the tiniest tiger: conservation project!

The Tiniest Tiger by Joanne L. McGonagle

What a lovely book and excellent gift for cat and animal-lovers of almost any age, although tinier people of kindergarten age and younger probably would appreciate the illustrations and an explanation more than listening to the narrative. 7" x 10" dimensions are a nice size to hold and largish black sans serif type is easy to read. And how wonderful that "A portion of the proceeds from the sale of The Tiniest Tiger will benefit conservation projects for endangered wild cats in Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, through the Conservation Fund of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium."

The adventures of a tiger-striped kitten who wanders out of the alley where she lives with other cats takes her to the zoo, where in a quest to find her own place (a home) she converses with a series of big cats: tiger, lion, cheetah, clouded leopard, puma [panther, cougar, mountain lion], jaguar, bobcat and ocelot. Each big cat's habitat features a sign with details such as endangered status, body size and weight, litter size... and includes a map to show the cat's usual geographical range in the wild. After full-circling from her initial zoo encounter with a tiger back to the same tiger, the little tiger kitten happily goes home with the zoo-keeper's daughter and to her very own habitat, a place where she truly belongs with human family and a full-grown tiger tabby who looks a lot like her. And they name her Gracey!

I especially liked the comparisons of the little kitten with each big cat--sometimes size, at other times markings, tail length, ear style--varied physical traits that are similar yet distinguishingly different.

Beautifully artistic water-color style illustrations fill every other page spread. No artist was listed in the credits, but Gracey, The Tiniest Tiger told me Rachael Mahaffey drew and painted them. I noted that several other reviewers didn't care for alternate spreads with text only centered on white, and though younger readers or younger kids being read to might be disappointed in not getting a picture to look at, the story flowed so well and kept me so interested that didn't bother me in the least. Also, as an artist-designer I have a clue about print and production costs and it was wise to keep the price of this well-bound paperback to a reasonable $15.00 US.

Gracey, The Tiniest Tiger herself has a fan club on Facebook and would love all animal lovers to be her friend.

my amazon review: conservation project!

cityfence 2011

extra turkey gravy

Ingredients

• Pan drippings from roast turkey
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Chicken broth or water

Directions

1. After transferring roast turkey to a serving platter, pour pan drippings into a large measuring cup. Skim and reserve fat from drippings.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of the fat into a medium saucepan (discard remaining fat).
3. Stir in flour. Add enough broth or water to remaining drippings in the measuring cup to equal 2 cups;
4. Add all at once to flour mixture in saucepan.
5. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
6. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 2 cups - 8 to 10 servings

simple abundance: for what it's worth

• Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy helps guide a person through each day of the year, with quotes from famous people and well-known sources along with a daily topic. This is not Holy Writ or a recently re-discovered treasure from the Bard, so don't try to approach it as such. For what it's worth, it's a few hundred pieces of advice and recommendations for enhancing your home, yard and work environments, your lifestyle and sense of yourself and maybe even helping some of the people around you.

Author Sarah Ban Breathnach doesn't call upon insights or practices from expressions of any of the great faith traditions, so don't expect an exposition of scripture or interpretation of the latest news through the lens of a modern or ancient prophet. However, almost nothing she suggests is incompatible with most religious or spiritual practices.

Some of it's kinda funky, some close to caricature, but (for example) I can relate to "Decorating with the Seasons: Summer Houses" for 14 June, though my own Summer-Themed Habitat might not have the exact same details. "Classic Chic 102" is the subject for 04 June; it's about living spaces, but I like picking up the classic idea for the way I dress that tends to be touches of vintage, preppy, urban, prairie in almost equal parts, so an idea aimed at one aspect of life might inspire another direction.

This is a nice handbook to keep handy on a table, although instead of reading each page-long entry in order, I'd prefer to read at random. For what it's worth, take what appeals to you and leave the rest for another time or maybe never.

my amazon review: for what it's worth

living free: at the beach

festival of sail 2010: star of india 4

festival of sail 2010: star of india 3

festival of sail 2010: star of india 2

festival of sail 2010: star of india 1

festival of sail 2010 | 6

festival of sail 2010 | 5

festival of sail 2010 | 4

festival of sail 2010 | 3

festival of sail 2010 | 2

festival of sail 2010 | 1