Brussel sprouts

The lowly Brussel sprout. Most people despise them. I remember eating them boiled as a child and not particularly liking them. When my kids were little, I used to douse them in hollandaise which went over fairly well. Since my brother's son is named Russell, we called them Russell sprouts. But I haven't thought much about them in years. Recently one or two attempts to shred and pan fry or shred and roast proved sort of disastrous. But tonight I roasted them--tossed them in olive oil, lots of salt and pepper, and put them in a 400 oven. It may be that's too hot or my oven runs too hot, but the outer leaves charred. Still the outside was crisp and the inside soft and good. I really enjoyed them. I also made salmon croquettes. Megan called while I was cooking and said, "Yummm!" When the kids were little for a while we had the teenage daughter of friends living with us--they had moved, and she wanted to finish high school where she had started--also didn't want to leave her boyfriend. At the same time, we had a pediatrician friend who was a bachelor, and he used to show up unannounced for dinner. I can remember one night when Jeanine looked out the window, saw him turn in the driveway, and asked, "Why does he always show up when we're having salmon croquettes?" They were a great favorite then and remain one now. My mom taught me to ignore all those recipes that call for mashed potatoes and use cracker crumbs as filler. I made a small can of salmon into croquettes tonight, so I had some for dinner--and, double yummm!--some left for a sandwich tomorrow at noon.
I'm in a phase of writing little bit, no matter how little nor how mundane, every night. I figure it's sort of like putting one foot in front of the other. My full manuscript of the first novel in the series has been out to one publisher since eary February, but I vow to be patient--they require an exclusive, so I'm not submitting elsewhere. And that's kind of pleasant--not to worry about who I should be querying. I've about decided, as cometitive as the mystery market is, to forego the agent route and concentrate on small publishers. And if no one picks up the two books I've done, I have an idea for a historical mystery, but it would involve lots of research.
Today Jeannie and I went shopping for supplies for the Books & Music in the Garden event Sunday--that girl is nothing if not efficient. We went to the Party Warehouse, Costco, Swiss Pastry Shop (where we stopped long enough for lunch and I wolfed down a bratwurst, kraut and German potato salad), and finally the liquor store--all in about two hours. Along the way, though, we snuck in a stop at a funny mall-like place where one booth features Flax clothing--Jeannie dragged me in there, didn't buy anything, but I did. I got a lovely shirt that is sort of a peacock blue and shimmers with different colors, the way that peacock feathers do. John and Cindy gave me a flax dress for Christmas that I really enjoy wearing, so they kind of led me into this too.

Random thoughts on birthdays and mysteries

I've been trying to read a Tami Hoag mystery. I read one before and thought I liked it, but I'm about to give up on this one--something I never do with books. I just don't like the people. It's the racehorse crowd in Florida, and they're smarmy. And the heroine is so ful of angst I tire of reading her inner thoughts--talk about self-hate! I may flip through to make sure the missing girl, apparently kidnapped, is found alive, but then I'm done. Okay, I already did flip to the end, and the heroine has suddenly softened and decided she and the world are both worthwhile. I don't think I have the patience to make that journey with her. When my neighbor came over the other night and noticed the book, he said something that made me think he reads Tami Hoag. So I'm giving it to him. My time will be better spent reading Louisa May Alcott for the online class--I'd forgotten how wry Alcott can be. Meantime I'm about to undertake a new line of research--not really talking about it yet, but it has to do with Scottish settlement in Texas, and Ill see where, if anywhere, it takes me.
All day today I kept thinking it was my birthday, which it's not. But I had plans to go to dinner with Betty and Jeannie to celebrates our mutual birthdays, so I felt special. And then I came home and found a b'day card apparently dropped in the mailbox by a friend who was on her way out of town. So I think I've begun celebrating over a week early. We had a lovely evening tonight--wine, cheese, and presents at my house, followed by dinner at a new restaurant that's been serving lunch for a couple of months but only opened for dinner tonight. Nice menu, good food, good service--just fun to explore.
This morning was one of those mornings when I couldn't decide what to wear. Finally ended up in a turquoise outfit that taught me a lesson when I bought it--much as I love Coldwater Creek clothes, I can't buy pants without trying them on. These are--surprise!--way too big and baggy. I topped the outfit with a sheer, brightly flowered, ruffle blouse and added a turquoise necklace. All day long, people said what pretty colors I was wearing and some even said how pretty I looked--but you know what, no one said, "Your pants are too big!" Lesson learned.