Hmmmm

Christmas Mischief

One of my favorite short stories…

Christmas Mischief

and A Night Owl Review Top Pick. 

What could be worse than driving down a county road on a cold, snowy December afternoon and getting a flat tire... Being locked out of your car by your exuberant dog, acting like a fool trying to get back in when a tall dark handsome stranger stops and then the man doesn't ask for your phone number.

And my favorite recipe for Gluehwein

Gluehwein, 

1 (750 milliliter) of an inexpensive bottle red wine - 

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

A package of mulling spices (3 ounces)*

Cheesecloth

Cinnamon Sticks

In a saucepan, add water, sugar, and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer.

Place mulling spices in a cheesecloth. Drop into the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick and syrupy.

Turn off the heat and pour in wine until steaming. Remove cheesecloth with spices. (Some people will also add 1/2 cup of Brandy)

Pour hot water into mugs/cups to preheat them, dump the water out and add wine and garnish with cinnamon stick.

*Or to make you own Mulling Spices, place 8 black peppercorns, 6 whole allspice, 6 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3 orange rind strips and 2 pieces crystalized ginger on a 5-inch square of cheesecloth. Gather the edges, and tie securely with string.

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Mischief-Christine-Columbus-ebook/dp/B0054K8PSK

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http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=243_86_65&products_id=651

Good News...

 I spotted Rudolph on my evening walk...and the difficulty of my morning hike has increased

 

Good News...Bad News...

Good News, I found my favorite beer in Eugene.

Bad News, my manuscript was rejected. I received great feedback from the editor at The Wild Rose Press and she gave me the opportunity to resubmit...And I have beer.

Seeing Green

I feel like I'm in the wrong season. It's Thanksgiving week and I'm seeing green instead of white on my afternoon hike.

This is my first autumn living someplace other than MN, WI or IA and even though it's not exactly warm in Eugene, it's doable.

The Right Perspective...

 It seems to me the leaves in Eugene, OR are much bigger then I remember.

If Stella could talk she'd say, "Something tells me we're not in Iowa anymore."

Handicap yes, Accessible ?

If you are traveling in July without reservations don't worry there is always Makoshika, MT state park.

Dry camping in Makoshika MT state park - doesn't mean you can't bring in a beer or two...it means absolutely no water is available at the campsites.

The place was beautiful, it looked like we were at the South Dakota Badlands, lots of hiking, rattle snake warnings, very little shade, lots of wind at night and Handicap Pit Toilets, but not necessarily Handicap Accessible Pit Toilets.

Time Travel On Sale

We went shopping to Costco on Monday - and for $11.99 you could go back to 2014. 

A picture is worth 1000 words...

Or sometimes two words...What? Why? 
This is one of those pictures from out trip out west. Have you ever take a photo and later wondered why?

Driving down the interstate - going through North Dakota - there wasn't much to catch our attention - "Oh look a hill." 

but I zoomed in and on the only hill visible for many, many mile we spotted Salem Sue, the World's Largest Cow...and no we didn't pull off the interstate to go take a look  

Buyer's Remorse

I consider myself the Queen of Downsizing... we have gone from combining two households into a two bedroom apartment and from there we eliminated anything that would not fit into the back of a F150 truck - luckily for me I am married to the Master Packer.

And then we made our first mistake... we went into Wal Mart - of course we couldn't find what we wanted but ended up purchasing a rechargeable lateen - (and if you're curious - no we didn't use it on our two month  camping journey.) It's hard to believe after giving away so much...we would buy one more thing...

Backstory to a romance writer's journey

The Journey to Writing: 

Downtown Minneapolis

For 27 years I worked for a utility company... until the day my boss said, "if you're not happy here, quit."

So, I jumped ship and went to work for the City of Golden Valley... until my daughter said, "you'd make a great COTA."

So, I moved to La Crosse WI to get an associates degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.   

I spent almost 1 year working with children on the Autism Spectrum.

Before we relocated to Iowa where I spent 1 year working in a skilled nursing facility.

Which brings me to now…We are living in someone’s basement in Eugene, OR and I am pursuing my dream of writing. 

And we are living our dream....

My writing journey...

After spending May giving away our furniture to family, donating to Goodwill and selling items on Craig's list we 

squeezed our household into a F150.

And left Waukee, Iowa at the end of June.

Casting Off....

It has been a long time since I have written or published, but the tide has change. My ship has come in and I plan to sail off... Figuratively.

The Perfect Country and Western Story - The title was tongue in cheek.

Steve Goodman and John Prine wrote the country song, "You Never Even Called Me by My Name' and David Allan Coe recorded it.  I always love the part of the song where Coe talks about why the song isn't The Perfect Country and Western Song because there was no mention of Mama, Trains, Trucks, Prison or Getting Drunk.

When I writing the novel I would tell everyone I was writing The Perfect Country and Western Story - because I had Mama, Trains, Trucks, Prison, and Getting Drunk.

And the title stuck...

RT Book Reviews states: Want a fun beach read this summer? Look no further. With a heroine bravely battling back from a tragic loss and a hero you want to bed one minute and smack the next, you’ll be hoping for these two to find their happily ever after. Strong secondary characters round out this story of a love that seems doomed by misconceptions. - See more at: http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/perfect-country-and-western-story#sthash.IMyorRXu.dpuf

The best hour of today was...

Was coming home after work and enjoying a great dinner and a glass of wine.  

What makes you cynical?

Cynical...sounds like political ads

bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic.

I certainly grow tired of hearing people trash talk - it's a great message to show our children. The way to get people to like (vote) for you is to make others dislike/distrust the other person... Sounds a lot like bullying to me.

Something that made you worry...

Today is Friday, June 13 and tonight there will be a full moon. I am not the least bit worried about this because I have never experienced any bad luck on a Friday the 13th or on a full moon. The full moon on a Friday the 13th is a rare occurance and it is not expected to occur again until I am 90. Now the thought of turning 90 does scare me a bit.

Is There Something in Your Way...Can You Move It?

Fear is always in my way...sometimes if I'm lucky I can rush past my fears, but fear always catches up to me.  I will try and be brave and not be afraid to be the best writer I can possible be... i will not be afraid to travel.

Favorite thing to do on a Friday night...

Perfect Friday night has the following ingredients: margaritas, chips, and salsa.

Coffee

Coffee is a great way to start the day... one or two cups every morning. There was a time when I also enjoyed an afternoon cup of coffee, sometimes from a vending machine while take an afternoon break with a co-worker. Sometimes the cup of coffee was at my Mom's house, I'd drop off the daily newspaper after I got off work and she'd always have a pot of fresh brewed strong coffee and a desert. Sometimes a large slice of pie or cake - other times it was a cookie or a bismark or long john.  

What makes a good friend...

A good friend is a time traveler...it could be days, months or years since you've last talked to them - and the moment you say, Hello. It's like distance and time never happened. You are both in the same moment and it feels like you last talk only minutes ago.

What make you miserable?

When it comes to misery, I am my own worse enemy.  I want to write, but I busy myself with distractions. I want to be healthy and I put junk food in my shopping cart. I want to exercise and I pull the covers up over my head. I want to work part-time and accept full-time positions.

Now, of course if I turn it around, I could also be my own best friend.

Mother's Day 2014

 
Today my daughter posted the above... and it only seemed like yesterday when

they were babies...

_______________ is Perfect.

What, Whom, or Where is Perfect?

According to the Dictionary - having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be:

          make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible:

     Life is Perfect although I have to say some days I do find it a little difficult to be as good as it is possible to be...

When was the last time you spoke to your parents?

This is the question for July 10th from the 365 Questions book and the answer is a little difficult because both my parents have been dead for quite some time. But I do remember a couple of my last conversations with my mom. I was working full-time, had two preteen children at home and would stop by her house every night on my way home from work to check in with her and to have a cup of coffee - the coffee was a great way to spend sometime with my mom to unwind after work and also as a way to ramp up for an evening filled with driving my children to and from activities.

My mom had a number of aliments, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, lung cancer, and emphysema.  She was on oxygen and was finding it harder and harder to breathe and get around. She was unable to back her car out of the garage and unless someone turned her car around she could not drive. Which in my opinion was a good thing, so I conveniently forgot to turn her car around when she asked. She was also blind in one eye and the way she passed the vision test when I took her in to get her driver's licensed renewed was by lying. When the clerk asked what eye the light was shinning in my mom said her left eye, because she didn't see a light and figure it had to be flashing on her blind side.

The year was 2011 and the month was October. She hated the TV and all the news coverage and said she just couldn't live through another war. Wheel of Fortune had been replaced with continual coverage of the towers coming down.  I tried to get her interested in old re-runs of I Love Lucy or Dick VanDyke Show, but she'd have none of that, she didn't find the slap stick humor funny, she was tired and depressed.

The one thing she still wanted to do was shop. She loved shopping. She didn't care clothes, groceries, or the hardware store. Sometimes she was so tried the most she could do was ride along and wait in the car while I ran in and did errands. One evening when I stopped she was insistent on getting a new coat, she had a doctor's appointment the following week and was bound and determined to get a new jacket. She had lost a lot of weight and wanted something new.  She was persistent about needing a jacket and to appease her I told her I couldn't take her shopping the following day.

She had always had a very sharp mind but the last couple of weeks she had been forgetful so I grabbed the pad of paper sitting next to her chair and ashtray and wrote down.  Shopping for jacket on Thursday at 5 o'clock.

She studied the paper and set it back down on the table, we finished our coffee and she seemed content. She reminded me to turn around her car and I told her I would and reminded her I'd be by tomorrow and we'd go shopping. Of course I rinsed out my cup and hustled out the door before she could remember she didn't give me her car keys so I wouldn't be able to turn her car around.

At 4 o'clock in the morning my sleep was interrupted by the jarring ring of the phone. Heart pounding I raced up a flight the basement stairs to the  land line phone in the kitchen. I heard my mother's voice. "Are you coming?"

"Why?" I asked gasped for breath while trying to keep my voice down, I didn't want to alarm my children sleeping in the room next door.

"To take me shopping," she said.

"It's four o'clock in the morning. I'm not taking you shopping until after I get off of work," I explained.

"I have the note right here," she said. "Listen." She read the note back word for word and said, "Does this note say anything about am or pm?"

"No," I said

"Who's the crazy one here?" she said and disconnected.

Today was delightful because...

Well, I still haven't found a job, but I did get up and walk for 30 minutes today. I also worked on a short story, these are all good things. It's raining outside and I'm nice and dry inside. I love the sun and warmth but I also delight in rainy days - the overcast skies, dripping clouds, and rhythmic splat of fat drops against the concrete, relax and calm me.

May 16, 2012

"What was your favorite day this week?"  Considering it is only Wednesday... I would say Tuesday.  We rode our bikes from La Crosse to Sparta - round trip 54 miles...   Aha moment...need to buy bike shorts.

May 15, 2012

"What Do You Consider To Be Your Biggest Achievement?"  Well, today it would be getting out of bed to write...but overall I would say it's letting go of fear.  It is easier for me to do what I did yesterday, which is why I worked at one company for 27 years, and owned the same house for 25 years. It is much easier to repeat a previous day then to blaze a new trail.

It has been a year since I've sold a house, quit a job, and headed back to school.  So now I no longer fear change, I fear thing staying the same.

May 14th

"What Make A Good Enemy" A friend, if good is to mean a strong adversary.  Who knows your weakness better than a friend or an 'ex.'.  'Good'  enemy might also mean the person who puts up road blocks and generally makes life difficult which in turn only strengthens your desire to succeed.
A Good Enemy is an antagonist with a pencil bar mustache.