Friday, February 8

Book Recommendation & an Extra


Update below!
a long way gone.....Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Not an easy read by any means; Ishmael Beah fought a war in Sierra Leone as a child. What he and his friends saw; what they were forced to do is absolutely unthinkable for an adult, let alone a young child.

Ishmael, who was 26 when the book was published in 2007, "tells a powerfully gripping story: At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, and finally, to heal." (from the book cover)

While the story is harsh and we don't want to believe what is happening, we see that, in the end, there is a silver lining and many of the young men who were forced by circumstances to participate in the horrible war were able to be rehabilitated. Beah is a real success story!

My daughter was fortunate enough to hear this young man speak in Washington, DC, and she lent the book to me. It is a worthwhile read.

*************

I was going to do another separate post and title it "I Was a Thai Food Virgin" (until today)but I decided to tack it on to the bottom of this one. Today I met Tiff for lunch at Champa Thai in Brier Creek Shopping Center, and it was good! The coconut soup was excellent; in fact I could have enjoyed a BIG bowl of that with maybe a spring roll or two. I had Shrimp Pad Thai, which was good also. I think I'll be going back there with mr. kenju, and sampling the catfish or tilapia. Yuuuummmmmm........I wonder what the calorie content is? Maybe I shouldn't ask.....LOL.

After lunch I went to TJMaxx (my favorite haunt) and Home Goods, where I found a new set of sheets for my guest room. Don't you want to come visit and sleep on the new 460 count sheets? Last time I bought 400 count......I guess I'm going to march up the thread count ladder slowly. The guest room bed also has new shams, all blue and white Jacobean designs....just lovely. Now if I could only find new curtains and get the room recarpeted.......
Update: I am certain now that none of you would want to come and stay in the guest room because of what happened after dinner. I was running a load of clothes through the washer (including the new sheets) and cleaning up after our meal. The sinks all of a sudden began to fill with icky looking water, so I ran for the guest bathroom to get the plunger and that's when I discovered a floor full of even more yucky water and a toilet still overflowing. The dirty water was also rising in the bathtub. I put down about 30 towels, but it is an awful mess. We have a call in to the plumber, but I suspect it is a backed-up septic system. Arrrrrgggh! We may have asked for it. We've lived here for over 25 years and the septic tank has never been cleaned out. We don't even know exactly where it is. I may cry myself to sleep tonight.

19 comments:

Shephard said...

Judy, I was kinda worried about Thai food too, because it's one of my favorites, but toconut milk is high in saturated fat, most of that comes from lauric acid, which has been shown in more than 60 studies to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease!!!

And guess where I got THAT info from? You guessed... the book I recommended this week: "Eat This, Not That." It has a section on Thai Food.

~S

Anonymous said...

You definitely do not want to know the calorie count on coconut milk soup- it's delicious but:

Per serving: 846 Calories (kcal); 81g Total Fat; (80% calories from fat);
26g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 58mg Cholesterol; 103mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 14
1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

;-)


Okay- this book is at the top of my list. I have a border's coupon so I'll pick it up tomorrow. Thank you!

Star said...

I love Thai food. Our new favorite place is an Asian Fusion restaraunt.

Michael K. Althouse said...

Your guest room sounds very inviting. As for the book, I have not read that one, but I am aware of the atrocities it recounts. Tragic, hard to believe, but true nonetheless.

Michele sent me today,

Mike

Anonymous said...

MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! Thai is our favorite!!!

That book sounds like a fascinating book, especially since it is written by someone who had firsthand experience.

Anonymous said...

Judy,

I would love to come to your guest room and try out those sheets. I just know they are as smooth as silk.

Quite a change from what I have. You see, I have to use a lot of skin lotion and after I pour that stuff all over my body and get in bed, I keep slipping out and find myself on the floor a lot.

So, I had to buy cordoroy sheets and pillow cases so I could gain a little traction and stay in the bed all night. They keep me in bed but they are very noisy when I turn over and wake me up constantly.

Yes, your 460 sheets sound like Heaven to me.

How's next Tuesday night?

OldHorsetailSnake said...

I love Thai food, but my partner cannot eat anything spicy, not even remotely. So, send me some, okay? I won't share it, I promise.

sage said...

Hope your plumbing problems are solved quickly. The book sounds great and glad you discovered Thai food--I make Pad Thai, much to the disgust of several others here because when you put the fish sauce into a hot wok, it stinks up the house!

Anonymous said...

It is on my TBR pile. Your review has made me want to read it as soon as possible. After I finish American Gods.

Glad to see a great book review. Michele sent me your way. Glad she did.

Shelly said...

I would love to read it, I'll put it on the list.
Thai, yummm.
The sheets sound divine, I was thinking I need to update the our guestroom.
So sorry to hear about the plumbing issues! Oh man, the last time that happened here we had 4 houseguests, good thing those sheets aren't in use quite yet.

Anonymous said...

I just saw A Long Way Gone at Target. Will have to go back and get it now.
sorry to hear about your plumbing!
michele sent me

utenzi said...

Those sheets sound great, Judy, I'll be right over. :-)

I've not had Thai food in about a month but it's damn good eats. I do like Americanized Mexican food more tho. And your favorite food, Bo Jangles, is a favorite of mine too. Yum.

Evil Twin's Wife said...

Today must have been the day for Asian type foods.

I'm sorry about your plumbing problems. That must be going around too - you know I've been dealing with it here as well. YUCK.

carmilevy said...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the septic issue is minor and easily/inexpensively resolved. You deserve to not have to spend your weekend worrying about mucky things.

Michele agrees with me.

Dianne said...

Your guest room sounds inviting, I'd feel right at home.

Best of luck with the septic system - I truly feel for you.

I saw that young man on a few talk shows. He is captivating to listen to and a shining example of the survival of humanity.

His book is on my list. Thanks for the review.

bluemountainmama said...

'memoirs of a boy soldier' is on my to-read list. i'm looking forward to catching up on reading now that lil one is in school.

and yuck!! about the septic system. i hope you are able to get it resolved quickly.

craziequeen said...

Michele sent me to see what's been going on in Judy's life.....

I think I'll have to read that book! It sounds powerful - have you ever read Wild Swans by Jung Chang? Powerful and touching. Some people have such harsh lives - we have no idea.... :-))

I love Thai food. Speaking as a veggie, their deep fried veggie starter and pad preiw wan pak (sweet and sour vegetables) with egg-fried rice is absolutely my favourite food! :-))

I would come and hug you about your backed up septic tank - but...um....ewwwwwwwwwwww! :-((

cq

Beverly said...

Oh my. I'm so sorry about your plumbing problems.

When I lived in Haiti, I learned to drink coconut water. I don't like coconut, but when we were out in the country and couldn't trust the water, we would drink the "dlo kok."

Some of the people I worked with told me that during WWII in the south Pacific, the coconut water was used in iv's because of the nutritional content.

rennratt said...

I'm sorry about the plumbing issues! May they be quickly resolved and inexpensive!

Sorry I wasn't able to make it for lunch.

There's a great Vietnamese restaurant 'around the corner' from my office. Would you like to go there next time?