Carol's Notebook – Page 398

P is for Pigeon Pie

April 18, 2013 by Carol7 Comments

( I know I usually feature fairy tale or folktale on Thursdays, but this was too perfect for the letter P.) I've never had pigeon pie, but from the couple of recipes I saw on-line, it might be good, similar to a chicken pot pie. The recipe from Really Nice Recipes is one I would try, if I actually knew where to buy pigeon. It includes pigeon, mushrooms, onions, celery , carrot, and a red wine sauce all in a pastry shell. I guess I could use Cornish hens, I know they sell those at our grocery store. I should give it a try one of these days. And no one will die shortly after eating mine, unlike the pigeon pie in The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stewart. Title: The Pigeon Pie Mystery Author: Julia Stuart Read by: Hannah Curtis Category: Mystery Audio published: August 7, 2012 by Random House Audio Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository When Indian Princess Alexandrina is...

O is for Otis

April 17, 2013April 17, 2013 by Carol4 Comments

Otis is an adorable little tractor. I just read the third book featuring him earlier today. I read the first a while ago (my review) and even though it's a picture book it put tears in my eyes, so I was expecting this one, Otis and the Puppy to be good too, and I was right. Title: Otis and the Puppy Author: Loren Long Category: Picture Book Published: March 12, 2013 by Philomel Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository Otis and his farm friends love to play hide-and-seek. Otis especially loves to be "It," finding his friends as they hide. Yet when the newest addition to the farm—a bounding puppy who can't sit still and has a habit of licking faces—tries to hide, he finds his attention wandering and is soon lost in the forest. Night falls and Otis, knowing his new friend is afraid of the dark, sets out to find him. There's just one problem: Otis...

N is for Nele Neuhaus

April 16, 2013May 6, 2013 by Carol12 Comments

Nele Neuhaus is a new author for me, which is reasonable, since Snow White Must Die is the first of her novels translated into English. According to her website, Neuhaus is a German writer who currently lives in the Vordertaunus region, where her crime thriller series featureing investigators Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirchhoff is set. Her series was originally self-published then the large Berlin publisher Ullstein discovered her and took her under contract. The series made her one of the most widely read crime writers in Germany. Her Taunus crime thrillers have so far reached a total circulation of 3.5 million copies, the rights have been sold to 20 countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Korea, Russia, Brazil, Poland, China, Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece and the USA. There are currently six books in the series, and, based on Snow White Must Die, I'm hoping more of them are translated soon. Title: Snow White Must Die Author: Nele Neuhaus Translated by : Steven T. Murray Read by: Robert Fass Category: Mystery- Police Procedural Audio published: January 15,...

L is for List

April 13, 2013April 12, 2013 by Carol7 Comments

A List of L Words 1. Love - I love my husband and it also happens to be his birthday today. Happy Birthday, David! 2. Life vest - David's thinking of trying to fix up the old boat at the cabin, but this was taken last summer when we went canoeing. 3. Little - I always think of all those little toys that you step on in the middle of the night. Happily, with Amber being older, that doesn't happen often anymore. 4. Leash - The only time the dog is off his is when he's in the house or the fenced in backyard. 5. Laundry - There's always some that needs done. 6. License - Mine is not so pretty. 7. Lightning bugs - I still like catching them, but I don't stick them in jars anymore. 8. Legs - My legs were a little tired at the end of the run this morning 9. Lighthouses - We saw a couple on vacation in 2011. 10. Lake - We...

K is for Kilometers

April 12, 2013April 17, 2013 by Carol16 Comments

Americans, in general, don't use the metric system. We learn it in middle school. I know this because Amber had to learn it last fall I think and she had some odd phrase to help her remember the prefixes - something about King Henry, I think. I have to admit that it was a lesson my husband had to help with because I'm not any better at it than she is. I measure distance in inches, feet and miles, liquids by the cups, quarts and gallons, spices by the tablespoon or teaspoon. I know a meter's about 3 feet, but that's it. However, tomorrow, metric matters. My husband and I are running in the Pirates Charities 5K. Yes, it's 3.1 miles, and when I run through town or at the track I count miles, but tomorrow it's kilometers. It should be fun, if a little chillier than I would like. In addition to the commemorative t-shirt we also get complimentary tickets for...

J is for Jack

April 11, 2013April 12, 2013 by Carol7 Comments

"Jack and the Beanstalk" is one of the classic, well-known fairy tales. The version I read is from Joseph Jacobs' English Fairy Tales, first published in 1890. Jack is a young lad living with his widowed mother. Their only means of income is a cow whose milk they sell at market. When this cow stops giving milk one morning, Jack is sent to the market to sell it. On the way to the market he meets a funny-looking old man who knows his name and offers to give him "magic" beans in exchange for the cow. We never find out who this man was or how he knows Jack. Jack takes the beans in exchange for the cow but when he arrives home without money, his mother becomes furious and throws the beans out the window. She hits Jack and sends him to bed without supper. He is treated here like a child rather than a young man. "Jack" is a typical fairy tale name. Generally, Jack is...