Pink House

The Big Read, The Reading List, & Being Well Read

I recently learned about a cool effort to bring the American culture back to realizing the benefits of reading. And no, it's not Kindle. It's called The Big Read. I'll not go on and on about it except to say that I think it's a cool idea and I was thinking of what an impact it could have on our American teenagers in public school if they learned to appreciate these classics more. For that matter, adults too. Just think if we as a nation spent 1/2 the time reading from this list as we did watching sports on TV. You have to reason that we'd be a bit more intelligent. Check out the website here: The Big Read

Anyway, that got me to thinking about my own reading list. Every year since graduating from college I make myself a reading list for the year. Geeky? Perhaps so. But a list is just a small set of goals which you intend to do and that you write down to remind yourself and then you actually try to do it. The list reminds you of your intentions during the year (you know we all forget what we thought about yesterday, let alone a few months before). And my Annual Reading List keeps me moving forward which is something that I need in my life. To move forward.

I used to have a mix of fiction and non-fiction on each year's list. But then I realized that I read fiction more by whim...what I see on the table at Costco that strikes my fancy, or because the cover of a book catches my eye at Barnes & Noble, or because I read about a good book on someone's blog, or because a friend just finished reading something and loved it so much that she can't stop talking about it. Those are the fiction books that I just read "for fun". Like Pillars of the Earth and its sequel, World Without End by Ken Follet (LOVED them!). But in the past...five years ago or so, I only listed the non-fiction books that I intend to read on my Annual Reading List. These are the ones that make me feel like I'm still learning something, that my brain hasn't atrophied quite yet. And usually these have some sort of theme - some reflection of what I'm wanting to learn more about at a particular time. And I make myself a little checklist to cross off as I finish each one. It feels like an accomplishment that way.

And on a side note - when my two sons were growing up, I had a reading list for them each summer. I know they'll remember that. But I didn't require what they read, only that they read, and I gave them a list with blanks that they could fill in (title, number of pages, fiction or non-fiction) and when they reached their goal (usually # of books or # of pages), there was a reward at the end. They didn't begrudge it either -- it gave a bit of structure to their summer and there was still plenty of time for all sorts of other fun things. And their minds didn't turn to jello watching cartoons day after day.

Speaking of young people reading, I recently had a student return from a college tour and interview where she was asked, "Tell me about the last 3 books you've read outside of school". And she was so caught off guard that she couldn't think of single one. (I've now added this to my list of interview preparation for students). But it made me think of how many of our teenagers spend hours and hours watching reality TV and movies and yet haven't cracked a book outside of the classroom. So sad. And we wonder why our country's education is lagging. If you were asked that question by someone,would you be able to give an answer?

My personal reading list this particular year came about because of my work with students. I was explaining what a "liberal arts education" meant to a young gal one day and starting thinking about my own liberal arts education 25 years ago. When I research colleges, I'm always reading the description of what each college has determined are their core subjects of what they want their graduates to study. I started thinking about that term "life long learning" and how so many of us give up "studying" and intentional learning after college and graduate school, and spend way too many hours watching TV. So this year my list is mostly about re-learning the liberal arts - meaning an overview of all subject matters - and especially updates over the past 25 years. So I found some topical books, made my list, figured out what I had to read each month to complete the list by year's end, and now I'm progressively making my check marks. I guess that's what they call life-long learning. Check.

City Exploring

I had order these books before I went to Portland (was going to use one for a gift) but they didn't arrive in time.....but there's always another visit. Anyway, I discovered these books through a blogger friend and thought they sounded like such a good idea. My family has been teasing me lately about my desire to "explore" every time I come back to Portland now. Even though I spent the first 27 years of my life there, I've been away long enough to wonder how certain neighborhoods have changed.

A few visits ago, I made my brother and sister-in-law and my mom drive me through the SE neighborhood of Ladd's Addition because I had spotted it on Google Maps and it looked like a spot where a martian spaceship had landed. When we drove through the symetrical maze of streets with diamond-shaped rose gardens at the center, I found it truly charming and wonderful. I was satisfied that I had "discovered" a new part of Portland that I didn't know existed.

On this last visit a few weeks ago, my mom and I were returning from the Oregon coast, and I decided to take a turn off of the Sunset Highway (Hwy 26) going into the city. Way back when we were first married I used to drive this route from Forest Grove into where I worked in NW Portland every day and back again - a 2 hour commute every day! (Still can't believe I did that for 4 years!) But I got to know those northwest hills pretty well .....curvy-crazy Germantown road, Cornell Road, Skyline Blvd (with its tiny Skyline Burget joint), the tiny country grocery store at the corner of West Union......I wanted to drive through this area again. Wow - had it changed!! There has been so much building and development in this area in the past 25 years - it is almost unrecognizeable! (although the little Skyline Burger place is still there!). Anyway - I drove through, going up up up, and on twisting turning roads to the top of the hills where we could look back at Washington County (which in my opinion is one of the most gorgeous views - rolling hills of farmland and trees). We then drove the Cornell Rd. curves down the hill and dropped into northwest Portland right by Good Samaritan Hospital where my first baby was born 24 years ago. We then followed a road called SW Vista Ave. through historic neighborhoods overlooking downtown. We eventually made our way back to Gladstone where my mom lives now.

Anyway, I'm just saying....there's a lot of fun to be had by exploring a city. And especially a city that's large enough - like Portland - where there's always something new to see, a new cozy little neighborhood that you didn't know existed, a new view of the city that you haven't seen before. We drove on this exploring trip, and could cover a lot more ground that way. But exploring on foot is good too - you might see things that you wouldn't if you sped past in a car. If you're lucky enough to live in a big city - take a weekend when there's not much on the calendar to make some new discoveries in your own city.

Hand-dyed yarn - a souvenir from Portland

More from the Portland trip. I only went to one yarn shop while there....but a good one that I'd been to before. Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks in a southeast close-in suburb area - Sellwood. It's such a good store - large, good displays and samples, and a in-house coffee shop to boot. Check it out if you're in the area.

I looked through LOTS of different yarns - many high-end brands as well as lots of Oregon grown, spun, and dyed yarns as well. This one is one of their own in-house created ones, hand-dyed with all natural products (the gal told me the two plants used to do it but I can't remember). Anyway I bought this one skein to make a scarf because it reminded me both of spring and the muted shades of lilac that I had in my wedding back in 1981.

To the Oregon Coast

The infamous Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

When I visited my family in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to the beach for a couple of days. We hit the weather perfectly - it was sunny, warm enough, and no wind. We stayed at a great place (The Inn at Cannon Beach - recommend it) and everything was just right. I was in need of a "beach fix" and this did the trick. Growing up in Oregon, I went to the beach often on weekends.

 

I've always loved the classic ruggedness of the beach houses in this area - gray shingled from the rain and salt water with white trim. Wouldn't it be a dream to sit inside one of those windows and write or read while you stare at the waves?

The weather was so nice that a lot of people had brought their dogs to the beach to walk and run. It was fun to see the joyful faces and happy tails of the dogs having their day at the beach. We walked down and back up the beach, past Haystack Rock and back again. We stopped and sat on a log awhile and just watched. Very refreshing. Clean air, mind-cleansing.

And of course, we had to have some seafood................. The first evening (it was cold and misty) we went to Mo's right on the beach at Tolavanna State Park where we could still sit at the window and watch the sunset. I had halibut and shrimp salad.

And the next day for lunch, we went to Dooger's for their great clam chowder and shrimp salad.

We also visited the little quilt shop in the midtown area of Cannon Beach, The Center Diamond. I've been going to that shop for about 25 years now (it's changed owners a few times) and I still like it. I forgot to stop in the yarn shop in Cannon Beach though. I tend to avoid the touristy shops of Cannon Beach and prefer the area just south - midtown and Tolovana instead where you can get out of the crowds. It was a fun couple of beach days. I'm ready to go back this weekend again....

Oregon Quilt Shop

When I was in Portland visiting family, my mom and I went over to an area just south of the city, right off of 205 (near West Linn and Oregon City) called Willamette to visit a quilt shop. When I was in college, one summer I lived in the Milwaukie/Gladstone area, but worked as a receptionist for a company in Tualatin on the west side. So every day I would drive on 205 freeway going south over to Tualatin to work, and I would drive by this exit that said "Historic Willamette" but as I glanced over I couldn't really see that there was much there other than a gas station, grocery story, and a McDonalds. So in the 27 years that I lived in Portland I never took that exit, and never visited Willamette. But last time I was there, my sister-in-law and mom took me there (it's very close to where they live) and I discovered that it's a nice little community - handy to the freeway for communters - and has been enjoying a revitilization of their old downtown street. They also have a great quilt shop called Hollyhill.

Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe used to be in a small older building across the street, but they took one of the spaces in the new, rebuilt part of the downtown which expanded their store considerably. And we went back to the shop on this visit to see their new space. It is really a lovely beautiful store - I wish I would have taken a photo of the inside, but didn't. Lots of high-ceilinged space with dark hardwood floors, painted wooden cabinets for fabric displays, and elegant chandeliers (can you see the one in the photo right inside the door?) hanging from the ceiling! Not your typical quilt shop at all. They have complete lines of fabric - lots of Moda, Andover, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett and the usual suspects. However, I think their displays of fabric and their beautiful samples are especially spectacular.  A really nice and upscale quilt "shop" that is more like a quilt salon. Their sales help was very helpful and friendly as well, and the owner even came out of the office to answer a quesiton for me and then offered to print out a pattern from her computer of a quilt I especially liked. Really nice service.

So, of course, I had to buy something and decided to pick up the supplies for the class I was going to be taking when I returned home. There were so many good choices to pick from - it was difficult to settle on just one. But I did. I chose a selection from Meadowsweet line from Andover. I loved the colors - muted shades of coral, paprika, sage, olive, blue, tan, cream, and dark brown.



Here's another peek at the rest of the main street revitalization of the historic Willamette downtown. I just love it! Sidewalks and a mix of locally-owned businesses - boutiques, cafes, shops, accountants, dentists, and other professional offices. So much more appealing and "neighborly" than just a mall or corporate building. If you're in the Portland area, take a trip south on 205 and take the Willamette exit this time - follow the signs off the freeway to "Historic Willamette", park the car and visit some shops on the little main street and have lunch in a cafe there. A fun little discovery.

Historic Willamette - south of Portland on Hwy 205.

Chicken & Dumplings - the "new" comfort food

When I was in Portland last week, I took my mom to a favorite Portland restaurant, Caprial's Bistro in Sellwood (southeast neighborhood). Although we discovered that the name has recently been changed to Caprial's Westmoreland Kitchen - same place, same decor, same menu, same owner - just an updated name. Then my mom and I discovered that the area it is in is not actually Sellwood proper, but rather in a neighborhood just adjacent to Sellwood called Westmoreland. I suspect that Westmoreland was indicative of a bit more upscale neighborhood and that's why the owner decided to change the name. .....but anyway, onward to the good part.

I've known about this restaurant for along time, having been there years ago and read about it in the Foodday section of The Oregonian. The chef is a well-known Portland icon and is often featured on local TV news shows. They also cook - ala Alice Waters style - with fresh, from scratch, and LOCAL organic ingredients. They were "farm-to-table" before it became so popular. This New American genre of restaurant food, and particularly the Farm-to-Table locally sourced type is my favorite type of restaurant and food. I find the menus really interesting that feature local small farms and ranchers. I would guess its kind of like indy music - but "indy" food. Kind of like "Farmer's Market Goes Upscale Dining". Of course, organic is also a plus health-wise these days. So when we travel now, I tend to sniff out these types of restaurants. There are some great ones in Portland where abundant produce is raised - Meriwether's, Wildwood, and Caprial's to name a few.  Anyway, I last visited Caprial's a summer ago when I arranged a dinner with an old high school friend while visiting Portland. We had a great dinner and they let us sit far beyond the standard 2-hour dinner while we chatted and caught up. I also like the little neighborhood that Caprial's is located in. There is an antique shop next door, and even this adorable and TINY flower shop.....all little locally-owned businesses.

So last week my mom and I arrived to find that "Chicken and Dumplings" were the special for the evening - scrawled on the chalkboard. I told my mom that I was pretty sure it wouldn't be the standard old-fashioned diner-style chicken & dumplings, but rather some kind of locally-sourced and gourmet updated version. The waiter came and described the dish for us - Herb-marinated and roasted chicken breast (it was also free-range from a local farm) with a ragu of sauteed black kale, leeks, and brussel sprouts with homemade potato gnocchi - and I was almost speechless listening to that description. Yowsers - you bet that's an updated gourmet twist to a very old-fashioned dish. My mom and I both decided to order it. We started out with a small tapas plate of fresh goat cheese (from local Alsea Acres)with sundried tomato tapanade and homemade Caprial's crackers. Very tasty!

 
Caprial's Westmoreland Kitchen 3/4/09 Special: "Chicken and Dumplings"

The Chicken & Dumplings dish was awesome. It smelled heavenly. Each part of the dish was a separate component, rather than a lumpy all-tastes-the-same stew. The sauteed vegetables and gnocchi underneath the chicken were so tasty and cooked al dente in a chicken broth. No cream, no gluteny mess - just pure flavors. The chicken itself was YUM - the waiter told me it was brined in fresh lemon and rosemary before roasting, causing it to be very juicy and tasty.I LOVED this version of chicken and dumplings!

Later, I noticed that the local Oregonian Fooday (weekly dining section) featured Chicken & Dumplings on the cover that week......so was Caprial just responding to the article or had they already planned on the Chicken & Dumplings update for that evening? Who knows. But I read the article with interests - it reported that all kinds of comfort food has seen a revival in the past few months of recession. That people are turning to the good-old comforting recipes (and economical) from their past - Chicken & Dumplings, Meatloaf, Cubed Steak (article in NY Times dining section the same week), when the headlines and economic news is so dreadful. Not only are people cooking these at home though, but the trendy restaurants are getting in on the Comfort Food action by taking old favorites and updating them with creative gourmet twists. Works for me!

I'm thinking I might be cooking my own chicken-n-dumplings version in the coming week. I've never even made the old version, but I'd like to try to develop a new one. Perhaps with artichoke and asparagus and couscous? Would that work? I want to experiment with other ways to make "dumplings". If Caprial's can call homemade potato gnocchi "dumplings", what else would work?

Oregon in Bloom

I'm back from Oregon and had a wonderful trip. There were visits with family, a trip to the beach where we managed to hit it right with sunshine(!), yummy lunches and dinners, a visit to a yarn shop and two quilt shops, exploring through Portland neighborhoods, and other fun. And, as I wished for, Portland was GREEN and spring flowers in bloom. Ahh!

I'll have many more details and photos in the coming days, but for now I'm busy trying to catch up at home and getting ready for a quilt retreat tomorrow! Check back for more later...

Leaving on a jet plane....

Heading for the land of tall green trees and moss and ferns. You know the place. Looking forward to a respite from cold and dreary gray/brown. Can't take winters here anymore without major breaks.

Anyway - I hope to post a few times this week while I'm in Oregon. Perhaps some food shots, quilt shops, and the beach is on the itinerary. We'll see what pops up here if possible. At least I'll have some good stuff for when I return.

I intended to do some posts all week, but it was crazy round here with work, homework, errands, and meetings. On the run.