Good Reads in 2011

Normally I'd describe or review books in the right-hand column, like my previous reviews. (Scroll down and look to the right of the page and you'll find my other reviews, in a long column, if you want to read them.) Blogger calls this a "list," however, and it's inconvenient both to write in and to view. So here, in sort of an order, is a blog post covering some of the books I've enjoyed in the past few months.

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil, by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson.

At first I feared this would be another story about a Western woman awakening from a fling with a handsome Middle Eastern foreign student, to find herself married, spirited away to over there, and confined to lifelong purdah.

Instead, the witty and determined author tells a true story of heading to Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission ... as a hairdresser. As the mission team goes around the circle introducing themselves as doctors, medics, nurses, administrators and whatnot, Rodriguez is sure the others will heckle her when she reveals her particular skill. Instead, they rush her in gratitude -- anticipating a decent cut or color job without flying to Kuwait or somewhere.

The story gets gritty when she learns more about the culture. Ding! A light goes on, and her true calling there reveals itself. The Afghan women she met, in complete subjugation to husbands or cruel mothers-in-law, suffered a paralyzing life scope. Plus, due to the economy of war, their husbands were often unemployed, and the women, with no skills or autonomy, had no way of bringing in some desperately needed extra income. Rodriguez uses her head (and her client earnings), and opens a beauty school. It turns out that the Afghan culture is big on massive, elaborate weddings -- with the attendant need for massive hair, nails, and makeup.

A true story, sad at times, but ultimately uplifting (and thanks to the narrator's spunky inflection, super fun to audit).

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I never realized the physical strenuousness involved in being a field biologist. The next two books spare neither backaches nor death-defying feats!


Condors in Canyon Country, by Sophie A. H. Osborn

This beautifully written book describes the joys and sorrows experienced by the field crew working for years to reintroduce the California Condor to the Grand Canyon region.

The magnificent vultures, sporting nine-foot wingspans, have flourished in that region since the Pleistocene era, but modern times have seen their extinction there -- thanks to DDT, lead bullets in their prey, random shooting and/or persecution by hunters and ranchers, and their own tendency to bring garbage and trash up to their nestlings. (You wouldn't believe what some of the x-rays reveal!)

Because Condors are the only species where every one is trapped, numbered, and (most) equipped with a radio device, this book delves deeply into the antics and personalities of each bird as an individual. It's obvious that Osborn, a head biologist there, was deeply passionate about her work -- and the birds. She longs for the day when a condor can fly free, their plentiful numbers ensuring the birds won't have to be wearing numbers.

Much of the biologists' work involves constant monitoring, which sometimes leads to "hazing" the birds. This is where the feats of daring come in. "Hazing," or scaring the condors, is necessary when the birds come too close to humans, when they perch in an area too accessible to coyotes and other predators, and when they must be flushed from their nest so trash can be removed and nestlings assessed for health and progress. At times, this involves all-night hikes into remote areas; primitive camping; and, when needed, scaling the red cliffs and towers to reach a bird or nest site. Whew: It got this acrophobe's skin tingling!

Featured are beautiful, full-color photographs of the stunning Grand Canyon region and the incredible birds. Plus the book is clearly written for the layman, yet with passion and pluck. I loved this book. Andy even read it! (He doesn't get much time for reading non-computer books.) Check it out from your library (don't audit it or you'll miss out on the photographs).

Ravens in Winter, by Bernd Heinrich

Once I got past the introduction, this book seized my imagination and I couldn't put it down. Intrigued after watching the most intelligent bird species interact with its fellows, Heinrich decides to make a study of their habit of food sharing.

Most species don't go and recruit others of their kind to come share a carcass or other food source, but Heinrich suspects that's just what some of these corvids are up to. I won't go into too much more detail -- the back of the book's filled with graphs, charts and such, so he was pretty serious about his research. I won't give away his conclusions, either, except to say that reaching them involved many years of hauling dead sheep and cattle, piles of organs, carcasses -- even roadkill -- up a steep hill in the punishing Vermont winter snows. Oh, and there's freezing in his uninsulated cabin, climbing that mondo-tall pine tree in order to retrieve chicks for marking, and more. Yikes!

A fun read if you already enjoy science-oriented non-fiction.


Orxy and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

A harrowing vision of the future, and a compelling love story, this is the best speculative fiction I've read lately.

Actually, I enjoyed the audio book, downloaded gratis from my local library. (Try this!) The narrator is having fun reading this book and goes into character very convincingly. A must-read/hear.

 * * *

I guess books do open new worlds, after all. Good reading to you in 2012, and stop to drop me a line and tell me what's on your bedside table or audio toy.

Design Wall Monday: A Tour of My Studio (a return post)

Another Design Wall Monday has rolled around. Today, my post literally will be about my design wall, and the rest of my studio. So come in and take a peek. (It will never look this tidy again.)

My worktable, two elevated tables covered with a huge cutting mat atop a melamine surface.Andy installed a track light system above: some spots and some floods. Nice and warm!

Salvaged closet shelves store books; cutting rulers and rotary cutters on walls. Art supplies stored on the corner bookshelf; paper craft supplies like stamps, inks, stencils and other stuff live in the green and white bins under my Little Prince clock.

Under the worktable, a chest of drawers stores non-cottons (glitzy stuff and tulle), my hand-dyes and others', and ethnic fabrics, topped with ironing supplies.

Under the other side of my worktable, stacked bins hold longer lengths of yardage.

To left of machine area, this Chinese inlay chest stores beads, and beading books and tools.

One-half yard lengths and fat quarters of quilting cottons, sorted by color or genre (Japanese-type, edibles, etc.), and filed into Ikea Trofast bins. Atop, my collection of Dover books and Quilting Arts magazines, along with some sewing mags and photos.

To the left of the fabric bins, a smaller Trofast unit stores UFOs (Unfinished Fiber Objects).

My back wall serves as a design wall. I can stand pretty far back from it to get a better idea of what's going on.

To the left of the design wall, my file cabinets, a scanner and a yoga book/mag collection.

Here are my trusty computer, two printers: laser and ink-jet, plus a land-line phone to the left of the file cabinets and books.

My pressing station, with a Big Board, a large, padded board that fits on top of a regular ironing board. I can raise it all to make a surface that's level with the worktable. That's handy for pressing stretchy fabrics you don't want dangling off the ironing board -- or just for some spare room to lay out stuff.

The "heart" of my room: a strangely angled corner with my Bernina sewing machine, and cabinets holding my serger, threads and other supplies.

To the right of my sewing machine is a small, shorter table I use for spot pressing, rotary cutting small bits, or raising tomato and pepper seedlings (see the grow lights on pulleys above). Usually the table holds my netbook and speaker, and plays my current audio book.

In the room's closet, my rayon machine embroidery threads and arcane supplies.

The other side of the closet holds clear bags of yarns, trims, lace and hand-embroidery threads. The chests of drawers hold my collection of clothing patterns. On the top shelf I've stacked my way too large collection of garment fabric.

Thanks for visiting my studio. Although I'm sure to get great ideas as I view the studios of other fiber artists, I probably won't be able to do much about it: this one's stuffed to the rafters!

An Homage to the Birds

More and more, as we continue to explore nature with avid birders' eyes, we seek out regional parks and nature reserves. Most of these tend to publish leaflets, maps, and bird lists. These have piled up on our coffee table:

An abundance of information, but a bit cluttery.

So, as it's obvious I haven't been spending my time decking the halls and trimming the tree, here's what I've been working on. I'm covering a sturdy shoebox with hand-dyed fabric, and cutting out bird photos and drawings to collage on it. I figure I can store all the maps and checklists and brochures inside, and it might even look a little better than piles of papers strewn all over our living room.

Once the blue fabric's down on the shoebox (left), I'll add some of these cut-out bird photos.

You've probably heard my inner debates about whether I'm a hoarder. Well, the other day on Freecycle, someone was giving away a set of old encyclopedias. Who could resist? Somehow (probably because the books lived in Nestor, down near the very birdy Tijuana River Valley Regional Park), Andy agreed to drive down with me and pick up the 24-volume Collier's Encyclopedia set.

The "B" volume, containing the Birds article with pages and pages of vintage illustrations by Douglas Howland, is shown above, right. I thought the 50's era books would be perfect for cutting up and using in collages, altered books, decoupage or even art quilts. But who can bear to cut up such a cool old book?

Sigh. I see the future, and it's a New Year's resolution: to use up my art supplies without guilt and/or hoarding!

I wish you all the best in 2012.

Ho Ho Hummm, and Happy New Year!

Have you ever wanted to skip the fuss of a holiday? Me too. Usually, I'm compelled by outside forces to do the traditional thing. But this year's Christmas was different.

Deck this.

We almost got a real tree, like the one below. It's our custom, well before Christmas, to head to Portreo, a small town in SE San Diego County -- close to the Mexican border. Once we hit the tree farm, we roam the rows with grave countenances, marking our favorites with fallen bark or branches. Finally, we narrow it down to The Tree. The pretty drive out into the back country makes it a tradition we enjoy.

Remembrances of Trees Past ...

This year, however, our friend Sue had spent the night, which she used to do much more often before she bought her home in Ramona. As is our habit when we get together with Sue, we eat, enjoy wine, and watch a movie or two; this time True Romance, written by, but not directed by one of our favorites: Quentin Tarantino. Rent it now! Of course we slept in the next day, and thanks to our late start, we decided to show Sue our favorite nearby birding spots, instead. No tree for 2011!

We took Sue to the 'Drip' at Cabrillo National Monument, on the tip of Point Loma. A previous visit revealed six more California Quail joining this group: chubby, bluish balloons.

If you had/have a tree, I hope that it was/is wonderful! If you celebrate a different holiday, I hope your particular celebration was full of joy -- or, if you don't celebrate any particular holiday at all, I wish for all of you a year of contentment. Most of all, I hope that all of you have a great New Year. Here's to a peaceful 2012.
Love,
Tina

You Never Know ...

With bird watching, you never know what you'll see. Nature, being nature, is unpredictable. And, let's face it, she's a little cruel at times, too.

We didn't have much time to spend Sunday with Gabriel, my cousin. We decided to bird close to home, on an older residential street that's heavily wooded with large, usually birdy trees. We didn't see the migrants reported by others on the San Diego Birds List, but we had a lovely stroll. Then, as we were walking back to the car, we all heard a huge "thwoomp." But Gabe happened to be facing back the way we'd come, and alerted us to this.

This red-shouldered hawk made a giant thud when landing.

Then we saw this smallish hawk pick up his prey.

Heavy baggage!

We gasped as the drama unfolded just feet away. It seems as if the hawk had been perched nearby, just waiting for us to walk by the scene of his intended kill. When he had poked his head up from the brush, he might have been making sure we didn't mean to compete with him for the delicious rodent.

We weren't sure if the raptor could clear the ground clutching such a heavy prize in his talons.

Forgive the blurry shot, but Andy had only seconds to grab these. Will the hawk make lift-off?

We were still in awe as the hawk gained altitude.

Looks like he'll make it.

With relief, we saw it soar into a nearby tree for cover, and to enjoy a well-deserved meal.

Victory!

 I wonder how long it will last him?

May your week be full of serendipity and adventure, wherever you may find it.

A New and Different Raptor for Us ...

We spotted this wonderful hawk in a tangle of branches far above the canyon to the west of Balboa Park's dog park. We're still new to bird watching, however, and would like some help with identifying it, if you can shed any light for us.

We think it's either a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. They're very similar, but the latter's smaller. I was struck by the small size of this hawk upon walking up on it, which is why I'm leaning toward the latter. Andy think's it's a Cooper's, because it seems to him at least 16" tall. Either way, we think it's a young adult, inbetween juvenal and adult plumage.

Thanks in advance, and enjoy this wonderous world of ours.

Grandmother's Thanksgiving Soup

Delicious turkey soup is a blank canvas for whatever you have on hand.

Some years we use every last bit of the Thanksgiving turkey, carcass and all. Other years, we snooze and lose, tossing it when it gets too old. This year I was inspired by the "Dave's Leftover Turkey Soup" recipe in the Anderson's La Costa Nursery e-newsletter. I wanted to ensure we turned our turkey's carcass into a nice, simple soup this time. I guess Andy thought the recipe was a little too simple, so he came up with this delicious version. I hope you still have your turkey's bones, and maybe some leftover meat around.

We call this "Grandmother's" soup because we ended up using leftovers and what we had on hand, instead of running out to buy red potatoes and whatever else Dave's recipe required. We had some extra sliced squash we had prepped for a not-so-crusty side of Crusted Butternut Squash; lots of wild rice, prepared for my Wild Rice and Cornbread Dressing (Fine Cooking, Nov. 2000, No. 41); and staples like carrots and celery. Using what we had on hand, we felt, was what Grandmother would have done.

Stock Talk
The day before Thanksgiving had served as our major prep and cooking day. While making my dressing, I'd added the turkey's neck, gizzards and heart to some four quarts of store-bought chicken stock, to far exceed the one cup needed. To us, stock is like the heart of our culinary souls, and we almost always make and freeze a variety of homemade types: beef-heart, chicken, chicken feet (super-gelationous, check your Asian market for chicken feet); demi-glace (super-reduced, brown the bones, first); and even shellfish stock. Alas, this holiday we'd run out of homemade chicken, thanks to trying to blow through our frozen foods before being tented for termites. So we amended the organic stock-in-a-box with those turkey parts, instead. Still, it came out delicious, I think.

To the leftover stock, Andy added the turkey carcass and simmered it for several hours. After an overnight in the fridge, the next morning he simmered it another hour, removed all bones and skin and giblets, strained the stock twice, then added a few peppercorns and two bay leaves.

A Handful of Chicos
Andy also added an ingredient that might be a little unfamiliar: chicos.

Chicos, dried corn, add that special glow to a soup or stew.

Similar but different to canned hominy, chicos are basically dried corn, bought in bulk and much adored in Taos and other northern New Mexico locales. Maybe they're beloved in regular Mexico, too; I'm not sure and I'm sure not going there. Chicos add pizazz to any type of soup or stew. They're toothsome, chewy and provide great fiber. It's pure and clean food, if you know what I mean.

I'll bet you can find them at your local market if you look in the Spanish or Mexican section. Andy added just a few tablespoons, but they enhanced the equally toothsome wild rice, below.

Wild rice adds a nutty and chewy quality to a simple soup.

Wild Mushrooms
Andy had on hand a small packet of dried mushrooms, below, from Mycological Wild Gourmet Mushrooms' "Northwest Mix." He reconstituted these in a cup of hot stock. After 30 minutes, he strained it all through a coffee filter and added the stock to the soup. He rinsed the mushrooms, chopped them up, and added them to the soup, as well. Fresh wild or everyday button mushrooms would also serve well.

,

Dried mushrooms provide variety and tender flavor.

The Fresh Veggies
Then Andy added to the strained stock two or three cups of the leftover butternut squash strips, one rib of peeled, chopped celery; and one peeled carrot, in 1/4" rounds. After simmering it all for an hour, he sauteed a small, chopped onion and about four minced garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil, just until translucent, pouring these into the soup.

Adding the Turkey
While the squash cooked to al dente, he chopped the leftover bits of turkey meat into half-inch cubes, added them, then let it all simmer for another half hour. Finally, to season the soup, we added the juice of one lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Take this last step at your own pace: We love our lemons.

Serving the Soup
We spooned some of the already-cooked wild rice in the bottom of our bowls without bothering to heat it up (to keep it from getting mushy). Then we ladled out generous and scrumptious helpings of soup on top. A few drops of Tamari (aged, organic soy sauce) provided that elusive umami to our simple but delicious supper. We ate it again tonight. Yum!

Happy Holidays!
I hope all of you had a beautiful and delicious holiday -- full of family, friends, and your own cherished dishes. Did you manage to do something interesting with your turkey leftovers and/or carcass? Are you thinking of using any or all of our ideas? Please comment -- link to your own blogs and recipes, if possible ... and share with all of us.