Monday, April 30, 2012
Review: Ball Home Canning Exploration Kit
I posted a new review of the Ball Home Canning Exploration Kit on my page at Examiner.com. If you're interested in canning, but not sure where to start, or don't have any equipment, or interested in canning only in small batches, this is a great kit. Check out the review through this link, and click on the image below to see the Amazon product description or to order the kit.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Book Review: Un Lun Dun
First, the backstory: My friend Deanna is a copyeditor for science fiction and fantasy novels, and she's very good at what she does. Many of the books that she has worked on have been nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards. A while back she was talking about China Meiville, one of the authors that she copyedits for, and his books kept coming up in blog posts and conversations. I started looking into his books, and there's a lot, so I asked Deanna where I should start, and she suggested Un Lun Dun. So, that's where I started. I read Un Lun Dun on my Kindle, and the illustrations from the book were rendered flawlessly in this version. (Click on the image to see Amazon descriptions and reviews.)
Un Lun Dun is technically a young adult novel, but it is an absolutely fantastic story of a girl and her friend who enter a mystical parallel universe to their home in London. It very much has a feel like Alice in Wonderland, where the characters in Un Lun Dun are not what you expect, and say and do things that make sense to them, but wonder why the main characters are confused. The character development and descriptions of the environment are wonderful, and like the city itself, nothing is what it seems or progresses in a straight and predictable line.
The story has a traditional arc, looking at good conquering evil, but it's not that simple. I was genuinely surprised at many points in the book when plot points took an odd turn. If you're looking for a book that you and your child can both read and enjoy, I highly recommend Un Lun Dun. I plan on letting my almost-9-year-old read it, and I know he'll love the "silly" aspects of the Un Lun Dun characters, such as the pet milk carton, the bird with a human body, or the flying buses. I certainly plan on reading more of China Meiville's award winning novels!
Un Lun Dun is technically a young adult novel, but it is an absolutely fantastic story of a girl and her friend who enter a mystical parallel universe to their home in London. It very much has a feel like Alice in Wonderland, where the characters in Un Lun Dun are not what you expect, and say and do things that make sense to them, but wonder why the main characters are confused. The character development and descriptions of the environment are wonderful, and like the city itself, nothing is what it seems or progresses in a straight and predictable line.
The story has a traditional arc, looking at good conquering evil, but it's not that simple. I was genuinely surprised at many points in the book when plot points took an odd turn. If you're looking for a book that you and your child can both read and enjoy, I highly recommend Un Lun Dun. I plan on letting my almost-9-year-old read it, and I know he'll love the "silly" aspects of the Un Lun Dun characters, such as the pet milk carton, the bird with a human body, or the flying buses. I certainly plan on reading more of China Meiville's award winning novels!
Many, many stripes
I certainly fit the description of a girl with many stripes, as I have so many interests, hobbies, and skills. Over the last couple of weeks I've:
- Posted three articles on canning and preserving at Examiner.com:
- Canning and Preserving Rhubarb
- Where to Shop for Canning Supplies in the Boston Area
- Review: Ball Pectin Calculator
- Installed Camtasia and created a video version of my Ball Pectin Calculator Review
- Posted an article on MA National Scrapbooking Day Events at Examiner.com
- Tried to work on my front brakes, but I was one tool and three rusty bolts short of being successful.
- Did some geocaching on my own and with the family
- Entertained my children through their spring break, mostly by wearing them out through geocaching, but we also spent a fun day in New Hampshire at the See Science Center in Manchester and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord.
- Picked up a new customer who was totally blown away by my work (love when that happens!)
Friday, April 20, 2012
Happy Birthday Fenway Park
Fenway Park is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year, and it got me thinking about my Red Sox memories.
I went to my first Red Sox game when I think I was in the fourth or fifth grade. I was playing over at my friend Heather's house when my mom called to have me come home. My dad had picked up four box seat tickets from the management at his company, and I was going with him, along with my uncle Vic and my cousin Matt.
The seats were fantastic, looking straight down the first base line. I remember very little about the game; I do remember we were playing the Texas Rangers, and we lost 8-4. (I could probably research the game date based on this info...maybe later.) I remember having fun and it being a happy memory. I have a nearly photographic memory of the view from our seats, but I don't remember if we ate anything there. My dad bought me a Red Sox painters cap (yes, it was the 80s!)
I've only been to a few Red Sox games since then, but they've all been fun. Fenway Park is really a wonderful place, and I'm happy that it's still around, even in these days of larger, more modern ball parks.
EDITED!
I think I found the game that I went to: April 17, 1984, so I would have been in 5th grade. Box score from Baseball-reference.com.
I went to my first Red Sox game when I think I was in the fourth or fifth grade. I was playing over at my friend Heather's house when my mom called to have me come home. My dad had picked up four box seat tickets from the management at his company, and I was going with him, along with my uncle Vic and my cousin Matt.
The seats were fantastic, looking straight down the first base line. I remember very little about the game; I do remember we were playing the Texas Rangers, and we lost 8-4. (I could probably research the game date based on this info...maybe later.) I remember having fun and it being a happy memory. I have a nearly photographic memory of the view from our seats, but I don't remember if we ate anything there. My dad bought me a Red Sox painters cap (yes, it was the 80s!)
I've only been to a few Red Sox games since then, but they've all been fun. Fenway Park is really a wonderful place, and I'm happy that it's still around, even in these days of larger, more modern ball parks.
EDITED!
I think I found the game that I went to: April 17, 1984, so I would have been in 5th grade. Box score from Baseball-reference.com.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Steamline Trail Park - Fitchburg, MA
On Monday I had the chance to check out a park I never knew existed, and I never would have noticed on the side of the road, if it weren't for geocaching. I knew there were some caches in this park, so I took the boys to check it out.
The Steamline Trail Park is on Rt. 31 in Fitchburg; you can get there by taking Rt. 31 north from Rt. 2. The trail was developed by Eagle Scout Benjamin Lessard in 2009 with sponsorship from many local businesses. The steamline is a series of pipes that connected a steam plant to nine different paper mills along the Nashua River at this location. The steam was used to power the machinery before electricity, but later than direct water power.
The area that the park is located in is still an industrial zone, and it almost feels surreal to be walking along side old boarded up factories and crumbling railway structures. A an active rail line parallels the trail, but is safely up a steep embankment and behind a fence, so my sons were excited to see a large freight train rumble past so close to them. Along the trail are several educational displays discussing the history of the steamline, the companies that used it, and the Nashua river. At one point near the falls, a fenced area provides bench seating where you can sit back and enjoy the river.
The trail is flat and easy to walk. The self-guided tour portion of the trail is about a half mile, but the trail extends further south along the Nashua river. This is a great place to get out and get some exercise and learn about an important part of the history of north central Massachusetts.
The Steamline Trail Park is on Rt. 31 in Fitchburg; you can get there by taking Rt. 31 north from Rt. 2. The trail was developed by Eagle Scout Benjamin Lessard in 2009 with sponsorship from many local businesses. The steamline is a series of pipes that connected a steam plant to nine different paper mills along the Nashua River at this location. The steam was used to power the machinery before electricity, but later than direct water power.
The area that the park is located in is still an industrial zone, and it almost feels surreal to be walking along side old boarded up factories and crumbling railway structures. A an active rail line parallels the trail, but is safely up a steep embankment and behind a fence, so my sons were excited to see a large freight train rumble past so close to them. Along the trail are several educational displays discussing the history of the steamline, the companies that used it, and the Nashua river. At one point near the falls, a fenced area provides bench seating where you can sit back and enjoy the river.
The trail is flat and easy to walk. The self-guided tour portion of the trail is about a half mile, but the trail extends further south along the Nashua river. This is a great place to get out and get some exercise and learn about an important part of the history of north central Massachusetts.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
New Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner
I've recently taken the position of Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner for Examiner.com, after convincing them that such an Examiner position should exist! This will be a great place for me to put all of my knowledge and ideas on canning, preserves, freezing, and other wise putting up food for later.
My inaugural article is Canning and Preserving Rhubarb; a topic that is great for spring, as my rhubarb is growing strong in our garden. Can't wait to make my annual rhubarb cream pie!
My inaugural article is Canning and Preserving Rhubarb; a topic that is great for spring, as my rhubarb is growing strong in our garden. Can't wait to make my annual rhubarb cream pie!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Just got off the phone.....
...to register for Tim Holtz's classes next month at Absolutely Everything. It took me an hour to get to through, but I did still get the two classes I wanted, so that's great. My friend Kelli is coming up for the same classes, so I'm sure we'll have a blast.
I've had the pleasure of taking some of Tim's classes in the past, so I know what I'm in for. Can't wait! I was remembering the very first class I took was way back in 2006 at CKU-M Boston (at the very last CKU Boston, *sadface*), with my friend MF. It was a class where we made a little folded book out of a sheet of paper, a lot of distress ink, and distressed hardware, and it was amazing. It was back before most of his tools were released as products, so we had homemade distress ink blenders and distress hammers that he had made with linoleum nails. I still kick myself that I didn't take his other class that weekend, it was a memory glass pendant.
I've had the pleasure of taking some of Tim's classes in the past, so I know what I'm in for. Can't wait! I was remembering the very first class I took was way back in 2006 at CKU-M Boston (at the very last CKU Boston, *sadface*), with my friend MF. It was a class where we made a little folded book out of a sheet of paper, a lot of distress ink, and distressed hardware, and it was amazing. It was back before most of his tools were released as products, so we had homemade distress ink blenders and distress hammers that he had made with linoleum nails. I still kick myself that I didn't take his other class that weekend, it was a memory glass pendant.
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