Two Weeks of Local Booty - Garden Grub, CSA, and Farmer's Market - September 5th and 12th, 2009 (aka J Sucks)

So, um, yeah, I suck, I'll admit it - I've been a bad blogger as of late. I realized mid-week last week that I never did a local booty update last weekend (and we got some really good stuff!).

Not to worry though, my reasons for my lack of blogging are not necessarily bad ones. First off, I have been really into writing. I had been working on one fiction piece, a more serious work, and got bogged down with it. So I put it down and began to pursue another idea I had and it has just been pouring out of me. At the current moment, I am up to page 33 and I am very pleased with it. With my more serious work, I saw its potential, but I also knew it was going to take an awful lot of work to make it something I could be proud of. And in all honesty, the subject material, while initially therapeutic, began to get a little depressing and I decided to put it down. That wasn't easy for me to do, as I like to finish things, but I knew if I continued to force myself, what I produced wasn't going to be very good.

So I put it down and began to work on a piece with a plot that wasn't quite so close to home. It is funny, quirky, and I have had a blast writing it. The writing is coming quite naturally and I think it might actually be, well, decent. In all honesty, I wasn't really expecting that. But when I began reading over what I had written to edit it, I found myself interested in the plot, in the characters. When I discussed it with Brett, he seemed really into it, making comments along the lines of "that sounds like something you would actually want to read". That might sound really lame, but it is harder to do that one might imagine, and in all honesty, I read a lot, there is a lot of crap out there. More crap than quality.

What I've discovered too, with some of my favorite books, TV shows, movies, is that humor can be used in very interesting ways. For example, one can broach and incredibly difficult topic like religion in a light, non-offensive way, while still making a point. Daily life for average folks is also fun to write about because we are all secretly closet weirdos with strange hobbies, habits, and behaviors. I've always been one to say that the ordinary, when looked at closely, is almost always more interesting than the extraordinary.

Anyway, along with writing, I have also been firmly ensconced in reading mode. Like I noted above, there is a lot of crap out there. If any of you actually look at the 'Books J's Read - 2009' list, you will notice that not a lot of the fiction books are rated very highly. This might also make you wonder why I bother to read books that I know I wouldn't rate highly. The explanation for that is fairly straight forward, to me a good book is one that is novel, well written, not predictable, one that makes me think or laugh, with solid characters, good plots, and whenever possible, a good dose of humor. But, a book doesn't have to be an award winning or best selling work to be entertaining, and I think entertainment, the light and fluffy variety are fun too. So while I wouldn't never dare to call a lot of what I read literature, I still enjoy it in its own right. (And I am always open to book suggestions, if you have 'em, send 'em my way.)

Occasionally, very occasionally, I come across something really good, and I rate it accordingly. These are books that I wouldn't be afraid to recommend or defend the merits of to a friend. My tastes in books is also just that - my taste. You all might disagree with my ratings and would have valid reasons for doing so. I will admit that I am much more forgiving of non-fiction than I am fiction. Even if a non-fiction work isn't all that interesting, if I learn something, something of value, a new perspective, whatever, I am going to give it a high rating even if the person has a tendency to have really freakin' long paragraphs and horrible punctuation (like the first edition of Clive Ponting's awesome environmental history novel A Green History of the World).

Anyway, I will admit that I have also been into watching old episodes of Iron Chef lately too. So all and all, those are my excuses.

Since I didn't post a local booty update last weekend, I am going to do last week's and this week's in one post.

We got some garden grub last weekend from our container garden:


Starting from the bottom right: a hot Hungarian wax chile, a sweet banana, 15 serranos, and 2 more cayennes.

Here is last weeks CSA:


Starting from the bottom right: a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, a small yellow summer squash, a large yellow onion, and 4 tomatoes.

And this week's Danjo Farms quarter veggie CSA share:


Starting again from the bottom right: a cucumber, a zucchini, 2 yellow onions, 4 tomatoes, 2 New Mexico chiles, and 5 ears of sweet corn.

Here is our farmer's market haul from last week:


Again from the bottom right: a quart of jalapenos from Danjo Farms (I froze them for use over the winter), cilantro, fingerling potatoes, an heirloom tomato (we didn't catch what variety), and two gorgeous acorn squash (one of which has been roasted with pure maple syrup, cinnamon, and a touch of brown sugar, so yummy).

And this week's farmer's market haul:


Okay so this is the best picture of this week's farmer's market loot and it is at kind of an odd angle, I apologize.

Let's start from the rightish area: a quart of banana peppers from Danjo Farms (going to be frozen for use over winter), home-made focaccia from Danjo Farms (more on that below), sundried tomatoes from Danjo Farms (what can I say? we are loyal and their stuff rocks), a pie pumpkin (I broke the stem off because I needed it to fit in my bag without puncturing everything else and we plan on eating it soon), and one freakin' massive sweet potato.

A note on the focaccia: anyone in Columbia with a heartbeat, get to Danjo Farms stand and try their focaccia - but don't buy too much, leave some for 'ol J&B. I'm not normally one to be out there championing people to buy things, but there are rare times that come along where it would be wrong not to share. This stuff is so good I cannot begin to describe to you how wonderful it is. I want a focaccia share - now there is an idea. Seriously though, this bread is amazing, both B and I agree that it is probably the best bread we've every had - light, fluffy, slightly chewy, with just enough seasoning so as not to overpower the tastiness that is good home-made bread. Mmmmmm.

So, I promise to try to be a better blogger, though I am really into the writing and I apologize in advance to poor Selina for having to read my long winded ramblings.

J's Song of the Day:
"Elevator is Temporary" - The Lilys

Have a great weekend everyone!

'Til next time!

Yummy Pinto Bean Wrap Pictures and J's "Guilty Pleasure"

I had forgotten to take a picture of the Yummy Pinto Bean Wraps when we had them last week. They were so good, we had them again on Monday, and I made sure to snap pictures of the wraps, so check it out:















Here is mine served with baby salad greens, simple guacamole, and local tomatoes.















Here is Brett's plate, the wrap was served with baby salad greens, simple guacamole, local tomatoes, and organic sour cream.

So, some of you may be wondering about this "guilty pleasure" I mentioned in the title of this post. It is nothing lewd or illegal (although I do have an illegal pleasure, I don't feel guilty about it - come to think of it, I don't feel guilty about this one either...), but I was always a little embarrassed because I consider myself an intelligent person and not at all a girlie-girl. So my guilty pleasure is....chick lit.

I honestly don't know why I like it other than it lets me escape to a very different world than my own. In all honesty, I usually really dislike the characters, their lifestyles, and would never want to be friends with any of them, but yet they are light, airy, and fun to read. When you read the type of non-fiction I spend my nights reading, this is a nice change up. And I decided I didn't need to be embarrassed about it any more, so there you go. I am going to update my Books J's Read list to include the chick lit titles I have read this year. You know though, sometimes I am surprised and the books are actually good, they have substance and good characters - not many, but some. You will notice that I am quite hard on the chick lit when it comes to my "rating scale", this is because most of it, well, it simply isn't good - a "beach read" and nothing more. Anyways, you can check that out if you'd like, and feel free to make fun of me all you want.

Now I will say, I DO NOT read bodice-ripping romance novels - no siree, no thank you, I laugh out loud at some of the covers. If there is a Fabio-looking guy on the cover, J isn't interested. :-)

Well, I had an excellent weekend in St. Louis. I surprised myself by really having fun. I can't think my (step) Mom Stacey for all her help, we would NOT have been able to get nearly as much done already without her help.

I've picked out, tried on, bought, and scheduled and alterations appointment for my dress (!!!!!!), I actually decided on my own to wear a veil (it looks really nice) - but it will be clipped to the back of my hair and not over my face or around my shoulders, we have a location, the location has been secured, we have a dinner place, a rehearsal dinner place, flowers, invitations, Selina picked out her dress (she is going to look DAMN good by the way), Brett picked out he and the Best Man's tux, Dad got his tie and "pocket silk" (I had to ask what a "pocket silk" was, apparently it is a fancy handkerchief that men wear in suit pockets), we are working on the ceremony schedule, WHEW. But we still have lots left to do and it has, and I assume will continue to be, lots of fun. Tomorrow we are doing one of the really fun parts. We decided to go with a local jeweler instead of Etsy (to keep it as local as possible) and we are taking a picture of the rings we want in to see if he can make them there.

There is something in mathematics called a mobius strip. It is a one-sided strip that has no true surface and is continuous. It shows a cycle that begins where it ends and ends where it begins - if that makes any sense at all. Brett, being a math nerd, and me, loving the symbolism, decided that we are going to have our rings shaped into mobius bands. Super cool, eh?

Check this out too:


















Thank you for the image Wikipedia.

This is one very famous example of a mobius strip.

Maybe I am a bit of a math nerd too, I remember how excited I was when I learned that the St. Louis Gateway Arch is a catenary curve.

I have probably embarrassed myself enough for one day. :-)

'Til next time!

Local Booty and Garden Update - 2/19-2/28/09

It is hard to believe that it is already the last day of February, but here it is, time sure seems to fly as you get older. Anyways, after doing something I rarely forget to do - go to the Root Cellar when we need something - I remembered to stop by yesterday after work and was able to score some good finds. A lot of the produce isn't local, but it is winter in Missouri, what are you going to do?

Since not a whole lot is happening on the garden front, until things pick up, I will be doing joint local booty/garden updates.

Let's start with the local booty. This is our week's haul from the Root Cellar, I don't remember what this ran, this has been a bad memory week for me - meaning, I forget things a lot in general, but this week was particularly bad I suppose. Thank goodness for lists and notes! But anywho...


Starting from the bottom right: eggroll wrappers (not local), red and yellow onions (not local), ginger root (I'm pretty sure this isn't local), avocados (not local), oyster mushrooms (local), red cabbage (not sure), Uprise Bakery's Columbia Sourdough (local), red potatoes (not sure), organic white flour (not local), active dry yeast (not local - these last two items are for a "sponge" for a ciabatta I plan on making), peach butter (local), and Country Goodies hot pepper relish (local).

And now onto the garden update. A few of our seeds have germinated! I was planning on making newspaper pots this weekend and starting more seed since I ran out of pots last weekend, but - big surprise here - I forgot to bring home the newspaper I had been collecting from work. Sigh.

First, I will show you our revolutionary and high-tech seed starting operation.


I know, I know, very complicated and sophisticated right? We use these plastic bins to store our seed starts in. We've had most of these containers for awhile; we were using them as "storage solutions" for things we were never going to use. So, as we have slowly "pawned off" the stored items on people who wanted/needed them, we have gained "hot houses". We like starting our seeds in bins like this for a number of reasons: it saves space - these are stackable, it keeps the cats out of them, it helps the soil maintain moisture longer, and it provides heat and humidity. I use the spray bottle you see to water the plants. I use the "mist setting" and saturate the soil, I don't uproot plants that way and there isn't a whole lot of soil disturbance either. And of course, you see my handy-dandy gardening journal. If it wasn't right there with the starts, I would forget to document their progress. I've learned over the years many ways to compensate for my horrible memory.


Here is a Sheepnose Pimento pepper sprout - it germinated on Wednesday (2/25).


These are Winterbor Kale seedlings, we noticed they had sprouted yesterday (Friday, 2/27).


These are Renegade Spinach seedlings; they also sprouted yesterday (2/27).


These are Bright Lights Chard seedlings; we also noticed they had sprouted yesterday (2/27). I don't know if you can see it or not, but there are a couple more seedlings in one of the slots in the back.

Not much else to report on the garden front - we have been making sure that we keep the soil for the starts moist, and we are still battling the aphids, we want to get rid of them before we take the plants outside, and before we start anymore indoor things in the AeroGarden or otherwise. We do seem to be making good progress with the aphids, but I think this is also going to involve some sort of "starving out period" as well. Our "plant room" may have to be plant free for a little while. We have our seed starts in a different room, we don't want to deal with aphids on them unless they are an issue once they are outside - not that we want to deal with that either, but it would be better than them starting out with them from the beginning.

So, in other errant parts of J&B's strange world, I have "re-discovered" my camera, so to speak. Seeing that it is winter, and thus there isn't much in the way of good nature photo opportunities (not even snow dammit, you can't take pictures of the wind and that is what our winter seems to have been comprised of for the most part), and I don't like taking pictures of random people, or even really people I know for that matter, so what follows are some of the highlights from my novice photography stint this week in my free time.


Meet the other love of Brett's life: Ms. PS3. Isn't she lovely, what with all her cords coming out the back and her spaceship like functionalities?. I hate to admit it, but I am actually a bit scared of the thing, it can connect and communicate information with his PSP. What the hell? Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with that? Where will it end?

Anyway...


This is yet more of the competition I face: Head Coach 2009. You know I willingly purchased this for him as a surprise? No, I joke, he is really nerdy about the football like I am about books so we understand each other, even though our particular focus is different. And what's more, we are both comfortable enough to get lost for hours in our respective forms of entertainment, it is very nice.

And yes, those are "rabbit ears" atop the telly. We don't have cable and honestly don't watch TV unless it is football season (we did watch Obama's speech the other night). I know there is that whole "digital switch" thing on the horizon, but Brett's mom got us the converter box you need for Christmas, though we didn't get to go up there, so it is still in Illinois, but we aren't concerned about it, we won't need it until football season starts again.

Whew, am I long-winded or what?

Here are a few cat pictures because, well, when you don't take pictures of people, and also don't like going places you have to use whatever inspiration you have at your disposal. So I torment the cats by taking their pictures.


Both the cats really like having their heads rubbed. Nermal also likes you to rub behind her ears (she has some ear problems), she is like a dog, she'll even get a leg going from time to time.


Doesn't it look like she is smiling? Maybe I am just anthropomorphizing the cat.


Gabby looking like she would like me to stop taking her picture (which I obliged - I loathe having my picture taken, so I understand).

Well anyways, I am off to make a sponge for a ciabatta, enjoy some reading, some music, you know, all those things that boring (young) curmudgeons like me enjoy.

I'll leave you with my Song of the Day:

"Blues in A Minor" - Modern Jazz Quartet

Have a great weekend!

'Til next time.

The Limits of Growth: The 30-Year Update - A Review

The Limits to Growth was originally published in 1972 and has subsequently been updated twice at the 20- and 30-year marks of the original publication. Commissioned by the Club of Rome, the authors created a computer model, World3, to look at the relationships between exponential growth, human systems, environment, and finite resources. They do not try to make predictions about the future with the World3 model –variables such as the amount of available resources, the capacity of “sinks” to absorb pollution, or the maximum productive capacities of soil or technology can only be educated guesses – but rather, seek to explore possible trends when accounting for certain assumptions in the variables.

A little aside: the “scientist” in me was very pleased when reading this book. The authors make sure to clearly and consistently explain the limitations and assumptions in the model and its various scenarios. They remind us – as all good scientists should – that we should be skeptical, yet respectful; we should look at their ideas with honest, open eyes and minds, but also be willing to come to different conclusions about what we see, to disagree with their assumptions, because nobody really knows.

They approach the idea of limits from a systems perspective – focusing on the “big picture” – this does not mean that systems analysis does not look at individual elements, but it looks at individual elements in relation to other elements or how that element affects the whole. They do not seek to gain insight about any one variable in the model on its own.

A main focus, and thus part of the purpose of the model is to explore the limits of exponential growth in a finite world. The concept of exponential growth is very important, though not well understood. This isn’t because the concept is hard to grasp, there are many examples that clearly illustrate it, it is that the ramifications of understanding the situation are complex and face us with real limits that call for a fundamental change in the nature of our daily existence and interaction with our environment. An easy way to begin to look at exponential growth is this question, “Why does the population continue to expand rapidly in absolute numbers even as the birth rate is declining?” The short answer is the age distribution of the population and the sheer size of the population. Though couples are choosing to have fewer children, there are more couples coming of reproductive age, thus we end up with a net increase.

Perhaps now we can understand how the repercussions of something consequential like population, resource demand/availability, or pollution can be affected by exponential growth. This is why when someone says something like “we have a 150 year supply of ‘x’ resource left” it is very misleading. These figures are derived at the consumption rate at the time, the 150 year figure only applies if there is no growth in demand for the resource over time – this is something that is not likely to happen unless we reach very harsh limitations.

The World3 model used to chart the possible interactions of variables such as food/person, services/person, consumer goods/person, industrial output/person, population, resources, pollution, ecological footprint, life expectancy, and human welfare, is inherently limited in that it doesn’t (because it is too complex and speculative) account for war, political strife, corruption, or even all of the variables affecting those mentioned above. The point of the model is not to make predictions of the future, but to give a rough idea of what could lie ahead, what our possible future could look like, what problems we could be faced with, what the trends show, etc.

What I noticed immediately was that accounting for just one variable – even completely – was not enough. Simply reigning in population does nothing to stymie pollution or land degradation, just as simply reducing pollution does nothing to increase the abilities of a limited amount of land to feed an exponentially growing world. What you are left with are three basic scenarios, all involving overshoot as the authors believe our consumption is already above sustainable levels: oscillation, collapse, or equilibrium. Of course none of these scenarios are exclusive, even a situation of equilibrium might have periods of oscillation or scarcity due to delays, which will be discussed further below. There are also relative degrees of these scenarios, measures to account for these limits such as land stewardship, voluntary simplicity, pollution abatement, and family planning are taken and provide nuanced differences in results.

A scenario of oscillation basically means that the population would overshoot the planet’s carrying capacity (ability to provide all the services and goods the population needs) – but not to a point at which the planet could not recover - this would lead to periods of scarcity and die off leading to the reduction of the population below the carrying capacity of the environment. This could happen voluntarily, involuntarily, or in some combination. If crisis hit, we could understand that we’ve overshot of planets ability to sustain us and take whatever measures we can to come back in line with that ability, or we could allow Mother Nature to bring us back in line with that capacity via famine and possibly disease. Remember again, this model assumes no war or political strife, which is not likely to be the case in times so desperate. The scenarios of collapse, on the other hand, occur when no precautions or abatement measures are taken – or they are taken too late – and the planet loses its ability to completely recover. The scenarios often show a drastic reduction in available food, resources, and life expectancy, along with increasing pollution. A dramatic reduction in human population follows and the material standard of living can not be brought back up to previous standards - at least not on timescales useful to humans. The most desirable scenario, equilibrium, could involve times of over exceeding the carrying capacity, but the long-term trend is one in which the resources needed to sustain the population are above the demands of the said population. This could be brought about with sound social, industrial, and agricultural policy, pollution abatement, population reduction, but most importantly, with a voluntary reduction in desired material standard of living - this does not mean us all living like paupers, but I think the days of 3 TVs and 2 computers would be long gone at that point.

Part of the problem we face is the reality of delays and feedback loops. Pollution emitted from cars today do not immediately begin affecting the atmosphere – on the contrary – it will be many years before we feel the full affects of today’s pollution. Meaning, say this was a perfect world, and we ceased any and all pollution starting now, we would still see an overall increase in pollution for a few decades before it began to level off and decline. This is what muddies the picture of the future even further, how long does it take for the full affects to be felt? Nobody is completely sure because, of course, we are in uncharted territory. There are also feedback loops, both positive and negative to (try to) account for. A positive feedback loop is one where an effect on a variable in one direction causes it to move even faster or farther in that direction. Agriculture and population are the easy example of a positive feedback loop. More population can be sustained as humans move to agriculture, but as more people are born, more land has to be cultivated at an accelerated rate. A negative feedback look is where an effect on a variable in one direction causes a decreased response. An example of this could be the unsustainable extraction of water from a river. As more water is drawn out, less water flows to the sea, perhaps ceasing to flow all together.

These elements, the various choices humanity can make along the way, and all the variables that were not included in this model limit what one can glean about the future from a computer. But what it does show is the importance of looking at a system not just its constituent parts, of understanding the spiral effect of feedback loops and exponential growth, of understanding and accounting for delays where possible, of the importance of far sighted thinking and full accounting of the “costs” of the things that make our society possible, and that we understand that there is such a thing as too late to avoid collapse. We must find and respect limits, explore alternatives, and be ever-mindful of our ability to leave a world that is either better or worse than the one had, but only if we act - and act with foresight, humbly, and together.

This was an excellent book that I will be adding to J's Recommended Reads. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand systems thinking, feedback loops, delays, or the many possible outcomes for our future.

I probably won't post again until next week due to the holidays. I made (and have planned) a couple of new recipes, but I am going to wait to post them until next week.

From the both of us here at Veg*n Cooking, we wish you a happy, safe, and non-consumerist holiday (like how I added that in?).

'Til next time!

Weekly Local Booty 11/9-11/15/08

The weather certainly is here today in Mid-Missouri. It is a cold, blustery day, and we have now had our first flurries of the season. Thankfully (and thanks again to whoever suggested them, I can't remember who it was and am too lazy to try to go track down the comment), the SmartWool long underwear I ordered came today, along with a nice pair of warm socks, so I am now doing a lot better than I was before. I was also excited to find out that, though the wool comes from Australia, the company is in Kansas City, Missouri, so it is almost a local business (KC is about 125 miles west of us).

Brett and I went downtown today to get our local booty for the week - he had a midterm to take at his university (for a class on international relations - fascinating), so I decided rather than going in the late part of the week (which is what I will do from here on out), I would go grocery shopping today so we could ride the bus home together. I went to three local places downtown, Uprise Bakery, The Root Cellar (a great local grocer that carries mostly Missouri grown/produced products), and The Peace Nook (a great alternative store) - we are going to be eating like kings this week!

Now, I did notice that shopping at the local stores, as opposed to the farmer's market or "regular" grocery store, is a little more expensive, but it isn't unmanageable.

In terms of J&B produced veggie booty, things are going well in some areas, not so well in others. Our One Ball Squash died (more about that in next week's monthly garden update), our tomatillo has been attacked by spider mites (we seem to have gotten rid of them on the plant, but it isn't looking so hot), and otherwise, everything else is doing pretty good, but going slow. Our salad greens are taking off nicely, the basil and spinach are coming along, and it looks like I am going to have to sow some more cilantro, chard, and kale seeds - the kitties got a hold of the nice tender green shoots.

Oh, and we also pulled out our stored mini hubbard squash, a butternut from the community garden plot, an acorn, and a delicata squash for use this week.

Enough yammering, check out our small, but very tasty load of booty from our indoor winter garden (courtesy of our container garden plants brought in for the winter):

















Three ripe serrano peppers.

Here is this week's haul from The Root Cellar. This local grub ran us around $60.















I'm going to do the best I can here with this picture. Starting from the bottom right: shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, "b-sized" potatoes, a summer squash (!!!!!), a small eggplant (!!!!!), some long hot peppers, locally produced Sunflower Savannah Hot and Smoky Tomatillo Salsa, Green Hills Harvest local milk for Brett (the jug is returned to the farm to be cleaned and refilled), a large jar of Bonne Femme Honey Farm alfalfa honey, a yellow and two green bell peppers, 2 jars of organic, sea salt added East Wind peanut butter (from an intentional community in southern Missouri), a small head of cabbage, garlic, fresh parsley, carrots, and two habaneros (one yellow!!!!!).

Here is our booty from Uprise Bakery. I don't know how much this was to be honest with you, it was less than $10.















A loaf of ciabatta for our weekly soup and bread night (aka tonight!) and a half pound of "Love Buzz" fair trade organic coffee.

And finally, our haul from The Peace Nook. I don't remember how much this cost either. It might seem odd that we just buy food without really paying a whole lot of attention to the price, and this is because we "sacrifice" in other areas (we don't go out often, don't buy a lot of stuff, or much beyond food and books really - but do not in any way feel like we are living without) and so we spend a larger portion of our income on food than many other people in this country. I feel that making sure that we have high quality, sustainably, and locally produced food is far more important to than video games, nights out, magazines, and all the other stuff there is for people spend their money on. This is our personal preference, and I do not judge others for what they chose to do with their lives or money, I am just explaining why I don't pay much attention to the cost of food. I am not made of money by any stretch of the imagination (thanks student loans!), but not owning a car (using public transportation instead), living in a very affordable neighborhood, and not really buying much are how we are able to make it all work.















Anywho, starting from the back: 2 cartons of plain hempmilk (not local, obviously), a dozen local eggs, incense (the "purple" variety, I really need to start paying more attention to things), The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein (I can't believe it has taken me this long to getting around to reading this book!), and Small is Possible: Living in A Local Economy by Lyle Estill. I will post a review of these books when I am done reading them. I have read Voluntary Simplicity and will do a review on that as soon as I can get around it. I also finished World Made By Hand but will not do a review about it. I am very touch and go with fiction, and for most of the book, I thought it was really good, solid characters, easy to read, enough context - a little too detailed in the descriptions of things like buildings, but from Kunstler, that is to be expected. But then towards about the last 50 pages of the book something happened, I don't know if it was Jim trying to wrap up "loose ends" that perhaps would have been better left "unwrapped" or what, but wow, it wasn't that great. Overall, it was a pretty good book, I just wish some of the side story lines would have just been dropped.

Anyways. In fantasy football news - we ended up getting beat bad last week in our game and are now 4-4 and second in our division. When I had looked at the roster match up late last week, things were looking pretty good for our team. Then our opponent made some moves, dropping players and adding some new ones, and a lot of our stars didn't have their best week. This week - at least so far - looks to be better than last. We have to do really well throughout the rest of the season if we hope to make it to the "playoffs", I'm really happy we even got to this point!

In football pick news, nothing has changed. Brett and I split on an even number of games and split the wins and losses. I hold a seven game lead, but we split on a lot of games this weekend - ones that could really go either way, so he may have a chance to catch up a little. Football makes Sundays one of my favorite days of the week in the winter!

Well, I'm going to go bake and start one of the books I have. Now I have to decide where to begin! Eeek!

Have a great weekend everyone!

'Til next time.

Weekly Local Booty 10/26-11/1/08

We actually got quite a bit of booty from our gardens this week, so our farmers' market trip was a little smaller than usual. With the three days of freezing weather last week, we had to pick all the peppers and tomatoes off our plants. There were a lot of tomatoes. As is the case with Missouri weather, it has proceeded to warm up, and we are experiencing temperatures in the 70s. It's gorgeous, but it is also frustrating since our plants our dead from the freeze.

Check out this week's container and community garden booty:















Petite bell peppers. I washed, destemed, and froze these.















A poblano and a ripe New Mexican chile.















We've got hot banana peppers and lots and lots of tomatoes. The banana peppers have been used in cooking. The tomatoes that were partially ripe were placed in the window in our computer room to finish ripening. The green ones were placed in a paper bag where they will ripen over time. I've been picking through them every few days, taking out any that are soft or show any signs of spoilage, and moving the ripening ones to the top of the bag. As you can see, the tomato plants were making a valiant effort to produce another large round of fruit, it just froze earlier than usual this year. The Roma was covered with tomatoes, we had thought it was pretty well done for, but since it no longer have to compete with the squash, it got a "second wind". I'll be using a few of the green ones to make fried green tomatoes. Yum!

Check out this week's farmers' market booty. This ran us $33.















Starting from the bottom right: new potatoes, a turnip (the purveyor we got the sweet potatoes from threw one in and told us to eat it raw), 2 "Energy" Herbal Oats granola bars, a loaf of our beloved Uprise Bakery ciabatta, 3 leeks, spinach (!!!!!!!!!!), a large jar of dill pickles, and sweet potatoes.

I also got some other awesome "local booty" today. I got a few books from a local alternative store, The Peace Nook. I don't buy books very often as we have a great library in Columbia, and I also have a university library system at my disposal. But occasionally, books come along that pique my interest that aren't available through these resources. These are the books I buy, and The Nook generally has them (or they will order it for you) - 'cause they have a lot of my kind of reading material. I've had a list of a few books I've wanted to pick up, and this is what I chose:















I know you all can see the titles - though the picture is horrible (I had to use the flash) - but let's start at the bottom. World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler. Kunstler also wrote The Long Emergency, and I've been a long time fan of his blog, Clusterfuck Nation. This is a novel he wrote about the post-oil world (with a little climate change thrown in I think), I don't read fiction very often, so I'm pretty excited. The next book is Crisis & Opportunity by John Ikerd. I had the privilege of meeting Ikerd at a book reading/signing of one of his other books, A Return to Common Sense. Ikerd is a professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri - where I work. This book is a collection of essays about the opportunity for sustainable agriculture in a peak energy/climate change future. The last book is Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin. This is a fairly "old" book. It was first published in 1981 and revised and reprinted in 1993. The title of the book is pretty self explanatory, and I've never read any of Elgin's other work, so I can't say much beyond that.

I am a huge nerd, I adore books - especially non-fiction - so this was the highlight of my weekend!

I wanted to share a picture of Gabby. She has a "thing" for bags, and was quickly interested in the bag the potatoes from the farmers market came in. Luckily I was snapping farmers market booty pictures so I was able to get a few of her playing in the bag. I love this one - check out at that smug look on her face!















I'm looking forward to a day of football tomorrow, with some cooking and laundry thrown in for good measure. Brett and I do informal "weekly picks" and I am 3 games ahead as of right now. We split on a few more games than usual this week, so we'll see how it pans out. I'm sure none of you really care, but my fantasy football team is 3-3. We are currently second in our "division". A lot of our players were on a bye last week so it was pretty ugly. We appear to have a better chance this week - I hope Plaxico Burress has a better game - we are "playing" an undefeated team. Football makes winter better.

Have a great weekend everyone!

'Til next time.

Books J's Read - 2010

Here I will compile a list of the books I read throughout the year. I will rate them on a scale of 0 to 5 - zero being horrible and five being wonderful. Perhaps this will be of interest to some of you. Or you can just see how much of a book nerd I am...

Fiction:

1. Catch As Cat Can (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 10) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
2. Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 13) - Rita Mae Brown - 3 out of 5
   
3. Cat On the Scent (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 7) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
4. Claws and Effect (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 9) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
   
5. Cooking Up Murder (Cooking Class Mysteries, 1) - Miranda Bliss - 3.5 out of 5
6. Damsel Under Stress (Katie Chandler, 3) - Shanna Swedsen - 4 out of 5
   
7. Dead Men Don't Get the Munchies (Cooking Class Mysteries, 3) - Miranda Bliss - 3.5 out of 5
8. Don't Hex With Texas (Katie Chandler, 4) - Shanna Swedsen - 4 out of 5
   
9. Dying for Dinner (Cooking Class Mysteries, 4) - Miranda Bliss - 3.5 out of 5
   
10. Enchanted, Inc. (Katie Chandler, 1) - Shanna Swedsen - 4 out of 5
    
11. Family Affair - Caprice Crane - 3 out of 5
    
12. Hunger Point - Jillian Medoff - 3.5 out of 5
13. Misery Loves Cabernet - Kim Gruenenfelder - 3 out of 5
14. Murder At Monticello (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 3) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
15. Murder Has A Sweet Tooth (Cooking Class Mysteries, 5) - Miranda Bliss - 3.5 out of 5
    
16. Murder On the Menu (Cooking Class Mysteries, 2) - Miranda Bliss - 3.5 out of 5
17. Murder on the Prowl (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 6) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
18. Murder, She Meowed (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 5) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
19. Once Upon Stilettos (Katie Chandler, 2) - Shanna Swedsen
20. Pawing Through the Past (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 8) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
21. Pay Dirt (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 4) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
22. Puss 'n Cahoot (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 15) - Rita Mae Brown - 3 out of 5
    
23. Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes - 3 out of 5
24. Rest in Pieces (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 2) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
25. Rich Again - Anna Maxted - 3 out of 5
26. Santa Clawed (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 17) - Rita Mae Brown - 3.5 out of 5
    
27. Sour Puss (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 14) - Rita Mae Brown - 3 out of 5
    
28. The Accidental Virgin - Valerie Frankel - 1 out of 5
29. The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund - Jill Kargman - 2 out of 5
30. The Girl's Guide to Witchcraft - Mindy L. Klasky - 3 out of 5
31. The Purrfect Murder (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 16) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
32. The Tail of the Tip Off (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 11) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    
33. The Ten Best Days of My Life - Adena Halpern - 4 out of 5
34. Trophies - Heather Thomas - 4 out of 5
35. Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy, 1) - MaryJanice Davidson - 4 out of 5
    
36. Whisker of Evil (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 12) - Rita Mae Brown - 3 out of 5
    
37. Wish You Were Here (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, 1) - Rita Mae Brown - 4 out of 5
    

Books J's Read - 2009

Here I will compile a list of the books I read throughout the year. I will rate them on a scale of 0 to 5 - zero being horrible and five being wonderful. Perhaps this will be of interest to some of you. Or you can just see how much of a book nerd I am...

Non-Fiction:

1. A Cook's Tour - Anthony Bourdain - 5 out of 5
2. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver - 3.5 out of 5
3. Better Off - Eric Brende - 4 out of 5 stars
4. Dishing with the Kitchen Virgin - Susan Reinhardt - 3 out of 5
5. Doing Nothing - Tom Lutz - 3 out of 5
   
6. Don't Try This At Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs - Edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Andrew Friedman - 3 out of 5
7. Epicurean Simplicity - Stephanie Mills - 4 out of 5 stars
8. Fork It Over - Alan Richman - 3.5 out of 5
9. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany - Bill Buford - 4 out of 5
10. How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto - Tom Hodgkinson - 5 out of 5
11. In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan - 3.5 out of 5
12. Insatiable - Gael Greene - 3.5 out of 5
13. It Must Have Been Something I Ate - Jeffrey Steingarten - 5 out of 5
14. Plenty - Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon - 3.5 out of 5
15. Radical Simplicity - Jim Merkel - 4 out of 5
16. Service Included – Phoebe Damrosch - 3 out of 5
17. Simple Prosperity - David Wann - 3 out of 5
18. Stuff White People Like - Christian Lander - 4.5 out of 5
19. Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn - Hannah Holmes - 5 out of 5
20. Such A Pretty Fat - Jen Lancaster - 3.5 out of 5
21. Taming the Tiger Within - Thich Naht Hanh - 3.5 out of 5
22. The End of Food - Paul Roberts - 3 out of 5
23. The Places That Scare You - Pema Chodron - 5 out of 5
24. The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry - Kathleen Flinn - 3.5 out of 5
25. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell - 4 out of 5
26. The Ungarnished Truth - Ellie Matthews - 4 out of 5
27. Trail of Crumbs - Kim Sunee - 5 out of 5
28. Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School - Katherine Darling - 4.5 out of 5
29. Understanding Our Mind - Thich Nhat Hanh - 4 out of 5
30. Quarterlife Crisis - Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner - 2 out of 5

Fiction:

1. 20 Times A Lady - Karyn Bosnak - 0 out of 5
2. 21 Steps to Happiness - F.G. Gerson - 1 out of 5
   
3. 32AA - Michelle Cunnah - 0.5 out of 5
4. A Bad Bride's Tale - Polly Williams - 1 out of 5
   
5. A Clean Slate - Laura Caldwell - 1 out of 5
6. Addition - Toni Jordan - 4.5 out of 5
7. A Hopeless Romantic - Harriet Evans - 3.5 out of 5
8. Always the Bridesmaid - Whitney Lyles - 2.5 out of 5
9. A Little Change of Face - Lauren Baratz-Logsted - 0.5 out of 5
10. A Model Summer - Paulina Porzikova - 0 out of 5
11. Angels - Marian Keyes - 3 out of 5
12. An Offer You Can't Refuse - Jill Mansell - 1 out of 5
    
13. An Uncommon Degree of Popularity - Kathleen Gilles Seidel - 3 out of 5
14. A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon - 3.5 out of 5
15. A Total Waste of Makeup - Kim Gruenenfelder - 2 out of 5
16. Ask Again Later - Jill A. Davis - 1 out of 5
17. Babe in Toyland - Eugenie Seifer Olson - 2 out of 5
    
18. Baby Needs A New Pair of Shoes - Lauren Baratz-Logsted - 1 out of 5
19. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin - 3.5 out of 5
20. Bachelorette #1 - Jennifer O'Connell - 0 out of 5
    Balancing in High Heels - Eileen Rendahl - 1 out of 5
21. Because She Can - Birdie Clark - 2 out of 5
22. Behaving Like Adults - Anna Maxted - 4 out of 5
23. Being Committed - Anna Maxted - 4 out of 5
24. Better Than Chocolate - Susan Waggoner - 4.5 out of 5
25. Beyond the Blonde - Kathleen Flynn-Hui - 2 out of 5
26. Black Olives - Martha Tod Dunham - 3.5 out of 5
27. Bergdorf Blondes - Plum Sykes - 1 out of 5
28. Burning the Map - Laura Caldwell - 1 out of 5
    
29. But Inside I'm Screaming - Elizabeth Flock - 3.5 out of 5
30. Celebutantes - Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper - 0.5 out of 5
31. Chasing Harry Winston - Lauren Weisberger - 1 out of 5
32. Cocktails for Three - Madeleine Wickham - 1.5 out of 5
33. Comfort Food - Kate Jacobs - 3.5 out of 5
34. Company - Max Barry - 4 out of 5
35. Confessions of a Beauty Addict - Nadine Haobsh - 2 out of 5
    
36. Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend - Jennifer Crusie - 1 out of 5
37. Confessions of a Serial Dater - Michelle Cunnah - 2 out of 5
    
38. Conversations with the Fat Girl - Liza Palmer - 2.5 out of 5
39. Cooking for Harry - Kay-Marie James - 1 out of 5
40. Cooking for Mr. Right - Susan Volland - 3 out of 5
41. Cover Girl Confidential - Beverly Bartlett - 0 out of 5
42. Crossing the Line - Lauren Baratz-Logsted - 0 out of 5
43. Diary of a Mad Bride - Laura Wolf - 1.5 out of 5
44. Dear Neighbor, Drop Dead - Saralee Roseberg - 2.5 out of 5
45. Does She or Doesn't She? - Alisa Kwitney - 0 out of 5
    
46. Dress Rehearsal - Jennifer O'Connell - 1 out of 5
47. Eating Crow - Jay Rayner - 3.5 out of 5
48. Engaging Men - Lynda Curnyn - 3 out of 5
49. Everything She Thought She Wanted - Elizabeth Buchan - 3.5 out of 5
    
50. Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger - 1 out of 5
51. Ex and the Single Girl - Lani Diane Rich - 2.5 out of 5
    
52. Falling out of Fashion - Karen Yampolsky - 1 out of 5
53. Fifteen Minutes of Shame - Lisa Daily - 2.5 out of 5
    
54. Fishbowl - Sarah Mlynowski - 2 out of 5
55. Five Things I Can't Live Without - Holly Shumas - 2 out of 5
    
56. Four Wives - Wendy Walker - 1 out of 5
57. Forget About It - Caprice Crane - 1.5 out of 5
58. Frenemies - Megan Crane - 2 out of 5
59. Full of It - Wendy French - 2 out of 5
60. Getting Married - Theresa Alan - 2.5 out of 5
61. Getting Over It - Anna Maxted - 2 out of 5
    
62. Girl Cook - Hannah McCouch - 3 out of 5
63. Girl's Who Gossip - Theresa Alan - 4 out of 5
    
64. Glamour - Louise Bagshawe - 0 out of 5
    
65. Goodbye Jimmy Choo - Annie Sanders - 3.5 out of 5
66. Hand-Me-Down - Lee Nichols - 0 out of 5
67. Hedge Fund Wives - Tatiana Bocompagni - 1 out of 5
    
68. Here Comes the Bride - Whitney Lyles - 2 out of 5
69. Here Kitty, Kitty - Jardine Libaire - 1 out of 5
70. How (not) To Have A Perfect Wedding - Arliss Ryan - 3.5 out of 5
    
71. How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls - Zoey Dean - 1 out of 5
72. How Was It For You? - Carmen Reid - 1.5 out of 5
73. I Do, But I Don't - Cara Lockwood - 0.5 out of 5
74. If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend - Alison Pace - 3 out of 5
    
75. I'm With Stupid - Elaine Szewczyk - 2 out of 5
76. It's My Wedding Too - Sharon Naylor - 1.5 out of 5
77. It's Not My Wedding (But I'm in Charge) - Sharon Naylor - 2 out of 5
78. I Went to Vassar For This? - Claudia Carroll - 2 out of 5
    
79. Jack With A Twist - Brenda Janowitz - 2 out of 5
    
80. Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single - Heather McElhatton - 2 out of 5
81. Jumble Pie - Melanie Lynn Hauser - 3 out of 5
    
82. Last Bite: A Novel of Culinary Romance - Nancy Verde Barr - 3 out of 5
83. Life a la Mode - Linda Lenhoff - 0.5 out of 5
84. Life on the Refrigerator Door - Alice Kuipers - 5 out of 5
    
85. Little White Lies - Gemma Townley - 0.5 out of 5
86. Love the One You're With - Emily Giffin - 2 out of 5
    
87. Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him - Danielle Ganek - 3 out of 5
88. Marriage By Design - Lynn Michaels - 3 out of 5
    
89. Me vs Me - Sarah Mlynowski - 3.5 out of 5
90. Miranda's Big Mistake - Jill Mansell - 3.5 out of 5
    
91. Miss Bubbles Steals the Show - Melanie Murray - 1 out of 5
92. Miss Independent - Elisa Adams - 0 out of 5
    
93. Miss Invisible - Laura Jensen Walker - 0.5 out of 5
94. Mrs. Perfect - Jane Porter - 2.5 out of 5
95. Nadia Knows Best - Jill Mansell - 4 out of 5
    
96. Name & Address Withheld - Jane Sigaloff - 1 out of 5
97. Nearlyweds - Beth Kendrick - 2 out of 5
98. Nine Wives - Dan Elish - 2.5 out of 5
    
99. Not Quite A Bride - Kirsten Sawyer - 1 out of 5
100. Notes from the Backseat - Jody Gehrman - 3.5 out of 5
     
101. Notting Hell - Rachel Johnson - 2 out of 5
     
102. Once Upon A Nervous Breakdown - Patrick Sanchez - 4 out of 5
     
103. One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell - 1 out of 5
104. Out on a Limb - Lynne Barrett-Lee - 2 out of 5
105. Paris Hangover - Kirsten Lobe - 1 out of 5
106. Personal Days - Ed Park - 4 out of 5
107. Pink Slip Party - Cara Lockwood - 0.5 out of 5
108. Playing James - Sara Mason - 3 out of 5
     
109. Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld - 4 out of 5
     
110. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot - 0.5 out of 5
111. Queen of Babble in the Big City - Meg Cabot - 0.5 out of 5
112. Questions To Ask Before Marrying - Melissa Senate - 3 out of 5
113. Remind Me Again Why I Need A Man - Claudia Carroll - 3 out of 5
114. Room for Improvement - Stacey Ballis - 4 out of 5
     
115. Romantically Challenged - Beth Orsoff - 2 out of 5
116. Schooled - Anisha Lakhani - 4 out of 5
117. Scot on the Rocks - Brenda Janowitz - 1 out of 5
118. Second Chance - Jane Green - 4 out of 5
119. Secrets of My Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita - 1 out of 5
120. Secrets of the Tsil Cafe - Thomas Fox Averill - 4 out of 5
     
121. Second Thyme Around - Katie Fforde - 3 out of 5
122. Shoe Addicts Anonymous - Beth Harbison - 1 out of 5
123. Secret Society Girl - Diana Peterfreund - 2.5 out of 5
     
124. See Jane Date - Melissa Senate - 2 out of 5
125. She's Got Issues - Stephanie Lessing - 2 out of 5
     
126. Sights Unseen - Kaye Gibbons - 2 out of 5
127. Slacker Girl - Alexandra Koslow - 3 out of 5
     
128. Slightly Engaged - Wendy Markham - 1 out of 5
129. Slightly Married - Wendy Markham - 1 out of 5
130. Slightly Settled - Wendy Markham - 1 out of 5
131. Slightly Suburban - Wendy Markham - 1 out of 5
     
132. Slim Chance - Jackie Rose - 1 out of 5
133. Smart Girls Like Me - Diane Vadino - 2.5 out of 5
     
134. Something Blue - Emily Giffin - 3.5 out of 5
135. Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin - 4 out of 5
     
136. So Much for My Happy Ending - Kyra Davis - 3.5 out of 5
137. Something Good - Fiona Gibson - 3 out of 5
     
138. Stupid and Contagious - Caprice Crane - 2.5 out of 5
139. Swapping Lives - Jane Green - 4 out of 5
     
140. Technical Hitch - Jane Sigaloff - 1 out of 5
141. Temporary Insanity - Leslie Carroll - 2 out of 5
     
142. Testing Kate - Whitney Gaskell - 1 out of 5
     
143. The Best Day of Someone Else's Life - Kerry Reichs - 1 out of 5
144. The Blue Bistro - Elin Hilderbrand - 3.5 out of 5
145. The Chocolate Lovers' Club - Carole Matthews - 2 out of 5
146. The Cinderella Pact - Sarah Strohmeyer - 3.5 out of 5
     
147. The Debutante Divorcee - Plum Sykes - 0 out of 5
148. The Devil in the Junior League - Linda Francis Lee - 1 out of 5
     
149. The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger - 1 out of 5
150. The Ex-Debutante - Linda Francis Lee - 1 out of 5
151. The Family Fortune - Laurie Horowitz - 2 out of 5
152. The Food of Love - Anthony Capella - 2.5 out of 5
153. The Flawless Skin of Ugly People - Doug Crandell - 4 out of 5
154. The Girl's Best Friend - Elizabeth Young - 3 out of 5
155. The Go-To Girl - Louise Bagshawe - 2 out of 5
156. The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death - Laurie Notaro - 4.5 out of 5
     
157. The Last Chinese Chef - Nicole Mones - 4.5 out of 5
158. The Little Lady Agency - Hester Browne - 1 out of 5
159. The Makeup Girl - Andrea Semple - 0.5 out of 5
160. The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP - Laura Lipton - 0 out of 5
     
161. The Night I Got Lucky - Laura Caldwell - 0.5 out of 5
162. The Other Side of the Story - Marian Keyes - 2 out of 5
     
163. The Perfect Fit: Fat Free Dreams Just Don't Taste the Same - Louise Kean - 3 out of 5
164. The Pre-Nup - Beth Kendrick - 0.5 out of 5
165. The Real Real - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus - 1 out of 5
     
166. The Right Address - Carrie Karasyov - 0 out of 5
167. The Romancipation of Maggie Hunter - Jane Sigaloff - 3 out of 5
     
168. The Thin Pink Line - Lauren Baratz-Logsted - 0 out of 5
169. The Trophy Wives Club - Kristin Billerbeck - 0 out of 5
170. The Smart One - Ellen Meister - 4 out of 5
     
171. The Spare Wife - Alex Witchel - 2.5 out of 5
     
172. The Starter Marriage - Kate Harrison - 1.5 out of 5
173. The Twins of TriBeCa - Rachel Pine - 3 out of 5
     
174. The Waitress - Melissa Nathan - 1 out of 5
175. The Year of Living Famously - Laura Caldwell - 2.5 out of 5
176. Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris - 4.5 out of 5
177. There Is A (slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell - Laurie Notaro - 3.5 out of 5
178. This Year's Model - Carol Alt - 2 out of 5
     
179. Three Wishes - Liane Moriarty - 3 out of 5
180. Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella - 3.5 out of 5
     
181. Upside Down and Inside Out - Monica McInerney - 1 out of 5
     
182. Un-Bridaled - Eileen Rendahl - 1.5 out of 5
183. Wake Up, Sir! - Jonathan Ames - 4 out of 5
184. What Goes Around - Alexandra Carew - 2 out of 5
185. What I Really Want to Do is Direct - Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout - 1 out of 5
186. Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? - Melissa Senate - 1 out of 5
187. Why Not? - Shari Low - 2 out of 5
     
188. Wife Goes On - Leslie Lehr - 1 out of 5
     
189. Wolves in Chic Clothing - Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman - 0.5 out of 5
190. Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakthrough - Isabel Sharpe - 0.5 out of 5
191. You Could Do Better - Stephanie Lehmann - 0.5 out of 5