Set in Stone: The Collection

I'm sure you've seen them. Garish shiny red or black plastico leather bindings. A moon-face of an author. Uniform dust jackets. Gilt gold spine lettering. Orangey-red-clothed from Harvard. They are different families in one catagory: the library collection. A small canon from someone who chose, another who approved. And now, they are for sale.


I don't wish to cast dispersion from my non-Parisian garrett. Even I have feelings of love for Everyman's Library from Knopf under the Random House umbrella. Some collections are pristine. I am first to say I love books, regardless of clothing, paper, typeface. However, they are a noble thing and the press should reflect this. If you are interested in buying the Everyman's Essential set for your home (100 volumes), I will break the bad news. The set is backordered. I like to think they sold out at $2,282.45 per (free shipping?) and are now reprinting.


I love a canon, it is true. I sometimes reflect on what is my approved list of books. And, how would I clothe them? The thought came about from reading this post on one of my favorite movies. I've read the book only once and vowed to find it soon to reread. The English Novel. What is more noble? This book would be in my approved set. The 100 Essentials has chosen instead Forster's A Passage to India, a choice I can easily self-explain. I must start creating a canon of English writers to set me on the path.

Luncheon: A Summer Afternoon

A few weeks ago Marci and I revisited our tradition: luncheon. I have often enjoyed sitting at their table and remember the first thing I ate there. We have constructed a few excellent repasts and culled the treasures of the season to do so. This was no exception. Rick joined us and ate two bowls of soup. He embraced the sheep's milk feta.

Menu

Red Pepper Soup with Olives, Lemon Zest, and Yogurt

Shaved Fennel Salad

Maine Crabmeat and Marinated Citrus Fruit Salad with Mint

Hibiscus and Mint Lemonade

Each a winner in its own right. The offerings were natural, we ate and felt light. She led me past the Meyer lemons to the apricots where I picked a bagful. That week I made apricot curd to use in the trifle for Fourth of July. She made apricot ice cream.

Island in the Sun

Last week I spent Thursday on Balboa Island with a large handful of my favorites. We beached, strolled, ate, talked, gawked, and came under the spell of a slow pace and summer streets.

In the evening I ate more seafood than I ever have in one sitting. Smelled delicious basil and tomatoes. Ate my bag of saltwater taffy. Contemplated a fiftieth anniversary. Shivered, sweated, and came home covered in salt and sand.

Sea to Sea

image: www.thecraftingchicks.com

Normally we are all together but mother is away so the mice played alone. I woke too early, ran the stairs at the beach, went to spin class, bought pound cake, made a summer fruit trifle for the evening, baked French toast casserole for the Fourth of July breakfast, drove to the breakfast and watched George and Martha Washington pose for pictures, ate chocolate frozen bananas after breakfast, watched children wave flags, the young women sing, Don Henley in the car on the way home, wanted to take a toes-up, washed my car in the driveway, read Rachael Ray magazines in the sun, went to Pat's for lessons on how to appliqué like a pro (I am daunted), back to my house for the cream, went to Phipps/Nelsons for block party bbq with hamburgers, bulgar salad (yum), pasta salad, and patriotic desserts (overdid on the bbq potato chips), watched fireworks in the street from the Fair, came home ill from the chips, tired from having much fun.

Bulgur Salad with Feta and Mint

Serves 6

1/2 t table salt

1 1/2 C uncooked bulgur

3 T fresh lemon juice

4 t olive oil

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 C crumbled feta

1/2 C fresh chopped mint leaves

Combine 1 1/2 cups cold water and salt in a small pot; bring to a boil and stir in bulgur. Cover pot, remove from heat, and set aside until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff bulgur with a fork, allow to cool. Spoon bulgur into a serving bowl. Add lemon juice, oil, and pepper; stir well. Add cheese and mint; serve gently but well.