Lemonade Award - x 2!!

Is this not too cool?? I've been nominated for 2 Lemonade Awards by Harvee at Book Bird Dog, and also by Kathy at One eyed stuffed bunny.... Thanks to both of you. It's great to feel recognized. I think it came just in time because -----bells, whistles, loud applause---we are supposed to have bright sunshine and temperatures in the 80's tomorrow here in Maine. So the lemonade has arrived at the perfect time. The part about this award that I like best is that I can't keep it, it has to be shared by passing it on to other fellow bloggers who exhibit attitude or gratitude. I get to pick 10, but there are so many good ones, and I really had a hard time picking. These are the ones I really find inspiring. If you are nominated.... here are the rules for passing on the award to your favorite blogs: 1. Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post. 2. Nominate up to 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude. 3. Link to your nominees within your post. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog. 4. Link to the person who gave you your award. So my nominees are: Ruth at Bookish Ruth. "FL" at The Forgetful Librarian forgets. Stefanie at So Many Books. Melissa at Shhh I'm Reading.... and... Laura at Musings Jessica at The Curious Reader Caty at Miscellaneous Mumblings . Jules at Jules' Book Reviews Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books Michele at Michele--only one L So check them all out...they're each terrific for a different reason.

Weekend Cooking - Edible Extravaganza

 Beth Fish Reads sponsors this weekly meme where we foodies can chat about cookbooks, cooking gadgets, recipes, or anything else gustatory. Be sure to stop over there to find other terrific weekend cooking posts.

This weekend I want to spout a bit about a fabulous event I attended Thursday nite.  I didn't have to cook.  In fact, I didn't have to do anything but show up hungry.  My sister-in-law in Modesto works for a local radio station.  They were one of the corporate sponsors of "Edible Extravaganza" a benefit for the Center for Human Services.  There were food booths from over 50 restaurants, wineries, and sweet shops.  The champagne (and other wonderful California wines) flowed freely.  There was live music, a silent auction, door prizes, and lots of fun people.  But it was definitely the food that was the star of the event. I'm not able to upload some pictures I took, but there was sushi, ravioli, baked penne, about seventy-eleven varieties of Mexican goodies and salsas, roast beef, pulled pork, homemade creme brulee icecream, homemade bread pudding, chocolate covered grapes, all kinds of cakes and candies, shrimp satay, cupcakes, sauteed scallops and crab puffs, wine, sparkling lemonade, watermelon basil coolers, polenta with goat cheese lamb ragout, more wine, jelly beans, florentine chicken on garlic mashed potatoes, salads (for the silly few who wanted to maintain the illusion they were watching their intake) more wine, and just tons and tons of fun.  I had no idea that this town in the middle of the Central Valley of California could be home to so many divinely delicious eateries.  A great way to spend a vacation evening.

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White

Author: Betty White
Publisher-Format: Penguin Group: Putnam Adult Kindle edition, 272 pages
Year of publication: 2011
Subject: Lessons learned from life
Genre: Memoir
Source: Public library download

A recent press release from Penguin Audio announced that Betty White has been nominated for a Grammy for the audio edition of this work.  It's not hard to imagine that.  The print (or in this case Kindle) edition is just as much fun as I imagine the audio would be.  Penguin tells us:

In If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t), Betty’s wit and wisdom take center stage as she tackles topics like friendship, romantic love, aging, television, fans, love for animals, and the brave new world of celebrity. Drawing from a lifetime of lessons learned, If You Ask Me mixes her thoughtful observations with humorous stories from a seven-decade career in Hollywood. Longtime fans and new fans alike will relish Betty’s candid take on everything from the unglamorous reality behind red-carpet affairs, to her beauty regime (“I have no idea what color my hair is, and I never intend to find out”), to the Facebook campaign that helped persuade her to host Saturday Night Live despite having turned down the hosting job three times. Featuring all-new material, with a focus on the past fifteen years of her life, If You Ask Me is funny, sweet, and to the point – just like Betty.

 We downloaded this ebook from our library's Overdrive program to test our new Kindle e-reader.  The process was painless, and turned out to be a really fun.  Betty White is a tell-it-like-it-is lady whose long and noted career in TV is only one aspect of what makes her tick.  She actually reads and answers her own fan mail, confesses to be totally inept with computers, has loads of interesting friends - male and female- and as everyone knows, is absolutely devoted to the cause of humane treatment of animals.  Stories of her interaction with dogs, dolphins, chimps, cats, snakes, and humans all bring smiles to the reader.  Her easy, breezy style of writing gives the reader an experience similar to sitting down by the pool to sip lemonade together.   The e-book worked very well, even showing the numerous black and white pictures in sharp clarity.  I'm betting the audio was a definite winner given Ms. White's natural sense of timing and comedy.

This is one that would make a great Christmas gift in any format for someone who grew up watching Hollywood Squares, Password, Golden Girls, and Mary Tyler Moore. It's an easy read, and will be well received by those who like celebrity memoirs.