"Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants"

I recently finished reading "Rats" by Robert Sullivan. What an interesting topic to do research on, especially one that has such a social stigma attached to it. Honestly, who wants to hang out with rats all night? The author had a good point, anyone who lives/lived in a larger metropolitan city has a rat story. I know I have at least 3 that I can think of, each occurring in different cities. One in Portland, another in downtown Chicago and the third, in the alley behind my old apartment building in Forest Park. Rats are everywhere and the author does compare them to humans and how we do the same as them, just on a larger scale. We take over an area, feed on its' resources until they're all gone and move on to another location. Problem with rats is that their resources are always being replenished (our garbage).

I hadn't realized the money and effort that go into "pest control." Simply amazing. I really enjoyed this book and cant' wait to experience my next rat encounter!

Up Next: "The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America" by Russell Shorto.

Denied!

Kevin and I had tickets to go see David Gray last night at the Theater of the Clouds at the Rose Garden. Much to our dismay, after traveling to the arena and having dinner we find that the show was "postponed" due to illness. I guess I can get a refund for the tickets or wait and see when they reschedule the show. A total bummer! I was looking forward to it. I do have his most recent album "Slow Motion" and do enjoy the album, although not as much as his previous 2 albums. Hopefully the reschedule will be at a time that both Kevin and I can go!

Let's get cooking!

I finally got around to taking a cooking class that Kevin bought for me for Christmas. I chose to take a 3 hour class on Chinese Appetizers. I learned how to make egg rolls, won tons and crab rangoon. My favorites were the won tons with their fresh ginger flavor and of course, the crab rangoon. I found out that preparation for the egg rolls takes a ridiculously long time! Simpler is better in my opinion. I think i'll make the won tons and crab rangoon sometime, maybe for when I go home for Christmas! Below is the quick and easy recipe for the crab rangoon.

Crab Rangoon:
Ingredients:
1 package won-ton wrappers
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 pound chopped crab meat
3-4 stalks of green onion, chopped
3 dashes of garlic salt (or powder)

Directions: Mix ingredients together thoroughly. Place 1/2 - 3/4 tsp in each wrapper. Fold over and seal with water. Deep fry in oil over high heat until light brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Serve with sweet & sour sauce. Makes about 60-70 pieces.

Enjoy!

The Oregon Coast, Part II

Back in May I went to the Oregon Coast with Kevin and his sister and brother-in-law. We mainly stayed in the Central Coast area and ventured a little further north to Cannon Beach, OR. This past weekend my Mom was in town and we started our weekend at Cannon Beach as well. This time we spent a lot more time shopping (I got a great photograph of the coast for cheap) and a little time walking on the beach while it gently rained on us. Of course the star attraction at Cannon Beach is Haystack Rock, a 235 feet tall monolith and marine garden. If this rock formation looks familiar even though you haven't been there, then you must have seen "The Goonies." This beach, and big rock, was the site of the final scene of the movie, the one where the pirate ship comes out of the cave. This was my Mom's first trip to see the Pacific Ocean so it was pretty exciting to show her the beach.

After spending most of the day in Cannon Beach we drove north on Highway 101 to Astoria, Oregon. We visited Fort Clatsop, the camping location of the Lewis & Clark party during the winter of 1805-1806. Unfortunately, the park had a fire in the main attraction, the replica of the fort that the party stayed in. Needless to say, we didn't get to see much there but did manage to take a nature walk and tour the museum. On Sunday, we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum, the Flavel House, and the Astoria Column. These are the three main attractions in Astoria, the first permanent settlement west of the Mississippi. In typical Astoria fashion, it rained most of our stay here but decided to clear up just in time for us to catch the great views of the Columbia River, the town of Astoria and the Pacific Ocean from the Column atop the highest hill in Astoria.

I had a great weekend with my Mom and got to see some new places in Oregon. I hope to get to see more of Washington too.

"Interpreter of Maladies"

"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri is a wonderful collection of short stories all of which revolve around the Indian culture. My favorite short story was "This Blessed House" where a newly married (arranged) couple move into a house together and the wife (Twinkle) finds all these Christian artifacts hidden all around the house that she insists on displaying, even though they are not Christian. The culmination of the story is when they have their house warming party and the guest go on a search of the attic for more Christian treasures when they find a bust of Christ himself! I absolutely loved this story.

This book was truly a pleasure to read, including both sad and heart warming stories. I have read another of her books, "The Namesake," and loved it equally as much.

Next up: "Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants" by Robert Sullivan. An interesting non-fiction study on rats! How great is that?!