Thursday Thoughts: Universal Joy

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Silver James

Sometimes, you just need to pause, or even take a step back from the world. Just so you can remember that there is more to life. There are days when the thought of sticking your head out the door to see what’s going on seems like an extreme measure. But you should. When things get crazy and you despair of finding balance, take a deep breath. The Universe has you covered.

If your breathing itself was not proof enough that you are loved beyond comprehension, Silver, then how about your freedom to feel unlimited joy, in spite of circumstances that surround you?

Big hug,
The Universe

©www.tut.com
Not to mention, Silver, maple syrup, turquoise, and butterflies.

I’m all about the maple syrup, turquoise, and butterflies. What brings you joy when the world looks dire?

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Wednesday Words: Hope Floats

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Silver James

Time just keeps floating away! And the more it floats on down the lazy river that is my life currently, the more I hope to get started on something soon. As you may have guessed, the #1lineWed prompt is **FLOAT**. This snippet is from an occastional WIP about two deputy sheriffs down in Cajun country–both of whom are Wolves. Beau and Luc tickle me pink so I should probably concentrate on getting their stories told. Thing is, their lives are so entertwined, I haven’t figured out how to split their book into two. Ah well. Enjoy this little peek into their world.
****
The two men stood back, attitude and posture both defensive. The little spitfire marched up and down the sidewalk, her long skirt swirling from the wind and her agitation. Sunflower Magnolia Bloomsbury had her mad on and they didn’t know whether to laugh or run. A gust of wind caught the bright-hued skirt, lifting the flower-imprinted fabric to float around her thighs.
Luc stiffened. His friend and partner, Beau, tilted his head to get a better look. At least until Luc jabbed him in the ribs with a sharp elbow.

“Can’t help myself, bro. Who knew that little thing had such long legs hidin’ under those weird skirts of hers.”

“Nobody’s getting up her skirts but me, asshole.”

Beau grinned so wide his dimples peeked out. “I figured. Now, what are we gonna do about this?” He gestured toward the still-fuming woman, who caught them watching. She marched up and halted in front of Luc. Even rocking up on her toes, as she was currently doing, put the five-foot nuthin’ woman’s eyes at about his chest.

“Are you going to tell me?”

He shook his head.

“Well, fine then. Keep your little secrets. I don’t care.” Sunny crossed her arms under her breasts, drawing the eyes of both men to her suddenly upgraded cleavage.

“Not exactly little,” Luc mumbled.

“No, they certainly aren’t,” Beau muttered back, which earned him a punch in the ribs this time.

“Stop starin’. And that’s not what she’s talkin’ about.” Nope. She certainly wasn’t. She was talking about something totally different. And there was nothin’ little about any of it. When they shifted into their wolves, there was nothing small about them. And the fact they—and their kind—existed at all was a huge, honkin’ secret.
****
Sunny lives next door to Luc. He’s rather dour. (I love that word!) As you can probably tell, she’s not. Beau, on the other hand, wear’s Cajun print Hawaiian-style shirts, ie. alligators and Tabasco bottles intead of surfers and flowers. I think I’ll reopen that project and see if I get inspired today. In the meantime, writers, any “float” words to share? And readers, what’s floating your boat today?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Espresso Hazelnut Beignets

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Silver James

I love beignets. They are yummy, sugary bites of heaven. And this hack seems really easy. I haven’t made this recipe but I’m tempted!

Prep Time: 25 Min.
Total Time: 25 Min.
Servings: 8

Enjoy bakery shop beignets from buttermilk biscuits in just minutes!

Ingredients
4 cups Canola Oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Southern Homestyle refrigerated Buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)
1/2 cup mocha cappuccino-flavored hazelnut spread

Steps1
1 – In 3-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil to 370°F. In shallow bowl or plate, mix sugar and espresso powder. Set aside.

2 – Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press each biscuit into 4-inch round. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mocha cappuccino hazelnut spread on each biscuit. Fold dough over filling; press edges to seal.

3 – Gently place 3 biscuits in hot oil. Cook 1 1/2 minutes or until deep golden brown. Using tongs, gently turn over. Cook 1 1/2 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Roll in sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining biscuits, cooking 2 or 3 at a time. Serve warm.

A friend pointed me in the direction of this recipe, noting that Sade would probably enjoy these goodies. I need to remember to check the PILLSBURY site more often! Click over to get more pictures and the nutritional details. Speaking of Sade, B.E. is right! Sade Marquis, the MC in the Penumbra Papers Urban Fantasy series, started her FBI career in New Orleans (THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC). The latest book, GHOSTS & THE ANCIENT STONES, ends with her and her vampire lover, Sinjen, back in New Orleans. This recipe is perfect. All the books are available from lots of different on-line retailers. You can click on the titles or the cover (which is one of my all-time favorites, FYI) to land on the universal link page on Books2Read. You can find your favorite store there! Beignets, anyone? *adds buttermilk bisuits and Nutella to grocery list because JIF doesn’t make the mocha cappucino hazelnut spread anymore.* 😦

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Just Another Monday

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Silver James

coffee-Monday happensToday is just a Monday. There’s nothing particularly special about it except it’s Monday and the beginning of a new work week. And as much as we grouse about Mondays, I suspect we might miss them if they didn’t show up each week. Think of the added chaos! But there’s always coffee. Right?

There was a week and a weekend. I didn’t do much though some stuff happened. Namely, as my FB friends know, my iPhone was lifted while I shopped at Wallyworld. The person who took it got away, though her picture is now in police files. And the associates and police were made of all kinds of awesome. I now have a replacement phone and am thoroughly convinced phone insurance is totally worth it. It was a first for me–never lost a phone, had one stolen, or got one broken. Ever. In like…30 years. Of course, I didn’t pay insurance for that long. That was a new development when we upgraded to the 11s in March. Knock wood we don’t need it again.

No writing to note. I gotta get on that this week. Iffy and my brain need to sync up. Reading (aka listening) was good. I finished my marathon of the Elder Races series and have moved on to the Moonshadow series, which is a spin-off. Excellent urban fantasy/fantasy/paranormal romance.

Baseball? Yeah, not going there. On the other hand, the OU Sooners came back through the losers bracket to take the WCWS/Softball National Championship! Yay. There was some awesome softball played and lots of records set.

For the next two and a half weeks, I’m a Storm Chaser–as in Stormy will be here and/or I’ll be chauffeuring him between stuffs. This week, he’s here 4 of 5 days. Next week, he has VBS and Snapology so lots of driving. S’all good. We enjoy the the little smarty-pants. Except he isn’t really that little anymore. He’s almost 4′ tall! He was in the 97-99 percentiles on all of his end-of-school tests, amazing considering how much of the year was spent virtually. Yeah, proud grandmother here.

That’s prety much my life. If I was motivated, I’d start clearing stuff in my office. I want to rearrange things but there’s a LOT of stuff that’s accumulated and when I moved into it, Only still had stuff here. That stuff is still here. Don’t ask. 🙄 I also need to do the pantry. If Iffy doesn’t cooperate soon, I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.

What’s up in your neck of the woods?

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Friday Sinema: It’s Not the Heat…

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Silver James

So. It’s Friday. At last. What a week! And Summer has arrived with a vengeance. Around here, the “actual” temp might only show 90, but with 94% humidity? Yeah…we’re under a heat alert. It really is a souther thing as you can see. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

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Thursday Thoughts: Universal Defense

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Silver James

So. I had a day yesterday. A really REALLY REALLY bad day. It started in Walmart. Someone took my iPhone. It’s a model that can’t be unlocked if it’s locked unless there’s facial or code confirmation. Jake and I spent a LOT of time at Walmart. And the AT&T store and with a nice young man later who delivered and helped set up my new phone. I’ll explain a bit more after you take in this very apropos message from the Universe:

There is no greater weapon, Silver, than kindness.

A smile, a compliment, encouragement and compassion belong in the arsenal of every Time-Space Adventurer.

Today, may you crush, kill and destroy the fears you encounter, in others and in yourself.

Yes, please, thank you –
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

En garde, Silver!

The associates at Walmart, from the nice gal in the back by the bathrooms who tried to call my phone and then got the assistant manager to check security, to that assistant manager who looked through all the security footage, to the off-duty female officer working security who checked all the trashcans inside and out of the entrances, were all amazingly kind and helpful. Two of the associates who man the checkout area I use and who always admire Jake came by a couple of times to check on me. Then there was the OCPD sergeant who came to take the report and get copies of the security footage. He apologized for taking so long to get there. I apologized for him having to respond to a low-priority call but I needed the report for my insurance because iPhone 11s are NOT cheap. Luckily, I did have insurance.

Not wanting to hassle with filing the insurance on-line, I drove across the street to the AT&T phone store. The gal there was awesome. She filed the report, got my sim card all set up so the new phone would activate automatically, and even arranged for the phone to be delivered by the insurance folks last evening. (There’s usually a 24-hour wait!) The young man from Asurion (AT&Ts insurance folks) arrived early and stayed until restoration was well-underway.

Do you see where this is going? The kindness of all these people–of all different colors, orientations, and heritages–turned my really REALLY REALLY bad day into a day that left me smiling. The person who took the phone and didn’t turn it in? She got nothing. You can’t unlock those phones so she got nothing out of it. I hope Karma catches up to her! And I hope Karma is kind to all the wonderful people who brightened my day and turned it around. Be kind today. Even if the only person you bump into is yourself. 

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Wednesday Words: Wave Goodbye

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Silver James

Wednesday has rolled aorund again. How does this keep happening? Seems like we just **WAVED** goodbye to Wednesday yesterday. As you can probably guess, today’s #1lineWed **THEME** is **WAVE**. I did some searching through my WIPs, now that GHOSTS is live–though I was tempted to check GHOSTS because I think there’s some waves there but instead, I thought I’d offer a fresh snippet. This one always touches my heart whenever I reread it.
****
“Maks.”

His name whispered in the dark, enticing him to follow the sound. He didn’t move. As long as he hid in the shadows, no one could find him. He didn’t breathe for a long time as he listened.

“Maksim.”

Her voice. Sultry. Tempting.

“Maksim!”

Her voice. Strident. Taunting.

Lover.

Mother.

Both had betrayed him. And they weren’t the only ones. He’d been delivered into his own personal hell.

The faces chased each other in and out of his memory. Beautiful. Ugly. Soothing. Horrifying. The memories blended together in the shadows of his mind until he could no longer separate them and he saw only an amalgam of their faces fused together.

“Maks.”

His voice. Mikhail. The one who’d found him. Who saved him so long ago. Who couldn’t save him now. No one could save him now.

“Come back, Maks.”

He didn’t want to. He had no place to go back to. It had all been destroyed. He’d been destroyed. Body. Soul. His brain…so fragile…like it was made of glass. If he opened his eyes, if he faced the world, he would shatter like crystal thrown against the wall. Better he stay in the Stygian depths of his madness. The voices had been silenced. Finally. Likely, his imagination had conjured them like a bitter fantasy of what could never be again. He was supposed to die.

Pain. So much pain. No. He would not remember. He would not talk, would not reveal the secrets he held. No matter what they did to him. They broke him like his body was a wave crashing on jagged rocks. Over and over but he remained true to his brothers. To the Vor. He’d kept the secrets, no matter what obscenities those others perpetrated on him. More pain. Bones breaking. Joints popping. Skin splitting. The blackness swallowed him whole, and he welcomed it.

Floating. A sea of shadowed mist. The pain held at bay by…something. A miracle maybe.
What was that sound? He listened. Considered. Skin brushing paper? Yes. Maybe. Was someone folding paper nearby?

“What are you doing, Katya?”

“Folding origami cranes, Uncle Misha. If I make one thousand cranes, my wish that Uncle Maks will wake up will come true.”

“Ah, Katya.”

He heard the heartbreak in Mikhail’s voice. In the child’s. Small hands patted his cheek. Sweet lips kissed his forehead. Then the sound of rustling paper once more.

“How many more, Katya, before your wish comes true?”

“Nine hundred and ninety-nine.”
****
I really need to get back to my Moonstruck Mafia Wolves. I have Irish, Italian, and Russian mobsters to choose from So many characters, so many stories. I should wave hello to the series. 😉 Writers, any wavy words to share? And readers, where do you prefer to catch your waves–at the beach or the lake?

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Tuesday Treats & Titles: Potted Herb Cheese

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Silver James

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a good dip. I’m also a fan of both cheddar and bleu cheese. This “potted” dip is easy peasy, tasty, and hits the spot. Also, you can make ahead!

Total Time: 2 Hr. 15 Min.
Prep Time: 15 Min.
Cook Time: 2 Hr.
Servings: 16 servings, 2 Tbsp. dip and 2 crackers each

Two kinds of cheese—cheddar and bleu—combine in this ultra-creamy cheese spread that’s a dream on crackers.

What You Need
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 pkg. (4.5 oz.) ATHENOS Crumbled Blue Cheese
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE’S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
stoned wheat crackers
**Please use alcohol responsibly.

Let’s Make It
1 – Mix all ingredients except crackers in food processor container; cover. Process until well blended.
2 – Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours for flavors to blend.
3 – Serve as a spread with crackers.

Kitchen Tips
Tip 1 – Size Wise: When eating appetizers at a social occasion, be mindful of eating so you savor the taste and are satisfied with one serving.

Tip 2 – Substitute: Substitute chopped fresh or frozen chives for the chopped parsley.

My Tip 1 – If, like me, you don’t have a bottle of sherry hiding in the pantry, here are some alternatives: The most similar will be other wines like dry vermouth (not sweet), or madeira—you can use equal amounts of these in place of dry sherry. Hard apple cider or dry white wine, also in equal amounts, and while they won’t bring quite the same depth of flavor, they add enough acid and fruity notes. A good non-alcoholic sub would be unfiltered apple cider. Remember: Because most recipes just call for a tablespoon or two of the stuff, the substitute won’t make or break the recipe.

My Tip 2 – Use whatever crackers you like. Personally, I like Parker House crackers and Pita Chips.

Also, if you can nibble on this by eating only two crackers, you’re a better dieter than I, Gunga Din. Just sayin’…

As always, CLICK to hit My Food & Family to get all the pertinent details. And since she just got back from Paris where there’s wonderful cheese and other goodies. Believe it or not, Sade, who is a notoriously failed cook, has made this. She even went out to buy a food processer just to make it. Me? I just use my mixer on high. Whatever. Anyway, y’all totally need to indulge in Sade’s latest round of adventures, GHOSTS & THE ANCIENT STONES. Personally, I think it has all the feels. And action. Magic. Lots of mayhem. And a black cat. What more could you want in an urban fantasy? Just click on the title or the cover to go to Books 2 Read to find a link to your favorite on-line book store. What kind of dips do y’all enjoy?

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Monday Once Again

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Silver James

Monday again coffee girlTechinically, this is the first Monday of June. Ah, June. The month of brides and bugs. It’s warm days and a little rain, green grass, more flowers. School’s out–thought there are still places that haven’t truly gone back to school yet. It’s family vacations and baseball (I do love the boys of summer). June’s a good month.

So, I had to brain last week and there wasn’t enough coffee in the world to help me do the braining I needed to do. That said, I got stuff done. GHOSTS & THE ANCIENT STONES released. And as soon as I get the print cover, I’ll have it ready to upload for print. I also got NIGHT WISH ready for print–as soon as I get the cover for it, too. Formatting for print is what takes massive braining. On that note, I at least now have templates for Penumbra Papers and the Nightriders for print versions. Progress. Now I need to get a newsletter out. Ah yes. A self-published author’s work is never done.

In sports news, I has a sad, as the LOL cats say. The OSU Cowboys are out of the NCAA Baseball tournament, and my Cowgirls are out of the Women’s College World Series. They put up a good fight but due to a weather delay it was like 2 a.m. on Sunday morning before their last game ended. Yes. I fell asleep. I did learn the final out came at 2.17 a.m.They didn’t go quietly, so there’s that. OU is…?? If I remember to come back and update this because I’m typing this on Sunday evening and there’s been another weather delay. The Alabama/Florida State game has to finish and then OU takes on James Madison for a slot in the finals, which are supposed to be played today. We won’t talk about my Cardinals. They’ve been hit with injuries and…well, their play is suffering a bit. Ah well. UPDATE on the WCWS: Florida State beat Alabama so there’s another “what if” game. And due to the weather, both the OU/JMU what-if and the Bama/Florida State games are moved to this afternoon with the final to be played on Tuesday. You know, if case there are any other softball fans out there. 😉

In reading news, I’m still meandering through the Elder Races series by Thea Harrison. I also read NIGHT WISH. There’s a really dumb reason. See above when I mention templates. They are copy and paste. I copy a chapter and then paste it into the template document at the beginning of that chapter. There’s all sorts of formatting involved. Anyway, I ended up with two Chapter 14s in the working print copy. And I had two Chapter 14s in the copy I’d used for the digital upload. I. Panicked! I realized I hadn’t bought a copy of the book–I usually do. So I bought a download. And I checked. Nope. Chapters 13, 14, and 15 were just fine. WTH?!? And then it hit me. I’d pasted when I should have copied. Oops. I fixed all copies but then I got sucked into NIGHT WISH. Dang, that book isn’t bad at all. 😉 Anyway…

Writing? Pffft. What’s that? Oh, yeah. It’s supposed to be my job. I haven’t decided what project is next I have two that need to get done. I’ll probably do the short novella for a Christmas anthology first. That way, it’s done. After that? We’ll see where inspiration takes me. I’m still reeling a bit from the intensity of writing GHOSTS, and the braining last week.

There was a weekend. It was filled with a siren test, lunch at our fave Mexican restaurant with the Kids, and softball. And naps. Had a really long and  much needed nap on Saturday after consuming all that wonderful food. We all need a weekend like that occasionally, right? Sunday was piddling and laundry. No nap. Ah well.

TV? Sports, baby. That’s it. Maybe I’ll catch up on the ol’ DVR later this week. In the meantime, that’s pretty much my life at the moment. I’m going to get another cup of coffee and maybe sit outside and enjoy the early morning birds. Anything good (or bad 😦 ) happen to you this week or weekend?

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Friday Sinema: Soundtrack

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Silver James

So. I did a thing. Okay, I’ve done lots of things but this is a new thing. Previously, I set up a playlist thingy in Spotify and posted it on the Penumbra Papers playlist page here on the site. This time around, I did something a little more…portable. I did a “mix list” on YouTube. You can click and listen to all the songs back-to-back. While you’re reading or just relaxing. Happy Firday. I’m taking the weeknd off. Siren test, Mexican food with the family, and more softball! Have a good one, whatever your plans.

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