Scary Stuff

Early on Tuesday morning, December 11th, my mother woke up unable to speak. She had a stroke. I've been running back and forth to the hospital since then. My father spends every day with Ma and she is doing somewhat better, but she will need rehab. She has regained her speech, but she's lost words. Also, her swallowing reflex is not good. She must drink thickened liquids which she does not like.

It's been scary.

My New Cover!

Here it is! The Keeper's Promise will be released in March--and I can hardly wait.

I did the painting of the lighthouse. Actually, I used the Sandy Hook lighthouse for my reference--but I changed the landscape. Due to shifting sands the Sandy Hook lighthouse isn't very close to water anymore.

Daughter #2 took a photo of my painting, flipped it around, added a blue edge and a bluer sky along with the words. It's nice to have such a talented daughter. :^)

Laughter

Sister #1 and her family visited us for Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad were with us, too. The meal turned out very nicely--no burnt casseroles or exploding casseroles as we have had in the past. :^)

On Friday night, after a supper of Thanksgiving leftovers, I pulled out some of our older video tapes of the kids when they were young--really young. We laughed hard as we watched those old videos. Little kids are funny--not that they intend to be, but they are. There were some episodes that my daughters felt too pained to watch--so we used the fast forward button in a few places, but mostly we all sat with our gazes riveted to the television screen watching the kids grow up all over again.

Time flies.

Me and My Osteopenia

After a recent bone scan my doctor informed me that I have osteopenia--something I had never heard of until now. Evidently, it's the level of the loss of bone density before osteoporosis sets in.

Risk factors include being white, thin (until I went through menopause I was thin), inactive (I sit when I write), and a diet low in calcium and vitamin D (I'm not fond of milk). There are other risk factors as well but those don't apply to me.

My doctor told me to up my calcium, vitamin D, do weight resistant exercises, and take Boniva.

Boniva made me sick. I wasted a weekend feeling like death.

I told the doctor I did not want to take that stuff again. So she told me that I should continue the calcium, D, exercises--and take magnesium. That intrigued me. Why hadn't she mentioned it before? I looked it up online and found that studies have indicated the importance of magnesium in bone density.

Not only is magnesium way less expensive than Boniva, I also discovered that magnesium has a salutary effect on high blood pressure as well.

Naturally, my doctor warned that if I don't make any progress on my current regimen, it's back to the Boniva. Ugh.

The Bog Trail

This is the bog trail in Shark River Park. I think it is awesome.

Halloweens Past

Few parents make costumes for their children anymore. Most of the costumes are purchased from the store. There are Power Rangers, Disney characters, and superheroes.

I used to create Halloween costumes for my daughters. It was fun--though challenging. Sometimes, they had rather unusual requests. Daughter #2 wanted to be a snowflake one year so I did my best to come up with a costume for her.


The following year, Daughter #3 wanted to be a butterfly. Fortunately, Daughter #1 was okay with being a Native American again--and Daughter #2 wore the Polish outfit that Babci had given her. I was able to throw all my energy into the butterfly.

But I'm getting lazy now. This year I decided to be a farmer. I wore my jeans, put on one of hubby's plaid shirts, tied a bandanna around my neck and stuck a straw hat on my head. Simple--and boring.

Sigh.

I'll have to come up with something more interesting next year.

Half Price for Apples

Daughter #2 visited this weekend. She wanted to go to a pumpkin patch--and I wanted some more fresh apples from the orchard. I was so happy when I found out that all the apples were half price, but that was because all the apples were on the ground. :^)

Nevertheless, there were plenty of good apples and we made baked apples when we got home. Yum.

A Taste of NJ Bureaucracy

On Wednesday, my hair looked good--and it wasn't humid so I could count on it remaining just how I wanted it. I decided it was the day to renew my driver's license because there was a better than average chance that the new photo on my driver's license would not resemble a mug shot. Yes, I want to look like a glamorous romance writer even on my driver's license. I had all my identification in order, so I went to Motor Vehicles.

However, I did not get past the first step. Unfortunately, I was born in Jersey City and the DVM no longer accepts birth certificates from Jersey City. This is evidently because a Hudson County clerk was issuing fraudulent birth certificates.

I had to get a new birth certificate. I decided the fastest way to do that would be to go to Trenton the next day.

I spent $20 on gasoline, $3 for parking, and $25 for the new birth certificate.

Somehow this does not seem fair. (The state has to be making a lot of money on this deal.)

I guess I'll try again next week to renew my driver's license.

The Blessing of the Animals

Today is the Feast of St. Francis. Our guinea pig, Speedy, was blessed today along with a few other guinea pigs, a hermit crab, a parakeet, and plenty of dogs. It was hot, noisy, a bit chaotic, and fun. :^)







Speedy looked terrified. However, she was a popular little animal--several children asked to pet her. She was extremely well-behaved as usual. She's such a sweet little thing.










Father Lang posed with us. He was very happy that nobody had any snakes for pets today. Evidently, he doesn't like them. :^)

My Grandmother

My grandmother was not a biker. In fact, she never drove. But she had a quirky sense of humor and enjoyed posing for the camera. That's how this picture came about.

Today would have been Grandma's 107th birthday. She was an amazing woman who raised seven children--one of them being my mother.

Grandma liked to tell stories. When we visited her, we would sit out on the back porch and simply listen. Time seemed to move slower at her house.

I miss that unhurried pace.

I miss Grandma, too. But I do remember her stories. :^)

Nine Authors in a Booth

A small contingent of nine authors from the New Jersey Romance Writers put in an appearance at the Red Bank Street Festival. That's me in the purple T-shirt with the NJRW logo on it.

Between us, we covered quite a few subgenres of romance--historical, inspirational, paranormal, contemporary, and chick-lit. Something for everyone's taste.

Each of us took turns standing outside the booth and trying to encourage the passersby to visit with us. Some people refused and said they did not read romance. (They don't know what they're missing.) Some went by and said they did not read!!!! And then there were those who walked right by, gazing straight ahead as if they did not see us.

Still, some took the suggestion and slipped into the shade of our little enclave. We handed them bookmarks, pens, and candy.

We sold books, too.

It would have been a perfect day if it wasn't so HOT! But we did have fun talking with each other.

Writers are very interesting people. :^)

THE BEAST OF BLACKBIRCH MANOR is at Fictionwise!

I am so delighted!

You can check it out at:

The Beast of Blackbirch Manor.

You can read the beginning, too. :^)

HEAVEN'S BLUE, Book Trailer

I've been playing with iMovie. Here's my book trailer for HEAVEN'S BLUE.

Guest Blogger: Karina Fabian

Today I have a guest blogger--Karina Fabian!!! She is a freelance writer and catechist at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Fredericksburg, VA. She has sold her fiction to Eternal Night, Samsara, Hereditas, and Asimov’s. Rob Fabian, her husband, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force who is actively involved in the use of space, whose articles have been published in Journal of Space Policy. Her book INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD won the EPPIE award this year for Best Science Fiction. The book is available from Twilight Times Books at www.twilighttimesbooks.com or more information go to: http://isigsf.tripod.com


* * * *

Penelope invited me to be a guest on her blog as part of my virtual book tour (link: karinafabian.tripod.com/id36) for INFINITE SPACE, INFINITE GOD and since she doesn't write or read a lot in science fiction, to talk about that genre. Thanks again, Penelope, for the opportunity.

I have always been a science fiction fan. In fact, when I received two romance novels for my 16th birthday (must have been a joke), I promptly returned them for the latest Star Trek novels. I'm sure at the time, a lot of it was having grown up watching Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, but there must have been something more. After all, we faithfully watched CHiPs, Emergency 51 and Dragnet, yet I never got into those like I did science fiction. There was something more to the genre that I couldn't articulate, but definitely responded to as a child and a teen.

Now, as an adult, I could probably intellectualize it by saying science fiction provides a venue to step back from society or a problem and look at it anew. Or I could say it provides the perfect means to ask "What if?" and to project a current trend or a new idea to an extreme that would not make sense in a genre that demands a level of realism or the known.

Yes, I could say that, and it'd be true to an extent, but the main reason I love sci fi is simply that it provides escapist fun. Exploring strange new worlds. Seeking out new life and new civilizations. Boldly going where no one has gone before. Gene Roddenberry had it right--there's excitement in the future, thrills in the unknown. The best part is, you can't escape "normal" romance or history or personal trauma. You just get to add tech toys, aliens and bizarre new experiences. You can even have fantastic accidents and vehicles going up in a pyrotechnic display--they just might be spaceships. You get it all, baby!

OK, calming down…

This explains why I like to read sci fi; my motivations for writing sci fi tends to veer more toward the "adult" reasons. I enjoy exploring new ideas and the possibilities of the future. I enjoy letting my imagination soar without having to worry about realism or historical facts. Aliens are fun to write about, too, though more often than not, my characters are human or humanoid. I also enjoy playing with space.

Let me give you an example with "Our Daily Bread," which I wrote with my husband Rob for Infinite Space, Infinite God. (BTW, writing is a romantic activity for us. Read more on Ann Lewis's Blog from August 18. (link http://www.annmargaretlewis.com/) It takes place on an asteroid mine with 50 people, most of whom are Catholic. The overall theme explores interpersonal relations and religious tension in a closed environment. (Or so your literature professor might tell you). The Catholic twist is that most of the asteroid station's supply of Communion Hosts, consecrated wafers believed by Catholics to be the Body of Christ, have been lost in an accident, but the remainder are miraculously multiplying just before Sunday. However, we also devote a lot of time to the details of living in microgravity, from how to sit (do we really want Velcro on the chairs? Imagine the sound!) to how to fight (Pulling your arm back to punch pulls you away from your foe.) to how to pray (If you're skilled and can stay still enough, you will settle to the floor in a kneeling position.) It’s the details like these that make the story fun for us, and we believe for our readers.

Regardless of the tech toys and bizarre aliens, most of science fiction involves problems that speak to humanity. It's not about the phasers; it's about the guy holding the phaser…
…but the phaser just makes it more fun.

Karina Fabian has focused the last few years on science fiction and fantasy that appeals to the mind, the soul and the funny bone. Learn more about her at www.fabianspace.com.

Infinite Space, Infinite God can be ordered directly from Baker & Taylor, Ingram, or the publisher, Twilight Times Books, PO Box 3340, Kingsport, TN 37664; or via the Internet at http://twilighttimesbooks.com.

Alternative Uses

My in-laws have an alternative use for their clothes dryer which they never use because they are afraid it will cause a fire. They use their dryer to store their recyclable aluminum cans and plastic bottles. There they keep them out of sight until it is time for them to be picked up by the trash collectors.

Since they live in Florida, most of the time they do have plenty of sunshine which is equally efficient in drying clothes.

They have never embraced new technology but they do own some of it.

They have a microwave. I am sure it is never used except when we visit them. When I went to make myself a quick cup of tea by filling a cup with water and putting it in the microwave my father-in-law told me the microwave "no work."

I think he and my mother-in-law forgot how to use it. I plugged it in, touched the keypad and voila. Hot water.

Dziadzi then told me "it no have the right time."

I glanced at my watch, touched the keypad, and corrected the time.

For the rest of our stay, I used the microwave. I am sure that after I left, they unplugged it. It will lie dormant until our next visit.

That's the way it is. Some older folks just cannot adapt--or they find alternative uses that most of us would never consider. One of my mother's friends regularly used her dishwasher as a sorting facility for her mail and continued washing the dishes by hand.

My in-laws have a dishwasher, too. They turn it on when they have a lot of company--a rare event. Most of the time they wash the dishes by hand.

I suppose I should have looked inside the dishwasher to see if there was anything else inside there, but I didn't. Now it's really bothering me. I wonder what they store inside it.

The In-Laws

We just returned from another trip to Florida to visit my in-laws. Babci and Dziadzi are doing well--all things considered. Dziadzi--at the age of 90--is not steady on his feet. He stopped driving this past year. He does use his cane when he goes out but most often around the house and in his yard he takes his chances. He fell on his elbow one day and it is swollen. The doctor is going to drain it.

Dziadzi wanted to cut down a tree in his yard. He wanted us to drive him to Home Depot so he could borrow a chain saw and cut it down himself! Can you imagine! Fortunately, Babci called someone to cut the tree down for him. Oy.

Babci looks great for 86. She has not changed at all. She still tells the same stories over and over and over. She has always done that--ever since I met her, when she was in her fifties.

Babci's greatest joy is watching us eat lots of her food. It has always been a bit unnerving to me to look up and see her grinning at me in supreme contentment while we are eating.

But that's Babci.

Our Trip to Gettysburg

Do you see any ghosts in this photo? I don't. Hubby and I drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for a mini-vacation. Hubby had never been there. I was there once as a child, but things have changed. There were no ghost tours available when I last visited Gettysburg. Now there are ghost tours everywhere! I wasted several shots trying to capture an image of some spectral being. Still, I did enjoy our one ghost tour. In fact, I would have liked to try a few more since I did not get any spooky feelings on the ghost tour. However, I did experience a creepy sensation when we visited the basement of the Jennie Wade house.







This is a view from Little Round Top where one of the battles in Gettysburg took place. It is interesting to note that reenactors are not allowed to use the actual battlefields. Hubby and I learned a lot from the tour guides. We found the park's rangers to be very knowledgeable and interesting. But it is depressing to consider the massive loss of life that occurred in the three days of battles at Gettysburg. Some bodies were never identified.



I found several books written about women's experiences during the Civil War. I bought three of them--just in case I might want to write a romance using that time period as a setting. I'm always thinking about writing!

Ratatouille

Hubby and I went to the theater and saw Ratatouille. We both thought it was great! There was plenty of action for hubby and a little romance for me. Daughter #2 had recommended it to us.

When I got home I began to look for ratatouille recipes in my cookbooks--I have way too many cookbooks. I discovered that in each cookbook there was something slightly different. So I put together my own recipe.

I like my ratatouille. Give it a try and see if you like it too.

RATATOUILLE

Ingredients:
Enough flour to lightly coat the eggplant and zucchini
(HINT: The easiest way to do this is to put the flour in a plastic bag. Put the
sliced zucchini or eggplant in the bag. Then shake the vegetables.)
1 teaspoon black pepper added to the flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 green peppers, cut in small, short strips
1 eggplant, cubed and dusted with flour
3 small to medium zucchini, sliced and dusted with flour
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added is fine)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1. In 2 tablespoons of the oil, saute onions and garlic until they are golden. Remove from the pot.

2. In a large 8 quart heavy pot, combine the ingredients in layers--except for the Parmesan--that goes on top. (I had three layers.)

3. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to heat for 10 minutes longer to reduce the liquid.

Enjoy!

A Night Out With The Band

Last night the Happy Days String Band played an outdoor gig. Listening to music with the breeze blowing in from the bay in the summertime is such a treat. I took some photos. The one here makes me laugh. At one point in the program, the captain of the strutters demonstrated how to strut. Then the audience was asked to try it--and some people were brave enough to get up and dance around. The band sometimes ropes in new strutters with this technique.

And after all, who wouldn't want to dress up in feathers and sequins so you could look like this?

Leenda

Yesterday one of Daughter #3's guinea pigs, Leenda, appeared to have difficulty breathing. After rushing it to the vet, our daughter learned that the guinea pig's digestive system was paralyzed. Daughter #3 decided to have her pet put to sleep. Leenda was old--for a guinea pig.

Hubby got out the post hole digger and we had a brief, but sad funeral for Leenda. We bought some perennials and planted them over her little grave. Guinea pigs are such sweet pets. It's hard when they must leave us.