Sometimes the gods smle on you

Linda, one of two whom Murder at Peacock Mansion is dedicated

Yesterday was a rainy, depressingly dark kind of day—one where the weather affected your mood and, if you’re my age, your achy bones. I dreaded the thought of tonight’s book signing and sent out cheerful “Don’t let the rain stop you” messages. During the night we had severe storms—thank you, I slept through them. Jordan promised to call if I was in danger but I guess I wasn’t. Today dawned dark and wet.

But by noon the sun was shining and the world was drying out. Tonight for the launch of my two news books—Texas is Chili Country and Murder at Peacock Mansion—the weather was pleasant if a bit brisk. I had an entourage—Jordan and good friend Linda. We set up a table at the Old Neighborhood Grill, just inside the door. Didn’t get much walk-by traffic but lots of friends came—the Grill was busier than usual on a Tuesday night, and I take some small credit. I sold a fair number of books—not as many people came as I expected but those that did bought several books. The chili book in particular sold in multiple copies, which didn’t surprise me. It’s a perfect Christmas gift. So it was a profitable evening.

More than that, it was a pleasant evening. Unexpected guests, people I loved to visit with, lots of sociability. Some of Jordan’s close friends came, and she spent a lot of time with them; good friends sat at the next table, and when Jordan wasn’t by my side Linda was so I didn’t ever have that awkward moment of an author sitting alone staring at the ceiling. My grandson, however, breezed in with friends and acted like he’d never seen me until I finally went over and introduced myself.

Of course talking up the chili book made me hungry for a pot of chili, and I half promised to do it Sunday night, only to realize I can’t because I am booked into a two-hour chat room that night. Some night soon.

Tonight I’m happily tired. Going to sleep early to face a busy week. And then Thanksgiving, which disrupts everyone’s schedule, will be upon us. My inclination to be a recluse is blown!

Pea mash, rain, and optimism

I had a topic for this blog—really I did. But it’s disappeared, perhaps into the fog of a lovely long nap on a rainy day. As the picture shows, my Fort Worth family is surviving in the rain at Waco and of course is cheered by Baylor’s victory. Even though the rain has let up, I will be glad when they’re safely back in Fort Worth tomorrow.

Chandry, my temporary tenant, and I went to Central Market about eleven, assuring ourselves no one else would be there on a rainy day. Wrong! Half the world was shopping. But it cheered me to go—I think subconsciously I’ve been an invalid for a couple of months, and I didn’t feel that way today. Felt capable and independent.

A long nap this afternoon found me still lying in bed sort of daydreaming at 6:30—okay I didn’t go to sleep until 4:00. Love those late afternoon naps on a rainy day. Got up and fixed supper—experimenting with pea mash with watercress—not a success. I’ve done better with pea mash in smaller batches. It’s simply frozen petite peas, butter, salt and pepper—I love it. But tonight mashing the peas took forever, I think because I had too many. I had seen a recipe for adding watercress (which I adore) but decided to invent my own. The recipe called for cooking peas and watercress and then blending, but I thought that would end up mush, so I cooked and chopped the watercress and then kept mashing…and mashing…and mashing the peas with a potato masher. I couldn’t tell that the watercress added a thing, and the peas were never satisfactorily mashed. Next time, the blender. Meantime the leftover, uncooked cress will make a great salad with cherry tomatoes, blue cheese and lemon juice—one of my favorites.

To accompany my failed mashed peas, I had Totino’s tuna straight out of the jar. It comes in several flavors, but I like that marinated in olive oil and oregano. So good. Sometimes I mix it with cottage cheese but tonight I ate it plain.

Sorry to hear that Sera, a local restaurant, is closing as of tonight. Not four blocks from my house, it was a convenient dinner stop with small plates and a nice wine selection. Sort of originally built on the idea of tapas, but it strayed from that concept. Betty and I went there for our weekly dinner often, and I will miss it. Called John, the owner, tonight to say so and wish him well. He’s got a good idea, but it needs to be refined.

The rain is moving on, and I am becoming more and more a believer in barometric pressure. This morning I was in a horribly pessimistic mood, maybe because I didn’t sleep well but mostly, I think, because of atmospheric conditions. I admit the trip to Central Market cheered me, but tonight I find myself happy, upbeat and optimistic. I think it’s because the rain is moving out. Not that I don’t realize how much we need it and what a blessing it is. But I do think weather conditions affect us. I knew a psychiatrist’s wife once who said when a storm was coming, her husband’s phone rang off the wall. May be a long winter if El Niño predictions come true. Meantime, curses on climate change non-believers. Why do they think we have just had the strongest hurricane ever? Glad to hear that damage in Mexico wasn’t nearly what was expected.

Sweet dreams, everyone.