Tag: meal

Thursday & productivity

I woke up with the determination to finish the chapter I’m working on. It’s taking TOO long. I started with water and a brunch board so I could eat while I read what I have so far.


Cheese crisps, hummus, celery and carrot sticks, Genoa salami, and mild cheddar cheese. With water.


Little emblems nearby to inspire me. These would make sense if you could read the chapter.

A pause here to discuss music. I began this chapter last month, and the next artist was Stevie Nicks. Up front, let me say that I still enjoy Stevie Nicks’s music, but this became a bit of overkill.


Stevie Nicks: 3 CD “Enchanted” box set; “The Other Side of the Mirror”; “Street Angel”; “In Your Dreams”; “Trouble in Shangri La”; “Time Space: The Best of Stevie Nicks.” These don’t include the Stevie I have on vinyl.

I realized Stevie was actually dragging my keyboard around, so there were times I didn’t listen to music at all while I wrote in May. I finally completed the Stevie playlist with relief. I did light her candle with my day’s intentions so she’d still feel like a part of things. The Notorious RBG wasn’t judging me, so neither should you, when I moved on.


Nirvana: “Unplugged In New York”; One Republic, “Human”; Oasis: “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” I have so much One Republic I could have listened to if I’d wanted to blue tooth my iTunes, but it was bedtime, I was tired, and no, I didn’t finish the chapter.


But I made good progress, so that’s a win, and I didn’t even stop to color so I could plot, though I did have these recent acquisitions at the ready. Coloring will definitely happen on pages from these, because they show a number of style and fashion icons and brands, including MY FAVORITE BEATLE. My favorite Beatle is not my musician character’s favorite Beatle, but I understand why and am okay with that. HIS favorite Beatle’s Wings song is included in this chapter. It’s closer to the end than I am.


Note to Lynne: I watch this video with a huge lump in my throat so please remember and watch it when you’re reading the road chapters in Book 6 (so close to being finished!).

Little flashback

Back in March, the day before my birthday, Tom and I had several errands to run. In and among them, we were in stores where I was looking for a bowl that pours. Lynne has one, and back in the Nineties, when I’d bake a lot of cakes for her to decorate, I never used her fancy mixers. I just wanted a hand mixer and a good bowl, because I’m old school that way. (Also, I once broke one of her good mixing bowls, and after that, I preferred using her plastic pouring bowl.)

We weren’t having any success, but our errands took us through our old ‘hood, where one of the shopping centers in Montrose has a Sur La Table. I was having no luck finding a bowl there, either, but Tom spotted one. I liked it immediately, and only after we took it to the counter did we find out it was on sale. SCORE!


A batter bowl, they call it, and porcelain, not plastic, but exactly the size I was looking for. I really like the style, and I’ve used it three times already. Today, I used it to make a birthday cake for Rhonda. The fourth is her birthday (“May the fourth be with her!”), but we’ll be celebrating it tomorrow night. Can’t wait for us all to be together to have some sheer enjoyment after a challenging week.

Midweek and Macbeth

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…”

Part of a passage from Macbeth that I had to memorize in twelfth grade and can still recite from memory. It kept crossing my mind today. I’ve had a brutal week for insomnia, and last night was the worst. So that by this evening, when I cooked dinner, I was on a frustrated version of autopilot, and it didn’t help that I was trying a new recipe for the entrée and also a different way to cook my side dish.

The meal turned out well, despite it all.

I have never really understood the intricacies of my current phone’s camera, but this shot makes me feel like I’m either very tall or a bird equipped with a tracking camera. (I hope I’m a crow or a raven.) The entrée was a pasta dish with kale cooked with caramelized onions, garlic, and diced tomatoes, then mixed with al dente whole wheat spaghetti and topped with toasted walnuts and parmesan cheese. The side dish was eggplant. Added a tossed garden salad and a piece of toasted garlic bread.

Sadly, though everything tasted good, I was so tired that I ate only a small portion of the pasta, a couple of slices of eggplant, and about a third of my piece of bread, though I forced myself to finish my salad. There will be tasty leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Afterward, Tom cleaned up the kitchen, and I took a long shower, then lay very still listening to music and thinking about my work in progress. Now I’ve taken medication (over the counter; nothing exciting) and hope to get a full night’s rest. Tune in tomorrow for more about Macbeth and to see whether I slept or if I’ve become a full-on zombie.

Button Sunday

Pay no attention to that silly button. With few exceptions, I like eating vegetables.

April 23 is National Asparagus Day. Asparagus is full of vitamins and minerals, rich in antioxidants, and high in protein and fiber. What’s not to love?


I just happen to have fresh asparagus. Some of this will be part of Sunday night’s dinner. =)


P.S. I know I’ve shared this collection on here before, but Portrait: The Music of Dan Fogelberg is the four-disk collection I’ve been listening to while I write. VERY little writing because it hurts my eyes to look at the computer too much. I’ve found that by not straining too much, I can watch TV. So over the past two or three weeks, Tom and I finally caught up to the paused Season 5 of “Yellowstone” (it resumes in the summer) and watched the second season of “Bridgerton.” I’m glad we waited on “Bridgerton” so that I wouldn’t still be thinking of intrigues and characters from the first season. Ultimately, this one was satisfying, as evidenced by the way we watched the last four shows at two a night because I NEEDED TO KNOW how things would be resolved!

As promised…


Here are the ingredients for Thursday’s fantastic salad. I’ve shared this on here many years ago. It was taught to me by my college roommates (I love seeing my recipe card written in Debbie’s handwriting). The closest salad that might be familiar to some people is tabbouleh, also spelled tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah, but this one I make was taught to me as sof-sof (also sometimes spelled sufsoof). Parsley (that will be wrapped in leaves of iceberg lettuce and chopped), lemon juice, a tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper to taste, cracked wheat (soaked for at least an hour; you’d find it in most grocery stores as bulgur wheat), and tomatoes and green onions. It is truly one of the most refreshing salads you can eat. Though I guess it’s a little labor intensive with the chopping, the scent of parsley being pulled from the stem is divine.

Ready to serve.

Served it up tonight with some long grain and wild rice and baked salmon.

Bonus: Using the lemon peels to grate lemon zest for future use.

imitation is…

We are trying to eat healthier on a more regular basis. This was part of my pandemic goal for myself, and I’m probably a little more devoted to it than Tom has been. But he’s on board now, so last week, I created a salad that closely mimics my favorite chef’s salad from my favorite Houston eatery, Barnaby’s.


Ingredients common to Barnaby’s and my creation are: lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, green onions, chopped boiled egg, leftover slices from a ham I’d baked, fresh chicken nuggets I cooked, bacon I fried and crumbled, and grated cheese. One of Barnaby’s toppings I didn’t include is croutons (we each had a dinner roll), but our toppings were chopped walnuts, pecans, and sunflower seeds. Had some fresh fruit on the side.

Nothing beats Barnaby’s salad dressing, but I had a small container left from a recent to-go order, so I was set. Tasty!

Tomorrow, a different favorite salad.

Music and dogs

Friday’s writing required a lot of research. In terms of setting, it’s much easier for me to make up a town, and if I use actual places, for those to be places I know or at least have visited. Throwing my characters into places across the US and Europe–and Australia, for that matter–where I’ve never been is an interesting challenge. I know I can’t possibly get it all right, particularly when it includes decades before I was born. But I want to get it as right as I can and seek accuracy from others when I complete this saga.

Sometimes I’d like to listen to that inner voice that whispers, WHY does it matter? Who’s going to care? Who’s even going to read it? But listening to that inner voice makes me wonder why I’m doing any of this, and the wiser part of me knows it’s because I have to. Or I choose to have to. This iteration of stories about these characters has provided something for me since 2019, and at (almost) six books in, I wouldn’t be giving up something I don’t like doing or am tired of. I’d be giving up something I love.

Here’s the music that played while this mental stew of quit/neverquit bubbled, spilled over, made messes, got a few more ingredients and water from my tears added, and kept trying to escape a cauldron I call “1974.”


The Grass Roots, Let’s Live For Today; Greatest Hits, Volume One; Greatest Hits, Volume Two; and Anthology 1965-1975, two disks; Green Day, Insomniac (I have no idea where this came from); and Greta Van Fleet, From The Fires and The Battle At Garden’s Gate.

For those who have zero interest in my tunes-to-write-to, here are some other photos. Because if you have a soul, you either love dogs or you love photos of them.


Eva and Delta in front of the fire. Amusing for them to be together, as they consider themselves competition for the crown.


Delta. Always so much to think about.


Jack and Delta. Those faces. It must have been closing in on dinner time, the way they are watching me.


I envy Anime’s ability to sleep in a variety of places and positions all over the Hall.

Since I’m putting this post together in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I’ll try to follow her example and sleep.

Happy Saturday!

ETA: Much later Saturday morning, after seven hours of sleep, a shower, outside dog time, and mopping the library floor, I’m back at work, tunes ready for playing, with my brunch sitting next to me. Since my muse characters are gathered in London (at the Savoy–swanky!), I chose my Abbey Road cup for my coffee today.

Cup gift of Timmy and Paul from a London trip they took.

Tiny Tuesday!

Yesterday, I got my best writing done before noon, without any music, because I had to stay laser-focused since I knew I had to leave the house at twelve. By the time I got home mid-afternoon, I was tired and drained*, though I did work a little bit more in the evening before I had to call it a night.

So this morning, I took a suggestion from the book that launched Tiny Tuesdays in the first place.

It wasn’t quite as glorious as it looks with the Instagram filter, and it was more brunch than breakfast (because I have to wait at least an hour to eat or have any dairy products after my first meds of the day, I usually forget to eat and end up doubling up breakfast/lunch, then have a snack mid-afternoon to tide me over until dinner). One egg that was supposed to be over-easy, but I broke the yolk so ended up scrambling it, a mini bagel with cream cheese, a small apple, two strips of bacon (halved so I could fit them in my favorite small frying pan), with coffee, water, and a wee glass of orange juice.

This is the music from yesterday. I have more Fleetwood Mac, but there were a lot of repeats found on the CDs I’d previously listened to, so I finally moved on to the “G”s. Who’s up next, I wonder? (For part of it, my timing is perfect, because Tom is working in the office today. He wasn’t at all excited about maybe having to hear one of my favorite bands from my early teens. He doesn’t mind when my iTunes shuffles them in an occasional song at a time, but entire CDs in one sitting are a nope for him. 😂)


Fleetwood Mac, Behind the Mask and The Dance; Peter Gabriel, US.

ETA: *I’d forgotten to put a note about one reason I was drained. Too much news. I get so exhausted by our national news when I see news from other parts of the world–like southern Turkey and northern Syria right now, dealing with the devastation and loss of life from earthquakes. So many parts of the world have to cope with those things when they are already reeling from humanitarian crises. Here, we have so much and often give so much, at home and abroad, but we behave so deplorably toward one another within our borders. Even bringing these things up publicly, one runs the risk of accusations of performative politics, being “woke,” being a sheep and a “libtard.” If that’s what compassion and hope and the occasional plea for awareness, kindness, and education are, I reckon I’m guilty.

Tiny Tuesday!

After a bad night’s sleep that’s absolutely not Anime’s fault, though she is the reason (she’s fine! no worries!), I was mostly a slug when I woke up. Debby had bought a store-made quiche from Whole Foods and brought over a couple of slices for Tom and me to have as breakfast today. It was delicious noonish with a salad I had left over from last night. But it wasn’t a lot of food, and about four, I got peckish. It wasn’t a picnic kind of day (writing schedule, state of outdoors, etc.), but I decided I wanted to create a sense of “treat yourself” using a picnic for one.


Right to left, those are some delicious seedless grapes, pita crackers, Old Wisconsin turkey sausage bites, and a chocolate-covered cherry. After I shot this photo and began to eat, I realized it wasn’t a picnic for one at all.

I used a small wooden board that was either part of some gift basket received in the past or an employee gift exchange package at one of my former workplaces. As I filled it, I thought of work friends from Christmases past.

I put the board on a cotton Ekelund Weavers mat which was a gift from Sweden sent by my friend/sister of the heart/college roommate Debbie sometime in the 1990s. Beautifully woven and titled “Long Dogs,” it’s been tucked away in a cabinet for years. I wonder why we put cherished items away to save for a special occasion and then forget them. Today, I reminded myself that every day is a special occasion, especially when things conjure up people you love who love you, too.

The grapes and pita crackers came from Sprouts, where Debby had asked me a couple of months ago to take her the next time I went (she’d never shopped there). She loves fresh produce, as do I, and theirs is organic and aesthetically pleasing, so we made a trip there this week.

The turkey sausage bites came from a gift pack that included several meats and cheeses sent to Tom by one of his sisters for his birthday. The chocolate-covered cherry means I finally opened the box of them that Tom gave me at Christmas, a yearly offering he took over from my mother after she died.

My “solo” picnic was filled with other people and lots of memories. Tiny moments, tiny treats, can loom large in adding happiness to our days.