As Yet Untitled

It is approximately one billion degrees outside. This temperature has absolutely no bearing on my intense desire for ice cream. Ice cream is something that is present in my life whether it is the temperature of the sun outside (like now) or the temperature of Hoth. Because this is the case, N and I recently acquired a kitchen appliance that rivals our dishwasher, toilet, and water heater for the status of Favorite Modern Convenience. Gone are the days when an unfortunate child was forced to sit for hours either hand-cranking an old-fashioned ice cream maker, or watching the ice and pouring on rock salt to keep the freezer at the same temperature. I did plenty of that  when I was a small child. Nowadays, things are different.  We can have ridiculously easy homemade ice cream. My discovery of this delightful fact was courtesy of my mother. My family always has homemade ice cream at 4th of July (hence the childhood memories of vigilantly creating ice cream over the course of a ...

Apparently in the world of blogging, Wednesdays are supposed to be wordless. But after seeing this article on facebook, it is hard for me not to take a trip down memory lane, and even harder for me not to share those memories with the world. It's finally happening, for real. Borders will no longer be in existence by September. This is a poignant moment in and of itself simply because it indicates then end of an era for books and readers. But more than that, it made me start thinking about the impact of bookstores on my life. I have never been the biggest Borders fan. I have always preferred Barnes & Noble, mostly because they brew Starbucks coffee and have (in my opinion) a superior system of organization. It's more than that though. Barnes & Noble played a huge role in my formative years. When I was small, my family regularly made outings to the bookstore. We would go as a family, get hot chocolate with whipped cream, and spend hours in the children's section ...