Too cute

My sister and I used to do this same thing.

And The Winner Is...

Confession: I have a bit of a love affair going on with the Pulitzer Prize. I'm not really sure when or why it happened, it's just one of those things. I'm especially fond of the fiction winner and a few years ago I took it upon myself to read all the past winners in fiction. I still have a few to go, but it has been a fun reading list.

2010's winners were announced today. The winner for fiction was Tinkers by Paul Harding. I've never heard of the author or the book, but it sounds interesting. From Booklist:

A tinker is a mender, and in Harding’s spellbinding debut, he imagines the old, mendable horse-and-carriage world. The objects of the past were more readily repaired than our electronics, but the living world was a mystery, as it still is, as it always will be. And so in this rhapsodic novel of impending death, Harding considers humankind’s contrary desires to conquer the “imps of disorder” and to be one with life, fully meshed within the great glimmering web. In the present, George lies on his death bed in the Massachusetts house he built himself, surrounded by family and the antique clocks he restores. George loves the precision of fine timepieces, but now he is at the mercy of chaotic forces and seems to be channeling his late father, Howard, a tinker and a mystic whose epileptic seizures strike like lightning. Howard, in turn, remembers his “strange and gentle” minister father. Each man is extraordinarily porous to nature and prone to becoming “unhitched” from everyday human existence and entering a state of ecstasy, even transcendence. Writing with breathtaking lyricism and tenderness, Harding has created a rare and beautiful novel of spiritual inheritance and acute psychological and metaphysical suspense

The books that were shortlisted are: Love In Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin. I'm not familiar with those two books and authors, either. So, I guess I know what to look for on my next trip to the library. I will read and report on them here. Happy reading!

Gingersnap!

I have always loved sweets. When I was a kid, there was a lot that I wouldn't eat, but usually anything with sugar in it was fair game. One sweet that I did not like was a gingersnap cookie. From time to time my mom would buy a bag of them - I remember they came in kind of a brown paper bag, and I hated them. They were hard and spicy and gross. Since we didn't usually have a lot of sweets in the house, I thought it was so unfair that she would buy cookies I didn't like.

A few years ago, I realized you could make your own gingersnaps that were much better than the store bought ones. Today, I was looking through my cookbook and came across a recipe for gingerbread cookies with chocolate. I had never made them before and couldn't even remember where the recipe came from, but since I had all the ingredients in my cupboard, I decided today was the day to try them.

Gingerbread Cookies With Chocolate

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup molasses
2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
sugar

Combine butter, molasses, and chocolate in a double boiler. Heat until the chocolate melts. Stir until smooth. Sift together the next six ingredients. Stir in melted chocolate mixture and milk. Chill until firm. Roll into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Here's the final result.



I am pleased that they turned out more cakey than snappy, and I must say that they are pretty tasty, too. Give them a try some time or come eat some of mine.

Happy Easter!

Today is Good Friday - a day to commemorate Jesus' death on the cross. I am often overwhelmed when I think about what He did for me. Thank you, Jesus.

In honor of Holy Week, I've been listening to a lot of Easter themed songs. One that I really love is called How Deep the Father's Love For Us.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.


Such beautiful words about sacrifice, forgiveness, and redemption.

The somberness surrounding the events of Good Friday are made bearable by the anticipation and joy that come on Easter morning when we celebrate Christ's resurrection. Since I won't be around my computer on Easter morning, I'm going to share this video now.