Discussion Question: Forgotten Garden #4

One of my favorite parts of The Forgotten Garden, were the fairy tales woven throughout the story.  

Of the fairy tales that we were told in the story, which was your favorite?  Why?

Did you have a favorite fairy tale as a child?

Happy Halloween!

The Ladies in Waiting wish you a Happy Halloween! Enjoy some candy and a good spooky story today!

Australia's Dark Past - The Stolen Generations

When I first heard the premise of The Forgotten Garden, a story about a young girl discovering that she was indeed an orphan that had been "stolen" from her family, immediately my mind raced to the Stolen Generations.

Photo taken by:  Brian Jenkins on 21 Apr 2004

The Stolen Generations refers to a period in which the Australian government removed Aboriginal children from their families to be raised in government institutions or adopted by white families for nearly a 100 year span, beginning in 1869 and lasting as recently as 1969. The reasons for this ranged from preventing children from being raised in neglectful environments where it was assumed they were failing to thrive to simply offering them a better life to the hopes of bringing the Aborigines into mainstream (white) society. Basically the Australian government authorities from the Sunshine Welfare Offices (doesn't the name just reek of satire?) would show up and forcibly take these children away from their families assisted by the local police. I cannot even imagine the agony experienced by the children and their parents in this separation. Some of these children were placed with loving families who felt they were providing a better life for them, whereas others were not so fortunate and were subjected to years of physical and sexual abuse. Many of these children have grown up to deal with severe identity crises, depression, alcoholism and drug abuse, and unemployment as adults. At the age of 18, the children were released from the government's control and when it was available, they were permitted to see their records. According to one confidential account submitted to Wikipedia:

I was requested to attend at the Sunshine Welfare Offices, where they formerly (sic) discharged me from State wardship. It took the Senior Welfare Officer a mere 20 minutes to come clean, and tell me everything that my heart had always wanted to know...that I was of 'Aboriginal descent', that I had a Natural mother, father, three brothers and a sister, who were alive...He placed in front of me 368 pages of my file, together with letters, photos and birthday cards. He informed me that my surname would change back to my Mother's maiden name of Angus.^[46]

With every guided tour I took during my trip in the Land of Down Under, this subject matter was presented to us glossed over and then dropped as quickly as it was brought up so we could move on to more pleasant topics such as what the Aborigines have provided to Australia's culture. All I could think about was what these families had been put through all those years. It also reminded me of the USA's own dark tragedies with our government's history and treatment of our Native Americans and our period of African slavery.

In 2008, the Australian government has made an effort to publicly apologize to the Aborigines affected by this horrible government policy as noted in this BBC article.

Fall Recipes: Pumpkin Spice Lattes

One of my favorite parts about Fall is having a pumpkin spice latte! I was first introduced to this delicious concoction by Starbucks and probably spent at least $50.00 a week whenever their pumpkin spice latte season was in session. Then I moved to Japan where Starbucks didn't carry the pumpkin spice latte but instead served coffee jelly or a matcha frappuccino (just not the same). So after complaining of having pumpkin spice latte withdrawals, a friend of mine sent me this recipe! And they are delicious!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)

Directions:
In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don't have a blender, don't worry about it - just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.

Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.


And you can modify how much fat or sugar you want in your latte with this recipe!


Enjoy!

Discussion Question: Forgotten Garden (#4)

Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra all lose their birth mothers when they are still children. How are their lives affected differently by this loss? How might their lives evolved had they not had this experience?

We Interrupt this Program for a Crazy October!

Dear Friends,

October has been a crazy busy month!  I just wanted to take a minute to apologize for our absence these last few days.  We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming between today and tomorrow.

For those of you who are reading or have finished The Forgotten Garden, how are you enjoying it?


Discussion Question #4 tomorrow!

Editor's Pick Discussion Question #2

Chelsea's book is full of crazy encounters, mostly of her making, but sometimes not. They are all so ridiculous but plausible.

In your life so far, tell a story of a crazy situation or predicament and feel free to describe what your thoughts were at the time.

Here is mine:

A week or two ago, I got a huge box of pears. I do some canning and found a recipe for brandied pears. Three grocery stops later, I still couldn't find a bottle of brandy.
I met my knitting group that Saturday and was lamenting my woes when one of them said, "hey! there's a liquor store right next to the Waffle House!" I joked that if we find a bottle, it'll be covered in dust.
The Waffle House and Liquor store are separated by a parking lot that is also used for a seedy bar. This bar, I was told, "turned gay" after 10pm. I asked: "So what happens if you ordered a drink at 9:45 and are still sipping after 10? Is it like Cinderella's pumpkin and you are instantly transformed?"
The liquor store was also next to a tattoo shop that was closed at 8 on a Saturday. After seeing the location, this friend offered to go in with me.
Passing a few customers buying some Old Style and Keystone Light, I walked up to the counter where a young hispanic girl smiled and asked if she could help me. "Hi, I'm looking for brandy." She frowns at me and wrinkles her brow, "there's no brandy here."
" Wow. Really?" I was amazed that it was so archaic a beverage, a liquor store wouldn't have it. "Yes. There's no Brandy that works here."
Two seconds of me staring at her and then: "Oh, no, I mean the drink." She had no clue. So we looked around and eventually found a bottle. True enough, it had dust on it. Taking the bottle to the counter, I happened to notice a sketch book and a large photo book open next to the register. There was a half-sketched shark that wasn't too terribly done, compared to the photo in the book. A hispanic man appeared and sheepishly smiling, pulled the books off the counter to check me out. Once he did that, though, I saw that under the glass top of the counter was a large paper covered in a mural of sorts. "Oh my, a pregnant mermaid!" I exclaim. "And in-utero babies in bubbles!" My friend pointed out a woman with an octopus eating her head. Her arms flailing about futilely. A giant koi fish rounded out this bizzare and "clearly having fish-women issues" mural.
As we were ogling this scene, I looked up and asked the man if he did all this. "Yes." "Do you work next door?" I asked, referring to the tattoo shop.
"Oh no. I wish!" he answered.
I paid for the brandy, dusted it off and eventually made a few batches of brandied pears. I seriously considered getting him to sketch up some fish-women to label this batch. Ah, lost opportunities I guess.

Cancer Awareness: October Giveaway

We've all seen the pink ribbons... they are everywhere this month as October is Breast Cancer awareness month. They are on bumper stickers of cars, food products in the grocery store, on NFL players' jerseys during their games on Sunday and Monday nights, etc. You can even buy kitchen appliances in pink to honor your loved ones!

But did you know that there are many other cancer colored ribbons out there? Check out the chart below.

Cancer seems to have affected so many of us in so many ways, and it hasn't always been through just breast cancer. So with that in mind, the Ladies in Waiting Book Club has decided to dedicate our giveaway this month to the men, women, and children who have had the unfortunate circumstance of being struck with cancer, no matter what kind. In order to enter, just submit the names of your loved ones to us - whether they are survivors, current patients, or those that have passed on so that we can honor and memorialize them on our site.

To Enter Giveaway:

• Submit the name of your loved ones in the comments area.  If you feel comfortable, you may share the type of cancer, your relationship with the person, and any other details you would like us to know about your loved one.
• The LiWBC will add these names to our site.
• A randomly chosen participant will be chosen at the close of the month for a giveaway prize.

While we are on the topic, the movie 50/50 was recently released - definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it. It is based on a true story by Will Riser and very well done. Check out the following website for more info: http://www.50-50themovie.com/

Also, check out the American Cancer Society's website for more information on cancer including ways to prevent cancer or the spread of cancer, and ways to help defeat this terrible disease: http://www.cancer.org/

Friday Movie: Jane Eyre

I loved this book and I also have loved every movie version. All movie versions, however, have one big flaw. Jane was supposed to be a plain looking girl. No matter how they try, the actresses always are just a little too pretty to come off as unattractive. The first version I saw was this one: There's a new version that I have not yet seen but looks like a more darker twist (to an already dark story). Looks good to me!

Discussion Question: Forgotten Garden (#3)

How might Nell's choice of occupation have been related to her fractured identity?

Fall Recipes: Apple Squares

Growing up in New York, apples are abundant in the fall. And to me, this recipe is my grandmother, my mother and fall all wrapped up in one delicious treat.

I made them for friends a few years ago, and they had never had them before. So I wondered if it was a regional thing, like salt potatoes. But then I asked another friend who spent her entire life in central New York, and she was also not in the know about apple squares.

I don't know how or why my grandmother started making them, but I know my mother would make them because they were easier -- to make and to eat -- than a pie. And so I present apple pie in "brownie" form, straight from my family recipe book.

Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup shortening

Mix together -- add a little milk or water for consistency. Cut in half and roll out. (Or you can cheat, which is what I usually do and buy the refrigerated dough at the grocery store.) Place in bottom of sided cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, just until golden.

Peel and slice a large bowl of apples -- more if you want thicker squares, less if you want them thinner. (I used a mixture of three Honeycrisp and three Empire apples.) Mix with cinnamon, sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Spread apple mixtures over bottom crust.

Roll out remaining crust and cover apples. Bake at 350 degrees until brown on top.

Let cool and top with a glaze of confectioners sugar, water, and 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Crafty Ladies: Knit yourself a Fall Scarf

Many of you may recall the post about the traveling scarf. This cooler weather has inspired me to try to inspire you towards knitting a scarf for either yourself or a loved one. Here are a few pictures of my creations. This is a ruffly scarf I'm still working on but is much, much longer now. This is a lacy one that was my first project with my handspun wool. If you aren't feeling like a scarf or would like a more practical gift, one of my favorite patterns for getting rid of scrap yarn is a swiffer sweeper. I've made several. You mop/sweep the floor, then unbutton it and toss it in the wash! These swiffer sweeper patterns can be found in the Mason-Dixon Knitting book.

Editor's Pick Book: Are You There God, It's Me, Chelsea. Discussion Question 1

I am about halfway through this book and I hope you all are okay with the crazyness of this author. She is quite graphic but funny most of the time. I think she suceeds in offending and making me laugh at the same time. Sometimes things are just plain offensive though. If you are reading along, how do you like the book so far? Is it a nice distracting read or just a little too much?

The Forgotten Garden: Discuss With Us (#2)

Did Hugh and Nell make the right decision when they kept Nell? Why or why not?

Friday Movie: The Secret Garden

This is the version of this story I always watched. I always wanted a garden like the one in this movie. Beautiful, quiet, fruitful even when neglected all this time. Little Mary has such a wild, big heart. Her tragedy was ignored when she arrived at the big mysterious house. And naturally, she pitched a fit. But she soon learns how to value real things and is able to use that knowledge to help another. If I am ever blessed with a little girl, I hope she has the heart that Mary has in this story.

The Forgotten Garden: Discuss With Us (#1)

On the night of her 21st birthday, Nell's father, Hugh, tells her a secret that shatters her world as she knows it.  Was Hugh right to tell her about her past?  How might Nell's life have turned out differently had she not discovered the truth?

Fall Recipes: Cream Cheese Frosted Pumpkin Cake

This is a yummy favorite given to me by my mother in law.  It's rich and delicious!

Ingredients for cake:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 - 15oz. can of pumpkin
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and pumpkin until smooth and fluffy.  A mixer is preferred.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
• Stir slowly into pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.
• Spread batter into an ungreased jelly roll pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

After cake is cool, add cream cheese frosting.  Recipe below.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese frosting:

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1/4 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Tip: I double this recipe for my frosting loving husband.  ;o)

Directions:

• Cream together cheese and softened butter.  
• Stir in vanilla.
• Add sugar a little at a time, beating until smooth.  A mixer is recommended.

Enjoy this fall favorite!

October Roll Call: Who Is Reading With Us?

Happy Autumn, everyone!  I hope you've picked up your copy of The Forgotten Garden and have started reading.  Join our roll call if you're reading along with us this month.  Post your response to the following questions in the comment section! :-)

1. Name
2. Location
3. What is your favorite fairy tale or childhood story?
4. What is your favorite thing about fall?
5. Do you have any plans for Halloween?

Happy Reading!