I have to smile at the info about chocolate. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and in an office where I worked the evening shift, I was always told to take all the sweets home and bring them back the next time I worked to help the chocoholics stay out of it and to make sure the first shift had to supply their own. It became a Huge joke after a while. Now I am retired but still stop and see my buddies and bring chocolate treats for them. Don’t think there is a chocolate guardian there now. If I tell them it is an herb, someone will want it on salad.😹😹😹😹
What am I reading now? Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake——How fungi make our world. Fascinating. I little complex to read—-do not recommend just before bedtime. The world of mushrooms (even the magic kind), lichens, truffles, yeast come to life. I’m reading the abridged (by the author) version with absolutely gorgeous photos.
That's a wonderful book, Helen--so much to think about. Bill listened to it, too, so we've had some good conversations. I definitely see our little woodlot with new eyes.
So much for waiting till after lunch to have some chocolate. Reading about it sent me scrounging for a taste at 9 a.m. I guess I am addicted; chocolate is one of the few things I consistently consume that is NOT locally sourced. If the big earthquake shows up in my lifetime I will be in trouble.
The commercial history lesson was fascinating.
Having guests on Wednesday. Might try out the mint chocolate brownies for them....
Same here, Patricia. Most weeks, I make the old standby fudge (w/sweetened condensed milk) and a brownie mix (w/added choc chips), both w/pecans. Like you, we miss it if we don't have it. And you're right: not locally sourced, and with the same kind of history that other significant commodities have (sugar, vanilla, coffee, spices).
Not enough chocolate lovers are aware that roughly 2 million children work on cacao plantations as slave labor in West Africa. This has been going on for decades with the larger chocolate companies acknowledging that it exists but failing to do anything that would correct the situation because of profits. There are small chocolate producers who source slavefree cacao and I purchase their products. You can learn more at https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/.
I belong to an online knit group that hosts a book club every two months. The January Knit-Along was a Taos-inspired poncho so I recommended Someone Always Nearby as the corresponding March book read and it was accepted. I think it will be a great book for discussion!
Sue, so glad you've brought up that issue. I should have included a note about the importance of free/fair trade in chocolate. Thank you for the link!
And thank you for the recommendation to your book club. Please let them know about the free Reader's Guide: https://susanalbert.com/someone-always-nearby/ I know I went overboard on the Guide (too much stuff!). But GOK is a much-loved artist and I wanted readers to know where to look for the facts on which the fiction is based.
Oh yes, I will post that link now. Thanks for the reminder. I used the guide as I read the book and loved all the little details. Thanks for the reminder. I also wanted to point to a recent post on my susbtack: https://suekusch.substack.com/p/the-making-of-an-obituary. Your books have helped to ponder my life story!
Sue, I'm so glad those books have been helpful! The more we know about ourselves and our past, the clearer our understanding of the present and of our potential futures. Thanks for mentioning Story Circle. It really encourages women to treat their personal stories as important.
And writing from an end-of-life perspective (as in an obit) is an excellent idea. I read one the other day, the life of an old high-school boyfriend. I was so glad to see where life took him--and was surprised by the interesting directions his journey led.
I like the advice at the end of your post. So very true! "Storytelling can take many forms. Don’t let your perception that you don’t write well hold you back. Just begin the process of exploring and recording your story. Don’t think you have much to tell? Dig deeper."
February is almost my favorite month for the wonderful tastes, sights, and sounds of the holidays, Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, the blossoming trees, and the lovely tulips! Thanks for making the month ever more special, Susan.
Last week, I finally was able to borrow SOMEONE ALWAYS NEARBY from the San Francisco Public Library and I'm excited to read it. I'll post reviews on Amazon and the SFPL website asap!!
Glad you could get SOMEONE, Kate. Sounds like there was a wait list! If the book interests you and you want to dig into the background and process, there's more in the Reader's Guide (free): https://susanalbert.com/someone-always-nearby/
Thanks, Susan! I'd placed SOMEONE on hold when it was "On order," so it's a new book to the SFPL collection on display with 6 copies; 3 are checked out today. I'll write a review for SFPL and include the link to the free Reader's Guide. But it's already in demand here!
Kate, special thanks for letting me know how many HCs your library is holding. It's the libraries that support the print production of books in the U.S., now that digital has fully arrived. My books are also available on digital loan (Overdrive/Libby). Sounds like you prefer print. Thanks in advance for the reviews--those help new readers find books they want to read.
My pleasure, Susan! SFPL also has audio on Hoopla and a large print HC edition of SOMEONE. But you're right that libraries support print copies for the many patrons who prefer to read a "real" book. I'm interested in reading about Maria Chabot from San Antonio who lived nearby my childhood homes. Also, I recall a quote from Georgia O'Keefe I read years ago, remarking that her friends were those who lived with and cared for her, not social friends. At the time, I thought that sounded quite bleak and lonely. But after reading your book, maybe it wasn't.
Kate, I think this might be the remark you're remembering. I quoted it in the Guide: (p 93, I think). Notice that it is 1955--a little late in her life to start thinking about the nature of friendship:
In a 1955 letter to Anita Pollitzer, O’Keeffe ponders the nature of her transactional friendships with the women who cook and clean, the men who bring wood and frame her paintings, her doctor, her paid travel companions. It seems to be a rare realization for her, and perhaps long overdue: the more someone does for her, the more likely she is to consider that person a friend and to reciprocate by doing something in return. She concludes:
I have a new woman here to take care of me and tend to the many things that have to be done—I’ve had her 2 weeks and my life is so much easier that maybe such a one is a friend—I don’t know . . . The term “friend” is an odd word (O’Keeffe to Pollitzer, October 24, 1955, in Lovingly, Georgia, pp. 301-302).
Susan, that is the exact quote! I remember reading it in the mid-1980s as a single mom with a toddler boy; I frequently needed to travel in my work and relied on childcare, housecleaners, and others. So, I identified with Georgia and drew strength from her thoughts, allowing transactional friendships to become true and valuable to my little family of two. Strange how we women look for role models to forge new lives; O'Keefe loomed large on the cultural landscape with her independence and artistic vision.
Longtime friend/reader Laura Hulka emailed me in desperation: "No link for choc mint brownies?!?!"
She's right! China and I omitted that one. So bad!! Here it is, if you're desperate too: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/classic-mint-chocolate-brownies/
Thanks, Laura!
I'll be adding some of these fun facts to my herbal experiments diary on the Cacao pages. And now I'm hungry for something chocolate!
Herbal diary--great idea, Leenie!
I have to smile at the info about chocolate. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and in an office where I worked the evening shift, I was always told to take all the sweets home and bring them back the next time I worked to help the chocoholics stay out of it and to make sure the first shift had to supply their own. It became a Huge joke after a while. Now I am retired but still stop and see my buddies and bring chocolate treats for them. Don’t think there is a chocolate guardian there now. If I tell them it is an herb, someone will want it on salad.😹😹😹😹
Oh, that's a funny office story, Toni! You probably got a lot of kidding about not belonging to the genome. 😂 Better be sure NOT to tell them about this luscious strawberry/mozzarella salad with chocolate/balsamic vinaigrette! https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mozzarella-strawberry-salad-with-chocolate-vinaigrette/
What am I reading now? Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake——How fungi make our world. Fascinating. I little complex to read—-do not recommend just before bedtime. The world of mushrooms (even the magic kind), lichens, truffles, yeast come to life. I’m reading the abridged (by the author) version with absolutely gorgeous photos.
That's a wonderful book, Helen--so much to think about. Bill listened to it, too, so we've had some good conversations. I definitely see our little woodlot with new eyes.
So much for waiting till after lunch to have some chocolate. Reading about it sent me scrounging for a taste at 9 a.m. I guess I am addicted; chocolate is one of the few things I consistently consume that is NOT locally sourced. If the big earthquake shows up in my lifetime I will be in trouble.
The commercial history lesson was fascinating.
Having guests on Wednesday. Might try out the mint chocolate brownies for them....
Same here, Patricia. Most weeks, I make the old standby fudge (w/sweetened condensed milk) and a brownie mix (w/added choc chips), both w/pecans. Like you, we miss it if we don't have it. And you're right: not locally sourced, and with the same kind of history that other significant commodities have (sugar, vanilla, coffee, spices).
For the darker side of the story, there's this: https://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Chocolate-Industry-Carol-Off/dp/1595589805/ref=asc_df_1595589805/
Not enough chocolate lovers are aware that roughly 2 million children work on cacao plantations as slave labor in West Africa. This has been going on for decades with the larger chocolate companies acknowledging that it exists but failing to do anything that would correct the situation because of profits. There are small chocolate producers who source slavefree cacao and I purchase their products. You can learn more at https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/.
I belong to an online knit group that hosts a book club every two months. The January Knit-Along was a Taos-inspired poncho so I recommended Someone Always Nearby as the corresponding March book read and it was accepted. I think it will be a great book for discussion!
Sue, so glad you've brought up that issue. I should have included a note about the importance of free/fair trade in chocolate. Thank you for the link!
And thank you for the recommendation to your book club. Please let them know about the free Reader's Guide: https://susanalbert.com/someone-always-nearby/ I know I went overboard on the Guide (too much stuff!). But GOK is a much-loved artist and I wanted readers to know where to look for the facts on which the fiction is based.
Oh yes, I will post that link now. Thanks for the reminder. I used the guide as I read the book and loved all the little details. Thanks for the reminder. I also wanted to point to a recent post on my susbtack: https://suekusch.substack.com/p/the-making-of-an-obituary. Your books have helped to ponder my life story!
Sue, I'm so glad those books have been helpful! The more we know about ourselves and our past, the clearer our understanding of the present and of our potential futures. Thanks for mentioning Story Circle. It really encourages women to treat their personal stories as important.
And writing from an end-of-life perspective (as in an obit) is an excellent idea. I read one the other day, the life of an old high-school boyfriend. I was so glad to see where life took him--and was surprised by the interesting directions his journey led.
I like the advice at the end of your post. So very true! "Storytelling can take many forms. Don’t let your perception that you don’t write well hold you back. Just begin the process of exploring and recording your story. Don’t think you have much to tell? Dig deeper."
Deeper, deeper. That's where the treasure is.
February is almost my favorite month for the wonderful tastes, sights, and sounds of the holidays, Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras, the blossoming trees, and the lovely tulips! Thanks for making the month ever more special, Susan.
Last week, I finally was able to borrow SOMEONE ALWAYS NEARBY from the San Francisco Public Library and I'm excited to read it. I'll post reviews on Amazon and the SFPL website asap!!
Glad you could get SOMEONE, Kate. Sounds like there was a wait list! If the book interests you and you want to dig into the background and process, there's more in the Reader's Guide (free): https://susanalbert.com/someone-always-nearby/
Thanks, Susan! I'd placed SOMEONE on hold when it was "On order," so it's a new book to the SFPL collection on display with 6 copies; 3 are checked out today. I'll write a review for SFPL and include the link to the free Reader's Guide. But it's already in demand here!
Kate, special thanks for letting me know how many HCs your library is holding. It's the libraries that support the print production of books in the U.S., now that digital has fully arrived. My books are also available on digital loan (Overdrive/Libby). Sounds like you prefer print. Thanks in advance for the reviews--those help new readers find books they want to read.
My pleasure, Susan! SFPL also has audio on Hoopla and a large print HC edition of SOMEONE. But you're right that libraries support print copies for the many patrons who prefer to read a "real" book. I'm interested in reading about Maria Chabot from San Antonio who lived nearby my childhood homes. Also, I recall a quote from Georgia O'Keefe I read years ago, remarking that her friends were those who lived with and cared for her, not social friends. At the time, I thought that sounded quite bleak and lonely. But after reading your book, maybe it wasn't.
Kate, I think this might be the remark you're remembering. I quoted it in the Guide: (p 93, I think). Notice that it is 1955--a little late in her life to start thinking about the nature of friendship:
In a 1955 letter to Anita Pollitzer, O’Keeffe ponders the nature of her transactional friendships with the women who cook and clean, the men who bring wood and frame her paintings, her doctor, her paid travel companions. It seems to be a rare realization for her, and perhaps long overdue: the more someone does for her, the more likely she is to consider that person a friend and to reciprocate by doing something in return. She concludes:
I have a new woman here to take care of me and tend to the many things that have to be done—I’ve had her 2 weeks and my life is so much easier that maybe such a one is a friend—I don’t know . . . The term “friend” is an odd word (O’Keeffe to Pollitzer, October 24, 1955, in Lovingly, Georgia, pp. 301-302).
Susan, that is the exact quote! I remember reading it in the mid-1980s as a single mom with a toddler boy; I frequently needed to travel in my work and relied on childcare, housecleaners, and others. So, I identified with Georgia and drew strength from her thoughts, allowing transactional friendships to become true and valuable to my little family of two. Strange how we women look for role models to forge new lives; O'Keefe loomed large on the cultural landscape with her independence and artistic vision.