Don't You Forget About Me

Don’t You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn
When her husband hands her a divorce because their life is too boring, daytime talk show producer Lillian takes leave from her job and runs from her New York City life. Back in her parents’ house in suburban New Jersey and with nothing to do, she enjoys reliving her high school memories in her daydreams. With her twenty year high school reunion just weeks away, Lillian fixates on reuniting with her high school boyfriend, the one she thinks got away.

In the beginning of the book, Lillian describes herself as an introverted, eccentric person who knowingly attaches herself to big, bright personalities because they have what she lacks. Because of this characterization, the secondary characters are much more entertaining than Lillian. For example, Vi, the star of the talk show Lillian produces and Lillian’s best friend, is hilarious, especially since bits of the fictional books she has written are quoted throughout the novel, which often mirror the advice she dispenses to Lillian.

The author amazingly covered everything memorable about the 1980s, from the clothing to the bands to the catchphrases to the hairstyles, while also authentically reviving the feelings that high school memories evoke.

the wonder that is Silpat

I have heard about them for years, I have longed from afar, and now I have Silpat baking mats. I don't understand how they work (something about their compostion that I haven't read carefully enough to remember), but these beauties work great. Since I received them for Christmas, I've raved about them so much that my little brother wants one for his first apartment.

For those cookie makers out there, nothing can beat the Silpat. Nothing will stick to them, and they aid with even baking. As a longtime user of Airbake pans, I've already accomplished the bake evenly part, but cookies always stuck to the pan. We have been using parchment paper for over a year, but we invariably run out when it's 11 pm and "we have to get the cookies baked tonight." We will have that problem no more. Silpats can be washed and reused, as long as they are stored flat or rolled (never folded so the insides don't break).

They are a wonder, and not too expensive, considering all the parchment paper they are saving me (and let's not forget about the environment--I don't think you can recycle used parchment paper with cookie bits on them).

a tale of a knitted Christmas garland

It all began with a Not Martha post. She described a white knitted garland for a Christmas tree. (Don't ask me to find the specific post; I've tried and cannot find it.) So in November 2006, I bought the yarn. Lion Brand Festive Fur in White. It sparkles and is fuzzy. Perfect. And then it languished in my yarn box for months. Until it was resurrected for a road trip in June 2007. During the 14 hours in the car, I finished the garland using two balls of Festive Fur.

It was fabulous and looked just like garland. I couldn't wait to put it on the Christmas tree. Fast forward in December 2007--the garland is too short. It wraps around the tree only three times.

So back to the store for more yarn. This time around, I didn't wait months to finish the project. With another two balls of yarn and car trips to Kansas City and Kennett, I was able to finish this in a month. But it was still too late to add it to the tree this year.

(But I did add it to the tree before we disassembled it so I have an idea of the placement.) At least next year it will be perfect. Details can be found on Ravelry.

Project Jennifer

Project Jennifer by Jill Amy Rosenblatt

After losing her job, getting kicked out of her apartment, and getting dumped by her fiancé so he can marry a woman named Jennifer, sweet, likeable Joanie realizes that all Jennifers have mystical powers: they are always perfectly groomed, work in the most promising job field, have people hanging on their every word, and get any man they want. Joanie decides she will transform herself into a Jennifer so she can take control of her life. But will her conversion really help her get what she wants?

Unfortunately, no. Joanie’s problem is that she doesn’t even know what she wants. She tries to become someone she isn’t, develops her acerbic side, reaps the consequences of an affair with her married boss, and completely alienates her friends while going further into debt. Once Joanie snaps out of it, ends the affair, finds a new job and goes back to school, she tries to settle into a relationship with her college sweetheart. Soon realizing that she doesn’t want even her rebound life, she ends up moving away from Long Island to start anew.

I really had hope for Rosenblatt’s debut novel, but in the end, it just wasn’t worth it. The pacing of the book was off, in that the big climax in the storyline happened only halfway through the book. I wondered how the author was going to handle the next 150 pages. The second climax, intended to the be the more significant one, fell flat as the author was already on the home stretch towards the end. I got bored halfway through, because cheering for Joanie became increasingly pointless and difficult, as Joanie changed into someone completely unlikeable. I repeatedly seconded her friend Carrie in the book, who told Joanie to stop being so mean. Joanie really changed for the worse through her Jennifer project, and she couldn’t erase those effects.