RECIPE: Jodi's Dip - Cowboy Caviar - Mexican Corn Dip

Cowboy Caviar

Mix together:
2 cans Mexicorn (or plain old corn if that's all you have...)
1 can Rotel (or a 4 oz. can of mild green chilis)
2 cups shredded cheddar
6 scallions, sliced
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream

Letting it sit overnight makes it even more divine, and using Big Frito Scoops are just perfection!

I call this Jodi's dip not because she created or made it, but because I make it for her and she loves it...although she doesn't want to know what's in it!!!

99. Scythe by Neil Shusterman

#1 Arc of a Scythe
read on my iPhone
2016 Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
435 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/10/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.36 - 55,325 ratings
My rating:  4.5

First line/s:  "We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill."

My comments:  How can you give a five rating to a book that is all about killing  A story that gives you the heebie-jeebies?  A tale that is unremitting in its darkness?  I don't think I can...quite. It's a clever story, and I couldn't wait to get back to it if I had to put it down, but it was....horrible, in its way.  A perfect world, like the world of The Giver, showing off huge chinks in the perfectness.  It makes me shudder.  Shusterman is quite a masterful writer.

Goodreads synopsis:  Thou shalt kill.
          A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
          Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

98. The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson

Listened on Audible
2018, Park Row
368 pgs.
Adult mystery
Finished 12/8/18
Goodreads rating:  3.63 - 1119 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary LA, CA

First line/s:  "The last time I saw my uncle, he bought me a dog."

My comments:  Although I had a pretty good idea of where this was all leading, it was fun following the path of crumbs.  Good story.

Goodreads synopsis:  A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness and a love of reading.
          Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She doesn't hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy--and one final scavenger hunt.
          When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books--now as its owner--she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store's shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy's last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy's past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda's mother has kept hidden--and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.
          Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdaysis a lyrical story of family, love and the healing power of community. It's a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to how our histories shape who we become.

POETRY - Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart selected by Mary Ann Hoberman

Illustrated by Michael Emberley
2012 Megan Tingley Books:  Little, Brown & Company
144 pages
Endpapers:  Lilac
Goodreads: 4.00 - 265 ratings

A lovely mixture of old and new poems.  Many favorites, some of which I've copied below:

Goodreads Summary:  When you learn a poem by heart, it becomes a part of you. You know it in your mind, in your mouth, in your ears, in your whole body. And best of all, you know it forever. 
From the creators of the bestselling You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series comes this new collection of poems especially suitable for learning by heart and saying aloud. With personal introductions by former Children's Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman -- as well as her own time-tested tips and tools for memorization and recitation -- and vivid illustrations by Michael Emberley featuring his trademark wit and lively characters, Forget-Me-Nots includes more than 120 works from both classic and contemporary poets, from childhood favorites to lesser-known treasures.
This anthology will inspire a love of learning poetry!

Sometimes

Sometimes I like to be alone

And look up at the sky

And think my thoughts inside my head ---

Just me, myself, and I

                                Mary Ann Hoberman

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

The Animal Store

If I had a hundred dollars to spend,

                Or maybe a little more,

I’d hurry as fast as my legs would go

                Straight to the animal store.

I wouldn’t say, “How much for this or that?”—

                “What kind of a dog is he?”

I’d buy as many as rolled an eye,

                Or wagged a taile at me!

I’d take the hound with the drooping ears

                That sits by himself alone,

Cockers and Cairns and wobbly pups

                For to be my very own.

I might buy a parrot all red and green,

                And the monkey I saw before,

If I had a hundred dollars to spend,

                Or maybe a little more.

                                Rachel Field

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Night

Stars over snow,

                And in the west a planet

Swinging below a star ---

                Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,

It is not far ---

                It never will be far.

                                Sara Teasdale

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Toad by the Road

I’m only a toad

By the side of the road,

Watching the world go by.

Some bustle and hurry.

Some bustle and scurry.

Some wiggle, flicker, or fly.

They come and they go

On their way to and fro.

But I’d rather sit and sing.

It’s a glorious day,

So I’m happy to stay

And savor the songs of spring.

                                Joanne Ryder

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

The Sun

I told the Sun that I was glad,

                I’m sure I don’t know why;

Somehow the pleasant way he had

                Of shining in the sky

Just put a notion in my head

                That wouldn’t it be fun

If, walking on the hill, I said

                “I’m happy” to the Sun.

                                John Drinkwater

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Things

Went to the corner

Walked in the store

Bought me some candy

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the beach

Played on the shore

Built me a sandhouse

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the kitchen

Lay down on the floor

Made me a poem

Still got it

Still got it

                                Eloise Greenfield

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?

                Neither I nor you;

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

                Neither you nor I;

But when the trees bow down their heads

                The wind is passing by.

                                Christina Rossetti

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night –

And I love the rain.

                                Langston Hughes

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and sky

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

                                Carl Sandburg

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

I Hear a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing

                In the dark of December

A magical thing

                And sweet to remember.

“We are nearer to Spring

                Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

                In the dark of December.

                                Oliver Herford

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

                                Robert Frost

POEM - A Poem for the Reader by Mary Ann Hoberman

A Poem for the Reader

You're on an adventure
About to start,
You're going to learn
Some poems by heart!
Short ones and long ones,
Old ones and new,
Happy ones, sad ones,
Some silly ones, too.
You'll pick out your favorites
From those that you've read
And invite them to live in
The house in your head.
This house is called Memory,
Everyone knows,
And the more you put in it,
The larger it grows.
The more that you give it,
The more it will give,
And your poems will live with you
As long as you live.

           ``Mary Ann Hoberman
              from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

2018 Golden Globes

We'll find out on January 6th which of these will win a Golden Globe:

Best Motion Picture

     Black Panther

     BlackKlansman

     Bohemian Rhapsody

     If Beale Street Could Talk- (not coming out until 12/14 and with limited release at that!)

     A Star is Born

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Crazy Rich Asians

     The Favourite (Although it came out on 11/23, it's a limited release and I've not seen it anywhere....)

     Green Book (Just came out)

     Mary Poppins Returns (coming out 12/19/18)

     Vice (Wide release on Christmas day)

Best Motion Picture - Animated

     Incredibles

     Isle of Dogs

     Mirai

     Ralph Breaks the Internet

     Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

     Capernaum

     Girl

     Never Look Away

     Roma

     Shoplifters

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

     Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born)

     Willem Defoe (At Eternity's Gate) (limited release 11/16 - about VanGogh)

     Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased)

     Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

     John David Washington (Blackkklansman)

Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Christian Bale (Vice)

     Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns)

     Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

     Robert Redford (The Old Man and the Gun)

     John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

     Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

     Timothee Chalamet (Beautiful Boy)

     Adam Driver (Blackkklansman)

     Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) (limited release on 10/19 - haven't seen it showing is this corner of the world....)

     Sam Rockwell (Vice)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

     Glenn Close (The Wife)

     Lady Gaga (A Star is Born)

     Nicole Kidman (Destroyer) (Limited release on Christmas day)

     Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

     Rosamund Pike (A Private War) (wide release 11/16, but not around here!)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

     Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns)     

     Olivia Colman (The Favourite)

     Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)

     Charlize Theron (Tully)

     Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

     Amy Adams (Vice)

     Claire Foy (First Man)

     Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

     Emma Stone (The Favourite)

     Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)

Best Director - Motion Picture

     Bradley Coopoer - A Star is Born

     Alfonso Cuaron - Roma

     Peter Farrelly - Green Book

     Spike Lee - BlacKkKlansman

     Adam McKay - Vice

97. Holy Ghost by John Sandford

Virgil Flowers #11
read on Audible borrowed from TPPL
2018 G P Putnam's Sons
373 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Series
Finished 12/3/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.21 - 8068 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary rural Minnesota

First line/s:  "Wardell Holland, the mayor of Wheatfield, Minnesota, was sitting in the double-wide he rented from his mother, a Daisy Match Grade pellet rifle in his hands, shooting flies."

My comments:  Hanging out with Virgil Flowers always leaves me in a happy place.  I love love love the way that Eric Conger reads these books.  I don't think reading them myself would be half as enjoyable.  Sometimes it seems like Virgil and his crew do more bumbling around that they should, but it always adds good reading and humor to the story.  This story had more sad killings than I would've liked, but kept me engrossed and interested from beginning to end.  Another good one, John Sandford.

Goodreads synopsis:  Pinion, Minnesota: a metropolis of all of seven hundred souls for which the word "moribund" might have been invented. Nothing ever happened there and nothing ever would—until the mayor of sorts (campaign slogan: "I'll Do What I Can") and a buddy come up with a scheme to put Pinion on the map. They'd heard of a place where a floating image of the Virgin Mary had turned the whole town into a shrine, attracting thousands of pilgrims. And all those pilgrims needed food, shelter, all kinds of crazy things, right? They'd all get rich! What could go wrong?
          When the dead body shows up, they find out, and that's only the beginning of their troubles—and Virgil Flowers'—as they are all about to discover all too soon.

PICTURE BOOK - Sonia Sotomayor: Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor

Illustrated by Lulu Delacre

2018 Philomel Books

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.31 - 209 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers: two dozen photos of Sotomayor through her life

1^st line/s:

My comments: Wornderful story, words and wording, AND illustrations. Truly a lovely book.  She attributes books and libraries ass the stepping stones on her life path….Nancy Drew and Lord of the Flies in particular.  She also highlights her love of family and her roots in Puerto Rico.

Goodreads:  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells her own story for young readers for the very first time!
          As the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor has inspired young people around the world to reach for their dreams. But what inspired her? For young Sonia, the answer was books! They were her mirrors, her maps, her friends, and her teachers. They helped her to connect with her family in New York and in Puerto Rico, to deal with her diabetes diagnosis, to cope with her father’s death, to uncover the secrets of the world, and to dream of a future for herself in which anything was possible.
          In Turning Pages, Justice Sotomayor shares that love of books with a new generation of readers, and inspires them to read and puzzle and dream for themselves. Accompanied by Lulu Delacre’s vibrant art, this story of the Justice’s life shows readers that the world is full of promise and possibility–all they need to do is turn the page.

MOVIE - The Girl in the Spider's Web

R

Wide/Limited release

Viewed Monday 11/19/18 at Carlisle in a recliner...by myself....
IMBd:  6.1/10

RT Critic: 41   Audience:  46
Critic's Consensus:  The Girl in the Spider's Web focuses on the action elements of its source material for a less complex -- and only sporadically effective -- franchise reboot.

Cag:  3/Liked it somewhat

Directed by Fede Alvarez

Columbia Pictures

Based on the book by Steig Larson/David Lagercrantz

Claire Foy

My comments:  There were so many improbabilities and unreasonable happenstances in this movie that it became more than ludicrous.  However, if you didn't think about all of them, it was and enjoyable couple of hours.....  The actress that played Lisbeth Salander did NOT do it for me.  At all.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials.

November 15th - First Snow of the Year

Okay, so I may hate winter, and snow, but I love poetry, and here's a poem that suits me really well...

A Poem for November 14th

from Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem foe Each Day of the Year selected by Fiona Waters.

POETRY - Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year selected by Fiona Waters

Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon

2018, Nosy Crow

HC $40.00

333 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.42 - 12 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers: Cut out oak leaves (from different papers) on white

My comments:  A gorgeously illustrated volume of nature poetry from authors old and new.  The cover doesn't do it justice.  Outstanding addition to any library - though extremely heavy, might be a bit difficult for a younger child to hold and covet....

January

January is

A clean white sheet, newly-ironed

An empty page:

A field of freshly-fallen snow

Waiting to be mapped

By our footsteps.

                        John Foster  

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you're in bed.

So ---
Keep a picture in your pcoket
and a poem in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.
       
           Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Goodreads:  Sing a Song of Seasons is a lavishly illustrated collection of 366 nature poems -- one for every day of the year. Filled with familiar favorites and new discoveries written by a wide variety of poets, including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Langston Hughes, N. M. Bodecker, Okamoto Kanoko, and many more, this is the perfect book for children (and grown-ups!) to share at the beginning or the end of the day.

96. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

#1 Raven Cycle
listened on Audible
2012 Scholastic
409 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 11/14/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.06 - 198,743 ratings
My rating:  5
Setting:  Contemporary Henrietta, Virginia

First line/s:  "Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."

My comments:  Read on the drive home from Maine, through actual sleet and snow and rain and it was the perfect book to listen to on this particularly arduous journey, lol.  It was so good.  I loved the elements of magic, the otherwordly "stuff" that become reality.  I have really good pictures in my mind of the four boys, but the picture of Blue, the female protagonist, is hazier.  I really hope I get more insight into her in the next books - which I hope I can get my hands on asap!

Goodreads synopsis:  “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
          It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
          Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
          His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
          But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
          For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
          From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

MOVIE - Bohemian Rhapsody

PG-13 (2:14)

Wide Release 11/2/18

viewed 11/12/18 in Bangor with Fran

RT Critic: 62   Audience:   91
Critic's Consensus:  Bohemian Rhapsody hits a handful of high notes, but as an in-depth look at a beloved band, it offers more of a medley than a true greatest hits collection.

Cag:  5.5 I loved it AND it was awesome

Directed by Bryan Singer

20th Century Fox

Rami Malek!

My comments:  What a fantastic movie.  Great casting, fantastic music (pretty much all the original Queen). I could see this over and over- totally delightful. Rami Malek was EXCEPTIONAL!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. In the process, cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

95. The Dry by Jane Harper

#1 Aaron Falk
listened on Audible
2016 MacMillan Australia
352 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 11/9/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.04 - 88,986 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Australian boonies

First line/s:  "It wasn't as though the farm hadn't seen death before, and the blowflies didn't discriminate."

My comments:  It was fun being transported to Australia - and I must admit it took a bit of time to get used to the reader's Aussie accent.  Excellent story, mostly dark and sad.  This is Aaron Falk's story - the story of his childhood, his friendships, his past.  That he also becomes the chief investigator, the mystery-solver is a nice plus.  I look forward to reading the next in the series because we've gotten to know Aaron Falk so well, where does his life go from here?

Goodreads synopsis:  A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.    
          In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.          
          Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier. 
          But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds in bleed into new ones.