The Pack Horse Library Project

^]From 1935-1943 the Pack Horse Library Project was in operation, bringing books to thousands of families and schools, most in rural Kentucky.  The Pack Horse Library Project was part of the WPA, and was the inspiration of Eleanor Roosevelt.

During the Depression, coal mines in Appalacia were closed, and the families living in areas of Kentucky and West Virginia were extremely poor.  Many libraries were closed, and many children did not go to school.  The Pack Horse Library consisted of women who stuffed their saddlebags with books, and delivered books to rural areas of Kentucky on a weekly basis.  In fact, many people who were illiterate learned to read through this program.  Children and adults alike looked forward to new books and magazines every week.

Eleanor Roosevelt wanted to help increase employment in an impoverished area, and the pack horse librarians were paid $28 for their work.  They had to supply their own horse, and often had to brave sleet and snow to deliver books.

I had never heard of this program until reading The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes.  The book is about the women of the Pack Horse Library Project (a fictionalized version of a real program), and I was so interested in the program, that I had to find out more.  Many of  the librarians would read to sick people on their route, or read to those that could not read themselves.  It gave women, who were in general not treated well by their husbands, a chance to do something worthwhile and feel worthwhile.  What a great service this project was to poor, isolated families that otherwise would have no contact with books or magazines.  Eleanor Roosevelt helped our country in so many ways.  Creating the Pack Horse Library Project as part of the WPA was just one of her many contributions.

Artist Jonathan Borofsky

Modern art has been one of my great passions over the past 35 years.  I appreciated art as a young girl, and after taking several art history classes at UCLA, I was hooked.  When Ron and I got married, we combined my love of modern art with his willingness to learn and pay for an art collection, and started purchasing art.  Picasso, Miro, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Claude Pissarro were just some of the artists we collected.  We had great fun researching artists, going to artists studios, and even buying one Lichtenstein at a Sotheby's auction over the phone.

Those days are gone, but my love of art remains.  If you are not familiar with Jonathan Borofsky, let me introduce you.  He is 77 years old, works and lives in Maine, and his work is hung in dozens of public collections.  He has large permanent public sculptures around the world, from the U.S. Federal Building in Los Angeles, to the Seattle Art Museum and the Rockefeller Center in New York.

Borofsky left New York after working as a gallery artist, to move to a quiet life in Maine.  His ideas flow from his mind and heart.  When he was doing small gallery projects he worked alone.  Now, with huge sculptures, he has 14-20 people working with him on one project.  It's a very different experience.  Here are a couple of examples of his work.  Enjoy.

The Best Lemon Icebox Cake Ever

I  was looking for a good, easy dessert for a luncheon I had in January, so I called my mom.  I knew she'd have something for me.  She had two old desserts that she used to make in the 1970's, one easy and one hard.  I opted for the easy.  Boy, was it easy.  From start to finish it took less than 15 minutes to get into the oven.  Here it is.  Everyone raved about it.  I have made it several times and I get raves from everyone.

                                         Best Lemon Icebox Cake

1 package ladyfingers
5 eggs, separated
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Juice of two lemons, plus rind of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 small container heavy cream

Take one small springform pan and line the sides with ladyfingers, split, with rounded side facing outward.  Beat egg yolks, add milk, lemon juice and lemon rind and blend.  Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks, add cream of tartar.  Then fold egg white mixture into egg yolk and milk and lemon mixture.  Pour into springform.  (batter will be like a souffle).

Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn off oven and keep cake in over for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and allow cake to cool completely.  I do this part on day one, then finish with whipped cream the following day.

When cake is completely cool, beat heavy cream until stiff, add a little powdered sugar if you like, then top the cake with the cream.  You can complete  the cake all the same day if you want, but be sure the cake is cool before adding whipping cream.  Enjoy.

The Decline In Newspapers

According to the most recently available data, there were 1,286 daily newspapers in the United States in 2016. The number of daily newspapers in the U.S. has been on the decline since 1970, when there were 1,748 daily news publications in the country. However, given the ongoing struggle of print media around the world, a decrease of around 460 newspapers over several decades is more positive than many might expect.

Daily newspapers in the U.S.

Whilst the actual number of daily newspapers has remained comparatively stable since the 1970s, the same cannot be said for circulation figures. In 2017, the paid circulation of daily newspapers in the United States amounted to 30.92 million, more than half the figure recorded for 1985. Even the major players in the industry are suffering – Chicago Tribune’s daily circulation fell from just over 438 thousand in September 2017 to 238 thousand in early 2019. Household names like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal also saw a sharp drop in circulation figures, leaving little hope for smaller publications.

The reasons for the decline in circulation are obvious.  The online presence of various news sources, blogs and other online options that bring news, gossip and all kinds of information to new readers.  It's hard to get new young subscribers to information they can get on line for free.  

The topic of newspapers and their decline came up with my mom and husband recently.  My mom felt that the crossword puzzle in the paper was still a big draw for many people.  She turned out to be right.  Over 50 million people start their day by folding their newspaper crossword into a their particular small square, getting a pencil and a cup of coffee, and going to work on their crossword.  It's a ritual for many, a way to slow down and get away from the hustle and bustle of the world, and relax and think.  30 million people do daily crosswords from the newspaper, the rest do them from magazines or online.  My husband Ron didn't think many people did crosswords anymore, and that people today were focused on Fantasy Football.  It turns out he was right too.  In the U.S. and Canada, about 59 million people play fantasy sports every year.  Fantasy football is most popular, with about 40 million people playing fantasy football every year, the rest play fantasy in other sports.

Two different ways to start the day.  Crosswords and other word and number puzzles have always been, and will continue to be popular, regardless of newspaper circulation.  Fantasy sports will likely surpass those who enjoy crosswords as a way to start the day.  There's always something new to attract the public's fancy, but there's still a place for crosswords in this world.

Finally, Dinner at Hunter Steakhouse

Hunter Steakhouse opened in 1970, 50 years ago.  I have probably driven by it over 100 times and said to myself, "We should try it."  Finally, when Ron had a taste for prime rib, we decided to go.  They have Happy Hour from 5-6, so we went for that.  Happy Hour takes place in the bar area (the restaurant is on several levels) and is not handicap accessible, so they allowed us to eat in the main dining room, but order from the happy hour menu if we wanted.  In addition to happy hour, they have an early bird menu, which is very reasonable.  Ron and I ended up ordering from the regular menu and splitting.  For a $7 charge, you can split a meal, then get an extra salad and an extra side.  So, for $34 we had a prime rib dinner for 2 (with bone), potatoes, veggies and choice of caesar salad (delicious) or garden salad served tableside with lots of additions.

The food was excellent.  Meat was perfectly prepared, and the service was too.  Our waitress, Karina, was so attentive and efficient.

The menu starts with many starters:  shrimp cocktail, artichoke dip, onion rings with dip, fried calamari and many other traditional appetizers.  Steaks, prime rib and several seafood choices are the protein entrees.  A choice of salad (the tableside salad is great), potatoes and vegetable completes the meal.  Oh, if you order the early bird dinner you also get a slice of chocolate cake.

Hunter Steakhouse is a little difficult to find.  Well, not exactly, but it is hard to get in the parking lot.  It's at the corner of Vista Way and the 5 freeway.  It's worth searching for.  The food is excellent, service is too, and the ambience is warm and friendly.  There aren't too many places around that serve a traditional prime rib dinner.  Red Tractons used to be our restaurant of choice for prime rib, but considering everything, Hunter Steakhouse is our new "go to"place for prime rib.

Remodeling Is So Much Fun

Ron and I decided to make our house more handicapped friendly, so in January we embarked on some remodeling.  We widened doors, eliminated walls, changed bedroom flooring to wood, redid some of the tile floor, put in a ADA sink in the bathroom, turned our laundry area into a laundry/pantry combination.

All that sanding and gluing sure does make a mess.  I must compliment our team of workers from Pacific Waters Construction for their excellent work.  They arrived at 8am on a Monday, and by Friday afternoon, most everything was completed.  Johnnie and his team of four worked every day until 4pm.  They covered everything with plastic as best they could, but the dust was hard to handle.  I didn't think about the fact that breathing in dust was probably not so good for Ron, but he survived the ordeal.  I am so happy with the results.  The wheelchair is easy to roll and it is finally easy to get through doorways.  No more banging into every wall and door!

Thank goodness for doggie day care!  Pepper spent every day from 8-5 at day care while construction was taking place.  He was safe, and the workers could keep doors and gates open and not worry about the most important member of our family escaping.  He loved playing all day, and came home exhausted every evening.

People asked me why I was remodeling the house, that it wouldn't add any value to the house, in fact it may depreciate the value of the house.  My answer is that I have to LIVE in the house, and I want to make it as comfortable as possible.  I'm so happy we made these changes to our home.  Life is easier for me and Ron.

Quote from Park Avenue Summer

While reading the novel Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen, I ran across a quote that I loved and just had to share because it's so true.  "Everything that's nice and thick when you're young gets thin and everything that's nice and thin gets thick."  The book is about a young woman who gets a job in New York City as Helen Gurly Brown's secretary, at the time she is trying to revive Cosmopolitan Magazine.

The quote is so true.  When you're young, you have thick beautiful hair, nice thick eyebrows that you have to pluck to keep them in line, full lips, skin that is thick and doesn't sag and strong nails.  As you get older the hair gets thin and doesn't shine the way it used to, the eyebrows get so thin that many women have to get eyebrow weaves or else use a pencil (I don't dare pluck a single eyebrow.  They don't grow back anymore), skin sometimes gets paper thin and droops and gets blotchy, and nails get thin.  Oh, did I mention that the nice waist and hips you used to have are no more?  As you age, the waist goes away, replaced by a thick middle, often called a muffin top.  The shapely body is no longer what it was.  Well defined hips and legs seem to disappear,  replaced by  a more straight up and down look.  What was once firm and defined becomes saggy and soft.  (boobs and face).

I keep telling myself it's what's inside the package that's important, not the outside.  I still believe this, but really, does everything have to change so drastically?  We've just got to do the best we can with what we've got at any age!!!!

The Remarkable Life Of Katherine Johnson

You'd think that being handpicked to be one of the three black students to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools in 1939 would be a highlight of one's life.  But it's just one of several breakthroughs that have marked Katherine Johnson's remarkable life.

West Virginia State's president Dr. John W. Davis selected Katherine and two male students as the first black students to be offered admission.  She left her teaching job, and enrolled in the graduate math program.  After only one year in the graduate program,  Katherine left school to start a family with her husband.  She returned to teach after her three children were all in school, but it wasn't until 1952 that she was told about open positions at the all-black West Area Computing section of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Langley laboratory.  Katherine moved her family to pursue this new opportunity. The woman in charge was Dorothy Vaughan, who soon assigned her to a project in the Maneuver Loads Branch, where she worked for the next four years.  While she was wrapping up her work on flight test data, her husband died of cancer.

The launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik changed history, and Katerine life.  In 1957, Katherine provided some of the math for the 1958 document Notes on Space Technology  She did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard's May 1961 mission Freedom 7.

In 1962 as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn, Katherine Johnson was called upon to do the work for which she would become most known.  Computers and calculators were used to control the trajectory of the capsule, but the astronauts were not convinced of their accuracy.  As a part of the preflight checklist John Glenn asked engineers to "get the girl."  Glenn said he was not ready for blast off until Katherine said everything was ok.

The movie Hidden Figures was based on Katherine and other black women that played an integral part in our space program.  She was played by Taraji P. Henson in the movie.  In 2015, at age 97,  President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

The Life of Eugene Bullard

Gene Bullard (1895-1961) was the first African American fighter pilot.  He flew missions for the French Army during WW1 and was called "the swallow of death."  He lived one of the most fascinating lives you can imagine, from leaving Columbus, Georgia and stowing away on an oceanliner to get to Paris, to fighting for the French in WW1 and WW2, to spying for the French during WW2, to boxing, nightclub owner and jazz drummer.  He knew everyone from Ernest Hemmingway, F.Scott Fitzgerald and Langston Hughes, to Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Louis Armstrong and  Charles DeGualle    .

One of the main reasons he left the U.S. was the racism he saw everywhere, and in everything he did.  He knew he could never achieve what he wanted in an America that he saw as racist.  France offered him opportunities he never would have had in the U.S., and although there was some racism, blacks were far more accepted than they were in Georgia.

He was awarded 15 medals of valor by the French government and met more important people than one could hope to meet in 10 lifetimes.  He returned to New York after WW2, found his two daughters who he had lost contact with, and settled in Harlem for the remainder of his years.  He was not mentioned in the American press at the time of his greatest achievements, nor is he mentioned in any history books.  However he was a great hero in France.  Gene Bullard lived a fascinating life.  To learn more about this amazing man, you might want to read All Blood Runs Red.  I loved it.

This Gorilla Reunion Will Warm Your Heart

I saw this video recently of the reunion between Damian Aspinall, English business tycoon, and the gorilla he had helped raise.  The Aspinall Foundation is dedicated to  breeding and returning gorillas into the wild.  Five years ago, Kwibi, the gorilla Damian helped raise, was released to a jungle preserve in Gabon.  Damian wanted to find the gorilla and see if he remembered him after so much time had passed.

The reunion is heart warming.  Watch this video and you will see in action the bond between man and gorilla.  (and many other wild animals for that matter)..I hope you enjoy this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ-bJFVJ2P0

The Joy of Walking

Fran sent me a funny article recently on walking.  I laughed as I read it, but then started thinking about how wonderful walking really is.  You can do it anywhere, anytime, no equipment needed.  You can do it at any age, until you can no longer walk. 

Fran and I have  been walking together for almost 20 years.  I used to live in Del Mar, she lived in Solana Beach, and we would meet regularly, maybe three times a week, usually for a beach walk.  There is nothing better.  When I moved to Carlsbad and then Oceanside, we continued to walk, but only once a week, and changed our regular location to Encinitas, where we again enjoyed walking the beach.  As time went on we had knee replacements, general aches and pains and other commitments that made getting together sometimes difficult, but we made it happen more often than not.

Walking is good therapy, whether with a partner, group or alone.  We walk and talk about just about everything.  We get good advice from each other too.  No therapists required for us!  I walk my dog everyday too.  We have a 2.3 mile loop around our community that I walk all the time.  I think, plan and just enjoy the beauty of Ocean Hills.  I also listen to books and podcasts.  I get a lot of audio reading done while walking. 

Recently I've been having lots of back and hip pain, but walking helps.  Just 20 minutes of walking and my back and hips are stretched out and I feel better than had I taken a pain reliever.  Walking clears your head, gives you a chance to be alone with yourself, think, plan, dream.  It's a remedy for much of what ails you, both physically and mentally. 

Tomorrow Fran and I will walk at Moonlight Beach.  It should be sunny and 75 degrees in the middle of winter.  How lucky we are.  We will chat about family and friends, plan future fun things to do together, then find a place for lunch.  You want to know where to eat in Encinitas?  Just ask me or Fran.  We have tried them all, but usually end up at The Taco Stand. 

Know Where Your Garlic Comes From

One of the most popular additions to our food is garlic.  We can buy whole bulbs, or peeled garlic or crushed garlic in oil.  Many of us buy the whole garlic in jars for its convenience.  Until now, I never thought about where the garlic came from and who might have suffered to get it to market.  After watching the Netflix documentary, Rotten, season 1 episode 3, I have much to think about.

About 1/3 of garlic available to Americans is from China.  This may have changed since tariffs on Chinese goods have gone into effect.  The peeled garlic that you see in the vegetable section of the supermarket very likely comes from China.  The Chinese use forced labor, prisoners, who are required to work 15-16 hours per day, seven days a week, to peel the garlic.  After a short time the prisoners thumbs are completely trashed and can no longer do the job.  The workers must then use their teeth to peel the garlic.  In addition, China does not have the high standards we have for production, and allow bleach and toxic pesticides to be used to create a very white garlic, with no stems or sprouts.

I can't even imagine what the Chinese workers endure.  I will not be buying peeled garlic in the future unless it is from a local farmer, and I know it was peeled locally.  The best way to make sure that you do not buy peeled garlic from China is first and foremost, to grow it yourself or to buy it fresh at a local farmers market.  If peeled garlic has stems and sprouts removed, it is likely from China.  Also, if the garlic is very white, it has probably been bleached.

Gilroy farmers are esctatic over the Trump tariffs, as less garlic is being imported from China.  This is good for consumers too, as they are less likely to eat garlic that has been sprayed with toxic chemicals.  The tariffs won't last forever, and sooner or later peeled Chinese garlic will dominate the market again.  It's best to buy whole garlic bulbs from local farmers market, and peel them yourself.  It's a little more work, but it makes me feel I'm doing the right thing in not contributing to the profits of a company that treats its workers inhumanely.

By the way, it is very difficult to find out the origin of many food items.  Foreign companies have American distributors.  Fish and meat have specific numbers that identify the country of origin, but I'm not so sure about bottled products.