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PHOTO: JO RITA JORDAN ©USED BY PERMISSION

FFrroomm tthhee eeddiittoorr……

Getting Happenstance together is fun. I meet new peopleand share the excitement of what is going on in theirlives. This week I talked to artists who are starting a

new enterprise. The future of Las Vegas and the area is based on acombination of job creation, job retention, and job expansion. Thejobs created by a co-op art gallery are not the distinguishable jobsof hiring others to work in your place of business; these jobs comefrom the artists taking on the shared role of employee. That sets upa chain reaction, which results in more opportunities for sales forthe artists which is a shot in the arm for the economy on a verybasic level. I met with two of the participating artists and learned alot about co-ops I didn’t know. I share that with you in, Artists openco-op gallery on the Plaza, on pages 6-7.

My second article was a joy to do because I am a book nut. Ilove to read almost as much as I love to write and I really enjoy thework of other writers. I am especially charmed by Jan Brett, a re-spected children’s book author who literally paints a picture witheverything she writes. In The Easter Egg bus is on its way, you willfind out more about this talented illustrator/author who has morethan thirty-four million books in print. She’s coming to town andher visit is NOT just for kids. Read the story on pages 4-5. I’ve alsoincluded reviews of a couple of her books on page 10.

Also check out The Best of the Web on page 9. This week’s re-view is of the site delish.com. It’s a food site, but I also found itpretty entertaining. On the Happenstance Kitchen page I includedone of my favorite recipes for a crowd.

Folks are asking how often I’m going to publish Happenstance.My hope is to do it every week, but that may require more contentthan I can produce. I welcome submissions from other writers. Itcan be poetry, short fiction, essays, articles about interesting activi-ties, people and events, history and oddities. I want to hear fromyou and look forward to getting your submissions.

Distribution of this is somewhat dependent on readers. If youlike Happenstance and would like to pass it on to others, please do.I also welcome your ideas. Is there something you would like toknow more about? Let me know and I’ll do my best to get it in.

Enjoy this issue of Happenstance; life happens.

—Sharon Vander Meer

Send comments, suggestions and criticisms to sharon@vandermeerbooks.com

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 2

Happenstancelife happens

Vol 1, No. 3, March 19, 2010Happenstance is a digital publication of vandermeerbooks.com

Copyright, Sharon Vander Meer, Vander Meer BooksSelect content may be used with appropriate attribution: Sharon Vander Meer, sharon@vandermeerbooks.com

Cover image: Two Reflections, Jo Rita Jordan Photos not identified by Sharon Vander Meer

Some images from: clipart.comQuotes on page 11: newweb.richmond.k12.va.us; www.quotegarden.com

Happenstancelife happens

Contributions welcomePoetryPhotos

Unique StoriesShort Fiction

EssaysSuggestionsOpinions

Advertising (For rates call 505 425-6457)

E-mail submissions to: fsharon@msn.com

Happenstance is a digital magazine available free from the publisher.

Please forward this on to anyone whoyou think might be interested in receiving it.

If you would like to subscribe please e-mail your request to fsharon@msn.com

If you have received this and do not wish to receive it in the future, please send your

request to unsubscribe tofsharon@msn.com

All comments will be appreciated and considered. Happenstance is intended to

appeal to a wide range of readers. Material will be selected based on

general appeal to a wide readership, with afocus on Las Vegas, NM, and the area.

Thank you for readingHappenstance.

Happenstance is a publication of Vander Meer Books

PO Box 187 • Las Vegas, NM 87701www.vandermeerbooks.com

Copyright 2010Material may only be used

by permission with appropriate attribution.

If you are ever tempted to see what would happenif you signed up for one of those “make money on-line” offers, DON’T DO IT! Unless you want to get

a flood of e-mails from everybody and his dog trying tosell you something. I wasn’t trying to make money online,I’m smart enough to know it isn’t that easy, but I was curi-ous about what would happen if I actually signed up to beon say, a survey panel (for which I would earn points thatwould eventually convert into ‘rewards’). Let me start bysaying you do indeed make points. The problem is that ittakes a ton of points to get any kind of reward. I’m notsaying you can’t get there, I’m saying good luck in the at-tempt!

First you must fill out the survey site’s profile, whichis quite extensive. The reason given is that the more the‘research’ company knows about you the more surveysyou will be sent to fill out, and the more points you willearn. What really happens is that you provide them withmore and more information about you, and the site sendsthat information on to other sites that want to solicit yourbusiness for everything from dating services to insuranceto credit cards. You can’t say you didn’t ask for these solic-itations because in the fine print of the survey website itstates clearly that by signing up you are inviting solicita-tion.

You’ll spend the next little while, maybe forever, send-ing out ‘unsubscribe’ requests.

I am a bit of a computer addict. I spend a lot of time atmy keyboard, mostly writing, but sometimes I’m doing re-search and all of a sudden I’m in a whole new universe.Being curious I made the mistake of signing up for notone, but two of these ‘research’ survey sites. What betterway to learn a lesson than to overwhelm yourself withcrap?

Today I received twenty-five or so e-mails from com-panies I’ve never heard of and have no interest in buyingfrom. It’s been that way since I signed up. I try to just ig-nore them, but they’re like amoeba, they split and splitagain. What started out as one solicitation multiplies likeants at a picnic. Even when you unsubscribe you continueto get e-mails and if you look closely you find that the siteyou unsubscribed from has just changed its e-mail ad-dress, but the messages remain the same.

I’m not sure what there was in my profile that indi-cated I was interested in dating, but when I kill off onedating site, three more pop up. Aside from the fact I’d be alittle uncomfortable picking a date off a website, I kindathink my husband would object.

—Sharon Vander MeerThe woman who must learn everything the hard way

HAPPENSTANCE LESSONS LEARNED

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 3

Tome on the Range158 Bridge Street • Las Vegas • 454-9944

Mon.-Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-5, Sun. 12-4

An Eggs-tra SpecialEaster Treat!

*This is a free, but ticketed event. Please pick up your tickets at

Tome soon!

She’ll present a short program and introduce her new book,

The Easter Egg. Among her other books are The

Mitten, The Hat, and Armadillo Rodeo.

Meet beloved author/illustrator

Jan BrettSaturday, March 27 • 10 a.m.

WLVHS Cafetorium*

At your service24/7

www.cfblv.com

A proud supporter of Happenstance

HHaappppeennssttaanncceelliiffee hhaappppeennss

Advertising placement and copy deadline Wednesday of the

week the ad is to runRequest rate sheet fromfsharon@msn.com

Kids and parents are getting ready for the EasterBunny and there can be no better way to dothat than to check out The Easter Egg bus com-

ing to town on Saturday, March 27. Children’s book authorJan Brett will be in Las Vegas to talk about her new book,give a drawing demonstration, and sign books. This is afree, but ticketed, event. Pick up tickets at Tome on theRange, 158 Bridge Street.

The event starts promptly at 10 a.m. at the West LasVegas High School cafetorium with the first one hundredattendees receiving a signed poster. The first fifteen in linewill receive a preview copy of Jan’s next book, Three LittleDassies, with characters and story based in Africa.

Jan’s beautiful work has been published for more thanthirty years. Her target readers are children, but the illus-

trations are so enchantingand story-driven thatadults enjoy them as well.

Jan says she knew fromchildhood what shewanted to be when shegrew up. In an interviewwith Janet Chapman of

Tome on the Range, shesaid at age five sheknew she would be anillustrator some day.She grew up in, “… aperfect American child-hood; in a place I couldbe outside all the timeand around animals.That is reflected in myart,” she said. Jan is fas-cinated by nature andas a child spent manyhours reading anddrawing.

As a student at theBoston Museum School, she spent time in the Museum ofFine Arts and was overwhelmed to see room-size land-scapes, towering stone sculptures, and delicately embroi-dered kimonos and porcelain. “I’m delighted and surprisedwhen fragments of these images come back to me in mypainting,” Jan writes in her author bio.

Jan’s work is charming and detailed. Many of thebooks are stories around which she has built illustrations;others are the retelling of fables and fairy tales. Regardlessof the text, the drawings are lively and make even old sto-ries new again.

Jan’s website, www.janbrett.com, is a delight. Her hus-band John Hearne, who is with the Boston Symphony, isthe webmaster of this smorgasbord of free content that in-cludes everything from free coloring pages to videos ofdrawing lessons. In one video Jan demonstrates how todraw a dolphin. To prepare herself to draw any creatureshe does extensive research. In this case she went to the In-

The Easter Egg bus is on its way

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What: Book signing, Jan Brett,A ticketed eventWhen: Sat., Mar. 27, 10 a.m.Where: West LV HS cafetoriumHosted by Tome on the Range158 Bridge Street

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 4

Children’s book author and illustrator Jan Brett introduces her newest book, The Easter Egg, at an event set for Saturday, March 27, 10a.m. at the West Las Vegas High School cafetorium.

“She’s an inspiration because she’s all about ‘You can do it.’ She lets kids know anybody can be creative at any age.”

—Janet ChapmanTome on the Range

Jan Brett

PHOTO:WWW.JANBRETT.COM

PHOTO:WWW.JANBRETT.COM

dianapolis Zoo where she got into thewater with dolphins and watched themfrolic. Those images are interspersedwith a drawing demonstration pepperedwith interesting facts about dolphin be-havior and encouragement to go to thezoo’s website to learn more.

Jan is not a teacher but she is teach-ing all the time, through her talks, herdrawing lessons, and her writing. Thewebsite is full of resources for teachers,parents, grandparents and children.

“She is a wonderful presenter,” Janetsaid. “I saw her at a bookstore where Iworked in Santa Fe several years ago. She is engaging andapproachable. She is not territorial about what she does. Inher talks she tells the audience their pictures don’t have tolook like hers.

“She’s an inspiration because she’s all about ‘You cando it.’ She lets kids know anybody can be creative at anyage. It’s about letting that out.”

Smaller communities are getting more of a chance at avisit from Jan Brett’s promotional bus. In years past hertours were conducted by flying from one airport to anotherand most of her presentations were in major cities. Severalyears ago she decided to try a new approach so she couldget into smaller towns, which may be why she will be stop-ping over in Las Vegas, one of nineteen cities on her itiner-ary, among them Denver and Albuquerque.

“We’re lucky to get her and glad she’s coming,” Janetsaid.

Get ready for The Easter Egg bus; it’s bringing fun totown for kids of all ages!

Tome on the RangeWere it not for the vision and daring of an entrepreneur

with an idea and the drive to bring it to fruition, therewould be no visit from The Easter Egg bus. Tome on theRange Bookstore has opened up many opportunities toreaders through its programs and events.

It is a jewel of a bookstore, and if my research is correct,one of a dying breed in New Mexico. Being in any businessin today’s economy is a struggle; for independent book-stores it’s an act of faith. Staying in business requires con-stant vigilance and a deep-rooted sense of purpose. Tomeon the Range owner Nancy Colalillo is a towering exampleof a woman with purpose.

When she opened the store nearly fourteen years ago

her endeavor was regarded withskepticism by many. On top of every-thing else, she opened on BridgeStreet, which was just beginning toemerge as a business district. Nancydidn’t let anything slow her down,not the frustration of rehabilitating anelder statesman among the buildingsin town; not being a newby; notnaysayers who didn’t think a book-store stood a prayer of succeeding.

Nancy perhaps defines goingover, under, around or through obsta-cles. She is an advocate for the private

sector and encourages cooperation to achieve business vi-brancy. She never hesitates to speak her mind. Whether youagree with her or not, you know where she stands on is-sues.

Her priority, embraced by Janet Chapman, events coor-dinator for the store, is having a successful operation. Theyknow their business inside out and they know what theircustomers like and expect. Hosting The Easter Egg book-signing event may have been a happy happenstance, sincethey didn’t actively seek this opportunity, but it defines thetypes of efforts Nancy and Janet make to assure the store isevident in the community and meeting needs that weren’tbeing addressed.

Over the years the store has hosted book clubs and con-tinues to either host them, coordinate them, or lend supportto them. Janet works with the schools and provides oppor-tunities for reading programs and tours of the store. Tomehas a staff position called community liaison held byBrown Bear, who is also a member of the re-forming liter-acy council. Store manager Michael Siewert keeps theshelves packed with an astounding variety of books.

“We (Tome on the Range) were the motivation behindthe 2008-2009 Leap for Literacy program, and sponsoredthe Literacy Conference and the Literacy Fair. These are allnow being taken over by the Literacy Council. Being theimpetus for that is part of our business model. You have tobe part of your community.”

Tome on the Range moved from its first home into abuilding that is easily three times the size of the first. Visi-tors find it to be an inviting space and special events areoften packed. The shop hosts book signings and readings,story time for children and a variety of other activities thatnot only stimulate business but encourage reading, literacy,and community connections.

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 5

and it’s packed with fun

This still was taken from a video draw-ing demonstration available free on JanBrett’s website, www.janbrett.com.

Thirteen is a lucky number.That’s the membership ofan optimistic group of

artists who believe the time hascome for a co-op art gallery in LasVegas. If their grand opening onMarch’s Second Saturday was anyindication a lot of other people, cus-tomers and artists, agree.

Diana Whitten and Alex Ellis satdown with me recently and talkedabout their expectations of the coopand about the reasons el Zocalo LosArtesanos de Las Vegas makes senseto them as artists.

“I was in a co-op in Taos foryears,” Diana said. “I’ve seen itwork and believed it could workhere.” Her first foray into develop-ing the concept in Las Vegas metwith little enthusiasm, but as anartist and an entrepreneur, shedidn’t give up. “When Fred (Winter) came to see me in De-cember he brought the idea up and for a while we talkedabout it between the two of us and started bringing it up toother artists.” Discussions continued through January andwhen there were enough participants they forged ahead.

“We put the idea out there,” Alex said, “and the inter-est grew. It’s like everyone said, ‘We’ll get on that train,’and it took off very fast.”

Indeed it did. In February the artists got to work, re-painted the interior of the gallery located at 212 Plaza. Theyfurnished the space with shelving and showcases, hungand displayed their art, and on March 1 opened thegallery’s doors to customers.

“It’s daunting for an artist to go into business,” Alexsaid. “There is so much to do that you don’t have time todo your art. This way we can share the costs and benefitsand get our work out there.”

“It’s an idea whose time had come,” Diana said.Apparently so. On the Saturday of their grand opening

the artists’ expectations were exceeded when more than200 people visited throughout the day.

“I had humble expectations and was blown away by

the response at our opening,”Alex said.

Diana never had any doubts,but was happy to see her hopesrealized. “We had locals and peo-ple from out of town. Marti(Nash) took our invitation cardsall over town and that resulted inpeople finding us who wouldn’thave other otherwise.”

Starting a new business canbe difficult under the best of cir-cumstances, but in a down mar-ket it is even more of a challenge.The members of the co-op have asynergy Diana says is essentialfor the gallery to survive overtime.

The organizing members in-vested a membership fee, whichwas used to pay the rent, and apercentage of sales will go into a

fund for overhead (utilities and the like), and for promo-tion, advertising and packaging supplies. Each artist signsup to staff the gallery during open hours, which saves onhiring employees.

Alex said his expectation is that the gallery will de-velop a reputation among locals and visitors that it is theplace to go to find out what is happening in the arts com-munity. “Co-op galleries are an honest representation ofwhat is coming out of the studios of artists. The art is moreaffordable because there is no mark up to cover representa-tive commissions as there would be if you placed it in anon co-op gallery,” he said.

The concept is drawing the interest of other artists butthe organizing group is being thoughtful about addingmembers. Part of it has to do with space. “We have a lim-ited amount of floor and wall space to display work,”Diana said. “And we want to have a variety of media. Agood mix of arts attracts a broader range of buyers.”

The mix in the gallery now includes photography,paintings, fiber arts, jewelry, pottery and copper, amongothers. The artists are all experienced and have had successin selling their work in local galleries and elsewhere.

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 6

“We put the idea out there, and the interest grew. It’s like everyone said, ‘We’ll get on that train,’ and it took off very fast.”

–Artist Alex Ellis

Artists open co-op gallery on the Plaza

The co-op gallery features a wide range of artis-tic styles and expressions.

“One of the things I’mmost pleased about, is thatall of us can talk knowledge-ably about the work of theothers,” Diana said. “Thathas also lead to a renewedexcitement for the work I do.I look at someone else’s tech-nique or method and comeup with ideas for how I canincorporate that into my work. We’re not copying or pro-ducing the same work; we’re connecting our creative en-ergy to that of other artists. I find it very stimulating.”

“She’s right. You forget to be careful about what yourdoing, trying to fit into a mold. You begin to grow more asan artist,” Alex said.

“And now I have all these other kids to play with,”Diana laughed. “Co-ops are the heart of an art community.Elaine Querry said the other day that art is a uniter, not adivider. We’re uniting to help each other be successful.”

Gallery ParticipantsAlex Ellis is a self-taught artist who paints using a

process called encaustic, an ancient recipe of meltedbeeswax and botanical resins that forms a magically lumi-nous and fragrant medium that is uniquely versatile.“What my work means is none of my business,” Ellis’ biostates. “You (the viewer) know as much about it as I do. Myjob is just to show up and make it happen.”

Samuel Dixon is a master silversmith who apprenticedunder Sal Chavez in Albuquerque. He has been working inthe craft for more than twenty years and specializes in beltbuckles and custom pieces.

Kathy Dixon, former owner/operator of a Bridge Streetgift shop and a cosmetologist for thirty years, is an oilpainter, a silversmith and jewelry maker. She studied hersilversmithing craft under Sam and continues to producecustom pieces as well as crocheting folk art wall hangings.

Todd Christensen was born and raised in Utah. Heteaches classes at Highlands and has a diverse portfolio ofart work that includes printmaking, drawing, painting, col-lage, mixed-media, book art, cast bronze sculpture and“…whatever else suits his fancy,” accord-ing to his bio.

Alfredo Winter creates what he callsUseful Pottery. He was born and raised inConnecticut, studied sculpture at the Uni-versity of Denver and receive a BFA andBArch from the Rhode Island School ofDesign. “Making pots is an integral part of

my earth honoring spiritualpractice. My intention is tomake beautiful things thatpeople will use every day,that will give pleasure inthe seeing, touching andusing.”

Diana Whitten’s workis a result of experimentingin incorporating items from

the natural world into one-of-a-kind works of art. Shemoved to New Mexico in 1993 with her husband, John, anarchitect who likes to work with sustainable designs. Shenever thought her ‘found’ art hobby, started when she wasa child living in the Great Smokey Mountains, would oneday become her passion for creating unique pieces.

Rita-T does acrylic on canvas and watercolor paper andlimited edition prints. She paints in bold, textured swathsof light and color, inspired by the emotions she has experi-enced during her life. Her work has been exhibited in cu-rated shows in Los Angeles and locally at the RoyalMastodon Society. She takes pride in her four children, allof whom are talented artists.

Elaine Querry worked for many years as a photogra-pher/photojournalist and for the past twenty years as afine art photographer. She works in a variety of photo-graphic processes—traditional black and white, cyan-otypes, and emulsion transfers, and sometimes paints blackand white images. “As an artist I am an observer—detail,composition, and shadow make up the foundation of mywork.”

Laura Duff Peterson works in a variety of media in-cluding textiles, painting, jewelry, prayer beads, androsaries. She has lived in Las Vegas since 2006 and has ex-hibited her work at the Las Vegas Arts Council, People’sFaire, Sacred Art exhibit at New Mexico Highlands Univer-sity, Inside Adobe Walls, Art Essentials, Casa de Cultura’sDia de los Muertos and at Broken Saints Studio.

Marti Nash’s work is representational with a variety ofsubject matter. “I am most committed to drawing, to mak-ing connections with the visual world. She has written andillustrated with wood cut prints a children’s picture book,

There is a Tree. Illustrations from the book areavailable at the gallery as color monoprints.

Kristy Klaiber works with mixed media,collage, and assemblage art. “I can’t remem-ber a time when I wasn’t creating. As a child growing up in Indiana, attending college, liv-ing and working as a teacher in Arizona and

QQuuiicckk FFaaccttss

Location: 212 PlazaHours: Mon - Sat, 11 am - 6 pm

Sun. 12 - 4 p.m.Phone: 505 454-9904

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 7

Member artists share costs and benefits

–See Gallery on page 11–

M om was one of those cooks who could throwanything into a pot and turn it into some-thing mighty tasty. She never measured any-

thing. The consequence is that recreating her recipes afterall these years is nearly impossible. The food never comesout tasting quite like it did at Mom’s table. I know why, ofcourse. It isn’t just about the measuring, it’s about the loveand laughter — those magic and immeasurable ingredients— that went into every dish she made.What I did learn from Mom is that being creative in the

kitchen is fun, an adventure with a happy ending, usually.The food is unique, good tasting, and crowd-pleasing. I’vecome up with a number of my own recipes over the years,most of them adapted from dishes I’ve had at someoneelse’s table. The following recipe is based somewhat onMexican Chef’s Salad. I redefined it so much that I gave it anew name. This is a one-dish meal and can include a vari-ety of different ingredients depending largely on what hap-pens to be in the crisper.We enjoy entertaining so this recipe is for 15 - 20. You

can prepare the the ingredients for salad beforehand andassemble at the last minute so it is fresh and crisp.The salad can be made smaller by decreasing ingredients

to fit the number of guests at your table. My friend, Kathy Allen, likes to prepare a basic tossed

salad and then put the rest of the ingredients (whateverthey may be) into side bowls. She puts everything on thetable so guests may add items to their plates that are totheir liking. The beauty of this, aside from giving guestsoptions, is that it solves the problem of leftovers. My FiestaChicken Salad is not one that keeps well. It tastes okay butgets soggy.I hope you enjoy this recipe. On the whole I think it’s a

fairly healthy salad, but that darned Catalina dressing andthe tortilla chips do add calories!If you have a recipe you would like to share with Hap-

penstance readers, send it and a background story abouthow you got the recipe to fsharon@msn.com.

Happenstance • March 12 • Page 8

Salad can be a crowd pleasing mealTTHHEE HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE KKIITTCCHHEENN

Salad can be a meal or an accompaniment to a meal, either way you add to your veggie intake and everyone needs that.

A tasty main dish salad Fiesta Chicken Salad One-dish Meal15-20 servings

Begin with a basic lettuce and tomato salad in suitable quan-tity. (Two to three heads of lettuce and four tomatoes wouldbe enough)4 baked chicken breasts, seasoned to your taste(chopped or cut in strips) 1 c chopped celery4 c raw chopped broccoli4 c raw chopped cauliflower1 bunch radishes, sliced1 c sliced carrots1 c combination of green, red, and yellow peppers 1 can sliced black olives1 can black beans, drained and rinsed2 – 3 avocados (optional) 1 9-oz bag of tortilla chips1 c grated Colby-jack cheese (more if you like cheese)1 bottle Catalina or creamy dressing of your choice Mix vegetable ingredients (except avocado, toma-

toes and lettuce) and place in refrigerator. Cut uptomato and place in plastic bag and refrigerate. Washand core lettuce and put in bag in refrigerator. Drainand rinse black beans, refrigerate. (I keep a can of blackbeans in the refrigerator for salads and for black beansalsa.)About one hour before your guests arrive place all

ingredients except for chips, lettuce, tomato and cheeseinto a large bowl. Mix in cut-up chicken and avocado.Toss with dressing. (Avoid overdoing the dressing atthis stage. You can add more if you need to.) Let rest inrefrigerator.Just before you’re ready to serve, tear lettuce and

add, along with the tomatoes, chips and cheese, to in-gredients. Mix thoroughly. You may need to add moredressing at this point.There are a variety of ways to make this. My hus-

band likes it made with taco meat and Fritos (not thescoop kind).

Hearst Magazines andMSN have partneredto develop a food site

that is entertaining and filled withgreat recipes. It has lots of accessibleadvertising, but unlike some sitesthe pop-ups aren’t intrusive and thecontent remains the centerpiece.

The site is owned, built and ed-ited by Hearst Magazines DigitalMedia and distributed by MSN.Delish.com’s traffic places the siteinto the top 10 food-related destina-tions online.

Delish.com is accessiblethrough the MSN home page and ineditorial programming across itsnetwork, including on the MSNLifestyle Channel and other rele-vant channels.

You have lots of tabs to checkout, which can be a little intimidat-ing, but you must go to the Fun andGames tab just to see what’s there. Icame cross Artists in the Kitchen,which, as you might expect, is about people creating im-ages out of fruits, vegetables and other food items. Some ofthem are bizarre but a couple are pretty cool, including thelandscape done by artist Carl Warner and the mosaic ofRosie O’Donnell. There’s also a Word Search game that I’mway too apt to get caught up in, as well as quizzes and in-formation about cooking contests. What do you knowabout Peeps? You know, those squishy yellow marshmal-low thingies that only come out to roost at Easter? Wellthere is a quiz about Peeps. Up for the challenge? Check itout.

But, back to recipes. Delish.com has every conceivable

way to prepare food you can imag-ine. You will also find underRecipes & Menus popular subcate-gories that include chicken, pasta,desserts appetizers, lunch, dinner,under 30 Minutes, low calorie, kids,comfort food, Chinese, Mexican,holidays, parties, and drinks andcocktails. That's just under one tab.

You will find helpful how-tovideos. The current one playingdemonstrates how to julienne likethe chefs do. One thing I’ve learnedis that doing any fancy stuff withveggies requires a sharp, sharpknife. The most dangerous imple-ment in your kitchen is a dull knife.

So, what else is on delish.com?How about a recipe for chickenfried bacon? No, I’m not kidding.Well, I am kidding about the recipe,but I’m not kidding about therebeing such a thing. It is one of 10wacky state fair foods showcased ina slide presentation. See what I

mean about this being a fun site?However, the fun of food preparation is still the main-

stay of this site, which has multiple links to other sites, likeGood Housekeeping, where you will find more great kitchenand home front helps, and tons of recipes.

It helps that the site is attractive and the food photosmake you salivate just looking at them.

So, if you’re looking for a great new recipe or help withplanning a party or making a holiday festive, check outwww.delish.com. It is a cool site that will keep you enter-tained, if, that is, you can get away from the Word Searchgame.

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 9

TTHHEE BBEESSTT OOFF TTHHEE WWEEBB

• Recipes & Menus (and an incrediblearray of subcategories).• Blogs, News & Events• Celebs and Shows• Parties and Holidays• Cookware and Gadgets

• Coupons and Deals• Fun & Games • Links to:

-How to eat your way to better sex-Does your face look older thanyou are?

-21 Easy ways to avoid ruiningyour diet- How old are you really? Take the RealAge test

Enjoy the site. I do.

What you can expect to find at www.delish.com

delish.com for food and fun

Delish.com has recipes for everythingfrom soup to nuts and much, much more.

The Book: The Easter Egg The Author: Jan BrettAvailable at: Tome on the RangeAuthor Event: Sat. Mar. 27, 10 a.m.Where: West Las Vegas High School CafetoriumMs. Brett will give a talk and sign books

Children’s books aren’tjust for children.They are for parents

and children to enjoy togetherand when you have a beautifullyillustrated book like Jan Brett'sThe Easter Rabbit, it’s a pleasurethat will leave a lifetime of mem-ories.

Brett’s skill as an artist is the backdrop for her stories,and you have to pay attention because while the mainstory is being told, the border story carries out the themeand has a message as well.

Hoppi wants to decorate the special egg that will getthe Easter Rabbit’s attention, one that will outshine all theothers. When Hoppi sees what he’s up against, he becomesdiscouraged. All the other animals in the competition aredoing beautiful and unusual designs.

This sweet story tells a heartwarming tale of kindness,caring and sharing. It’s woven together with drawings thatmake you smile and wish you could be in the forest eggdecorating contest. Your kids will love The Easter Egg andso will you. It makes you want to be a kid again, for all theright reasons. Being a kid isn’t about escaping responsibil-ity, it’s about finding joy in helping others and learningsomething about yourself along the way.

I picked up a couple of other Brett books at Tome onthe Range in preparation for the article on pages 4-5. One isentitled Berlioz the Bear about a mishap with a wagon onthe way to a concert starring the forest band, the other is aretelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with illustrationsso enchanting you will want to get a copy for the child inyour life, even if it’s you.

Reading to children is more than sharing a story, it’ssharing your time and helping them see the creativitywithin. You never know who will the next Jan Brett, an au-thor with more than thirty four millions children's books inprint.

Jan Brett will be the featured author at a Tome on theRange sponsored book signing on Saturday March 27, 10a.m. at the West Las Vegas High School Cafetorium.

The Movie: Alice in Wonderland, A Tim Burton Film’Walt Disney PicturesFeaturing: Johnny Depp; Co-Starring Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter

The latest version ofAlice in Wonderlandis, forgive me, won-

derful. The story didn’t need 3-D but the technology didn’ttake anything away from theproduction either. I enjoymovies where right wins overwrong and where even the badguys, with perhaps an excep-tion or two, see the light.

There is a rhythm to thefilm that moves it along, feel-ing familiar because the char-acters are familiar, yet

interesting because Alice doesn’t follow the ‘calendar’ oract in just the way she is expected to by those she encoun-ters. She doesn’t leave the Mad Hatter to his fate when heends up imprisoned by the Red Queen. She doesn’t aban-don the fierce creature who has all the appearances of onewho wants to rip her heart out. She is not predictable. Shedoes not see herself as brave and yet when called upon sheis the bravest.

Mia Wasikowska as Alice starts out in the film as a pen-sive character somewhat intimidated by the expectationshe will marry a man she does not care for, and haunted bydreams of falling down a dark hole. Once she falls downthat hole her metamorphoses into a champion is a treat towatch.

Alice is aided by many characters, but most ably by theMad Hatter. Johnny Depp is adept at portraying slightly offcharacters, who have a curiously moral core. In Alice hischaracter is courageous and loyal, willing to put himself indanger for the good of all. So what if he loses it from timeto time. Don’t we all?

I didn’t expect to like this movie as much as I did. Iliked the characters, even the wicked Red Queen. I mean, ifyou had a big head, a small body, and no one you couldtrust, wouldn’t you be a bit testy?

Alice is my kind of heroine, as brave as she needs to bewhen the time is right. The lessons she learns gives her thecourage to be the person she is at the core, someone whocan say ‘no’ to expectations and follow her own dreams,wherever they might take her.

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 10

HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE RREEVVIIEEWWSS

Happenstance • March 19, 2010 • Page 11

Books byF.S. Vander Meer

These books are available in LasVegas at Tome on the Range Book-store. Online purchases may bemade at Amazon, Xlibris, andBarnes and Noble.

Not Just AnotherDay is a series ofdaily reflectionsthat celebrate thegift of life. Basedon the author’sChristian faith tra-dition the bookuses Bible pas-sages, prayersand readings to

capture the common experience of liv-ing a life of faith in an ever-changingworld.

In Future Imper-fect conflictingforces control twoindividuals seek-ing stability andsanity amid esca-lating political andenvironmentalchaos. Their livesare fraught withlies, treachery,and an altered environment.

In The Ballad ofBawdy McClureshort hauler JakeCasey is con-fronted with theage old question:Who can you trust?From the openingscene in which hefinds the body ofhis murdered friend

to the end he is constantly questioningthe motives of those closest to him.

WORD FROM THE WISE

Good children’s literature ap-peals not only to the child in theadult, but to the adult in the child.

–Anonymous

Of all the diversions of life,there is none so proper to fill up itsempty spaces as the reading ofuseful and entertaining authors.

–Joseph Addison

The world may be full offourth-rate writers but it’s also fullof fourth-rate readers.

–Stan Barstow

I read the newspaper avidly. Itis my one form of continuous fic-tion.

—Aneurin Bevan

A wonderful thing about abook, in contrast to a computerscreen, is that you can take it tobed with you.

–Daniel J. Boorstin

The oldest books are still onlyjust out to those who have notread them.

–Samuel Butler

“What is the use of a book”,thought Alice, “without picturesor conversations?”

–Lewis Carroll

I would be most content if mychildren grew up to be the kind ofpeople who think decorating con-sists mostly of building enoughbookshelves.

—Anna Quindlen

RReeaaddiinngg

Continued from page 7now in New Mexico, retired and free to do art whenever I please.”

Jo Rita Jordan is a photographer with an eye for composition andthe extraordinary shot. She continues to study her craft attending classesat Santa Fe Community College in media arts and Photography. She ini-tiated the Meadow City Camera Club, which has had exhibits at the LasVegas Arts Council and at the Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preserva-tion. Her photo, taken at the 2007 Rough Rider Bike Rally, is featured onthe cover of today’s Happenstance.

Artists whose bios were not available include Meredith Britt, a col-lage artist, Deborah Suess, a fiber artist, and consignment artist Ray-mond Finck, a master wood craftsman.

El Zocalo Los Artesanos de Las Vegas, located at 212 Plaza, is openfrom 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 12 - 4 p.m. on Sunday.For more information call 505 454-9904.

Gallery

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Will the day ahead be humdrum, exciting, productive, leisurely,chaotic, or uneventful? Will I embrace opportunity or hide from it?Will I meet challenges with optimism or fear? Tomorrow is a good

day to do most anything, but today is the day I am given. Today is the race Ihave before me. I have opportunities to be kind, or helpful, or generous.People will cross my path whose need for attention, or love, or for whom theneed for the necessities of life is greater than mine.

This moment is what I know of my future. How I use it may make the differ-ence in the life of another. My words can wound or bring a smile. Thechoice is up to me.

When I enter the race that begins at the start of every day, I decide whatkind of day it will be. God alone knows the day and the hour of my passing.I cannot spend time worrying about what might be. This is the only momentthat matters. How I use it is up to me.

Lord, I associate a race with running and hurrying, getting from here tothere. Help me to see the race as a track that brings me into contact withpeople whose greatest need may be for me to acknowledge they exist.

From Not Just Another Day, by F.S. Vander Meer • For ordering information go to www.vandermeerbooks.com