Thought Salad

Oh boy! This post has NO governing theme whatsoever. A toast to miscellany!

Ian's writing sample from last week:
This week I did a brainstorm on what Ben Franklin and I had alike(and what we didn’t)! Things we don’t have in common: I have 2 siblings; he had 16. I like Legos; he didn’t have them back then. I take Tae Kwon Do; he worked in a printing shop. Things we have in common: we have great mischievous schemes, we like to read, we both have younger sisters*, he liked stories and I do too, and we were and are curious about things.-Ian Diller

*we aren’t absolutely sure he had YOUNGER sisters.

We've been reading D'Aulaire's Benjamin Franklin.

And speaking of reading, Ian seems to be enjoying The Sign of the Beaver, a great boy-in-the-wilderness coming-of-age story from a Newbery Award winner. But the real humdinger of the week is Caroline's new favorite, and it looks like this:


This is the first time my youngest has requested her very own copy of a library book. I find such a request exceedingly difficult to resist. Please buy me a book, Mama. And she has good taste; the book is simple and beautiful in both its story of young compassion and its illustrations that draw you into its heart.

More book stuff: I splurged on myself and bought a new cookbook:
The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh. So far, I'm nothing but pleased. The cranberry-mustard chicken and chicken molé we made last week were quite respectable, but the spiced pumpkin pancakes I made twice this weekend were well nigh sublime. If you're even the wee-est bit into cookbooks, don't pass this one up. It may well take a place of honor on my shelf next to How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, Silver Palate Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition, and all my Everyday Food magazines.

In other news, my dear friend Jenny, a celebrated digital scrapper, has created some adorable holiday cards which, if you're perpetually behind like me, you can still order! In the spirit of loyalty, friendship, and just appreciation of beautiful things, I am using one of her designs, and if I have your mailing address, you'll be receiving it one of these weeks. ;-) If you still need cards and don't want to spend a fortune (you can print them at Winkflash or Artscow), check 'em out (#1-#5)!

Here's a Caroline Treat for you: as we drove past an empty high school stadium today, she gasped, "Look at all the baseball players!* They're NOT THERE!" (*we're still working on sport identification.) Think on this philosophy next time you check your bank statement. Look at that nice fat balance! It's NOT THERE!