Understood?

While in Mexico, I picked up a few popular books in Spanish. I enjoy reading foreign language books--in the languages I'm familiar with, of course!--because it keeps me sort of "brushed up" on skills that might otherwise get rusty. I generally read with a dictionary by my side to catch the words or phrases I don't comprehend right away.

Yesterday was cold and blustery here. The perfect day for reading while the laundry whooshed in the machine. I built a roaring fire, pulled one of the books from the stack and settled in. Instantly, lost in a great story. Don't you love when that happens?

What was I reading? La Cabaña by William P. Young. Mostly, it's called The Shack and was highly recommended by several people. Now that I'm nearly through the story, I can see why it's caused such a buzz. I'm enjoying it, even though I'm plodding through and looking up unfamiliar words as I read.

So, that's what's keeping me busy here on the farm. Today I hope to finish the book. What about you? Anything interesting going on with you these days?

Tranquil

I had a nice, calm, quiet weekend. No commitments, pressure or schedule. Just perfectly random hours spent doing whatever came my way.

Saturday I spent with family, taking a spur-of-the-moment adventure which proved fun and productive. Both good, no? My mom and I browsed through shops, picked up a few necessary items and several totally nonessential bits and pieces. We had a blast, and to his credit my step-dad schlepped around behind us without a grumble of protest. Now that's a good guy!

Sunday? A blue sky lured me outdoors. Trekking through a forest, stacking firewood and sitting beneath a leafless maple tree, contemplating my spring vegetable garden, was the extent of my exertions.

Now I'm ready to tackle reworking the remainder of the last book. I'm still going through it, tweaking and, in a few spots, rewriting. Remember, I wrote the last chapters in Mexico, under the influence of, ah, a mudslide or two. Okay, maybe there were three mudslides involved, but no more than that. Regardless, the last chapters are a bit looser than I'd like them, with spare words and random sentences that are being purged. Evidently I become verbose when sipping mudslides.

Note to self: No mudslides while writing.

So, that's my weekend and Monday in a nutshell. What about you? Did you have a pleasant weekend? And what are your plans for this gorgeous Monday?

Sweet!

In Mexico I indulged my taste for plantains every day. Really, every single day. I ate plantains for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love 'em and they were everywhere so I just ate and ate and ate...

Plantains are such a common food in many countries across the globe. There are as many ways to serve plantains as there are to serve potatoes, if not more. Here is another plantain recipe that is sweet, deserving of a place of honor on any dessert table.

Carmelized Plantain Tart

4 plantains
½ cup granulated sugar
2 sticks salted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup ground almonds

In the bowl of a food processor, mix vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, and butter together until mixture is creamy. Add flour and almonds and pulse until dough forms. Remove dough from food processor and press gently into a greased tart pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Tart shell will be very light brown in color.

Peel plantains and slice thinly. Drop slices into ice water until all plantains are sliced. Drain plantains and arrange on baked tart crust. Sprinkle granulated sugar over top of tart, and place in 350-degree oven for five minutes. Just before removing tart from oven, turn on broiler and broil tart until the sugar topping becomes bubbly and carmelizes.

Reprieve

reprieve [rɪˈpriːv]

verb
1. to postpone or remit the punishment
2. to give temporary relief

noun
1. a postponement or remission of punishment
2. a warrant granting a postponement
3. a temporary relief from pain or harm; respite
4. (Law) the act of reprieving or the state of being reprieved
[from Old French repris (something) taken back, from reprendre to take back, from Latin reprehendere; perhaps also influenced by obsolete English repreve to reprove]


Calendar says it's the end of January. Melted snow, warm breezes and huge patches of green grass tell another story.

Oh yes, I'd call this a reprieve. And I am very grateful!

Enjoy the day!

Quote

From someone I have always admired. I've had this thought in my head for the past few days, so I thought I'd share it this Monday morning.

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." --Albert Einstein

I've been puzzling over a situation in my life for a bit, trying to understand and find a peaceful refuge. So far, still working on it...

Perhaps Some Tylenol?

Oh, how can a clear head ache?

Evidently I forgot the lovely beery headache that follows a night of "ordering one's thoughts."

Yes, that's what I'm calling the little party we had here last night. I'm sticking to it, too.

Hope you have a lovely Sunday. It is brutally cold here so me, my head and the manuscript are going to curl up by the fire and not move. Really, not moving. Football's on this afternoon and tonight and I plan to be a sofa slug.

What about you? Any plans for the day?

And, would you please pass the Tylenol?

One Life

Hi friends,

Yes, I know. It's late. Much too late for posting, right? Well...maybe yes, maybe no. This morning I didn't have much to say. Now, however, a word or two comes to mind. Figured I'd get those words out while they're fresh.

Hope you've had a great Saturday. Me? I had a nice day. Happy. Productive. Fun.

I spent this evening with a friend. One of those irreplaceable friends who is more family than friend. You know the kind I mean, don't you?

I've had a bunch of stuff swirling around in my head these past few weeks. Changes in my life that I'm not altogether sure of. Work issues that need to be attended to. Decisions to be made. Regular things, but I guess I needed to talk it all out with someone who can be trusted.

Over some beer. And chips.

Isn't it amazing how much clarity comes with beer and chips?

Let's just say I've made a few decisions concerning how I proceed with this one life I've got. It feels super to have things unswirled--and ordered--in my head.

Again, beer is just such an incredible un-swirler, don't you think? Beer, chips and a good friend. Doesn't get much better than that.

Wishing you a great Saturday night. I hope you are happy, healthy and content. Me? I've got a good friend waiting to laugh some more, so I'm going to scram. I think there's still more beer and chips...

Have a great weekend!

Native American Wisdom

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. -Cherokee Expression

Man Needed...

...for inspiration for next novel. Understandable, no? How can I possibly put fingers to keyboard without some whiff of man candy to spur me on?

Impossible, I say!

Last night I watched (for the umpteenth time!) Under the Tuscan Sun. Yes, it really is one of my favorite movies. Not just for the story, either, which was one of my favorite books long before it became one of my favorite movies. No, in the film there's a little added bonus...

That's right, the man needed to inspire the character in my next book to come alive. And, just because it's oh, so cold outside and this guy sizzles I figured I'd share him with you.

Raoul Bova, a Roman hunk of inspiration if I ever saw one. Get a load of those eyes, ladies. Don't you just wonder what this guy is thinking?

Enjoy your Thursday! Me? I'll be writing...

Loud

When I think of a warm breeze or a chilly gust, it is a quiet thought.

Really, it's just air, right? How loud should it be?

Here? The wind stirred the darkness all night long, making it sound like a train was barreling through the yard. Now that it's light, I see tree branches down and ripples on the surface of the snow. Gusts still shake power lines, sounding oh, so fierce.

Sounds like a good day to settle in beside a roaring fire. Work on the book. Drink lots of chai. Yes, that's my plan for this windy Wednesday.

What about you? What's on your agenda?

Kissing

Got your attention with that title, didn't I?

I've been tweaking the latest manuscript. You know how it goes...adjusting a line here, eliminating a scene there. Jumping on repetition, dealing with continuity issues. The normal drill. So far, all is going well.

Just reached the point in the book where they share their first--you guessed it--kiss. Tension's been building, anticipation growing, relationship developing nicely. And finally, the breakthrough kiss.

Writing about kissing isn't nearly as easy as actual kissing. Think about it...when you're involved in the act itself, you don't need to describe it, do you? No, of course not! All you've got to do is pucker up and go for it. The rest comes naturally.

Or in some instances, it doesn't. But that, my friends, is a topic for another post.

When my couple's lips finally meet, it's got to be exactly right. It has to be a perfect instant, one that readers will identify with, feel in their hearts and hunger for in their own lives. The moment has to be everything that anyone would want, the realization of every reader's ultimate kiss. It's got to be...magic.

No small feat, especially when you consider the science of the kiss. What I mean is, the meeting of lips, tongue and heart all have to align. Too fast and peckish, and she'll feel like she's being kissed by her great-granny. Gross, no? And if he's one of those face-eating guys--you know the kind who seem to think your cheeks, chin, nose and eyebrows all have to fit between his lips in a single gulp--well, we all know how off-putting that can be!

The mechanics of the kiss are as important as a multitude of other manuscript issues. As a result, I've been going over this first kiss as if it were the last kiss. So far I'm satisfied with their exchange, which leads nicely onto more interesting...ah, areas.

What do you think? Am I over-analyzing this kiss? Or does kissing matter to you as much as it does to me--on the page, that is. That's what we are talking about isn't it?

Isn't it?

Hope you have a great Monday. And I hope you get at least one kiss today!

Just a Few More...

...pictures from gorgeous, sunny, snow-free Mexico.

Yeah, there's a snowy, icy mess predicted for here today. Ugh!

If I close my eyes...

I can hear the waves...


and smell the lime juice.
From the margaritas, you know.

Happy Thursday!