its my party and i'll give away something if i want to...

October 26, 2010 candacemorris 48 Comments

1. Most memorable book to date is 1 chapter from completion: The Dancing Wu LI Masters, by Gary Zukav. It is an older book about quantum physics...not the lightest read but such a delightful mind-blower that I won't be the same after reading it.
2. I am a whisky and whiskey and bourbon drinker - that applies to my life, to which this book applies, so... that is the answer for #2. Jameson and Knob Creek are my go-tos currently.
3. We know eachother from college. Simpson College (now University. The nerve, to change after we have graduated!) Additionally, we were both English Majors - when I realized you were something special in a Giardetti class and you both had this special connection. Literature breathed!
4. So many little things that resonate with me personally; however, I read your blog to be inspired. I too am an artist, of the comedic variety, but that really boils down to writing - so I turn to yours to inspire me to sit on my ass and do the shit! I am such a horrible avoider and procrastinator. Enough about me.
Thank you Candace.

1. What is the most memorable book you've read most recently? --> most of my reading has been on pregnancy and childbirth of late, but before i started with that, I read a book called Through Black Spruce about aboriginal hardships in northern Ontario...I have a thing about aboriginal culture and spirituality, so I'm always interested in books about said topics
2. What kind of alcohol would you pair with this book? --> oh man, ALCOHOL?! it's been so long...likely a really hefty (in body, not in size) glass of shiraz...yummmmm
3. How did we come to be acquainted? --> via JSL i believe
4. What is your primary reason for reading my blog? What brings you back? --> well originally i started reading blogs because i'm genuinely interested in other's lives, particularly if those lives are markedly different from my own (which most of the bloggers i read are). But, I've come to know you and therefore adore you, so I keep coming back to see how you are evolving as a writer, a cook, an aunt, a liver of a balanced life...and i'm continuously intrigued!!

happy anniversary again!!
xoxo
j

1. Easy answer: The Little Prince
2. Something warm and sweet.. Bailey's and coffee, perhaps.
3. Jordan!
4. Honestly I've not been here before, but after a quick look around you will certainly be seeing me, again.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Candace! This is one snazzy giveaway and yes, anyone will be lucky to go home with any of those two precious gifts, you're too kind! Here are my answers to your very interesting questions.

1. The most memorable book I read recently and I'm still finishing is Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I'm a non-preachy vegetarian person so I really like his approach to this subject. He gives you facts about the food production in this country without pushing you too hard to change your mind, really, he doesn't have to, the facts speak for themselves, but it is his genuine concern for his family that makes it so sincere.
2. I think an Irish coffee would go quite well with it.
3. I 'discovered' you thanks to your dear Kelly, one time she linked to you and I was intrigued.
4. I really appreciate your honesty. A lot of people keep very joyful blogs that are a delight to read, but we know that life is full of twists and turns and not everything is dandy, you share real things, real emotions I can relate to and I don't think that's an easy task, to talk openly about the hard stuff. You are also a funny lady and I love your photos!

Happy Birthday, dear one. I remember when I first found your blog, you were making soup for the Saint and drinking lots of martinis......you took a photo of the two of you kissing -- it was whirly and romantic.

That was a few years ago.
Now I count you as one of my best friends.

Obviously you don't need to enter me in this drawing but I wanted to pop by and support you in this giveaway!!!

1. Well I'm currently reading and re-reading Andy Goldsworthy -- A Collaboration With nature. It's more of a picture book, actually. But I pour over it every day lately...not just because it's new...but because it moves me deeply. I cried real tears when I saw his work with snow and ice for the first time. I love him.

2. Frankly I've been taking it with a hot, lavender bath every night and a small glass of Malbec.

3. A few years ago, I ran down a rabbit trail, and there you were with an extremely large pocket watch and a collection of small cakes. When I say that few "years ago" bit, I realize we have history. And that's such a beautiful thing.

4. First and foremost, I read it because I love you!!! But it is important to add here that your writing and photography are captivating (you know I mean it, I'm rather picky). You write with honesty about your introspections and experiences and I love the grit that is sometimes filtered in with the fine silk. You're a woman of quality and virtue. I'm drawn to you like a moth to light.

1. Waterland, by Graham Swift. It's the first book in years that I've stayed up all night to finish. Each sentence is a pleasure.

2. I would pair it with Bailey's, or Guinness - something delicious from the UK.

3. I found you via the link on Emily's blog. I'm so glad I did!

4. I read Musings of a Melancholic because your words and images are beautiful and true, because I find courage and inspiration here, and because I feel you are a friend and kindred spirit, even though we've never met.

1. My most memorable recent book would be Ayn Rand's "We The Living". Her words and stories stay with me; I am often reminded of them while reading current news.
2. A vodka gimlet seems most appropriate.
3. I found your blog via Miss Jillian and I'm so glad that I did!
4. I keep coming back because you (and your writing) inspire and encourage me. I value your honesty and your never give up, take no prisoners, attitude. And you are my friend. I get very defensive when people claim that friendships formed online aren't real. If it weren't for the internet, I would have never met so many amazing women.

1. What is the most memorable book you've read most recently?
I don't get as much time to read as i'd like, but the last book that really stuck with me was Jeanette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle

2. What kind of alcohol would you pair with this book?
I don't generally drink when I read, cause I don't want to get distracted lol. This book would definitely require a cold beer of two.

3. How did we come to be acquainted?
(aka...how did you find out about my blog?)
I *think* I found you through a comment you made on someone elses blog? I think...

4. What is your primary reason for reading my blog? What brings you back?

Your words! You have a way with writing that just makes me stop what I am doing ( usually ten things at once) and just focus :-)

Jaime

1. I just recently finished Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was good for my recenly divorced self to read be reminded of all the lovely things about marriage.
2. any kind of red wine is pretty much my drink of choice for most nights in. Though I am adaptable. :)
3. We know each other through the blog world. I believe I found both you and kelly through the lovely plume, who I found through her jewelry and etsy (back in the days when she occasionally DID have something in her shop for more then30 seconds)
4. I read your blog because much of what you say inspires and in many ways applies to me. Much of what you say sounds familiar to me (in the very best of ways). I am so interested in those with an artist life style and yours is certainly that. I love how you write, i love honesty, and the toughness that often shines through.
Im happy to know you Candace :)

1. What is the most memorable book you've read most recently?

"No Touch Monkey! And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late"... I have been suffering from serious wanderlust, need short chapters for my rides on public transit, and need the laughs to start and end my workdays.

2. What kind of alcohol would you pair with this book?

I usually drink coffee while reading since I do most of it on the bus, but if I were to have an adult beverage in hand it would surely be a 10 & Tonic. Everything is better with gin.

3. How did we come to be acquainted?
(aka...how did you find out about my blog?)

I met you in Seattle when I was visiting our beloved Kelly. You were just back from a camping trip, I believe.

4. What is your primary reason for reading my blog? What brings you back?

Your photos haunt me, so much so that I want to make them part of the rest of my life! ;-)

1. most memorable book to date: i must be honest, all the recent books i have read have been about pregnancy and newborns. probably not the answer you were looking for :) but i did not so long ago read a book of short stories that included sherwood anderson, raymond carver, charlotte perkins gilman and flannery o'connor among others. i'm a short story type of gal.

2. ah, to drink...it's been a long time. something light and bubbly sounds pretty de-lish these days.

3. i stumbled onto your page via another blog i follow, perhaps jsl?

4. you. are. real. and i love your photography...

such a lovely idea, this giveaway of yours...and such great treasures :)

Hi Candace,

Anyone would do cartwheels for those prizes...how awesome! I do indeed have a rock and a different earring but so greedy that must enter, must!

My last memorable book was "the girl with the dragon tattoo"; you are allowed to toss me out on account of #2, I do not drink even though I love the smell; I got to know a bit about you through miss dove, and why do I read your blog...you are honest, pictures that talk without words, some of your pictures could easily be ours, I like to know what good writers read so I can improve myself : )

xoxo

I blogged about you!

happy anniversary, and thanks for doing this! :)

It's a celebration of celebrations! I can hardly believe it's been three years, but the way you've grown and stretched those wings hints at a lifetime of blooming. I'm so proud of you.

1. BOOKS! I've been in a slow reread of "Red Bird" by Mary Oliver - taking one of her poems with a glass of water before bed. But every few nights I'm drawn back to one poem in particular, "Straight Talk From Fox" because something in it keeps me wild, resonates with the merciless beauty of nature and the utter truism that wild creatures must live by.

2. BOOZE! Well well well. It's been such a long time but I don't really think that's hindering my decision making skills when it comes to pairing ;) "Red Bird" requires a bit of an aromatic, a tang of grass in the back of the teeth. I think that a very dry Sauvignon Blanc would do the trick, but for me, I may pour just a nip of St. Germain and sip slowly.

3. US! The first night we met you were wearing a silk kimono shirt and dark lips. It was St. Patrick's days and I spent the whole evening eagery waiting for Red to say something offensive (she didn't). You were an anomaly to me, a stronger woman than most, more intelligent than many and perhaps the first woman to truly peak my curiosity. The second night, we both wore dresses over jeans, and you sported an enviable cardigan. You told me about dancing, and not much about work. That's when I knew there was something there. A spark just waiting to be ignited.

4. READ? I read your blog because the way you write cuts through the bullshit of life to the very heart of truth. I read because you have the ability to see what's really there, to offer up divine insight, to share wisdom that has been cosmically placed in your fingertips. I read because I miss you terribly. I read because I need to know that you've been cooking, that your new office has a view, that you found solace over the weekend and a thrill in a date. I read because you are one of my very best friends, and again and again you've wowed me with your prowess.

Happy Birthday Baby. Holding my LOL mug up high.

goodness me!
between amassing a HUGE list of books I want to be reading, I am also beaming with your beautiful words!

Nice words = orgasmic.
blush.
blush.

Thank you ever so very mucho.

...and it's on my facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/sarah.boekell#!/sarah.boekell

happy anniversary!

Happy birthday, Candace!

1. "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers.

2. I'm usually a beer or wine girl, with the occasional g&t. However, I think this novel would pair nicely with a Sazerac.

3. Luck or divine intervention involving a little wandering and wondering around Etsy, which led me to Umber, Plume & you. You're all the bee's knees.

4. I read your blog because I like your mind. I love the way you all love each other and live out loud. I think I recognize you my as friends-to-be.


Cheers on the blog birthday, thank you for sharing.

1. I keep turning back to Ahab's Wife by Sena Naslund. The choices, the strenth, the love, the stitches, the whale.
2. Hot Toddy. Black tea, dollops of honey, bourbon, lemon.
3. I found you through La Plume, who brought me to Sunny, and then dear Umber Dove, and they lead me to you.
4. The community of you ladies. How I wish I could live on that side of the nation so as to have a better chance of meeting all of you in your glory and creativity, the ups and the downs.
Your honesty keeps me coming back.

1. I've read a number of not especially memorable books lately though I am in the middle of a biography of Beatrix Potter that I think will be quite nice. So far I've only gotten through some stuff on familial financial history but I think it can only get better from there. And I looked at all of the pictures!

2. Mmmmm... mulled cider and rum as it is thankfully just coming to that time of year.

3. This morning I found you via Susie (resolute twig).

4. Well it appears your photos are quite lovely so that will surely bring me back. Also, I see you have pictures of the Good Shepherd Center which is very nostalgic for me and serves as a reminder that I will always love Seattle the most, no matter how wonderful Portland supposedly (ok, actually) is.

1. Most memorable book read to date is, The Pillars of the Earth. Such a long but worthy book.
2. I would pair a nice glass of dry white wine with it.
3. You know I can't remember how we became acquainted. What drew me in was your honesty, your artistic looking blog and the fact that at the time you had a header with rows of books and you were sitting close by. I really liked all those images.
4. What keeps me coming back is your rawness, your honesty...I am not one to share like that myself though I admire those that do. I also like blogs by artists like yourself, umberdove, the noisy plume and others because they inspire me in many different and small ways to keep joy and creativity alive, even if only in small ways and in different artistic endeavours. In my own blog I've chosen to try to do a "joyful" blog to counteract so many things in life (not just mine) that are not joyful. I also like to visit other peoples blogs and encourage them ;-) I hope to keep reading you and appreciate all the time you spend to make your blog so readable and visually appealing.

1. Most memorable book...well I've been back and forth between books for the past few months (I put one down and can't find it again, work leaves me feeling like something different), but I have been rereading Harry Potter. Those are always memorable to me and that is why I keep going back to them. Sometimes I just need to be in someone else's world.

2. I imagine myself drinking an adult version of butterbeer.

3. I found yours off of somebody's blog...maybe Ms. Plume or Ms. Sunny?

4. Somewhere, sometime I summed up why it is I am a part of this bloggy world. I think it is because somehow we can admit things to each other without the judgement we may be afraid of in our daily worlds. I love drinking up the details that I so relate to or that I may not have in my life at the moment. Your world makes me realize that I am ok, not crazy, that there are others out there that share the same joys and fears and dreams that I do.

Happy Anniversary to you, and I hope to be aquainted for many more years!!

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo(which you of course gave me).
2. May I please have a press of fresh "holiday blend"?
3. Because my son made the most brilliant decision of his life(and you, thank God, said yes)!
4. You amaze me, inspire me, stretch me and make me want to love you more every week. A father could not be more proud of a child.
Thank you sweet daughter,

1. The most memorable, recent book that I've read has to be Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen. It was fabulous...I can't wait to see Reese Witherspoon star in the movie when it comes out.
2. A few lemon drop cocktails would be my perfect match for this scandalous read. ;)
3. I came across your blog about a year and a half ago. I googled Rilke quotes and there your blog popped up. It stopped me dead in my tracks. To learn over time how many similarities we have, even without ever meeting, has been lovely. So blessed I found you!
4. I read your blog for honest, raw and soul-perching truth. You are a diamond in the rough, friend. I love you because you're a girl after my own heart...in multiple ways. xo

Happy 3 Years!

1. The only book I've been reading for the last month and a half has been a GRE study book and it is making me a bit touched by the elucidated madness of an expanding lexicon. I invent a pairing drink each time I study but that is too easy. I will have to go with The Brothers Karamazov because I finally finished it.
2. The logical choice would seem to be some sort of vodka based beverage but that would be a mistake (any alcohol that achieves success by not having a flavor is a failure, also, there are very few references to vodka in the book, I believe peasants are the main imbibers of this silly beverage). Dimitri often throws debaucherous parties flowing in champagne and Fyodor relies on brandy for comfort/courage so I'm going to go with 2oz brandy, 1oz lemoncello, 2oz cranberry juice, mixed in a snifter with crushed ice (discarded) then topped with champagne. I would call this drink the russian word for patricide but it sounds like what you yell during a seizure so I am going to go in a different direction and call it the Cronus Cocktail (Cronus was Zeus' father and was poisoned so that he could become the archetypal patricide). Drink in one large gulp while shouting "Patricide!" and nursing a head wound.
3. We became acquainted because my first girlfriend's best friend was your husband's sister's best friend, and then I slept under your dining room table while on a hobo-suicide cocktail bender.
4. I follow your blog because I am absolutely starved for social interaction and pine for the days when I lived in the same state as any of my friends. I also enjoy posting absurd and borderline inappropriate comments for you to laugh at. The fact that you are talented, interesting, and a genuinely good person may or may not be a factor as well (it is also possible that I miss you).

I've posted about the giveaway here:
http://lizziederksen.blogspot.com/

1. The Bell Jar
2. Vodka
3. I discovered your blog through The Noisy Plume's blog a couple of years ago. Been reading ever since... though I've never left a comment. Haha.
4. I really identify with you as an introvert. Things you have said on here have helped me better understand myself - accept myself, value myself, explain myself too.

Congrats on your blogging anniversary! Here's to many more!

LEIGH.

...is Kooy the person who leaves the things in the book?

The Lucky 3! Yeehaw!

1. Most memorable? And recently?

I've had my nose in The Supreme Doctrine by Hubert Benoit.
A book on Zen thought. After a once through, I've been using it as a finger-scroll-open Go-to. Va bene.

2. Booze? Well then...
Marnin' - Mimosa
Noon - a High Point (whiskey and grapefruit juice)
Night - VINO, gotta go Cabernet.

choose one, choose all.

3.
It was a Plume link! For most others too, it was a 'if they love the Plume, then there must be
similar interests!

4. Down right - it's your honesty. This raw fact allows us all to connect and relate on a human level. Support, Fear, Inspiration, Defeat...Life.

I thank all you Gals!

1. a comet in moominland by tove jansson- because it reminds me to be an adventurer, climb trees, strike up conversations with strangers, and to beam at the world on a peak-hour train monday morning.
2. a soft honey ale, no less
3. it feels like I've always known you, and I like that. But I believe it was through our crafty mutuals
4. because I need the fresh air, and the honesty, the melancholy, and beauty.

happy anniversary sweet soul x

that and I lust over your photos,
because they are always so delicious.

I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come on over to my blog and check it out. God bless, Lloyd

1. Most memorable book: Abba's Child, by Brennan Manning. It was an awakening of love and acceptance...
2. Most definitely a north coast Barbera
3. Your sister(in-law) Julie. She and I are BFF's!
4. I love the pictures, and I relate with so much that you go through...

i'm late to the party! but better late than never...warmest congrats to you on this milestone, mme. and now, for my answers...
1. i'm currently reading The Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, author of the blog Orangette. i'm not even that far into it yet, and i've been struck by the deep feeling of story, connection, memory, significance, and home it evokes. and yet, it is about simplicity. it is about getting everything possible out of life that i can by paying attention to each small and necessary thing in it. and it has some killer recipes which are way above my ability level, but might be something to aspire to :)

2. my favorite poisons: an iced caramel latte, a salted caramel hot chocolate, blackberry wine, or a double g&t with extra lime (and blueberries...a plume gables special).

3. i don't even remember now, because it feels like we've been connected seamlessly for longer than we have. was it through the quillian's blog? it might have been. let's just say i know you because i'm supposed to know you. and because it brings me joy. and because you sent me hot pink fingerless gloves on one of the darkest days of 2009.

4. i read your blog because i never know whether i'm going to get a piercing look at your soul (and consequently, my own) or a tongue-in-cheek commentary that encourages me not to take myself too seriously, or a beautiful still life image from your day that gives me pause.

just lovely, crm.
she

1. Most memorable book: "Care of the Soul" Thomas Moore. Enormous effect on me and how I live my life, present and aware of my Self.
2. Why champagne of course....

3. Found your blog through Jillian's blog.

4. I continue to read you because you seem to find the way to put into words feelings, worries, sadness just when I'm feeling them and looking for a way to describe what I am feeling... An entry you made last week about being a 2 yr. old artist, brought me to huge tears; I've been fighting with self-esteem issues regarding a major career change I made and you suddenly put everything into perspective. I have eased up on the hard time I've been giving myself. So that's it in a nutshell.

Happy Birthday Candace!

How nice of you to give items away on YOUR birthday. A girl would be so foolish to not enter this swell contest.

Book: I too enjoyed reading "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. It made me realize my childhood wasn't too shabby.

Drink: Well right now I am having major issues with Irish Cream on the rocks (maybe a splash of whiskey), I can't get enough. And then there is the change to whiskey and ginger(s) now that the cold is here. Yet a rich glass of red wine, maybe a blend...any of these are consumed while reading in winter monthes. This far north, it is dark by 6pm :)

Meeting MME: It was definitely from the PLUME where I first recognized you and then Umber was right about the same time. You three flock together and are so fancy in your life documentation, both art and writing. Candace, you are so darn pretty and hopefully we can meet in the flesh. I got to know you the most during the Flickr groups you hosted, Daily Bread and In Search of Home, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Back for More: I keep coming back because you are inspiring, I LOVE your hipstamatic photos, your writing is poignant and clever, you drink whiskey, and your liquor cabinet in enviable...among others.

You are magnanimous and it is a treat to know you.

xoxo, Kristin

1. Off Magazine Street by Ronald Everett Capps
2. PBR or Gin
3. You are practically family. So I read your blog
4. Because when I grow up, I would like to be more like you. And as I grow up I take inspiration from your success in finding your beautiful soul to find my beautiful soul.

1. Most memorable book of late. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Usually when I love a book I can't put it down and denounce everything else in life until the last page has been turned. But this book, I absorbed slowly and completely. Also, in quite a weird way it woke me up to the fact that I had been neglecting a very dear friend.

2. Ace pear cider. I am slightly addicted at the moment.

3. I probably met you through Jillian. Also, weird fact, I started reading your and Kelly's blogs at the same time. I thought you were sisters.

4. Why I keep coming back...you're not boring. That may be over simplified, but it's the truth all the same. I always look forward to your next post and am never let down by what you write. You're also honest in your writing.

Also

http://sweetbeeblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/musings-of-melancholics-3-year.html

and

http://www.facebook.com/melissawright

Congrats on your three year anniversary.

1. The most memorable book I read recently and I'm finishing up now is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. My niece brought it home from school and I really loved his writing.







2. A Sauvignon, Honey Milk bath and some much needed quiet time.







3. I came to be acquainted with you through Plume's blog a few months ago. I kept coming back because I really loved your photographs, and the love you have for your friends. Loyalty and Love for people around you are wonderful traits I admire. Your words expressing your emotions in different states is honest. How you approach your life with no apologies of who you are is refreshing. That is why I keep reading your blog!





Thanks! xoxo

Kathleen

1. If this is the place for honesty, the book I read most honestly was Twilight--I gave in! And 2) if I had to pair this with a beverage, I'm pretty sure it would have to be a wine cooler.

If I can answer what is the most
m e m or a b l e book I've read recently, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

I think it would have to be read with a hot toddy in hand...or mulled wine.

How do we know each other. The Saint I believe is a mutual acquaintance :)

I come back for several reasons: it's hard to be apart from you, and it seems the best way to be a part of your life. You express most of your inner thoughts and passions via writing. I also sneak back here during my workday because it is one of the only consistently soulful and aesthetic avenues for me. I am refreshed by your quaint way of writing and moved by your unique eye for the world through the lens.

1. I am in the process of reading 'Mountains Beyond Mountains', by Tracy Kidder. I needed to know more about Haiti and am inspired by what Dr. Farmer was able to accomplish.
2. I have been sipping a Malbec as I read.
3. I'm not sure how I started reading this blog - perhaps from a comment you made over at the Plume's.
4. Your musings are insightful, refreshing and honest. Thanks for sharing yourself.

Plumey,
No...the person you are thinking of is my friend Leif. Andrew Kooy is a different (amazing and crazy) friend...

Julie: I don't know if you'll be back to check this thread but I LOVED your pairing of Twilight with a wine cooler.

I truly did laugh out loud. Thanks!