Gray Mountain

I have had Gray Mountain on my reading list forever.  I enjoy reading John Grisham novels so I picked this one up and started to read.  It is everything you would it expect from a Grisham novel.  Samantha works for a large Wall Street law firm in the real estate division far from the world of litigation.  She has been there a year or so and then the real estate market crashes.  I am sure many of you are familiar with this subject and the year 2008 since it sent the United States into a recession.

She loses her job.  But her firm agrees to pay her medical insurance if she volunteers her time.  The law firm sends her a list of potential places but only one takes her up on her offer, a legal aid clinic in Brady West Virginia. So she packs up her things and off she goes.  There she is exposed to the dark side of the coal industry.  While she has never done litigation a man walks into the clinic and she is hooked.  She takes on his case and a huge law firm and her life changes.

In reality it changed the minute she drove into Brady.  This book has some of the elements of the Runaway Jury by Grisham. In that case, the tobacco industry was the bad guy and rightfully so.  It is a good book if you like Grisham and I do.

Grilled Cheese and Snow days. Some things never change

It's  a tradition.  When it snows lunch is grilled cheese sandwiches.  Some serve it with tomato soup, Campbell's of course.  I prefer just the sandwich.  However, this past Saturday when it was snowing hard, I decided to add Cheetos and a glass of red wine.  I think it added a nice touch don't you think.  I mean the sandwich is great by itself but adding wine and Cheetos, call me mellow yellow.  I made the sandwich totally healthy.  I used Trader Joe's soft multigrain rustico bread key word here, multigrain.  The cheese was white cheddar.  And wine is made from grapes so I had my fruit serving, maybe.

Who knows when this tradition of grilled cheese on snow days started all I can say is that my Mom served them to my brother and I and I served it to my child.  Hopefully she too will pass on the tradition. 

Even though my sandwich leans more toward the traditional, I found some variations if you want to experiment and add variety. Here is the link The Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Perfection.  It might snow again soon  so start warming up the frying pan.

Munch Munch Munch after some good Weed

The District has gone and done it, legalized marijuana.  There are some rules about smoking and possession of course there always has to be rules.   You must be twenty one, only posses 2 ounces and you can't smoke it in public.  Furthermore you can only have a total of six cannabis plants but only three can be mature.  Oh and the most important rule of all, you can not sell it.

Some members of the federal government are not happy about this at all and want to declare this illegal.  They even want to put the DC mayor in jail or so I heard. It is also a crime for federal employees to smoke because marijuana is a drug so you all can not partake.

All I can say is lighten up .  Wait maybe  I mean light up but only of you want to no pressure. 

A side effect of smoking marijuana is a case of the munchies.  Allegedly because I have no proof. Ha. This is the Washington Post’s suggestions if you have the munchies after smoking 15 Dishes to consider to cure the munchies. 

 I am sure you have your own ideas of where you want to go and what you want to eat.  Heck if you plan accordingly you can stock you fridge and pantry with your own snacks.  I mean who wants to brave the cold for some munchies right now.

So those of you who live in the city or have friends to share with in the city have fun.  All of us who live in areas surrounding DC, well we will just have to wait.

Gaga and a Few of my Favorite Things

When we lived in Europe, we often found ourselves driving to Piding, Germany.  We always stayed at a lovely Gasthaus the Pension Einzinger. Unfortunately, I don't think it exists anymore. The beds were pure heaven layered with eiderdown comforters that wrapped around you like a warm cocoon.  It was a quiet in that little town with the exception of the gentle mooing from the cow next door and the church bells in the morning.  It was a welcome respite from the city noise in Frankfurt. 

 

But it wasn't just the wonderful hospitality of the host that drew us back.  It was its proximity to Salzburg just twenty clicks (that's kilometers) Both my husband and I were completely enchanted by the city.  I still can't decide if I loved it because it was a magical place or if it was magical because the movie The Sound of Music was filmed there.   Honestly it really doesn't matter.  I love both the movie and the city.

Usually, I do not watch the Oscars.  It is not my favorite type of show, but on this occasion, I decided I would record it.  I was so glad I did because towards the very end Lady Gaga gave a stunning performance of songs from the Sound of Music.  As a pop singer, she rarely gets the chance to showcase her full vocal range, and I was thrilled she got to do that on such a grand stage. 

Then Julie Andrews appeared, and I’ll admit, it brought tears to my eyes. Her voice was once one of the most extraordinary gifts in music, and I often wonder: if she hadn’t suffered the throat problems that silenced that brilliant voice, would she have been the one singing those songs that night? Still, Lady Gaga stepped into those very large shoes with grace and strength. It was a beautiful tribute, and seeing Julie Andrews again felt like a reunion with an old friend.

Man can not live on Bread Alone. Wrong!!!!

Who ever came up with the saying "Man cannot live on Bread alone"  got it wrong or maybe the person got it right.  Maybe men cannot live on bread alone but I can tell you as a woman, I sure can! I remember as a kid going into the bakery store to buy the most delicious fresh rolls. Just walking into the bakery and catching the smell of fresh bread baking was enough to make my mouth water and my stomach growl.  At the time  grocery stores had baked goods but it really wasn't up to the standards of the bakery.  But then the Grocery stores decided to take on these wonderful bakeries and practically made them extinct.  

Now it seems that the bakery is back and I am so happy.  I am not sure exactly when they started their resurgence and I don't care.  This past week, The Washington Post had a great article about some of the bakeries that are popping up.  They even have a little quiz that steers you toward the bakery that fits your personality.  The outcome of the quiz for me was a new bakery that opened in Van Ness called Bread Furst.  I certainly plan to try it as soon as possible. Here is the link to the quiz Which Bakery fits my personality.

So if you are planning on making a trip to the district you may want to try some of these bakeries and when I try Bread Furst I will report back to you.

Here is the list of bakeries  ON the Rise  and here is the link to the article Area Bakeries are making us feel like a kid again.

Landline

I  have had this book sitting on the side of my bed for weeks until I finally cracked it open and started to read it. Couldn't put it down.  Neal and Georgie met in college at the school paper.  This couple is an example of the saying "opposites attract". He is a cartoonist and she is a writer.  He grunts at people and she knows how to work a room. 
 
They  have been married for fourteen years. The book starts right before Christmas.  Georgie and her writing partner make a pitch for a new show.  This show can sky rocket her career.  Just one problem they want the pilot and four episodes written by December 27th.  She and her husband Neal and their kids are suppose to go to Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas.  She goes home to tell him and he is pretty ticked off.  He takes the family leaving her behind.  Alone, Georgie starts going back over her past with her husband.  Dreading going to an empty house, she stays at her Mom's house where she finds her old yellow landline phone.  Many of you may remember those phones.  Mine was pink and I use to talk with my friends for hours. She plugs the phone in and the conversations they have are fascinating.  There is a twist because these were no ordinary conversations.

Neal and Georgie love each other but the question still remains, Is love enough? Does their life together make them happy?

I really liked the book.  Give it a try.    Landline
 

Baby its cold out there so pack in the Calories

I just discovered after reading this article what my weight loss problem is, I don’t live and work in a cold enough climate.  I need to find somewhere cold because according to what I just read the people traveling in this pack needed to eat 6000 calories just to maintain their weight. Food is heat and you need to keep your body well fueled.

Can you imagine eating that much?  I think 1500 calories is a lot.  On the down side eating that many calories is harder than you think.  You can't just eat a whole layer cake.  This article discusses treks by Will Steger crossing Antarctica on a bobsled and their diet just to stay alive.  They ate a lot of carbs and butter but really had to be mindful of their weight and its impact on their dogsleds and their health.  This is a very interesting article and here is the link. Keeping Your body Fueled