Booklog: November 2009

The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
It's not Bel Canto, and the story and characters are somewhat implausible, but I enjoyed this Ann Patchett book just the same. I like seeing how her writing progresses from her earlier books to her later ones.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
My first Vowell book, and definitely not my last. Funny and educational is a winning combination.

Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch
This is what a great biography is all about - a collection of small details you shouldn't care about or find interesting, but you do because Fitch was able to put them all in one place and create a marvelous tale about a woman named Julia. Though I could hardly stand to read about all the years after Paul got sick, because he and Julia were wonderful together, and it was just too sad to read about him leaving her life mentally then physically.

Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
McNamee can't quite pull off for Alice what Fitch did for Julia, but I loved reading about the early years of Alice Water's life and the beginnings of Chez Panisse. I dined there 5 years ago, and the actual experience and food surpassed everything I had heard about the restaurant. It was fun to find out more about how that night of olives, local salad, quail, and raspberry souffle came to be.

Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
The Rachael Ray version of Julia's life.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Half a fascinating and horrifying account of a young Hmong girl with epilepsy living in California, and half a history and description of the Hmong people. I could not put the odd chapters down, but found the even ones a little boring and drawn out.

As a Friend by Forrest Gander
A lovely, lovely, small book. Beautiful writing that only a poet could achieve.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I had to take a break with this after I got 1/3 of the way through. I read his Shadow of the Wind for my bookclub a couple of years ago and we all loved it. This new book was supposed to be better, but it wasn't. Not even close.

The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
I read Lost in the Forest by Miller 3 years ago and I'm not sure why it took me so long to get back to her. Not quite as good as that one, but still an entertaining, late Summer read.

Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman
Waldman has gotten a lot of criticism in the past for some of her essays (one in particular about loving her husband more than her children), but I found myself saying, "oh yes," many many more times than I said, "oh no." While this book is filled with funny and sweet moments, there is one profoundly heartbreaking moment. I closed this book feeling thankful Waldman wrote with such honesty about her motherhood.

Booklog: August 2009

I'm reading Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman. It was one of the books we discussed reading later this year or early next for my bookclub, but we thought someone should read it first just to make sure it was worthwhile. Ayelet has a website, and she has the coolest thing on it - a list of all the books she's read in the past few months with brief comments. Her booklog goes back to 2001, and I thought it would be a nice record for me and maybe provide some suggestions for other people. I know that I am always looking for new books to read.

Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus with Alan Jolis
Yunus is a genius. So much of what he said about poverty and solutions for poverty were proven in other books I read over the Summer. Some parts of this book were too in depth and others parts didn't quite go deep enough.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Greg Mortenson is a great guy, but the book is just okay. I think a different journalist, or a writer like John McPhee, would have written a book with fewer weak areas.

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout
Strout can really tell a story and her language pulls you in and keep you turning the page, even when you don't care very much for the characters. This is probably the weakest of her three published books.

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
The best book I read all Summer, no all year, no in all the past few years. The voice is so perfectly Julia and her story is fascinating.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Why did it take me so long to read Gladwell? He blew my mind, and I'm totally rethinking school for my children. His other two books are at the top of my must read list.

Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl
Another hilarious and engrossing book by Reichl. It's more of a novella, and took me only two evenings to finish. I'm glad I learned more about her mother, who is also in her first two memoirs (maybe the third as well?). I'm eagerly awaiting Reichl's fifth book.

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets by Sudhir Venkatesh
In Freakonomics, the chapter on Venkatesh, "Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?", is one of the best. I enjoyed GLFAG, and he disproves a lot of stereotypes people have about living in the projects. A lot of what Venkatesh says, is the basis for the success Muhammad Yunus's Grameen Bank.

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Ariely loves to come up with questions about the world find out the answers, like "Will it hurt less to pull a bandage off slowly or quickly?" (ans: quickly) or "Are people more likely to steal unattended food or cash in a communal refrigerator?" (ans: food). A lot of what you think should be true is not, and Ariely keeps you wanting to know more and more about his studies.

Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
Strout's first book. I love her writing and I enjoyed getting to know the characters of Amy and Isabelle. Just when I thought the book would remain in a scary and creepy place, Strout takes it in a different direction.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Sad and scary, especially if you know of anyone with early onset Alzheimer's. More of a beach read than good literature, but Genova does know how to keep you turning the pages.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
There are some wonderful short stories in here, and some not quite as good ones. The not quite as good ones seem to be all the early ones, from the publication info on the copyright page. I loved the different ways she used the character of Olive Kitteridge to link all the stories together and Strout is a marvelous writer.

The Kid by Dan Savage
If I ever adopt, I'm doing an open adoption.

Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch
The inside world of Per Se is fascinating. I'd love to eat here or at The French Laundry someday.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and the next 5 in the series by Alexander McCall Smith
The first book is the best, but the others are good car books and it doesn't matter if my 4 year old is paying attention or not. In fact, he loves it when a snake is mentioned or someone gets into a car accident.

A Mercy by Toni Morrison
I wish Morrison had made this book longer. I didn't want the story and beautiful writing to end as quickly as it did.

The Commitment by Dan Savage
Dan Savage is so funny. I annoyed my husband so much while reading this book. The story of the Dan, Terry and D.J. family holds up to the writing.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Liked it, but I didn't end up on the Toole train. By the end, I was just ready for the whole thing to be over and for the characters to go away. Far away. Toole was a genius with the dialogue.

A New Tote: Part 2

Done! Two days of waiting at home for air conditioning repair gave me some extra time to fiddle with and sew on the binding and straps.

First, can I say that I love love love the Echino fabric? I used it before when I made a pillow for the newly finished den, but I had forgotten how wonderful the fabric is. It is a 50/50 linen cotton blend; the linen makes it soft but durable and the cotton holds the warp and weft together so it doesn't shift like most linen fabrics. It is a dream to cut and sew with.

I woke up on Tuesday and realized that I had enough exterior fabric (the Echino) if I pieced the bias strips for the straps. I wasn't thrilled about putting a seam line through the middle of the straps, but I figured it wouldn't show much, as it would only be on one side. Piecing also allowed me to use what I had, which saved me money and shipping time.

Since the extra gathers made the peak distance on my bag shorter than the instructions, I knew I needed to reduce the length of the binding. From measuring the pattern piece, it looked like the binding was 2 inches longer than the peak distance. I made mine 3 inches longer just to be safe, and that turned out to be wise since my binding ended up being only 1/4 inch too long. The distance between the peaks on my bag was 9.5 inches, and the resulting binding measured 12.25 inches.

I received a comment on my blog from Limabean + 4, and she said she also gathered her bag more but felt the pattern's strap length was too long with the gathered bag. I cut my straps the same length as the pattern, and checked them by pining everything in place before sewing. I was happy with where the bag fell while on my shoulders, so I left the strap length alone.
The main problem I had with my straps is that they got very bulky at the side seams of the bag. My sewing machine had trouble sewing through the layers and there wasn't quite enough room for all the fabric to pass under the foot. This was all my fault since I used decor weight fabrics for both sides of the straps. While it didn't matter for the bag body, it did make a difference on the straps. Next time, I'll either use a lightweight fabric for the interior of the handles, or still use decor weight but make the interior strip shorter than the exterior, so there aren't as many layers where the ends of the straps meet up. I ended up trimming off about 1/4 inch of the lining fabric from both ends to reduce the number of layers - everything came together nicely and I had no trouble moving the bag under the presser foot.

From other blogs and the flickr group, I knew some people had trouble understanding how to sew on the straps. It took me a couple of reads - I was a little confused at first - but I followed them and found the instructions to be right on. I wish Heather also included measurements for any square or rectangular pattern pieces, as I'd rather use my ruler and rotary blade to cut them out, instead of tracing the pattern, cutting out the pattern pieces, chalking the outline, then cutting out the fabric. There is a lot less room for error by me using the ruler and rotary blade.

I adore this bag. I love the fabrics I chose, and the look of the bag. It may not completely replace the black tote, but I know I'm going to use it a lot and I see myself making more, especially as gifts. I'm also glad I finally made a bag with a curved top and bias strips for the handles, because I've been intimidated by that technique and Alicia's Tanglewood Bag kit and pattern have been sitting untouched on the shelf in my sewing nook for far too long.

Ely and Julia

My four year old son is obsessed with Julia Child. It's all my fault, really.

While I wouldn't call myself a huge Julia fan, I do like her. A lot. When I lived in Alabama, I picked up a remaindered copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for $2 at the place where we liked to buy new but slightly damaged books. In Austin, before I had kids, I would spend the morning shopping at Central Market and the afternoon cooking coq au vin and the special mushrooms and onions Julia says you must serve with the dish. After my mother recalled how my brother and I loved the French hamburgers she used to make us from MTAFC, I tried them myself and quickly found a new family favorite. Nowadays, I'm happy if I only spend 30 minutes a few times a week making dinner for us, as it's not too much fun with the baby hanging on your legs, and the four year old chasing the dog in circles around you, as you try not to get yourself or anyone else burned by the hot stove.

One of the best food nights is Sunday, as we usually go to my parents' house for dinner. They always cook a feast with cheese and wine beforehand, to keep us coming back with their grandchildren, and to give them leftovers to eat for the week. A few weeks ago, I was perusing my parents' bookshelves while eating grilled figs drizzled with honey and cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto and drinking our favorite prosecco when I spotted My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme. I didn't realize my parents (actually my Dad I think) owned this book. I seemed to recall that several of my friends had read it and loved it. I also knew the upcoming movie Julia and Julie was based on Julia Child's memoir as well as Julie Powell's book and blog of the same title, both of which I had already read a few years ago. I quickly put My Life in France in my bag to bring home.

I finished the book in four days. It was that good. My Life in France is the type of book you hate to finish because you worry there aren't any other books out there as good as this one, but you also can't put it down because the voice is so perfect and you have to know what happens next in the story. I knew a little of Julia's life before I started, but I hadn't realized all the hard work and determination and luck and support by her husband that made her life and love of cooking possible.

Of course she talks about her tv series, The French Chef. I can remember watching it as reruns on PBS as a kid, but I don't think I'd seen her cook in 15 or 20 years. I checked Netflix and sure enough there are two series of The French Chef on dvd. My local library had the first, so I requested it immediately. I know I mentioned before that my son and I like play games after his rest time is over but while the baby is still sleeping, but once The French Chef dvds were at our house, we started watching Julia make onion soup gratinee, roasted chicken on a spit, tarte tatin, french fries, and many many other dishes. Ely was entranced. He loved to watch her show off Big Bertha, a 45 pound lobster covered in seaweed she has on "The Lobster Show", that takes a good 45 minutes to cook. He began to tell me the difference between a roaster chicken and a fryer, or what Julia uses to make sausage casing (lamb intestines). He would wake up in the morning and ask for Julia. He would want to watch Julia after lunchtime, and of course once he was up after rest time. If I let him watch Julia while I was trying to get dinner together, I had one less kiddo (possibly two) in the kitchen. I finally had to put my foot down at more than two episodes per day, and a few tears were shed when the dvds had to go back to the library.

What I realized myself, is that so many of her dishes aren't the complicated, all day affairs I thought they were, that most of her bases and sauces are made from simple, easy-to-memorize formulas, and while Julia knows all the traditional methods she would rather - just like most people - beat her eggs whites with an electric mixer than by hand in a copper bowl. While I don't see myself making tripes a la mode or pate de campagne any time soon - if ever! - I definitely want to make a cheese souffle, and sandwich bread, and a spinach tart, and mousse au chocolat, and I haven't even finished watching the second series yet. When I make these dishes, I know I'll have a special four year old sous-chef helping me out. I guess I'd better start sewing him an apron.