing and she starts trying to figure out what happens. The police question her and follow her. She meets an eccentric man who takes her under his wing. And she follows clues to try to find her friend and her child.
This was a quirky, fun book that I read in one day (which is highly unusual for me these days). There were some things in the book that I had difficulty suspending disbelief for but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book and its story. There were some passages what didn't flow as well as they could but I considered that this book was translated from French and felt that was likely a contributing factor. But again, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.
This was the first in a series of Rosie Maldonne stories by Alice Quinn and I plan on checking out more in the series. So thank you amazon for offering it to me . . . I can recommend it as a fun, light read (despite that it being a mystery). :)
For more book reviews, click on the icon at the top of this post.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
May Book Review
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This month I will be reviewing GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn. There was such a buzz when this book was made into a movie that came out last fall that I decided to check it out. I went online to my local library and put a hold on the audio version of the book.
I was far enough down the list that it took six months to become available to me to download and listen to it. By that time I wasn't as "into" it as I had been so I actually considered not downloading it. Before I let it go though I looked to see how many people were on the hold list . . . 268! I don't remember where I started but I really believe it was a much smaller number than that so I decided I could download it and decide later if I would actually listen to it.
Then I decided after all that that I really should listen to it, so I did.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Nick Dunne is a man whose wife has gone missing. At first people (i.e. the police) don't want to listen to him because nothing major seems amiss. Yes, the living room looks like there may have been a struggle in there but it also appears staged. And the iron was left on but they think it was just absent-mindedness, not foul play.
The story is told in three parts. The first part is told from Nick's point of view in the present, as well as Amy Elliott Dunne's (his wife) point of view as seen from old journal entries. The reader gets benefit from these journal entries but it's not something (the journal or the entries) that comes to light for anyone else until much, much later in the book.
In the first part you get to see the inner workings of the relationship between Nick and Amy and it's not a pretty picture. As the story starts unfolding everything points to Nick having caused harm to his wife, despite his denials of any wrong doing and best efforts to uncover the truth of what happened.
What I liked about the book is that it was well written and an interesting story came out of it. Amy and Nick weren't particularly likeable people but I was still drawn in and interested in what happened next.
What I didn't like about the book . . . I checked out the table of contents on the audio book and it provided some spoilers that I would've rather been totally shocked by when they came to light. It also was read at a very slow pace. Fortunately you can speed up the cadence so I listened to a lot of the book at double time, which sounded normal. If that hadn't been an option I probably wouldn't have finished the book.
But the bottom line is that I really liked this book and now want to check out the movie that was based on it.
For more book reviews, click on the icon at the top of this post.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Born Free
I have a confession to make . . . I'm becoming obsessed with all things related to the movie Born Free.
I feel quite certain that I probably saw the movie as a child but I don't remember actually seeing it. Then, a year or so ago I watched the movie and really enjoyed it. It came on cable a few months ago, along with the sequel Living Free and I recorded both of them and watched them the weekend before last.
I'm not sure what happened but it affected me differently this time around. I became very attached to Elsa, the lion the movie is based on. Watching Born Free I wondered if she was still alive so I did a search of how long lions live. The life expectancy of a lion in the wild is 15 years. In captivity the life expectancy is 25 years. When I read that I knew that Elsa was likely gone a long time. And then I got annoyed because I felt that by deciding to release Elsa into the wild again that George and Joy Adamson effectively made the decision to cut her life expectancy almost in half for reasons that had nothing to do with what was in Elsa's best interest. You see, by this point I had decided that they trained her to go back into the wild for recognition and fame.
So by the time I started to watch Living Free, I already didn't like George or Joy. I would mention that I'm about to post a spoiler but since this is 50+ year old news I'll just say that if you don't know what happens and want to discover it somewhere else, you should stop reading now. Okay then. In the first 5 minutes of Living Free, Elsa dies. I was totally shocked and immediately did a search of Elsa online. She died at age 5.
I was upset and felt that George and Joy's selfish and egotistical decision had cut Elsa's life short by 80%. I liked them even less.
But despite that, for some reason I ordered the book Born Free from my library. I read it and it changed my opinion of George. He was a good man who really cared about Elsa. My opinion of Joy only got worse from reading the book. Not only did it show no love or compassion for Elsa in the writing, it confirmed that for her it was an "experiment".
Since reading the book I've ordered the two other books in the series and have read excerpts from them. I've also watched some documentaries and read archived articles on George, Joy and Elsa.
The bottom line is that through Elsa's story we see unconditional love from Elsa to the humans who raised her, despite that they didn't always act in her best interests and repeatedly betrayed her trust. That love is what has me so obsessed with this story. Elsa was an incredible creature and despite her having died before I was even born, I feel her loss and feel compelled to contribute in some way to a cause that would protect the species and educate people about their value. It's an amazing story that if you haven't read it or seen the movie, it's worth the efforts to do so.
As for George and Joy, what I read about them and saw in documentaries is that my second opinions of the two were accurate. George was an amazing human being who spent his life making sure animals were protected and treated with respect. Everyone who met him loved him and only spoke highly of them. Joy, on the other hand, was not a good person. She was selfish and manipulative and cared only for herself. The book Born Free was taken from George's notes, written in part by him and edited by him, yet she wouldn't share the income from the franchise with him. In 1970 a lion George was rehabilitating attacked a child (the child survived) and he was forced to move to a more isolated area to continue his work. Joy wanted to move on from lions (for more recognition) and refused to go with him. He had no money and was living off of camel meat and tinned army rations while Joy gave money to foundations all over the world but she refused to help George because he didn't do as she'd demanded. All comments about Joy in the documentaries and articles was that she was not a pleasant person and difficult to be around. Despite having no money, George had workers to worked with him without compensation. Joy, on the other hand, was murdered by a paid employee because of how she had treated them. That says a lot about the people.
But, as I said, I feel a void and a sadness that Elsa is gone and it calls me to action on behalf of animals like her. I'm not sure what I will do but I hope it is meaningful and honors a life that was cut way too short.
I feel quite certain that I probably saw the movie as a child but I don't remember actually seeing it. Then, a year or so ago I watched the movie and really enjoyed it. It came on cable a few months ago, along with the sequel Living Free and I recorded both of them and watched them the weekend before last.
I'm not sure what happened but it affected me differently this time around. I became very attached to Elsa, the lion the movie is based on. Watching Born Free I wondered if she was still alive so I did a search of how long lions live. The life expectancy of a lion in the wild is 15 years. In captivity the life expectancy is 25 years. When I read that I knew that Elsa was likely gone a long time. And then I got annoyed because I felt that by deciding to release Elsa into the wild again that George and Joy Adamson effectively made the decision to cut her life expectancy almost in half for reasons that had nothing to do with what was in Elsa's best interest. You see, by this point I had decided that they trained her to go back into the wild for recognition and fame.
So by the time I started to watch Living Free, I already didn't like George or Joy. I would mention that I'm about to post a spoiler but since this is 50+ year old news I'll just say that if you don't know what happens and want to discover it somewhere else, you should stop reading now. Okay then. In the first 5 minutes of Living Free, Elsa dies. I was totally shocked and immediately did a search of Elsa online. She died at age 5.
I was upset and felt that George and Joy's selfish and egotistical decision had cut Elsa's life short by 80%. I liked them even less.
But despite that, for some reason I ordered the book Born Free from my library. I read it and it changed my opinion of George. He was a good man who really cared about Elsa. My opinion of Joy only got worse from reading the book. Not only did it show no love or compassion for Elsa in the writing, it confirmed that for her it was an "experiment".
Since reading the book I've ordered the two other books in the series and have read excerpts from them. I've also watched some documentaries and read archived articles on George, Joy and Elsa.
The bottom line is that through Elsa's story we see unconditional love from Elsa to the humans who raised her, despite that they didn't always act in her best interests and repeatedly betrayed her trust. That love is what has me so obsessed with this story. Elsa was an incredible creature and despite her having died before I was even born, I feel her loss and feel compelled to contribute in some way to a cause that would protect the species and educate people about their value. It's an amazing story that if you haven't read it or seen the movie, it's worth the efforts to do so.
As for George and Joy, what I read about them and saw in documentaries is that my second opinions of the two were accurate. George was an amazing human being who spent his life making sure animals were protected and treated with respect. Everyone who met him loved him and only spoke highly of them. Joy, on the other hand, was not a good person. She was selfish and manipulative and cared only for herself. The book Born Free was taken from George's notes, written in part by him and edited by him, yet she wouldn't share the income from the franchise with him. In 1970 a lion George was rehabilitating attacked a child (the child survived) and he was forced to move to a more isolated area to continue his work. Joy wanted to move on from lions (for more recognition) and refused to go with him. He had no money and was living off of camel meat and tinned army rations while Joy gave money to foundations all over the world but she refused to help George because he didn't do as she'd demanded. All comments about Joy in the documentaries and articles was that she was not a pleasant person and difficult to be around. Despite having no money, George had workers to worked with him without compensation. Joy, on the other hand, was murdered by a paid employee because of how she had treated them. That says a lot about the people.
But, as I said, I feel a void and a sadness that Elsa is gone and it calls me to action on behalf of animals like her. I'm not sure what I will do but I hope it is meaningful and honors a life that was cut way too short.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Odd Dream
I had an odd dream last night. In it Matt Damon and Allison Holker were married and I worked with them. I'm not sure what Matt's job was but Allison was a lawyer and they both were what society knows them to be - Matt an actor and Allison a dancer, currently performing on Dancing with the Stars.
It was a Monday morning in my dream and Allison had to perform that night . . . in Los Angeles. The office was in Houston, Texas. I asked Allison about it and she said she was going to be performing that night so I asked her when she was leaving. She said she was leaving at 5:00 p.m. I was trying to do the math in my head of the time change and time it would take to fly to L.A. from Houston but - at best - I thought she was cutting it really close. I thought it was great that our company was allowing her the time off to participate in DWTS but as she was leaving I wondered if they realized she would have to be there two days now because of the Tuesday elimination shows they're starting now. I couldn't ask her though because she was already out the door.
We'd been in a meeting with Matt, and I assume someone else because I had a bottle of alcohol in my bag and I was concerned it would be discovered and I would get fired. I couldn't follow the meeting for thinking about it and wondering if it was buried deep enough that it couldn't be seen. The reason I assumed someone else was in the meeting is because I didn't think Matt would rat me out and I'm pretty sure Allison was with me when I put the alcohol in the bag.
Anyway, I left the office and we were all in a living room with a wonderful view and I realized I didn't have my wig with me and thought I had left it at the office so needed to go back to get it. (I haven't discussed why I would have a wig on my blog but it was in my dream so I'm including it.) The wig looks like my real hair used to, just maybe a little fuller. My real hair is growing in much darker though and is only a few inches long at this point so it's definitely a different look than people I work with have seen, and that also applies to the people I worked with in my dream - exception being Matt and Allison, who had seen me wigless. Anyway, I went back to the office with my real hair showing and not one person seemed to notice a difference or not know who I was.
Someone I used to work with (and still worked with in the dream) came into my office and I found myself spilling my guts about the hair thing and she said she hadn't noticed anything different. I woke up after that, never having seen or found my wig.
Weird.
It was a Monday morning in my dream and Allison had to perform that night . . . in Los Angeles. The office was in Houston, Texas. I asked Allison about it and she said she was going to be performing that night so I asked her when she was leaving. She said she was leaving at 5:00 p.m. I was trying to do the math in my head of the time change and time it would take to fly to L.A. from Houston but - at best - I thought she was cutting it really close. I thought it was great that our company was allowing her the time off to participate in DWTS but as she was leaving I wondered if they realized she would have to be there two days now because of the Tuesday elimination shows they're starting now. I couldn't ask her though because she was already out the door.
We'd been in a meeting with Matt, and I assume someone else because I had a bottle of alcohol in my bag and I was concerned it would be discovered and I would get fired. I couldn't follow the meeting for thinking about it and wondering if it was buried deep enough that it couldn't be seen. The reason I assumed someone else was in the meeting is because I didn't think Matt would rat me out and I'm pretty sure Allison was with me when I put the alcohol in the bag.
Anyway, I left the office and we were all in a living room with a wonderful view and I realized I didn't have my wig with me and thought I had left it at the office so needed to go back to get it. (I haven't discussed why I would have a wig on my blog but it was in my dream so I'm including it.) The wig looks like my real hair used to, just maybe a little fuller. My real hair is growing in much darker though and is only a few inches long at this point so it's definitely a different look than people I work with have seen, and that also applies to the people I worked with in my dream - exception being Matt and Allison, who had seen me wigless. Anyway, I went back to the office with my real hair showing and not one person seemed to notice a difference or not know who I was.
Someone I used to work with (and still worked with in the dream) came into my office and I found myself spilling my guts about the hair thing and she said she hadn't noticed anything different. I woke up after that, never having seen or found my wig.
Weird.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Is it deja vu?
I recently changed vets for my dog. It's a long story but I had changed vets around 5 years ago and I liked the vet initially. Over the years though I've come to realize that she's really in the wrong profession. She's afraid of dogs and I believe her negligence contributed to me losing one of my dogs. Attributes I would think you'd want to avoid when looking for pet care. So, at the end of last year when we were in the middle of getting my dog, Harley, off of steroids and she went on maternity leave, I decided to find a new vet.
I reached out to a friend of mine who I would trust my dog(s) with if something happened to me and she referred me to the vet she went to when she had pets (she lost both of her sweet babies within the last year and a half). I took Harley to see this person and she was quite competent and nice and immediately addressed an issue he was having and he was like a new dog. Perfect, right?
Well, last night I was reading through blog posts from my other blogs (yeah, this isn't my only blog - it is, however, the only one I've posted on in years) and apparently I "switched' vets about 7 years ago. It's not specific and I only have vague memories of the incidents I mention but I'm pretty sure I had switched to the vet I'm currently taking my dog to.
It wasn't pretty. After one visit and a few phone calls I went back to the vet I had moved from. I didn't have an issue with the first vet, it's just he's so far away and it was making getting treatment for my dogs difficult. It got bad enough that I did have to change vets 5 years ago. At first the vet seemed good and competent but over time and a series of issues later, I realized I had to move again.
Finding good pet care is as important to me as finding good doctors for myself but the sad thing about it is, it doesn't seem to matter if they're a people doctor or an animal doctor, they just don't seem to provide the same quality care you know they'd expect if they needed medical attention. I'm going to stay with this new vet for now but I'll be keeping my eyes out for any issues and I won't wait so long to make a change the next time.
I reached out to a friend of mine who I would trust my dog(s) with if something happened to me and she referred me to the vet she went to when she had pets (she lost both of her sweet babies within the last year and a half). I took Harley to see this person and she was quite competent and nice and immediately addressed an issue he was having and he was like a new dog. Perfect, right?
Well, last night I was reading through blog posts from my other blogs (yeah, this isn't my only blog - it is, however, the only one I've posted on in years) and apparently I "switched' vets about 7 years ago. It's not specific and I only have vague memories of the incidents I mention but I'm pretty sure I had switched to the vet I'm currently taking my dog to.
It wasn't pretty. After one visit and a few phone calls I went back to the vet I had moved from. I didn't have an issue with the first vet, it's just he's so far away and it was making getting treatment for my dogs difficult. It got bad enough that I did have to change vets 5 years ago. At first the vet seemed good and competent but over time and a series of issues later, I realized I had to move again.
Finding good pet care is as important to me as finding good doctors for myself but the sad thing about it is, it doesn't seem to matter if they're a people doctor or an animal doctor, they just don't seem to provide the same quality care you know they'd expect if they needed medical attention. I'm going to stay with this new vet for now but I'll be keeping my eyes out for any issues and I won't wait so long to make a change the next time.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
My Biggest Fear
The older I get the less social I seem get. It's not something I particularly like about myself but it's the reality of things. In the last few years though, I've been working to remedy that and not just rely on others to maintain our friendships.
Add to that, I like being single. It's hard for me to imagine sharing my home with someone else and having to answer to someone else as to how I spend money or who I can socialize with. I know some will jump in and say that's not how marriage is supposed to be but I know how mine was and I know what my friends say about their husbands now. For as much as some have a partnership and enjoy each other's company, I don't have one single married female friend who doesn't live in a hierarchy where the man rules the roost. They may have some balance in their relationships but at the end of the day, the man calls the shots. I've had that and don't relish the thought of returning to that. No, I like being single.
Then I came across something recently that makes me want to be more diligent in maintaining friendships.
It started with an interview of a celebrity. This celebrity mentioned a family member (also a celebrity) and spoke of them in the past tense. So I looked up this family member on the internet movie database. Apparently this person had died at a young age roughly 40 years ago.
I was reading their profile and discovered that someone they'd had a long term love affair with was found dead in their home in 2011. The coroner's report revealed that they had been dead approximately a year. A year!
Before I did a search on this person and started reading articles about their life and death (they were also a celebrity, for the record), I wondered how this could happen. Did they own their home free and clear? Otherwise I would assume the landlord or mortgage company would have found this person before then. Utilities wouldn't matter because they'd just shut them off and wouldn't come looking for you. But what about the lawn and grounds? How would they be maintained? In my subdivision they'd eventually send someone over and charge you for the work. I'd assume as much in a ritzy Los Angeles neighborhood.
Then I wondered, did this person have automatic payments set up? If so, there'd need to be sufficient money in the account to cover this year. But even at that, wouldn't the lawn guy eventually come looking for you? Somebody's got to notice, right?
Oh, and supposedly the thing that caught the attention of the neighbor was overflowing mail that was yellowing. The interesting thing with that for me is that I get excited to get mail so when I hear the mail person driving around, I will look out the window and watch them come to my house to see if they're delivering anything. The house next door is vacant (for all intents and purposes). It was bought just over a year ago by a family who has yet to live there. They do stop by and mow the lawn and had a couple of parties there last summer, but otherwise the house is essentially vacant. A few weeks ago, as I was looking out the window to see if I was getting any mail, the mail person got to their house and shoved some mail in. Then the mail person reached back into the mail box and shoved some more. I assumed the mailbox was full. After another minute, the mail person pulled all the mail out, sticking it into a pouch on the dashboard, and then stuck in one sheet. I assume the sheet told them something like they'd need to come pick up their mail at the post office. My point is, the mail person didn't let the mailbox get to an overflowing condition where the mail would turn yellow. And again, where this was happening was in an upscale LA home.
Well, after reading the articles on this person's death I still have some questions. There were a few discrepancies in how the body was discovered but the facts were this:
1) The utilities were still on because the body was laying next to a space heater that was still on.
2) The yard was overgrown.
3) The overflowing mail was yellowing.
4) The house was as close to the road as it can get - not offset where people couldn't see what was going on.
People ignored this poor person, turned a blind eye - for a year. The neighbors ignored the situation, no one came to check on them. And apparently this person didn't have good enough friends that they came and checked on them. In my mind I imagine that maybe a few calls came in for this person. But when they didn't call back, no one cared enough to make sure they were okay.
That scares me. I have a fear of that happening to me and then reading that it happened to someone who had been a high profile celebrity, well, it just freaks me out. It also makes not want to have accounts set up as auto pay. I don't now but this makes me want to never have it set up and always have some sort of required payment (other than taxes) attached to my house.
It also makes me want to be sure I really cultivate more close friendships so that someone would notice if I wasn't around. I don't want my mummified body to be discovered by a neighbor I didn't really know and who didn't care enough about me to check in on me until the dilapidated condition of my home brought down their own home values.
The lesson here is to appreciate your friends and continue to cultivate and nurture those friendships 'til the bitter end! (No pun intended.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
April Book Review
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@Barrie Summy
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy
It's that time again . . .
This month I will be reviewing Eileen Cook's Remember. From amazon
A thrilling tale about what a girl will do to get back a memory she lost…or remove what she wants to forget.
Harper is used to her family being hounded by protestors. Her father runs the company that trademarked the “Memtex” procedure to wipe away sad memories, and plenty of people think it shouldn’t be legal. Then a new demonstrator crosses her path, Neil, who’s as persistent as he is hot. Not that Harper’s noticing, since she already has a boyfriend.
When Harper suffers a loss, she’s shocked her father won’t allow her to get the treatment, so she finds a way to get it without his approval. Soon afterward, she’s plagued with strange symptoms, including hallucinations of a woman who is somehow both a stranger, yet incredibly familiar. Harper begins to wonder if she is delusional, or if these are somehow memories.
Together with Neil, who insists he has his own reasons for needing answers about the real dangers of Memtex, Harper begins her search for the truth. What she finds could uproot all she’s ever believed about her life…
For those of you who know me or have followed my blog over the years know that I am a huge fan of Eileen Cook's books. I've reviewed several of them on this blog and even interviewed her once for this blog. She's an auto-buy author for me. I don't have to see the cover or know what it says on the back cover. If Ms. Cook wrote it, I will buy it. Having said that, if I didn't really like this book, I wouldn't be reviewing it now.
It's funny because like the book I reviewed last month, the father plays a big part in what drives the main character and you find he isn't quite what you expected. I didn't plan it that way, it's just how it worked out.
In any event, the book was very engaging and I had to keep reading to find out what happened and it did not disappoint. Since I knew Harper was going to suffer a loss I had (correctly) anticipated what that loss would be. Beyond that the book was not predictable and had a few quite unexpected twists and turns and I'm sure my jaw dropped a couple of times for things I didn't see coming. Very good story and very well written.
The bottom line, for me, is that this is another Eileen Cook hit that I recommend and as an author she remains on my auto-buy list. :)
Friday, February 27, 2015
March Book Review Club
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@Barrie Summy
It's been a while since I've participated in the Book Review Club but I'm glad to be back.
In the interest of full disclosure here, the book I'm reviewing this month was gifted to me by its author, Sara Hantz. Sara was not aware that I participate in this Book Review Club, much less that I would be reviewing it here. That said, I would not be reviewing it if I didn't believe it warranted recommendation.
Growing up we start out by idolizing our parents and want to be just like them. At some point though we typically get embarrassed by our parents and want to be nothing like them.
In the Blood starts nine months after Jed Franklin's world has turned upside down . . . when he learned his father is a serial killing pedophile.
There are so many things I like about the way this story was told that it's hard to know where to start. I like that even though it starts nine months after the you-know-what hit the fan, we get glimpses into what life was like before his world comes crumbling down. We see a teenager who, in addition to the struggles that all teenagers go through, has to deal with the fallout for what his father has done. Most of his friends have deserted him and some taunt him, saying he's just like his father, which is what worries him most because all of his life Jed has been told he's just like his father in so many ways and he worries that he will also become a serial killing pedophile at some point in his life. I know this could seem like a dark subject but the author told it with compassion and sensitivity and she made Jed relatable. At one time or another I think most of us have struggled with doubts about who we are based on the guilt by association factor - granted, not as much as Jed has - and that makes this character relatable in an unexpected way.
For reasons I won't go into here, I've had some challenges when it came to reading this past year so I've read very little. In the Blood was a book that I thought might be too intense for me to take up at this point but once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. It was very engaging and pulled me in from the start and I wanted to / need to know what was going to happen next. Bottom line, it was a very well written, well told story that I highly recommend.
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