This Bridge Will Not Be Gray by Dave Eggers and illustrated by Tucker Nichols tells the story of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge back in the 1930's and how it got and kept the beautiful "International Orange" color that it still sports to this day. Dave Eggers also wrote the book The Circle which was made into a movie in 2017 starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. He also has another wonderful children's book called Her Right Foot that talks about some of the history of the Statue of Liberty.
Add egg and flavorings to butter mixture and mix well, scraping down sides of bowl and mixing again. Add flour mixture slowly, scraping down bowl.
Gently stir in:
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed candy canes
Crush more candy canes to get about a 1/2 cup crushed candy and place in small shallow bowl. Form dough into golf ball size balls and dip top of balls into crushed candy canes. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 8-10 minutes. Then bake in 350 F oven for 6-9 minutes or until lightly browned underneath and cookies are flattened and set. Let cool on baking sheet and use a different baking sheet for the final batch. This is a small recipe and only made about 21 cookies.
Max at Night is only one of the cute books written and illustrated by Ed Vere. His wide-eyed kitten wants to know where the moon has gone since he can't find it one evening. Read more about Ed Vere and his books at http://www.edvere.com/ .
Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies (adapted from Plattertalk.com, Thanks!)
1 cup butter, softened ( I usually cut down the butter but used the full amount for this recipe)
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 TBSP maraschino cherry juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 drops red food coloring (optional but I put it in to get the light pink color)
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 to 3/4 cup coarsely chopped maraschino cherries
1 12 oz bag of large semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, powdered sugar, and salt. Blend in cherry juice, extracts, and food coloring. Stir in baking soda and flour. Then gently add chopped cherries. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet- 1 inch apart. The dough should hold together. Add a splash of milk if needed. It shouldn't be crumbly but it also shouldn't be sticky. It was a bit like soft play-doh. The video on plattertalk was very useful to see the consistency. Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just light brown (you'll have to use a spatula to carefully check the bottom of a few cookies-I recommend baking a small first batch and then more as you work out the timing) Immediately press 2 or 3 chips onto the top of each cookie. Let sit on baking sheet for 2-5 minutes then move to cooling rack.
Hedgehog and I tried out the FishKiss Fish Spa. Now with a satellite location at Fashion Place Mall in Murray. It was fun and informative. They brought the idea to Utah after visiting Thailand. They clean your feet thoroughly and dry them before you put them in the tank and then they clean your feet after your tank time. The fish are fed a variety of foods and not just dead skin. The employees were well informed about their service and the fish. The fish nibbles felt like little finger plucking-just a touch ticklish at first and then just a soothing little nibble massage. It was a bit unusual to be the center of attention for complete strangers as they stopped to watch and ask questions as we got our fishy treatment.
If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur with text by Amy Newbold and art by Greg Newbold. This husband and wife team also collaborated on If Picasso Painted a Snowman. Both books take a whimsical look at great artists and imagine the art produced by them. What if Diego Rivera painted dinosaurs (it would feature lilies) or dinosaurs in tutus ala Edgar Degas. Not only do the books include little bios of each artist but the dinosaur book also includes the name of dinosaur featured in each piece of art such as Compsognathus in the picture done in the style of Rivera. Have some reluctant art appreciation in your home? These books are a cute way to introduce some famous works of art in a humorous way.
Gumdrop Cookies 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup butter, softened (I used 3/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup butter flavored shortening) (shortening not pictured) 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla 1 1/2 cups quartered gumdrops, divided Preheat oven to 350. Sift or stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream together butter and sugar. Blend egg and vanilla into creamed mixture. Add flour mixture just until blended. Dough will be a little on the dry side but should still stay together when squeezed into a ball shape and not start crumbling. If it starts crumbling then add a little milk. Stir in 3/4 cup of the quartered gumdrops.
(Secret step: Let dough rest in fridge in plastic bag for 2-4 days before baking. Bring dough back to room temperature before forming into balls. This lets the gumdrops mellow and soften and the dough puffs up more when baking. This makes them a great refrigerator cookie.) Place in 1-inch balls on ungreased cookie sheet and smash each ball down gently with a glass. Place 1-3 more pieces of gumdrop onto the top of each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are set and lightly browning on bottom and/or edges. Cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet to let the cookies set up a bit and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from Sunny's German Chocolate Cake Cookies from Food Network.
German Chocolate Cake Cookies (with some adaptations for high-altitude)
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup butter flavored shortening (not pictured)
3/4 cup white sugar (granulated)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt ( I omitted the salt since the butter was salted) (not pictured)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together butter, shortening, and sugars. Blend in vanilla and eggs. In a separate container sift together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt (if using). Blend flour mixture into creamed mixture just until mixed. Stir in chips, coconut and pecans. It should be a thick, slightly sticky dough. I formed golf-ball-sized chunks and put 12 per large cookie sheet because they spread as they bake. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. I needed the 10 minutes and cooked them until the tops were dry but they still looked underdone. Let cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet or they'll fall apart when you try to put them on a cooling rack. These were gooey and rich right out of the oven and soft and chewy a couple of days later but I don't think they'd store well or mail well because they were somewhat crumbly. The flavor is incredible.
Did they want us to do the pressed-leaves-in-a-book art project? (Sent through the sorter and it actually made it all the way to the end to the exception bin!)
No case to return the missing disc? No problem! Just make a substitute case out of paper to deliver the disc back to the library in the book drop! (Warning: Please don't try this at home kids-the chances of the disc getting damaged are just too high. Items in the book drop just pile on top of one another and a poor little disc in a paper case could suffer an untimely fate if a heavier book cousin were to land in the bin after. And usually books brings more books along with them-it's rare that a single book is returned-they like to travel in packs.)
We were honestly happy that they found the book as referenced by their note-we just felt bad that they returned it to the wrong library system-oops! (We sent it on its way back to the right library.)
Our library AC went out for about a month this summer-there were various attempts at levity. These included our manager buying us popsicles that we could have any time and many, many cartoons involving heat, hot, warmth, sweating, etc...
The after holiday reality check.
Our banned/challenged book display this year. I volunteered and made the padlocks, flames, and signs. After putting on a smattering of books, I requested help and my wonderful co-workers added more book selections, thus keeping the display filled.
Here in Utah you can register online or in person to vote until October 30th!
And you don't have to know about everything on the ballot. They will only count the votes you make. If you leave a section blank they will still count your other votes. Don't want to vote on any of the propositions? Leave them blank. Don't want to vote for any of the candidates? Leave them blank. Only want to vote on the retention of the judges? Only mark the boxes by the judges. You have many choices-please vote on at least something.
JUST VOTE! The more things you vote on, the better, but some voting is better than not voting.
I enjoyed working at Dan's Foods for many years through high school and college and a little beyond. I started as a bagger when Dan's was on the west side of 2300 East, moved with them over to the east side when they took over the Smith's store, went down to the 9th store for a bit, and returned to the previous store. I started back at a time where we had some customers with accounts that they would settle up once a month and paying with credit/debit cards was not a thing.
I was there for the transition from ten key checking to scanners. In fact, the 9th East store never got scanners-it was all ten key and we had to memorize all the codes and key in all the prices. I had both good and mediocre managers, good co-workers, and great hours. Dan's didn't pay that well compared to the other grocery stores at the time but they were the best at giving employees workable hours.
We also use to sell small quantities of staples like a single cube of butter, a six-pack of eggs, small packages of flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Dan's also used to have big sales during canning season with bottles, fruit fresh, pickling cucumbers, fresh local fruits and vegetables, and other supplies for great prices. They also had baking sales during the holidays with everything from spices to staples to candied fruit on sale. That's when I use to stock up on a lot of things.
I worked most of my time in the front end although I did work in hardware some and bakery once. It was interesting to see the changes when I'd come home for the holidays or summer from school and go back to work at Dan's.
The Customer Service counter changed a number of times during my tenure.
I still miss Snelgrove's ice cream. Red Button ice cream is a new company here in Utah and they have a Canadian Vanilla flavor that's close to the old Snelgrove's flavor. Plus they have a malted chocolate which is chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow swirl that we really like. Their sherberts are also very good along with other flavors. http://www.redbuttoncreamery.com/ice-cream-flavor-list/
Most of the store was blocked off-especially over by the produce section. I didn't get any pictures over there because that whole half of the store was cordoned off.
Sorry for the blurriness of the photos. I did ask if I could take photos and that I was an old employee. No one was certain if I could take them or not so I tried to hurry and just get as many as I could take.
Now the Rite Aid across the street has also closed. Life is always full of changes.
Even the little dry cleaning business had to go. They tell us that Dan's is soon to be replaced with JoAnn's Fabric and DownEast Basics.
I just don't think the instrument petting zoo would give one the same experience as petting a soft purry Jack-Jack. Hedgehog is giving a demonstration of the way our cat likes his chin scratched. From the bottom picture you can see he's not as fond of head scratching v. chin scratching. (When he really likes something he squints his eyes-it's very cute-and he starts a deep purr.)
Kudos though to Riverton Music for a clever idea that certainly caught the attention of our patrons. For more information about Riverton Music you can visit their website at: https://www.rivertonmusic.com/
For my fellow voters in Utah: please get your primary vote in by June 25th if you have a ballot. Here's a parody video to help educate the newer generations about suffrage, votes, and voting for women:
"I desire to resent in the name of honesty and justice the veiled intimidation and accusation regarding my vote on the Suffrage Amendment as indicated in certain statements, and it is my sincere belief that those responsible for their existence know that there is not a scintilla of truth in them. I want to state that I changed my vote in favor of ratification first because I believe in full suffrage as a right; second, I believe we had a moral and legal right to ratify; third, I knew that a mother’s advice is always safest for a boy to follow and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification; fourth, I appreciated the fact that an opportunity such as seldom comes to a mortal man to free seventeen million women from political slavery was mine; fifth, I desired that my party in both State and nation might say that it was a republican from the East mountains of Tennessee, the purest Anglo-Saxon section in the world, who made national woman suffrage possible at this date, not for personal glory but for the glory of his party." Representative Harry T. Burns
In April we talked about the following books in the 560's to 580's section of the library:
Once Upon a Mastodon: All About Prehistoric Mammals by Worth
Cactus Hotel by Guiberson
Plants Can't Sit Still by Hirsch
Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Bang
Because of An Acorn by Schaefer
Dinosaur Tracks by Zoehfeld
The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families by Roth
We had an ecosystem organization chart handout and bags of chips.
Then in the May book group we listened to the audio version of A Day In the Life of Marlon Bundo by Twiss and we discussed these other books about families:
Families, Families, Families by Lang
Nighty Night! by Wild
The Family Book by Parr
And Tango Makes Three by Richardson
I Love It When You Smile by McBratney
There are so many other wonderful family books-some other suggestions that I've received include the following titles: Zak's Safari, The Relatives Came, Owl Babies, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?, One Big Family, Over the Moon, Froggy's Baby Sister, My Family Tree and Me, Two Is Enough, and many others.
Then in January 2018, we talked about happy books, which included the following titles and authors:
(again, if there are some that we talked about at the Jan. meeting and I didn't write it down, let me know and I'll add them-thanks!) :
books by Mo Willems
The Secret Pizza Party by Rubin
Jingle Jingle by Smee
Good Boy Fergus by Shannon
Ish by Reynolds
Yes Day! by Rosenthal
Woodpecker Wants a Waffle by Breen
books by Karma Wilson
100 Things That Make Me Happy by Schwartz
A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Fishman
And, on the note of humorous things, this is what happens when most people don't let the library staff know that the receipt printer is turned off and finally someone does! We generate a lot of book reminder receipts at just one station! (This is at a checkout station that is used infrequently through the day and yes, these are receipts from just part of one day. I glad to say our library sees a lot of usage from programs to computer use to people actually checking out physical materials.)
In October of 2017 we talked about books by Julia Donaldson of Scotland. Julia Donaldson website: http://www.juliadonaldson.co.uk/ This woman is amazing! She's written poems, songs, all kinds of books, and lots of wonderful things for children (and adults who love cleverly written works).
Result: Warm clothes, turning up the heater, and drinking hot chocolate when we got home.
We didn't know if we were going to do the 5K, finish, and make it back in one piece so we kind of kept it a little quiet to see if we could accomplish the goal. Well, goal accomplished. We're planning to do more 5K's in the future!
Chewbacca Mom has a book out, Laugh it up!, and she talks a lot about joy in her book. I'm listening to the audio version which she narrates and I'm really enjoying it. 5 discs of happiness with some real-life experiences and different ways to look at the positive and negatives in our lives. And, if you haven't seen the Chewbacca face mask video:
* Refrigerated popular juice combo drink with carrot, orange, lemon, and beet. Mica: "The fruit juices did not make up for the pure horror of the beet juice."
*Hedgehog added to the grocery list around Christmas time:
-cough syrup
-Santa costume for Jack
-Elf costume for Jack
-plain apple juice
-olive oil
(Here's a throwback to Pirate Jack)
*"I don't need more negativity in my life." (Mica after I reminded her she had books due the next day.)
*Daisy was lamenting back in 9th grade that she didn't have friends in her lunchtime period. Hedgehog advised: "You should grab some 7th graders. They would worship you and be your little padawans."
*Jack was sitting opposite to Hedgehog on the large 4' x 6' area rug in the room. She slowly started moving the carpet. He looked confused because the floor was moving but he stayed on the carpet. I started quietly giggling at his continued confused expressions as she moved the carpet this way and that with him balancing on top.
Then she started singing "I can show you the world" from Aladdin and I burst out laughing. Jack startled, jumped off, and immediately turned around, attacking the carpet edge. Hedgehog kept moving the carpet and he kept attacking it. Hedgehog commented he had found the biggest toy yet in the house. Good call, Hedgehog, good call on the song choice of "A Whole New World" for Jack's magic carpet ride.
*Mica brought home seafood leftovers one day and I asked her to remember to eat her mussels. She replied, "No, I prefer to keep them intact, thank you" referring to her muscles instead of mussels.
* Words of internet knowledge from the young: Daisy informed me that the no more tears claim on a popular baby shampoo referred not to no more crying tears in your eyes but rather to tears in your hair like split ends. It prevented split end tears not crying tears. We did get it sorted out thanks to J&J. https://www.johnsonsprofessional.com/johnsons-baby/no-more-tears
It was easier finding source material proving that the Monkees did the song I'm a Believer in 1966 and that Smash Mouth did the cover in 2001. She kept insisting Smash Mouth did the song first and the Monkees must have gotten it from them. When I pointed out I heard the song when I was young, she was confused but stuck with her group. I tried to get her to tell me when Smash Mouth came out with the song and she just replied it was from themovie "Shrek", which came out ages ago.
I was laughing so hard it was difficult to find the video to show her the version of the song that I grew up hearing.
Thanks to PNGMart for the Shrek graphic.and to to youtube for the Monkees video and to Johnson and Johnson for the shampoo info.
Geology Is A Piece Of Cake by Katie Coppens. Cleverly tying together geology with cake, Ms.Coppens, a middle-school English and science teacher, takes the reader on a journey linking science with science from geologic structures and processes to how they relate to different aspects of cake such as how eating a piece of cake is related to how animals cause weathering. She uses cake to help explain Mohs scale of hardness. The book is primarily about geology with some cake references included. She's got a good balance-just enough cake references to whet the appetite and keep you going through the book without feeling like you're overwhelmed in sweetness. Her approach also makes geology easier to understand and encourages the reader to learn more about science in general.
