A writer's staycation

Last night I told Jacob we were going to sleep as late as we wanted. We had nothing particular to do on Saturday morning, and we could sleep. I woke with a start at 8:30 (haven't slept that late in I don't know how long!) to see him standing by my bed, asking, "Can I have waffles now?" (Praise be the day he can fix his own toaster waffles!) As you may have read on Facebook, the day got hectic after that because his mother called almost instantly and wanted him dressed, fed, and teeth brushed in 15 minutes. After the flurry of getting them off to cheer for a friend doing the 5K or 10K of the Cowtown Marathon, I had the whole day before me. And I decided on a staycation. I have not written a word today except this blog and a few emails.
Not surprisingly, I spent most of the day at my desk. I was amazed at how much time I could spend reading Facebook and emails when I put my mind to it. And then I turned to checking the food magazines on my desk--they stack up fast, and today I went through four, pulled out a few recipes, and consigned the rest to the trash. I still have one to do and a clothes catalog that came today. And then there's that novel I want to read.
I did spend a fair amount of time on household chores--just making the beds, picking up clothes--Jacob flings them everywhere--and doing a load of "kitchen" laundry--hand towels, napkins, place mats, etc. And I spent an hour or two in the kitchen: made dirty rice for dinner guests for tomorrow night, tuna salad for my lunch, pea salad for those dinner guests, and an open-faced sandwich for my dinner tonight.
Christian came in and asked who was coming for dinner tomorrow. I told him my neighbors (to whom he is close) and I said, "You were invited. You declined." Christian: "Oh. I did?" Jordan had said he wanted to watch the Oscars comfortably at home--never mind that the Oscars are next Sunday. I said too late, I only bought four quail, and they both began to sputter about how they couldn't have come anyway, they have too much to do to take an hour out of their day. I wanted to point out that when I cook a big meal for company I expect them to stay more than an hour! Oh, well!
I think my mind needed a vacation. I have felt rushed, pushed, and pulled by deadlines and an urgency to get this, that and the other done. In truth, most deadlines are of my own making--if it's on my desk, I want to get it done. But nothing couldn't wait a day, and I loved my lazy day. May do it again tomorrow.
Got to go read that novel now.

Foodie adventures

Last night I reported on my relatively unsuccessful attempts to cook simplistic meatloaf and pasta sauce. The meatloaf made a great sandwich today, and I added crunch with the semi-cooked onions from the pasta sauce. But I think the sauce will go in the garbage. The lesson learned is that I should have simmered a pasta sauce with herbs the way I usually do and made meatloaf the way I do with celery, chopped onion, ketchup, mustard and all those good things.
I got to reviewing in my mind what I've eaten in the last couple of weeks and it's been a varied diet--starting with white anchovies, lamb carpaccio, and a marrow bone. Then homemade chili, not too hot but with a kick, two nights in a row and a generous helping; tuna in a restaurant where I knew better than to order tuna--I think they just opened the can, put it on some wedge lettuce and covered it with tomatoes and grated cheese and served it with a side of ranch. Then there was sushi with generous wasabi, more marrow bones with foie gras mousse (very bland, tasted like whipping cream), fried oysters, and a Greek meal--ate just a little vegetable moussaka, all the green beans, spanakopita, and Greek salad. No wonder my stomach is in an uproar. I'm sticking to comfort food for a while. And lots of yogurt.
I'm still finding it gloomy that it gets dark all day, and today had only small bits of sunshine. I had nothing I had to do--no shopping or errands, no deadlines--and as a result I spent the day piddling on the computer or reading a novel that I'm really enjoying. But it made for a lazy, non-stimulating day and I felt draggy. Glad tomorrow is Sunday--church and probably Jordan and Jacob for lunch, then dinner with friends.
Got out of the doldrums tonight to have dinner with good friend Mary Volcansek. You know what? I felt brighter already when I put make-up on! We went to Pacific Table and had a fabulous meal--she had scallop salad and I had tuna carpaccio (so much for sticking to comfort food). We split a grilled artichoke--so good!
The world looks brighter to me tonight. Jordan and Jacob were waiting when we got home, and Jordan's gone off to a dinner party. Jacob and I will go to bed early, though he's hungry but doesn't want any of my offerings. Surprise!

An accidental stew

If I ever doubted that simple marketing techniques work, I believe it now. I walked into the grocery this morning to be confronted by a bargain--a large pack of freshly prepared stew vegetables for $3.39. My mind immediately went--Jacob for dinner, hot dogs, something better, stew. Of course the pkg. would have made stew for an army, so I sidetracked. But the items I ended up buying that were not on my list: stew meat (I worked my way down from a pot roast that cost over $13 to stew meat for $3 someting--after all my dinner guest is a four-year-old!), cream of mushroom soup, Lipton's Onon soup, frozen carrots, raw red potatoes. Came home and put the stew together according to a pot roast recipe I've had for years: flour and brown the meat, add carrots and potatoes chunks, mushroom soup and a small bottle of red wine--the kind of bottle they serve on airplanes. Then sprinkle with 1 envleope onion soup mix, stir and let it cook all day.
I went out to lunch--ah, indulgence, I had a bacon cheeseburger that had a bacon/1000 Island sauce. For old-time Fort Worthians, it was like eating the bacon cheeseburger at Carlson's all over again. I never ever eat hamburgers (except at home), let alone cheeseburgers. Maybe it was the holiday spirit. Anyway, still feeling guilty from that though very full and satisfied, I opened the door to a house that smelled heavenly. The onion soup really makes a difference. I just stirred it a bit and kicked the heat back up to 275. I hope Jacob will like it--he should since he eats meat and gravy, potatoes and cooked carrots. I may throw some corn or peas in at the last minute, but then, why fiddle with a good thing.
Papa Cardinal was back at the feeder today, and he's a bully--chased all the smaller birds away. Fie on him!
Later: Jacob took one look at the stew and said "I don't like it." I told him if he didn't taste it, the TV was going off. I did not fall for: 1) I want Mommy, 2) tears, 3) I want to lie down. I won the skirmish but not the battle--he tasted twice, didn't like it and announced he believed he'd have a hot dog (he thinks it's a short-order restaurant). I don't believe in food battles with children, so he had a hot dog, some sweet peas, part of a banana, and a small bit of ice cream. Then we watched a video card someone had sent me three times--great chance to repeat the Christmas story. Next Jacob requested a video we'd seen before of a dog swept off a boat and saved from a shark by a dolphin--by luck I found it again. Now he's tucked into bed watching TV and I'm going back to my book. That's the sum total of my accomplishments for the day.

My KInd of Sunday

It was definitely my kind of day, with a twinge of guilt because I didn't go to church. But I slept so late that when I finally pushed back the covers both animals were desparate--the dog to go pee, the cat to eat (I remember going to the bathroom at 4:00 a.m. and being so in a good sleep mood that I didn't feed him as I often do). I piddled--washed my hair, read the paper, read e-mails--until almost ten. Then baked the cookie dough I'd made last night and got things ready for supper tonight. Even made homemade croutons--they are so much better, you wonder why you ever use the others. Tonight I saved the leftover salad--not sure if I'll eat it tomorrow or not but it had sliced hearts of palm, feta, and those good croutons. I thought just lettuce would make a dull salad and hadn't thought to buy an avocado or anything, so I searched the cupboard. I always have hearts of palm and I had French bread to serve tonight--voila! a salad!
Then I spent much of the afternoon reading the novel I'm deep into--one reason I'm not a great, famous and wealthy writer is that I keep getting distracted  reading other people's books. I tell myself it's education.Took a nap and then bustled around getting dinner ready.The black bean soup was great--saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add 1 can diced tomatoes with juice, 2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed, 2 tsp. cumin, a tsp. chili powder, a cup and a half chicken broth,some cilantro chopped. Take out a cup, puree it in the blender, and return to the soup. Serve topped with cilantro and feta.
I also served the oatmeal/cranberry/white chocolate cookies I made this morning--oh, my, did those cookies smell good when they came out of the oven! And they were good tonight, even if not still warm and fragrant. My breakfast for tomorrow: two oatmeal cookies.
My dinner guests were my mentor Fred and his wife Patt--we had a lovely visit, talking about craft projects, travels, a little bit of a lot and a little bit of nothing. Fred has been in my life since the late 1960s when he hand-carried me through the TCU English doctoral program. And he still critiques, advises, etc. and makes a great lunch companion.
A thoroughly nice day. Sorry I have no profound insights or thoughts to contribute to the general good.

Another party day

Tonight we had a porch party to eat the leftover chip and dip from last night. Jay and Susan came from next door, and Jordan, her friend Addie, and Jacob were here. We had a delightful time but about eight I realized I couldn't do two nights in a row of nothing but appetizers, so 15 or 20 minutes later I sent Jay and Susan on their way to Chadra and fixed us sirloin patties while Jordan fixed a salad. Jacob had spent the entire evening on the wet end of the porch looking for rolypolys and collecting them. Jordan and Addie and eventually Jay even went down into the garden to search for them and by the end of the evening Addie, who claims she can't stand bugs, was quite casual about rolypolys. A good time was had by all, but by the time we ate I was too hungry and tired to make the red wine/goat cheese sauce I had planned so it was a pretty plain meal. And Jordan couldn't make her Greek salad because she forgot the feta but she said we'd have it tomorrow night, so I guess I'm cooking again. I'll try in the morning to make a champagne/mushroom gravy recipe I've been saving for a long time (substituting white wine) and serve it with chicken and the Greek salad.
And that really was my day other than playing with Jacob a lot this morning. He woke up about eight (very late for him) in really good spirits, asking for a waffle for breakfast, and then wanting me to sit next to him wherever he decided to light. We had long conversations, most of which I understood. Then I went to Central Market, ate lunch, read, and took a long nap. Nice kind of day. Nope, no deep thoughts today.

Mother's Day

Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day. Mine was long, lazy and pleasant. Jordan said we were all going to Joe T.'s but then Jacob got sick and plans changed. Everyone went to Jordan's house and Christian's father brought food from Joe T.'s but it was 6:45 before we ate. Christian didn't get home until about that time, but Mother's Day is always busy at Joe T's where he waits tables on weekends. For those not from Fort Worth who don't know it's sort of the classic Tex-Mex restaurant in town, best known for a huge sprawling and beautiful patio/garden dining area. There is a menu at Sunday brunch but otherwise your choices are two: fajitas or "the dinner" which consists of nachos, rice, two small tacos, two cheese enchiladas, guacamole and refried beans--definitely not on my diet. Now I have to sign on to Weight Watchers and see how much damage I did.
Otherwise I spent the day piddling, doing this odd chore and that, reading and napping. Heard from all the kids though never did talk to Jamie and family. On this day, my thoughts are with a good friend who lost her mother yesterday, a neighbor whose husband died Thursday, and four women I know little or nothing about--the biological mothers of my children. I wonder what their thoughts are and wish I could tell them what wonderful people those babies have grown to be. Giving up a child can never be easy, but I am sure each made that decision for the best of the baby and I want them to know it was a really good decision. I have wonderful children.

A cooking blog

This is a cooking blog because other than fixing myself a really good dinner, my day hasn't amounted to a hill of beans. I slept late, went grocery shopping (that involves two stores), had lunch with an old friend, came home to read e-mails, nap, do my yoga, and so on. A treat: the new Bon Appetit arrived today and I always love to leaf through the new issue--though I doubt I found two things in this one I wanted to cook. By suppertime I didn't feel I had accomplished much, though I'm going back to the novel tonight.
But that good dinner: I sauteed some mushroom slices in olive oil, butter and a little white wine, then sauteed Dover sole and put the mushrooms on top of the fish; reheated a twice-baked potato half I'd bought this morning (only ate half of it, so half awaits me tomorrow), and made my favorite salad--avocado, tomato, blue cheese, and straight lemon juice. Now I'm full and sleepy, but on to work.

Blogging over a nice weekend

When I started this blog, I meant it to be serious--about writing, deep thoughts about writing and so on. I guess I'm not thinking deep thoughts these days because it's morphed into something that's mostly about "What I did today" and grandkids, often with the two mixed. Sometimes when I have a "deep thought" I jot it down for the next blog. One result of this switch to my daily activities is that I find my brother, John--happy birthday to him today!--and my friend Jeannie read the blog daily and feel like they're up on all my news, so I don't talk to them often unless I call. They need to remember I don't know what's going on with them:-)
But today it is all about grandchildren and relaxing. Jacob woke up in a bright mood this morning, ran around the house like a demon, chattering about my bronze buffalo tha he decided was his (his favorite cry is "Mine, mine!") and generally being energetically cheerful. Then suddenly as the energy had come, it vanished, and he lay on the couch watching TV and very docilely let me dress him--which he'd earlier vehementaly refused. Usually when he's here, I'm rushing around trying to get us both ready--him for his parents to pick up and me to head out on errands. But today the errands are all done, and I have this delightful window of time to laze around, watch the cooking channel, read that mystery on my desk, eat an early lunch and take an early nap--and then we're off to Frisco. What a nice day!
Tomorrow maybe I'll have some deep thoughts.

What a nice day

Except for the fact that I felt guilty (again!) about not going to church, today was a lovely day. I read the newspaper, piddled, showered, did some laundry, and went to brunch with Betty. As I got into her car at 10:45, I said, "At this hour of the day, we could either go to church or brunch." (Betty recently retired after being the church organist fo 43 years or longer.) She said, "We're going to brunch." And when we got to the very crowded restaurant, she said, "Look, this is how the other half of the world lives on Sunday mornings." So bad--I had eggs, potatoes bacon and toast and loved every bite. She had talked to her husband, who's in San Diego, earlier and said "Guess what Judy and I are going to do?" He said, "I know you two. You're going to eat." We did.
Came home and actually wrote five new pages--yeah for me. Made my goal and beat it and felt good about the new material. Paid some bills, had a nap, and then fixed supper for Jay and Susan. I fixed a roasting hen by stuffing cream cheese seasoned with rosemary under the skin as much as I could--kept the meat really moist. In a separate pan I did rosemary roasted potatoes, but instead of coating them with olive oil I used a vinaigrette (the recipe called for Kraft Zesty vinaigrette but I made my own) and also poured some of the vinaigrette over the chicken. I served the potatoes sprinkled with chopped green onion and crumbled bacon--a really good idea. With a green salad, it made a good supper--had to use ranch dressing because Jay won't eat blue cheese. Tomorrow I'll simmer the chicken carcass and make stock.
Jay had spent six hours cooking a Valentine dinner for Susan yesterday, and he brought leftovers--a salmon spread on homemade crisps and a huge chocolate cake. It was made with buttermilk and cream and Dutch chocolate and was so moist it was almost like pudding. The icing was cream cheese and butter. Too rich for me. I still have half a piece in the fridge.
Jay also brought a pipe wrench (I told him it was a strange thing to ask a dinner guest to bring) and fixed the bathroom sink, where water had been down to a trickle. I couldn't get the little screen thing off because it was on too tight. He's good about doing small things like that for me. Once he came, needle-nosed tweezers in hand, to fix a ceiling spotlight--I had used that long pole to remove the dead bulb, but only the glass part came and the rest remained in the socket. We were eating supper when he arrived, and Jordan said, 'Oh, look, it's the handyman." Anyway its lovely not to have to to the kitchen ever time I want to wash my hands.
And another week begins.

A Day of Miracles

Well, actually it was a pretty quiet day. I let myself go into my slowest gear (people who know me will tell you that's not too slow). But I lingered over the paper and coffee, puttered around finishing cleaning up after last night, finished reading the parts of a manuscript I'd brought home--it ended abruptly and I found I was missing four chapters. No wonder it was abrupt! The kind of day where you never put on make-up and take a long nap. For lunch and dinner I had leftover cheese ball and caviar dip, though I tried to make dinner a bit healthier by adding some stir-fried zucchini and mushrooms.
The first miracle: after I did my yoga, I thought I would just try that washing machine one more time. It worked fine. I did a load of laundry that I'd meant to take out to Jordan's house and cancelled the repair appointment. Lesson learned--the machine does not like one heavy rug. Throws it off balance.
Second (maybe) miracle: Jamie called from meetings in Las Vegas where he thinks he made a contact for some writing assignments for me. Can't say more at the time but it would put me back to writing for young adults, which may be where I belong. Dang! Is that mystery going to go to waste?
Third miracle: While Jamie was on the phone, call waiting beeped--it was a distant cousin from Canada (her mother was my grandmother's sister--what does that make her to me?). She called to wish me Happy Holidays. She's 90, will be 91 on January 29 which is my father's birthday. She was born on his 21st b'day while he was away at WWI in Europe. Told me that's why she's named Norma--it was Dad's middle name but what all his family called him (his friends called him "Mac' and the students at the osteopathic college where he was president apparently called him "Black Mac," or at least some of them did.) Norma sounded sharp and clear, wanted to know about my family. She lives in the house she's lived in for 50 years. We had a delightful visit.
Later I had an email from Jamie and when I replied and explained about the call that caused me to cut him off, I told him to beware: I come from a line of women who live a long time.
I'm going to have a lazy evening watching junk TV and wrapping Christmas presents.

Charities

I'm wearing a T-shirt tonight that says "Proud to be an American" and has a rather ferocious eagle on it. It was a gift, unsolicited, from some veterans' organization to which I'm sure I have never contributed. I think my name is on a list somewhere that says "She's a patsy. Send her something, and she'll send a contribution." The Humane Society and the SPCA pepper me with gifts all the time, and I can't keep the two straight and am not sure which ones I've contributed to, but I suspect both. I have a T-shirt with a dog and cat that says "All they need is love," and I have a coffee cup that says "Operation Rescue: Baghdad Pups," in reference to the dogs who are being rescued from Iraq and sent here--as if we didn't have enough dogs in the country already. Strangest of all, I have a coffee cup that claims I'm a sponsor of the United States Deputy Sheriffs organization. It even has my name on it, which prevented me from selling it in Jordan's recent garage sale. And address labels? I have them from TCU, the Smithsonian, the SPCA, the Humane Society and who knows what else. I am using some with cute, Christmas-y animals for my Christmas cards, which will probably drive the more conservative of my acquaintances to think I've gone over the edge. You can put your name on a national no-call list, and many web sites offer you a chance to unsubscribe--but how do I get off this sucker list? Reminds me of my dad. When he died, we discovered he was sending $5 to each of lots of charities--from aid to Africa, Methodist missions, political causes--you name it. If it was humanitarian and liberal, Dad supported it, albeit modestly as his means would allow. Maybe it's in the genes. I do give to charity, but I try to be focused about the ones I think are really important to me, especially my church, and to ignore the many solicitations that come unbidden. But those T-shirts and coffee cups are guilt-inspiring.
I needed a column for December and went in search of a Christmas book or story by a Texas writer. Didn't exactly find it but a woman wrote me that she had a couple of Christmas stories--one published in the '80s and one unpublished. Not much help, but her career interested me--she's like so many of us, writing for forty years, about 15 books of everything from mystery to romance to children's books. And yet she's relatively unknown. I think she writes becuase she loves to write and can't imagine not doing it, but she also cited insatiable curiosity and the love of a challenge. Seemed to me from her emails that we had so much in common that I suggested we were about the same age, and she said, yes, she was in the "cocktail hour of life." I love it! Hope the Dallas Morning News book editor likes the column, because I'm sure it is not what he was expecting.
I had a blessedly quiet day today. Went to work at the usual time, after having overslept which made me hurry a bit, worked all morning, met friends for lunch, went to the grocery, and came home knowing I didn't have another obligation all day long. The first two days of this week were so hectic and tomorrow promises to be that way--a big launch party in Dallas--so I'm grateful for tonight. There's a poetry reading that I really should attend, but Melinda and Susan were going, so I was very quiet about my plans to veg out at home. Made chicken salad with blue cheese dressing for supper and plan to dig into the issue of Bon Appetit that just arrived today. I'm not sure I'll get back to my mystery until after the holidays--and maybe doing nothing is better than doing it sporadically, at least for a while.

A Day at Home

This is Jacob with his pal, Clifford. Clifford's a stuffed cheetah, but Jacob thinks it's a "puppy" and spent much of the morning riding Clifford and falling off with great glee. Jacob spent the night last night, and we had fun though he was given to fits of occasional screaming for no reason. A long hug and a few loving words, and he was back to himself. But this morning, he woke up screaming again (luckily not till 7:30). We think it's two-year molars.
It was a great day to stay home. I was sleepy and draggy for no reason--slept as long as usual, my right foot really hurts (tendonitis I guess), and this morning my stomach was off. Besides that, it's at least 101 outside, and there's something psychological about it--but when they predict temperatures over 100, it gets hotter. It's very hot and very still tonight. After Jacob's parents collected him, I ran to Central Market and haven't been outside since except to feed the dog and water plants. A two-hour nap greatly helped my sleepiness, but I still feel very lazy. When I went out to feed Scooby and clean up his yard, he cringed when I picked up the scoopers. I guess he remembers my spectacular fall of a few days ago.
In Central Market, I ran into Fred Erisman who told me he'd read the first four chapter of the new mystery and liked it. He thought the characters were developing, the dialog was good, and, when asked, said he thought it wold be better than the first book in what I hope will be a series. I've noticed that some writers I read get better after their first books--maybe you sort of get into the characters. Anyway, when Fred said that, I told him I was going right home to work.
And I did. I reread the last chapter I've written and wrote about five pages on Chapter Six--wow, a long way to go! But the new material pleased me. The traditional wisdom is characters take over and tell an author where the story's going. That sure happened today--I had no idea Kelly was going to stubbornly pick a fight with Mike, but she did. I'll work more on it tonight.
Just cut back my basil--Jay next door told me to do that, but it was so lush and lovely I hated to. But I made fresh pesto that is delicious. Now I'm going to pan fry a trout fillet for supper--an experiment for me.

The Joys of Being Compulsive

I'm laughing at myself today. Yesterday and Friday were both sort of busy days, and I promised myself that Sunday would be a lazy day, no "have to," no schedule. I'd sleep late, read the paper with coffee, fix a good breakfast, and do what I wanted. Of course as I contemplated this, I began to think of things I'd do--laundry, clean the back yard, pot the dill plant I bought Saturday and work with the porch plants, water and tend the house plants, season some antipasto vegetables (a new recipe I found that sits in the fridge for a week). I do this to myself all the time--schedule so many things that I want to do in free time that I end up feeling pressured. And, yep, this morning, when I could sleep late, I popped out of bed at 7:15. Still, it was fun. I wasn't rushed, and some of the things on my list didn't have to be done and I knew it. About 11:30 I had a bit of lunch and tried to finish Eat, Pray, Love--close but it was this evening before I finished it. After lunch, had a good nap and was ready to go visit Christian's parents when Jordan arrived. We had a delicious meal--fajitas and trimmings--and watched Jacob's antics.
I've been having weird dreams lately, but the funny thing is I can trace most of the stuff to something that happened in my life. In one I was entertaining the people I actually did entertain last night, but they were freezing cold and I had to turn off the a/c and turn on the heat (translate: it was the first day warm enough to force me to turn on the a/c). Then I discovered I was keeping the Hunter and Alex from next door and needed to feed them (translate: their mom has been looking for a summer nanny, and I posted some neighborhood notices for her). In another I was suddenly charged with planning a seminar on writing mysteries--not question there! I've been immersed in those Sisters in crime emails, and learning to write mysteries is on my mind. Somehwere in Eat, Pray, Love I read something about that higher consciousness we all aspire to and actually experience when we dream--we just don't know it. I wish I'd figured out how to bookmark before I read that book, because a lot of passages, like that one, deserve savoring. I may read it again--something I never do with books.
All in all, it was a nice Mother's Day. I talked to all my children (and a couple of grandchildren), went to a nice family gathering, got flowers from Jordan and from my friend Charles, and even got Mother's Day wishes from one of our authors.
Now it's almost ten, and I'm thinking how I'd love a snack. But I'm also thinking that I know snacking late at night does more damage than eating during the day and I'm being tough. I'll distract myself by starting The Red Leather Diary and watching for pictures of "the" wedding on the news--yeah, I'm interested.