by Christine | Life, Observations
I didn’t have photos the last time I talked about the garden, but now I do. So here, first off, is the genius door in my garden. On the left is a pink jasmine, which blooms once a year, briefly. On the right is a star jasmine, which pretty much blooms in spring and all summer.
Tom's genius idea in place. Gorgeous!
Right behind the gate, on the other side, is the beginning of my basil dynasty. On the left, sweet basil. In the middle, Thai basil. And on the right (which you can’t see in this photo) varigated perennial basil. I’ll believe it when I see it – the perennial part, I mean.
Here’s my beets and bell peppers bed.
To the right is a pot of mint; in the bed behind this one is a blackberry (marion) climbing up the wire fencing, and strawberries planted in front of it.
The next photo is taken from an extreme corner of my back yard, trying to get as much of the scope of the garden as possible.
To the left is one of the Meyer lemon trees. Straight in front are four small artichoke plants and three bigger ones. Moving to the right is a Bearss Lime tree – and beyond that, more artichokes. (The gate gets lost in this photo.) The beet and bell pepper bed, shown above, is to the right of the trash can. Behind me is another lemon tree and some squash seedlings.
Onion bed, with bee balm (small) in each front corner. Mint is to the left, Johnny Jump Ups and Buddha to the right, more strawberries and a boysenberry behind, with white sage in the pot behind the pot with the Johnny Jump Ups.
Below: My (unweeded) rose garden, showcasing the new bedroom window…
and…the rose garden, tamed through Tom’s diligent weeding work. With some brilliant shadows on the wall, thanks to the annular eclipse today.
Hope you enjoyed the trip through the garden. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll post more as things develop!
~~~
DEMON SOUL is out now…BLOOD DREAMS, a Caine Brothers Short Story available June 1st. DEMON HUNT coming this summer!
by Christine | Life, Observations, Writing
Or maybe I should call this post Sixes and Sevens? I’m be-bothered and out of sorts and ill-at-ease and put your catch-phrase here.
- Thanks to kansaswatercolor.com for the image.
(I’m somewhere there – right there, in the middle of the painting. Or maybe in the upper right side…or down left, toward the bottom…)
There’s no one reason for it, really, and a million tiny reasons for it. A bummer for me is that wine – red wine, as far as I can tell – now severely disrupts my sleep, to the point that I’m not waking at 5am to write because I’ve tossed and turned from 1am to 3am. Which means I need to cut back on my red wine intake, which in turn makes me get pouty-face – and trust me, I am not attractive in pouty-face. But…I don’t know about the wine part of the blog, which makes me even MORE pouty-face.
Then I’ve got something physical going on in my female parts – to where I feel ugly-pregnant. Annoying and irritating, especially when the doc says “well, you’re so close to menopause, you should just wait it out…” Grr. I like my doc, but grr. I go see a female gynocologist this Friday, so will know more then. But at least I had a CT scan a couple weeks ago, and all my other organs are peachy keen and in good health. (Now there was a “fun” way to lose an entire day. Sheesh.)
In case you've never had one - this is what the CT machine looks like.
Add in two boys who don’t yet have jobs, three partials I want to complete and polish up, another partial I need to finish so I can send it off to a couple agents, being stalled in my exercising, wanting to shed at LEAST 20 pounds, and having the typical crazy day at the day job I like and … well, it makes me feel betwixt and between.
Crankypants.
On the positive side? I sent out two partials as requested to an agent on Saturday, for books that are complete, and I found I really enjoyed working with those two books. Hadn’t read them in a couple years at this point.
A week ago, we got brand new windows on the house – and it’s cooler, quieter, and more secure – I LOVE my new windows! Plus it ups the value of the house, always a good thing.
Another positive thing, my oldest son now has his driver’s license, and my younger son is now learning. (21 & 18) Ever since they stopped teaching driver’s ed in the high schools here in California, the average teenage driver age has gone up. And up. A good thing, over all, but still – it’s nice that my kids are finally spreading their wings a bit.
BLOOD DREAMS, my short story set in the Caine Brothers world, releases on June 1st and I’ve got help with a book release promo on that day, so that’ll be fun. I’ve seen my cover for DEMON HUNT and can’t WAIT to show it to everyone – it’s fantastic! AND, I got a cover blurb for that book by NY Times Bestselling Author MAGGIE SHAYNE! So, yeah…lotsa good happening. Plus I’m working on Book 3 of the series.
Another, huge positive – Tom and I are closer than ever. That whole “you complete me” thing? It’s real. It’s more real now than it was 35 years ago, and it just keeps getting better. That, my friends, is scary-good.
Another positive is the garden. Tom’s worked so hard – and so have the boys. We have five original veggie planting beds, and Tom’s added nine more. We’ve decided using the back yard for growing stuff is more interesting than having grass (because our grass is mostly weeds).
We’re growing: cucumber, watermelon, potatoes, zucchini, crook-neck squash, beets, bell peppers, tons of onions, garlic, spinach, cilantro, 5 different kinds of basil, sunflowers, sage (both green and white), italian flat-leaf parsley and curly parsley, thyme, red lettuce from seed, dark green lettuce from seed (not yet seedlings), corn from seed, peas from seed; 3 different kinds of strawberries, black berries and boysenberries; on the bank, we’ve got 11 artichoke plants (6 of which are bearing artichokes this year; the other 5 are too young), two lime trees, two meyer lemon trees, two different orange trees, an apple tree, and pots of tomatoes? Glad you asked! We’ve got 8 pots of tomatoes, plus 4 heirloom tomatoes in the ground. Oh, and two pomegranate trees that aren’t big enough to have fruit on them yet (they’re barely 2 feet tall). Of the seeds not yet planted, bush snow peas, and celery, and I still have some sunflower seeds to plant…
Wow. Big grin. Mentally feeling much better – what a lovely garden (in it’s raggedy way)! I must post pictures. The really fun part of the new beds? Tom carted out this huge, terrific metal doorway that was a prop in a store I used to work for. I got to keep it…and now it’s solid in our garden, with jasmine growing up the sides and a hanging pot of petunias and alyssum in the center…when the jasmine grows up and over, it’ll be pure heaven!
Physically? I still feel blech. But at least, when I get home I’ll be able to sit in the garden with hubby, drink some bland and boring sparkling water, and enjoy all the growing things around me. Maybe I’ll even take pictures.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’re having a wonderful un-crankypants day!
by Christine | Life, Observations
thanks to soulofaword.com for the photo
I’ve about had it with Mom Jeans, or whatever other moniker has been put on those denim (or denim-knit) jean-like pants that every woman over 40 who’s had babies reluctantly tries on and inevitably buys because nothing else even remotely fits.
(Note: I tried to find a photo of Mom Jeans, and what I saw horrified me so much that I felt I couldn’t subject my readers to such photos. You’re on your own! Enjoy the flowers.)
I used to work in retail. I know jeans, especially Mom Jeans (though of course, we didn’t call them that in the store I worked for). You know the ones – they hold your tummy in while cutting you off at the waist. Or, the zipper is two inches long, the waistband is now hugging your bladder (which has dropped and is protruding due to those darling monsters you call children), and your belly fat slops over the top of the jean. They’ve changed the zipper only because they’re trying to lure in the 30-something women who normally don’t shop in the boutique stores but who do wear almost mons-baring jeans. (They’re still shopping in Forever 21. No, seriously.)
When you do get a pair of jeans that makes you look somewhat the way you did 30 years ago, they stretch. Slowly, insidiously, until wearing them the third day, you’re tugging them up over your ass every five minutes so you don’t look like a gang-banger with your undies showing. (Because you don’t think the people on the street need to know you still enjoy wearing thong underwear even though you’re over 50/not skinny anymore. Yes, thong underwear DOES come in large sizes, thankyouverymuch.)
Where was I? Oh yeah. So, in order to get these jeans to fit correctly, you have to get them a size smaller. Doesn’t matter what size you REALLY are – because the boutique stores’ sizes are all fucked up anyway. You climb into the size-smaller pair of jeans, suck in your stomach, blow out all the air of your lungs, stand on tiptoe, and TUG LIKE HELL to get the zipper up. Once you do, and after hastily dropping your somewhat-billowy shirt down to cover the fat rolls poking over the top, you do a fanny check.
Niiice. Not airbrushed, no spanx, but your fanny looks smooth. Firm. The jeans slim your legs down (or, if you’re on the thin side, make them look shapely), are long enough to wear a slight heel on those days you feel daring, yet won’t drag too horribly when you wear flats.
So you can’t breathe. Get over it, you’ll be able to breathe in two or three hours. And just think, in three days, your waistband won’t be hugging your asscheeks because they stretched too much, so you get more wearability with less washing (depending on how dirty your typical jeans-wearing activies are, of course).
You think, ah. Jeans Nirvana. After several hours in several different stores, you finally – FINALLY – find the right pair. After checking out the price tag (GULP – over a hundred bucks?!!), you reluctantly put the second pair back. Or, conversely, you buy a second pair, rationalizing that they never go on sale so may as well bite the bullet while you’ve still got room on your credit card and while you still fit into this ridiculous size that isn’t really your size but woo, it’s a small number.
Everything seems to be going well – until you’re wearing them for the first time in your real world day. Stressed, late for work, too much to carry – you go to shove your cell into one pocket and your small travel coffee cup into another pocket so you can get everything to the car in one trip. But the pockets? They’re not big enough for your HAND, much less your cell phone. While the beloved jeans of your youth had pockets that went deep, and could handle that coffee cup, these jeans don’t.
Oh Mr. Levi, or Mr. Wrangler, or heck, the Gap – can one of you PLEASE come up with a Mom Jean that makes me slim, beautiful, eliminates the rolls of fat, has nice deep pockets but doesn’t look strange from the front, and will also shove my bladder back where it belongs, permanently?
I’d so spend a hundred bucks for a pair of jeans like that.
~ ~ ~
DEMON SOUL is out – have you read it yet? DEMON HUNT coming this summer!
by Christine | Life, Observations
I’m seeing a lot of posts about this topic lately. How kindness and consideration for others seems to have gone by the wayside. Why is that, do you think? Is it because we’re so inward focused? The “Me Generation” overly concerned with getting “their fair share”? I even saw somewhere that, politically, kindness is considered “weakness”. Um, EXCUSE ME?!!! And that helping those less fortunate than ourselves is a political quagmire and politicians should stay away from it. Uh, WHAT THE HECK? (Sorry. Backing away now from the politics.)
Thanks to journeyetc.com for the photo
I find rudeness and lack of courtesy everywhere. On the freeway, where other drivers speed up to prevent you from changing lanes in front of them. In grocery stores, where carts bump into you and the “drivers” of those carts glare, as if you’d jumped in front of them and forced them to hit you. In sports – bounty, anyone? Rudeness on the internet is big business, as well.
Bloggers will slam something – whether it be a book, a political figure (okay, that’s too easy), a TV show, a movie or their neighborhood – and it will go viral. Others will get on the slam-wagon and write things in a blog comment they would never say to someone’s face. That blogger will then get their 15 minutes of blog fame, which was most likely their total intent. But will it last? (Does it ever last?)
Where’s the love? Where’s the joy?
Since I started commuting to work again, I have gone out of my way to do an experiment. I used to be a Type A driver when I commuted, 12 or so years ago – swearing and honking and speeding and tailgating and damn the consequences. I found out a few months ago that I don’t react well to that any more – it makes me angry and my stomach gets tied up in knots. So now, I go out of my way to be kind.
I make sure now to leave a lot of room between me and the car in front of me, so other cars
Thanks to flowerstore.com for the photo
can merge onto the freeway. I put fun music on, not the news – news makes me tense. Country music or hard-driving rock n’ roll will allow me to relax. I’ve been doing this for 7 months, and I find I can enjoy my drive home now.
This experiment has bled into other areas of my life. I let people go in front of me at the grocery store when they only have a couple of items, and I’ve got a full basket. I smile at people I accidently bump into – or almost bump into – and usually get a smile back. I hold doors open at my local coffee shop for men or women with kids and two or three drinks to juggle.
Chores that my boys usually do, I’ll do every now and then to lighten their load. I try to corral my shoes and put them in my closet, rather than sprinkle them all over the house. I pay bills when no one else is around, so I can whimper in private and not disturb anyone. I make breakfasts for whomever is up, and I do my best to make dinner every night – cooking and feeding my family is one of my ways of showing my love. Most of the home stuff is second nature, but every now and then I have to really concentrate on being kind.
It’s not much to ask, really. We can never know the circumstances of someone else’s life; what they’re going through, whether good or bad. We’re all in basically the same boat, after all. Say please and thank you, especially to those you love. Give a smile, a few extra car lengths in front of you, stop to let someone cross the street. It’s not much and yet, it can mean a lot to a complete stranger.
I have one story that illustrates this vividly. It happened to me about ten years ago; I was newly-laid off during the whole dot com bust, and the hubby had taken a day job down in Santa Monica. I had the time, was in the area, so I parked and was going to meet him for lunch.
I wasn’t anything special – I think I was wearing jeans, a tee shirt, maybe a blazer. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze – it was a beautiful autumn day and I was going to see my beloved husband. I guess I was smiling.
I was in the Wilshire Boulevard crosswalk when I noticed a man a half-block north of me. He was staring at me; as I crossed the street, he walked toward me, picking up his pace. I had just turned to go up the steps of my husband’s office building, when he stopped me.
“Excuse me, I don’t mean to bother you.” He looked me in the eyes – an attractive man in his late 30s, business attire -and he said, “But I just had to tell you – you are a beautiful woman.” Then he hurried on his way.
Now, cold reflection says he probably thought I was someone else; but his statement that day made me feel like a beautiful woman. He didn’t have to say it; he could easily have just gone past me without a word. But he took the time to make me – a complete stranger – feel like a million bucks. I absolutely floated the rest of the day, and the memory of that encounter is crystal clear. (I’m interesting – I have “good energy” – but I am Not Beautiful in the classical sense and never have been. And I’m okay with that!)
Being kind should be second nature. It isn’t. How much would the world (or at least our own little corner of it) improve, if we all started being kind? (I am talking about deliberate acts of kindness, not random ones.) I’m certainly not perfect; but I am trying, very hard, to change my ways. Kindness, and with my eyes open (on the one hand, I tend to be overly suspicious; on the other hand, I get sucked in very easily).
What act of kindness impacted your life, that you remember to this day? I’d really love to hear them! Hugs, everyone – hugs!
A couple bloggers that go out of their way to help those around them: check out Jennifer Louden at Dispatches of Love & Insight; and Susannah Conway’s Blog . I’m new to Susannah, but I’m loving what I see.
Coming up this Friday – wine reviews – New Zealand, Italy and South Africa!
by Christine | Cooking, Life, Wine Friday
The news lately is depressing. Red meat kills you faster than anyone had thought (Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, March 13, 2012). You’re not supposed to drink coffee prior to donating blood, as coffee lowers your iron count. (This is new!)
According to heart surgeon Dr. Dwight Lundell, our years of eating highly processed carbohydrates and the excess consumption of omega 6 vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, and sunflower oil is the #1 major cause of heart disease, and not cholesterol (Sott.net, March 1, 2012). Here’s a quote from the Sott article: “Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped. ” It’s a fascinating article, and I highly recommend you read all of it.
PANIC TIME All this news, though, has caused me to panic in the kitchen. I enjoy making bread, and feeding steak and smashed potatoes to my boys. But at the same time, I want my family to stay healthy. What’s an omnivore who has no interest in changing her stripes to do?
I reached for a bottle of wine, natch!
Starborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Marlborough, New Zealand Alcohol 13% by volume. Regularly $12.84 at Vons; on 30% off special for $8.99. (DON’T get me started on that phony $12.84 pricing.)
On the Label: “New Zealand’s South Island is home to the Marlborough wine growing region, known for its natural beauty and some of the world’s finest Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough’s favourable climate and diverse geography develop wines with a unique character, making them as flavourful as they are refreshing.
“Our Sauvignon Blanc delivers all of the refreshing citrus aromas and lively acidity that characterizes the Marlborough region. Our goal is to take the Starborough experience even further; with a layered testure and long, crisp finish that truly epitomizes the character of New Zealand itself.”
My Take: I liked this wine a lot. I’d come home from work and was in a bit of a panic about dinner; found a healthy recipe and scooted off to the store. Found this wine – and felt my panic recede a bit. The wine was crisp, clean, and yet had a hint of sweetness. Refreshing and very easy to drink. After my first sip, I felt panic slip away and I began to cook.
My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ I think I may just start buying NZ Sauvignon Blancs when I’m in an S. Blancish mood.
Recipe: Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms via MyRecipes.com
This recipe is one of my favorites – I didn’t list it here, because I didn’t create it, but do 
check it out. Grilled mushrooms, chopped tomato, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil and mozzarella cheese – what’s not to love?
Ahhh…I was sipping wine though, remember. And I was a bit panicked about life and eating. So where the recipe called for 2/3 cup of chopped tomato, I tossed in three chopped tomatoes. And where the recipe called for 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella, I threw in a pound. (Oh, a handful at a time – but by the time I was done, the whole 16 oz bag had gone in. Whoops!)
The only bad thing was, I had made enough filling for twelve portobellos, instead of four. Sigh. If any of us had remembered to put up the extra, it would have made terrific topping for pizza! I did follow the rest of the recipe to the letter – grilling, basting, filling, and melting – and the mushrooms turned out spectacular (by far my favorite way to have them).
I paired this with a lovely chopped salad of bell pepper, zucchini, cucumber, spring onions, feta, three different types of lettuce (butter, red, and some crinkly artisanal lettuce), fresh basil, fresh parsley, and shredded carrot; squeezed one Meyer lemon over it all and added a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, and mixed the heck out of it all. Tasted wonderful (and there were leftovers for lunch the next day).
On to the next bottle! After a full day of gardening, I came inside and opened another NZ bottle of wine…
thanks to http://www.wine.com
Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Marlborough, New Zealand Alcohol 13% by Volume – on sale for $8.99 at Vons
On the Label: “Oyster Bay captures the special character of New Zealand’s cool climate viticulture…elegant, assertive wines with glorious fruit flavors.”
My Take: Nice and brief label – love it. I enjoyed this wine, too…it had a slightly more acidic flavor to it, which held up beautifully when paired with a robust chicken/mushroom soup I made and doctored the family with this past week.
My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ Honestly, I was very pleased with the quality of both these wines. I will go out of my way to search for more New Zealand wines – hopefully I can find some yummy reds, too!
Well, that’s it for this week. Do you have any recommendations for wine under $10? I’m always looking for new ones to try! Remember the ratings are based on my taste buds (and sometimes those of my hubby), and will be influenced by how much the media has managed to panic me that week, how much gardening I’ve done, and the phase of the moon. Your taste buds will be different.
Thanks for dropping by – and remember to Drink Responsibly!
by Christine | Life, Writing
Okay, so last week I whined about being Alone in the Publishing Wilderness. As a writer, I didn’t want to have to do everything (marketing, blogging, facebook/twitter/etcetera) all the time (I still don’t). And I got a lot of response from others feeling pressured, and overwhelmed, by all that goes with publishing. As I’m ramping up for the release this year of my second novel, I’d really like to get this whole writer-marketer thing down to where I’m comfortable with it.
In the past week, I’ve learned five important lessons about the publishing world, and myself, that I thought I’d share.
1. I don’t want to be a publishing dinosaur. As much as I’d love to hide in my cave and just write, I tried that. Didn’t work. (Well…I got a lot written, but slowly – it was the beginning of my career, what can I say? I didn’t work HARD enough.) Now I’ve got a day job, learning new stuff – I can and will learn the new publishing stuff, too. It’ll keep me nimble, lol.
2. Reading others’ blog posts informs me, broadens my horizons, and gives me a few chuckles. The mere act of reading someone else’s thoughts gives me more opportunity to empathize (or get angry on behalf of – depending), strengthening the human connection. Gives me food for thought and conversation with the family and the boss. (Good conversation is RARE!!!) Plus anyone that provides belly laughs is my friend for life. And you never know where the germ of a story idea will come from.
3. I am not Alone – I am a Modern Author/Warrior. Kristen Lamb’s latest post finally explains it to me to where it’s palatable. I’m really looking forward to the nify armor! Plus she and the other MyWANA teams totally rock, and I keep forgetting to keep them at the front of my mind. If you’ve noticed the #MyWANA hashtag, or all the derivatives, but haven’t understood it, see her video for a full explanation here.
4. More Blogging is a Good Thing. Just like More Cowbell (my new favorite blog). I enjoy blogging, I like talking about wines and recipes and every now and then, my writing. Kristen Lamb tells us to set aside time to do our blog posts in advance and schedule them accordingly…well, yeah, okay, I can work on getting organized. (Kristen also says that if we make our bed every day, that it will eventually lead to a clean house. Haven’t noticed that one working yet…)
Maybe I’ll start having guest posts once a week. Takes some pressure off, you know? Plus, after reading this fascinating article about 12 blogging mistakes from the guys at SEO MOZ, Irealized that perhaps search engine optimization IS something I need to learn.
5. Content is Still King. Whether you’re writing a novel, short story, blog post or grocery list, content is still king. The only thing that’s better than strong, solid content is LOTS of it. (Hence more blog posts. And the masked guy in the corner, fingering his whip every time I stop typing on my latest manuscript, lol.) I read Bob Mayer’s post this week on the secret handshake of successful digital publishing – and it restored my faith in content.
Other places to go for more inspiration:
Bob Mayer’s post on Platform, Product, Promotion is something every writer needs to read.
JA Konrath provides thought-provoking tidbits on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, and his latest post is one of my favorites.
Piper Bayard and her partner, Holmes, always have interesting (and funny) stuff to pass on to us real people. Love this post on the Guinea Pig Diaries!
On a General Writing Note: I LOVE Savvy Authors. It’s a free site (they also have a paid site) and the posts are always informative, no matter where you are in your writing career.
So, that’s what I’ve learned this past week. What are some of your favorite blogs to visit for inspiration, or a chuckle? I’d love to know! Please feel free to include the link in your comment so I can check them out!
