Of this and that ...

Yeesh .... no posts this month. I could say I was super-busy traveling and while it would be partly true the other reason is I have no writing ideas.

The weather gods have been dithering between summer and fall, so I've been going around wrongly dressed for almost every event- flowy, sleeveless dress and flip-flops on a miserably rainy day, completely covered for a sunny barbecue and so on. I guess it would help to check the weather every morning but that would require a more planned person than me. I wish fall would just get here already!!

I also bought a super-cute faux-leather jacket (similar to the one alongside though in a richer golden-brown color and prettier zipper detailing) in preparation for fall and I cannot wait to debut it. This was a total impulse buy, we were in a new town with some time to kill, spotted our favorite discounted designer store and ended with me buying the jacket and B with 2 pairs of shoes (just the fodder I needed the next time 'someone' points fingers at my shoe addiction :D) ...

Getting the new items to fit into our luggage was a challenge, since we already traveled with over-stuffed bags! I did find a new way of packing, apparently if you roll your clothes you can get a whole lot more stuffed into the same space. I did pity the customs guys if they happened to open those suitcases, items were apt to roll out every which way. Anyway, we got back with nothing missing so all's well on that front.

Anyways, so I decided I'd just do a round up of some events. The first was the food at the Minnesota State Fair- everything fried and preferably on a stick!

- deep-fried candy bar on a stick- -jumbo smoked turkey leg- -pork chop on a stick-

I've spent a lot of time scoffing at the deep fried chocolate thingy on the left but honestly, it's doughnut batter with melted chocolate in the center and sprinkled with sugar. What's not to love? The only sound I could make after eating this started with an m and ended with the same, I'm pretty surprised I actually had the fortitude to take the pic before I gobbled the rest up. The turkey leg was just plain scary!

The next was an end of summer barbecue. I made these delicious bacon-wrapped jalapenos in two batches; one as in the recipe and the other with a spot of honey in the jalapenos for the timid. I grilled them but next time I think I'll use the oven since our grill was very hot and it ended up charring the poor things. But, they were so much fun to eat and disappeared in a couple of minutes. I didn't get many nice pics though, so check out the original recipe to see some absolutely drool-worthy pics.

And lastly, due to the aforementioned writing slump there's been a decided lack of reviews. But, I did start reading a new author Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series and have been steam-rolling my way through them. I've read 2 books and the world is just so intriguing, detailed and complicated, I'm loving it. It's based in an alternate reality where there are three races - humans, changelings and the Psy and Ms. Singh goes into the details much more clearly than I can.

I started reading the author after picking up her new series Angels' Blood a few months ago, based in another alternate reality setting with vampires, angels and humans. Do pick both series up if you like paranormal reads, they're rich in world-building, the characters are fascinating and the books are well thought out and well-written.

However, this brings me to something that bugs me with romances and their covers , more specifically the tacky covers even the good books seem to end up with. If I hadn't been intrigued by the author's other series I would never have picked the Psy-Changeling series up solely based on the cover art. I know it's publishers who make the cover decisions so I wonder why they cannot understand that if people are embarrassed to be seen with the book cover they will not buy the book (i'm talking the impulse buys here). Atleast that's how it works in PapayaLand, I wonder if anyone feels differently?

Anyways, that's about all for this rambling post, how was your weekend folks?



7 comments:

Angel's Flight said...

Wow...traveling huh! babe so wish I could do it...as for the food...whats not to love huh! yummy

And yes you tagged me first ...totally slipped my mind while putting that in...will need to add it now :)

Cheers

Ava said...

I agree absolutely. There was this book called The Sugar baron's daughter which was a really good read. But the cover, quite unjustifiably, had a nakedish lady on the cover. If I had been browsing in a shop, I would never have got it, thinking it to be light porn or something.

Why cant cover art reflect the book?

Smita said...

ah!!!

lol @ rolling the clothes & the plight of customs guy :D

You know, after I had finished TTTW I wasn't able to read any book for more a week. And one good book was all I needed to break thru and am on a roll now :)

Smita said...

BTW we went for trekking this weekend....to Rajmacchi near Karjat!!! A totally awesome trip it was!!!

Unknown said...

howdy! Weekend was extended it being eid.... Saw District 9! Awesome movie! You didnt know about the rolling clothes trick? hmmmm!

couchpapaya said...

angel - ur right, after all the food is a once a year indulgence. i must push out of my head all images of clogged arteries and fat headed straight for my pooch :(

avdi - i've seen the sugar baron's daughteer's cover and wld never pick it up in a bookstore where the clerk could snicker at what i'm reading. i agree, covers should reflect the book contents, i dont mind even abstract covers but why get have scantily clad men/women even if it's a romance!!! these covers are precisely what gives the genre a bad rep.

smita - i shld have said i was in a writing slump. i've been reading quite a bit but havnt been able to write about anything. do put up pics of the trek, sounds cool!!

spike - i'm glad u finally got to watch it :) no review?? as for the rolling, like a good little girl i always folded all my clothes in. no more :D

Unknown said...

maybee, will review it... filhaal no time...

    I also blog at ....

    Search This Blog

    Currently reading ....

    The Secret Wedding


    couchpapaya's recently-reviewed book recommendations, reviews, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists

    Blog Awards

    Blog Awards
    Thanks, Abha

    Thanks, Angel's Flight

    Thanks, Avdi

    Thanks, Nishita
    Powered By Blogger