I keep thinking of that line from C .S. Lewis, from one of his Narnia books and I decided that I needed to find out which one. So I looked up the phrase on the net and found among the references, me. I used it in a blog last October, so I must have been in East End, SK, working on the first draft of this book I am struggling with.

Some people question whether reading too many books does you any good . How much is too much? The argument is that because you remember so little, if anything, from them (most of them), it's a waste of time and you have nothing to show for it. I read a rebuttal of that negative attitude in the NYT a while ago, arguing that you do retain something, maybe just the wisp of a memory of pleasure, maybe an attitude, a tone, a phrase, a name, a character . That's a lot, really. There's a warning about eating too much: a minute on the lips, a year on the hips, something like that. So with books you have read. Something sticks, somewhere, not on the hips, maybe in the subconscious, perhaps in the soul.

So with this Narnia memory: farther in and farther up. When I wrote about it last October, I didn't take the time to find out which of the series it came from. Now I did, and as I say, I met myself. The source that quotes me went on to inform me/us that the phrase comes from The Last Battle. Of course it does, and that's why I remembered it. I was, still am, working on my book about aging and as I keep circling the Departure Lounge, the notion keeps popping up. Farther in and farther up.

No where to go but up? What a lovely thought! Well worth the time. Stay with me?

I'm going to visit friends at a lake again today and I cook both for them and for me. I cannot throw anything away so I cook stuff that might spoil and either take it with me or freeze it. So here is a favourite of the people I am visiting, prepared for them on purpose:

ROASTED FENNEL

Wash the fennel, cut off the bottom tough part and chop off the arms. Keep out any with fronds; fronds are very decorative. Now slice the fennel downwards, not too thick, if the slices are wide, cut them in half, lengthwise. Chop the arms into half inch discs . Heat oil in a roasting pan and add the fennel along with several slices of cooking onion, or red, if you prefer. Stir and brown lightly, adding sliced garlic, optional Optional means it depends how I feel and what else I'm cooking that day. Stir in a few stingy spurts of Sriracha sauce and add some quartered tomatoes, or halved grape tomatoes or Romas, whatever. Stir and mix well, and transfer to a pre-heated 375 F oven and roast for about half an hour, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven and add a can of white beans, drained, stirring gently. Sprinkle the fronds artistically (?) over the surface. This serves about six as a side dish. Or you can use it as a main dish because there's protein in the beans. It's low-fat and good for you.

You can serve immediately or divide and freeze or give some away. That's how my friends got to taste it and like it so much.