where do we place faith?
in dreams or golden idols
in myth or magic?
fear and faith at odds
“if God be for us” they’ve said
then discard, hateful.
so call me naive
in choosing faith over fear
and love over hate.
I can’t be heartless
for life has given me much
and others little.
Peace, people!
Hi Friends,
I know that many of my followers and friends are published authors or songwriters. Others are looking for that motivation or big break. It’s difficult to know how to get your work and your name out there.
Let me introduce you to science fiction author John Scalzi. I’m a big fan of his work. It’s witty, fast-paced, and not so mired in the sciences that a casual reader of scifi will feel lost. I’ve begun following John Scalzi on Facebook and Twitter and strongly suggest that you do as well.
John started as an indie author and has made a big mark in the scifi world. And, he’s a generous guy, it seems. Starting today, he accepts blurbs from folks like us. Each day this week John is seeking posts from authors and other artists with one category featured each day. For instance today he’s accepting submissions from folks who want to promote a book or audiobook they’ve had published through traditional publishing routes.
I could go on and on, but John Scalzi explains it all much more concisely than I on his WordPress site, “Whatever”.
So, here’s the link. Get busy and get some FREE promotion. Best of luck.
I cried in the mall yesterday. Not sweet, cute, softly falling, feminine tears, but eye-reddening, heart wrenching sobs.
My sole reason for being at the overcrowded Governor’s Square Mall was to purchase my favorite moisturizer at Sephora and get out as quickly as possible. Of course the Great American Cookie Company caught my eye and I had to have an oatmeal raisin walnut cookie. None of which resulted in tears.
After devouring my cookie I noticed a beautifully decorated tree on the edge of the food court. White Art Deco inspired angels accompanied by simple white name tags hung from the branches of the enormous tree. Curious, I approached the evergreen and began reading names. A woman soon joined me and pointed to a tag.
“That’s my daughter,” she said. “She was so beautiful.”
I’m sure I looked confused. You see, I thought the tree was one that had names of underprivileged children for whom one could buy gifts for Christmas. Instead, it was a tree honoring those who’d been in hospice care in the Tallahassee area.
“Tell me about your daughter,” I said, when she pointed out the hospice sign at the base of the tree.
“She was only 30 when she lost her battle with breast cancer. Hospice was there for us.”
Then she broke down in tears. That’s when I started crying. A young woman, a hospice volunteer, came up and offered us tissues. We all hugged. I told them of my personal ties to hospice. Hospice was there as my father neared death, offering support and comfort in our time of grief, and a beloved sister-in-law is a hospice nurse.
Hospice provides much more than just end of life care for terminally ill patients. The strength, wisdom, and compassion of hospice personnel are like a balm to the soul for the entire family. Many hospice organizations rely on donations from the community to provide their services. So, if you are thinking of worthy causes to donate to during the holiday season, please consider your local hospice facility.
Peace, people.
turkey on wheat bread
cornbread dressing stuffed bacon
cold pie for breakfast
some foods get better
on the second time around;
leftover heaven
Studly Doright isn’t a big fan of leftovers except when it comes to turkey and dressing and pecan pie. The man loves cornbread dressing and won’t cease eating until he’s scraped the pan clean. It’s embarrasingly endearing.
I can’t say that I’m any better. After having three generous pieces of pecan pie yesterday I might be the first person in history to have overdosed on the gooey dessert. My stomach spoke to me in angry tones all night long in a way that was anything but endearing, yet quite embarrassing.
It seems that leftovers, like everything except possibly hundred dollar bills, are best enjoyed in moderation.
Peace, people!
A couple of days ago I received a notification from the good folks at WordPress informing me that I’d reached the important 1,000 post milestone. Considering that I’ve been blogging for 506 days, that’s not too bad.
The stat I’d love to see reach 1,000 is “number of followers,” but that one breaks down like this:
Facebook 411
Twitter 90
Tumblr 40
WordPress 398
Total: 939
A great many of those are overlapping, so I’m still way short of the 1,000 I covet.
What’s a girl got to do? Ride a horse naked through the local village? It worked for Lady Godiva. I hear she had tons of followers. I’d better start growing my hair. This pixie cut isn’t going to come close to covering all of my assets.
Peace, people!
Our covered, screened-in porch is the perfect place to relax on a mild November evening. There’s a family celebration in full force across the lake, fairy lights and lilting voices twinkling on the calm water.
I’m sipping a Shock Top Raspberry Wheat Ale and tapping my toes in time with the guitar music drifting across the pond. Whoever’s playing isn’t very adept at their craft, but they’re quite enthusiastic. I like that in my musicians.
The man I adore, Studly Doright, is inside the house heating leftovers from yesterday’s Thanksgiving Day meal. I’m not a bit hungry, having already eaten two pieces of pecan pie, an avocado, bacon, and cheese omelet, and a ham sandwich today. The ale is my dessert.
Life is good here at Doright Manor. There’s a black and white cat winding around my ankles and a black cat snuggled down for a nap in the chair next to me. No, it’s not an exciting life, but it is filled with peace and love.
Peace, people.
My mom was a kitchen perfectionist. She had precise ideas as to how most things had to be done, and I never quite was able to live up to those ideals. I never stirred correctly, never measured properly, never quite made anything to Mom’s specifications. I’ve always blamed her for my not learning to be a better cook, but truthfully I never enjoyed kitchen tasks.
Every year as Thanksgiving nears I wish I’d paid more attention to Mom’s directives. Even though I’ve now successfully prepared two dozen or more holiday dinners on my own I still have at least one hiccup in the preparation stage every single time. One year I almost forgot to buy a turkey. Another year I accidentally prepared sweet cornbread as the base for my cornbread dressing. That’s a definite no-no! No amount of sage or pepper could counterract the sweetness. There’s no telling what will happen this year. You see, I’m a bit of an imperfectionist.
On Thanksgiving morning I can always imagine my mom looking down from her perch in heaven shaking her head and saying, “Oh, sis, not like that!” But she’s also probably beaming in amazement that I manage to pull the whole thing off, and that so far no one’s been rushed to the emergency room after one of my meals.
Studly Doright and I wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. May your heart be filled with love and gratitude and your belly filled with good food.
Peace, people!
Thanksgiving Day at Doright Manor
Roast Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Green Bean Casserole (Studly’s favorite)
Grape Salad (from Chicken Salad Chick-my favorite)
Cranberry Sauce
Deviled Eggs
Yeast Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Wine
Just when I think I can’t come up with a new way to screw up a meal I manage to surprise myself. Yesterday, I prepared the cornbread for our Thanksgiving dressing. I’ve made hundreds of batches of cornbread over the years, maybe even thousands. It’s pretty much a no-brainer at this point. Bwahaha!
This year I decided to make my cornbread from scratch rather than use one of the handy dandy mixes on the market. And because I’d rather have too much cornbread than too little, I doubled the recipe. Or I thought I did.
1 1/3 cups of milk? No problem, that’ll be 2 and 2/3 cups.
1 large egg? Easy breezy: 2 eggs.
1/4 cup oil? A little tougher, but my superior mathematics skills came up with 1/2 cup.
So tell me why, when I went to add the cornmeal and sugar I didn’t double those ingredients?
And tell me why I didn’t notice that my batter was a bit on the watery side?
The result was a soufleé-ish concoction with a lovely aroma and squishy texture. I tasted it. Kind of yummy, but not at all suitable for cornbread dressing.
So, back to the cupboards for another try. I didn’t double anything this time, mostly because that would’ve meant a trip to the supermarket.
It might look a little overdone to some of you, but we like our dressing made from cornbread that is a bit on the dry side. At least that’s what I’ll tell everyone. Just in case, I have a packet of Martha White cornbread mix that I can put to good use.
This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for convenience.
Peace, people!
The hours I spend at Tallahassee Animal Services as a volunteer are the among the best of my week. Only surprise calls from my grandchildren can top being with the cats and kittens at the shelter.
Each week has its pleasures: cuddling a sweet kitty and feeling it purr against my chest, enticing a morose cat from her perch at the back of a kennel to come closer for a behind-the-ear scratching, watching a hopeful feline leave with his new family.
But each week has its little messes, too. This past Wednesday I spent some time doing laundry and putting it away. The shelter goes through countless loads of dirty towels, blankets, and cloth toys. Soiled items are placed in an oversized trash bin.
I grabbed an armful of laundry this week and was rewarded with the icky wet smell and feel that only dog pee can produce. And now I had that smell, too. All over my tee shirt.
Having successfully loaded the washer I stooped to pick up a substantial piece of fuzz from the floor and realized just in time that it wasn’t fuzz, it was poo. Stinky, relatively new, poo. All in an afternoon’s work.
Here are just a few of the animals available for loving adoption at Tallahassee Animal Services. Remember, “Don’t Shop, Adopt!”
Peace, people!
From my friend Janie Christie Heniford:
11.21.15 babies
What’s the best thing you’ve ever done? The most selfless? I am not sure what it is for me. I think maybe leaving my job to be with my mom at the end of her life. Or maybe when i arranged for her to have one gift to open every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas during her last holiday season. They weren’t much, but they were little things chosen by my sister and I that were just for her. That’s the best part. Not a lot of money, but it told her every single day, in a concrete way, that I loved her. It was the next best thing to being there. That’s kind of what I want to ask you to share in tonight.
The Syrian refugee crisis has been heavy on my mind. Really pulling, and I feel like I need to do something concrete to help. I know they can use monetary donations, but I heard about another program that touched me. We’ve all seen the pictures of kiddos affected by the war. The toddler that washed up on the beach. The little girl with her arms up in surrender. How could I directly help those children? I’m too old to adopt a Syrian orphan or I would.
There is an organization that was started by a couple of moms in California, called “Carry the Future. They’re collecting baby carriers to give to the families with small children as they cross the border into Greece. It’s truly a huge help. The families who arrive in Greece have many miles to walk to get to help with relocation. Most have 100 miles or more. It’s hard to keep up with the kids, the babies. Most families have more than one small one to keep up with, and also have backpacks withtheir belongings if they were able to save anything.
Carry the Future is looking for new or gently used carriers===the buckle type that are easy to figure out and need little instruction on how to wear. They aren’t accepting wraps or slings at this time.
I’ve found one for just under 10 dollars that is bare bones, and one for about 14 that has a pocket. If they have pockets we can put socks, or toys, or vitamins or such in the pockets.
I’m asking you to do something that may be the best thing you’ve ever done. Help the children, and help their parents to help them. Regardless of how you feel about refugees in general, please please overcome that, and just help the kids. I’m including a link to the facebook page, as well as the address of the group in California that’s sponsoring this.
I’m collecting them in Ponca City, (Oklahoma), please consider either sending one on your own to Carry the Future, or if your heart is full, and you have the time, collect in your city as well.
Thank you friends. I’m a lucky, lucky girl to be able to reach a large number of caring friends so that we can help some sweet babies and families.
https://www.facebook.com/carrythefuture
1. Mail us your clean, gently used structured baby carriers to (PLEASE NO ITEMS OTHER THAN SOFT STRUCTURED BABY CARRIERS such as Bjorns, Ergos, Mei Teis):
C/O CarryTheFuture
121 W. Lexington Drive
Suite L 106D
Glendale CA 91203
**Please don’t send wraps, ring slings or pouches at this time, as they are unsuitable for these circumstances, given that we have to fit the parent in less than 3 minutes with little to no spoken words. Again, please do not send items that aren’t carriers at this time, but feel free to add a small plush toy, protein bar, socks, note, etc. INSIDE the pocket of your carrier if it has a pocket.
Cheapest way to ship is in a soft polymailer by standard parcel.**
The best price i found for the best value: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baby-Infant-Newborn-Adjustable-Carrier-Sling-Wrap-Rider-Backpack-Pouch-bag-EA-/281789283168?hash=item419bf33b60:g:NwsAAOSwgQ9V5sKF
If you live in Ponca City, OK, and would like to donate, please PM me and I’ll arrange to meet you or come to your home to pick up.
Love you all!
Praying for Eyebrowz 