Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning through Making by Anna Ploszajski
British materials scientist Anna Ploszajski shares her explorations of making and using 10 different common materials, visiting experts around Great Britain and trying her hand at making ceramic mugs, a fireplace poker, and much more. Part exploration, part history, part science, and part memoir, sharing her own and her family’s stories, with humor and candor.
The materials covered are glass, plastic, steel, brass, clay, sugar, wool, wood, paper, and stone. Her Polish grandfather fled troubles as a toddler in Siberia and World War II in Europe, eventually opening a plastics business in England. In working with brass, Anna shares her decades long love with playing the trumpet. She has many sugary snacks and drinks during an attempt to swim the English Channel. Wooden spoons are carved, stone is worked, glass is blown, and a blanket is knitted during her travels. Tough times in grad school were eased by inexpertly throwing clay on a wheel with a fellow classmate, and now she learns to make two glazed ceramic mugs. A fireplace poker is made and later gifted. The chapter on stone reveals that she has had a fear of heights since childhood, and much of Great Britain is explored during her travels by bike, train, and a camper van named Allen.
Anna is also a stand-up comedian, talking about science, and an entertaining lecturer about various topics in science, including glassblowing. As Anna is an excellent storyteller, she really kept my interest in learning about all the different materials, and about her life as a scientist and now, maker.
I had fun baking last week. I made the pecan sugar cookies first. I used fresh Georgia pecans from Sunnyland Farms that I lightly toasted and chopped. The cookie batter, even before it was baked, smelled like butter pecan ice cream. The dough is rolled out, then chilled before being cut out, then baked. They have a simple brown butter icing that adds to the deliciousness. I tinted the icing pink just to be festive. Chopped pecans are sprinkled on the top. A variety of cookie cutters can be used, and no decorating skills are needed. The dough can be made in advance and chilled, and the cookies freeze well. The recipe is from Sally’s Baking Recipes, here.
I also made coconut macaroons, dipped in melted chocolate and drizzled on top. These are naturally gluten free, and also freeze well. Also from Sally’s Baking Recipes, here. You can use semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the chocolate, and almonds would make a nice addition.
My next baking project is kolacky with almond and cherry fillings and Neapolitan cookies.
This is Book 22 in the wonderful science fiction series Foreigner. Foreigner is the first book, in which Bren Cameron is a linguist and diplomat, the only human on the mainland of the Atevi homeworld. This is still mostly true, with rare exceptions. Over the past four years, I’ve reread the first 20 books, and savored the two most recent titles. They have danger, diplomacy, excitement, the very intriguing Atevi, and no one of Bren’s inner circle has come to serious harm, making for thrilling reads with little anxiety. In this book, Bren has been traveling with powerful, elderly Ilisidi by train, and they are headed for trouble on the south coast. And Ilisidi’s age may finally have caught up with her, making for some very anxious moments for Bren. A rest at Bren’s coastal estate, Najida, is much anticipated. But they aren’t traveling alone on the train, and it remains to be seen how far Bren can trust Lord Machigi or the proposed new Lord Nomari. Then Banichi and Jago, his security guards and very close companions are headed into danger. A very young ally sends help, via a single engine plane. While trains are common, and the world has buses, trucks, and even a space shuttle, planes are an uncommon and slightly risky mode of travel. Of course, Bren is soon aloft, and in some peril himself. This is an exciting novel, skillfully plotted, with characters that continue to develop, as they have throughout the series. More, please!
An extra-special Magical Cats cozy mystery. Minnesota librarian Kathleen is looking forward to traveling with Marcus, a local detective, to Boston for Christmas with her family. There’s a problem with their scheduled flight, but taking the train may be a good option, and all will be well.
Before that, Marcus and amateur sleuth Kathleen investigate a very cold case when Kathleen finds a body that may be connected to a young woman who disappeared decades ago. Is there any family to contact, or friends who would remember what happened? Cats Owen and Hercules do their feline best to assist; neighboring dog Fifi finally makes friends with the cats and tries to help Kathleen.
In between sleuthing, there is cocoa and Christmas cookies to enjoy, tai chi classes, recipes to sample, and an art studio to repair after a pipe froze, along with other small town Minnesota winter pleasures, including table hockey.
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
While definitely not a cozy, this British mystery, fourth in the Thursday Murder Club series, may appeal to a broad range of mystery and thriller readers. Three amateur senior sleuths in a luxury retirement village, along with a retired spy, meet weekly to discuss cold cases, but often find modern mysteries to solve. Elizabeth’s husband Stephen, who has dementia, was friends with the owner of antique shop. The shop owner’s sudden death appears to be connected to a missing box full of heroin. The Thursday Murder Club investigates, aided by police officers Chris and Donna, Donna’s mother Patrice and jack-of-all-trades Bogdan, looking at a couple of wealthy heroin dealers, other antique dealers and art forgers, professors, and an imprisoned cocaine dealer.
A subplot of romance fraud introduces new Fairhaven residents Mervyn and techie Bob. Joyce bakes and asks questions; Ron drives and plays whatever part is needed. Ibrahim is a brilliant, mostly retired psychiatrist, while Elizabeth brings a gun and is usually their leader. Colorful and fast-paced, with a bit of violence yet poignant at times, this is an excellent entry in the series, which begins with The Thursday Murder Club.
I mentioned I’d have a few posts about holiday baking. But this is what I wanted to share first. This Sicilian style sheet pan pizza is the best pizza I’ve ever made. I used jarred pizza sauce, diced mozzarella cheese, grated Gran Padano cheese ( I would usually have Asiago or a Parmesan) and added chopped grape tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and sliced Kalamata olives. The recipe is from Alexandra Cooks, here. This is a thicker crust than a Grandma pizza, more like focaccia with toppings. I used half all-purpose flour and half bread flour, but only let it rise, alternately on the counter and in the fridge, for most of one day instead of the overnight fridge rise recommended. The crust is baked for about 10 minutes before the sauce, cheese, and toppings are added. It was delicious hot, and leftover. I put my sheet pan on a pre-heated round pizza stone, but that’s optional. I also just preheated my over to 485, then lowered the temp to 475 before the crust was finished baking solo.
Small Things Considered: Why There is No Perfect Design by Henry Petroski
Small Things Considered
I enjoyed this discussion of the design of everyday objects and why there are minor drawbacks to so many products, from cupholders to toothbrushes.
Why are the numbers arranged differently on phones and calculators or computer keypads? Why were toothbrushes made that didn’t fit into traditional toothbrush holders? Who decides the height and location of doorknobs and light switches? The history and design of many other products are considered, including paper bags, paper cups, filtered water pitchers, WD-40 and duct tape, desk chairs, supermarket layouts, and toll transponders. This book was published in 2003, so a few things are more nostalgic than current, but still interesting reading. The author has written many books, including a microhistory of the pencil, and was a professor of engineering and history.
I am including a longer quotation from pages 77-78, which you may find interesting, and I thought was very funny, for reasons I’ll share after the passage.
“Arranging everything in the [car] trunk efficiently is always a challenge, but one that I enjoy. Perhaps all engineers delight in the challenge of packing a car trunk. A woman once told me about growing up in a family of five children: her engineer father may have taken the challenge to extremes. On vacations, each child was responsible for packing his or her own luggage, but only the father was allowed to put the bags in the trunk. Before setting out in a trip he would pack and unpack and repack the space until everything fit to his satisfaction. The bags were then tagged to identify their place. Each morning, the children were responsible for carrying their own luggage to the car and placing it on the ground, arranged according to its place in the trunk. The father would then pack the car for the day. I don’t recall being so obsessive on family vacations, but my wife and children may remember differently.”
My own father, also an engineer, wasn’t that organized or methodical, but he certainly was interested in fitting everything in or on top of the car for family camping trips.
I’ve also enjoyed reading The House with Sixteen Handmade Doors by the author, and will probably read more. He makes ordinary topics and objects quite interesting to read about.
Let it Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews and The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Merry Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran
These two authors are seldom reviewed together, one writing humorous cozy mysteries, and the other a bestselling thriller writer. But both have entertaining holiday novels that I enjoyed reading this fall. While I do not have winter holiday decorations up yet, I am enjoying holiday reads and planning my winter holiday baking.
In Let It Crow!… amateur sleuth Meg Langslow is a blacksmith who doesn’t get to spend as much time at her craft as she’d like, because she’s raising twin boys with her husband Michael, has another part-time job, and, of course sleuthing. But when her mentor Faulk is injured, Meg is needed to replace him in a weaponsmithing competition that’s being filmed on the grounds of a nearby estate. She’s the only woman competitor in the Blades of Glory tent. It’s holiday time, and her mother is helping decorate the estate house, or castle, in red, gold, silver, and black, and Michael and the boys can stay with her on site. There is plenty of holiday cheer including sledding, wonderful food, and an amazing assortment of gingerbread houses, but there seems to be a practical joker in the blacksmithing tent, as Meg has found the temperature on her forge turned up and down a couple of times. There is plenty of humor, especially when night owl Meg must be on camera bright and early. And yes, there are crows, who end up providing some clues when there’s a crime to be solved. I’m a fan of the Meg Langslow books, but often wished for more blacksmithing scenes, and enjoyed reading about Meg creating a knife and a sword for the first episode.
In the Twelve Days… Henry, Will and Ella Sullivan haven’t celebrated Christmas in five years, since Will and Ella’s mother Katie died. Henry is a history professor at Columbia, just going through the motions of teaching, and drinking a bit too much. Will, 14, has joined up with a group of older teens who shoplift and play pranks while Ella, 12, is a very quiet germaphobe whose only joy is painting landscapes and scenery for a school musical. Will and Ella combine to create a dating profile for Will, as they’d really like to celebrate Christmas again (including presents). Ms. Truelove responds, and begins sending them all the traditional twelve days of Christmas presents. Mayhem results in their Harlem townhouse with a neglected walled garden. Marian, a city animal protection worker, is often there to help with issues related to feeding and caring for the partridge, hens, calling birds, geese, and so on. Henry’s job at Columbia is in jeopardy and the house is a wreck, but the food from all the eggs and milk is incredible. A funny and poignant holiday read.
I have enjoyed this long series of British historical mysteries featuring author Jane Austen as an amateur sleuth, beginning with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. Jane and her sister Cassandra exchanged many, many letters over the years and the outlines of Jane’s life and writings are known, giving author Stephanie Barron many real-life settings for her mysteries.
Jane fans know that the author died fairly young, and she is in decline during this mystery, but I still found it a clever, enjoyable read. Visiting her friend Elizabeth Heathcote at Winchester, Jane’s support is needed when Elizabeth’s stammering son, William, becomes a suspect in a crime at his all-male boarding school, Winchester College. Jane’s nephew, Edward, recently graduated from Winchester College and is a great help in her quest to clear William’s name. William won’t give an alibi for the time of the crime, but wasn’t at the school. Jane, naturally, finds out what happened, and especially why.
Despite having discomfort and needing to rest more, Jane’s brain and her pen are as active as ever. There is also definite hope for some new treatments. This is indeed the final mystery in the Jane Austen series, but new readers have many to enjoy, including a holiday title: Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Future blog posts will include a couple of holiday reads, a teen fantasy novel, a new mystery by Richard Osman, and two books by engineer/historian Henry Petroski, best known for his microhistory of the pencil. More nature and baking photos are also expected, plus another appearance from Little Bear.
Real life adventure and popular science combine in this thrilling, controversial book. First, in 2008, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger was out hiking with his dog and his son Matthew, 9. He was looking for potential sites to excavate, when Matthew found a fossil, which turned out to be a new species of hominin, Australopithecus Sediba, dated to about 1.9 million years old.
Then, in 2013, three cavers exploring for Lee Berger found a very deep and all but inaccessible cave, later called the Dinaledi Chamber, where they took photos of what appeared to be hominin bones. Berger quickly organized a three-week excavation, advertising for slender paleoanthropologists who weren’t claustrophobic. I have been on guided walks in several caves, but I’ve never gone spelunking or caving, where you need a headlamp and the ability to crawl, climb and rappel through very tight passages. The Dinaledi Chamber was extremely hard to access, with a tight squeeze through one tunnel, a climb into another, and finally a twelve-meter chute to climb down, through which most climbers would get stuck. Then they went through another chamber and finally into the magnificent Dinaledi Chamber, with beautiful flowstone above, and fossils almost everywhere below. The fossilized bones of at least 15 individuals were found, and over 1000 bones.
As the fossilized bones were revealed, carried out to the surface and analyzed, they found they had discovered a new species, named Homo Naledi, later estimated to be 250,000 to 350,000 years old. The brain was very small, and the shoulders and upper arms were like a climber, but the wrists, fingertips, and feet were much less primitive, not unlike our own. Also, their teeth and the hardened calculus around them indicate that they ate some plants. They were probably about 5 feet tall, with long arms, and walked upright. The exciting part is that Berger and his team, including co-author John Hawks, found some evidence of fire, graves, art and possibly tools.
I watched a Nova documentary from 2015, Dawn of Humanity, about the work done up to that time, and read a couple of recent articles about their findings. While National Geographic is firmly backing Berger and his team’s work, other scientists don’t agree with all these findings, particularly that of fire, art, and tool use. It will be interesting to see what else is found in the Rising Star Cave system. One very exciting section details Berger’s quest to enter the cave himself. In his late fifties, he is tall and not slender, but loses about 50 pounds to make the attempt, during which he spots some markings outside the chamber. Does he get down the chute? I’m not saying, but on his way back out of the cave system, he almost gets stuck and was reportedly injured. Also, he deliberately didn’t tell his family about his attempt to enter the Dinaledi Cavern ahead of time. As teens, Matthew Berger and his sister Megan both successfully made the journey.
The finds in the Dinaledi Cavern, however controversial, are remarkable and make for a compelling and fascinating read. For those with Netflix, there’s a new documentary, Unknown: Cave of Bones. For more about paleoanthropology, I enjoyed First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human by Jeremy DeSilva. For real life adventure and caving, there’s Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth.
Kerry, a freelance graphic artist, very reluctantly agrees to spend a month with her brother Murphy in New York City to sell the Christmas trees Murphy and their father Jock grow in the mountains of North Carolina. Jock is recovering from a heart attack, and her mother Birdie, thinks she needs to get out more since her job was eliminated in a corporate merger. A change of scene does sound good, and Kerry has fond memories of past Decembers in New York. But driving her dad’s old Ford truck to New York City while towing a vintage camper has her uneasy, and the camper’s plumbing doesn’t even work.
The Tollivers have been selling Frasier fir trees in Greenwich Village for over 35 years, and local business owners and residents help with setup, electricity, hot coffee, and bathroom breaks. And Murphy’s dog Queenie is a sweetie, though it turns out that Murphy snores, loudly. After the opposite of a meet-cute, Kerry is charmed by local Patrick and his young son Austin. Also welcoming are a mom of toddler twins, a restaurant hostess who gets Murphy to smile, and an older man who brings Queenie treats and gives Kerry advice on improving her sketches for an illustrated winter story she’s making with young Austin.
The hours are long, the weather gets colder, Kerry’s decorated wreaths keep her very busy, and showers and meals are as regular as she’d like. But the hospitality of the neighborhood is awesome, apart from rival Christmas tree sellers. Charming, funny, and heartwarming; a delightful holiday read even on a beautiful fall day.
Book Girl & Little Bear 