*hangs head in shame*

You guys, I’m the worst!!! I have no excuse for my lackluster blogging over the past several months. However, if I did have excuses, they would be:

1) I’m graduating college in approximately 78 days.

2) I’m graduating from aforementioned college with a degree in English Literature, so all I do everyday is read read read and then write about it.  When I get free time, my first thought isn’t to read read read and then blog about it…

3) I live in NYC, so I’m constantly out at fancy restaurants, movie premiers, gallery openings and other chic shindigs! (my sweatpants and Lean Pockets are rolling over in their graves……)

4) Maybe the main reason I haven’t blogged is that I haven’t picked up Anne in MONTHS! I was going to finish Windy Poplars at Thanksgiving. Then at Christmas break. Then before school really got started. And now it’s midterms and I don’t remember what day it is half the time and did I mention I’M GRADUATING IN MAY and have other things on my mind. Perhaps if Anne’s pen tip had been a bit more obliging, I’d have more motivation to read………..

But like I said, I have no excuses. None whatsoever.

Anywho.

I return to the blog today, because I had the opportunity to be a Fanne-girl in class just last week.  It’s a seminar on Jane Austen (I know, right? College is the best…) and we were discussing the powerful emotional resonance of Austen’s work.  My professor was talking about why she personally loves Austen and how she goes to her works to relax and find comfort when she’s had a rough week.  She asked us which books were like that for us, and amid people’s responses of Harry Potter (which I can’t disagree with), I spoke up for our Anne girl! I talked about my love affair with Anne’s story and the way that I resonate with it differently every time I read the books; different characters, different events, different language and scenic descriptions.  I don’t read Anne as a 22 year old the same way I did as a 12 year old, so the story is familiar and comforting, but also different each time.  I still find myself surprised, excited, outraged, smitten, devastated and enchanted with every reading.  I may have gotten a bit excited in class, but I’m not ashamed! I like to let my Anne flag fly!

Which books do you come back to again and again? What makes them so special?

-lil sis

Anne really is all around

Hello dear Fannes!

Seeing as I’m in between Anne readings, I thought I’d take the time to head in a slightly different direction than usual. You see, although I’m not currently reading Anne, I find in my life various and sundry activities that I’m quite sure she would wholeheartedly approve of. Let’s take a look at a few different areas:

On the Bookshelf

Although I’ve been interspersing some non-fiction/meaty/make my brain explode books, I’ve also kept some time to keep it light this summer. (Remember that I’m south of the Equator!) I’ve recently finished Sisterhood Everlasting by Anne Brashares. If you’re familiar with the Traveling Pants series, this is the fifth and final book. It catches up with our four kindred spirits right around their 30th brithdays. Since I recently turned 30 myself (and since I loved the other four books when I read them several years ago) I was excited to pick this one up. I finished it in a flash and although the main arc of the story came as quite a surprise, I turned the pages quickly and ended feeling satisfied and hopeful about our ladies of the pants.

Are you more of a Carmen, Lena, Tibby or Bridget? And yes, you can still be Anne if you want…

I’m now working my way a bit more slowly through Jane Austen’s Emma. I’m actually a bit ashamed to admit that I’ve never read it (Anne Girls should have read all of Austen’s novels by 30!) but alas, here I am playing catch-up. I’ve found it to be a delightful story – as I knew it would be – and am loving the few chapters I digest each night before bed.

We know that Anne had her share of blunders and victories in the world of match-making. Have you tried your hand? Was it successful?

In the Kitchen

I’ve had some time this summer to enjoy new experiences in the kitchen. It’s no secret that I love to bake, but I’ve been branching out some recently and the results have been delicious! Since the farmer’s markets here are abundant and very economical, I’ve been bringing home kilos of peaches and making fantastic pies. I’ve not dabbled much in the pie arena in the past, but with an excellent crust tutorial from a dear friend, I’m well on my way to adding some new staples to my dessert rotation. There’s a special kind of peach here called the “durazno platino” which means banana peach. It looks like a peach (I know you’re trying to picture a very funny looking fruit) but the flesh is lighter in color and the taste has a little less tang and a little more sweet. They’re delicious and make killer pies. I can’t get enough. I can’t help but wish I was in that Ingleside kitchen with Anne and Susan rolling out those crusts together. And just as they used to do, I tend to wait for the sun to go down to do my heavy baking, seeing as ovens and no air conditioning make for an inferno-like situation.

I also made a scrumptious batch of lemon curd tonight. I’ve been a long-time fan of the stuff, although I’ve never attempted to make it myself. I was inspired by this recipe that I ran across recently (and if you haven’t checked out  Forever Young Adult, go spend some time clicking around! Great stuff..) I made a cake this week that called for five egg whites. Not wanting to waste those yolks, it was positively providential that the curd recipe called for exactly five! The whisking was long, but oh-so-worth-it. I think Rachel Lynde herself would go in for seconds.

Have you whipped up anything Anne-tastic lately?

On the Small Screen

“Big screen” would have sounded better, but it would have been a lie. I actually don’t have a television, so all my viewing is on my trusty laptop. I don’t mind so much, but at times it would be nice to stroll through the gardens at Downton in HD. Don’t know what I’m referring to? Were you completely confused by the link to the lemon curd recipe? Then stop reading this immediately and get thine self to Downton Abbey! It’s the best series I’ve watched in a long time. The story takes us to England in the years just prior to World War 1, which I can’t even refer to without pausing for a moment to remember our fallen soldier.

*crickets chirping*

Walterrrrrrr I miss you.

And we’re back! Seriously, watch this show. Wealthy aristocratic family, the servants who work for them, drama, love, war, the guy we love to hate, the guy we love to love… you’ll be hooked in no time.

Now that I’ve finished watching Season 2, what am I going to do for months and months of my life before Season 3 comes out?

This was fun. Let’s do it again sometime.

-big sis

at long last

I know what you’re thinking: it’s just another fair-weather blog. Those Anne Girls are no better than Jenny Penny or that scoundrel Dovie Johnson.

I first must beg your forgiveness.

Then I must say that we’re not THAT bad.

Finally I must say that I just finished Ingleside, which should be obvious from the Penny/Johnson references.

This was actually the final book in the series for this cycle, seeing as we were experimenting with a new reading order this time around. It wasn’t bad, but I can somewhat confidently conclude that I prefer the old fashioned way — good ole numerical order.

With regard to the actual book, I must say that there are several heart-warming tales captured in this sixth installment (or eighth and final depending on how you look at it) in the Anne series. Believe it or not, my two favorite parts of the book are the first and last chapters.

Our story begins with a visit to dear old Avonlea. I love seeing Anne and Diana together again and still good friends after so many years have passed. Their picnic day reminds me of my own dear adventures with friends when I’m home for a coveted visit. Those shared times can still be sweet and special, even though our lives have taken such different turns. We enjoy those moments of reminiscing and dreaming a bit about the future, but then with the same joy we return to our “regular lives” a few days later. I love keeping up with friends from different seasons of life. In fact, in my opinion it’s one of life’s most fun and interesting gifts.

The final chapter is sweet in a different way. For the Anne and Gilbert fans out there, it’s a classic.

I’ll be waiting a bit to delve back into the world of PEI, seeing as too quick of a turn around makes the readings lose a bit of their wonder. As half of the Anne Girls, though, I would like to pop in here more often. The world wide web is in desperate need of more of our sisterly ramblings, wouldn’t you say?

Anneishly yours,

-big sis