I’ve been thinking a lot about Scotland lately.
We will be hosting the 2nd Annual Scotch-tasting dinner next month and I will be hunting for authentic Scottish recipes again this year.
I’m giving some thought to scallop pie.
thanks to disneyfoodblog.com
I also wonder if I will have time to sew a kilt for Banjo Man.
thanks to the i.dailymail.co.uk
Some of you know what a fan of River Monsters I am. I could watch it every night. Sometimes I do, if Banjo Man isn’t home. There’s nothing better than heating up a bowl of Thai curry bean soup and watching an episode of “Cold Blooded Killer” or “Alaskan Horror”.
One of my favorite episodes is “The Mutilator”, about a river monster who likes to bite off “certain parts of the male anatomy”, as host and extreme angler Jeremy Wade so delicately phrases it. Just to be clear: I don’t think it’s enjoyable to watch those reenactments or to think about those poor men walking around with no dangly bits. The best part of the show is when Jeremy Wade talks to the village chief for more information about this mysterious fish and Jeremy is so polite, so careful with his wording about the “certain parts of the male anatomy” and the chief looks at him and nods, and says, very seriously (village chiefs never smile), “Oh, we call him the Ball Cutter!”
And Jeremy Wade struggles to keep a straight face.
Okay, back to Scotland.
Get a fresh cup of coffee and click here for the most beautiful fishing pictures I’ve ever seen.
No, of course I’m not zipping through the revisions. It’s torture, plain and simple. Two-thirds of the manuscript must be picked over, rewritten, resorted, organized, blah, blah, blah…I’m so tired of my own whining.
When I get a break, I buy zippers at Walmart.
Yes, I buy zippers. In pretty colors. All different colors.
This is because I bought a pattern on Etsy last November. I had big plans to sew up Christmas gifts. Each gift required two zippers of the same color, to match whatever fabrics I chose for said gift and its lining.
I made one of them. Which was a HUGE accomplishment, because the darn thing was not easy to make. I ripped out a lot of stitches. A LOT OF STITCHES. I felt like an idiot. In fact, I felt just the way I did when I was flunking 8th grade Home Ec and Mrs. Dykstra made me rip out the armhole facings of my green and gold Hawaiian beach-dress-in-progress.
She made me rip it out three times. I loved that dress, though. But I didn’t love Mrs. Dykstra.
She thought I had deliberately placed the gold moon (rising over the dark emerald ocean) in the center of my right breast. Why she thought I had the skill and foresight to do that is still a mystery. Seriously, Mrs. D? You thought I figured that out ahead of time???
So I am working all hours, day and night, to finish this stupid book, this stupid book which I hate with a passion. But sometimes I look at my zippers and know that I will be sewing again soon. These are my little zippy carrots-on-a-stick, so to speak.
I love them. I think they look happy on my desk.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
This quote has been tacked up on a wall next to my computer (and typewriter, even!) for over thirty years.
I have to read it a lot.
It’s my kick-in-the-butt quote.
What’s yours?
well, i keep trying to post something, but it won’t stick. the quote is about “persistence” and now I have to give up…at least for today.
irony, much?
i wonder if this will post.
Roll Tide!
Don’t look now, but I think the gal on the right is Mandolin Ann!
*photo from Malaysian Times*
photo from amazon.com
I bought 6 of these at TJMaxx before Christmas. Last night I baked brownies in them, and the little suckers are just as cute as they look in the picture. I’m spending Saturday night with “the writers” in Massachusetts–24 hours of brainstorming, food and giggles—and four of these will be going with me. Sharon is going to provide ice cream and chocolate sauce.
To counteract the unhealthy brownies, I’m also bringing gluten-free, sugar-free, blueberry cake bowls to fill with non-fat yogurt for breakfast Sunday morning.
Recipes and photos to follow on Monday!
Okay, that’s enough winter now. It’s 20 degrees and somewhere tonight in Rhode Island it will be 0.
In other words, last weekend’s snow isn’t going anywhere.
I’m staying home and rewriting 200 pages of my book this week, so the blog is going to be a little bit quiet.
This morning I couldn’t resist taking some pictures from the back door, though. Sun on snow is a pretty sight, despite the temperature.
Happy New Year, friends. Stay warm.
Happy New Year!
Here’s what I bought myself for the winter: a blues fiddle dvd! Daily lessons right here in my office! Okay, maybe it won’t be as much fun as Tuesday mornings in Sandpoint with Doug, Dancing Mandolin Player, Mandolin Ann and Retired Mountain Lady, but at least I’ll be learning some much-needed new techniques and keeping the callouses on my fingers.
So, bring it on, 2013! Bring on higher gas prices, the fiscal cliff, nasty taxes, the flu, more pork from our idiots in Congress, weight gain, white hair, new glasses, high cholesterol, low blood sugar, airport delays, recessions and skim milk.
I can handle it. Cuz I got da blues.
Fourth of July
Glen the Banjo Man
LIVE at the Dump
is there any more pie? 