Happy Fourth of July!

We are celebrating with hamburgers and watermelon!

Love Cracker Jacks & Cotton Candy!

Hi everyone, I tried to post several times in the last few weeks, but blogger didn't work. I just reset my password, & whala, it worked. Did not want to read last book, as it sounded too scary. Didn't want nightmares, as my own city, Fall River, Ma used to have Lincoln Park....rides, rollercoster, etc. while growing up. I didn't get to read the book before that, but would not ever want to be in the position as those 2 girls with the abortion or no abortion issue. Anyway, no one mentioned cotton candy. I actually bought myself a little cotton candy machine years ago & made cotton candy a few times, but stopped as sugar is bad for you. My best memories to going to high school in another state, was leaving school for the day & seeing the truck with the man inside ,that made cotton candy parked outside the school. He always gave me the largest amount of everyone. I don't know why & when kids asked to have some of mine, I always shared. I still wish that I could thank the man as an adult for doing that. Besides being starved, I always appreciated the extra special treatment & the extra special treat. Toby

My favorite treat!

Let's share some Cracker Jacks!

Windy City ~ hot dog!

Hi, Marylyn! Let's tour the Fair while we're waiting for the others. Maybe that's where they've all gone, anyway! Take the tour.

Wow! That was fun. The author Hamlin Garland wrote a letter to his parents in 1893 saying, "Sell the cookstove if necessary and come. You must see the fair." Maybe that's what I should "send" to all the Book Buddies. Whadda ya think?

Windy City

Where is everyone? I brought some Chicago style Hot Dogs. perfect for the worlds fair!

Hello

Checking in once again with hopes of seeing lots of post. Nope none! Who is reading what or is everyone busy with other projects. At the monent I have finished a quilt I started three years ago, infact I am using it on the bed. Light weight for summer,crazy bright colors, no padding just front done with some old material I matched with other squares. My sewing is not like the professionals but I like the thought it is done.
Caboose

Hi, everybuddy!

Welcome back, Caboose and Marylyn! And welcome for your very first visit to Essencia Island, Masha, as our very FIRST author ever! Have you run into Fiona? I know I saw her earlier, but I don't know where she went.

Would anybuddy like to try one of these strawberry-brie bruschettas?

Konichiwa (Good day in Japanese)

How is everyone? It has been a while, I hope to be able to catch on with next months book. I have missed reading along with my Buddies so much. I am in Okinawa right now have been here for 5 weeks and have just over one more before I head back to Korea. For those that don't know Okinawa is one of the lower Japanese Islands. It is pretty warm and humid here. When I was here a while back this is where I first started drinking Coffee which is why I prefer it cold, even in the winter (there is no winter in Okinawa).

I didn't start drinking coffee until I was well over 30 and when I did it was Georgia Coffee. I love it more than Starbucks. It is made by Coke but you can only get it in Japan:-( So I have been over indulging to say the lest. Well If you like Coffee please try one of these.

Marylyn

Hello everyone

Sometimes I feel so sorry for my computer I am such a (cluts, correct spelling?) on here. Today it took me almost 30 minutes to figure out just what I was doing wrong to get back into Essencia Island. Well, finally I made it, thank goodness for me that I am persistent with my wants…LOL…Now that all new bees know I am a fun person who can laugh at herself I want to say HELLO and hope to keep up with you. Knowing my nickname is Caboose will give you another clue to my mentality. Good food pictures make me hungry and where is a wild looking man to help me on the camel, heck I have problems walking and chewing gum at the same time. On a more serious note, keep in mind I am opinionated with 64 years of creating thought not just for me but for friends and family too. Lets keep the good times rolling and read to learn have fun and discuss issues.
Caboose

Peeking In

Hi Bonnie and all,

Just peeking in my head to say thanks so much for reading Camel, and to comment that I LOVE these camel pictures. I think I've always had this thing about camels. I remember, many years ago, visiting the camel market in Cairo and really falling in love with the beasts.

Good news about the REAL camel library -- they've begun to raise money for a project I love, which is getting local people to collect and write the traditional stories, which will then be inexpensively published so that new readers can read about their own culture and past. I think it is a great way to incorporate the old and the new, and that Fiona -- especially as she grew by the end of the story -- would have appreciated it.

Okay, get back to your snacks! Best, and thanks, Masha

Hello, Alison and Ellen and Fiona!

I've brought some small toasted bread bowls filled with spinach dip in one, chili in another, and ... hmmm ... I forget what's in that third one. You can load the dip onto one of Ellen's Fritos, if you like, or tear off pieces of the bread bowls for dipping.

Oh, look, here's Fiona! And I think I saw some camels earlier, though I'm not sure any of them were Siti.

What would you like to drink, Fiona?

Mmm--

If I bring some artichoke dip and fritos can I have a few shrimp?

Is Anyone Here?

I'm just relaxing with a virgin pina colada and some cocktail shrimp, waiting to find out which book we'll be reading in June. Does anyone want to join me?

Those pesky camels

Once upon a time, in the days when Aunty Mame** lived among us, she ordered a book for our monthly discussion. Time for discussion arrived, but the book didn't. AuntyMame decided the delivery system must be using camels, and slow camels at that. Thereafter, anytime something was slow in arriving, AuntyMame would send out her own cyber camel to investigate the delays. Eventually, we had camels running all over the world, attempting to get books from one book buddy to another and from a bookseller to any of us. I seem to remember that some of our camels may have had names, but what they might have been I cannot say.

Came the time when we got curious about our camel delivery service and investigated camels and their habits. Camels, we learned, come in two varieties: one-hump camels and two-hump camels. I don't know about the rest of the buddies, but I decided the two-hump variety (bactrian camel, shown here) looked slower ... ha ... THAT must be the reason we weren't getting our books on time! Detouring by their home in the Gobi Desert didn't speed things up, either. (AuntyMame, if you read this, please correct mistakes caused by my faulty memory.)
__________

** AuntyMame was the colorful character who usually arrived at our parties via flying carpet. The trouble was that AuntyMame could not always control her carpet and would arrive with a loud THUMP, shouting "Ouch!" as the carpet swerved into the side of ... say ... the Tuscan villa where we partied after reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Does anybuddy remember that? Our descriptions of meeting in the huge library room of that (cyber) house, complete with a table big enough for all book buddies to sit around it, was so convincing that someone who discovered our posts a few weeks later mentioned she probably couldn't afford to fly to Italy with us to party! Woo-hoo! Neither could we! Our transportation was mostly by magic carpets, imaginations, and slow camels.

Fi and Siti

This just in ... Fiona Sweeney, of Camel Bookmobile fame, says she can't party until later this month. So when the end of May rolls around, we'll party with Anna and Cerise, the ladies of Windfalls, and with Fi and Matani and Neema and Kanika and Scar Boy and the other villagers of Mididima.

I've heard tell that Siti, the leader and load camel, will also be there. It will be up to us to check out the rumor that she is possessed by the spirit of Mr. Abasi's own departed mother.

One word of encouragement, those so inclined may want to bring along any spare paper you have lying around the house. I hear that Scar Bbb... uh, I mean, Taban ... has run out of paper again.

And for others, you may want to contribute to the ACTUAL camel bookmobile operating in Kenya. Here's how to donate to the camel bookmobile.

Extra incentive to attend our next party: Bonnie ... and maybe others? ... will tell you all about the camels sitting grandly in the history of the Book Buddies. Put on your thinking caps, everybuddy, and try to remember all you can about those errant camels, Bactrian and ... hmmm, what was the other kind? ... oh, yeah, Dromedary. Siti (aka, Mr. Abasi's mother) would be a Dromedary. When you plan what food to bring to the party, don't forget something for Siti to nibble.

Ellen D.

Mmm. Just came by for a bite...didn't bring anything. I hope this cheese ball hasn't been sitting out too long, but I just got my book. Off to read....

Another cheese ball

Oh, look! Raz's wife, who is the daughter of an Iranian-Kurdish mother and a Pakistani-American father, brought another cheese ball. She says it's a mango chutney cheese ball. Mary, does this look like the one your friend makes?













And her husband's right behind her bearing cheese and crackers. Hi, Raz! Is that brie in the middle? Yes? Oh, I love brie and camembert.

What's that? Oh, David Ben Shoushan, father of Ruti, says he has brought some KOSHER cheese. Perfect!

Now where IS everybuddy?

Chutney Cheese Balls

Jackie's Recipe for Chutney Cheese Balls:

Jackie said, "It is one of the very best cheeseballs I have ever tasted! Just for me I make smaller balls and freeze them."

Mix well 24 ounces Cream Cheese
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Raisins, chopped
1 cup Salted Peanuts, chopped
8 slices Bacon, cook very crisp, drain well, and crumble (or buy the real bacon bits)
1/2 cup Green Onion, chopped, tops, also
4 tsp. Curry Powder, adjust to your own taste

Shape into large balls. Wrap and refrigerate. Before serving, top with Chutney. Sprinkle with Coconut and Parsley. Serve with Unsalted Crackers.

This is a friend's recipe that I first had this past week at a Girls Reunion of my high school friends. It as just delish! Wish I had a picture to post here.

Which one of the People of the Book might bring this to the party? Let's eat it spread on the crackers that Bonnie brought!

These crackers ...

Toby, I googled "crackers" and found these here, but it's impossible to tell which kind are pictured. Did I just advertise somebody's wares? But they do look tasty. Now I have a craving for something like that, and all I've got at home is saltines! Let's have some party veggies instead, shall we?

crackers

No, Bonnie, the crackers look delicious. What kind are they?