The frozen sea within us

A quotation I just read: Franz Kafka said, "A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us."

Which makes me think: Speak for yourself, Franz Kafka! For me, it's the opposite: a book must be the cool shower of thought which makes sense of the wildfires of chaotic feeling.

That might be a muddy sort of metaphor... And yes, I respond mostly to the art, emotion, and passion of a novel rather than its rationality, but reason is the key to communication.


Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Margarita Puddings

I am sitting in a doctor's waiting room reading the November 2012 issue of "Chatelaine" - a Canadian magazine, one I've always liked. On page 110 there's a delicious-looking photo of a scrumptious dessert in a glass, with the promising label, "Margarita Pudding, p. 233."

So I turned to page 233 so I could copy the recipe, and discovered that some unspeakable fiend has already torn out that page, along with the tempting recipe on p. 232 for Crazy-Good Cilantro Soup.

Am I going to have to buy my very own copy of Chatelaine?

Or, more probably, find it in the public library?

Hungry now.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Presents under the tree...

I was listening to CBC radio for a while today, and there was an item about Christmas, and gift-giving, especially for children. One woman had a suggestion that I liked; that each child understands that he or she will get four presents:

Something you want
Something you need
Something to wear
Something to read

Of course, I would always say the "something I want" and the "something to read" were the one and the same.

They didn't mention Christmas stockings, but I think that should be for edibles, mostly: candy and oranges. But I will never forget the Christmas I was three, when a small bear named Brownie was looking out of the top of my stocking on Christmas morning. It was love at first sight.