For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

“For sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn.”

Back in the 1920’s, the great writer, Ernest Hemingway. made a bet for $10 with someone, where he stated that he could write a complete story in six words. He won the bet with the above words. Never have six words been more thought provoking, or conveyed such strength of meaning.

Smith, the American online magazine , has used the Hemingway anecdote to inspire its readers to write their own life stories in just six words, culminating in a book of the best contributions, entitled "Not Quite What I Was Planning".

It got me to thinking about how could I sum up my own life in six words. What is my six word life story? I’ve been so many places and had so many varied experiences . . . some good, some bad, other’s boring and often sad, many happy . . . always exciting, well at least to me anyways.

Here are some of the wonderful examples of six word lifestories that people submitted. I found them quite fascinating.

Trust me, I did my best.
Ray Kemp

Head in books, feet in flowers.
Heather Thomson

Slow lane. Fast lane. Hard shoulder.
Alex Hansen

Conceived, implored, employed, adored, retired, ignored.
Joy MacKenzie

Four Weddings, Three kids, then cancer.
GillianJohnson

Aspirations compromised by procrastination, then children.
Harry Beighton

If only I had turned left.
Robin Pickering

And so, this morning, I am pondering what would my six line life story be. It’s a lot to take in. (and although that last line is just six words . . . that’s not it!) And then it came to me . . .

I AM HERE FOR A PURPOSE.

I think that about sums it up quite nicely.

So now I toss out the challenge to you. What are your six words? Care to share?

Oh yes, I can think of a two word sentence that really make one think even more than six words ever could . . . it’s in the bible.


(art by Liz Lemon Swindle)

"Jesus wept." ~ John 11:35

I have to apologize if any of you came here this morning looking for Tuesdays With Dorie. I worked so many hours this past weekend that I just didn't have time to do the challenge this week. It was the Chocolate Amaretti Torte on pages 276-277 as chosen by Phe/MOM/enon by Holly . You can get the recipe on her page. Also you can see a whole bunch of other Torte creations by hopping on over to the Dorie Blog Roll.

I did make Todd this delicious Curried Chicken Salad though. It's one of my old standbys and something that is quite quick to throw together, not to mention a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken or turkey.



*Curried Chicken Salad*
Serves 4 - 6

This is a wonderful salad full of complex flavours and textures. The dressing is spicy and somewhat sweet. The crunch comes from toasted nuts and celery. And then there is the fruit . . . this is a real winner in all ways.

6 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 ½ cups good quality mayonnaise (I use hellman’s or homemade)
1/3 cup dry white wine or apple juice
¼ cup mango chutney
3 TBS of curry powder
2 large stalks of celery, chopped
¼ cup chopped spring onion, both white and green parts
¼ cup sultanas
1 cup salted roasted cashew nuts

Preheat your oven to 160*C/350*F. Place the chicken breasts onto a shallow baking pan and rub the skin all over with the olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and black pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, just until the chicken is cooked and the juices run clear.

Set aside until cool enough to handle. Once cool, remove the skin and discard. Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces and put it into a bowl.

Combine the mayonnaise, wine (juice), chutney, curry powder and 1 further tsp of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.

Add enough of this dressing to the chicken to moisten it well. You may not need it all. Add the celery, spring onions and sultanas. Mix well.

Chill for several hours to allow the flavours to blend. Stir in the cashew nuts just prior to serving.
Serve on chilled salad plates with a garnish of lettuce if you wish. Delicious!