Wallyworld today because Friday is a holiday and there will be lots of people stocking up for the long weekend. That said, they might be there today for the same reason but I go early during their “quiet time”. Jake and I can usually get through in decent time, provided we don’t bump into a lot of the associates who love Jake. If that happens, we stop for pets. Anyway, it’s Thursday. And and the Universe has thoughts. This one has been languishing in my files for a while. I came across it and yeah. I’d saved it with a note and I’m posting it became it’s still true. My note: Because this made me laugh the first time I read it. And it made me laugh again. So here ya go…
What if, Silver…
Every “no” meant “not yet”?
Every loss meant “even more is on the way”?
And every disappointment meant “pucker up, buttercup”?
I always thought the saying was “Suck it up, buttercup.” And…uhm… Pucker up doesn’t always mean get ready for a kiss. I mean, y’all have heard about the “pucker factor,” yeah? 😆
Hello, Wednesday, my old friend, I’ve come with words once again. And once again, I have a random scene but…caveat! I know where it fits in even if it isn’t an exact follow-on or prelude. The good news is: Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I won Thursday Threads last week. Here’s what the judge had to say: The quiet secrecy of the tale was what drew me in. There is an interesting backstory regarding Sade that makes the reader want to continue to the next phase or scene. Last time Sade was here was when she was four but it felt very familiar to her even with all of the years that passed. Great intrigue and tone, I loved the tale from start to finish. Thank you for entering this into the challenge. The prompt is: *”Never been there before.*” I don’t think it will be too spoilery to mention that Sade and Aisling will visit.
**** “The Seelie Court?”
“Never been there before.”
Sade shrugged. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
Aisling blinked owlishly behind her glasses. “You can’t be serious.”
“As serious as a heart attack. I’m tired of this sh—” She bit back the curse and substituted with, “these shenanigans. I want answers. Since Titania is less than forthcoming, time to beard the king in his castle.”
“Oberon has a beard?”
“What?” Sade stared at the other woman.
“Why do you keep using trite metaphors?”
Sade rolled her eyes skyward and muttered, “Lord, save me from the librarians and English teachers of the world.” Focusing back on Aisling, she said, “You’re a nice girl and I’m trying not to cuss.”
“Why would you cuss?”
“Because beating people is frowned upon by my boss. And Sinjen thinks I should be more…”
“Refined?”
She burst into laughter. “That’s a lost cause. He’d settle for civilized.” Sade started walking.
Aisling hurried to fall in beside her. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Vaguely.”
“So you’ve been there before.”
“I have. It’s been a while, though.”
“How long is a while?”
Hesitating, Sade finally replied. “I was four the last time I was here and a gargoyle made sure I got home.”
Aisling stopped dead in her tracks, mouth open, eyes wide. “Four? A gargoyle?”
“It’s a long, boring story.”
“But it might have relevance.”
“Fine. My mother was a showgirl in Vegas. She told Oberon I was his kid. Titania wasn’t happy.”
“Are you?
“No.” But Sade was beginning to wonder about Aisling’s parentage. ****
There it is. Writers, hope the prompt inspires. Readers, I hope you’re still enjoying the snippets. Everybody stay cool!
Summer has dug her fingernails in and is acting like the hag she can be this time of year. Who wants to heat up the kitchen, right? Hence, here’s a chill treat. Do you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? Love peanut clusters? Yeah, me too! And this pie hits all the right buttons for those cravings. Plus, this recipe is so easy, even Hannah could make it. Sadly, she doesn’t have the patience to wait the time needed between making and eating. That’s the one drawback. That said, this treat is soooo worth the wait!
FOR THE FILLING 1 cup heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted and divided into one 1/2 and 1/4 cup 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 cup creamy peanut butter 4 oz cream cheese softened
FOR THE TOPPING 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped 1/4 cup roasted peanuts chopped; for garnish
Let’s Make It FOR THE FILLING 1. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks have formed. Add the ½ cup sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl.
2. In the same mixer bowl (no need to wash it), with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and remaining ¼ cup of confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
3. At a low speed, beat a ⅓ of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture until incorporated.
4. Transfer the whipped peanut butter mixture into the prepared chocolate cookie pie shell. Gently smooth the mixture into an even layer with a spatula. Refrigerate the pie, uncovered, for 1 hour.
FOR THE TOPPING 1. Save this step until the pie is chilled. Go have a cup of coffee and read a book for an hour. Then come back.
2. Place the chocolate pieces, or chocolate chips, into a small bowl.
3. In a small saucepan, bring the ½ cup of heavy whipping cream to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once boiling, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pour the boiling cream over the chopped chocolate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for one minute. Remove the plastic wrap and whisk until a smooth chocolate ganache forms.
4. Pour the chocolate ganache over the chilled peanut butter pie. Using a spatula, gently smooth the ganache until all of the peanut butter filling has been covered.
5. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts along the outer rim of the pie. Chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours before slicing.
6. Store the pie in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
First, this pie is really yummy and easy to put together. The hard part is waiting for it to chill in the fridge before adding the topping and then serving and eating. Also, the recipe says 10 servings. Yeah, that would be skinny pieces for for like super models. The kids and the Hard Target team members do like them some PB& C (Peanut Butter ane Chocolate). Meg found this recipe and gave it a try because Dalton introduced Max to PB&J sandwiches and Tank sneaks Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to Mariska. I’m tellin’ y’all, the guys are really bad influences and probably shouldn’t be around kids. Just sayin’… Anyway, I keep hoping sales will pick up if I keep boring people with my books. That and I need to write faster to get the new book out. Should I mention that I’m sharing this CROSSFIRE graphic as a tease? I’m such a sucky marketer. Anyway, you know the drill. Click on the pics or the title to head over to Books2Read to find your preferred on-line bookseller. And if you try the pie, I hope you enjoy it.
I’m just now discovering this because I had a slight accident with my morning protein shake. I won’t bore you with the details. Just suffice it to say that from now on, I will consume coffee BEFORE the protein shake, despite what my nutritionist advises. She obviously does NOT drink coffee.
Life was mostly boring. We had some storms–too much wind not enough rain. It’s hot. I think I killed the geranium I’ve had for over 20 years. That’s what I get for paying attention to it. I did a little writing. I listened to some great books. More about them later.
Various versions of this list has been around for a long time. I stole it from a sister Okie on X. I will confirm that everything on the list is true. Mostly. It is also true that we Okies are not afraid to make fun of ourselves. On the other hand, we do take our culture seriously. I mean, like no straw cowboy hats or white shoes/boots before Easter. And you must ditch the white shoes after Labor Day. Felt hats come out around Halloween. Thems the rules. I didn’t make them up. Have a great weekend!
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later how to use it.
Just because you can drive on snow and ice does not mean we can. Just stay home the two days of the year it snows.
If you do run your car into a ditch, don’t panic. Four men in the cab of a four wheel drive with a 12-pack of beer and a tow chain will be along shortly. Don’t try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.
Don’t be surprised to find movie rentals & bait in the same store.
Remember: “Y’all” is singular. “All y’all” is plural. “All y’all’s” is plural possessive.
Get used to hearing “You ain’t from around here, are you?”
If you are yelling at the person driving 15 mph in a 55 mph zone, directly in the middle of the road, remember, many folks learned to drive on a model of vehicle known as John Deere, and this is the proper speed and lane position for that vehicle.
If you hear a redneck say, “Hey, y’all, watch this!” Stay out of his way, these are likely his last words ever.
Get used to the phrase “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”. And the collateral phrase “You call this hot? Wait’ll August.”
There are no delis. Don’t ask.
In conversation, never put your hand on a man’s shoulder when making a point, especially in a bar.
Chili is a main course, a side dish, and a condiment.
Brisket is not ‘cooked’ in an oven.
Don’t tell us how you did it up there. Nobody cares.
If you think it’s too hot, don’t worry. It’ll cool down-in December.
We do TOO have 4 Seasons: December, January, February, and Summer.
A Mercedes-Benz is not a status symbol, a Chevy, Dodge, or Ford is.
If someone tells you “Don’t worry, those peppers aren’t hot” you can be certain they are.
If you fail to heed my warning in #18 above, be sure to have a bowl of guacamole handy. Water won’t do it.
Rocky Mountain oysters are NOT oysters. Don’t ask.
If someone says they’re “fixin” to do something, that doesn’t mean anything’s broken.
Don’t even think of ordering a strawberry daiquiri. What you really mean to say is ‘Margarita.’
If you don’t understand our passion for college and high school football just keep your mouth shut.
The value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but the availability of shade.
If you see a slower moving vehicle on a two lane road pull onto the shoulder that is called “courtesy” so you speed demons can pass safely.
BBQ is a food group. It does NOT mean grilling burgers and hot dogs outdoors.
No matter what you’ve seen on TV, line dancing is not a popular weekend pastime.
After Wednesday, the week just seems to slide downhill. This was esepcially true when I worked in the real world. Weekends meant something then. Well, they still mean something but its a different something. Anyway. That brings us to today. Thursday. And that means thoughts. Sometimes I don’t want to brain. Sometimes I just want things to be easy. And sometimes I get lucky and the Universe drops something into my inbox that just fits the bill. The following is a little tip and reminder for all of us. And let’s face it…we can ALL use a lot more joy in our lives.
Here’s a tip, Silver, on how to bring absolute joy into your life faster than it may otherwise arrive:
Every day, in some small way, even secretly if you like, look for a chance to help someone else.
Who’s already ready for a nap? Yeah, me too. Maybe later. In the meantime, I have coffee. And that is always a joyful event in my life. And y’all. Dropping by each day. Thank you for the joy you bring. I hope I can reciprocate.
It’s that time of the week again. And I luckily have new words. Since I’m still trying to incorporate all the random scenes into some semblance of order, I’m trying hard to not create more random scenes when I take the Thursday Threads challenge. This is the second week where I was able to expand (sort of) a previous scene. Yay me! Luckily, the prompt fit well with a series of events and fit in nicely with one of the previous snippets. All I can tell you is that the Four Monsterteers (aka The Scooby Gang) are beneath the city on a hunt. Here’s the prompt: *”At least not at this level.”*
**** The four men walked single file, Sinjen still leading. He paused when the tunnel branched. The others huddled behind him.
Caleb sniffed the air, sneezed and rubbed at his nose. “Not that way.” He waved vaguely at the right-hand branch.
Nikos stepped forward and peered into the darkness. His eyes flashed silver and he backed up. “I agree. Not that way.”
“Why not?” Ariel dodged out of the dragon’s path. “It looks no different—”
“How can you not feel it?” that from Nikos.
“I can smell it.” The werewolf reared its head in Caleb’s terse declaration. “That’s some bad juju down that way.”
Sinjen took three step that direction, paused, his entire body on alert. After a long moment, he backed up and walked three steps into the left-hand tunnel.” He shook his head. “She’s not here, at least not at this level.” His vampire senses were on high alert yet he could tell nothing. “Magic,” he spat. “There is some sort of spell masking her presence.”
“But you are sure you felt her when we came through the door?” Ariel hoped his fear didn’t leak into his voice. Aisling would be with Sade and he could not yet admit his feelings.
The vampire eyed him. “Can you not feel the magic, Fae? Can you not control it?”
Ariel shook his head. “No. It is wild. It…”
“It hunts.” Dragon and werewolf spoke simultaneously.
“Yes,” Sinjen agreed. “It is time to turn the tables. We are the hunters now.” ****
Do you think the “Boys” will find what they are looking for? Writers, enjoy the prompt if it sparks your imagination. Readers, are you claustraphoic? *bwahaha*
Sometimes, a writer or a reader just needs to kick back with a big cup of coffee (or glass of milk) and a plate of warm cookies. This is Only’s favorite cookie. They come out huge and soft, as long as you don’t overbake them.
Giant Snickerdoodles
Dry Ingredients: 4 1/2 cup Flour 2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt
In bowl, stir dry ingredients together.
Wet Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup Crisco 2 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel 1 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup sugar & 2 tablespoon for coating)
In large bowl, beat Crisco with mixer on medium-to-high for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until mixed, scraping sides. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in vanilla and lemon.
Alternate adding buttermilk and dry ingredients, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Cover bowl and chill at least 4 hours. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Use a 1/4 cup measure or a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop. (Lightly coat scoop with non-stick spray to help prevent dough from sticking.) Scoop dough, roll in sugar/cinnamon mix to coat. Place 3″ apart on cookie sheet. Gently press cookie to 1/2″ thickness. Bake in preheated 375° for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are a light gold. Transfer to rack to cool. Makes about 24.
This sounds like a lot of work, but trust me, the cookies are well worth the effort!
Tip: You don’t want to overbake, but don’t underbake either. Underbaked cookies crumble. Just sayin’. The way to avoid this is to pretty much “precisely” measure the dough into “balls.” I use a rounded Kitchen Aid brand 1/4 cup measuring cup and don’t overfill it This results in almost perfect 4″ cookies perfectly baked (in my old oven it takes a bit longer). I also use a thin metal spatula to move them from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
I don’t remember where I found this recipe but I’ve used it for years. There’s a sandwich shop chain here that makes giant cookies and Only always wanted to eat there–not for the sandwiches but for the giant cookies, and yes, especially the snickerdoodles. At some point, I tumbled across this recipe, gaved it a try and it became a treasured staple–even to the point that I make them for Stormy’s school auctions each fall. I’m featuring MOON SHOT as this week’s title because I can easily picture heaped platters of these cookies at every gathering of the Wolves, their mates and the kids. Click on either picture with the cover or the title and you’ll be whisked off to Books2Read where you can find your fave on-line bookseller. After all the secrecy, betrayal, running, and fighting, they finally find their place in this book and there’s nothing like a platter of warm snickerdoodles to say “Welcome home.” What food says that to you?
There’s always someone who is a morning person. My mother was one of those. She she woke up, she wanted the whole house to wake up with her. She’d bang doors, pans in the kitchen, whatever would make noise. Dad would just ignore her until he was good and ready to get up. I wasn’t so lucky. I have this unfortunate tendancy to stay awake once I’m awake. Don’t get me wrong, as a teen and in college, I could sleep in on weekends like a champ! Unless something woke me up early.
The James Gang gathered Saturday evening to celebrate fathers, uncles, birthdays, mothers, and just family in general. We met at a favorite BBQ joint early because we’re quite the crew–six adults (one in a wheelchair), one pre-teen, and two massive dogs. Luckily, we beat the crowd, had the back room pretty much to ourselves, and enjoyed visiting. The food was good, the dogs were good, USA and OU both won.
Y’all probably heard that I fired last week. Between the biopsy report on Jake (the grown on his tail was cancerous) and my Friday fall, the week mostly sucked. Jake seems to feel fine, his tail is healing from the amputation, and we are alert to any signs of reoccurence. The vet is hoping that by taking most of the tail, the cancer won’t spread. Then I tripped and went down hard on concrete in the doorway between our Florida room and the garage. I did bleed a lot for a bit and my head is still tender. My poor left knee hates me. I have no blue why I keep listing to the left when I fall but the last three times have all been on that side. *sigh* This week will be better or else!
I’m making a little headway on catching up to my Goodreads reading challenge. I’m 13 books behind schedule on reaching my goal. I finished off the 3rd book in Ilona Andrews’ Edge series, FATE’S EDGE, and I’m about halfway through the last book, STEEL’S EDGE I finished off Andre Norton’s WEB OF THE WITCH WORLD. It was her Witch World series that whetted my appetitie for both SciFi and Fantasy when I was a kid. Next up is Nathan Lowell’s THE WIZARD’S BUTLER. It’s a relisten becauese the next book, THE WIZARD’S CAT, just dropped. It’s a fun almost cozy paranormal/urban fantasy with a very likeable MC who has not a drop of magic.
I did manage a negligible bit a writing but hey, something is better than nothing, right? I keep thinking I should pull out one or more of my “shelved” books that are finished for all intents and purposes but I never got ready for publishing for various reasons and putting them out there just so I have something new published. It’s something I’m toying with. No decisions. One part of me says I should finish Ariel’s Damn Book first, then get one or more of the others ready while it’s being beta read/edited/etc. Decisions, decisions. Nothing concrete decided.
It’s not as hot today but it’s muggy with a chance of rain. It was mostly hot and really muggy over the weekend. One of our weather gurus calls this kind of weather “mugly.” I tend to agree. Lots of the state got copious amounts of rain. We didn’t get a drop. There’s a 70% chance of rain today, which means we probably won’t get any. Trust me, I wish it would rain buckets. We need it!
No plans for this week beyond the usual duties and promises to myself to work on the dang WIP. On that note, I need coffee, the dogs want in, and I’m really wishing I could go back to bed. On a happier note, yesterday was the Summer Solstice, which is longest daylight day of the year. I admit I’m rather fond of the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes when light and dark are perfectly balanced. But that’s just me. Have a great week, everyone.
My garden statue Nessie was mentioned earlier this week and I let it drop that she had a long story. Some old-timers might remember but that goes back years and years. So, because this has been one of those weeks and I’m feeling both a little sad and nostalgic yet hopeful, here’s the storied tale of Nessie.
The first pic was taken yesterday on a grey, cloudy day. The last picture was taken back in 2020 after a heavy snow. Nessie didn’t always have lights. In the beginning, it was just Nessie. It all started way back when. Only was playing travel league softball. We were in Arkansas for a tournament and driving down the hightway, we saw a roadside…well…garden statuary store. We stopped because they had a giant Nessie (aka a sea serpent aka the Loch Ness Monster) out front. By giant, I mean the head was as tall as me and I was 5’7″ at the time. I fell in love. Thing is, we weren’t in a truck, it was a long way from home so shipping would be a pain, and then we asked the price. That place was pretty darn proud of their cement. We got in the SUV and headed off.
I stated on the look out for another Nessie. I found one in a catalog but then discovered it was barely a foot tall. Cute if I was putting it into a landscaped back garden with flowerbeds and paths and the like. Fut my heart was set on a Nessie that would make a statement!
A couple of years later, I was headed to the airport and took a weird way due to an accident on the highway. That route took me by a local statuary place. I almost had a wreck because I was staring at all the items they’d set out. Seems the car in front of me was also staring and had hit their brakes. I hit mine just in time to leave a little rubber but no kissing of bumpers. I dropped off some stuff at the airport fire department and came home the same way. Yes, I stopped. Yes, I asked the price. And yes, I called Lawyer Guy to see if he could leave work and meet me there. He could and did. Money exchanged hands, there was much huffing and puffing as we loaded that first Nessie into his truck, followed by more once we got home.
Back then, Nessie had a head, one hump, and a tail. She also didn’t have lights, except at Christmas time. She’s had red, green, blue, and multi-twinkles. Every Christmas. The little kids loved her and some would sneak into the island so their parent could take a picture. It was all good. One year, I even put a wreath around her neck. Life in the driveway island was good for Nessie. For several years. And then…high school.
Only hit high school age and there were kids in the neighborhood. Boy-type kids. One post-Halloween day (like the morning after), we awoke to a Nessie who’d lost her head. The hump and tail remained but the head was gone. The window in Only’s bedroom (which is now my office) looks out over the driveway and island. Sadly, she was spending the night with friends after a party so nobody heard or saw anything. We had our suspicions but couldn’t prove anything. I did fill out a police report.
Sadly, the stuatury shop had no more Nessies. I told them my tale of woe and they promised to see if they could find a replacement. Then the place went out of business. About a year later, I noticed the store had reopened. I stopped in right as they were unloading a truck that had just arrived from a supplier they had in Mexico. I saw a tail. I saw a hump. And then I saw a head. NESSIE! I asked if I could by the head and explained why. I got a nope but they would give me a deal if I bought a whole Nessie. Hey, thought I. TWO HUMPS! And…two tails, which would look ridiculas. Still, I made the deal, called LG, and we now had a two-hump Nessie. Having learned, LG drilled a hole in her base, “cemented” in a big eye bolt, attached 1000 lb test oilfield chain and secured the chain around the oak tree with a padlock. I added the lights, to be left on her permanently so that anyone messing with her would be visible.
Our tale is about to come to an end. “What of the second tail?” you ask. At the time, one of our neighbors had two Dachshunds who dearly loved our big goofs. The weiners would dig under the fence to come play. We finally buried the tail “under” the fence that was their favorite place to dig. The couple eventually sold their house and moved off with the weinies and while I haven’t checked lately, that tail is still buried in the back yard. Some day, years from now, somebody will get a head-scratching surprise.
Oh, one last note. Someone did attempt to steal Nessie’s head a year or so after her revival. That oilfield chain worked like a charm. Have a great weekend, all. And Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.
Silver James 