Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid

Hmmm. Where to start, where to start...

With the most interesting stuff, of course:
I finished The Brief History of the Dead. In the car, waiting for the baby to wake up from his nap.

I certainly hope Kevin Brockmeier won some sort of award - many awards, actually - for this book. Strange, unnerving, quiet yet powerful, elegantly written, and a unique take on the afterlife and what it comprises - this book should have won a prize. (If I were any sort of responsible blogger, I'd go look this up...)
If it didn't, I herewith bestow upon it a prize from Behind the Stove - of some sort. What? Maybe most unnerving book of the year? Perhaps the most thought-provoking? Perhaps, Book-Best-Recommended-to-Smart-People-I-Know? I am going to request Brockmeier's other books from the library pronto, to see if I can justify bestowing upon him the AS Byatt/David Mitchell/Behind the Stove Award for One-of-the-Smartest-Books-of-at-least-the-Year award. Of course right after I ok the use of their names with AS and David (we're like THIS).

I started Anna Quindlen's new book Rise and Shine the other night, and decided, eh, who cares? As usual, the "shocking and surprising" event advertised as the book's "explosive secret" was underwhelming and prosaic - I put it down thinking I'd just return it to the library. Then last night, it was the only book within easy reach of my bed - and I didn't want to get out of bed - so I picked it back up.I guess I'll keep reading it, even if only for the secondary characters - the husbands, the boyfriends, the sisters are all interesting people about whom I want to know more. Unlike Meghan, the sort-of-heroine who annoys the shit out of me.

I admire Quindlen, but find her fiction writing clunky at the worst of times, and workaday at the best. I do enjoy her essays very much, and get great reading suggestions from her; she is solely responsible for my reading Lonesome Dove, Gone with the Wind, and Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.

I keep picking up Water for Elephants; and putting it down. And picking it up. And putting it down. All without actually starting it. Anyone out there read it? Can someone convince me this deserves all its hype?

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We are having Terzo's first birthday party on October 1. It may not be the closest Sunday to his birthday, but it IS a Steelers bye week, so my baby won't have to share his spotlight with Big Ben and the television. Thank God we don't get the Golf Channel...

The usual list of suspects will be there - most of H's family. Some of my friends will be added to balance the tide, and keep me sane. My brothers won't be able to make it. So it will kind of be just like yesterday's yawningly boring Labor Day picnic but with edible food. I suppose I can live with that.

Wonder if I can sit out in the car with the sleeping baby and read for the first hour of that gathering as well?

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Ata recnt PTA meeting, one of the other parents got all riled up about recess/lunchtime. She is a very -- French-looking -- French woman (read: homely but stylish) with the most fabulous accent. So now H and I find ourselves saying, "Zey err not cleverrr dawgs; zey err CHEEL-dren" pretty much whether or not any given situation actually calls for such commentary.

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When I was in high school, I somehow wound up at this conference in Philly for, oh God, it was so long ago I could not even tell you what. I remember nothing about this conference except for a round-table discussion about drug use with a police officer from the Miami police department named Julio, and my friend Chip.

Chip was this skinny, dorky, redheaded boy from Virginia, and we hit if off. We sat up all night in one of the stairwells jabbering at each other, and we wandered the tourist spots of Philly together - I do remember Chip could not get enough pineapple-orange juice, so I just kept handing my carton, packed in with the conference-provided lunch, over to him. There was never really any romantic aspect to our friendship, although I did go to his senior year homecoming with him. But since I was in love with his best friend Neil, who was little and dark and insanely smart, and about to go off to join the Navy and be something requiring immense amounts of brain and cunning, the halfhearted attempts Chip and I made at making out really never got much past a kiss and a "Hmm, do you suppose there's anything on TV?"

I loved Chip's parents. And their old, sprawly house in the country. And everything about them and and how they lived. As has happened several times in my romantic history, I briefly considered making myself fall in love with Chip so as to marry into his family and live that sort of life in that sort of environment. The house was homey but clean; I was always made to feel welcome and comfortable. There were always clean sheets and clean towels. There was always REAL food to eat, and regular mealtimes, and not much at all in the way of screaming and yelling. Alas, Chip and I did not fall in love and marry - I married H and Chip married a lovely woman out in Colorado, and they have two beautiful daughters and appear to be very happy. They came to visit us here about a year ago, and it was wonderful to see him. His lovely parents are retired, and reveling in their grandchildren (Chip has two brothers who also have kids), and healthy and doing just fine. They sent me a gorgeous little silver bread tray for a wedding gift, that I love and use as often as possible.

The weekend of the homecoming Chip's mom had a brunch for Chip and all his friends; she served a delicious egg-and-sausage casserole I still make; some sort of orange juice/punch; and the apple-carrot muffins I made for the picnic last week.
I ate so many of these at the brunch that I probably disgraced myself, but they were so good.

You want that apple-carrot muffin recipe, don't you? I knew you did.

Chip's Mom's Apple Carrot Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups grated carrots
1 large green apple, peeled and grated
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup flaked coconut
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla

Combine first five ingredients, then stir in carrots, apple, raisins, almonds, and coconut.
Make a well in the center.
Combine eggs, oil, and vanilla, put into well.
Stir till just moistened and mixed through.
Spoon into greased muffin tins (or papers), 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Remove from tins immediately and cool on racks.

Makes 2 dozen.