Robin watch

You know how most mornings the first thought you have before your eyes open is...well, completely unplanned? Since you're still probably half-asleep, your subconscious has an instant to have a voice that you "hear" and the first thought of the day is unscripted, uncensored and sometimes surprising.

My first thought this morning? Before my eyes opened and my mind knew it was waking?

The robins will be back soon.

Yeah, even my subconscious has a hankering for spring.

Did you know that the first robin you see in your yard is probably a male robin? It's true. In robinworld, males lead the way. They find a comfy spot for raising a nestful of babies. They're territorial, and once the male's chosen a spot for his new family, he defends the area by singing. Female robins arrive shortly after their men. They set up a nest, produce eggs and the rest, as they say, is history.

Attract robins to your yard in a variety of ways. Robins prefer bugs and fruit to seeds, so place grapes, strawberries and orange slices near your bird feeders. Hopefully your lawn will provide the bugs! Also, a birdbath will bring robins, and other birds, to the space. Then, all you've got to do is sit back and wait. If my subconscious is to be believed, the robins will be back soon.

That is, if it ever stops snowing!

Pink. Orange. Purple. Of course, purple!

Green. Lots of green.

Yellow, and some magenta. After all, how would it be if we didn't have a whole swath of magenta? Goodness, I shudder at the thought!

Fuschia, definitely. Not too much -- you know it can get hard on the eyes if there's too much fuschia.

Oh! How could I forget? Lavender! Loads and loads of it, so much it makes your eyes water, just heaps and heaps, waves and waves of laven--

Pardon?

Me? Oh, nothing much. Just planning flower beds.

Got piles of seed catalogs scattered on the table, an order pad and a pencil. Just made a pot of coffee and there's a fresh bag of Oreos in the pantry. Yes, I'm ready for gardening. Doesn't matter that it's fifteen degrees outside. In here it's hot and sultry, and I'm surrounded by color.

Later, I'll get on to that pesky book that's waiting for the final few chapters. But now? Gardening. :)

An addition...

to the From the Kitchen page. Easter Bread! Thought I'd share the recipe, and spread the news it's available. I love this bread. Easy to make, looks great and tastes yummy. :)

Reading?

If you read this blog regularly you know I read a lot. No, really. A. Lot. My reading tastes are eclectic. No book snob here, I'll read anything from the classics to a cereal box. I don't ever remember a time when reading hasn't been a consumate pleasure.

With the high volume of books I inhale it says a lot when I reread one. And believe me, there are lots of favorites I read time and again. Yesterday I reopened a favorite. Want to know what I'm reading? Actually, what I'm rereading?

Do I even need to tell you who wrote it? Can you guess? I mean, he's such a favorite I call him He Who Need Not Be Named. That's right, it's a Stephen King novel. :)

Lisey's Story. I've recracked the spine on Lisey's Story. For those who haven't read it, Lisey's Story is about a writer's widow. At first glance it seems to be all about Lisey but as the reader is sucked into the story it's easy to see that the dead writer is still very much in the picture, and at the center of Lisey's life. I think the psychologically gripping points of this tale are a big part of what draws me to read it more than once. Too, there are references to earlier Stephen King works interspersed throughout this novel, and I get a kick out of playing a writerly sort of connect-the-dots.

So I'm currently experiencing a literary do-over, reading Lisey's Story by Stephen King. I loved it the first time I read it, and the second time, too. The third time it's still a charm.

What are you reading? And are you enjoying it?

Day 8

It's Day 8 of the Iditarod. Run between Nome, on the western Bering Sea coast, and Anchorage, in south central Alaska, the 1150-mile course has been called the "Last Great Race on Earth."

I would have liked to try this. Instead, I watch the video clips and read the news reports. There are also updates from the trail, posted by family members, which are especially interesting.

A real point of interest in this year's race is that DeeDee Jonrowe is the winner of the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway award. The prize comes with $3,000 in gold nuggets. I don't think it's surprising that a woman won the award. What I find interesting is that she had no idea she was in the lead, no clue that she was going to win the award.

Her response when she learned she'd won? She was, understandably, happy and said she hadn't yet bought her husband a birthday gift. She thought gold nuggets might do.

Gold nuggets for a birthday? Nothing to sneeze about, that.

If you've got any interest at all in the race the site to check out is The Official Site of the Iditarod. There are some amazing pictures, first-hand accounts of previous races and all the facts and figures anyone could ask for.

Friday Fun

I'm blogging over at The Larks today. I hope you'll stop in and say hi, maybe share a giggle or two.

Yeah, it's Friday. I'm feeling like a kid at recess. In high school did you ever cut classes on Friday, head to the beach or shopping mall with your friends? C'mon, be honest. We're all friends here. Ahh...so you do know how I feel today, then. I thought you might.

I think the most taxing thing I'm going to do today is make a lasagne. Maybe. We could always have waffles and ice cream for dinner, I guess. I mean, two nights in a row wouldn't be so terrible, would it? Yeah...this feeling-like-Friday began on Thursday. Go figure.

Have a great weekend!

I hear the roar

In like a lion, out like a lamb.

The lion has a mighty roar this March.

Yesterday we were powerless, compliments of the lion's frigid breath. The ice storm was beautiful but all those coated limbs and power lines had no chance when the wind began to howl. So we sat by the woodstove, periodically ran the generator to keep the freezers cold and enjoyed the lion's roar.

After all, rumor has it that there's a lamb following somewhere and I'm a sucker for small, cuddly animals!

I guest blogged at Marianne Arkins' Reading, Writing and Stuff blog yesterday. Now that the power's on I finally got a chance to see it. I am tickled! If you get a chance, why not take a peek? A few words From the Vineyard might just be enough to chase away the lion in your neighborhood!

Summertime flash

I know this should go on the From the Kitchen page but I don't want anyone to miss it. It's that good!

A few years ago we planted a couple of strawberry patches in our yard. I love strawberries, and so does my husband. At the time it seemed like one patch just wouldn’t produce enough berries for our needs (desires!), so we tilled and planted in a number of different areas. Am I glad we did! Now summertime means strawberries in abundance! We pick enough sweet red berries to eat as many as we can possibly eat, and then some. The excess we use for jam. What’s left over after the jam, we freeze.

This morning I plan to pull out some frozen strawberries and make this cobbler recipe. It’s a simple recipe and it doesn’t matter a whit whether the berries are fresh or frozen.

Just one bite of this cobbler reminds me of long, hot summer days…fireflies and dandelions…reading in a hammock strung beneath two towering pines…

Summertime, when the living is easy…


Strawberry Cobbler

4 cups sliced strawberries
1 T. lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
1 T. cornstarch
2 cups biscuit mix
3 T. melted butter
½ cup milk
2 t. vanilla
½ t. cinnamon

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch . Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until mixture thickens. Pour hot strawberry mixture into an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine biscuit mix, butter, milk , vanilla and cinnamon. Drop batter by spoonfuls over strawberry mixture.

Place baking pan in a pre-heated 400-degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Snowless Monday?

Oh my gosh. Is it real? A Monday morning without snow falling from the sky? I don't remember how long it's been since I've experienced such a phenomenon. Could it be? Dare I hope? Do you think? Is it a sign of spring? Or did Old Man Winter oversleep?

Whatever this weather glitch is, I'm taking it. No complaints here! I'm going to get myself outside, take a nice, long walk and enjoy the day. Then I'm going to work on ending a novel that's had me stumped for a while. Finally, though, I think I know how it's going to end so I'm going to get straight at it.

What've you got planned for this gorgeous, snowless Monday? Whatever it is, I hope it's enjoyable!

By the way...

there are new posts in From the Kitchen (Yummy!) and From the Garden. Have you peeked in lately? You just might be surprised by what you find there. :)

One more thing

This week I'm the guest moderator at The Wild Rose Press reader's loop. If you've got a moment I'd love it if you'd come on over and visit with us. A friendly group, those Wild Rose authors! We always have room for a new reader in the garden. :)

Vineyard Mambo taps its foot!

As the emails I'm already getting indicate, some of you have noticed Vineyard Mambo is not being released today. I know, I know -- I've spent the past weeks promoting today's release. By now you're all probably pretty darn tired of hearing about it, too. But, alas, today is not the day.

*Sigh*

Obviously I had no idea Vineyard Mambo was being pushed back to a mid-month release. I mean, just yesterday I was chatting about the book coming out today. Funny, now that I think of it. I've got to laugh, because although this is disappointing it really isn't such a big deal. Definitely not the end of the world. And in the grand scheme of things, as far as this being a "bad" thing in my life, it's hardly a blip. There are so so so many other things that can happen that are really, truly unfortunate. This isn't one of them.

So what happened? Some of you are aware that Whiskey Creek Press is celebrating its Fifth Anniversary this month. Congratulations to them on doing such a great job! :) As part of their birthday celebration they're making a few changes. One of their changes is moving toward a staggered release policy. Most publishers already do this, and honestly I think it's a great idea for WCP to stagger releases, too. There are many reasons publishers release books in rotation. The main one, I believe, is simply because it's good business. Good business practices for a publisher translate into better earnings for authors, and I wholeheartedly support that notion. I'm thrilled to be associated with a company who has its eye on the future.

Apparently my book is part of the first "staggered wave" and will be released on March 15th.

I've had to do a lot of scrambling in the past hours. I thank everyone who has been gracious enough to accomodate this change in plans. I especially thank the bookseller who has been wonderfully cheerful about my making extra work for him. He's offered to change the date on my promo materials himself and even assured me the publisher was saving "the best for last" and that is the reason we'll all have to wait an extra two weeks for Vineyard Mambo. God bless him, that's exactly what I needed to hear! Even if he was only trying to make me feel better, it was balm enough to soothe my disappointment.

So I hope you'll all be kind enough to wait with me for a few extra days to experience Vineyard Mambo. The book is complete, i's dotted and t's crossed, waiting along with us for the 15th. It' s just a couple more days, really. Right? That's all, just a few days. And what're a few days between friends?

Tonight the champagne will flow and we'll dance, and celebrate the impending release of Vineyard Mambo, rather than the actual release. It will give us something to laugh about, shake our heads over and toast to. I know that this little shift will be fodder for discussion for a long time to come with our family and friends. We'll say, "Do you remember?..." and "We didn't find out until the credit card was in our hand..." and "Hey, but do you remember the party? Now that was the best celebration of a book's postponement I've ever seen!"

Yes, we'll celebrate tonight. And we'll celebrate on the 15th, too. Because you know what? Any day is a good day for a book to release.

Thank you for sharing this day, and experience, with me. When given the choice between laughter and tears, I always choose laughter. I'm smiling now, and I hope you are, too.

If you're in the mood for a great weekend read, why not check out the new releases at Whiskey Creek? Or the old ones? There are lots of wonderful stories, and authors, over there just waiting to entertain you. There's something for everyone at Whiskey Creek Press, and I'm sure you can find something to satisfy your reading hunger.

Only don't satisfy yourself too fully, okay? I hear there's a book coming on March 15th that's just waiting to be read. Really, it's just tapping its bookish toe, waiting to be held and, hopefully, enjoyed. Now what was that book called? Hmm...let me see... Vineyard Mambo, that's it! ;-)

Have a great weekend!