Month: November 2015

Vegetables

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I’m not quite sure what people in the US have against vegetables, but there is definitely a conspiracy. We seem determined to cancel out any health benefits from eating veggies by adding things to them. I don’t mean seasonings or even a dab of butter, but other stuff. Unhealthy stuff.

As a child, I wasn’t fond of vegetables. I ate canned green beans, canned yellow beans, canned corn, and canned peas. Which probably explains why I didn’t like vegetables. As a teenager, I added iceberg lettuce to my repertoire. I didn’t really begin to appreciate veggies until I was older. Unadulterated vegetables. Asparagus. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers. (No, I still don’t like green peppers.) Kale–and most other greens. Beets. Sweet potatoes. Carrots. Winter squashes. I’m still not fond of summer squashes, but I’ll eat them.

I first realized this propensity a couple of years ago. I used to make a butternut squash/red onion/baby spinach/craisin dish for our family’s Thanksgiving celebration. A co-worker made her butternut squash with cheese and cream. Now, I have nothing against cheese. At all. But isn’t gooping up a vegetable with unhealthy stuff contrary to the point of eating vegetables?

For the past several years, my Thanksgiving contribution has been sweet potatoes. I think sweet potatoes are sweet enough without any help. So I invented my own recipe. A savory sweet potato dish. It’s now my annual contribution to all autumn, winter, and early spring family gatherings as it is gluten free, dairy free, oxalate free, and vegan. And it’s edible. This year, I wanted to try something simpler. Maybe something in the slow cooker. I asked friends for recipes that didn’t involve additional sweetening. No luck. I received many links and ideas, but every one of them called for one of the following: sugar; brown sugar; molasses; honey; maple syrup.  So I ended up making my usual sweet potato faux gallette. And it was fabulous.

Next up, I want to try roasted brussel sprouts. Anybody have a good recipe?

Gratitudes

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Because tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US, I reached out to my author friends to find out what they’re grateful for.

Diane Culver (Love on the Run): I am very thankful for Nicki Greenwood, otherwise this techno dinosaur would have long become extinct.

Jacci DeVera (Queen of the Hollow): I’m grateful I’m fluent in English as well as Appalachian because it’s fun to be the translator between friends.

Susanna Eastman (Someone Like Him): I’m thankful that even though I am the worst techie in the world, my hubby and two sons can fix my computer, cable, and phone in a snap.

CJ England (Hustle Into Love): I’m grateful that God has given Jonathon and me the ability to travel the world.  Writing stories about each place is a dream come true.

Alina K. Field (Rosalyn’s Ring): I’m grateful for my dog, my four-legged trainer/life coach/and unconditional friend.

Joanne Guidoccio (The Coming of Arabella): I am grateful for all the wonderful online companions on my writing journey. Thanks for all your help and support.

Kim Hotzon (Hands Full of Ashes): I’m grateful for sensory aptitude. Without taste buds, I wouldn’t be able to connect with chocolate melting into my tongue; without sight I would miss the copper leaves on the trees and without smell I would be unable to locate my spaniel buried beneath my duvet cover.

Gail Koger (Vexing Voss):  I’m grateful for chocolate and it’s ability to keep me sane.

Becky Lower (A Widow’s Salvation): I’m thankful for each morning when I can get out of bed and be excited about going to work at my job as a writer. This is the only job I’ve ever had that made me excited. I’m also thankful for my family and friends who I will break bread with this Thanksgiving.

Linda Mooney (Neverwylde, The Rim of the World): I’m grateful for my husband, who is fully supportive of my writing and all it entails.

Katie O’Boyle, (Waking Up To Love:)I’m grateful I live in the Finger Lakes because the beauty smacks me in the face every morning and makes me smile all day long.

Viola Russell (Buccaneer Beauty): I am most grateful for my husband Ben!

Cynthia Sax (Releasing Rage): I’m grateful to be a plus-sized girl because when I fall, I bounce. (grins)

Ryan Jo Summers (Chasing the Painted Skies): I am grateful for the challenges, stumbling blocks and jerks in our paths because they all teach us to appreciate the beauty and love we find in the peaceful and happy moments and to better savor our successes.

Caroline Warfield (Dangerous Weakness): I am grateful to live near a public library that shares with other libraries. It makes research so much easier.

Christine Wenger (It’s a Wonderful Knife) I’m grateful for kind remarks from readers stating they have enjoyed my books. After I exclaim, “Really?! Tell me more!!”, it always makes me smile and gush with gratitude.

Gay Yellen (The Body Business): I love telling stories, and I’m always thankful for readers of my own books. But the most surprising and wonderful discovery I’ve made in my writing journey is the nurturing community of writers who graciously share their knowledge, experience and audience. Back when I was only dreaming of being an author, I pictured it as a solo endeavor. Now I know that it takes a village, filled with caring members of critique groups, marketing partnerships, bloggers and beyond. As I write the sequel to my last book, I’m hoping that it will be even more worthy of their interest, and will allow me to deepen our relationships. We all yearn for book lovers who take the time to write a review and tell their friends about it, but we do not compete against one another for attention. Instead, we march (and sometimes slog) down the road to publishing success together. Many thanks to all those who, in the past year, have hosted me on blogs, retweeted, shared on Facebook and in so
many other ways, boosted this very grateful writer.

MJ Compton (Summer Fling): I’m grateful for my community, my tribe of writers. May you all have a safe, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving.

 

JFK Assassination Remembered

Today is the 52nd anniversary of JFK’s assassination.

I guess that makes me old.

I remember the day as if it were yesterday. I was on the playground at recess, and my older cousin came out and told us the president had been killed. I called him a liar. I mean, who murders the president? The concept was so alien, I couldn’t understand it.

My grandmother (a Democrat) said to my mother (a Republican): “I guess you’re happy now.” Mom was appalled that Gram could think that.

Two days later, the accused assassin was murdered on live TV. Yes, I witnessed it. I remember thinking Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald as part of a conspiracy. Yet when I mentioned this theory to my fellow third-grade classmates, I was told I was crazy. Jack Ruby was so distraught over Kennedy’s death, he killed the murderer.

I wrote a poem and read it in class. November rhymes beautifully with remember. And that’s about all I recall of it.

One of my favorite quotes about the assassination comes from Bob Dylan’s novel, Tarantula: “Why didn’t [the Warren Commission] ask some banana salesman who was in Des Moines that day? Why didn’t they ask me?”

Flash forward to September 11, 2001. Another event that shakes up the USA and forever changes the way we approach life. My husband and I sat down with our children to explain what was going on (and that Grandma, who lived in NYC was fine). It was then we realized our son was the same age and in the same grade as my husband when Kennedy was killed. Our daughter was the same age and in the same grade I was on that day. Kind of weirded us out.

I visited the Sixth Floor Museum in 2004 when I was in Dallas for the RWA Conference. I peered out the window from which Oswald allegedly shot. I saw the grassy knoll. I’ve watched the Zapruder film over and over. My husband and I watched countless specials on the 5oth anniversary.

My conclusion?  We will never know the truth.

 

 

 

 

NaNo–A Crackpot Theory

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November is National Novel Writing Month. It’s also the month in which NaNoWriMo takes place. For those who might not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s an annual challenge to complete a 50,000-word book in 30 days.

NaNo is a great idea, no question. I, personally, have never participated, but I know several authors who have had magnificent success. I even know the first participant who actually sold the book she wrote during NaNo. She won a Rita for that book, too. And it’s a great book.

There are two reasons I’ve never participated.

  1. There are only 30 days in November. Why not have National Novel Writing Month in a month with 31 days? There are seven months with 31 days, as opposed to only four with 30 days. I do not know a single author who wouldn’t kill for that extra day.
  2. Who picks November to put life on hiatus in order to write 50,000 words? A single man who goes home to Mom’s for Thanksgiving or a married man whose wife handles Thanksgiving and all it entails, that’s who. Come on! The only worse month would be December–and at least December has 31 days.