G is For... Ginny

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Spring cleaning goes ever on and on here at the hobbit hole.  Being 33 weeks pregnant is definitely putting a crimp on how much I can do in a day.  We managed to do most of the kitchen, the hall and the laundry room.  Awaiting us tomorrow after church are the living room and the master bedroom.  After that there will just be a few little odds and ends (that wretched linen closet is still mocking me). 

Today's letter for the A to z Challenge is G... and I am feeling moved to discuss one of my favourite Harry Potter characters, Ginny Weasley.  As you can probably imagine, Ginny has long been a favourite.  So much so that I really did want my "Ginny's" real middle name to be Ginevra, but I gave in to my Beloved's desire to have a family name in that place instead. 

When I was first reading Harry Potter, I confess that I wasn't terribly impressed by Miss Weasley.  I thought she was a bit over the top in her shyness and inability to talk to Harry. 

But she grew on me. 

And then I started to like her.

I like how she stands up to her brothers and to Harry, and like Eowyn, doesn't listen to those who have 'her best interests' at heart.  And she doesn't whine or mope.  Bad stuff happens all around her, and yet she chooses to remain strong and defend that which is important to her.  I like her strength, and her faith.  She trusts that she will be with Harry, that there will be a time for them, even though she never actually says it.  There isn't any drama... just confidence.

Have you ever come across a character that initially didn't do much for you, only to have them become a favourite?

F is For... Flavia

Good Evening Humble Readers...

I hope you'll take a minute and scroll down to my Foodie Friday post from earlier this evening.  I was very happy with how my Spring Chicken Stew turned out, and I hope you'll like it too. 

Tonight's post is brought to you by the letter F.  And I can't think of any fictional character other than the precocious Flavia De Luce.  Youngest daughter of the practically destitute Colonel Laurence De Luce, Flavia is 11 years old in 1950.  She has two older sisters who live to torment her, lives in a run down old manor house in England, and has a fascination with chemistry... poisons in particular. 

Shortly after we first encouter Miss Flavia, she discovers a dead body in the cucumber patch behind her house.  With this event, Flavia embarks on a mission to clear her father of the charge of murder leveled against him by the local pompous-yet-bumbling Inspector.  A boy-crazy eldest sister, a bookworm middle sister, a shell-shocked houseman, and a nosy housekeeper/terrible cook round out the De Luce household. 

Mix in a good dose of humor (Flavia, with her penchant for chemistry, manages to imbue her eldest sister's lipstick with the essential oil of poison ivy), an excellently written whodunit in the flavour of Agatha Christie and G.K. Chesterton, and the backdrop of a small English village recovering from the after-effects of WWII... it all adds up to a fun 'cottage' mystery. 

Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard, and I'm Half-Sick of Shadows are the first four in what is anticipated to be a series of ten books.  They are all great fun, and accessible for audiences from 9 to 90 years old. 

(Fun trivia... for a while, the author Alan Bradley lived in my hometown!  And he published the first Flavia book when he was 70 years old.  I guess that means there's still time for me to write and be published!)

Do you prefer cottage mysteries or the blood-and-guts variety?

Foodie Fridays: Spring!

Howdy Humble Readers...

Despite the crazy-making snow that we got yesterday, spring has indeed sprung... even here on the frozen flatland. 

We spent the majority of today tackling the first part of our spring cleaning... the nursery, the bathroom, and the storage room.  I had grand plans to also get the kitchen done today, but a blood sugar low got in the way.  Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but I'm happy with what we accomplished today.  Cleaning isn't normally how I like to spend Good Friday, but it was necessary.  This is our only long weekend between now and when the Halfling arrives. 

(And speaking of the Halfling... funny coincidence.  Today I am 33w3d pregnant.  And as of today we have 33 days until the Halfling arrives.  Things like that make me smile.  Yes... I know I'm a geek.)

Soooooo... because spring has sprung, I was in the mood for some spring-like food the other day, but it was still a little brisk outside, so it needed to have good warming preperties too. 

Enter Spring Chicken Stew

1 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (skin & bones removed)
1 med Onion, diced
3 Leeks, white & light green parts only, chopped
3-5 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1-2 Carrots, diced
3 Ribs of Celery, chopped
3 tsp Dried Thyme
3 tsp Dried Basil
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Flour
5 cups Chicken Stock, heated until warm
1 cup Frozen Peas
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large pot (like a stock pot or a dutch oven), heat oil and melt butter, over medium-high heat.  Add onion, celery and carrot and saute until just softened.  Add leeks, garlic and dried herbs.  Saute until leeks are softened.  Sprinkle flour over veggies, and allow to cook out stirring frequently, so that your stew doesn't taste pasty or have lumps.  Slowly add chicken stock, continuing to stir constantly, allowing sauce to thicken.  Add in shredded chicken, season with salt & pepper, lower heat, and allow to gently simmer for up to two hours.  Ten minutes before serving, add in frozen peas. 

Serve with fresh baked biscuits.

This was super yummy, and I was thinking that I should have added in asparagus or green beans... if only I had them.  It was a nice transitional meal, from winter heading into the warmer months. 

As always, if you try it, please let me know what you think. 

(A to z challenge post to come in a couple of hours.  I promise.)

E is For... Eowyn

Howdy Humble Readers...

Your friendly neighbourhood hobbit is in a much better frame of mind than I was this morning.  The snow has been melting quickly, and the sun has deigned to make an appearance.  I have *my* computer now (as opposed to the crazy screw-up by Dell), and I was able to not only load and sort all of our pictures from the last three years, but I even managed to max out my Pi.casa free account uploading them all to the web.  All I have left to load on this puter is my office software and I'll be good to go. 

Today's letter is E... and this one was super easy for me.  If I wasn't a hobbit at heart, I would hope that I could resemble Eowyn, a daughter of the house of Eorl, sister of Eomer (a marshal of the Riddermark), niece of King Theoden of Rohan, and self-proclaimed sheildmaiden.  Yes... she is from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, actually one of the few important women in the series. 

I confess, while I did really like Eowyn from reading the books, it wasn't until I watched the movies that she really and truly came to life for me.  (I was too wrapped up in the hobbits to really pay attention to a lone daughter of the race of men.)

When we first meet Eowyn, she's like a beautiful bird in a cage.  With her parents long dead, and her brother away in the military, it falls to her to care for her magically ailing uncle, King Theoden.  Theoden is under an evil spell, and being led around by the nose by the creepy and aptly named Grima Wormtongue.  Wormtongue looks to possess not only the king's power, but also his niece. 

And even though she is willingly acting as caregiver to a drooling old man, Eowyn longs to do or be something bigger.  She dreams of riding out in service to her kingdom, and to help protect her people. 

Her opportunity comes when the spell on her uncle is broken, and the Riders of Rohan head to Minas Tirith to do battle with the armies of Sauron (the evil lord of Mordor).  Disguising herself as a man, she secretly joins the army, and in fulfillment of an old prophecy that 'the hand of no living man' could harm him, she slays the Witch-King of Angmar. 

I love her because Eowyn doesn't allow other's expectations to limit her.   She has a dream and she goes out, against all advice and against the orders of those who seek to control her, and does what she feels called to do. 

She is strong.  She is brave.  She thinks for herself.  And she fights for those she loves. 

Who is the strongest female character that you've encountered?

And as an aside... if this Halfling ends up being a 'she-hobbit', she will be christened with the bloggy name Eowyn (Wynnie for everyday).

Die Winter Die!

Good Morning Humble Readers...

This is what we woke up to on the frozen flatland this morning.

I am so blankety-blank sick of winter it's not even funny. 

It's supposed to melt in the next couple of days... but dang it, this just puts me in a bad mood.