In everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose...in our latest season, with only a vague plan and a touch of creativity, we're off on another adventure. Half of this twosome is retired; my half will probably never know what that means. I promise to share.
Sunset over the RV Ranch
I've been visiting the same old haunts these last two weeks, zig-zagging between the RV Ranch, Phoenix, Prescott, the farm, back to Prescott, the farm again, and now a stint at the RV Ranch. May gas prices keep dropping! The traffic is awful in Phoenix and the gophers are taking over the farm. You'll have to allow me to continue calling it the farm. We do still have fruit trees. And once this frigid weather is over, I'll plant a veggie or two. It will technically be my home with a garden, but to me it will always be "the farm."
I've decided RVer's like to eat. In the last two weeks, we've had Mexican food night (my contribution was
Mexican Food Night
some tasty but greasy tacos) and a potato/dessert buffet. All my favorite foods. I love potatoes baked in foil on the grill and topped with all kinds of spicy or fattening additions. The desserts were great, too. Below is the recipe for one we had. This is my kind of recipe since I don't bake and typically don't enjoy cooking. This was absolutely delicious with vanilla ice cream.
CROCKPOT APPLE PIE
In the bottom of the crockpot, empty a can of apple pie filling.
On top of the filling, empty a box of spice cake mix.
Plop two sticks of butter on top of that. (no need to cut up or melt)
Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.
The beginning of my shabby chic dinnerware
My other great find over the last two weeks is the Goodwill Stores. I've always loved second hand stores. Browsing through "other peoples junk", as my husband calls it, amuses me. And you never know what you might find. In the last couple of years, Goodwill has really improved their display and what they sell as far as quality.
I've had a set of white Fiesta dishes for the last couple of years, but I'm down to three plates. Replacing them won't be cheap. Then I had a thought. I'll go shabby chic for the RV. I've accented with purple and green in our traveling home, so that's the color for the dishes. I mentioned this to my mom. Before I could get out shopping, Mom and her friend hit four Goodwill Stores and I now have a real good start on my RV dishware. For $18, I have 8 dinner plates, 10 small plates, 8 saucers, 4 soup bowls, 3 mugs, and 4 glasses. It helped that they were having a half off that day. I have to be on the lookout for some smaller bowls which I'll have fun finding.
Buying used is the ultimate recycling. Finding those deals is a real feel-good experience.
Veronica Lynch has a new book out and it's one of the Candy Heart books for The Wild Rose Press. Read on to learn more about this enticing book. And be sure to comment to be eligible for the cute tote!
Did you always want to be a writer?I wanted to be a doctor but my mother told me
[this was the late 50's and early 60's] becoming a doctor wasn't something
women did. I started writing in nursing school and never stopped.As a nurse in the Operating Room right out of
training I learned real fast that women indeed become physicians and were
successful at it. It was too late for me by then.
Tell us about your new Candy Hearts book. As a
Vintage Rose story, For Keeps takes place in the late 1980's when victim
advocacy came into its prime. While advocates and cops 'hooking up' did happen,
it was viewed by both sides of the issue as going over to the dark side. I
wanted to show the conflict a professional woman might face with the idea of
spending the rest of her life with a man who completes her versus remaining in
an thankless occupation which often brings heartache and burnout.
What gave you the idea for the story? Personal
experience. There comes a time in the story when the heroine responds to the
hotline only to find the hero on the other end. The essence of that
conversation [“if I was any better, I'd scare myself”] actually happened. I
laughed the rest of the day and still smile when I recall that man's voice. It
was a gift in the middle of a very stressful day. I'm sure that poor cop
thought I was a raving lunatic.
How do you normally come up with your characters?
From news accounts, either print or electronic. I often receive a newsletter
from one of the charities I support, such as Doctors Without Borders, and
think, I'm going to do a story about a woman physician with PTSD.
What did you like best about your current hero and
heroine in your Candy Hearts book? Keenan Rossi is patterned after a cop I
once worked with. He had a great voice, the warmest hands in town and listened
to my opinions. I miss him terribly. I like Meg Muldoon because she faced down
detractors with grace and dignity. I wish I'd had half her courage back in the
day.
How about a blurb?
Meghan
Muldoon is at a crossroads: struggling to balance the demands of a high stress
vocation as an advocate for victims of violence with her feelings for Keenan
Rossi, a man who wants to make their relationship permanent.
On
Valentine's Day,a series of routine
crises force Meg to question staying in a profession which fulfills her both
professionally and spiritually—or devoting the rest of her life to the one
person who completes her.
Which
one is For Keeps?
CONTEST:one lucky person who comments on my blog
visit will win a small zippered tote fashioned in a Valentine's theme
fabric.
What a great post I have for you today, written by my guest Starr Gardinier. Love the spooky stuff, but it tugs at your hear too! Read on.
There’s
a rumor going around that the paranormal is bogus. What does ‘paranormal’ mean?
According to Dictionary.com, it’s an adjective, meaning “of or relating to the
claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as
‘psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural
phenomena.”
Should
you fear it? Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s about the not knowing for most of us.
We really don’t know what a ‘paranormal’ event is unless and until we’ve
experienced something without a ‘scientific explanation.’ So, we tend to fear
the unknown.
Unless,
you’re in the know…
While
“The Other Side: Trent’s Story” is completely fictionalized and
over-exaggerated, even for my beliefs, parts have a ring of truth to them. At
least I can say that because I’ve experienced a ‘paranormal’ event.
After
my mother passed away, I was distraught and, please keep in mind here that I’ve
shared this with no one, suicidal. My mother meant the world to me and when I
lost her, all I could think about was being back with her. No matter how. I
didn’t care if I had to die to be with her again. These feelings went on for
months. My depression got out of hand. All I wanted to do, and did every chance
I got, was sleep. One afternoon, I laid down and the most extraordinary
‘paranormal’ thing happened.
Before
I continue, I need to clarify something. It doesn’t matter if you believe in
the paranormal or not. It doesn’t matter if you fear it. What matters here is
the fact that if you open your mind, surprising things can happen.
My
mother saved my life. No one, and I do mean no one, can convince me that what
I’m about to tell you did not happen.
Can
science explain that? Can you explain that? Was it extrasensory perception? Is
it paranormal? It’s unexplainable in our human sense. I know that in one
afternoon, my life completely made sense. My mother said I wasn’t done here. I
made peace with my mother’s death. She was only physically gone. She was, and
will always be, in my heart.
Am
I fearless of the paranormal? Yes. I don’t fear it, but I certainly have quite
the respect for it. My experience, fortunately, was a great one. Good things
can happen, but so can the bad. We are all sensitive. What separates us is some
refuse to believe while others are open to the world of the unknown; that which
science cannot explain.
So,
today, on this Fearless Friday, tell me your fear
relating to the paranormal. Then read “The Other Side: Trent’s Story” and tell
me how over-exaggerated it is. Completely fictionalized, but with just a hint
of truth.
I
would love to hear your story, if you have one.
A
paralegal by day, Starr Gardinier is an author by night. Apart from being an
award winning author for her short story “Cut,” Starr has appeared in a blaze
and made her mark on the literary world with her Ivanovich series and now her Other
Side series.
Having
studied and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature/Creative Writing, she
has found her unique style and is known for her works' distinctive voice,
making every character stand out.
She’s
the founder and owner of Editing by Starr.
Starr
is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and of Sisters in Crime,
Los Angeles Chapter and nationally.
Melinda James is finally out
of Skyview Haven—an asylum where she was confined for years—and is living her
life, free at last. However, things are not going as planned; harassed by
unexplained paranormal experiences, she doesn’t feel safe in her own home. And
when she turns to her best friend Trent for help and support, she is surprised
to find her feelings for him have grown far beyond a simple friendship.
Trent
Miller isn’t prepared to fight evil, but he will do whatever it takes to save
Melinda from an evil entity that is seeking revenge for past events. Armed with
knowledge gleaned from television shows, a team of paranormal investigators,
and the prayers of family and friends, he is ready to face anything.
The
question is, does he tell her about his feelings for her before or after he
fights a battle with evil for Melinda’s very soul?
