All posts by Laurie Graves
A Short Story Advent Calendar
This year for an early Christmas present, my daughter Shannon and my son-in-law Mike gave me Hingston & Olsen Publishing’s 2019 Short Story Advent Calendar.
This present is as delightful as it sounds and looks. In the box, there are twenty-four short stories labeled from 1 to 24. Each story is sealed, waiting to be broken on the appropriate day by the eager reader. As is described on the Advent Calendar website, “this is a collection of literary, non-religious stories for adults.”
So far my favorites have been “Save-A-Lot” by Anthony Doer; “An Errand in the Country” by Olga Grushin; and “Natural Light” by Kathleen Alcott. In fact, I liked Gushin’s story so well that I have requested her novel The Dream Life of Sukhanov through interlibrary loan, and it might very well be the first book I read in 2020.
Naturally, not all the short stories in the collection have resonated with me, and that is to be expected. But what a treat it is to settle into bed with the story of the day, and this sort of advent calendar is a perfect gift for those who love literary fiction.
Many thanks, Mike and Shannon!
A Christmas Surprise
In Maine, December is a dark, cold month. The days are at their shortest—dusk comes at around 4:15—and how lovely it is when the sun sets. A star twinkles in the evening sky. Everywhere, trees with bare branches stand in silhouette, framing the glowing moon as it rises.
December is a perfect month for sparkling lights and surprises, for getting parcels that you don’t expect. One such package came yesterday, from my blogging friend Judy of New England Garden and Thread. Judy’s creativity—her sewing and quilting—is a constant source of inspiration to me. How I enjoy seeing the posts of the various project she makes throughout the year.
And how pleased and surprised I was to receive this lovely gift from Judy.
It has pride of place in the living room, resting against books on a shelf by the couch.
Many, many thanks, Judy! What a wonderful addition to my Christmas decorations.
Must Be Santa
Whoopie Pies and Fudge and Cupcakes, Oh My!
Last weekend, Clif and I took our books to the Waterboro Elementary School Craft Fair, a two-day event. Because the fair started at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and was an hour and a half from our home, we had to get up at God-awful o’clock to get there in time to set up before the doors opened. Never mind. We had our thermoses of tea and coffee, which we drained dry, and we had a fantastic time where we sold lots of books.
This was a down-home craft fair with a broad range of items, from knitwear to handmade cutting boards to baked goods. One table in particular—Bluebird Baked Goods— caught my attention.
As I like to say, I don’t have a sweet tooth. Instead, I have a whole mouthful of them. Is it any wonder, then, that I stopped to gape at these gems from Bluebird Baked Goods?
Here’s a closer look.
Readers from New England will immediately recognize that these are whoopie pies, and I am a huge fan of this delectable treat. These particular whoopie pies attracted me because they were so neat and tidy and professional looking. Did I buy one? No, I bought two—one on each day.
Now, handsome is as handsome does, but as it turned out, the whoopie pie was as delicious as it looked. The cake was moist and chocolatey, and the filling was thick and creamy. The best I have ever had, and I have eaten my fair share of whoopie pies.
As the table was only three down from ours, I had ample opportunity to gaze lovingly at those beauties and sample other goodies from Bluebird Baked Goods.
Allie Owen, an extraordinarily gifted young baker, is the owner of Bluebird Baked Goods.
Before the fair started on Sunday, I had an opportunity to chat with Allie and—in Paul Hollywood fashion—shake her hand. She started her business when she was nineteen and has a commercial kitchen in her home. Allie’s mother is her inspiration and her teacher. One of Allie’s favorite pictures is of herself when she was a baby. Sitting on the counter, baby Allie is stirring batter in a bowl. Thus a young baker was born.
Allie told me that she loves playing with sugar. Laughing, she said, “Sugar is my medium.”
And Allie is certainly an artist who also designs custom cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other events.
If only we lived closer to Waterboro!
As we don’t, I’ll be dreaming of those whoopie pies and hoping that we go to another fair where Bluebird Baked Goods has a table.
From Baby Yoda to Waiting in Line
My Christmas shopping is nearly done, but after watching The Mandalorian, I was keen to buy some Baby Yoda T-shirts for my nerdy family, from my husband to my daughters to my son-in-law to my nephew. (I was even going to sneak one in for myself.)
Is it any wonder that we all wanted a shirt with this adorable child?
I had read the T-shirts were available at our local Kohl’s, and that’s where I went.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t successful. Although there were many Star Wars shirts available, there was nary a one with Baby Yoda.
Another woman was looking carefully through the stacks of folded T-shirts, and I asked, “Have you seen any with Baby Yoda?”
She shook her head. “No. That’s what I’m looking for, too.”
“Bet they sold out,” I said sagely.
“Yeah,” she agreed with a sigh. “Probably on black Friday.”
We continued to look through the folded shirts and then shrugging philosophically, we conceded defeat.
I did find other goodies, and I had to wait to pay in a line that really wasn’t too long. However, with only three registers open, the line moved slowly. Being a mother, I am used to waiting, and it takes more than standing in line for fifteen or twenty minutes to fluster me.
This was not the case for the woman behind me. I could hear her complaints before she even reached the line.
“In the old days, it wasn’t like this. Service has gone downhill. I’m not patient. I hate waiting. You’d think at this time of year they would have more cashiers. This is awful. What’s the matter with them?”
Her companion, a man, agreed placidly, “Yup.”
On and on the complaints went, and the man was either a saint or a fool. His unruffled good humor never waned as he agreed with her.
Finally, she said to me, “Don’t you hate waiting in line?”
“No,” I said in a tone that brooked no further discussion. “It doesn’t bother me.”
I could have said more. If the woman hadn’t been so busy grousing, she might have noticed that one of the cashiers, a young man, had a luminous personality that on a scale of one to ten was fifteen. His goodwill flowed from customer to customer, even though he pretty much had to say the same things over and over. It didn’t matter. He greeted each customer afresh, as though it were the first time that he had ever done this.
One register over, there was an elderly lady in a wheel chair, and she was buying lots of glassware that had to be wrapped. The manager came over to help the cashier, and I was struck by their patience and kindness. As they wrapped, they chatted and smiled, and the elderly lady went away smiling, too. I can only hope that I will be treated with such care if I am ever in a wheel chair.
Eventually the complaining woman took her complaining self to the register with the charismatic young man, who thanked her for letting him know that she was upset.
Now, I am aware that there are times when we should complain, but having to wait in line for twenty minutes is not one of them.
In all fairness, I must admit that in the past, I have complained about trivial things. But the next time I’m tempted to do this, I will keep that griping woman in mind and remember how much she missed.
A Winter’s Tale
Of Knives, Racing Cars, Harriet Tubman, and JoJo
This year we had a whirlwind Thanksgiving of movies, and there wasn’t a bad one in the bunch. Our daughter Dee is a movie buff extraordinaire, and when she comes to visit, we catch up on movies. With the Academy Awards right around the corner, we were truly spoiled for choice.
The title of this blog indicates what we saw.
First, there was Knives Out, a sharp, intelligent murder mystery with terrific actors and a political message that lifts it above the average story of this kind.
Second was Ford v. Ferrari, a surprisingly affecting story about car racing and class. The movie centers on car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and their struggle against “the suits” from Ford.
Third was Harriet, a biopic about the extraordinary Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave, escaped, and then returned to the South to lead other slaves to freedom. What raises this movie above the standard biopic is Cynthia Erivo’s incredibly strong performance as Harriet Tubman. (Apologies for the small graphic. I hunted and hunted but couldn’t find anything bigger.)
Finally, we saw JoJo Rabbit, a dark comedy about Hitler and World War II. While most of us wouldn’t find much humor in this subject, the director, Taika Waititi, managed to poke his finger in Hitler’s eye while at the same time making a gripping story about the nature of fanaticism. (Another small graphic. Sigh.)
So there you have it—four movies, all worth seeing.
Now onward to Christmas! Because Thanksgiving was late this year, we only have three weeks to get ready for my favorite holiday. There will be a flurry of cooking, cleaning, and craft fairs.
Fingers crossed that the weather gods smile on us.
Giving Thanks for the Courageous Men and Women Who Speak Out
In the United States, next Thursday is Thanksgiving, a holiday that is not without controversy. I expect for Native Americans, the arrival of the Pilgrims was not something to celebrate. Yet to set aside a day to give thanks is not a bad thing, and that is what we focus on while not forgetting the past.
Because we are vegetarians, we don’t eat the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. Instead, I will make stuffed shells, something we all love. I have never cared much for traditional Thanksgiving food, and to my way of thinking, stuffed shells are a big improvement.
However, I will still be making pumpkin bread, a favorite in this house.
I have already put together—made is probably too grand a word—a peppermint ice cream pie with hot fudge. Waiting for Thanksgiving, it sits in the freezer.
Our daughter Dee, from New York, will be coming to Maine on Tuesday to join us. (Unfortunately, our North Carolina daughter and son-in-law live too far away to come home for this short holiday weekend.) As always, it will be great to have Dee here, and we will have a jolly time of movies and good things to eat. Therefore, I will be taking a week off from the blog and will return on November 25.
Because this is a blog about home, books, friends, and living in place, I don’t often mention politics. However, longtime readers will know that I am a progressive who, like many others, has been incredibly pained by the direction this country has taken with the election of President Trump. For the past three years, I have felt battered by the coarse language, the hatred, and the actions coming from those at the top.
This week there were impeachment hearings investigating President Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine. Brave men and women from the State Department have stepped forward to testify, revealing a pattern of an abuse of power from those who should not only know better but also do better.
The men and women who have testified have received dire threats and still they speak out. To these courageous women and men, I give thanks. Their bravery shines forth as an example, urging us all to hold on to our convictions even when it might be dangerous for us to do so.
The Lonely Patio
Notes From the Hinterland 