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This is just a bit of meandering, partially so I can stay in the habit of keeping up the blog. For the next few days I’m in one of my “other” personas, concerning all things doggy. I’m a Delegate to the American Kennel Club for my breed, and we meet four times a year to discuss issues and share ideas. I’ve fallen off in attendance after being at every meeting for years. Tom’s illness, then dealing with a new life, has taken a while to organize.

One of the Scottish Deerhound babies

Jason and Moochie, my ‘special needs’ boys went to a great new kennel near the house and my good friend with lovely Scottish Deerhounds is tending to the rest of the pack. I got a good price on the flight and have a  new roommate to help with hotel costs. Easy Peasy, right?

Well, sort of. I got a later start than normal this morning (really, just this morning…wow) and made it to the airport with little time to spare. I’ve never had an issue going through Security, except when I was carrying a bunch of silver necklaces to sell in the booth, and the x-ray showed what looked like a lot of wires. This time they pulled my green pulley bag out for inspection. Poor thing. it’s not young any  more and the zipper is very delicate. Fortunately the inspector was gentle, and went on a search. I finally asked what in the world I’d packed. He said, somewhat grimly, ‘box cutter.’ Picture  me with a frown, then “Oh, yeah. I’ve been pulling up carpet and the suitcase was on a stool in the room.”

Yep, THAT box cutter

After that he was much less grim, eventually finding the suspicious item and holding it up. “Yup, there it is. You can throw it out, that one didn’t work at all.” Well, duh, Monica of course he’s going to throw it out. Then he had to put the bag through the x-ray again. I eventually grabbed up pulley bag, purse, and computer and dashed to the gate, getting there just while they were announcing the last call for boarding. Phew!

Ah, but the day wasn’t over yet, I had what I thought was a tight but not impossible connection in Dallas. Since the next flight was in the same terminal, and only twenty gates away, I wasn’t worried…until I found out there was a looooooong remodeling section between gates.  Pant. Pant. Pant. No need to go to the exercise room at the hotel today, and once again I made it just before the doors closed. This time when the drink cart came around I indulged in a cup of coffee and a tiny bottle of Irish Cream…a lazy person’s Irish Coffee.

In years past the hotel I usually use for this meeting has had the attraction of being less expensive than the host hotel but not much more than that. They’ve been remodeling and for the first time there was no need to ask for another room because of dripping faucets or dirty carpets. Plus the Internet connection is better than average. I miss the roomie I’ve had for so many years but will be meeting someone new with a different breed. I’ll keep you up to date on what happens, especially the tribulations of trying to eat low carb in a hotel restaurant.

What better way to kick off Friday With Friends than a visit from fellow Black Opal Books author Cathrina Constantine

Hello! from Cathrina Constantine, and I’m thrilled to be your guest. My debut novel, Wickedly They Come was published by Black Opal Books on August 24, 2013!

 Wickedly They Come is a YA-paranormal thriller. A gripping, dark fantasy where the battle between heaven and hell is escalating, and earth is their battleground.

WICKEDLY THEY COME: Book Blurb:

HAUNTING VISIONS, UNUSUAL STRENGTH, AND SPECIAL PARANORMAL TALENTS ARE THE NORM FOR SEELEY AND HER SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, JORDAN. THEIR LIVES BECOME PERILOUS WHEN THE LEADER OF THE BLACK ORDER STALKS THEM, TRYING TO FULFILL A PROPHECY TO CONSECRATE JORDAN TO HIS LORD—LUCIFER.

PREVIOUSLY HOMESCHOOLED AND NAIVE, JORDAN IS INDUCTED INTO THE SOCIAL CULTURE OF TEENDOM AT ELMA HIGH, WHERE SHE ENCOUNTER MAR, A MYSTERIOUS NEW CLASSMATE, WHO IS HELL BENT ON KEEPING HER UNSCATHED FROM THE FORCES OF EVIL.

Published by Black Opal Books, Wickedly They Come is my first of four novels nearing completion. I am gratefully represented by Sharon Belcastro of The Belcastro Agency. If Wickedly They Come strikes your fancy I hope you’ll look forward to reading the sequel. 

You can find Cathrina Constantine at these sites:

http://www.cathrinaconstantine.com

http://cathrinaconstantine.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook/www.cathrina.constantine.3

https://twitter.com/cathconstantine

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16051029-cathrina-constantine

 

Do You Fear The Wind

by: Hamlin Garland (1860-1940)

O you fear the force of the wind,

The slash of the rain?

Go face them and fight them,

Be savage again.

Go hungry and cold like the wolf,

Go wade like the crane:

The palms of your hands will thicken,

The skin of your cheek will tan,

You’ll grow ragged and weary and swarthy,

But you’ll walk like a man!

They told us, when we moved to New Mexico, we’d be dealing with wind.  No problem, I said, I’ve always loved the wind.  Hamlin Garland’s poem was a particular favorite when I was a romantic teenager.

Well, there’s wind.  And then there’s WIND as in relocation of top soil from one state to the next. I’m thinking a lot of ours is in Oklahoma. Still, the ‘ahem’ breeze does keep us markedly cooler than Albuquerque and in the summer that’s a huge plus. Sometimes it can get pretty exciting, especially during these dry days when it’s not unusual to see plumes of dust rising up all around.

The property is fenced and cross fenced at five feet. So it was a bit of a shock to come home to this futon mattress I’d put out in the big field for the ‘lukis to lounge on, draped across an outside fence. Which means the wind lifted it over a five foot fence then up against another one.

While I was in Canada, I’m told we had a haboob, essentially a wall of sand propelled forward at a high rate of speed. Not sorry to miss that, though I bet the pictures would have been impressive. When I saw this from a distance, this looked more like a grass fire, far too scary for me. Once I realized I was watching dust racing toward me at a high rate of speed I decided to snap pictures and run inside.

All this wind makes for daily complications. Before planting you need to put up windbreaks. And now that my hair is longer I keep it pinned up most of the time.  Even so, I remember that great poem… “You’ll grow ragged and weary and swarthy, but you’ll walk like a man.”

Not fire, dust

Kristen Lamb’s blog came around at a fortuitous time in my non writing life. Poor me, I’ve been feeling unloved because some people have been {{gasp}} RUDE to me.  Life’s not a chair of bowlies these days and **sigh** it’s just all so HARD. So I read Kristen’s blog Handling Criticism. And I read it again. Especially this observation: “Part of getting a healthy relationship with criticism is learning to discern what’s constructive versus destructive. Some people are just jerks. Nothing we do will please them, so learn to shrug them off.”

Some people ARE just jerks and nothing we do can change that. We can just work very hard not to come down to their level. Not everyone is going to love us, and once we get past that point we can work harder at being our own person, not a reflection of what we think other people want us to be.

As a writer, that means writing the best books I can, dealing with good criticism, ignoring the bad, and learning the difference.  As an individual, it means accepting the people who want to join my life journey, and not worrying about those who don’t. (bet you thought I was going to say pitying those who don’t)

I’m off to write the very best book I can.  How about you?

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for MFRW’s incredible SUMMER CAMP!! where we’re all going to learn how to promote those great books we write

Have you ever noticed how some people are artistic on so many levels? They not only produce great sculptures or

JoAnne Tucker

paintings, they also have a delightful garden and/or cook divinely? Here’s JoAnne Tucker, who not only writes books but also lyrical poetry, and delights the eyes with her paintings. Please help me welcome JoAnne to the Friday blog. Help yourself to the quick yummy, and enjoy.

“Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between” is a poetry collection that provides a glimpse into the heart, mind and soul, of its author. It is a heartwarming read, written with love and respect for others. Some poems were written in times of sorrow, other poems were written in times of joyous celebration. Life is like that.

As I mentioned while discussing the amazing chorizo dip recipe for the MFRW Summer Camp, I looked at my favorite party dish recipe with new eyes.  And thought there just might be ways to make it marginally healthier. Not that chili, cheese, and sausage will ever win any culinary awards from the dietary council. But we can at least cut down on some on the processed foods.

So I started with the first component, chili.  Everyone who likes chili has their own ideas about what makes a good combination of meat, tomatoes, and spices. I’ve certainly sampled some fabulous recipes in the past. For grins, I went hunting for a “low carb” chili recipe, to see what I could find.  And I discovered Low Carb Friends, with this great recipe for

Dottie’s Texas Chile

1 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion – diced
1 can (14.5 ounce) cut diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce
1 can (14 ounce) beef broth
1 cup water
11/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional: 1 can (15 ounce) black soy beans –drained and rinsed well.
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Brown ground beef and onions, breaking up well. Drain well. Add spices and continue to cook and blend well. Add the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes or until reduced slightly. Add beans (if using) in the last 10 minutes, just long enough to heat through. Black soy beans have a softer texture than pinto beans and will break down faster.  Add water or more broth if necessary. Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Great starter recipe. I didn’t go for the bean option., and I decided to use the crock pot. Since I didn’t have beef broth, I

See the tip of the bone?

increased the water, and threw in a couple of beef bones. Then I let it do its simmering thing for a few hours.  Eventually it bubbled into a delicious chili, a bit more watery than my preference but this is just for starters. I poured most of it into a heavy pot to sit for a couple days (refrigerator of course!) and saved out a little to enjoy right now. This morning I had some with my eggs. Meant to take a picture for you but oops ate it too fast!

I also added about a cup of New Mexico Green Chile, roasted, chopped and frozen, to give it that extra boost.  If you want to try something extra good, then add some VERY dark chocolate right at the end of your cooking. Puts that chile right over the top.

Upcoming: I’m going to try a home made version of Velveeta, to continue getting away from processed foods.  So stick around. And you do have those dates blocked out for MFRW Summer Camp, July 12-14 right?