Books, Stamps, Dinner.

I was thinking about books the other day. When I was younger, people disapproved of paperbacks. You could give them a copy of War and Peace but if it wasn’t in a hard cover, they considered it trashy. Paperbacks weren’t quite the thing. That attitude has gone by the board, but today people will tell you they don’t like ebooks because they like the feel of a paper book in their hands, even the smell of one? Here again, I personally don’t care how a book comes, if the story is good I am happy. Which is why I love my Kindle. I no longer have to store books on shelves which get dusty. I still have a lot of paper books, but I don’t anticipate every buying any more. If I can’t get it in Kindle format then I will go to the library. If they haven’t got it, I guess I am destined never to read it. Looking for pictures I came across this “book igloo” which was created by Colombian artist Miler Lagos. Clever. Back to topic, people can burn paper books too, more difficult to destroy ebooks on people’s readers.

On Friday I purchased a bunch of Christmas stamps for my cards. The only one I didn’t get was the one with the woman. They are sold in books of about 6, certainly the $1.10 ones are in sixes anyway. So I started putting them on the appropriate envelopes. I lifted two of the one of a deer and realised the stamp, once removed, only said ANADA, the C and some of the picture remaining behind. I immediately figured I had something. I went looking for advice. I ended up discovering that a local philately shop would pay me three times what I paid right now, but that if I hung on to them and it turned out they were the only ones, I might get more. So hanging on I am. Only trouble was I am now 6 stamps short and couldn’t get finished.

We had a good evening at the Pig Tail dinner on Saturday and as usual the pigtails themselves were delicious. The evening is usually successful and this year they were delighted to have had something like 350 people there. They announced how much they had made as well, it was quite a substantial amount. They apparently cooked 950 pigtails. That’s a lot of pigs. When this topic came up I think everyone felt a little guilty. Silly really, we are all meat eaters obviously, but…. I have decided I need to buy some to roast which is the way I like them best. I could have bought some there – friend bought a dozen – already cooked – for $10. I didn’t bother as Matt never eats them anyway, he has the schnitzels instead. I had forgotten how much I like sauerkraut too, long time since I ate any. Bacon is frequently added in this area. It was also a satisfactory evening for me as I was wearing clothes I hadn’t worn in a very long time and I even risked high heels, not very high, but certainly not flat. I felt good. The scales aren’t showing much movement, but my figure is firming up and has decreased quite a bit according to my wardrobe. One thing I am please about, my winter coat, which I haven't been able to wear for years, is now wearable again. I don't have a lot of call for a full coat, but I am so glad this one is available to me again as I hadn't worn it a whole heck of a lot.

Spiced nuts are always popular at this time of year, so here is a recipe from Web MD.

Mississippi Spiced Pecans

From Eating Well.

Make plenty of these mildly sweet and salty nuts—they are great to have on hand over the holidays.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon piment d’Espelette or a pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread pecans on a large baking sheet. Roast until fragrant, about 12 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
3. Combine brown sugar, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper and piment d’Espelette (or cayenne) in a small bowl. Transfer the roasted pecans to a large bowl, drizzle with oil and toss well to coat completely. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and toss again. Serve warm or let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Have a great day