It Works and More Fluff!

Apparently my smoke alarm works!  Burning toast in the toaster sent a shrill noise through the house.  I never have to worry about checking the smoke alarm, I know somehow in the year I set the alarm off.

I have been working on my fourth WIP, it will be a sequel to Charlie, which I hope to upload as an e book in a few weeks.  Charlie is a parrot and a character.  I love this silly bird and Wendy the woman who took him in without blinking an eye is also my favorite.  Wendy is sweet, has some hang ups from high school, like the majority of people and she is a fighter.  Charlie and Wendy worked so well together with the two men in Wendy's life, I decided to do another murder mystery with them all involved in one way or another.

Enough of the present, I think we will step in to the past for a few minutes.

My daughter Carey was my fourth child and the only girl with four older brothers.  Carey unfortunately took after her mother and is an air head and since God has a sense of humor, he decided to give her blond hair.  Both my husband and I are dark headed.

Of course since she was the only blond in the family, my fourth son had her convinced for the longest time she was adopted.  John my husband and I finally convinced her by the time she was in first grade that she was not adopted.

Well as I mentioned Carey was an air head like me.   One weekend, we were in Sierra Vista shopping.  The kids love Long John Silver and we stopped there to eat.  Carey had a kids meal which included a chocolate chip cookie.  She is eating and talking and not really paying attention to what she eats.  Carey suddenly stops to look down into the box containing her meal.  Carey's lips curve down and she looks up at her dad and me with tear filled eyes.  

"Someone ate my cookie!"  She gives each of her four brothers a dirty look.

John and I are looking at her and laughing.  I could hardly get the words out.  "Carey, you ate your cookie.  I watched you do it."

Carey looks down into her meal box and shakes her head.  Looking up at me with pleading eyes, "Are you sure I ate my cookie?"

"Yes, sweetheart, you did eat your cookie."

John couldn't take the dejected look in her eyes and he bought her another cookie, telling her to make sure she paid attention when she ate it.

With five kids there were always moments that John and I found funny while the kid involved didn't think it was so great.

Toney the youngest son tried to dive through the window into the car and put a gash in his head.  I taped it together and he was back outside.

Jesse the third son was having an argument with his brother Wayne over their record players.  Jesse grabs a cord thinking it belongs to Wayne's record player and cuts off the plug with scissors.  Poor Jesse it turned out to be the cord to his record player.  John fixed it and both boys were happy.

Wayne my second son and his friends loved to build ramps for their bikes.  They really weren't the greatest builders.  So none of us were surprised when Wayne comes home with his chin scraped deeply, bottom teeth in front are loose and he has broken of one of his front teeth.  I called the dentist who is fifty six miles away and he says he will meet us at his office.  We drive to Sierra Vista and the Dentist checks Wayne out.  He rebuilt Wayne's front tooth and cleaned Wayne's chin.  Poor Wayne had to live on Slim Fast until his bottom teeth tighten up.

Ah, the thrills of raising children.  I sometimes wonder how mine live through it.

I haven't any advice for writers, except to write and read.  I'm sure you are waiting for my blog to become more educational and  that is one of the reason I include links to other blogs.  I have found some blogs very educational, but I wonder sometimes if it is too much information.  So I think I will keep my blog more entertaining than educational.  I always like a little fluff in my day.  How about you, are you tired of learning and just want to be entertained for a few minutes?  Let me know.

I had a great time reading  Joan Reeves today.  She had Barbara Graham talking about imaginary friends.  I found this piece funny and also it helped me realize I wasn't crazy.  Thank you very much.  I keep telling my kids I'm not crazy and they want believe me.

Lynn Viehl  had a museum  site you could visit.  Lynn said if NaNo writers needed a short break.  I loved museums and had to visit the site.  Love it.

Elaine Isaakwas burned out on unnecessary magic in books.  I had to laugh through this.  I sometimes have thought that as I read a book with magic in it.

Jack Caldwell wrote a blog about turkeys and a little of their history.  It came about from his putting a turkey on the table in one of his books and one of his beta readers said turkeys did not exist in England at the time.  I enjoyed this and also learned something as I read.

K. B. Owen has an interesting blog today.  She compares writing to decorating a Christmas tree.  Go have a look and see what you think.

See you around the block.

Second Chance      At Amazon for $.99.  

Second Chance      At Smashwords for $.99

Fainting Damsel    At Amazon for $.99

Fainting Damsel     At Smashwords for $.99

                        

Holiday Cheer!

This Thanksgiving was busy and full of fun.  

My youngest son Toney made some yummy home made rolls.  I HAD to eat two.  

This was the first time Toney had cooked the turkey and of course he ran into the same problem as all new cooks when it comes to the turkey.  The first time he pulled it out of the oven it wasn't ready even though it had been in there the amount of time it was.  Seems his oven doesn't reach the right temp.  Ha!

Toney also made two, can you believe two different cranberries sauces?  One was a little tart and the other was sweeter.  Ambitious man!

He also had two types of mashed potatoes.  One with cream cheese and a normal mash potatoes.  Lord save us, the table groaned beneath all the food.

I didn't take the pumpkin or pecan pie over, because he asked me not too.  One of his friends had decided to bring pies.  Of course he wanted me to bring him a slice of each.  LOL

We ate until we thought we would burst.  There was a lot of laughter and sharing.  I enjoyed visiting with my son Toney, Jesse and Tina (Jesse's wife) and Toney's friends.. 

Tina and I left the men in front of the television to drive to the theater to see Jack & Jill.   It is a very cute movie and we both enjoyed it.  

Returning home we nibbled a little on left overs.

Next day, Friday I went over to my son Wayne and Claire's house to share a Thanksgiving meal with them.  Jesse and Tina were there and so was Mike and his wife.  Also my grown up granddaughter Kiersten was there with her friend Elisha.  Had fun watching Wayne's two small children Gracie and Grant.  Enjoyed more visiting, laughing and sharing.

How lucky can you get?  Two Thanksgiving meals.   Loosen the waist band!  LOL

On Saturday we all came together to share a Mexican fiesta.  I made my special Spanish Rice that contains hamburger.  Wayne loves it because it's spicy.  

This time I took my pies with me.  I knew if I didn't get them out of the house, I would not be able to wear my clothes comfortably. 

The pies and Spanish rice were eaten and I didn't have to bring home left overs.  Thank Goodness. 

After the meal, we decided to go see a movie.  Wayne, his two kids and I saw Arthur's Christmas.  It is an adorable movie.  Claire and Tina saw the Twilight movie.

We shared ice cream from Stone Cold Creamery after the movie.  

Another fantastic day!  With their busy schedules, I don't get to spend as much time with my grown up kids and I miss them.  So on the days I am with them I  enjoy every second and pray there will be more times like this.

The only things missing this year was my daughter and her husband.  Maybe another time?

My oldest son has always spent the holidays with his wife's family and we are use to it by now.

Nicole Storey

Poor thing has had a trying one and half months with her children.  They have been ill and there is a glimmer of light in the future.  Please stop by and cheer her up. 

http://elizabethlynncasey.com/blog/2011/11/28/these-shoes-were-made-for-walking/Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Elizabeth wrote about remembering when she had bought baby shoes for her daughter.  It was a heart warming piece and one we as mothers have gone through our selves or will go through later on.

Blaire Kensley

Don't forget Blaire has a contest on her blog.  It ends Dec. 14th.

Writer's Unboxed

Chuck Sambuchino gives us answers about royalties, advances and money.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/whenpigsflyblog

You can win cookies!!    Woot, Woot,  I love cookies.

See you around the block.

 

A Jar of Pickles

Hope had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We ate till we were stuffed and then went to the movies to see Jack & Jill.  It is a very funny movie.

Today we are all meeting over at my son Wayne's home for a second Thanksgiving.  His family had Thanksgiving with his wife's parents yesterday.

Anyway all this going back and forth and telling the neighbors to have a great day made me wonder how do you meet your neighbors.  Do you know them?

A jar of pickles is all it takes to meet a neighbor.  As you get older, your hands are not as strong as they used to be and it never fails, you are dying for a pickle and you can't get the dang jar to open.

I hadn't lived long in my town house when this problem came up.  I remember seeing one of the neighbors had an older son living with her.  I took my pickle jar over to the neighbors and rang the door bell.

"Hi, I'm Juanita and I live next door."

"It's nice to meet you.  My name is Deborah."  Now she is giving me a quizzical look.  She looks at the jar of pickles and looks at me.

Thinking back I realize it may have seen strange for your neighbor to arrive at your door with a jar of pickles.

"I was wondering if your son could open this jar of pickles for me?"

Deborah grinned and reached out for the pickles.  In a few minutes she had the jar of pickles opened and handed it back to me.

"Wow, thanks, you are one strong woman."

"No, I'm sure you had already loosen it a little."

I took my jar of pickles home and had my snack.  Now we visit with each other and talk like crazy.

I have new neighbors on the other side.  I may need to have a jar of pickles opened.  What do you use to break the ice to meet your neighbors?

Today's blog will be short.  I need to get ready for my second Thanksgiving.  Hope you found lots of great buys today.  I didn't share in it.  I sleep late, real late. 

See you around the block.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!

I hope everyone has a very Happy and Festive Thanksgiving.

I am baking pies for my part of the Thanksgiving celebration.  I will be spending it over at my youngest son Toney's home and my third son Jesse and his wife Tina.  Jesse and Tina are driving in from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  They don't mind the drive, because these two enjoy each others company so much.  I am impatiently waiting to spend time with my children.  Life may be filled with time saving devices, but for some reason life is very busy and we don't get to visit with each other as much as we like.

On Friday, I will be making spanish rice and it is nothing like the recipes.  It is a recipe of my own.  I will take my spanish rice over to my second son Wayne's home.  To do a late celebration of Thanksgiving with his wife Claire and their two children.  Also Jesse and Tina will be there and Toney has promised to drop in for a few minutes.

I sit here thinking of Thanksgiving past when my husband and I were young and the kids were small.  We always had a big celebration that included John's brothers and their families.  I remember the laughter, the talking and all the smiles shared.  We ate until we thought we would pop.

The women would do the cleaning up, the kids are outside playing and the husbands are in front of the television arguing about a play that was call in the football game.

Kitchen clean the ladies would come in and sit down by their husbands or we would stay in the kitchen to catch up on the latest happenings in our lives and gossip.

After everyone had room for dessert, the pies would be cut topped with whip cream or ice cream and sometimes the grown ups would play cards while the kids played.

I miss those times.  But I am very thankful I have the memories of what it truly was like to have a houseful of family and the laughter we all shared.  John and his brother Jim are no longer with us and we are thankful for the time we had with both of these fantastic men.



Remember to take a lot of pictures of your times together.  They will help you to remember more of the happy times spent together.  Unfortunately we didn't take a lot of pictures of our times together and have only our memories to remind us about them.



Happy Thanksgiving!!


See you around the block.

A Little Tease

I have finished my third book and I will soon be releasing it as an e book.  I thought I would let you have a very small sneak peak at a little of it.  Let me know what you think of it.

Seeing a book sitting on the patio table with the pages fluttering in the light breeze, Charlie crossed the yard to take a quick peek at the brightly colored cover.  A book reader could mean the person had a quiet life without a lot of visitors.  Could also mean this person didn’t go out a lot to visit with other people.

Wandering toward the sliding glass door, he could hear music coming from the kitchen; the beat had his feet tapping and his head bobbing.  He loved music and this house was full of music.  Hmm, the type of music he enjoyed listening too.  Did this mean his type of person lived here?

Stepping through the door he watched her dance around the kitchen with unblinking dark eyes.  He could shake his booty with the best of them and the woman wasn’t too bad either.  Not bad at all and she was easy on the eyes.  It wasn’t long before he was getting down and boogieing around the room.  “Get it on baby,” he crooned, twirling and dipping to the beat of the music.

Hearing a voice behind her had Wendy stumbling to a stop and fingers of fear raced up her spine.  She didn’t have room mates and hadn’t been expecting anyone to stop by for a visit.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHORT TEASER FROM MY BOOK  "CHARLIE"

Okay my computer has decided not to let me go back to the beginning edge.  Go figure!  I hate computers sometimes.  I just tried to look at the preview and it wouldn't let me go back to edit.  UGH!!!  Who is in control here I wonder?

It seems with computers and sites you learn one thing and another problem pops up.  Have you ever noticed you can out think and maneuver your computer and you have to stop to let it catch up?


I spent the weekend working on two books.  One is a sequel to the book Charlie which is a mystery and I also am working on a romance where the past and future meet.  So at this moment I am sitting in front of my computer a little, shall we say brain dead.  LOL


Writing that I could hear my kids smirking and saying you would need a brain to be brain dead.   Hmmmm


This Thanksgiving my youngest son Toney (he's single) is fixing Thanksgiving dinner.  I am making the pies, pumpkin and pecan.  He says he has a new recipe for the turkey.  Should be interesting, I am always willing to try something new.


I visited some blogs this morning and here is a peek.


Rachelle Gardner  
Make Your Holiday Writing Plan, she had thoughts on how to make it more realistic with some writing time slipped in there.

Liana Brooks 
Will be missing in action for Thanksgiving, but I enjoyed reading about their open door policy.  Thank of the story ideas that could come from this.


K. B. Owen
She write about "The Butler Did It?  Which I find very funny, because I used that "the butler did it" in my Charlie story.  She said we have all heard it, but was it really used?


Adam Heine
"On the Art of Socializing", I found this to be an entertaining and funny.  It gives us some ideas on how not to socialize.  Being me of course I see his last name and wonders if he is kin to Heine ketchup.  Hmmmm


Jenny
The Bloggess keeps me in stitches.   She is always interesting and funny.


Well this is it for today.   If you see any mistakes blame the computer who has a mind of it's own today.  I may need to shoot it.



See you around the block, well if I don't get lost again.

 

Dangerous Daughter!!!!

I was fretting about what to write this time on my blog.  I would decide on one thing and then change it to another idea.  What to write about?

Then my daughter calls me and tells me how horrible her day was.  I am not a good mother, I laughed through the whole telling.  Bad momma!

"Mom, I didn't realize following a routine could get you in trouble."

"What?"  Now I am thinking of her doing routine things at her work place.  "I thought routines were supposed to be followed."

"Well, you are wrong.  I take the same way to work every day.  I know how long it will take me to get from the on ramp on the freeway to the off ramp I need."

"That's good, your less likely to get lost."  I am totally lost in this conversation so far.  How did routine at work get us to the freeway?  "I always followed the same route to work and back."

"Today I got on the freeway and I landed behind a DPS vehicle.  I thought nothing of it and made sure I was doing the speed limit."

My daughter continued, "I begin to change lanes to work over to the lane I needed to be to be able to take the ramp I needed to take to work."

Once again I am totally lost.  All the ramps on and off the freeway in Arizona are generally on the right hand side of the freeway and then I remembered off ramps are place weirdly in other states.  "Okay", I say slowly, still not sure where we are headed.  I do know seeing a DPS vehicle makes me nervous.  I guess I have a guilty complex.

"Well, the DPS vehicle changes lanes at the same time I do.  So he stays in front of me and I am thinking I don't want to pass him.  I am already doing the speed limit, even though other cars are passing.  But I always keep a car length between me and the car in front of me."

"I would feel the same way," I know I definitely would not pass a DPS vehicle unless it was going under the speed limit or it was on the side of the road.  I know my daughter does keep a car length between her and the car in front of her.  I have ridden with her and find I am comfortable with her driving.  Unlike my sons, who have me pressing on a non existent brake on the side of my car and clasping my hands together till my knuckles are white.  I also bite my lip to keep from saying anything, because they are like their dad and if I complained their driving would become even scarier.


"Well, I move over into the lane I need to be able to get off on the ramp I need about three quarters of a mile away.  The DPS vehicle doesn't change lanes, but he stays right next to me.  The next thing I know another DPS vehicle comes up behind me and turns on his lights."

"Oh no," I whisper knowing how nervous this would make me and knowing my daughter has an emotional personality.  I can hear the tears in her voice, even though it has been a few hours since this has happened.


"The DPS vehicle that had been beside me pulls in front of my now stopped car.  He doesn't get out of the vehicle.  He is talking to someone on his radio.  Two more DPS vehicles arrive on the scene and pull behind the vehicle behind me."


"My God!  Did they think you were dangerous?  How many cops does it take to stop a lone young pretty woman in an old car?"  I'm sorry to say, I begin to chuckle here.  I am picturing it in my mind as a cartoon.
I know, I am a BAD MAMA!


"I roll down my window as the cop behind me leaves his vehicle and comes toward me.  The cop in front drives away.  They ask me for my driver licenses, insurance card and registration.  I hand over my license and insurance card.  But mom for the life of me, I can't remember what the registration looks like.  So I asked the cop to describe it."


Okay here, I totally lost it!!!   I'm sorry, but I can't help think daughter like mother.  I had that problem once before.  "I'm sorry sweetheart," I laugh, "but I can totally sympathize with you.  The registrations are kickers."


"There is a lady cop standing on the other side of the car and I hear her say, 'Maybe this isn't her car."  The cop who has my license and insurance cards says, 'No, it is her vehicle.'  He kindly explains what I should look for in my glove box and I began digging through it.  Mom, I was shaking so bad, I could hardly pick up anything."


I'm thinking he wants her to dig through her glove box.  Lord have mercy!  I know what is in her glove box, a lot of stuff.  Tampons, stomach medicine, kotex, Lactose pills, kleenix and a lot of paper.  I mean a girl needs to be prepared for anything.  Right?


"The cops exchange places and the male cop asks me to roll down the passenger side window.  It get stuck half way down.  I unlock the door so he can open it and he offers to find the registration for me.  I nod my head and barely get out my yes.  Mom, I am so scared and I don't know why they stopped me.  I asked why."


"Mom, they say I was following the other cop and I was tail gating.  The cop that had left had told them I was following him and that I was tailgating because he could only see the roof of my car."


"The cop was nervous because he thought you were following him?  Was he really good looking?" 


"Mommm, I don't even know what he looked like.  I never pay attention to people in their cars."

I'm sorry, I lost it again.  "Sweetheart do you look dangerous behind the wheel?  Do you make arm gestures and faces at other drivers?"  Then I was laughing so hard I couldn't ask any more questions.  I am thinking how a big, brawny policeman is afraid of a young little woman driving a very old Nissan Maxima.  I mean really !!!


"No, mom!  Anyway I told the cop I wasn't following the other cop.  I was heading to work and that I wasn't tailgating.  The cop that had been in front of me was driving one of those tall four wheel drive vehicles and of course he could only see my roof.  His car was so much taller than mine."


"Okay, yes I lost it again.  I am thinking, how many policeman does it take to pull my daughter over?  In my mind seeing this big wheel vehicle as the DPS and how it could run over my daughter's car without any effort.  Oh I am so bad!!!  I explain to my daughter what I am laughing at and she begins to chuckle also.


"Anyway they wrote me a ticket for three hundred dollars and if I want to fight it, I have a court date on Feb 6th, 2012.  What happen to speedy representation?"


"Sorry honey, that no longer exists.  To many bad woman like you are being given tickets."  I lost it again!!  Damn I need to control my imagination when talking to people.  It has gotten me into a lot of trouble let me tell you.


"So I am trying to get my passenger window to roll up and I am crying like a baby.  A very unhappy baby!  The male cop asks me if I would like some help and I could barely get out yes.  He helps me to get my passenger window back up."


"Oh, darling I am so sorry you had to go through that.  But I can't believe any of the reason they cited for the ticket.  Have they ever driven during rush hour on the freeways around Phoenix?  Lord, they would be writing tickets for every person on the freeway."

"I was a basket case by the time I got to work and I was thirty minutes late.  It took forever to calm down enough to do my job.  Next time I see a DPS vehicle on the freeway, I am getting off of it as quick as I can."


"Sweetheart, that could be dangerous.  You could become totally lost."  My daughter and I both have the problem of becoming lost.  That is why my sons had gray hair early, is from a trip my daughter and I took to Disneyland and San Diego by ourselves.  That's another story for later.


"I would rather be lost, then pulled over by the cops."


We talked a little longer and soon she was laughing over her adventure as she got into the funny side of it with the help of my imagination.  I am always there for my children, it is just I do see the funny side of things.

 Generally I keep an internal conversation going, making snarky remarks or what ever and not saying what I think out loud, but with my daughter I can let her know what I am thinking.   Of course, the people who are not privy to my internal conversation sees someone with a dumb look on their face with twitches as I try not to giggle, smile or whatever at the wrong time.



Well, another adventure down and I am sure there are more to come.  LOL!  Who knew being a sieve brain could be so much fun?


See you around the block.

Need Directions??!!

My daughter Carey and I were talking about giving directions yesterday.  We think we give very clear directions, the only problem don't expect us to give street names or use a rose compass (you know east, west, south and north).

This is one reason we have a problem traveling at night, we can't see the land marks we use to guide us where we are gong.

I think an example is called for.  Don't you?

These are the directions I gave some friends on how to find my home.

First take the freeway I10 (I know this because, lord I lived here forever and it is the main artery of Arizona).  Head for Phoenix, as your traveling down the freeway pay close attention to the large bill boards.

When you get to the one with Biscuits on it for Country Kitchen take the ramp right after it.  Stop at the four way stop and take a left.  Head down this road until the first stop light which is way down the road.

At this stop light make sure you are in the middle lane.  You will be heading straight through the intersection passing the Last Chance Bar on the right. 

Next stop light stay in middle lane, you drive straight through this intersection, there will be a McDonald's on the left.  Continue down the road and stay in the middle lane.

Next intersection there is a Burger King on the right, travel straight through this intersection.

Next intersection you will drive straight through and there will be a nursery on the right with a sign saying Giants for sale.  I read the sign road and it stuck in my head that way.   Of course thinking about what kind of giants they had for sale made the rest of my trip entertaining.  Oh wait a minute, I mean the sign says Giant Fall Sale. 


At the floppy man take the ramp onto the 202 on the right.  Floppy man is one of those fabric tubes that flop in the air advertising something could be the mattress place.

Okay head down the 202 and pay attention to the mini malls built next to this freeway.

When you see the Harkins theater on the left, make sure you are in the far right lane. 

Take the next ramp on the right and stay in the left lane.  You will be turning left.

The next intersection will have a gas station on the corner on the left, drive through this intersection.  On both sides there will be farm fields, keep going and at the next intersection you will see a bank, drive straight through this intersection.

At the next intersection there will be a gas station on the right, keep heading straight.  When you get to the intersection where there is a Sprouts, keep going straight.

Continue down this street on the outside left lane until you get to the intersection that has a day care place on the left.

Just after this street, there is a small street on the left, turn left and follow street and notice the turn in on the right.

Take the second one in front of the swimming pool and follow the curve around to my home.

Now both my daughter and I think these directions are much better than using a lot of street names, the signs are small for the streets and are hard to read when your doing 45.

Of course I have to admit some people have become lost with my directions.  Is it my fault they wound up in the wrong city? 

How do you give directions?  Do you use land marks?

Read some interesting blogs today:


Terry O'Dell  has a great recipe for crockpot chicken.


The Stiletto Gang  Lowering your expectations was great.  Never thought to compare writing to making gravy.


K. B. Owens  What Writers can learn from "The Real Housewives"  She has some great points in this blog.


Blaire Kensley  Lots of (Fantastic-Crazy-Exciting) Randomness.  She will soon be releasing her debut novel.


Leigh Ann Kopans  Building self confidence in your writing hints.


I continue writing and it makes it a little easier reading about other writers and the fears they face.  I think you all for your inspiration and the push I need to continue even though my books haven't sold enough to cover the copyright yet I am hopeful someday they will.


See you around the block.

Cooking?!

John learned the hard way not to complain about my cooking pretty much the same thing all the time.

John complained one morning about breakfast being boring.

I looked through all my cook books searching for a totally different kind of breakfast for the weekend.  I had dreams of wowing John with this breakfast.

I found one called Holland Danish Eggs and bought what I needed at the store.  This recipe called for canned Holland Danish sauce.  I know you are thinking "You're Kidding, Right?"   No unfortunately I am not kidding.

I was up early fixing the poached eggs and toasting the English muffins and heating up the sauce.  I proudly set the plate in front of John and stood there waking for him to brag about how pretty it was and that it tasted fantastic.  Yup, Right!

John gagged down the first bite and looked at me with disbelief in his eyes.  "Lord Honey, are you trying to kill me?  This is horrible." 

"It can't be that bad,"  I laugh taking my first bite  and spit it out.  "That's horrible!"

"Ya. that's what I said," laughed John.

I dumped the food out and turn to John grinning, "Would you like some bacon and eggs?"

John never complained again about being bored with food I fixed. 

But I did ever so often through in something new.  Sometimes it was good and other times I had to fix something else to eat.


I had been reading a lot of romances set in Australia and I noticed they ate lamb a lot.  Never had eaten lamb, I decided my family and I need to broaden our scope of food we ate. 


I found a recipe for cooking lamb chops and bought what I needed.  I can still see John, the four boys and I sitting around the table.


We each made a different kind of face as we took our first bite of the lamb.


John looks at me and I shrugged, "Maybe it is a required taste.  You have to start eating it at a young age."


At that moment the two year old spits out the meat, "Yuck!  What happen to the pork chop?"


I look at John smiling, "I think you need to start younger than two years old."


John and I had a good laugh.  I then fixed some fried hamburger and we finished our meal.


John came from a big family and they love to have family reunions.  Each family member takes turn hosting it.

One year while living at the airport, it was our turn to host a meal.  John loved cherry pie and I decided I would make a large cherry cobbler for the dessert.  I found the recipe and bought everything I would need to make the cherry cobbler.   The recipe called for canned cherries, not cherry pie filling.

I know you are wondering where I am heading.  Well, I learned I needed to pay more attention to details when cooking.

I followed the recipe and brought the cherry cobbler out with a big smile and ice cream.  I filled the bowls and eagerly watched John take his first bite.

"Ah honey, are the cherries suppose to have pits?"

I gave John a blank look for a minute, "I didn't realize they would sell canned cherries with the pits still in them.  I don't understand why they would do that."

Every one laughed saying the cobbler was good and they carefully ate the fruit around the seeds.  It turned out I had bought some canned cherries with pits and without pits.

Have you ever had a cooking disaster?

I notice in the Blogs today that two of the bloggers I follow was talking about how our hero and heroine looks.  Their blog made me think about how I describe my characters in my stories and realized I follow the same trend as most writers and make them unbelievable great.  Need to work on that.

My oldest son came over last week to give me a crash course in making links.  Hope they work, because it was a rapid fast course and I may of lost something in the thought processes.  LOL.



Smart Bitches by SB Sarah  wrote Heavy D & the Hero.  She makes you stop and think about your own imaginary and the real hero in your lives.

The Naptime Novelist  by Leigh Ann Kopans wrote about Writing Hotness and gave you some examples.


Paperback Writer  by Lynn Viehl wrote about Ten Things Women Do Only in Novels.  I found this entertaining and chuckled through some of it.


See you around the block.

On Sale at Amazon and Smashwords for $.99

Amazon:

Second Chance:   http://www.amazon.com/dp/Boo50TI84A

Fainting Damsel:      http://amazon.com/dp/B005RFGJD0

Smashwords:

Second Chance:    http://smashwords.com/books/view/87120

Fainting Damsel:    http://smashwords.com/books/view/93185

Am I Lost???

I woke up this morning sore.  My knees hurt, bottom hurts and I have a number of other aches and pains.

I know your thinking did she go to the gym and work out too hard?  Did she climb a mountain or swim the English Channel?

Wrong!  I went for a walk and found out exercising can be dangerous, nerve wrecking and etc..

I have been writing about my past, but today I thought I would share what happened yesterday.

I am trying to walk 10,000 steps a day.  Sitting at the computer writing all the time has added a few pounds and clothes are beginning to feel tight.

The weather is perfect for walking and I do enjoy this exercise a lot, walking in the neighborhoods around my home.  Looking at the different houses and the way the yards are set up.

Will I found out yesterday I need to pay more attention to where I am going, instead of thinking about a story I am working on or about the houses and yards I am looking at. 

At least I wasn't behind the wheel of my car, is all I can say.

I am walking along and I realize I am really tired.  I looked at my watch and I had been walking for an hour.  I looked around the neighborhood I am in and I don't recognize anything.

Now as you know in my other tales, I don't like retracing the way I have come.  I am afraid of becoming more lost than I already am.  Especially this time, since I have taken streets off to the side and etc.  There isn't a straight path I could follow.

The thought keeping me going, was I didn't want to have to call one of my sons to come get me.  In my mind I can hear the conversation.

"Hi, it's mom.  (a long pause)  I was wondering if you would come and get me?"

"Did the car break down?"  Of course son would sound a little distracted being busy at work.

"No, I'm not in my car.  I am out walking."

"Mom, why do I need to come get you if your out walking?  Did you sprain an ankle?  Where are you at?"

"No I'm not hurt.  (another long pause)  I don't know where I am?"

"Mom, do you feel faint?  Did the feeling of not knowing where you are come on suddenly?  Have you been having trouble remembering things?"

"No to everything you asked."  Now I am becoming a little peeved at all the questions.  "I am lost.  I don't know which way to go to find home."

The laughter explodes over the phone and I hear this voice gasping for air as he asks, "Did you find the scenic route?"

Now I am mad at the son I was thinking of calling and decide I am not calling any of my sons, come hell or high water.   I will find my own way home, thank you very much.   I will not be laughed at or ridiculed for my lack of direction.  I am not in the mood for it.


One problem was this neighborhood had a lot of dead ends and circle streets.  I would head down one hoping it would go through to only find out it circled back.  Which means they don't really lead any where.  I finally gave up and walked in the direction I think one of the main streets can be found.

I was lucky and I did find a main street that I knew.  I stand there at the side of this main street wondering which direction I should go, left or right?  I know I am a long way from home since I found this main street.  It takes at least fifteen minutes in the car to get to this street from my home.  I can see stop lights way down the street in both directions and decide I would head toward the closes one.

I know you are wondering why I don't use my cell phone to find my way home.

 I don't have the directional thing on my cell phone and I can't see the screen when I am out in the sunshine.   It would be just as hard to call someone, unless I knew their numbers by heart and could dial them.  The only number I know by heart is my own and sometimes I draw a blank when trying to remember it. 

I mean who would think I would need to know my kids numbers.  I would scroll down to their name and press enter.  Gees give me a break!  Ya, I know that's not working this time.


By the time I walked into my front door, I had walked over fourteen thousands steps.  Muscles in my bottom, thighs and calves were hurting and my feet were yelling in protest.   I would have kissed the floor, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back up and I needed some water.  I had drained my water bottle dry long before I reached home.

Who knew walking could be dangerous!  

Hanging Diapers!!!

John and I lived on the Bisbee Douglas International Airport for about ten plus years with our four boys.  The taxi way to the terminal ran by the back end of our yard.

The front yard had a white picket fence and the back yard was wide open without a fence.  I didn't have a drier and I had to hang laundry out on the clothes line in the back yard.

We had been out visiting with John's brothers in Elfrida late that evening and didn't arrive home till late at night.  We noticed the military had tents set up in the empty area across the road from our house and thought nothing of it.

Our fourth sons was a few months old and I had to do a lot diapers every few days.  But nothing smelt as good or looked as good as lines full of snowy white diapers trembling in the light breeze underneath a blazing sun.

I washed a load of diapers the next morning and I was hanging them on the clothes line.  I noticed the military had parked a row of helicopters on the edge of the taxi way next to my clothes line.  As I'm hanging my third line of diapers I see a group of military men heading  toward the helicopters.

I swiftly walked out to meet the group of men standing between them and their helicopters and I ask politely what they are planning to do.

One of the officers politely answers, "We are starting our field operation and need to get the helicopters in the air.

I shake my head, put my hands on my hips, "I don't think so.  I just hung a load of diapers and those helicopters aren't being started until they dry and I take them down."

The young officer's face drops and he shuffles his feet, "Ah, I'll need to go speak to my commanding officer about this."

"You do that.  I am not having dirt and what ever blown all over my clean diapers."

The group of men walked back toward their camp and a few minutes later they return in vehicles and put wheels beneath the helicopters and pulled them farther down the taxi way.

John my husband worked on the airport for the county keeping the roads, runways, tower lights and building fixed.

He came home that evening with a big grin on his face.  "Honey, you are the only woman I know who can boss around the military."

"How did you find out about that?"  I had to grin from ear to ear feeling good, that a five foot three inch woman can make the military do what she wants.

"The manager of the airport told me.  He was laughing so hard he almost didn't get the story out."

The airport manager said, "The commanding officer came in complaining about a woman not letting them start their helicopters.  I reminded him I told them not to park their helicopters behind the house and that as long as the woman had diapers on the line, he could not start the helicopters there.  They either had to wait for the diapers to come down or find another solution."

My husband and his brothers teased me for years.  They said I was the only woman they knew who could lay claim to bossing the army around.

Hey, Heidi Windmiller wishing you a lot of luck in your NaNo novel.

Is That a Ship??!!

I hope I have mentioned these stories about some of the things that happened in my life are not in sequence.  I write them as they come to mind.

So I am jumping to a time after my husband had passed away and my daughter Carey was the only child at home.  She was about fifteen when this story takes place and we had moved back to our hometown of Elfrida for a year.

We loved driving to Sierra Vista every weekend.  It had more to offer than Douglas, besides having men walking around in uniforms.  There is nothing like a man in a uniform!!!  Fort Huachucha is part of Sierra Vista and there were a lot of military men around.

I am grinning right now as I remember Sierra Vista had recently built a small mall.  It is small in comparison to the malls in Mesa and etc.

My daughter Carey and I love malls no matter what the size.  Great place to window shop and watch the people.  Also great place to find things you want.

Of course the brainatics (computer says word is misspelled, but it didn't come up with the right word I wanted, Oh well) had worked hard to come up with the name for this mall (tongue in cheek)  they called it, Mall of Sierra Vista.

We always took the back way down Kings Highway, a small two lane road that the county finally paved.  It cuts off some time, even though it still took a good forty five minutes to get to Sierra Vista.  This road is full of dips and curves and wide open spaces.  It is open range and you have to watch for live stock.  After this trip, I figured they should add another sign for what else you needed to watch out for.

One late afternoon, my daughter Carey and I were returning from a day spent in Sierra Vista.   We were cruising down Kings Highway when low and behold.  We see, you aren't going to believe this.  I know my sons had a hard time believing it.

A SHIP is coming down the small two lane road taking up the whole road.  We couldn't believe our eyes.  I mean Arizona is pretty far from the ocean and this thing is too big for any of our lakes.  I pull off onto the dirt as far as I can and stop to wait for the ship to pass by.  It is on a very low, long trailer being pulled by a semi truck.  This thing takes up the whole road.


My daughter Carey turns to me grinning, "Mom, only you would be forced off the road by a ship in the middle of the desert."

I wish we had gotten pictures to prove it.  The boys had a great time teasing us about this, asking what had we been drinking and etc.

The story doesn't end there.  Carey and I move back to Mesa and decided to go to Falcon Field for their World War II USO show.  They have planes and other memorabilia you can look at and there are people dressed in uniforms of that time, not only U.S. armed forces, but also Germany's and Japan's.

I followed the signs and parking people directed me to go down this road to the parking area.  I had to pull off in the dirt this time, because a World War II plane was taxiing down the same road.  There it was this big plane coming down the road right at us.

This time not only did I have Carey as a witness, but also her boyfriend.  The boys still had a great time teasing me about what I was drinking at the time.

My sons have always teased me about drinking.  The reason is, John once told me in front of them I would be dangerous if I drank.  I was already dizzy enough without alcohol.

On facebook  one of the Austin authors Nina Benneton had posted about free books for helping writers.
http://dailycheapreads.com/2011/11/06/free-now-six-books-on-writing-from-writer

Girlfriends Book Club/What's in a genre? by Jacquiline Luckett was interesting.  I choose books by the blurb on the back and I read any genre that sounds interesting. 


K.B. Owen, Mystery Writer/Mystery Morning: Chasing the MacGuffin     I had never heard the term MacGuffin before and found it interesting.  She also has a site you can go to that tells you more about MacGuffin.  MacGuffin is what the characters are searching for in the story.  Some great examples.


I have been reading books who have animals in them.  I read two of Sofie Kelly's books, Sleight of Paw and Curiosity Thrilled the Cat.   These are two really cute books and I enjoyed them totally.


The reason I have been reading books with animals in them is because of  Charlie.  He is a mouthy parrot in my book .  I finished it and now I am waiting for some of my critique partners to read it.  I read the other books to see how they handled the pet in their stories.  But in the end, I did my story my way.  I hope my readers will like it.  I had a lot of fun writing it, even though Charlie wouldn't leave me alone.  LOL


See you around the block.

What???!!!

You have probably been wondering if I ever had a run in with the highway patrol.  The answer is once.  I was driving toward home after spending the day shopping in Douglas.

It was the weekend, John and the kids were off having fun together.  A day of shopping without kids was a gift from heaven.  Those of you who have had to drag one or more kids around while trying to shop will understand how special this day was.

Well, I was heading home, windows rolled down and the radio playing.  I wasn't paying attention to my speed and when I met a highway patrol car, I didn't think anything about it.

That is until I hear a siren and see flashing lights behind me.  GULP!  I pull over and wait for the policeman to walk up and he is very polite.

He asks me if I knew how fast I was going.  I smile,  shake my head and tell him I don't know, which was the truth.  He tells me I was going ten miles over the speed limit.

Then he asks for my driver license and registration.  I hand over my driver license  and then I have to ask, "What does the registration look like?"  I didn't think I had ever seen it and I wasn't sure what he wanted.

He looks at me for a minute and then he says, "It's the paper the sticker for your tag comes on and it says to put it in the glove box."

I smile giving a tiny laugh, "Oh that, it's on top of the refrigerator at home."

"When you get home tell your husband to put it in the glove box."  He handed back my driver license and told me to watch my speed and told me he would just give me a verbal warning this time.

I put my driver license back into my wallet and drove home, mindful of my speed.

I find John and the kids have returned and I tell John what the policeman had said.  John gives me that look (are you for real) and grins, "Honey, it is amazing what you can do."

I look at him confused and he continues, "Only you could get yourself out of a speeding ticket with a smile and asking a question."

John handed me the registration and told me to put it in the glove box.  He said this way next time I would know what it looks like.

From that time on, I made sure to keep my eyes peeled for the police and made sure my foot didn't grow heavy on the gas pedal.

The first car I had with cruise control was fantastic.  I use it all the time, because half the time I don't know how fast I am going.  My mind is off somewhere else, generally on a scene I am planning to write for my book.

I pity the other drivers out there sharing a rode with me.  I am one more idiot on the road not paying attention.

Read some great blogs this morning:

Slingword/Joan Reeves guest was Terry Callister and he is looking for submissions to be published in a short story book.  Check it out.

  I tried to put the link, but it erased everything I had written about Slingword.  Sometime   computers are very mysterious.

Good luck to Heidi Windmiller on her NaNo project.  I am rooting for you.  I'm not sure I used the right spelling for rooting.  It looks strange.

Writer Unboxed had guest Sarah Callender who talks about doubt.  You know the kind that makes you wonder about this or that.  Found it interesting and of course I saved her blog site.

Happy reading and writing to everyone.

The weather man says Arizona will be windy, means big dust storms and we will get rain tonight.  Normally I would be thrilled about the rain, but I have a leak in my roof that hasn't been fixed yet.  But then again the weather man could be wrong.  Weather is hard to predict in Arizona.  It may only rain a block over, I can only hope.

See you around the block.

I Drove the Camper!!!!

You remember the Ford pick up with the camper?  That top heavy, standard transmission Ford.  Well, I had to drive it ONCE.   I had driven standards before, but they were small cars, not a BIG old pick up.

Winters in Elfrida are cold and this took place during the winter.  The kids and I just couldn't get it together that morning and we were running late.

The kids missed their bus, which meant I had to drive them to school.  I scraped the ice off of the Buicks windshield (it had an automatic transmission) and then I tried to start it.  The battery was dead.  I stood there for a minute thinking what I should do.  John had left for work hours ago and there was only one other vehicle left in the yard.

You guessed it!  The Ford pick up with the camper on the back.  Ugh!  I had never driven it before and I knew it was a standard.  It had been years since I had driven one.

The two younger kids sat in the front with me and the other three road in the camper part.

The Ford started right up and I frowned looking down at the gear shift.  It doesn't have the picture of the shifting guide on top.  Soooo,
I figured I would try any gear I could get the shifter into and see which way the truck moved.

I found a gear it would take off in, lugging a little, but we were own our way.  Only problem was when I came to the corner with a stop sign the truck died when I tried to shift back down into the gear I had taken off in.  I got the truck started again and took off in the gear it would move in.

I knew another stop sign was coming up and I didn't want the truck to die again.  I could see nothing was coming down the road I was planning to turn onto.  Without gear down or slowing down to much, I made the turn onto the road and heard the boys yelling and laughing in the camper.

Each time I had to take a corner I had to take it fast and the boys would be laughing and yelling in the camper.  When I finally made it to the school, the boys piled out of the camper laughing with a white cloud of dust following  them.

"Mom, every time you went around the corner things would fall out of the cabinets.  We were dodging can goods.  It was fun.   Can we do it again?"

I looked at the boys and they looked a little whitish.  Reaching out a shaking finger, I was worried I had scared my sons more than they were letting on.  Did I do emotional harm to them?  The white powder stuff came off on my finger.  Whew, I thought, I hadn't damaged them.

"What do you guys have all over you?"


The boys double over with laughter, "It's flour mom.  When the canister holding the flour fell out, the lid came off.  The sugar lost it's lid too."

I gulped and climbed back in the camper and headed home.  Around each corner I heard more things falling.  I tried to park the truck in the spot John had had it in.  Hoping the adventure of this morning would be forgotten.   I opened the camper door and was meet with a white cloud of flour.

Taking my youngest child in the house, I know I have to come back out to clean the camper before John gets home.  I finally got the camper cleaned.  I thought it looked good and no one would ever know what had happen.  Unless they went through the cabinets looking for plates, glass ware and etc.  The canisters were a little dented and empty.  I planned to fill them after the next trip to Douglas.


The minute John enters the house, he looks at me, "Who moved my truck?"

"Your truck is in the same spot you parked it."  Now notice I didn't lie, I just didn't answer the question thinking if I could convince John the truck was parked in the same spot.  I figure if I could get him to believe it was parked in the same spot all would be well.



John"s eyes narrowed as he looked at my smiling face.  "The truck is not in the same spot."


"Are you sure?  Who remembers the exact spot you park your vehicle?"  I have trouble finding my car in the parking lot even today.  I try to always park in the same row, in front of the same store when I go to the mall.  I just have to make sure I come out the same door I entered the mall in and chances are I will find my car within a few minutes.  Hopefully.


"I remember where I park!"  John is still looking at me and I keep busy with preparing out meal.


"Lucky you.  Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." 


John mumbles something under his breath and returns outside.  I figure it's a good thing I can't hear and understand what he is saying, because it would probably make me angry.  Ignorance is bless at this time.


Dinner is ready and I call the family in to eat.  Hoping they will be to busy eating and that the morning events had been forgotten.


Drats!  The boys entertain their dad with the tale of the exciting ride to school that morning.


John looks at me and asked what gear did I have the truck in.   I smile and tell him I haven't any idea.  "Why didn't you take your own car?"


"Well, because the Buick wouldn't start," I grumbled and lifted my chin looking him in the eye, "If you kept my car in good running order I wouldn't have to drive your truck."


John's eyes widen and his grin grows bigger, "Amazing how this is all turning out to be my fault.  After dinner you can show me where the gear shift was when you drove my truck."


It turns out I took off in second and drove in third.   John shook his head and gave me that look (are you for real).  He looked in the camper and was happy to find it cleaned.

Then John put my battery on the charger.  He egged the boys on to embellish the story of their adventure and of course John told his brothers and his co workers the tale.


For weeks I was teased about the trip in the camper.


Fortunately, I never had to borrow that stupid camper again.  Of course the boys beg for another ride, they are such thrill seekers.


Read some interesting blogs this morning:


Nicole Storey's Chaotic Thoughts on publishing.  I could emphasize with her.  Writers with families, jobs and etc., have a very rough path to follow.


Slingwords by Joan Reeves had Susan Lute talking about finding your voice and advice on how you could find it.  Found it really interesting and I am thinking of giving it a try.


Paperback Writer by Lynn Viehl wrote about designing your own magnets.  She is so artistic and I have one of her book marks.  I really love the texture, color and the look of it.  What can't this woman do is what I wonder?  I mean she also write great books too.   Hmmm, maybe she doesn't sleep, that thought sets my imagination to working.  LOL