Louise Erdrich (born Karen Louise Erdrich June 7, 1954) is an American author, writer of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American characters and settings.  She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized tribe of the Anishinaabe (also known as Ojibwe and Chippewa).  Erdrich is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of the second wave of the Native American Renaissance.  She has written 28 books in all, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children's books.  In 2009, her novel The Plague of Doves was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and received an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.  In November 2012, she received the National Book Award for Fiction for her novel The Round House.  She is a 2013 recipient of the Alex Awards.  She was awarded the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction at the National Book Festival in September 2015.  In 2021, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Night Watchman.  Erdrich was born in Little Falls, Minnesota.  She was the oldest of seven children born to Ralph Erdrich, a German-American, and Rita (née Gourneau), a Chippewa woman (of half Ojibwe and half French blood).  Both parents taught at a boarding school in Wahpeton, North Dakota, set up by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  Erdrich's maternal grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, served as tribal chairman for the federally recognized tribe of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians for many years.  While Erdrich was a child, her father paid her a nickel for every story she wrote.  Her sister Heidi became a poet and also lives in Minnesota; she publishes under the name Heid E. Erdrich.  Another sister, Lise Erdrich, has written children's books and collections of fiction and essays.  Erdrich attended Dartmouth College from 1972 to 1976.  She was a part of the first class of women admitted to the college and earned an A.B. in English.  During her first year, Erdrich met Michael Dorris, an anthropologist, writer, and then-director of the new Native American Studies program.  While attending Dorris' class, she began to look into her own ancestry, which inspired her to draw from it for her literary work, such as poems, short stories, and novels.  During that time, she worked as a lifeguard, waitress, researcher for films, and as an editor for the Boston Indian Council newspaper The Circle.  In 1978, Erdrich enrolled in a Master of Arts program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.  She earned the Master of Arts in the Writing Seminars in 1979.  Erdrich later published some of the poems and stories she wrote while in the M.A. program.  She returned to Dartmouth as a writer-in-residence.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Erdrich

Peanut oil is used for frying, sautéing, and simply adding flavor.  Although most varieties of peanut oil have a very light, neutral flavor, they can sometimes have a slightly nutty flavor.  Roasted peanut oils are strongly flavored and are usually added after cooking for added flavor.  Peanut oil is perfectly suited for frying because of its high smoke point.  Peanut oil smokes at approximately 435 F, which means that it can hold up to the high temperatures required for frying most foods.  Peanut oil is also unique because it does not absorb flavors from the foods that are fried in it, meaning that multiple food types can be fried in the same batch of oil without cross-contamination of flavors.  Peanut oil that has been used for frying can be stored and used again.  Used peanut oil should be stored in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place, preferably refrigerated.  Overheating peanut oil (past its smoke point) will considerably reduce its lifespan.  Making sure that all food particles have been filtered out prior to storage will also help maintain its freshness.  Once opened or used, peanut oil should be used within six months.  Bethany Moncel  Find list of different kinds of peanut oil at https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-peanut-oil-1328456

The Latin root sed means sit.  Examples in English:  sedentary, sediment, sedan, sedative, sedate, supersede, assiduous, insidious.  The Latin root leg means read.  Examples in English:  legible, legend, illegible, legendary, legibility, alleged.  See Word Within the Word list at https://www.fcusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001934/Centricity/Domain/1250/WWtW%20Lesson%208.pdf 

Magic Chocolate Shell (one or two servings)  Shell hardens into a brittle candy shell when it’s poured over ice cream.  posted by Tracy  https://bakingmischief.com/chocolate-shell/ 

Yayoi Kusama’s polka-dotted gourd is as representative of the artist as her line-inducing Infinity Rooms, both of which can be experienced at New York Botanical Garden.  “Kusama: Cosmic Nature,” which is set to run through October 31, 2021, peppers both early and recent works by the artist throughout the site’s 250 acres.  Among the garden’s blooming daffodils and cherry blossoms, visitors will find trees wrapped in red-and-white polka-dot fabric, as well as several monumental sculptures, beginning with I Want to Fly to the Universe at the Reflecting Pool.  In the pool of the Native Plant Garden, Kusama’s 1966/2021 Narcissus Garden is one of the most tranquil works on display.  Also on view is Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity, in which guests can enter a dark room to get lost in a luminous patch of golden gourds.  This summer, a new Infinity Mirrored Room experience can be accessed in a cube in the Home Gardening Center.  There are several Kusama gems found in and around NYBG’s prized Haupt Conservatory:  Larger-than-life blooms are erected from both indoor and outdoor water features, and a glittering mosaic Starry Pumpkin presents a tiled twist on the generally primary-colored motif.  Stephanie Sporn  See pictures at https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/yayoi-kusamas-pumpkins-and-polka-dots-have-officially-taken-over-the-new-york-botanical-garden 

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg  

quotennial  (kwo-TEN-ee-uhl)  adjective:  Yearly.  From Latin quot (how many) + annus (year).  Earliest documented use:  1878.  A related word is quotidian (happening every day; commonplace). 

Breeze blocks are the patterned concrete blocks you may have seen covering the sides of a building or stacked upon each other to form a wall.  But these fascinating blocks are more than just decorative-- they’re an important component of Mid Century Modern design.  Breeze blocks provide shade, circulation, protection and privacy to buildings all over the world, and they’ve got the rich history and style to prove it.  Breeze blocks--sometimes called screen blocks--were inspired by sun-reducing screens in Asia and first used in America in the 1930s.  They continued to grow in popularity in the following decades, especially when used in houses and apartments.  They were widely used in Mid Century Modern design up until the 1970s, when they began to fall out of style.  In Palm Springs, CA, one luxurious hotel uses breeze blocks in a way that truly stands out.  The exterior of the Parker Palm Springs is surrounded by white breeze blocks that shield the 5-star hotel from the blazing desert sun and provide a private oasis for vacationers and celebrities alike.  Breeze blocks have started to move from an exterior feature to an interior accent.  Today, you can find them in kitchens or against walls as fun retro decor. They’re great for providing partitions where space can clearly be divided without the unnecessary structural presence of a wall.  Rabekah Henderson  See pictures at https://www.atomic-ranch.com/architecture-design/all-about-breeze-blocks/ 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2413  August 31, 2021