figment friday – three deliveries
it’s figment friday again. this exercise in daily writing has truly been challenging. (and sharing it even more daunting.) but i’m determined to keep my promise. here is one of my responses from this week:
PROMPT: The song “ The Three Bells” tells the story of Little Jimmy Brown (read the lyrics here). In each of the song’s three verses, a milestone in Jimmy’s life—his birth, wedding, death—is marked by the sounding of church bells (hence the song’s title). Choose a similar symbol that recurs three times in a character’s life and tell that character’s life story in three parts—could be chapters, stanzas, verses, paragraphs.
she ranks “snail” mail
in a higher category than e-mail
so when the letter appeared in the mailbox
she eagerly opened the envelope.
the invitation to spend the summer abroad changed her perspective forever.
she loves “just because” gifts
more than birthdays or Christmas
so when the package appeared on the porch
she happily opened the box.
the portrait of her leading in ways she never thought possible transformed her self-image forever.
she prefers “expected” guests
over unannounced visitors
so when the taxi appeared in the driveway
she anxiously opened the door.
the hand-delivered job offer altered her legacy forever.
bookworm wednesday – the night circus
let’s kick off the virtual book club with an enchanting story i devoured while visiting my brother in colorado over the new year: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (3.5 of 5 stars)
Le Cirque des Rêves is only open at night, and the fact that it appears and disappears without warning is the least curious thing about it. the nocturnal attraction, styled entirely in black and white, is full of extraordinary wonders, and not even the performers know that it is the setting for a behind-the-scenes magical duel.
i was certainly charmed as celia and marco play in a game they’ve been trained for since childhood, their complicated relationship with the circus, the performers, the patrons, and each other entangles the fates of many into an already high-stakes battle.
the descriptive and imaginative detail in this book is truly…well…magical.
the fantastical themes really worked for me, sweeping me into scenes where i marveled at the creativity and inventiveness of the author.
for me, the story was more entertaining when i decided to just enjoy the ride and not worry about the route or destination of the sprawling, time-jumping story. the puzzle is tightly woven and very slowly unraveled, and while i usually get into a good brain-twister, trying to reconcile all the pieces of this one would only have diminished my delight.
has anyone read this book? were you drawn in by the mystery or the imagery?
fresh
fresh produce makes me giddy. when my fridge is stocked with flavorful veggies and my counter is overflowing with colorful fruit, i am thrilled. creating delicious meals is so much better with lots of fresh ingredients.
i like to purchase some produce at the ethnic markets around the city for the interesting variety they offer. there is a tiny, but well-known, mediterranean deli in okc that i frequent. the food is delicious and authentic, the owner always happy and helpful, and the small market is somehow stocked with every possible item you might want to put together a wonderful mediterranean meal. between stopping in occasionally for lunch, stocking up on fatayah and lebni for my titu, and general shopping trips for my own kitchen, i visit often enough that they know my “usual” order.
they have exotic produce choices like prickly pears, sweet limes, and unusual varieties of eggplant and cucumbers. recently i noticed some baskets filled with small orbs i couldn’t identify, and the friendly owner of the deli informed me that they are just the very fresh versions of familiar foods. so of course i bought some to try.
my first exploratory sample was these straight-off-the-tree pistachios. once you break through the thick skin, the recognizable clam-shaped shell is revealed, with the green nut inside. the shell and nut are not completely dried like the pistachios i’m used to eating, so they have a softer texture with less crunch. still yummy, but too much extra work to get inside.
these unripe dates were fun, because they tasted good crunchy or soft (but much better fully ripened). the difficult part was waiting for them to get soft and sweet before eating them. and the pit was harder to remove before they fully ripened.
i never would have guessed that this little pod contained a fresh green garbanzo bean! it was a strange to eat a handful of raw beans—they were soft and a little tangy. the flavor was nothing like the dried-then-cooked chickpea that i’m familiar with. i’m not sure exactly how one would use them…as is, cook from this stage, or dry then cook?
i also tried some fresh almonds that were white and kinda juicy beneath the fuzzy exterior. i like that they retain their natural water, because i usually soak my nuts prior to eating, anyway. but the flavor was not “nutty” to me (which i prefer), and some were still a bit jelly-like in the center (which i did not prefer).
in the end my adventure in eating fresh was short-lived, at least when it comes to beans and nuts. it was a fun experiment, but i can’t see these foods being in regular rotation at my table.
