The Reader Digests | Coffee, Coffee, & More Coffee

Someone asked me earlier today how I can fit all the things I have going on into my schedule. I would love to say I am Superwoman, but the truth is I just get very little sleep. I do homework after my kids go to bed and usually turn in around 1 a.m., sometimes later.  Then I get up and go to work the next day.

So, how do I do it? It's coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.  I spend an inordinate amount of time (and money) at Starbucks. It's like "Cheers", except sometimes I get a little embarrassed that everybody there knows my name. And they only serve coffee and tea - at least, for now.

However, I remember the first time I went into a cafe. It was so intimidating. All those weird names for coffee - lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos. What does it all mean? When I was a new coffee drinker, I wished someone had told me how to order

courtesy of cornerofthecafe.com

coffee, because there were many times I got something that just wasn't good. I hated holding up the line trying to figure out what I wanted (and doesn't it seem like they are getting longer?). I am no coffee snob, but I also don't want to look silly trying to order a cup of coffee.

So here's a little U.S. coffee menu explanation (If you were in Italy it would be a different ballgame, plus you would say caffe!):

Espresso - finely ground coffee served in shots.  More concentrated and darker than regular coffee.

Cappucino - Foamed and Steamed Milk over Espresso.  Dry means less milk, more foam.  Wet means the opposite.

I love you too!!!

Latte - Espresso with  steamed milk.

Mocha - Espresso with steamed milk and chocolate.  It can be white chocolate as well.

Machiatto - Espresso with a small amount of steamed or foamed milk added.  Baristas at many cafes use this drink to make designs, or latte art. Some also add caramel or hazelnut, to make flavored macchiatos. 

Americano - Espresso and water.  This is similar to a cup of brewed coffee. 

I'll end this post with some interesting coffee caffeine facts!

• Espresso drinks usually have less caffeine than a cup of brewed coffee.

• Light roast coffees generally have more caffeine when brewed by volume, and there will be no difference in light or dark roasts' caffeine levels if brewed by weight.  This is because caffeine is lost in the roasting process, and the more the bean is roasted, the more it expands.  The light beans are smaller after roasting, therefore can be packed in at a lower volume.

Want to learn more about coffee?  Check out our coffee book collection!

Learning | Roses

The rosebushes in my backyard are exploding with color right now.  I love to look at them through my kitchen window, or my patio door, or from my deck. After I appreciate their beauty, I start thinking about gratitude. 

I'm glad I was raised by a mother who shared her love of roses with her children.  Every house we lived in had to have roses in the garden. She patiently taught me how to carefully trim rosebushes, to encourage more blooms.  She shared the technique of watering a rosebush at the base, to prevent wet leaves from causing the black spot disease (which was very common in Louisiana.) She had a collection of small vases, suitable for displaying single blossoms. I loved replacing the tired-looking blossoms with fresh cuttings. I can remember a few names of the varieties she grew: Peace, President Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, Chrysler Imperial, American Beauty, and Freedom.

Peace Rose.  From T.Kiya's photostream on Flickr.com.
Some rights reserved.

I also think about how thankful I am that the previous owners of my house chose to plant so many bushes, and selected such a variety of types.  I don't know the names of all of them.  

Rose lovers (and trivia buffs, and other readers of non-fiction) will appreciate Douglas Brenner & Stephen Scanniello's A Rose by Any Name: the Little-Known Lore and Deep-Rooted History of Rose Names.

Did you know more than 15,000 varieties of roses are cultivated around the world? Brenner and Scanniello tell some interesting tales about the naming of some of them--not just the names, but what certain roses represented in times past. Which rose became a symbol for the American temperance movement? Which rose was named after a not-very-diplomatic diplomat? The answers to all of these questions, and many more, are revealed in this book.

4 Kids | Poetic Geniuses Among Us

So I'm back after a very lengthy absence. I could tell you that I've been traveling to places far away, performing on Broadway, etc., etc., etc., but that would not be truthful! But I am back and ready to share a whole bunch of great books with you each and every week.

 

Before that, however, I think it important that we celebrate poetry since April is National Poetry Month.

 

Earlier this month I hosted a little poetry contest at the Cesar Chavez Central Library. I asked young people (ages 5 -18) to write a poem no longer than 100 words about why they love the Library. I received some really great poems, but alas had to pick just 4 winners. Today I am proud to share the winners from the 5-7 age group and the 8-10 age group. I'll share the other winning poems on the teen blog (which you'll see returning to the Library website on a Saturday very soon).

 

The winner of the 5-7 age group is written by Atticus Chan, age 6! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

 

I like the library,

because it's great!

I might even learn,

how tigers mate.

 

The library is the best,

I like the library,

and I like fiction,

and all about berries!

 

My favorite book,

is always due, 'cause

I've been looking in it,

for a week or two!

 

The winning poem from the 8-10 age group is written by Amelia Morrison, age 8. (If these  poems don't inspire you to write some of your own, I don't know what will!)

 

One thing I need

Is a good book to read.

Just take a look

On the shelves for a book.

They're quiet as mice

Librarians are so nice.

The library is great

Don't turn your book in late!

 

By the way, whenever you check out items from the library, you get to enjoy them for 3 whole weeks! If the due date is approaching and you're not quite finished, you can renew your items online, by phone, or at the library. It's very simple.

 

So let's give a big round of applause to our two poetic geniuses -- Atticus Chan and Amelia Morrison! You make us all proud!

 

Until next week, happy reading!

Just life | Free Plant Seeds

I planted some garlic cloves today. I am learning to like gardening.

Did you know that you can pickup free plant seeds from Cesar Chavez library? 

If you are in the mood for gardening, come by the Cesar Chavez reference desk to pickup some free plant seeds. You just need to fill out a tiny form, that is all.

I was telling my dad about this program and he loved the idea and he is planning to get some eggplant seeds from the library since he loves the eggplant dishes that my mom makes.

I want to plant tomato and cucumber instead.

Chavez Seed Library

Here are a few examples of what you find in this seed library:

Basil seeds,

Cucumber seeds 

Eggplant seeds

Garlic seeds,

Melon seeds,

Broccoli seeds,

Ornamental flower seeds



I got to say a big thank you to Patty Parch Lovato who has started this program at Chavez. She has spent numerous hours working on this project.

I got to thank Librarian extraordinaire; Gretchen Louden for making this program a reality at Chavez. 

For novice gardeners like me, there would be an orientation at Cesar Chavez Library on April 30, 2014 at 3:00pm.

Here is the link to the Seed Library program



Take me home

So tell me, what are you planting today?

Signing off until next week- Panteha

Learning | Eastertide Musings

Eastertide is upon us!

I found myself using the word Eastertide in a conversation recently. I know it means the Easter season, just as Christmastide is the Christmas season. Why does the suffix -tide mean season?

The word has Germanic origins; it is related to the modern German word Zeit, which translates to the English time. 

After I learned that, I began to wonder about the use of the word tide  to describe the movements of water.  

Watching the tide come in and go out from the slough in my backyard makes me think how logical it would be (especially for those to live near water) to associate marking time with the movements of the tides. 

Here are two children's books for those who want to learn about tides.  Note: the second one is in Vietnamese; it is about a grandmother who explains tides to a small child.

If you would like to learn more about Easter, or just read some fun stories, follow this link for books about Easter.

Just Life | Beautiful Pictures

Let's kick start this week with some beautiful pictures.

Oak Grove Regional Park

MY coworker planted 300 of these tulips in her garden 

My father planted two small pomegranate trees in our backyard. Here is the outcome.



From our garden. I have nothing to do with this beauty.

 

From my husband to my mom on her arrival from Iran

Happy Monday everyone.

Signing off until next Monday- Panteha

Books On Film | We Can Remember It For You Wholesale

One of my favorite science fiction films is Total Recall (1990), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone.  The film is based on a short-story titled We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by popular science fiction author Philip K. Dick. 

The story, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1966, is a futuristic tale about Douglas Quail who wishes to visit the Mars colony. Unable to actually afford to he visits REKAL, a company specializing in implanting fake memories as a sort of virtual adventure.

Things turn dangerous for Quail when it turns out his planned fake trip to Mars as a secret agent may have actually already happened in real life.

A second adaptation of he book, Total Recall (2012), was also released starring Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale. Don't watch either movie expecting a page by page adaptation. Both films keep to the main premise of the short-story, but, of course, they make changes the way that movie adaptions seem to do.

Covers courtesy of LibraryThing.