What is a commonplace book? For me, this is a space where I post interesting links, reflections on what I’m reading, and the newest recipes I’ve been trying out — a collection of miscellaneous micro-posts.
What I’m fixing:
- Ree Drummond’s Chicken Pot Pie, which, for better or worse, is pretty unrecognizable when I get done with it, having used frozen pie crust; a combination of roasted onions, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes and frozen peas; subbed thighs for a full chicken and milk with a couple spoonfuls of yogurt for the cream, etc., etc. But it always helps me to have a template to work off for ratios, temperatures and times. Are you a more intuitive cook?
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili for Pippin’s birthday party which pleased even the determined meat-eaters and pumpkin-avoiders among us.
What I’m reading:
- All the Light We Cannot See still and again, as a combination of audiobook and hardcover. (Now I know how to pronounce “Laure,” so that’s something.) J came in while I was changing the sheets and listening to Werner solve trigonometric equations the other night and I really hoped he’d notice and be impressed but no dice.
- Little House on the Prairie with Pippin. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t read this as a kid, or if I did, I have zero memory of it, which is maybe worse. But Pippin’s way into it and keeps asking for more chapters. The descriptions are more beautifully lyrical than I somehow expected, although occasionally I get Giants in the Earth flashbacks, as below:
“It was strange and frightening to be left without the wagon on the High Prairie. The land and the sky seemed too large, and Laura felt small. She wanted to hide and be still in the tall grass, like a little prairie chicken.”
Grab me my trunk, folks. I’m going in.
- Entirely too much election coverage. But who isn’t?
Leave in the Leaf 
I finished All the Light We Cannot See a couple days ago for Well Read Mom, and I can’t wait to discuss it on Monday at our meeting! I just realized that I don’t know how to say “Laure” at all. In my mind, I guess I said it “Lorie.”
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I said it like it was short for Laura, which is what the narrator does. But the WRM commentary sounded like it was pronounced “Law” and I started to doubt my two semesters of French a decade ago 🙂
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I’m reading Little House in the Big Woods right now to my kids. They love it but now play intricate imaginary games of “winter” where they hunt their stuffed animals so they have food for winter! 🙂
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That sounds pretty good as imagination games go! (Unless your family’s vegetarian!)
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Intuitive cook all the way 🙋 I’ve ruined many a good recipe by thinking I could do it my way.
How do you feel about the audio book narration of All the Light We Cannot See? I was not a fan and I feel like it was clouding my judgment of the book.
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I liked knowing how to pronounce names but I didn’t love the narrator. Like any good American, I believe all foreign accents should be acted by British actors 🙂
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Indeed!
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