N is for NOSE KNOWS WHAT TONGUE TASTES

 

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.


It is difficult to describe the pleasure I derived from writing the poetry that ultimately became a little book: ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING. I believe my participation in years of April A to Z Challenge prepared me to "stick with it" until I wrote and edited all 70 poems. This light-hearted poem reflects our unique ability to absorb emotions.

#30

Sensing Anticipation 

She sees

Crust, a crispy shell dimpled

by miniature bubbles.

Like fragile lava, hardened

 

She tastes

Lemon filling, with scrapings

from the rind.

Tangy and mouth-watering

 

She touches

Eggs, whipped while adding

sugar to the mix.

Scooped atop the filling

 

She inhales

Meringue, toasted light

until peaks curl and brown.

Experience a mother’s love

 

Mom always had little tricks for making foods taste a bit more special. She added small amounts of sugar to her pots of chili. She grated lemon rind and added it to her lemon pie filling to give it that extra tanginess. The back of my mouth waters just thinking about the flavor of her lemon pies.

Her meringue always came out with perfectly browned and curled peaks. I guess all of her desserts seemed perfect to me. The only “tale” we ever heard as kids was the one about the chocolate pudding. 

Dad loved to tell the story about when they were newly married. Mom attempted to make chocolate pudding for him. He said it ended up the texture of tanned horse-hide. He always got the “faux air slap” gesture for telling the tale, but I think Mom enjoyed having him tell it. She had no inadequacies in her role as homemaker. 

While Dad served in the Army during World War II, she ran the household and took care of three small children. Rosie the Riveter, doing her patriotic duty in the factory while her man protected the country’s freedom, had nothing on my mother. Housewives kept “home fires” burning during that time. When the men returned home to their families, they found strong, independent women waiting for them. 

Images of “Leave It To Beaver” moms and “I Love Lucy” wives were as much a joke to these women as to the men. 

 

 Where's the coffee?

L is for LAKE MICHIGAN #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

L is for LAKE MICHIGAN

The prevailing wisdom for writers is to “write what you know.” I was born and raised in a small town which extends seven miles into Lake Michigan and is known as “the coolest spot in Wisconsin.” The reflection of sun and moonlight on the pristine waters was visible from the long expanse of beaches along the state’s eastern shore. From the lake’s depths, fishermen pulled an endless supply of fish that had populated this Great Lake since its formation during the glacial age. 

What simple pleasures we enjoyed in our youth at the lake, building sand castles and drifting with lapping waves, devouring concession stand hot dogs for lunch, and contending with hot sand between the toes. 

 

My first swimming lesson, many, many years ago!

Thanks, Dad.

Such experiences are the fodder for enticing stories and voluptuous poetry. Reliving these times is a way to savor The Fun in Writing. Innocent memories, of course, are distorted by the adult writer’s mind after consuming too much caffeine. Lapping waves become treacherous tides. Moonlight over the water reflects instead the sinister flash of a gun. 

Imagination is a gift all humans should cultivate, along with a side of humor. And there’s nothing wrong with serving up a helping of fun with that caffeine, be it from coffee or chocolate.

 

HELP YOURSELF!

 

 

 

H is for HARD WINTER & HOT COCOA

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at
illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write.
Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

Two of the poems I wrote for Another New Beginning focused on the cold weather in Wisconsin. Often times, thoughts of winter bring pleasant thoughts of ice skating, hockey, and skiing. Those are memories of fun times. In this first poem, though, not so much:

28

A Hard Winter
 

Drag himself out of a warm sleep

Dress fast

Ice forming psychedelic shapes on window panes. 

Rush down the stairs,

through his parents’ bedroom to

the bathroom for his turn to wash and brush. 

Milk and hot oatmeal at the kitchen table

Mom pours orange juice, smiles encouragement

until the engine cranks outside. 

Over the chugging sounds, Dad calls,

“Get a move on Danny,” adding his mantra,

“The mail won’t wait.” 

At the post office

gather satchels of letters and cardboard boxes

filled with the route’s daily deliveries. 

Up and down country roads,

Slide envelopes into mailboxes, or tromp

through snow delivering packages to front doors. 

The old Ford with chained wheels

like a German tank; so cold, the bones ache.

Shivering to keep warm. Hot cocoa on his mind.

 

Grampa Baugniet worked for the hometown post office all his life. He had this fantastic car for delivering the mail, probably built in the 1930s. He modified it with a full set of chains, like an army tank, so he could plow through the heavy Wisconsin snowfalls.

 

I remember a picture of us kids standing on a snowbank that reached to the telephone wires. Snowplowing continually added to the bank’s height. But long winters kept the snow frozen in place for months.

 

During the time I was doing most of my family genealogy research, my father told me about how he helped his dad on the mail route. When I suggested it must have been fun, he said, “No, it was hard work. And in the winter time, it was very cold.”

 

In a town that extended seven miles into Lake Michigan, you can imagine the wind chill coming off the lake. That’s why it was easy to imagine my father having hot cocoa on his mind!

 

 

**********

 

29

Hot Cocoa

 

Skating at the ice rink across from

the high school or the pond in our own

backyard. Swing forward, weave back, slice

left or right.

Race, glide, tiptoes, edges.

 

Into the warming house when fingers

grow numb. Thick mittens removed for

a brisk rub of the arms, stomping blades on

bare concrete, thinking

of whipped cream topping as frozen toes thaw. 

 

Return outside quick before body heat

makes you adjust to the cold all–over–again.

Play ice tag with three school mates. Then home,

tired, feet sore, stomach growling;

smiling, in anticipation. 

 

 

When I wrote the linking poetry, I wasn’t aware of my strong focus on sports. No surprise, though. We didn’t have videos, iPhones, or e-readers to occupy us. (I’m making up for it now!) We would never have considered watching television after school. Other than meal time, we seldom spent daylight hours inside the house unless the weather was bad.

As a young grade-schooler, ice skating at the rink across from the high school was a big deal. Part of the appeal was that I could walk to the candy store up the street. One day, I removed my skates and put my shoes back on, then hiked down to the store. Visions of penny candy danced in my head.

At the store, I tried to open the front door but it was stuck. I must have made quite a racket trying to get that door open because the candy store owner finally came and opened it for me. He lived up above the store. It was Sunday. The store was closed!

He let me come in to make my penny candy purchase, then locked up again as I climbed down the porch steps. I've always thought he’d been kind to do that for me.

 

 

G is for GULLIBLE MISTRESS



For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.



G is for GULLIBLE MISTRESS

When it comes to the reading part of writing, I don't need encouragement. My latest hobby, begun after my third kindle stopped working and before I purchased yet another one, is to hunt for interesting trade books (those between hard covers and paperbacks) at used book sales. One such book is THE MISTRESS OF ALDERLEY by Robert Barnard.

 

As the survey says, I do buy these books by the attraction of their covers. Whoever designed this cover had a great eye for marketing. The fanciful, curly red M of Mistress immediately caught my eye, and sold me on the book.

 

"Sold" may not be the appropriate word, though. I found the novel in the book tent at this year's annual Carnival for Punahou School (the POTUS's alma mater in Honolulu.) 

Apparently, the school doesn't like to pack away the left-overs. On the afternoon of closing day, when I approached the counter with my stack of eight chosen books, I learned they were giving the books away for the price of a plastic carry-all bag (25 cents.)

 

Anyone who loves a surprise bargain knows that this was just plain fun for me. But if you want to know why I entitled this A to Z Challenge post "Gullible Mistress", then you'll have to read the novel.

 

 

Photos of the Punahou School grounds on Carnival weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like rain, but it held off until evening.

 

 

 

 



F is for FISH FRY AND FLAMES #AtoZChallenge





For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

 

F is for FISH FRY AND FLAMES

 

 

 

Memories that stick with me from my early years in Wisconsin are the traditional fish fry and the flaming fires under black kettles at fish boils. In the northern peninsula of Door County, the local establishments have taken fish boils to an art form. When the heat is turned up and the boiling water overflows, a resounding and collective roar fills the air.

When I returned to Wisconsin to research my fourth novel, I made a point of heading over to the Vet’s Club in Two Rivers for one of their fabulous Friday fish plates. Nothing beats fresh perch, straight from the lake to the fry pan. Of course, that’s when tap beer tastes best. (It is also one of the fun parts of researching a new novel!)   

My friend Sharon
with the Vet's Club bartender

 

If your first images of Wisconsin are Holstein cows and cheddar cheese curds, then here is a fun experiment to help you enjoy what the state is famous for, cheese:

Arrange a large handful of curds on a plate, set them in the microwave on medium heat

for about 30 seconds (keep an eye and ear out for when they begin to melt and sizzle.)

Once the cheese goes oozy, remove from the microwave and enjoy the amazing flavor.

 

Wisconsin, the Dairy State:

famous for

Holstein Cows

and

Cheese Curds

 

 

 

D is for DEADLY SINS #AtoZChallenge

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.

D is for Deadly Sins

When authors entertain me from cover to cover, this solidifies my belief that the art of writing is fun. Every writer knows to balance reading with writing. How easy that goal is to meet with books that are fun to read - from cover to cover; books like Six And A Half Deadly Sins.

 

Six And A Half Deadly Sins by author Colin Cotterill is a Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery set in Laos. When I learned that Mr. Cotterill was invited to be a guest speaker at the 2017 Left Coast Crime Conference in Honolulu (another event where you can have fun being a writer), I looked for his books at the main library on King Street. How lucky of me to have found this book, one of my “fun-est” reads of the year.

Dr. Siri Paiboun’s witticisms make him a loveable character who never becomes overbearing or boring. The novel's humor is subtle, woven into the fabric of the story. It creeps up on you with a quick punch while the action continues to move forward, leaving you to catch up.

 

Retired coroner Siri and his wife are the quintessential happily-married couple; their love undying. When the doctor receives a mysterious package containing a handwoven skirt, known as a “pha sin” with a human finger sewn into the hem, it sends them on a scavenger hunt of clues around the countryside of Northern Laos.

 

Adventure within the pages, the historical narrative, clever clues, and dangers encountered along the way make this a unique mystery. Another Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery will be available on August 2, 2016, I Shot the Buddha. With a fun title like that, how can I resist?

 

 

 

C is for CHILI, WISCONSIN-STYLE

For this year's challenge, my theme is The Fun in Writing. Each of my 26 posts for April is aimed at illustrating fun parts of an author's day. A writer doesn't only write. Creating a story or an essay requires research, revision, editing, and lots and lots of coffee and chocolate.
 

C is for CHILI, WISCONSIN-STYLE

One of the fun things about writing is discovering plot twists that you never saw coming. It thrills me to have a character fill in a plot hole that, at first, appears bigger than a lava tube.

Ancient lava tube on the Big Island of Hawai'i

How often have you heard a writer say their protagonist started calling the shots during the writing process of a novel? That the character in question objected when the words felt wrong? Or twisted the plot in a completely different direction, even though the author had outlined the scene or chapter in excruciating detail?

When a writer's subconscious takes over and dictates the next move, chances are it is a sign of a well-developed character.

In the case of my Pepper Bibeau mysteries, the protagonist has even taken over some of my cooking duties. Below is a recipe Pepper developed, with little or no help from me. Chili is one of my favorite meals. And while Pepper leans toward fruit-filled pies, it comes as no surprise that she always has a kettle of chili simmering on the stove for football game week-ends. This is especially true when the snow is deep and the wind chill factor dips below minus 20 degrees.




Setting for FOR EVERY ACTION

Setting for DEADLY AS NATURE

Chili always tastes great, no matter if Pepper is working in 

the windy city of Chicago or

the frozen tundra of

Green Bay.  

Even her home town of Honolulu has restaurants noted for their ono (delicious) 

chili. In Hawaii, though, it's served with "two scoops rice."

Pepper's Wisconsin Chili
 

Ingredients:
1 softball-sized sweet onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup walnut oil
3 lbs. 85% lean Ground Round
3 cans chili beans in medium sauce
2 pkgs. chili seasoning mix
1 - 14.5 oz. can of beef broth
3 cups dried macaroni noodles, cooked

Heat oil and add chopped onion, cook until tender.

Add Ground Round, and brown the meat in the onion mix.

Shake chili seasoning onto the meat; add chili beans with sauce, tomato sauce, and the can of beef broth.

Let chili simmer while boiling the macaroni, then add the cooked macaroni to the chili. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.

 

Serve with freshly grated Wisconsin cheddar cheese and oyster crackers.

(Salad and Wine optional . . . nah, just kidding, the wine is necessary!)


 

2014: An Ode to #AtoZChallenge

 





Join Arlee Bird's A to Z Challenge



‘Tis the week before ‘A-ToZ’

And all ‘round the world

Stressed bloggers are panicked

If truth now be told

 

Some posts are pre-written

And ready for view

A, B, and C, mostly

A few up to Q

 

Then out pops that brick wall

Of re-al-i-ty:

Be-hind eSS trails yoU

And eXe follows Vee 

 

What’s left yet to scribble?

A Quixotic mess

Can usufruct* save me?

That’s anyone’s guess!

 

Take stock and breathe deeply

It’s only a game

No “Hunger” rules dictate

And nothing draws shame 

 

Showers of April bring

May flowers of glee

Bright tunnel’s-end strobe lights

Declare “Victory!”

 

*Usufruct - the legal right to use and enjoy the benefits and profits of something belonging to another

 

Join Arlee Bird's April 2014 A to Z Challenge:

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/p/to-z-april-challenge-information.html

Burglaries Bungled by the Law

Humorous stories abound about bungling burglars. Some guy attempts to rob a bank without a mask, the word E A S T S I D E tattooed on his upper lip. Probably should tattoo D U M B-A * * across his forehead. 

The Law managed to bungle a few cases over the decades, also. It’s bad enough when the loss amounts to millions, but then someone writes a book or makes a movie about it. What ever happened to D.B. Cooper? 

Many train robberies have never been solved. Included on England’s list is The Great Train Robbery of 1855. And again in 1963 when fifteen guys remembered to don their masks before they stopped the train in Buckinghamshire and got away with 2.5 million pounds in used bank notes.

Jimmy “The Gent” Burke masterminded New York’s Lufthansa Air Terminal robbery in 1978, making off with untraceable currency amounting to six million dollars. Someone probably lost their job over that.

Worse, in 1990, two police officers responded to a disturbance at the Boston Museum. On admittance, they cuffed the security guards and left with Degas and Rembrandt paintings worth 300 million dollars.

Which 1990 movie title renamed mobsters "decent chaps"?