• Pamela

    The Perfect Baguette

      Two posts ago, I wrote about discovering the perfect book, which I found in a delightful book shop in London. Read my post: Persephone, A Novel Book Shop here http://twointhemiddle.com/2015/07/23/persephone-a-novel-bookshop/ Each year Paris holds a competition for the Best Baguette. Numerous bakers enter in hopes of having their baguette designated the Best Baguette. I loved learning about this year’s winner: Antonio Teixeira, who is only 24. A total of 187 baguettes were submitted for a blind tasting, but 50 were rejected for not being the correct size (55-65cm) or weight (250g-300g). The loaves must not contain more than 18 grammes of salt per kilo of flour. Each is judged…

  • Pamela

    Strangers on a Train

    Have we told you this story?  We met the McEwans on a train from York, England to London in September 2009, when we were on our home-school launch trip.  When we got on the train in York, we discovered that Mary Jo and Andy were sitting in our seats (which were also their seats, as the reservation system had double-booked us). We sat down in empty seats next to them and ended up talking for the entire two-hour journey to London.  By the time we arrived in London, we had decided to correspond. When Natalie started sending them issues of her “Applewood Quarterly,” Andy would respond with wonderful letters, which…