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Spring has Sprung... and the purple martins are back. |
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Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage Shelves | |
 Last month the Duck's Cotage Reading Group read Bloodroot by Amy Greene and I loved it. Its a great story about Appalachia and one family whose blood and roots run deep into the soil of Bloodroot Mountain. I also found Bone Fire by Mark Spragg very appealing; liked the western setting, the characters and their interwoven relationships. Solar by Ian McEwan is just out and has been pronounced 'darkly satirical'- can't wait to read it. Everybody's on pins and needles waiting for next week's release of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the final book in Stieg Larsson's posthumously published Millennium trilogy. Book one and two, both in paperback, have been selling well and are big hits with local book clubs. I've struggled with Danielle Trussoni's Angelology- it was touted as the next Da Vinci Code, the new Twilight.. its not. Trust me.
Some recent favorites in hardback have just come out in paperback: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, Twenties Girl, by Sophie Kinsella, The Ex Mrs Hedgefund by Jill Kargman, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci and Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant. Two new titles I want for my kitchen- Alice Water's In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn By Heart- learn how to make a grand aioli, how to correctly braise, roast, shuck and more. Also, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution- the companion book to the awesome six partABC series that totally mesmerized me.
Three non-fiction titles that have been getting a lot of press this Spring include the medical ethics exploratory that is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, Hampton Sides' Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr and the International Hunt for his Assasin and The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore which traces the lives of two men with the same name from the same Baltimore neighborhood whose lives take very different courses.
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| Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffee shop |
We've been enjoying visits from little Quinn (or Quintanaroo as I like to call her). OBX Bike Week was a big success- more bikers than ever, all well-behaved. Enjoyed a late March weekend with my sister's family at the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark/hotel in Williamsburg, VA- been there, done that, check it off the list. Chris and I spent a Friday night in Manteo recently. We stayed at the Roanoke Island Inn- simply gorgeous, charming, great setting. Had dinner at Ortegaz (love their tortilla chips) and a lovely lunch at the waterfront Adrianna's (enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of owner, Alan). Their food was delicious, they have a great draft beer selection (Fire Rock is my new favorite!) and they also provide a magnificent venue for weddings or other events. We had a great time wandering around town, shopping at the interesting little boutiques, antiquing, visited Elizabethan Gardens, it was a terrific way to spend twenty-four hours on the Outer Banks.
My mom and I also spent a day in Corolla last month. My first time at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education- wow! what a neat facility! Was totally captivated by the Village Historic District, had a nice lunch at North Banks. Chris and I may spend our next weekend 'away' in Corolla! Congrats to Chris for being an official red-tagged firefighter with the Duck Volunteer Fire Dept. He's already been out on two calls (false alarms) and is proving himself every day. Be sure to check the town website to catch up on all the summer events they are offering- exercise, concerts, magic shows in July- a must see!, drama productions and more- details at townofduck.com. The Town also just received a grant to help with the next phase of the Boardwalk- we can't wait until it runs through the entire Village district, giving people a safe, beautiful place to walk, jog and stroll. Way to go TOD!
Adrianna's- waterfront dining in Manteo!
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| Jamie's Book Club
the May selection |
 This month subscribers to Jamie's Book Club are receiving Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts, a terrific piece of historical fiction set in sixteenth century Italy. Serafina is a young girl who has fallen in love with her music teacher, much to her noble family's dismay. Her parents promptly turn her over to the sisters of the Santa Caterina convent where they expect her to accept a life of faith, service and worship. Dunant masterfully explores the world behind the walls of a renaissance convent- the cloistered life, the variety of women, the wide array of reasons that have brought them all to this place- physical handicaps, lack of dowry, and sometimes an actual love of God. Dunant is a master at the historical fiction genre, several years ago her novel In The Company of the Courtesan was a big hit with the Cottage Reading Group. She is wonderful at painting vivid mental pictures of long ago places and times and continues to enthrall readers with this novel.
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| Foie Gras
Tasty Tidbits from the Town of Duck | |
Felicitations are in order for Miss Piper Ferguson who received her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with honors from Appalachian State in May! Boone, NC, will never be the same but we are looking forward to another Piper-filled summer at Duck's Cottage! Also commencement congratulations to the Blue Point Class of TwoTen- First Flight High graduates Tony Weaver and Hampton Piddington.
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 May you be enjoying a lovely Spring May your days be getting warmer
May your next trip to Duck be getting ever closer
Jamie Layton
Duck's Cottage
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