Is this December in Minnesota?

The evening air was a pleasant 43 degrees with little wind and no sign of snow.

Besides the Twilight Zone feeling (is this really Minnesota?), St. Paul seemed to be lagging a little behind in the festive department - I saw a few lights and decorations, but not the blast of Christmas anticipation that I expected.

I arrived in a "parking space" at 5:59 (for a 6:00 pm start) only to realize that the parking space I chose was marked "no parking" with the meter covered in red. One of the more festive warnings I've ever seen! Ok, so drive around a little and try to find the best spot with a short walk to Public Kitchen + Bar overlooking Mears Park. I wound up in the little parking area near Louise's building that I was familiar with. It was a block and a half walk - very pleasant!

Everyone was already seated and waiting for me. In fact, the first bottle of wine had long been consumed! Someone arrived early ...!

Public Kitchen is located in a historic building which used to host Wood's Chocolate Factory. The renovation retained the original brick walls and wood support beams. It's a beautiful space, with an Industrial vibe and huge windows that overlook the park. The high ceilings make the space seem even bigger than it is.


It was only moments until a server came up behind, touched my shoulder and said, "What can I bring you to drink?" I love this place already!

The menus come attached to a clipboard - neat idea! My appetizer was Mussels with roasted tomatoes, fresh herbs and white wine. MMMMM...delish! I saw some lovely salads that others ordered and enjoyed. Then on to the main course - I ordered the Fettucine with crawfish, andouille, peppers, house made pasta and chipotle cream. I heard some talk that the menu took some tweaking in order to please, but I tell you that this dish was fabulous. And just the right serving size. I did take some home with me, but it was not overwhelming in portion.

I think everyone was pleased with their meal - honestly I was paying attention to my own plate so much I didn't really notice what everyone else was doing. Mike ordered the Cobb salad and his inner chef came out and said "This dish needs something .... hand me the salt and the lemon!" And so, his dish received the improvements necessary for his satisfaction.

There was some oohing and ahhing over the food, so I assume everyone was happy with their choice of entree.

The book we read - I'm Ok, You're Ok - turned out not to be the best choice for this Book Club. Either we are all off the charts smart in the Psychology department, or we just didn't feel like reading Self Help!  Well, maybe it was harder to get from the library than you would think.

Anyhow, there wasn't a lot to say about the book. I read it and it was very helpful for me in my specific situation. Relationship conflict can be a real struggle for certain personalities and I can always use new techniques and insight. This book from decades ago still has some powerful information for those in tougher situations. It is also helpful for parents who want a better way to communicate with their children and teenagers. So, I definitely would recommend it.

Cynthia recommended our next book, Sister of Grendel by Susan Thurston, a local author. This is a unique opportunity for us since Cynthia is a friend of the author and has invited her to join us for our next discussion. I have a feeling that if you could only make one Book Club in 2016, this would be the one you'd want to attend.

Here is a little information about the book from Cynthia:

"Bio: Susan Thurston earns the attention of fantasy lovers everywhere with Sister of Grendel. A reimagining of the epic Beowulf, Thurston’s debut novel can be compared to John Gardner’s Grendel, Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. An award-winning poet, she lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

SYNOPSIS: In the epic Beowulf, Grendel and his mother are presented as monsters deserving of their brutal deaths. Here we learn a different truth of that long-ago age—for there was another witness. Now alone and isolated, Rehsotis, sister of Grendel, reveals the origins of the anger and passion of her brother and mother. She chronicles her search for those remaining of her tribe and how she emerged from a time of darkness and danger to ultimately take a stand to protect and preserve the innocence of another.

 

Susan Thurston reimagines a world where dreams are more powerful than the sword and where love can transcend death. The life of her heroine Rehsotis is wrought in such lyrical and compelling language, the reader will feel as if the original legend included her.

 

Thurston’s debut novel can be compared to John Gardner’s Grendel, Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, and Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. An award winning poet, she lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her family." 

Sounds like a great opportunity to dive into a classic tale and get a new spin on it. Cynthia is impressed with Ms. Thurston's writing (she also teaches writing, I seem to remember Cynthia mentioning?) and so I'm looking forward to this very much.

The Black Forest Inn was mentioned as a possible location for our next Book Club, but that may change. We also talked about The Loft as a great place to meet and a perfect spot considering the book and the author. Cynthia will update us on the location and the date. We talked about mid to late January.

We missed a few people at this gathering but with all the holiday preparations going on, it was not surprising that our group was smaller than usual. 

Great catching up with you - Marie, Louise, Mike and Cynthia!

Enjoy the mild weather until it isn't anymore - and then feel blessed for the change in season and the inevitable White Christmas (or white winter if it hasn't happened yet....). I hope you all get out into the snow and enjoy it this year - do something fun and exhilarating!

... Or sit in front a fire with Sister of Grendel and sip a hot drink while being transported to a new land.

Can't wait! Cynthia, when do we get a copy of the manuscript?

Happy Reading!

Katie

Perfect Night for Fall Book Club

I enjoyed the drive over to India Palace in Eden Prairie for Book Club - the fall colors were out, some of the trees brilliant and right in their glory. It's been a spectacular fall!

India Palace is a nondescript little restaurant in a strip mall, bigger than expected as you step inside and smell the rich Indian flavors, and hear the hand cymbals and strings of classic Indian music. The golden color of the dining room matched the fall vibe. Jarby awaited as I walked in. So glad to see her up and about after a bout of back pain. Well, she was actually seated but who's counting? Then Sandy appeared, jaunty as ever and ready to share her latest travel adventure to Ireland.

Marie was next up, beautiful and polished and looking ready for a nice relaxed evening. Louise and Cynthia also made it, looking fabulous and relaxed - with Mike bringing up the rear. Back pain seemed to be the scourge of the week, Cynthia also having been hit with it. But she was looking radiant and well, as she said, "happy to be here!"

Great to see everyone, but we missed our dear Rachel, who was off celebrating her recent nuptials. Congrats, Rachel and Vic!

And, of course, we always miss our distant members - Janet & Amy. One day we will have a Book Club Reunion and we'll all be together again! Skype anyone?

The staff let us assemble without interference and to give us time to look at the vast menu. What a selection! Something for every taste and, really, everything sounded so delicious! I opted for the Vegetable Samosas (crispy pastry patties shaped like a giant Hershey kiss stuffed with spicy potatoes),  Rogan Josh (lean cubed lamb cooked in a yogurt sauce with special spices) Along with naan and basmati rice, there was a lot of food! In the picture, you see my lunch the next day - which is certainly a whole serving of food in itself. So - portions are very generous. I would definitely recommend eating at India Palace again. The staff was courteous and helpful and like I say, can't beat the amount of food you are given.

We read the book The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and everybody expressed that they really enjoyed the book. The concept is that a man who is on the highly functioning scale of Asperger's decides he wants a wife. In his brain, it makes sense to form a questionnaire to eliminate all the women who he'd be incompatible with. The irony of the story is that the woman he falls for does not tick any of the boxes he thought he needed. It's a charming and lightly humorous read - very fast and also has a sequel called The Rosie Effect. Cynthia mentioned how the book even helped in dealing with a real life work scenario with someone that she knows. Cool!

Since it's been forever since we've read "self-help", we decided that I'm Ok, You're Ok by Thomas Harris might be a good choice. It's an older book in the Psychology genre, but still holds true in most concepts to this day. Keep an open mind! You should be able to find the book in any library, or for very cheap on amazon.com.

We will meet again after Thanksgiving - I think that's what we decided. I dunno, there had been some wine drunk by the time we got here. :) I think Louise sounded happy to host and we talked about possibly doing something on the East side - Everest on Grand is a Nepalese restaurant that Mike said was also fabulous. So - shall we try it??

Great to see everyone and swap stories about our summers. Too bad we seem to have had our last truly warm summer day, but Fall has it's pleasures as well. So curl up with that good book and a cup of tea and look forward to our next gathering.

Katie

Live from Minneapolis... on a Wednesday night!

Tina Fey utilized comedy from a very young age to build a brand, a career, and a lifestyle. She started out in Chicago and quickly made her way to New York. She cemented her place in the world of comedy when she succeeded on Saturday Night Live, as a writer and actor.

Her book was interesting, but felt more like a bucket list tick for her than a true in-depth look into her pysche and her life. Notice that her fellow comedienne, Amy Poehler also wrote a book around the same time. A little healthy competition never hurts!

Anyway, I talk about this because I want to show that there was a method to the madness of choosing The Melting Pot for our gathering. Live from New York .... the Melting Pot of the world ... to our small gathering of 10 right here in Minneapolis!

The Melting Pot is located downtown and it was surprisingly easy to find and to park! I was so happy about that. I thought the restaurant was very well-run. They greeted me promptly and had planned ahead to have all of our group first meet up in the "lounge" (bar area) until everyone showed up, and then to be seated together. After about a 20 minute wait (or 3/4 of a glass of wine, if anyone is counting...) we were seated around a long table in a private room with 3 fondue pots awaiting our special orders.

What an experience! I had never been to The Melting Pot before, but I had heard from my daughter Jessica that it was amazing. She gave me some great advice, which I passed along to the others - one tidbit was that you don't have to go hog wild and order the whole 4-course meal for each person. It's fine to order ala carte and to share plates between 2 people. This brought the costs down for many of us, I think. (I hope!)

The menu was just a little bit complicated, but after some explaining from our server, we were all anxious to get going with those pots!

First course was a cheese fondue. You could choose from several different kinds of cheese, along with different herbs and seasonings. The fresh ingredients are added to your pot, and soon the hot pot is melting that cheese to a very nice consistency for dipping interesting things.

There were apple slices and bread, along with a few different vegies like carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli.

Very tasty! And fun.

Next up was a salad, for those who chose to have that course.

Then, the fun stuff! A vegetarian plate was available as well, but most of us wanted to try the meats and fish.

Rachel and I ordered a platter of salmon, ahi tuna and shrimp. OMG - yum! These little bites cooked in the flavored broth in just minutes.

Afterward, those pots were whisked away and a real treat for the night was brought in - the chocolate course! Delicious.

We did get back to talking about the book. Many people mentioned how impressed they were with Tina Fey's feminism. She really got offended by the whole men in charge thing at the comedy clubs. She wanted everyone to see that women could be just as funny, just as in charge, and just as relevant as any man. She sure set a great example just by being herself. She only let us in a little bit into her personal life, talking a bit about her husband and her daughter. I can only imagine what it must be like to have Tina Fey for your mother. Lucky little girl!

I passed around a couple of books that sounded like interesting reads - and we decided to read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion next. This book is about a man with mild Asperger Syndrome, which makes it hard to fit in socially, who wants to find himself a wife. He designs a questionnaire that women can fill out, which he feels will eliminate those unsuitable for him and quickly get him what he wants. However, the best laid plans are often folly for humorous books and that is what happens in this one.

I hope everyone enjoys the book as much as I did. It was a gift from my daughter, so she'll be pleased that it ended up a Book Club pick.

We will meet again in late September and compare notes. I'm not sure who will host, so if anyone wants to step up ... let us all know.

Happy Reading!
Katie

Couldn't Have Ordered Better Weather...Until You Could!

Marie's back yard was lovingly crafted with gatherings like this in mind. The water feature, the massive grill cooking up skewers, the gazebo with comfy seating and ... the outdoor scrabble board built right into the table.

Mojitos in hand, we had a (semi) friendly game of scrabble (some of us are fairly competitive!) 

And then proceeded to devour the chicken drummies, lobster rolls, watermelon salad, celery salad, and potato/bacon skewers.

We had the most perfect weather for Book Club. About 75, sunny, and no wind. We sure enjoyed it in Hilliard's back yard oasis until the wind suddenly whipped up and chased us inside.

No one seemed to mind too much though, as the conversation flowed, as well as the libations.

Before taking off to enjoy the rest of our nights, Marie offered a Rhubarb dessert and coffee.

We talked briefly about the book - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It really deserved more attention than it got, I thought.

The book really showcased an incredible story and the tragic fact that even though many others benefitted from Henrietta's cells, her family was left with the simple fact of her death. There were many who earned a lot of money from production of the cells - and that fact does not seem right. However, the many great things that came from research on the cells makes the world today a better place. 

The book also highlighted the crazy atmosphere in the biological sciences in the 1950s and 1960s. No regulation meant bulldozing over people's rights and that needed to change!

I now know the story behind the HeLa cells, which I had heard of, but didn't really know much about before. And... we all can check off #15 on the list below! (How many of the titles have you read?)

Next time, we will read a book from the list of  21 Books From the Last 5 Years That Every Woman Person Should Read, which Marie shared with the group.

The titles are:

1. Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

3. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

4. Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique

5. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

6. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

7. Her by Christa Parravani

8. Drink by Ann Dowsett Johnston

9.  The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

10. NW by Zadie Smith

11.  Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

12. Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson

13. How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti

14. Room, by Emma Donoghue

15. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

16. Bossypants by Tina Fey

17. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

18. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

19. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

20. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

... and ..

21. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Good luck picking just one! Great selections!

Rachel will send out a poll for us to make our votes.

We will meet in late July for our next meeting, coordinated by Katie/Rachel.

Enjoy the summer and I hope you get lots of lazy reading sessions. See you next time!

Katie

No High Drama Here

The Village - Mendota Heights. This is a new shopping and eating complex where all the stores are on street level and in open air style. So I guess this is what will replace the "strip mall" in the future.

The day was beautiful with little wind. But, here in Minnesota how many days can we depend on such weather? I imagine on a windy day you'd want to be inside to get from one place to the next. But who am I to say? Just a consumer! Hey, with today's technology we can easily find the answer to that question:

 "The warm season lasts from May 21 to September 16 with an average daily high temperature above 71°F. The hottest day of the year is July 23, with an average high of 83°F and low of 65°F." (weatherspark.com)

 So, you can see what I'm talkin' about. Well, we were fortunate to have a "comfortable" day!

Mendoberri is the creation of Viennese chef-owner Robert Ulrich who thinks we need to eat more vegetables! And I think he is right. He has put together some really beautiful dishes, and we got to try some.

There were some cool sounding things on the menu! A fresh cheeseboard. Tomato soup. A fresh beet salad. Quiche soup. All organic and fresh.

We started out with a pesto chicken flatbread that was delicious. Also, potato wedgies seasoned with sea salt and just a tiny touch of lemon.

I had the Schnitzel - a perfectly breaded and flattened chicken breast on fresh greens. The chicken breast was so big, it looked like a huge fish filet! It was enough for 2 meals, and indeed, fed me for lunch the next day as well.

We shared a nice Root One Sauvignon Blanc, as Jarby told us what it was like to spend the winter in Florida! Tennis! Beaches! Wonderful villas! People of all ages biking, swimming, sunning. She says it wasn't too stressful. Imagine that! We are very happy for Jarby and Lee and hope that becomes a regular occurrence for them. Jarby looked rested and content.

We all had our various dramas to share, but nothing as dramatic as Vincent Van Gogh cutting his ear off. What a story that was. I think we've all heard rumors about why it happened - imagining a lover or a terrible voice inside his head - whatever - I never would have dreamed that it was all about the artist Paul Gauguin. So there you go. Learn something new every day! And the horrible way he died. A shooting - but was it attempted murder or attempted suicide? We shall never know. A gun was never recovered. This I never knew, either.

So I have a new appreciation for Van Gogh and his work. He was an art curator before (or as he was perfecting his craft) he was an artist. And he only sold 1 work of art while he lived. Amazing!

Next time we will read a book recommended by Jarby - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. We will meet in June at Marie's.

See you then! And until then, enjoy some of these warm "comfortable" days! We don't get too many of them...

Happy Reading,
Katie

Book? What Book? Let's Look Around This Cool Loft!

A quick pop into Kelly's so everyone could meet up all at once before heading into the antiquated elevator together - we got to have a quick meet up and beverage. An old fashioned counter served up diner fare - we could smell the onion rings frying. Soon, it was time to head out!

We all piled in to the elevator, scooting as far as we could inside and making room for everyone. And... then it happened.  A head popped around the door and said, "I got this coupon from Target, but I only want to use one part of it. Does anyone want it? It's shampoo! Someone must want shampoo!" 

A British accent spoke up, "Sure, I'd happily take it."

And she says, "I'll just go cut it out for you!"

Oh, my. Now, we are all waiting in the antique elevator. Waiting for the random coupon woman to come back with her perfectly cut out coupon for shampoo.

We debate the issue. Should we push the "Up" button and proceed with our night? Or should we wait for the (I'm sure perfectly important) shampoo coupon?

 Oh, dear. We have all sorts of opinions. My gosh, how nice of her. OMG how could someone randomly do that? Holding us up? Well, just wanted to take advantage of her kindness! Oh, dear.

Well, thank goodness, the door soon opened and Coupon Lady came bearing her special coupon. Lovely and cut out special with scissors! She said, "And who was that British accented lady?!"

Rachel stepped up. British witticisms flew back and forth so fast I could barely register them. All I got was, "Tickety-boo!" Apparently when things are going well, this is what you might say in Britain.

Alright, finally! Coupon Lady has vanished, everyone says  they are ready. Mike yells, "Clear!" and the elevator starts moving.

This old rickety thing brings us up to the 4th floor. It takes longer than it would take to go 40 floors in Vegas, but who's counting? Just kidding. The thing was amazing. I was very confident the whole time it would get us all the way!

Mike's loft is a great space. With two oversized iron windows looking out into the city, the space is divided into a kitchen area, dining area (soon to be workspace), living area and loft bedroom. The place has plenty of old fashioned character, beginning with the antique elevator. I can see that Mike has already begun to build cabinets and bookshelves and whatever is needed.

The table, beautifully set, is so inviting.

At the end of the light rail line, the area seems busy and exciting. Across the street from us, a photographer was doing a photo shoot and we could see the flash bulbs popping. Loads of artists and creative types all around, I'm sure.

Man, we walked into Mike's space after walking through a bit of a maze-like hallway - and that Thai Curry soup smelled heavenly. We saw all the chopped up ingredients just ready for our own creative masterpieces. We were told that we'd be rolling our own Spring Rolls!

We all learned the trick to a perfectly hand rolled spring roll. This was a pan filled with water to dip the spring roll wrapper in. We all gave it our best effort - except maybe Louise, who opted for a more easily edible taco-like spring "roll"!

Delicious wine accompanied the meal while we talked books!

Here is my memory of the menu. See the photo for anything I may have left out.

Thai Curry Soup - a creamy blend of perfectly cooked noodles, pea pods and seasonings.

Handmade Spring rolls with choice of ingredients including ginger, grated carrots, shrimp, cilantro, red onion, rice noodles, and more. With two dipping sauces including a fish sauce and a spicy peanut sauce.

Cake! Happy Birthday, Mike. Book Club seemed to fall perfectly on your birthday, or thereabouts.

It was so nice to meet Cynthia. Thank you, Cynthia, for all your hard work putting everything together with Mike!

We missed some of our regular members, but look forward to catching up with them next time.

You know, we hardly discussed the books we read as they were merely blips on our Christmas/Holiday schedules. We read some holiday themed books that didn't make much of an impact. 

Next time, we will read a book related to Van Gogh and his brother - sounds great - apparently there are letters that exist from Van Gogh to his brother and they tell a remarkable story.

So, Louise and Marie talked about a fantastic new venue they have discovered on the East side and they will share those details with everyone, along with the title of the book and the author.

A fun night had by all - I think we were all in agreement that Mike should host Book Club more often!