Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert

Of course I read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

It was such a big hit a few years back. Plus, it was a woman-penned travel memoir, and I'm a big fan of that genre.

I'm also a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. She is a great essayist--smart, witty and insightful--so I was looking forward to her new book.

It's called Committed and it is about the institution of marriage. In it, Gilbert is struggling with the idea of getting married. She's already been married once, which didn't go well, and now she is planning to get married a second time. In order to help herself feel more prepared and educated this time around, she decides to research the history of marriage.

For those who are expecting another travel tale -- don't. While most of the book does take place somewhere other than the U.S., she mentions being in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Bali, really this is a book about her marriage research and her own thoughts on marriage. There are some travel bits, which keep the narrative lively, but this isn't a travel memoir.

However, I loved the book. I read it straight through in one weekend. Gilbert's writing style makes it so easy to keep humming along.

I loved reading about the history of marriage. I found it very interesting, and as a married woman myself, and as a woman who has worked for a feminist newspaper and has written about women's issues, I agreed with much of what Gilbert had to say.

If you've got what we'd call here in the U.S. "traditional" views of marriage, your ideas will be challenged reading this book. But I wouldn't let that stop you. Gilbert is a great writer and by the end of the book, she does make peace with marriage.

Now that I've turned the last page, I'd be very curious about a man's point of view on this book. Gilbert, because she is a woman, spends most of the book musing on the meaning of marriage for women. I can't help but think this title will end up being required reading somewhere down the line in women's studies classes.

I'm wondering what the chances are that I can convince my own hubby to give this a read . . .

Westhoff Coffee and Tea

It's that time of year again -- winter. Invariably, this means I'm stuck inside for long periods of time. And invariably, this means that sooner or later I get around to cleaning out my office.

This year in my office cleaning, I found an envelope full of souvenirs I'd collected on a trip through Europe back in 1997. (Yikes what a long time ago!) The envelope contained mostly maps and ticket stubs.

Among these, though, I also came across a tea bag and the top of a coffee creamer cup. Both were "Westhoff" brand. Obviously, I'd saved these because of the name connection, Westhoff being my name and all.

It's not the most common name here in the U.S., so I remember it was a thrill to have discovered my name boldly labeled on products in restaurants and cafes.

On that same trip, we also landed ourselves in a small town called Westhoffen, but that's--I suppose--a blog post for another time.

After going through all the papers I'd saved from that long ago trip, I ended up tossing most in the recycling bin. Did I really need a metro stub from Berlin? Probably not.

But I am going to keep my Westhoff tea bag and coffee creamer.

Getting Ripped off In Flight

GoNomad recently posted a story about travelers Getting Ripped Off in Flight.

The story was contributed by traveler Brian Peters who writes the popular blog, No Debt World Travel, which is all about how you can travel the world without spending a lot of cash.

The article was a quick read, and cautionary too, about travelers who have gotten up to go to the bathroom while on a flight, only to come back and find that money, credit cards (and even their passports!) have been stolen from their carry-on bags while they were away.

I was shocked that flight attendants didn't really provide much help at all in trying to recover the goods. And I was also shocked that other nearby passengers didn't speak up and say anything about having seen so-and-so reaching for a bag.

On the other hand...when I'm in the air, am I watching everyone else's bags? No...

Reading this article was a wake up call. I like to think of myself as a pretty savvy traveler, but I know I am guilty of leaving my bag under my seat and going to the bathroom.

Especially if I'm traveling with my laptop. Airplane bathrooms are so small to being with. How am I supposed to bring my laptop bag along with me?

Obviously I need to be a little more vigilant when I'm on the airplane. Maybe we all need to be, for each other's sake.

Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean

I interviewed a group of area high school students who are in the process of starting a nonprofit organization to collect money and build schools in Vietnam.

Most of the kids involved are high school juniors, and I was impressed with their vision and drive. They are calling their group Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean.

As I was interviewing the group, one of students said something that really stood out for me. She said: "I've always been told that I can make a difference and finally I am."

Yes, I thought. When I was growing up, adults also said the same to me. Even now, as an adult, the message still circulates that each and every one of us can reach out and help others. We can all make a change, even if its small, in the way the world operates for another person.

But how often do we really seize this opportunity and actually do something about it?

After that interview was finished, what this one student said continued to linger in my mind. I am proud of these students for having carved out an opportunity for themselves in which they can feel they are making a difference.

It doesn't really matter if their organization turns out to be a smashing success that continues for years or a one-time mission trip. What matters, I think, is that these teens are empowered.

Having had this experience so early in their lives, who knows what else they'll be able to image for their futures, and for the futures of others.

If you'd like to read the article, here it is:

Wayzata Students Work to Build Schools in Vietnam

Photo (c) Mark Trockman.

Swedish Mystery -- Girl With a Dragon Tattoo

I tend to steer clear of the books that everyone raves about. Every once in a while I give in to the "this is SUCH a good book" pressure. Usually, though, I'm disappointed. Whatever the current "SUCH a good book" is, it's been so gushed about that it has little hope of meeting expectations.

But I'm eating my words on this one.

I've been avoiding The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for well over a year. However, I just finished reading it. The American paperback version is 590 pages and I read the thing in three days. I was obsessed.

Plus it's labeled a "mystery," another type of book I usually steer clear. Well, not anymore. At least not when it comes to this author.

Larsson penned three books in this mystery series and started a forth. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack in 2004 before finishing that last one.

The books have been translated and translated and translated. The third book hasn't yet been released in the States although it's due out this year. I can already tell you that I'll be lining up to get my hands on it.

So what's the story? The main character, Mikael Blomkvist, is a financial journalist who has just lost a case in court. He was found guilty of libel for an article he wrote about one of Sweden's biggest businessmen. After the verdict, Blomkvist is in need of some serious R&R. He also needs to get out of Stockholm and away from its media coverage.

That's when a retired CEO from one of the country's wealthiest families contacts him. He invites Blomkvist to live on his family's island compound for a year. He wants Blomkvst to ghost write his autobiography and to do something else...40 years ago, the ex-CEO's niece disappeared. No one has every been able to solve the mystery of what happened to her and he's desperate to have an answer. So desperate that he's willing to pay a convicted journalist to take on the matter.

Vikings and Tet -- A Strange Combo

What a strange weekend it was! First of all -- the Vikings. I actually watched the game. Out of one eye while reading a book, but still, it is an extremely rare occurrence for me to show any sort of an interest in football. Too bad they blew it. Hubby's moans of dismay were so loud that he scared the dogs off the couch!

But that was Sunday. On Saturday we were all wrapped up in a completely different sort of affair. We spent the day attending Tet celebrations. Tet is the Vietnamese version of Chinese New Year.

This year, Chinese New Year is on Feb 14. Why the Vietnamese Community of Minnesota decided to hold it's Tet festival three weeks early is a mystery to me.

Nonetheless, we ended up spending a good portion of our day attending the festivities. And why not? There were dancing dragons, singers, bubble tea and more! Even a beauty pageant!

Haiti Outreach -- Minnesota Nonprofit

A couple years back I interviewed a local couple who had gone on several mission trips to Haiti. While there, they helped build homes and dig fresh water wells.

They traveled with a nonprofit organization called Haiti Outreach, which in the course of writing the article, I learned was headquartered in my neck of the woods.

Since then, I've run into several people who are involved with the organization in some way. They've attended a silent auction for the group or a benefit dinner.

Haiti Outreach spends a lot of its resources on digging wells. In the course of my budget and global travels, I've seen some pretty sorry drinking water situations. Because of this, I know how much a new well can mean to a community in need. And because of this, I've kept tabs on Haiti Outreach since learning of its existence practically right down the street from my house.

Luckily, Haiti Outreach didn't suffer any personnel losses in the recent earthquake there. Most of their missions are in the countryside, far away from Port au Prince.

However, they've posted a couple updates on their web site and mentioned yet another logistical nightmare I hadn't yet thought about.

The Haiti Outreach members in Haiti right now, have been loading up their large trucks and trying to deliver water to those in need, and they've hired another truck to do the same. But...they are running out of diesel.

If you're in the Twin Cities and you're seeking a local connection to Haiti, check out Haiti Outreach. The organization, which is a registered 501c3, is taking donations through its web site.

Or...if you have a soft spot for chocolate and wine -- and who doesn't? -- consider attending the Wine and Chocolate Tasting on February 12.

Kiva is More than I Thought

Several months ago, a friend gave me a present. She gave me a $25 credit with a nonprofit organization called Kiva.

I'd heard of Kiva and knew it was an organization that specialized in micro finance. It gave small loans to everyday people in developing countries so they could pursue their small business ideas.

I wasn't too sure how the whole thing worked, however, so I was excited to give it a whirl.

It was kind of like an online dating service. You can choose a region of the world or country that you're interested in and a bunch of profiles pop up. Each profile tells the story of an individual or small group, what he/she/they want to do, and how much money they need to do it.

You decide who you want to support and your money will go toward completing that person's goal. Once enough people have agreed to support them, then they get their loan.

I picked a group of women in Vietnam who were trying to get a small livestock operation started. They needed money to buy their first few chickens, pigs and cattle.

I felt good about the process and it was fun to have a say in who got my money, but what I didn't realize is that I would get my money back!

A few days ago, I got an email from Kiva telling me that my loan had been repaid and I once again had a $25 credit to dool out to someone else.

Too cool! I hadn't expected that my money would come back. It makes sense. It was a loan, after all, and a loan is supposed to be repaid. But I hadn't expected that the money would come back to me, that I would get to use it again. I guess I thought it would go back to Kiva, to the organization, for administrative costs or something.

I've just finished "shopping" for my second Kiva loan. This time I chose a 60-ish man and his wife in Paraguay who are trying to renovate the front room of their house and turn it into a laundry service.

Having used many of these businesses in the course of my travels, I decided this sounded like a winning idea.

I'm excited to see how long it takes this couple to get their dream finished and their loan repaid so that I can give out a third loan!

SugarMade Toilet Paper

Let me just say straight up that I realize the subject of toilet paper makes for a strange blog post, but I am pursuing the topic nevertheless.

After all, this won't be the first time I venture into the bathroom realm. I did write two posts about contraptions that let women pee standing up and another about World Toilet Day.

So anyway...a couple of months ago, a friend and I went to a craft fair. All of the products at this fair were supposed to be made from recycled or repurposed goods. It was a "green" craft fair.

There were a couple of booths supporting local stores that sell only "green" household goods. It was at such a booth that we found SugarMade toilet paper.

I was immediately interested in the stuff. This toilet paper was made from crushed sugar cane, and as it says right on the label, is 83% tree free and 100% biodegradeable.

I guess I had sugar on the brain. See, I'd recently written an article about fair trade sugar, so the idea that crushed sugar cane fibers could be used to make toilet paper was intriguing. It seemed an extension of the article I'd just finished researching.

Instead of buying a roll for myself, however, I somehow convinced my friend that she needed to buy it. There were only two rolls left and she scooped them both up.

And wouldn't you know it? I got one of those rolls back as a Christmas present from her!

A couple of days ago, the regular TP ran out so I reached for the sugar cane roll. It's definitely just a 1-ply roll. There's nothing cushy about it. But it's not scratchy either, so all in all, it's not bad. I've definitely used worse.

Call me crazy, but there's just something about the idea of using sugar cane toilet paper that makes me happy. It's important to appreciate the little everyday things, right? Wait. Does that make my appreciation of the sugar cane toilet paper an example of wabi sabi?

Maybe not. But regardless, one of my favorite things about the SugarMade toilet paper is the bar code. Look, it's made out of sugar cane!

Kelly's Revenge Redux

In August 2008 I took a trip to San Diego. There, in a neighborhood liquor store, I came across a bottle of wine called Kelly's Revenge.

On that trip, I never got to taste Kelly's Revenge. When I got home, though, I searched online for information about the wine. I didn't find much. Except a slick corporate web site with little info.

I was hoping to learn where Kelly's Revenge was made. I'd never been to Australia and it seemed to me (and still does) that a trip to the Kelly's Revenge vineyard would be a great reason to go.

I also tried to find the wine in local liquor stores but nobody had even heard of it. All my attempts at finding revenge turned up dry. Sigh.

Recently, though, something happened that put me back on the trail. A friend went to San Diego, was in a liquor store, happened across a bottle of Kelly's Revenge, bought the bottle, and brought it back home for me.

Once again, I went online trying to find info. From a press release I learned that the wine is named after a notorious, 19th-century, Australian outlaw named Ned Kelly. After a stressful day, a glass of Kelly's Revenge is supposed to help you unwind. After all, the best revenge is living well.

And I also found an inappropriate web site. I guess, with a name like Kelly's Revenge, that's to be expected.

Oh well. Some things, I guess, are meant to remain a mystery. I may never know exactly where Kelly's Revenge comes from, but at least I now have a whole bottle to myself.

I think it's time to sign off and find my corkscrew.