Debi Cates

02/26/2022 Just now doing a little book dusting and rearranging, which is always a fine opportunity to leaf through books I have not yet read (hurry, hurry, WHEN?) and flipped to this: READING AILMENT Tome, put off by aCURE Cut it upI remember one time when I gave my mother a book to read while she was visiting, a hefty tome. When it was time for her to return home, I told her she could take it home, she could have it. Later when we talked on the phone she had to guiltily confess that she had done something she had never done before: she had cut the book into parts so she could hold it while reading. I thought it was a brilliant idea! Why not? And in this book, there it was, my mother's brilliant idea. They write “Far better a copy of A Suitable Boy existing in noncorporeal form inside your head than left intact but destined to spend its life propping open a door.” That is the EXACT BOOK my mother split into pieces to read.Aw, Mom. I miss you.

Good reviews here on GR and some reviewers didn't even have a slow cooker!

Me, I'm looking for satisfying dishes without generating extra heat in the house during our Texas summer. Plus, I already have a slow cooker, used less frequently since going vegan, so time to put it to use again.

After a complete reading of this cookbook, I'm certainly ready to try some of these recipes. Overall many are familiar dishes but with a nice twist – how to cook in the slow cooker as well as that extra tasty something in the ingredients.

Big kudos to Hester for the numerous ingenious ways of using the appliance that I had previously thought of in very limited ways.

What looks good to me?

CHICKEN BUILION, CHICKEN SEITAN, BEEF BUILLON, BEEF SEITAN
...doesn't slow cooking impart richer, deeper flavors? If so, I would think that would be a great benefit of using a slow cooker.

BAKED POTATOES 6-8hrs
...you can bake potatoes in the slow cooker? No water, no oil. Interesting!

BALSAMIC ONION MARMALADE 6-8hrs
...onions for pizza or crostini.

FALL HARVEST FRUIT BUTTER 8-10hrs
...pears, apples, pumpkin/squash, and spices. Sounds autumnly delicious.

HUNGARIAN MUSHROOM SOUP 6-8hrs
...homemade cashew sour cream, onions, mushrooms, minced dill, paprika

TORTILLA SOUP 6-8hrs
...no beans, no meat substitute, just onions, garlic, tomatoes, and Mexican seasonings. I love thin, brothy soups so this sounds A-OK with me.

CARIBBEAN MANGO BLACK BEANS 6-8hrs
...the previous owner did not like the spices in this recipe and suggested more liquid. I might take her (the handwriting looks like a woman's) advice on the liquid, but it wouldn't be Caribbean without the nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice, would it?

NOT MY GRANDMOTHER'S BEEFY STEW
...garlic, carrots, sweet potato, beefy seitan

CHANA SAAG (Indian greens with chickpeas)
...thank heaven for the photo because it looks enticing, the greens are made thick with an emersion blender, more like a stew or curry and do look yummy.

ATOMIC TOFU PECAN LOAF
...why is it Atomic? No idea. Sounds better as just Tofu Pecan loaf to me and who knew you could make a “meat” loaf in the slow cooker?

CORN-TASTIC TEX-MEX LOAF
...grind up leftover corn tortillas! vegan chorizo which I happen to have been given and have on hand.

KUNG PAO CHICK'N
...mushrooms, water chestnuts, chicken flavored seitan

BRAISED CHICK'N AND OLIVES
...celery, cherry tomatoes, seitan, sliced olives, red wine, sprig of rosemary

HEARTY FAUX STEAK AND GRAVY
...another nice thing about this cookbook and using a slow cooker: everything, the steak, the gravy, and the potatoes are all cooked in the slow cooker (as opposed to 2 or 3 pans) with a bit of strategic timing and foil or parchment paper.

CHICK'N VERDE
...tomatillos, garlic, green chilis, ACV, seitan

CHOCK-FULL OF VEGGIES CORNBREAD
...zucchini instead of oil, supposed to be extra moist.

SCRUMPTIOUS STRAWBERRY CORNBREAD
...what? now that's idea I never thought of

OLD-FASHIONED CEREAL SNACK MIX
...hey! I remember when this was the “thing” to bring to parties. Now it's old-fashioned.

PEAR AND CARDAMOM FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
...I'm not keen on sweet things for breakfast, but this sounds good and like maybe it would be fun to make for the grands.

MIXED BERRY AND ALMOND GRANOLA
...although a bit of work (stirring every 15-20 minutes) this would solve the problem of how to make granola in the summer without using the oven, or the equally cumbersome multi-batch method in my small air fryer.

THYME LEMON BLONDIES
...another novel way to use your slow cooker: put a pan inside the cooker and use the cooker as a little oven.

PUMPKIN PIE PUDDING
....I like her serving suggestion here, serve the pudding with a “topping” bar of granola, chopped nuts, candied cranberries, etc. Me, I'm thinking vegan whipped topping and candied pecans.

MANGO COCONUT RICE PUDDING
...“reminiscent of mango sticky rice” she writes. But hey! The picture shows a red spice sprinkled on top but isn't mentioned in the recipe. What is it? Chili powder? That might be good.

TURKISH DELIGHT TAPIOCA PUDDING
...tapioca pearls, rosewater

In 1976, I put this book on layaway at Alco in Roswell, NM, along with cloth diapers, yellow and green baby clothes and booties – back in the days before credit cards, sonograms and gender reveals. I made my micro payments regularly. They added no additional charges and there was no cut-off date either; their remarkable policy was “as long as you make regular payments on your layaway.” It was a thrill when months later I made the last $10 payment and had all the precious things I had so carefully planned and selected.

By then I had also saved enough S&H Green Stamps to buy a Oster blender for my plan to make homemade baby food after I had stopped nursing. In the late 70s my choices weren't the norm, but I didn't care. It was precious times with my first baby.

It was the only cookbook I had for many years. If a recipe wasn't in it, I called my mom. I called my mom a lot for her help and advice. She had gotten extremely smart by then. ;)

I'm vegan now, and in countless ways things have changed. Me and my book both have seen better days. As an ode to those years, to my mom's help, and to my baby who has grown up to love eating her vegetables, my ragged copy sits still on my shelf.

My favorite recipe? Steak Diane! For special occasions.

What looks good to me?

Absolutely e-v-e-r-y-thing.

Starters
Pepper Crusted cashew Cheese
...need wheat berries (or possible other whole grains like farro, quinoa, etc. as per The Internet) in order to make rejuvelac which takes about 5 days to ferment. Then you can use to make fermented cashew cheese (soaked cashews, so additional time). Crust sounds like it would be pretty, and tasty with multi-colored peppercorns and thyme.
Pear Walnut Butter
...pear, roasted garlic, walnuts, lemon juice, sage, etc. in a blender (no butter, vegan or otherwise). The whole menu around seasonal squash sounds scrumptious, too.
Raw Corn Chips
...raw corn chips made from fresh corn, flax, shallots, garlic, lime juice, salt, blended then dehydrated for 13 hours. Wonder if it would be worth the effort?

Soups & Stocks
French Onion Bisque
...based on what I've seen so far, I bet this is a cut above. Uses just 2 onions ?
Watermelon Red Pepper Gazpacho
Chilled watermelon as a soup? Yes, please.

Salads
Baked Hazlenut Cheese
...hazelnuts, lemon juice, tahini, nooch, salt, garlic pureed and then drops of the cheese dropped on baking sheet until firm and golden.
Pine Nut Caesar Dressing
...pine nuts, roasted garlic, almond milk, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, brown rice syrup (don't have), tamari, nooch, capers, black pepper, olive oil. Pine nuts, yum!

Mains
Lentil Walnut Tourtiere
...lentils, mushrooms, onion, carrot, and seasoning, the crust uses toasted walnuts
Hazelnut Crusted Portobellos
...balsamic vinegar, port wine, liquid smoke, nooch, smoked salt, etc.
Pipian Pesto Tortellini
...pumpkin seed butter, cilantro, parsley, garlic, etc.
Miso & Japanese Eggplant Pierogies
...orange juice, agave nectar, wasabi powder, etc.
Sherry Roasted Root Vegetables
...sherry, tamari, lemon juice, maple syrup, etc.

Breads & Grains
Crispy Flatbread Crackers
...she has an all-purpose everything dough used to start. Variations are Pesto, Balsamic Lavendar, Sweet Mustard, and Garlic crackers.
Sesame Flax Crackers
...dehydrated

Desserts
White Chocolate Cshew Mousse
...no white chocolate, of course! cocoa butter, cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, rice flour, vanilla bean
Chocolate Hazelnut Pie
...chocolate, cashews, hazelnuts, tofu, Medjool dates, etc.
Sweet Potato Lime Creme Brulee
...sweet potatoes, coconut milk, lime juice & zest, vanilla bean, maple syrup, sugar
Coconut Rice Crust
...unsweetened coconut, rice flour, brown rice syrup
Peanut Oat Crust
...oat flour, rolled oats, peanut butter, maple syrup

Ice Creams
Many fabulous combo flavors, eg. Cardamom Almond, but I love that she gives an alternative method to an ice cream machine using two metal bowls, bag of frozen peas, and of course time in the freezer.

Brunch
Double Chocolate Waffles with Mocha Cream

Teas & Sodas
Ginger Beer Syrup
...boiled ginger, agave nectar, and lime juice then add 2 Tbsp of the concentrate to sparkling water.

Pantry
Miso Sesame Shiitake Mushrooms
...broil or pan fry, makes a great addition to salads or noodles
Miso Cashew Cheese
...(not fermented) miso, cashews, lemon juice, tahini, nooch, ACV
Anise Toasted Sunflower Seeds
...maple syrup, crushed anise seeds, black pepper
Apple Reduction
...unfiltered apple juice to make a syrup (my grandson loves apples)
Smoke Infused Olive Oil
...uses hickory or cherrywood chips

I need to get started. Right now. These things won't cook themselves.

A picture book that introduces American slavery to the very young.

Levine successfully depicts one of slavery's most craven aspects: separating families. It omits overt brutalities but that makes the one aspect of slavery–the hopelessness of losing all of one's family–all the more poignant. First, Henry is given to another family at a young age, and then as a grown man his own wife and children are sold away for financial reasons, while he is working. It breaks your heart.

The illustrations are a large part of the power and impact of the story. They are realistic and beautiful.

I've decided not to read this to my Littles, my two young granddaughters. Such a realistic treatment of this subject is best left up to their parents because it might require on-going, emotionally supportive talks.

I only wish the author had added, as many non-fiction picture books do, an addendum for adults that tells more of the history of Henry “Box” Brown.

Some pictures in the middle of the book. Each recipe has a camera icon if it is pictured.
No nutritional information.
No oil (except naturally found in nuts, seeds, etc.)

Enticing pictures on every page
No nutritional information
Weirdly author not listed anywhere in book
Index not as ingredient oriented as I would prefer (eg. no entry for Preserved Lemon)
Special recipe to try: Preserved Lemon Dressing, p 92, also see Herb salad p 108

Not ready yet to rate or write up a review of this cookbook. Instead, I'll be recording individual recipes I try until I decide if this is a keeper for me.

ROAST CAULIFLOWER WITH ALMONDS & PRESERVED LEMON
I'm impressed with the combination of flavors and textures! Cauliflower, almonds, parsley, pomegranate, preserved lemon– an ingredient grouping I would never have come up with myself. Every bite had something going for it: that special flavor and saltiness of the preserved lemon, the toasty crunch of almonds, the sweet explosions of pomegranates, and the mild cauliflower to carry it all. Although I try to strictly stick with a recipe before tweaking it, I didn't have any red chiles it called for so I spiced it up with some Korean chili sauce (gochujang). A real keeper recipe and now I am browsing for the next delight that awaits in this cookbook. 02/21/2022

In progress

I subscribe to Academy of American Poets service where they send to my email a poem a day. Upon receiving this one today (August 2,2025) I was taken by the irrepressible rhythm and chant of it, and its perfect flight of imagination with surprising insight.

Meeting Ourselves by Vachel Lindsay

We met ourselves as we came back
As we hiked the trail from the north.
Our foot-prints mixed in the rainy path
Coming back and going forth.
The prints of my comrade's hob-nailed shoes
And my tramp shoes mixed in the rain.
We had climbed for days and days to the North
And this was the sum of our gain:
We met ourselves as we came back,
And were happy in mist and rain.
Our old souls and our new souls
Met to salute and explain—
That a day shall be as a thousand years,
And a thousand years as a day.
The powers of a thousand dreaming skies
As we shouted along the trail of surprise
Were gathered in our play:
The purple skies of the South and the North,
The crimson skies of the South and the North,
Of tomorrow and yesterday.

Turns out this poem was published in the 1920s and was written for “precocious children twelve or fifty years of age.” I'm 66 now and cannot be precocious child, unless one can be belatedly precocious in one's second childhood. It's the kind of poem I could learn by heart and, at some odd opportunity, lift a line or two to sum up the occasion or to rally prevailing emotions. I rushed to find where I could read more and was again delighted when I read the book's title.

I am going to have a lot of fun with this one. Yeah, “poetry” and “fun,” imagine!

No images.
Sample weekly menus by season.
Nutrient Guide for Vegans (includes high calcium foods, high mineral and enzyme foods, b12, etc.
Index, few ingredient listings.

Beverages, Breakfasts, Snacks Spreads Dips, Salads, Dressings, Soups, Sauces & Gravies, Main Dishes, Vegetables, Cakes Frostings & Toppings, Cookies Candies Puddings Pies Ice Creams, Breads, Special Recipes (Vegan Butter, Mayo, etc.)

DNF'd 2025/08/18

I read one poem and liked it a lot.

I can't read the rest because I learned these are not poems by Hafiz translated by Daniel Ladinsky. These are original poems by Ladinsky, which at best are merely inspired by the Persian poet, Hafiz.

Hafiz is a 14th century much loved Sufi poet and cherished by Persians. This is a pernicious kind of theft. It's not cool to co-opt Hafiz's name. And Ladinsky continued to do the same in other works of poetry after the popularity of this book.

Penguin also should be ashamed.

Truth should matter. Even in a book of poetry.

For more information see this Al Jazeera editorial from 14 Jun 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/6/14/fake-hafez-how-a-supreme-persian-poet-of-love-was-erased/

DNF'd 08/09/2025, at 20%

I do believe that our thoughts matter, immensely. I do believe we don't have to be at the whim of any of our random, unchecked thoughts. We can be happier, suffer less, if we work on that.

But I do not believe, as Allen, does,

Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. This is just as true of those who feel “out of harmony” with their surroundings as of those who are contented with them.

There are those that no amount of better thinking will change the circumstances: The innocent people in Gaza, those in America nabbed by ICE (some even while in court for an immigration status hearing), those sent to gas chambers in Germany, those viscously persecuted for being gay or lesbian throughout the ages...

Do you think that they were brought to those circumstances by their thoughts as Allen says?

I agree with the single premise that we can better manage our thoughts, but everyone should disagree heartily how ignorantly far Allen took the premise.

Not only ignorant, I found that attitude–that thought–distressingly unhelpful.

DNF'd @ 36% May 8, 2025

I'm all for a sassy old broad who takes no crap, and who might occasionally transgress into lesser crimes like trespassing and refusing to fill out nosey questions on a federal census form.

But, man, this Maude is a murderer, a calculating cold-blooded one. That's not “no good.” That's not even wacky. That's just blech for me.

DNF'd May 10, 2025That's two DNFs in a row. ☹️☹️I somehow missed that this was the same Caldwell that wrote [b:Tobacco Road 59091 Tobacco Road Erskine Caldwell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699226565l/59091.SY75.jpg 1238780] which I thoroughly disdained. This one started off not too bad, funny even (the “floating” God's little acre was great), but yeah, it devolved to the old Tobacco Road stomping ground. In these trying days, I'd rather not go along for that ride again, especially not up to it while coping with living in America 2025.I feel like I was fair, though. I gave it the 50 Page Golden Opportunity.

DNF Feb 2025

A mere few pages in, “The pot is swaddled in a crocheted yellow cozy, probably a project someone knitted once back when knitting was something the KnitWits actually did.” My italics.

Ah, the struggles in reading contemporary fiction writers. They will say any ol' thing to fill their 300 page quota books, with not only inanely unimportant details but also inanely careless ones. I guess AI is doing the editing now, not humans. Is this an example of the million reader delights I can expect within this book?

Yes, I'm this picky, or grumpy, take your pick.

DNF'd January 2025

At 50% complete, I decided it just wasn't for me. I agree with the politics, the ridiculousness of banning books, and the consensus that book-banners are bullies.

I simply wasn't enjoying it. It was preaching to the choir, as they say. Nor can I imagine it finding its way into the hands of a single proponent of banning books. Indeed, I doubt they would get past the first chapter. And then probably suggest it be banned.

2025/08/19...the year so far

I meant to do a Mid Year Review in July and forgot! Today I remembered and am still keen to document what is making this an excellent reading year.

Buddy Reading is a Super Power
Buddy reads are you, times 10!

In a buddy or group read, other readers will pick up on something your reading eyes blew right past providing extra clues, key words, and delectable nuances. Others will turn you on to tidbits, like similar works, video documentaries, written articles, and even visual Art works that will fire new synapses until your gray matter positively glows.

Groups will hone your communication skills, too, no longer spewing unfettered into the ether as you can do in a review. Clarity and also diplomacy is a good skill set to work on, especially in these divisive days.

And dang, there are some really smart people out there, who aren't there to wow, but there to share, to think aloud. What a gift to have the pleasure of their thoughts in conversation.

Buddy/group reads are a place for gaining global awareness. Being an American that isn't often my strong suit. Now I can literally tap into a whole world of diverse ideas. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) may have recently been made a dirty acronym in the US but it's a living, thriving thing, hardly something that can be obliterated by the signature of an illiterate. Not everywhere is America, never has been, and thank heaven for that.

Short Stories are Not Just Literature Lite
Somewhere along the line, I got it into my head the erroneous idea that short stories were just short novels. Quickies, you might say. No, no, no. They are their own art form and now I've fully disabused myself of that notion, can freely seek them out and “count” them as real reading. Additionally, they don't have the problem that I heartily dislike, the trend of over and carelessly written novels pushed out at record speeds by many of today's major publishers who have drastically cut their editor staff to increase their bottom line. But built right into the structure of the short story is the insistence of tighter writing that I love so much. Wow me with your mastery, not your blah-blah-blah-what's-my-word-count-now.

There Will Never Be Enough Time.
Now that my family is grown and raised, I have more time to read as I always dreamed I would have one day. I've gone from 30 books a year (and that was a lot compared to my peers at the time), to double, then triple that, and have been able to also read dozens and dozens of kids books with great pleasure with my “Littles” (my youngest two granddaughters). Yet I've discovered there is still not enough time to read all I want to read. That's because the more I read, the more I want to read–new recommendations by GR friends, authors from the past new to me, new genres I've discovered I like, and this burning new desire to be a “completist” of certain writers I love.

It's a good problem, to have a fast-growing mountain of beautiful potentialities to look forward to, especially in 2025 where an ugly slowmo horror plays on and on and on.

October 2024, DNF'd.

I got to 43%, was enjoying it less and less. And still had 6 more hours to go.

There are books aplenty in the world, something for everyone. Nothing wrong with the book AND nothing wrong with me.

I would have liked a story about Ann and Mathew and Marilla with a lot less “Anne with an e.” I could say I missed the right age for reading this, but even little Debi would not have finished it. It's just one of those books “not for me.”

Tear-jerker, Hair-puller, or both?I promised myself that I would finish this shortish Henry James, vowing not to let his style daunt me. But, good gawd, I didn't expect to be this dejected by the story.When I vowed to read this one through, I didn't know I was promising to take poison every day. I gave up at page 94.The story sickens one's heart and that's the point of it. It's painful to endure the many ways the self-involved adults manipulate a child who is a battering ram in their topsy-turvy world of alliances and dalliances, deceptions and revenges. Nor do any seem to enjoy or to even like the child, forget just protecting her.The one decent human is the poor, uneducated, and ugly Mrs. Wix. But will she or Maisie either survive to the end?Sadly, I didn't care to find out. There can be no just outcome for this queasy read. So if the novel will clearly end unsatisfyingly, why am I forcing myself to translate James and his beloved jibber jabber? Those wearily long and convoluted sentences, with clauses here, there, and yon, in his maniacal order, never revealing the meaning in an ordinary (clear) sequence? He takes such delight in it. I could hear him bwahahaha'ing as I read. Nor is he one to ever leave any shred of nuance left un-manhandled. He might be having fun but fun, he is not.Note that I've successfully read James' [b:The Turn of the Screw 12948 The Turn of the Screw Henry James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567172392l/12948.SY75.jpg 990886] (reamarkably, I enjoyed that and still think highly of it), [b:Daisy Miller 16204 Daisy Miller Henry James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327911289l/16204.SY75.jpg 3274683] (meh, it was ok), but have also DNF'd two other titles which I can't even be bothered to remember now.The good news? This is emphatically my last stab (and jab) at James.DNF 04.21.2024

I spent a month during lockdown, wearing myself out trying to read this and also having to turn to the annotations every other sentence just so I could hang my hat somewhere on it.

I'm sure it's genius. (Like Einstein. Or Like Ted Kaczynski?)

However, I'm no genius and obviously not tenacious either. I don't get the I Read Ulysses t-shirt. Boo.

DNF 2020

I've been reading kids' books that I skipped reading as a kid. When I finish I give the books to my Little grands.

I did not finish this book.

For me, a story that includes magic has to have some meaningful purpose for me to hang out with it. Not just wild creativity. I do dig plenty of stories in which not-real-world things happen (Winnie the Pooh! Alice in Wonderland!) but when a character just has flat out magic doing creative magical things that's a writer-cheat to me.

(I couldn't finish Harry Potter either, so there ya go.)

We all get to choose what we love and I'm all about Letting Love Live. (So please don't hate me.) This book is just not my own personal cup of tea and I thought I should explain a 2 star-rating for an unfinished book.

====Tangent alert!====
P.S. Speaking of personal cups of tea, I'm trying hard not to divorce Goodreads after all the time I've put into this marriage. I am miserable since they foisted their god-awful Book Page redesign upon me, ignoring my pleadings, my wishes. I'm thinking of taking up a lover (Storygraph looks hot) as my way out of this abusive relationship.

Just today, I found some small relief, literally. I made my browser font smaller with <-> which made that ridiculously silly super-sized font with its wasted surrounding white space less triggering, and indeed also a tad smaller in its bloated technological tyranny.

Next I'd like to figure out how to get non-English reviews off my scroll. Reviews in Russian are annoying pokes in my eyeballs. (Same pokes in Spanish, Czech, Hungarian, French, Farsi, etc.) What can GR hope to gain by this lack of insight into the global truth that vast number of human beings don't read every language that someone might care to write and be seen in the book review page? (Yes, I know, you can filter the results for your specific language. Just be prepared to do that for EVERY review you read.)

I have two cynical ideas about this redesign. 1) It was designed by a team of twelve year old geeks who have likely not voluntarily read more than 5 books in their lives but are absolute geniuses in Minecraft. And 2) Behind every inch of empty white space and hogging font size is an Amazon Corporate strategy to make us scroll, to sneak in more ads, and continue their master plan of making more money than God.

Recipes I've tried so far...and yes, pictures would have been helpful.

PEPPERED TOFU CRISPS (vegan)
Although I accidentally didn't follow the recipe (I omitted the rice wine/sherry and wondered how cornstarch was going to stick properly), it still came out remarkably good for such a simple recipe. Of course, just about anything is yummy when deep fried, am I right?

OREGANO CRUSTED TOFU (vegetarian)
This time it wasn't me. It was the recipe. How to get pesto and parmesan to stick to top and bottom sides of tofu planks in order to pan fry them? I don't know. It was a mess trying to get both to adhere, and then during the fry, the “crust” flaked off. The flavor though was good – oregano pesto was perfect! – and so a recipe worth trying again. Next time, I'll make a wet dip and coat with the parm/bread crumbs. Fry and then serve the planks drizzled with the delicious oregano pesto. Maybe even make it vegan by just doing a bread crumb (or panko) crust.

(In Progress, last updated 2025/08/15)

HIDDEN BY CHANCE
1. Chauvet Cave
WOW, what a start to this book! A cave of the most sublime prehistoric art and artifacts going back 30-40,000 years ago, not seen by a human or beast since it was sealed by a landfall 20,000 years ago. The best part, because it was discovered more recently in 1994, is that its exploration and preservation has been more enlightened, protected by a metal vault door and high security. Only rarely are the most select visitors allowed and because of the complex system of metal scaffolding put in place, their feet never touch the ground, preventing contamination and destruction.

I went straight from the two page layout in this book to Youtube. I might still pay to stream Herzog's highly regarded documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, but in the meantime discovered and can't recommend heartily enough this wonderful video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZS3SxtMINI produced by YT creator The Immortal Art. I was led into a wonderous dream state for 28 minutes and 27 seconds. I gasped when I saw the child's footprint, with the map of the eight year old's and accompanying wolf's footprints as they explored the cave. Imagine, remainders of the activities of humans and prehistoric animals 20,000-40,000 years ago....still trying to wrap my head around that.