Unwind

Have you ever had a book whose characters stayed with you well after the story ended. Have you ever hated a character but ended up feeling sorry the villain in the end. Have you ever really thought about what being a organ donor means?

I just finished a book called Unwind by Neal Shusterman. It was a brutal non-stop roller coaster of a book. Here's the synopsis of the story. There's been an all out war between the pro-choice and pro-life movement. After some years of struggle someone suggests a solution to the "where does life begin and end" debate. Abortion is now illegal but in it's place you have the practice of unwinding. Let's say you have a child who won't behave ;or there's too many orphans in the group home ;or you believe in giving a tenth of all of your income including your children as a tithe. Have your child unwound. That's right ladies and gentlemen until the age of 17 you can have your child disassembled. The parts that formerly made up your child will continue to "live" in other people rich enough to buy their various parts. The children are living donors.

What I hated about this book - It was so visual that I had trouble stopping myself from thinking about the characters in the book. Yes I know it's fiction but the description of unwinding just made me feel so bad for the kid. It made me think about being an organ donor-I am one-but also about the value of life and the fear that being a donor means they won't try as hard to save you.

What I loved about this book - How the kids found ways to stand up for themselves. I also loved moments of humor in the book. The story is so well written. If you have a teen in your life who likes apocalyptic stories I would highly recommend this one.

Des

Life is too short to not do some of the things you've always wanted to do. So I decided to try my hand at making ice cream. Why did I make Banana ice cream?

A. I got a bananza of bananas for 19 cents a pound!
B. Bananas are really good for you- tons of potassium!
C. My mom likes banana flavored deserts and has passed that love on to me?
D. All of the above.



The answer of course is D. You can tell from the picture above that it actually looks like real ice cream(and it is where's a sugar cone when you need one:). The recipe was pretty easy to follow. There was however a time element involved. You make up your ice cream mixture which does involve some cooking an then you have to put it in the fridge for about 3 hours. So you definitely want to do this on your day off. But the waits well worth it. After you add the mixture to your ice cream maker it's only a few minutes before your ice cream sets and it's awesome. Tip: there is a pour-in spout on your ice cream maker for a reason. Do not try (like someone I know... namely me)to pour the batter in frozen bowl and then put in the mixing element. The mixture will freeze immediately and you'll be up ice cream creek with no paddle-not good. Save that for when we make popsicles. My first try came out just sweet enough and delicious. Here's the book I got the recipe from. Visit your local library and check it out.



I have a dinner party coming up and I always bring the dessert. I think it's going to be pumpkin cinnamon ice cream this time.

Happy Birthday Ford Mustang

My dream car was released on this day in 1964.



There's nothing like a muscle car to brighten your day.

Enjoy

Des

Just for laughs

Here's a little something to clear the morning blahs away.








Enjoy

Des

What's on your needles

This scarf took me a while to finish. I hate weaving in the ends but the color change was awesome. I got this yarn from the only yarn shop in Mansfield-it's no longer in business. How I miss the knit cafes we used to have. I would get so inspired by the projects the other ladies would be doing. If I do striping again I'll weave the ends in as I go along.




This scarf is from a one skein book that I found. It took me 1 1/4 skeins-probably the thickness of the yarn was a problem. It turned out lovely I really enjoyed doing the cable patterns. I think cables may be my favorite pattern to do. I'm trying a poncho with cables that look challenging. I'll post it as soon as I get it done. Stay tuned.

Des

Pizzeria

My niece and I decided to make pizza one day. We used just one of Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough. The pizza dough only cost $1.19. She used half and I used half. Here are hour instructions to a great pizza. First take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature about 20 minutes. Then roll out your dough in a nice circle or rectangle.



K: Put the sauce on your pizza. You might want to put extra to make it good. I used normal spaghetti sauce and my topping was turkey and cheese.

D: I made a spinach pesto and that was the sauce for my pizza. My toppings were tomatoes onions and cheese. Great for vegetarians but not for vegans.





Preheat a oven to 425 degrees. Place pizza on a lightly oiled pain or hot pizza stone. Bake for 6-8 minutes. If you followed our direction you should end up with this!




K: Make sure your pizza pan isn't slanted or it may come out extra crispy burnt. It's happened to me

D: I enjoyed making the pesto and the pizza. I made my pizza into a pizza roll that's awesome. I'll have to post picture soon.



Wait until the pizza's cool to cut it. Then enjoy!


K: Never ever make spinach pasto or whatever, whatever desi made because it taste like you put grass on dough and cooked it.

D: If your taste runs more toward simple kid faire stick with the turkey and cheese. If you want a healthy alternative that's great for your heart and taste great-try the spinach pesto.

Gi'day mates

I just watched Australia. I loved the movie. Yes I am a romantic at heart but that's not why I loved the movie. Australia was so much more than a love story. The film is beautifully shot, the cinematography was amazing. The colors so vivid and real it was a treat for the eyes. This movie had everything. You had your evil land Barron's who were trying create a monopoly in the cattle industry by buying out or killing their opposition. You have the Japanese bombing Darwin Australia. The movie starts with a young aboriginal boy going on walkabout with his grandfather. Walkabout is the ritual where a aborigine boy becomes a man after spending time in the wilderness. This boy is different in that he's what's called half caste or creamy meaning he was have aborigine and half white. Half cast children were taken from their families and raised to be servants in white households in Australia. So if you like history, epic films, and Hugh Jackman-go see Australia

Des