Becky A. Johnson

Glaciers Book Review, World Book Night 2013 + A Giveaway

Posted on April 18, 2013 by beckyajohnson

Last year, while still living in Las Vegas I participated in the inaugural World Book Night. The mission of World Book Night is “spreading the love of reading, person to person.” This event takes place on April 23rd — the anniversary of both the birth and death of Shakespeare. This year, an estimated 25,000 volunteers will freely give a half-million paperback books to light and non-readers in their communities. There will also be 28 official World Book Night-affiliated events throughout the country next week, including author appearances and events where roses will be given out along with books to make recipients feel extra special. As an old-school reader (I have never jumped on the e-book bandwagon), I really like the fact that tangible, paperback books are given out, because there is just something magical about shutting down your computer and curling up with a good book.

My husband picked up my giver box today. Any suggestions on where I should hand out books?

This year, World Book Night volunteers had 30 different books to choose from, including 2 titles that are also available in Spanish. With a line-up of award-winning and best-selling novels such as Fahrenheit 451, The Alchemist, The Language of Flowers and Salvage the Bones to choose from, it was difficult for me to decide which book I wanted to give out this year. Finally I decided on Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith because it was written by a Portland author, published by a Portland-based small press and is largely set in Portland, and I am on a major “support local initiatives” kick lately.

At only 174 pages, Glaciers can be read in just a few hours. At the center of this character-driven story is 20s-something Isabel, a book preservationist and thrift store enthusiast. Throughout her life, Isabel has collected old postcards and other remnants of strangers’ pasts, imagining what stories lie behind them. Although a potential office love affair and plans to attend a party form a partial plot, the book is largely anecdotal, which is the beauty of it. Isabel’s memories had me reflecting on the own stories I attach to objects, and the ability of photographs to create history (like Isabel, I have collected postcards for years). If the reviews on Goodreads are any indication, many readers will find pieces of themselves in Isabel’s character.

In the spirit of World Book Night, I will be giving away a copy each of Glaciers to two blog readers. To enter, leave a comment below about anything of your choosing by 12 noon PST on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. I will choose the winners at random and notify the winners both via e-mail and as an addendum to this post on World Book Night itself. Winners will have 5 days to respond to e-mail notification to claim prize before an alternate winner is chosen. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Addendum: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Candice, moxiegirlproductions and A.M.B!! Enjoy your books!!

Posted in Movie Reviews/Book Reviews, Oregon | Tagged book reviews, fiction, giveaway, Portland, World Book Night | 3 Comments

Muesli, Chocolate Chip + Applesauce Cookies

Posted on April 7, 2013 by beckyajohnson

Since I am training for a new part-time job this coming week, and I need to get used to bringing a lunch to work again, I thought it would be advantageous to whip up a few quick recipes on Sunday afternoon that could last me an entire week. On Friday, I impulsively bought an entire carrot cake, thinking I could get 8 breakfasts out of it (hey, it’s high in Vitamin A), so I needed to come up with a fairly healthy lunch menu to counteract the richness of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

I ended up making a salad combining lentils, kidney beans, cannellini beans and olive tapenade and these cookies. They’re based on this recipe from Bob’s Red Mill, although I made a few modifications and the cookies turned out well. I used unbleached white flour for a lighter cookie, substituted organic coconut palm sugar for the brown sugar and used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Muesli rather than traditional muesli. Generally, I am a huge fan of gluten — especially in the form of bread or beer — but I find the gluten free muesli to be especially tasty. These cookies can be whipped up in about 20 minutes, including cooking time.

Muesli, Chocolate Chip & Applesauce Cookies

Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 15-20 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup Muesli

¾ cup Unbleached White Flour

⅔ cup Applesauce

¾ cup Coconut Palm Sugar (or Brown Sugar)

1 ½ cup Chocolate Chips

½ teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Vanilla

1 Egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Whisk in egg. Combine dry and wet ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Stir in muesli and chocolate chips. Spoon mixture onto lightly greased or non-stick cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool before serving.

Posted in Healthy Living, Recipes | Tagged applesauce, cookies, dessert, healthy recipes, muesli | 1 Comment

Dublin

Posted on March 26, 2013 by beckyajohnson

Everyone should spend at least one St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. With an estimated half-million people crowded into the streets of central Dublin, it was a bit challenging to view the parade, but excellent for people watching.

We finally ended up in a local pub, where we enjoyed a pint of Smithwick’s while watching the parade on television.

At sunset on St. Patrick’s Day, many of the major buildings in Dublin are lit up green. We didn’t make it back to the city center, but our hotel was near to the convention center.

Monday morning we paid a visit to the National Leprechaun Museum, as both my husband and I were interested in learning more about Irish folklore. The only option to visit this museum is to be a part of a guided tour, led by a “storyteller.” While we did learn bits of interesting information during our 45 minute visit, both my husband and I felt it wasn’t worth the 12 euro price of admission.

But we did enjoy the public art that is on offer throughout Dublin.

In the afternoon, we meandered through the streets of the Viking/Medieval area of Dublin. Many of the buildings were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.

We also paid a visit to the grounds of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, built in 1192, but occupying a site that was used by St. Patrick himself in the 5th Century.

Because we were travelling in Ireland with a book group, many members who are themselves writers, we couldn’t leave Dublin without partaking in a self-guided literary pub crawl. My good friend Elisabeth kicked off the night with her exuberant narration.

Over the course of the evening, we visited O’Neill’s Bar, The Duke, Davy Byrne’s and John Kehoe’s. Along the way, I enjoyed O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, Bo Bristle IPA, Cork Dry Gin and Deep-Fried Brie Cheese as we followed in the footsteps of James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and W.B. Yeats.

On our final day in Dublin, we joined a guided walking tour of the 1916 Easter Rebellion, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Irish history. The tour kicked off at the quaint International Bar, where it is never too early to enjoy an Irish Coffee laced with Paddy Whiskey. This helped me brave the freezing temperatures, snow and hail we were to encounter on our 3-hour walking tour.

Throughout the course of the tour, we stopped at Dublin Castle, the City Hall, the River Liffey and the General Post Office building on O’Connell Street, each location having a significance to the rebellion. Although the rebellion didn’t turn out as planned by the organizers (15 of the organizers were captured and executed), a proclamation was issued declaring independence from the United Kingdom and the event helped pave the way for the Irish Civil War of 1922-1923.

Much of present-day O’Connell Street was destroyed during the 1916 Rising, and subsequently rebuilt. Following our tour, and upon the recommendation of our tour guide, we ate lunch at one such building that had been affected — The Oval Bar. I recommend their chicken curry, served with both rice and chips.

Posted in Becky's Adventures, Photography | Tagged architecture, Dublin, Ireland, leprechauns, literature, photoessays, public art, pubs, St. Patrick's Day, Vikings | 4 Comments

Counties Cork and Kerry, Ireland

Posted on March 24, 2013 by beckyajohnson

On our second day in Ireland, we headed to the town of Blarney in County Cork to pay a visit to Blarney Castle.

Most people who visit Blarney Castle do so to kiss the infamous Blarney Stone, said to bestow the gift of eloquence, but my husband and I decided to avoid the long queues in favor of exploring the expansive castle grounds. Occupying over 60 acres, there’s really a lot to see here, and we wished we’d had more time.

Our first stop was the Poison Garden, home to over a dozen fatal plant species, including Wolfsbane and Mandrake made famous by the Harry Potter series.

I was surprised by how many plants were either caged or missing. Do people snip off a bit to create their own murderous concoctions?

My favorite part of the Blarney Castle grounds was the Rock Close Garden, which lies on the site of an ancient Druid settlement.

They even have the remnants of a sacrificial altar!

The Rock Close Garden is also where the Witch of Blarney lives. Apparently, it is quite common to leave pennies as an offering atop the stone where she resides. Fortunately, she only emerges a night so we didn’t encounter her.

You can also visit the Witch’s Kitchen, where it is said one can often see remnants of a fire in the early morning hours.

For those up for a bigger challenge than kissing the Blarney Stone, one can walk down the “Wishing Steps” — a dozen steep steps, absent a handrail, overlooking a cliff — backwards with your eyes closed. If you complete this process without meeting your demise, all of your wishes will come true. As I am not a sensible person, I was up for the challenge, but my husband talked me out of it.

Only after we left the Blarney Castle grounds did I learn there is also a Megalithic tomb near the Rock Close Garden. This is something I wished we’d seen as well, but unfortunately it wasn’t highlighted in our brochure.

We then paid a brief visit to Blarney Woollen Mills — the world’s largest Irish store. I was glad I’d looked at their offerings online in advance of our trip, as it was a bit overwhelming.

For lunch, we decided to avoid the masses of tourists at the Blarney Woollen Mills restaurant, and we trekked the 500 yards to the Muskerry Arms pub. I had a bowl of their excellent homemade seafood chowder.

On to Killarney, where we stayed the next two nights, we began our preparations for St. Patrick’s Day a few days early at O’Donoghue’s Pub, adjacent to our hotel. I tried a few beverages local to the nearby city of Cork — Bulmer’s Cider and Cork’s Dry Gin. The latter I found to be especially good served over ice with a twist of lemon.

But it wasn’t too late of a night, as we were up early the next morning for a motor coach tour of the Ring of Kerry, a 179 km loop road that traverses the Kerry Peninsula in southwest Ireland. Throughout the course of the day we made at least a dozen stops to check out interesting sites and stunning scenery.

At the Kerry Bog Village, we learned about typical 18th century village life in the region. I was especially interested to learn more about the bog bodies that had been found nearby — naturally mummified remains nearly 10,000 years old that were likely victims of ritual sacrifice. I had hoped to see the bodies on display at the National Archaeology Museum in Dublin, but we just didn’t get there.

Throughout the day, there was no lack of impressive scenery.

Stopping for lunch at the Ring of Kerry Hotel, I had one of my best meals of the trip: oak-smoked salmon served with a salad, brown bread, pickled fennel and oranges.

At the highest point of our journey, some of us got to hold a newborn lamb.

The owner was nearby to prevent these cute fellows from being kidnapped.

We ended the day with a carriage ride through Killarney National Park.

This included a brief visit to Ross Castle, built in the late 15th century.

Posted in Becky's Adventures, Photography | Tagged Blarney, castles, Ireland, Killarney, photoessays, Ring of Kerry | 4 Comments

Kilkenny, Ireland

Posted on March 22, 2013 by beckyajohnson

My husband and I have just returned from a week-long vacation in Ireland. About a year ago, we managed to score an amazing deal on a land-only semi-structured tour package, put together by the folks at Sceptre Tours and coordinated by Straightline Travel. During our time in Ireland, we drank at 16 pubs in 6 days, meandered through much of the countryside in the southern part of the country, wandered through a magical forest, partied in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, and explored the history and lore of this majestic country.

Our first stop was the medieval city of Kilkenny. Having just arrived in Ireland after nearly 24 hours of travel, we were feeling fairly jet-lagged, but did manage to wander aimlessly throughout the city and take in the medieval architecture. Most stunning was the Kilkenny Castle, built in 1195.

Our first meal in Ireland was at the historic Kyteler’s Inn. Established in 1324, this pub takes its name from Dame Alice de Kyteler, born in Kilkenny in 1263. The daughter of wealthy Norman parents, Dame Alice amassed even greater wealth from her four husbands, who all died from sudden, mysterious ailments. Not only was she one of the wealthiest women in Ireland in her day, but she was also one of the first women in the country to be accused on witchcraft and sentenced to death by burning. Fortunately, she managed to escape execution, escaping to England where she was never seen or heard from again.

History aside, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dine in a pub with a black cat as part of its logo.

Although Kilkenny is home to the famous Smithwick’s Pale Ale, our first pints of the trip were actually of Kilkenny Red Ale. Beer really does taste better in Ireland.

Posted in Becky's Adventures | Tagged castles, Ireland, Kilkenny, pubs, witchcraft | 1 Comment