Here is my upated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
15. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
16. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
17. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
18. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

I finished Inheritance quite a while ago, I just never added it in. I’ve taken a little break from reading to catch up on some knitting and other stuff. I am planning on checking the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver out from the library soon. However, I think I would like to read the third book in the Eragon series first.

I have another to add to the list. While I was taking care of Vern after she got her wisdom teeth pulled, I read Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I was a bit shocked to find out that he was only 15 when he started writing the book. I would not have suspected that from the quality of the writing.

Anyhow, here is my upated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
15. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
16. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
17. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The past two weekends I have been freezing stone fruits, mostly peaches but some cherries too. I wanted to put the recipe up here so that I wouldn’t forget.

Process of Freezing Peaches:

1. Wash peaches off.
2. Remove skins by boiling in water for 45-60 seconds and then removing to an ice bath. Skins should peel off with little effort.
3. Once skins are removed cut peaches in half and remove pits. I should note here that there are some varieties of peaches in which the pits are easier to remove than others. The white peaches seem to have harder to remove pits. At this point, you can either keep the peaches in halves or cut them into slices.
4. Sprinkle peaches with citric acid or lemon juice (enough to lightly coat). When you stir the peaches up with the citric acid they should look shinier, sort of glossy. This will keep the peaches from browning.
5. Dissolve 3 cups of white sugar into 6 cups of boiling water. Let cool.
6. Spoon peaches into 1 qt bag (note it takes about 4-5 peaches to fill 1 qt). Then ladle enough of the sugar water over the peaches just to cover.
7. Place in freezer.

We have been buying peaches in 1/2 pecks (yes, a half-a-peck-a-peaches … say that 10 times fast), which is about 12-15 peaches and we are able to get three quart ziplock bags to freeze.

Update on the 50 Book Challenge: While traveling to Colorado and California I was able to finish reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  It was a really great read and has inspired me to try harder at keep our (Bryan and I) food chain as local as possible. Since we moved to a new house right in the middle of the growing season we do not yet have a vegetable garden. So, Bryan and I have been taking Saturday morning dates to the local Farmer’s Market. Bryan also brings home a couple of bags full of fresh veggies each week from the garden-farm he works at. I think my favorite so far has been the acorn squash we bough last week. Here is the recipe for the most amazing acorn squash I have ever tasted.

1. Take 1 acorn squash and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp in the center.
2. With a fork, mash together 1/4 c. soften butter (that is 1/2 a stick of butter), 1/4 c. brown sugar, a palm full of ground sage, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Smear the butter mixture on the insides of each of the acorn halves.
4. Place in a baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees F.

We have one more acorn squash at home and I can’t wait to make this again. It was so delicious!

Updated list of books read so far this year:

here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
15. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
16. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I have another book to add to my list which brings me up to 15 books this year. My goal for the year is 20, so I am feeling good about getting up to 15 even before the half-way mark of the year.  I am co-writing a textbook over the summer. Can I add that book to the list at the end of the summer? I suppose I will have read it a hundred times over.  It probably shouldn’t count though. Awwww … well … here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
15. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

One more book to add to my list, Seven Up by Janet Evanovich.  Yes, that is another book in the Stephanie Plum series.

Here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

For me traveling = more reading time. On my trip to NY I finished reading the first book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charaline Harris, Dead Until Dark.  Now I am in Florida relaxing by the pool and by the beach with the family. On Monday I finished Hot Six by Janet Evanovich and am currently in the middle of Seven Up by Janet Evanovich (both are novels in the Stephanie Plum series).

Here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

On a totally unrelated note, it seems I have developed a sinus infection while down here. Ella, our neice, was pretty stuffed up when we first got down here to Florida, so I am thinking I got it from her … little bugger!  However, she is too cute for me to really hold it against her.

I’ll have Florida pics to post in a few days.  My NY pics are up on my photo blog already.

Over and out!

One more book to add.  Yesterday I finished reading Breaking Dawn the last book in the Twilight Series.  It felt good to finish the series even though I didn’t find the last book as good of a read as the first books in the series.

Here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I was still feeling sick today, so I left campus in the early afternoon, came home, took some cold medicine and curled up with the fourth book in the Stephanie Plum series I have been reading.  I just finished it. This book had a bit more romance in it than the previous ones. Also, in this book Stephanie not only has the ex-hooker Lula helping her out, she had a drag-queen cryptographer working with her. Gotta love these books!

Here is my current list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

I’ve been sick the past two days with a nasty cold (sore throat, slight fever, and that achy cold feeling and sucks out all your energy).  So, I have been drinking boatloads of tea and reading while curled up under a sleeping bag on the couch. Today I finished reading Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich, the next in the Stephanie Plum series that I have been reading. It wasn’t as funny as the second, but it still had its moments.  There was a lot of character developement of some of the side characters: Lula, the prostitute turned filing clerk, and Ranger, the ex-Army ranger now bad-ass bounty hunter.  I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.

Bryan’s mom gave us a copy of the New Square Foot Gardening book which I am making my way through.  Bryan is currently obsessed with a cheese-making book, otherwise he would be the one reading through the gardening book.

Anyhow, here is where my reading list stands so far.

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

I finished another book in the Stephanie Plum series, Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich. The books are contemporary crime fiction and absolutely hilarious. After getting laid off from her job as a lingerie buyer, Stephanie finds herself working for her slimey bond bailsman cousin Vinnie as a bounty hunter.  She has a knack for finding the bad guys and a knack for getting into scrapes. There are so many laugh out loud moments.  My favorite from Two for the Dough is when Stephanies and her grandmother are getting rearended by the bad guy and her grandmother hops out of the car, pulls a .45 long barrel gun out of her pocketbook and starts shooting at the bad guy. You gotta love it!

Alrighty, so that brings my current 50-Book Challenge List for 2009 to

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

I’ve alraedy started the third book in the series, Three to Get Deadly.  I think I am well on track to finish 20 books I set for my goal this year. In fact, I think I can finish 25.  Bryan and I reason, if we can’t each make the 50 book goal, maybe we can make it together; each read 25.