Tulips dressed in silky tutus are twirling about in late-March winds. The first dancers taking the stage are Van Eijk whose tremendous pink blooms flushed with yellow spread their citrusy fragrance touched with a hint of vanilla and the freshest, richest cream throughout any room in which I place them. When a bloom starts unfurling, the outer petals are splotched lime-green. At first, I wondered if in my eagerness for cut flowers, I picked them too early.
Within an hour, the green mellowed into yellow.
Its stupendous perfume emanates mostly from its core, so I get close to their innards and breath in deeply. Ah! Spring is officially inside our home. The interior of the bloom is closer to scarlet than pink.
Last autumn, I planted several varieties of bulbs to include early, mid, and late season numbering to around two-hundred. There are/will be Darwin hybrids, Late-Single (cottage tulips), Lily-Flowering, Parrot, Viridiflora, and Species. To honour the abundance, I splashed out for a rectangular holder for up to thirty-two tulips. It's a reproduction of one of The Rijksmuseum's Delft Blue artefacts.
Unlike daffodils, most tulips do not bloom from year to year so they often are regarded as annuals. One exception is Apeldoorn, a Darwin hybrid. Its second season of blooming is much appreciated.
The purple plum tree's branches are laden with delicate blossoms.
When the rain ceases for a while, I garden. Moist soil allows for easy 'lawn' edging.
Such soil is good also for transplanting. These two Junipers (Sky Rocket) were about 15 cm (6 inches) when they arrived in the autumn of 2016. They were put in a nursery bed and are now around 90 cm (3 feet). Buying shrubs when small through the mail may mean a better choice and lower price than from the local plant nursery. This narrow variety is moderately fast-growing, has a blue-green foliage, and grows tall enough to resemble a green steeple. It is also fairly combustible so my first choice of placing them near the front of the house got changed to putting them relatively far away from it.
The asparagus patch is coming to life.
The late-afternoon sky decided to say hello to the tulips via a rainbow!
À la prochaine!
Mr. Sutton doesn't resort to euphemisms for designating people who sow discord, never learn to improve their noxious interface, and like a huge syringe of poison, inject their venom into each and every situation in which humans may find themselves. He references a popular quote found on social media often attributed to Sigmund Freud but actually written by the Twitter handle @debihope which succinctly sums up how harmful assholes are: Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes. Unless you can identify assholes early on (some can be charming and brimming with confidence at first impression), ease into protective mode, they will harm not only you, but also others plus their high-conflict, non-reciprocal interface is contagious. A common misperception is that being an asshole is essential for getting ahead. Except in extreme situations, where your life is pitted against another, long-term success is built on co-operation, transparency, creativity, focus, consistency, innovation, and other constructive aspects.
This book could be considered a sequel to his The No Asshole Rule which was written in 2007. Though the earlier book had a chapter on how to deal with assholes, its emphasis was on building positive work environments. Its success resulted in an outpouring of communication with the author for strategies and tips that enable people to escape from, endure, battle, and force out bullies, backstabbers, and arses. One part of his research was derived from ploughing through eight thousand emails sent by people driven to distraction by assholes along with his own experiences and various interviews. The other was based on scholarly research regarding the topic. His conclusion is surviving assholes remains more of a craft or skill than a science.
One defence among several methods against assholes is not complicated. If possible, increase your physical distance as much as possible from the asshole even if it is just a few seats away or across the street or in another room. In the last few months I have applied this simple approach and have watched my stress level deflate. I highly recommend it. The equivalent for online interaction is not only blocking the asshole but also their enablers.
How do you know that you are not one of the asshole brigade? Or an asshole enabler? The authentic asshole and their enablers won't even ponder that she/they could be since assholes lack insight and accountability. However, non-assholes do make an effort to question themselves. A helpful mantra for non-assholes to keep crankiness, bias, and irritation on bad days to a minimum is Be slow to label others as assholes, be quick to label yourself as one. I would temper this advice with the realisation that kind, considerate people need also to be less hard on themselves which they do too easily, and accept more readily that assholes exist. In other words, it is not a case of two sides, or the other side, but yours. The protection of your mental, emotional, and physical health is imperative.
OTHER BOOK REVIEWS
Book Review / Florike Egmond's An Eye For Detail: Images of Plants and Animals in Art and Science, 1500-1630
RELATED LINKS
The Asshole Survival Guide at Amazon
Coulommiers is regarded as the petit frère (little brother) of Brie which is an odd relation because though it may be smaller it is actually the ancestor of Brie. When first arriving in France all those years ago, we noted that every supermarket was graced with its presence. Wherever we have lived or visited in France, there was a small round to be had. It being less runny, having a thicker rind, and tasting of almonds make it my preference over Brie. Being able to bring home a whole cheese or two instead of just a slice is in its favour also.
A fantastic way of serving is first cutting the round longitudinally to get two halves. Layer thinly sliced truffles on the bottom piece and top with the second. Wrap in plastic and store in a cool place (preferably not the fridge) for two days. For a dessert version, fill instead with chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, raisins, prunes, cranberries) and nuts (such as pistachios, hazel nuts, walnuts, almonds) mixed with a couple teaspoons of mascarpone. Store for at least a day in the fridge. Garnish with some whole fruits and nuts on top. Serve with a white wine. A bread chock-a-block with dried fruit and nuts could take the place of the filling. Another savoury approach is to simmer some cream or crème fraîche in a saucepan, remove the croûte (send it to me, please, as I am of the mind that one can never get enough of a bloomy rind), chop the Coulommiers, add the pieces to the warm cream, toss in a herb sprig like thyme or oregano, stir till smooth, salt to taste, and pour over pasta (penne would be an excellent choice). A less rich variation is subbing pasta cooking water for the cream.
I love when it is young enough to have a more solid centre as the contrast in textures adds to enjoyment. Regardless of the age (affinage) of the cheese, it is essential to bring it to room temperature before serving. The difference? Extreme lusciousness. If you go the sweet route, and serve it as a dessert in the cosy company of fresh fruit like mixed berries or figs, you won't mind not eating a pastry. Especially if you dribble some herb-infused honey on it.
However my favourite way of scoffing this cheese is exactly that: unadorned, unaccompanied, delectable sliver after delectable sliver vanishing through ecstatic lips.
À la prochaine!
Other French Cheese Posts:
Reblochon
Bleu d'Auvergne
Cantal
Bresse Bleu
Desserts or homey, slowly simmered meals are not the only edibles that can comfort.
Pasta drenched in Alfredo sauce rich in cream, butter, and . . .
. . . cheese will pamper the self just as much.
Not only does cooking the pasta and peas and storing them overnight in the fridge the night before saves time the following day, such a process allows the starch to become resistant when the pasta is reheated. For two servings, ingredients and their amounts are in bold. Throw in two large handful of frozen peas (if fresh, add during the last few minutes of cooking) with enough pasta for two servings into boiling water and cook till just al dente. Drain, put into a container, and stir in a little oil to keep the pasta from sticking together. Cover and put in fridge.
The next day, in a suitably sized skillet, pour in 6-8 tablespoons of cream, bring to a simmer, add 4 tablespoons of sweet butter.
When butter is completely melted, add 8 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan.
Gently melt all the cheese while stirring frequently till sauce is thick and smooth. When a spoon is dragged across the sauce and stays parted for a few seconds, it's done.
Toss in the pasta, peas, and three handfuls of small, cooked shrimp (if frozen, first thaw and then squeeze out the liquid which can be reserved for fish/seafood chowders).
Stirring often, simmer for a minute or two . . .
. . . until everything is slicked with a scrumptious glaze and most of the liquid is gone. Salt to taste.
Cocooning, baby! That's the word the French use to denote setting up your personal environment in such a way that you feel cozy, protected from a fast-moving, demanding world. Afterwards, it would not be remiss, if you snuggle under a courtepointe douce (soft small quilt), propped up with a cushion here, a cushion there (especially for the feet), and read a book. Ah, les petits bonheurs (the little things of happiness)!
À la prochaine!
Though last week has been cold, I couldn't resist getting bundled up and strolling through the garden. The daffodils waved hello. How can they flaunt such exuberance? It's because last season their leaves were allowed to rot in place so as to nourish the underground bulb which became this out-of-sight powerhouse waiting to generate what we are seeing now: ornate lanterns requiring no light to shine.
Sweet violets are superb ground covers because they are evergreen shade-lovers, have fragrant late-winter flowers that can be candied, and spread readily through ballistic seed dispersal (click here to see it happening) plus myrmecochory (foraging worker ants carry the seeds back to the colony). To maximise flower visibility as the vigorous foliage can obscure the flowers, in late summer I take a line-trimmer to the beds and mow them down to a couple of inches above the ground.
Overwintered blue tansy (Phacelia tanacetifolia) cover crop has done its soil protection job well. Soon it will be cut down and forked in so it can do its soil enrichment task also.
Once ivy reaches the end of its vertical support, it morphs into a robust bush that bears fruit which nourishes birds throughout winter. There's lots of ivy chez nous. Some grows up the pergola's pillars onto its roof. There has been this one starling who I have been observing from my office. She flits in and out of the ivy, plucking and swallowing berries in a flash. Once I witnessed her indulging in a fast food feast consisting of ten berries which she ate in a New York minute.
What beverage to go with that dish of ivy berries, my dear starling? Water, preferably of the liquid kind, please. Freezing temperatures the last few days mean that ice is slipped out of the birdbaths so they can be filled with fresh water.
The daffodils and heather cheer me up each and every time I peek out my office window.
Just before the temperature dropped even further, Dirac the Cat, with the aid of fedar (feline radar set for profiting from anything) popped out to relish sunny warmth before . . .
. . . snowflakes came floating down . . .
. . . and kept coming down . . .
. . . until all was leaden grey, but with the dreariness made less by white fluff. By that time, we were inside; Dirac the Cat was munching a treat and I was sipping something gloriously hot.
À la prochaine!
Ms Oates' collection of thirteen essays on writing commingles heart and head to the extent these two often warring factions make an accord. Though a slim volume, it achieves much because of this harmony. If sentences are to be polished with costly adjectives, then let those embellishments be words like tessellated, hieratic, and hypnagogic. The preciousness of her repetitive command write your heart out (in To a Young Writer) is easy to accept at face value because it stands out, like a Tiffany setting, supported by the shining evidence of her skills.
In Notes on Failure, one of the longer essays, she tackles the topic from several angles. One is that disappointment and frustration can beget favourable results. James Joyce's lack of success encouraged him to keep going since his work was so unpopular, he had nothing to lose. An odd safe haven was created from criticism. He profited from as his brother Stanislaus remarked, that inflexibility firmly rooted in failure.
The obscure wellsprings which flush out creativity are discussed in Inspiration! A sight there, a sound here, a smell over there, an event over here can compel a writer to drink from the well. But what makes them go back again and again to quench that thirst, to get to know their obsession better, to bring the private into the public sphere? To answer her question, Why the need, rising in some very nearly to the level of compulsion, to verify experience by way of language?—to scrupulously record and preserve the very passing of Time? she quotes Vladimir Nabokov: All poetry is positional, to try to express one's position in regard to the universe embraced by consciousness is an immemorial urge. The arms of consciousness reach out and grope, and the longer they are the better. Tentacles, not wings, are Apollo's natural members.
A two-part essay, the longest in the anthology, is titled, Reading as a Writer. Reading benefits writers in various ways. One such means is analysis. How does that author pull off what she does? What rhythm of sentence length? What vocabulary? What is the meaning of the finished piece? She elaborates on the latter by focusing on Anton Chekhov's short story, The Lady with the Dog. Its theme is stated right in the story itself: . . . Every man had his real, most interesting life under the cover of secrecy and under the cover of night. She concludes:
The story's theme is like a bobbin upon which the thread of the narrative, or plot, is skillfully wound. Without the bobbin, the thread would fly loose. Lacking this thematic center of gravity, the story of "fated" lovers would be merely sentimental and unoriginal.
In general, fiction of a high quality possesses depth because it involves absorbing narratives and meritorious characters and is at the same time a kind of commentary upon itself. In Chekhov, among other writers of distinction, "fiction" is counterpointed by "commentary" in a delicate equilibrium. The commentary can be extricated from the fiction, as Ray Carver chose a succinct epiphany from Chekhov to affix to his wall: . . . and suddenly everything became clear to him. But the fiction can't be extricated from the commentary, except at the risk of reducing it to a mere concatenation of events lacking a spiritual core.
The Faith of a Writer is a gracious, pragmatic, and knowledgeable companion to writers. It will be kept on a shelf near my desk. I recommend it highly.
À la prochaine!
OTHER BOOK REVIEWS
Book Review / Florike Egmond's An Eye For Detail: Images of Plants and Animals in Art and Science, 1500-1630
RELATED LINKS
The Faith of a Writer at Amazon
Joyce Carol Oates' Twitter account
From the Normandy town, Pont-l'Évêque (Bishop's Bridge), comes an eponymous AOC cheese tasting of butter and hazelnut. Since it is marketed in a wooden square container, not only is it carelessly referred to as Brie in a box, it is also a cinch to make fondue right in its packaging.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degree F). Remove lid and discard.
Remove cheese and unwrap.
Remove any labels from the lower box half.
Flatbread for dipping!
Line the bottom of the box with parchment paper and fit in the cheese. Slash its rind several times. If desired, herbs and/or garlic could be tucked in. If slashed more deeply, then white wine or Calvados could be added. Place on lined baking sheet.
Bake for around twenty minutes. The rind will puff up and there will be some lava flows.
Slice the flatbread like you would a pizza. If presenting as a dessert, then apple or/and pear slices could be substituted. In that case accompany with a white wine on the sweeter side.
The wedge shape is so functional, the pointy end pierces through the croute while the wide edge acts like a handle, keeping your fingers away from the cheese.
Molten cheese draped over flatbread triangles is a pleasure that embellishes daily life without much ado.
À la prochaine!
Other French Cheese Posts:
Maroilles
Reblochon
Bleu d'Auvergne
Cantal
Bresse Bleu
