Mistress of Nothing

This book starts in England (mid-19th century) and is the story of a Lady's maid servant. We quickly learn in the story that the Lady is often sick with a cough. My mom could tell you historically what this probably was, but the author does not share. This has allowed the maid servant to go all over the world with her as she seeks warmer climates.

The adventure in this book is in Egypt - where Sally has always wanted to travel.

The author does a great job in describing how Egypt looks through Sally's eyes. Both the land and it's cultures. I was happy with Sally, sad with Sally and scared with Sally. The book is full of love and heartache. You really feel for Lady Duff Gordon as she misses her children and her husband and as she finds herself as a member of a male society.

But for some reason - I don't want to recommend this book. Maybe because at first I really thought it would be a book my mother enjoy - and by the end I knew it wouldn't be? Maybe because the story left me hanging. It didn't wrap it up and tie a pretty bow. And maybe because I wanted more history - a story I could really believe and not just be like, "I wonder if this is really how that happened?" By the way - Lady Duff Gordon is a real person. It is known that she traveled to Egypt with a maid, but that is all.

If Egypt or hierarchical societies interest you - check this book out!

Comments

Labor of Love (Part 1 of 3)

I love lace. I love the delicacy with which it presents itself to the world. That being said, I dont really use it very much. I do have some family doilies, and my wedding dress has some lace, but I dont go too crazy. I like to be able to clean things, and not have dust mites clinging to every available piece of cloth (they cling to everything else anyway.) So, I decided to try a painting technique. Why not paint the lace on the object? Easy to clean, lovely design, what could be better? We got this child's vanity in an old attic pick. Yes, we went into someone's hot and muggy attic for several hours. Yes, they let us jsut dig through things (can you believe it?!?!) unsupervised. Yes, we had to take our own flashlights. And yes, there was mouse droppings and dead birds up there. It was gross, but worth it. My boy LOVED it! American Pickers is his favorite tv show. So this school bus yellow vanity sat there looking at us. Begging for new life! I knew if we left ...

What's Cookin Wednesday - Sweet Potato & pinto bean tacos

SWEET POTATO AND PINTO BEAN TACOS adapted from thugkitchen.com ....but there is offensive language on the site (and in the recipes) - so you've been warned! 3 cups of cooked pinto beans (about 2-15 ounce cans) 1 teaspoons of coconut or olive oil (Olive oil is what I had) ½ cup veggie broth or water (water....) 2 teaspoons smoked paprika or chili powder (I went chili powder) 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (I used what I had in the cabinet) 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I have both of these at home usually, went with lemon juice this time around) 2-3 garlic cloves 1 pound of sweet potatoes (this should be about 2 cups when you chop it all up) ½ of a yellow onion 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil salt to taste soft corn tortillas standard taco toppings that you like to add. Warm the first teaspoon of oil in a medium pot. Add the beans, water, chili powder, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. Get it to start bubbling slowly for about 5 m...

Caning with Grandpa!

Here is what we were working toward! (Aka: the finished product!) I got this chair either out of the trash or very cheap. I cannot actually remember, as we have a host of chairs without seats in them waiting for a new lease on life. I have been wanting to work on a chair like this for some time. I had a dream a few years back of me sitting and caning a chair with my grandfather. Ever since that dream, I have wanted to see it happen. So this last weekend, I made the trek up to Indiana to spend a few wonderful days with my grandparents. The days spent with them are like living in another world. They have no TV, so we spend lots of time talking, reading and playing games. They live out in the country, and you can see the stars up close. It gets darker, since there are no city light or lights from other homes...which means they want to go to bed at 7pm. :-)... AND wake up at 4am. We got started caning the chair in the cold basement. All of Grandpa's tools were down there, so we coul...

Strikes my fancy

Search This Blog