North Carolina:

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina. Can't you see the sunshine? Can't you just feel the moonshine? Ain't just like a friend of mine to hit me from behind, and I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind (Sweet Baby James).

Back in my birth state for a wedding... such a breathtakingly beautiful place. Maybe I'll move back one day.

Tiny Bubbles:

On a fluke, I bought a bar of this soap. It was so rich and lathered up like crazy and smelled so good that I found myself washing my hands just for the pure pleasure of it! Now with the Swine Flu season upon us, I've decided to order more bars!

Refreshing Verbena Shea Butter Soap

The oil-rich nut of the Karite (Shea Butter) tree is prized the world over for its incredibly skin-nurturing and moisturizing properties. Caswell-Massey presents a triple milled, shea soap with 23% Shea Butter, more than any other soap. The creamy sensual lather will leave you flawlessly smooth, supple, refreshed and smelling of the scent of verbena. This refreshing 19th century fragrance is based on the citrus scented Verbena plant and has an overall air of insouciant charm... plus it also helps repel insects!

My Version:
Here's another salad recipe... you may have seen this one around. But this is my version... the tried-and-true-most-requested salad in my arsenal. And every single time I make it for social gatherings, people hunt me down for the recipe... seriously, no exaggeration!

Crunchy Romaine Toss

THE DRESSING
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup Canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

THE CRUNCHY
1 cup pecans, chopped in large chunks
1 1/2 cups La Choy Rice Noodles (in the blue can)
4 Tablespoons butter

THE SALAD
1 head of Romaine lettuce
1 bunch of fresh broccoli, chopped
4 green onions, chopped

In a glass jar with a lid, combine all dressing ingredients. Shake very well. Refrigerate.

Saute the pecans in 2 tablespoons butter (don't let them burn!); drain well and cool on a paper towel. Saute the rice noodles in two tablespoons butter for about 2 minutes; drain well and cool on a paper towel. After they cool, gently combine.

Cut the romaine lettuce leaves horizontally in skinny pieces. Cut off the broccoli tops and chop (discard the stems). Chop the green onions in small pieces. For serving appeal, layer the lettuce then the broccoli then the green onions then the CRUNCHY. Right before serving, shake the DRESSING very well, and pour 1 cup of it onto the SALAD (reserve the rest of the DRESSING -- I put it in a pretty bottle next to the SALAD and let people add more if they want), then toss it all together. Yum!

The Talented Mr. Derain:

This is my favorite image of Henri Matisse, painted by one of his close friends, Andre Derain. Derain was a painter, sculptor, illustrator, stage designer and collector. He was a leading exponent/founding father of Fauvism. His range was truly amazing. What a talent!

September's Pick:

I'm very close to my youngest sister, but physically we're very far apart -- she lives in Northern California, I live in North Texas. We plan trips together and visit as much as possible, and we call and email each other depending on the dramas swirling around in our lives. Currently we have become members of a two-person book club that meets via telephone every Saturday morning around 9:00 am. It has been stimulating, thought provoking and downright fun to discuss books with her.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett is her pick for September. I know, I know, this book was written in 2002... why, you might ask, am I just now getting around to reading it? I dunno, I guess I was busy in 2002. I have no idea what this book is about. Oh boy, can't wait!

Just Wondering:

Did you know that since 1985, Americans are thought to be suffering a loss in the quality and quantity of close friendships? That 25% of Americans have no close confidants, and the average total number of confidants per citizen has dropped from four to two? That modern American friendships have lost the "force and importance" of earlier times?

Why are friendships on the wane? Are we just too busy? Is it the change in our priorities? Is it because we work longer hours? Is it because for many people a job is not just a job? Have we placed more importance on our jobs, or it is because our jobs are a more important part of our identity than they used to be?

Has television replaced friendship? (ie, do you know more about this season's Dancing with the Stars contestant than your next door neighbor?) Have we stopped talking to one another? In the overuse of modern technology do we have too many casual relationships and lost the art of true friendship?

"Nothing replaces friendship: not money, power, beauty, possessions or fame." -Rita Robinson, The Friendship Book: The Art of Making and Keeping Friends; "The only thing we'll be remembered for when we die is the love we leave behind." -Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, On Death and Dying

Lock of Hair:

Above my grandmother's bed hung a frame, and underneath the glass was a picture of a painting of a baby from an advertisement. As each of her 12 grandchildren were born, she taped a lock of the baby's hair on top of the picture. Next to each lock she wrote in script our first and middle names and the dates of our births. You could tell from far away who the oldest ones were by the yellowing of the tape and the fading of the ink. Some of the locks were curls and some were straight. Some were black, some brown, and a few -- like mine -- were blond. As a young child, her bedroom was the first place I went when we visited. As I jumped on the bed to get a closer look, I would zero in on my lock of hair with "Janet Ann" next to it -- I knew just where it was located in the frame. I'm not sure why I loved it so much or why I had to look at it everytime I was there, but maybe it was because it meant family and I was an important part. Maybe it was because to me it meant that I belonged.