Book or Nook?

Super Hubs loves his Nook, and he’s been trying to get me to change teams. But I won’t budge. Reading the Nook makes me feel like I’m cheating on the library. I understand all the benefits. It’s light and portable and can fit in my purse. I can upload it with e-books and take it on our annual beach vaca, instead of packing the usual eleven hardcovers that weight down our car. It’s current and trendy. I get all that. I really do. But can you read it in the bathtub? I think not.

The Nook reminds me of Rosie, The Jetson’s robotic housekeeper. She was able-bodied and efficient, and got the job done. But Rosie had no soul. That’s what an E-reader lacks for me.

Real books have souls. They have artful covers which attract me, and a comfortable, musty smell like a grandmother’s attic. They become soft and and worn with time and love. They exude a sense of history; the gift inscription from a mentor, the pencil scribbling on p.36 from my eighteen-month old, the water stains from an accidental dunking. They fill my book shelves, adding a colorful, homey coziness to my house and giving people a sense of who we are by what we read. They are friendly for a snuggle under the covers.

My first book collection ever was my Nancy Drew mysteries. I shelved with pride every new yellow-spined addition to my collection from the time I was eight years old. I still have that collection sitting on the top shelf of my current bookcase. It’s “priceless” to me. I feel an an emotional connection to a real book, and that’s the key difference.I feel no emotional connection whatsoever to the Nook. We can’t ever be friends.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Kindles and Nooks are incredible inventions. If only I’d thought of them first I’d be blogging their praises from my beach house in Maui. They have their place in current culture for sure. I will use one when I travel. But there’s no contest between a Nook and a Book. It’s like choosing between a digital pet and my sweet cat, Peppermint.

I’d love to pontificate some more, but I’m off. I have a yummy hard-covered mystery I’m dying to finish. Pardon me while I grab a cup of Earl Grey and dive in.

Love Is....

It’s been a week of L-O-V-E, and these are the highlights.

Last Friday, I went with my Valentine for some OUTREACH LOVE to a Fundraiser Dinner at my Jesuit priest bro’s school. He is the founder and president of this college-prep school for inner city high school students in the south side of Chicago. What a gracious display of love to see over 500 people gathered together to support these kids! The event coordination was astounding, as this school was transformed into a banquet hall of beauty. Everything was top-notch, from the valet parking to the beautifully decorated gym, transformed into an elegant dining room, complete with gorgeous centerpieces and place settings. The cafeteria became a quaint lounge, with an entertaining jazz band and drinks donated by the Wirtz family, owners of the Black Hawks.

We sat for dinner with my parents, dined on beef medallions, and browsed the items for auction. We met some amazing people, danced, bid, laughed, and had an incredible time. In the end, over $300,000 was raised for the school on this evening. My bro was overwhelmed by the generous support. That’s him in the pic, dancing with his (slightly older) sis.

The next evening was a night of FOOD LOVE. My new cooking club and I gathered together and chopped, sauteed and baked away to some jazzy tunes and lots of laughter. We shared delicious hummus, soups, popovers, caprese, brownies and bread pudding. I made some new friends and look forward to our event next month. There’s nothing finer than Girlfriend Time, when accompanied by good food and wine and uncensored conversation.

But nothing beats FAMILY LOVE. Since we had a full weekend, we stayed in for Valentine’s Day, and shared a “red” meal with the boys. I go a little crazy on the holiday, sprinkling candy hearts and pink confetti on every available table top. My oldest son gave me a pound of my favorite Junior Mints. My youngest proudly presented me with the tiny heart pillow he sewed with the help of my mother. And my husband........I’ll just say that he was overly generous and upstaged my gift-giving by leaps and bounds, as is usual.

Wishing you lots of love in your life, my friends!

What?? I Swear I'm Behaving!

Super Hubs and I have season tickets to the theater. The first show of the year happened to fall on Super Bowl night, which we didn’t realize until several days before. I got a lot of razzing from friends for “dragging” my husband away from the game, but here’s the reality: He didn’t mind because the Bears weren’t playing. And Super Hubs is a rarity in that he’s a straight man who loves musical theater. In particular, he loves "Guys and Dolls." He’s is my kind of guy, and I’m his doll, and I love being married to a man that sits beside me at the theater while everyone else is in front of the tube.

My parents also have season tickets to the same shows on the same evenings. We requested the same night as they, thinking it would be a fun date night out together. And it was. My parents’ reserved seats were exactly two rows behind ours. We met beforehand and chatted, and then Super Hubs and I had our alone time and space in our seats, and they had theirs.

What I didn’t anticipate, however, is how having my parents sit two rows behind me made me behave better than I normally would. It wasn't their issue; they are very nice people. But I mentally morphed into an 8yo, feeling self-conscious when I stretched out in my seat or whispered to my husband. And then there was the glass of wine I had at Intermission during "Guys and Dolls." My parents ended up staying in their seats during the break. But Super Hubs and I sipped our wine surreptitiously behind a pole near the bar, anxious that my parents would see us and judge us as sinful for drinking on a Sunday. Again, it’s not my parents’ fault. In fact, my dad would probably order a beer and join us. It was just an example that I am completely neurotic.

Super Hubs and I went to a movie a few years back that was rated R. Our former pastor and his wife happened to sit directly behind us. I kept fearing I'd suddenly develop Turrets or have an epic popcorn spill. And during the “intimate” love scene, I wanted to hide under my seat. It felt as if God was sitting behind us with furrowed brow.

In any case, I absolutely love having season tickets to a theater! It's great fun, and I look forward to the next performance. But I’m pondering if I should offer my parents our seats next time, and we’ll sit behind them. That might cure at least a bit of my self-consciousness.

Snowpocalyse

I’m battening down the hatches and doing a lil Blizzard Baking today. We’re expecting a Snowpocalyse in Chicago, and that’s snow joke!

I usually don’t do a whole lot of weather-fretting. I don’t even remember the legendary blizzard of ‘99. I have absolutely no recollection of it at all, so it must not have been more than a blip in my week that year. Our power lines are underground so they are rarely impacted by the weather. But I’m thinking today, what if the power goes out? What will we eat? And that thought led me to drag out the bread machine and make peasant bread.....which inspired me to make two dozen corn muffins....which gave me a yen to bake brownies....and then I experimented with a new beignet recipe, frying up 32 little fritters (minus the four that I ate with my coffee). One baking idea just snowballed into another.

Today would have been my grocery shopping day, so I don’t have tons of food items in the house. But if worse comes to worse, we can always survive on my baked goods and peanut butter for a week. Plus we have cereal. And some garlic croutons. Then there’s the pet food......in other words, we have quite a few edible options before we resort to cannibalism.

My boys are hoping for a Snow Day tomorrow, and I am assuming they’ll be off. Super Hubs thinks his place of work will shut down at noon, bringing him home by train from the city around 3ish. We may have a cozy couple’a days with a fire on the hearth and some lovely family time.

The pets are already prepping. The cats are cozying up in the afghan, and Rex is sunbathing on his rock, the lucky dude. And the dog....he’s just happy snuggled at my feet.

Snowmaggedon away. I'm ready!