What are your dream goals?

Today, "Writing Well is the Best Revenge," one of my favorite blogs, was about unreachable goals, inspired by Diana Nyad's failed attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. When she had to give up, she said, "I was the best I could be." Each of the eight or nine bloggers talked about their goals and, of course, for many of these multi-published authors, publication of that first book was the primary goal. Others confessed to goals that involved physical risk, while still others shunned such an idea. I commented that, although well published, I always wanted to publish a mystery. With that goal in sight with the forthcoming publication of Skeleton in a Dead Space, I guessed that my goals are to turn that one book into a series and then move on to a really significant book, not that I know how to judge "significant."
On the blog Hallie Ephron's goals particularly struck me. She confessed to wanting to make a quilt; she started the project and ended with a handbag. But most of her goals had to do with cooking, and the one, so far unreachable, is to make an eight-layer dobos torte (she's made a five-layer one). I noted that I shared her cooking goals, but after I posted my comment I got to thinking that I don't really know what my cooking goals are. There's no one dish I want to make--I did think of turducken--not even a complicated Julia Child's recipe I want to master. There are however lots of recipes in my file that I want to try--Southern Living came yesterday and I cut out several recipes.
It dawned on me that my one unreachable goal is to be a chef. I suspect at my age I lack the energy, and I know my feet and back couldn't take the long hours on hard floors. But I would love to have a small tea shop-kind of restaurant where I would have people to eat the things that strike me, by whim and fancy, that I want to cook. It's an impractical goal for many reasons, and I know it--the failure rate of restaurants is astronomical and at this advanced point in life I'm not risking my finances. I once took an informal course in restaurant management that convinced me I know nothing about managing a restaurant. I just know the cooking. Several years ago when I was working full time but dissatisfied with life--okay, bored--I decided I would go to culinary school, until a friend reminded me of the high cost, long hours, small reward.
So my reachable goals have to do with writing. There's already a sequel to Skeleton waiting for the publisher's approval. It's called at this point No Neighborhood for Old Women. And I have the first chapter of a third book in the series--as yet untitled. I've been dragging my heels on that, waiting to hear about the second book, but I do believe it's important to have series titles come out in fairly rapid succession. Don't give readers time to go off in other directions and forget your work.
As for cooking, Jordan tells me she and her family will eat with me at least once a week when school is in session and I keep Jacob in the afternoons. So next Tuesday, I'll fix Salisury steak, oven-fried potatoes with rosemary, and a salad. And I've got a dinner party in my head. I told Gayland Poole last night if he'd make thje chili biscuits, as he was promising, I'd cook the dinner. Yep, my mind is never far from food. Maybe it should stay closer to my writing.

Of chefs and restaurants

I always used to laugh that Cafe Aspen, a bistro-type restaurant, was our family restaurant. Colin and Jordan each worked there briefly but Jamie worked there most of his way through college. The owner, David Rotman, became a friend who would do lovely things like take one look at me and say, "Sorry, we're full." I was always glad to go there because I got a nice welcome and the food was good. Betty and I used to go for appetizers and wine in the evenings some.
David took a management position at a local country club and entered into an arrangement with a chef and his wife to run the restaurant. I went there a few times, found the food innovative and good, if expensive, and the chef's wife really friendly. One night she stopped to talk several times, explained terms we didn't know. But this week the chef and his wife walked away from it, leaving David with an empty restaurant that he'd run for twenty years. I called him to say I was sorry, and he sounded down. But interestingly he talked about a chef-driven kitchen. I'd never thought about the difference. David is a manager, not a cook, though I think he did a cooking demonstration for one of our church groups several years ago. But he ran a business and ran it well, leaving the cooking to his staff, though he was knowledgeable about food. With a chef, cooking is an art, the menu changes--they kept none of the recipes longtime customers were used to (I loved the spinach-stuffed baked potato and included the recipe in Cooking My Way Through Life with Kids and Books, after I had to call David to decipher his handwriting). The new recipes were good, no doubt about it, and the emphasis on fresh, local foods was welcome, but the prices went up--and I never did see many people in there. I think the big thing that was missing was David's personality--he table-hopped, greeting customers and making each feel like his favorite. He's hoping, and I am too, that someone will come along and want to revitalize what was a going business.
I always wanted to own a restaurant but got over the bug by running the cash register at The Star Cafe, owned by Betty and her husband, on Saturday nights for several years. Now, with David's example, I'm glad I never got the chance. I'd have lost the family fortune, such as it is.

I've apprently gotten over my lazy fit, at least temporarily. Yesterday I wrote another TIP sheet that includes the synopsis of an unwritten novel that has only the barest shape in my mind. Writing the synopsis made it clearer and brought some new ideas to the surface. Then I wrote about a 1,000 words on the work-in-progress, finally got through the scene I had in mind and a new one popped along. So it was a profitable day. Betty and I went to dinner and I celebrated with lobster roll--really good. Today has been a dreary dull day, the kind that makes you feel cold even though it wasn't actually that bad in temperature. I stayed in all day and got a really good start on an editing project for another press. The book is interesting, and I moved right along, enjoying the text. Braved the weather to see a hospitalized friend, came home for supper,and will get back to my editing. The novel I was reading is on the back burner for now.
A plea: did I loan The School of Essential Ingredients to anyone reading this blog? If so and if you'd just tell mewhere it is, I'd be happy. I read  it on Kindle, liked it so much I bought a copy, now can't find it.

Blogs, cooking--and an almost disappointment

Yesterday I accomplished two big things. At the office I created the official TCU Press blog, "The Bookish Frog" (http://tcupress.blogspot.com) and even at home I continued to fiddle with it. I was inordinately proud of myself for learning to add hit counters to that site and this one, put in links to other blogs, etc. I know blogs can be complicated and there are people who make a science out of managing their blog. I tend to do what I do with all computer technology--learn just enough to get by. When I get stymied, I sit at my office desk and yell, "Melinda!" She always rescues me.
Yesterday I heard from one of the people for whom managing a blog is a science. Her name is Cheryl, and she manages a western romance writers blog called Petticoats and Pistols (http://www.petticoatsandpistols.com). She asked me to be a guest blogger in February and explained the technicalities--sending a picture or telling her where she can "grab" it on the net. She also talked about the relative merits of varous site counters, which took a bit of the wind out of my sails because I felt lucky just to have discovered how to do any old one.
Cooking was my other accomplishment yesterday. I made a huge pot of crockpot barbecue (even made a double batch of sauce) and a large salad of marinated vegetables, which all my kids and most of my grandkids love. By the end of the day, the kitchen was clean, barbecue and sauce was in the fridge along with the vegetables, plastic plates ready--all set to go. My plan included asking grandchildren to make brownies and sour cream dip when they get here. Effortless entertaining--well, not really, yesterday was a long kitchen day and my back ached at the end of it.
But this morning Megan called from Austin to announce she thought she had strep throat and they probably wouldn't come. She was terribly disappointed, and so was I. She went to the doctor--and called a while later to say it's not strep and they are coming. Meantime I had jumped the gun and alerted Jordan and Jamie that the Austin group wasn't coming, so I had to reverse course and say it was a false alarm. One-year-old Ford has a cold, though, and Jordan is not so sure about her plan to leave Jacob here while she goes to a friend's birthday dinner. Knowing Megan, she had not even thought about packing for herself or the boys (except to lay out the book I asked her to bring) so she said it would be "hours" before they left (this at 11 a.m. to a mother who firmly believes trips should start no later than 7 a.m.). She had said, "Don't freeze the barbecue--we're coming" but then I asked if they'd be here for dinner and got the disconcerting answer, "We'll try." I'm practicing my relaxed mode--que sera, sera.
I have a new children's book assignment. I was offered a choice of a long list of topics in three areas, and I chose medicine and the specific topic of vaccines. It's a fairly short book and shouldn't be hard--there's lots of valid information on the web--but it's due mid-January. With the holidays looming between now and then I decided I could only take one topic. After all I have to put together a tree trimming party, wrap presents (most are purchased), and, of course, worry a lot about getting everything done. My prediction: I will have it all done the week before Christmas and spend that week working on the vaccine project.
I'm also working away at my small book on Great Texas Chefs and having lots of fun. I have no idea how to gauge length--recipes do take a lot of pages. I've done several--have to track down the chefs and get their approval. This project got me into correspondence with a woman whose cookbook I admire above all others: Terry Thompson-Anderson and Texas on a Plate.
Enough. I'm going to start reading about vaccines and not even wonder when my wandering family will get here.
You know, I could pack myself and two kids for an overnight trip in half an hour--hour at the most! Oops, there I go again!