Our beautiful ash tree at the back of the yard...so far so good, but all the ash trees around are becoming infected. We are hoping that since it is a lone tree that somehow the little bugs won't find it and we will be able to keep it. It's grown so big in just six years. It would really be sad to part with a six-year old...I have become quite attached to it.
READING: The Tree by Colin Tudge -- It is about...well, trees...and it is a very good and fast read, despite the 459 pages you need to cart around to do so. Everything you wanted to know about trees and then some. It is difficult to really describe this book, so here is what the inside blurb says, "A blend of history, science, philosophy, and environmentalism....an engaging and elegant look at the life of a tree..." and that does a fair job of summarizing it. (It also has an embossed jacket cover and I love the way it feels on my fingertips as I hold it when I am reading it...very fun to feel that little tree on the cover while reading.) Anyway, a little botany now and again is very rewarding. (I know...you all didn't read The Big Oyster when I recommended it either, did you? I am a lone reed.)
POOLSIDE READING: Yep, we are back to "easily picked up and put down again reading" while we wait around and by the pool for Matt to finish swim team practice and while at swim meets. As usual, with me it is mostly mysteries. Am trying a new author, Donna Leon, recommended by a blogging friend. Just got the first book today, so far so good...there are 16 titles all set in Venice, Italy...she is not as prolific as Ralph McInerny, who I read for an entire year poolside...and everyone should read Ralph for the vocabulary building alone...but Leon should see me through to the holidays.
LISTENING TO: Mozart's The Magic Flute opera as it is being performed at the end of the month here. (Of course, the Met in NYC did it last year and that would have been really wonderful, but I am Indy bound so maybe we will see a wonderful performance here as well.) What's not to love about a fairy tale opera with a prince rescuing a princess (although he falls in line with the captor, so is it really a rescue, or just some Enlightenment propaganda...oh, who knows...it was a piece of the period when all those symbolic acts and songs reflected heavily on the politics of the time and all those men trying to oust kings and queens in favor of rule by reason by the people...or at least that was the plan at the time) with the help of a magic flute, some silver bells, and one of the originals of a guy in a bird costume...the beloved Papageno with his lovely baritone voice...you have to love The Magic Flute, right? I think it was Mozart's last opera as he died shortly thereafter (and, no, I don't think that is what killed him...LOL).
COOKING THROUGH: Crockpot recipes...healthy, non-fake food, Crockpot recipes. I have been reading how economical it is to cook in a Crockpot vs. heating up the entire oven...amazing...it definitely doesn't work for cooking everything, but I am finding a few things that work nicely. The most difficult part? The timing...all these crazy recipes say to cook on low 8 hours or high for 4 hours...good golly, if it is cooking at 350 degrees...4 hours would pretty much render something inedible, right...which may be why Crockpots have a bad rep...that and the layers of goo the stuff is usually cooked in...like I say...I am adapting it all...trying to find something more than stews and soups (and heating the Wassail at Christmas time) to cook in it. I love the idea of something working while I am out rounding up the boys and having it ready to go when I walk in the door...almost as good as having a private chef (who am I kidding...I would drive a chef up the wall wanting him/her to tweak everything to my specifications...). Keep sending those recipes...I am determined to make this work two nights a week during the fall/winter/early spring...it can hibernate in the summer.
FAV NEW FIND: Omer Fast's Godville is coming to the Indianapolis Museum of Art at the end of the month...in the video gallery...check it out! (Only took two years to get here...but I am not complaining, I am not complaining, I am not complaining....)
FAV THING TODAY; Well, it has to be the crazy party going on in town for the NFL kickoff game, hosted by the local boys, aka the Indianapolis Colts, winners of a little thing called the Super Bowl last year, and therefore entitled to host said party this year. I am not a huge pro football fan, but it is rather fun that the Colts have enjoyed bringing the win to the city, and there are a whole lotta serious Colts fans around this neck of the woods, so that makes the fun infectious. Lots of doings about town these past few days, lots of people in very good moods, lots of excitement and fun all around. (And, just so you can chuckle, Mark and Alex made an "emergency run" to the store last evening as the thought of watching the game in the new-and-much-improved Men's Den without proper fodder was just too much to contemplate...returning with Crunchy Cheetoes, Barbecue Potato Chips, and Jalapeno Pringles...I hope the expectation of a sympathy vote on Friday morning for consuming too many chips is not running high. So cute that he does have a weakness after all...who knew?)
SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK; None...was a holiday weekend (and catching up from such).
GOING TO: Watch a whole lot of football on TV and in person; read my Tree book; maybe scrapbook a little; supervise the homecoming week decorating at Guerin; make a requested apple pie for Mark and Matt; and swim as much as possible while the weather holds...it promises to be a relaxing and great weekend around here! What's going on at your place?
PRAYING FOR: Tom and Terri Hedlund and their family as Tom continues his recuperation at home. Jim and Diana and family as they welcome new baby Lily into their family, and for Lily herself as she undergoes multiple surgeries and medical treatments. Kelly as he continues his battle with ALS, and for Donna, Scott, Sarah, and Katie as they battle forth with him. Please join me.