M. Jean Pike's Blog, page 17

A new-to-me table and 2,500 words

I’ve always loved vintage 1950s tables. The ones with the Formica tops (I’ve seen them in various colors, red, green, yellow, blue…) with chrome legs and trim. I’ve wanted one forever and have occasionally come across them in antique stores, flee markets and even at garage sales. Their prices have always been beyond my reach. Until yesterday. While browsing through a new antique/home décor/jewelry/clothing/books/basically everything store downtown I happened to see one of these little cuties being used to display kitchen goods. I was sure it was just a display piece and not for sale, but I asked anyway. It was, indeed, for sale. Kicking my courage up another notch, I asked the price. The answer almost knocked me over. It was missing its leaf but I don’t have space for that anyway. It also needed a good scrubbing, and the base was a bit pitted, but it was a fraction of what I have seen them for in the past. Frugal is my middle name, but even I could not pass this one up. I got a small income tax return this year. A big chunk of it went to buy Miss Emma’s medicines. Another chunk, I threw at a pesky medical bill I have been making payments on. The last little chunk was going to be put in savings, but sometimes a girl just needs to treat herself. My brother-in-law was kind enough to swing by with his truck and pick it up for me this morning. Isn’t it lovely?

So I got a new- to- me table today. And after I cleaned it, I sat down at it and wrote 2500 words, the opening scene of a new story I am working on. Hey, it’s a start. So all in all, I’ve had a lovely day. Sometimes it’s the little things

A tourist in my own town

I had an appointment this morning and since it would have been a shame to let this gorgeous sunshine go to waste I decided to walk around downtown a bit afterwards. Our town has recently lost a few stores, Family Dollar and Big Lots to name two. But I’m encouraged that several small businesses have opened within the last year. I haven’t taken the time to visit all of them yet, so today seemed like a good day. Since I have a few days off and the weather is playing nice, I decided to do a little bit of “touristing” in my own town.

One of the highlights of the morning was Ellie Mills Mercantile. I’ve seen quite a bit of social media buzz about this place, but I honestly had no idea! It is a large store that is crammed full of nooks and crannies filled with everything from candles and clothing to antiques and jewelry to interesting and unique knickknacks.

Each of the twenty seven vendors has their own space. I was most excited to come upon a little purple book nook!

No visit to Broadway Street is complete without a stop at the Downtown Treatery. Their doughnuts are to die for!

I thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist in my own city today. I love small towns and ours is a charmer It’s so nice to see the small businesses thriving.

(Broadway Street last May)

Last one… for now

It’s a gorgeous 70 degrees out today. I think spring has finally arrived (ten days early!) Miss Emma and I had a lovely walk in the park this afternoon. There were a lot of people out enjoying the day, which always makes me happy. And there were no other dogs in “her park,” which is just the way Emma likes it. Many kids came running from the playground to pet the “puppy,” so she got plenty of extra love today. My daffodils and tulips are coming along so nicely. A few more days like this and they will show off their multicolored dresses My snowmen are the last of the winter decorations to be packed up and put away, and I did that today. The end of winter also signals the end of my puzzling season. I finished one last puzzle last night, a quick and easy 300 piece puzzle of a peaceful cabin in the woods.

I loved all the little details, the birds and butterflies, the flowers and the pumpkins. I appreciated the larger, easy grip pieces, too.

I took the card table down and stowed it under the bed. It’s nice to have my living room back. The extra piece of furniture made my small space seem that much smaller!

I have been taking a little writing break and now my head is stuffed full of story ideas. Puzzling is wonderful, but I tend to get obsessed and let other things slide. Now I can concentrate on writing, cleaning up the flower beds, and some indoor spring cleaning. I stopped at my sister’s house this morning and she gave me a new puzzle for my pile. It’s all different flowers, which I love, but the intriguing thing is that it’s round. I’ve never done a round puzzle before and that will be the first one I pull out next puzzle season. Unless I get it in my head to get the card table back out some rainy summer day

On getting lost, finding The Gerrys, and the day I became a celebrity

A little while ago I watched part of an awards ceremony. As each nominee’s name was called, fresh applause broke out in the audience. When the winners were announced, people stood and cheered wildly as the winners made their way to the front to collect their awards. Wow, I thought. How amazing would it feel to be that appreciated? But later it occurred to me that I do know that feeling. I just had to reach back a ways to find it.

When I was in my twenties, I worked as a resident counselor in a group home for people with developmental disabilities. Our house was for the over- 60 population, affectionately known as The Gerrys. The house was on a pretty, wooded lot in the country, about fifteen miles from the closest city, where most of their appointments and activities took place. A city that was unfamiliar to me at the time.

This was before GPS. Before everyone had cell phones. One day, about two weeks into the job, I was tasked with picking The Gerrys up from the bowling alley. Our agency had eight group homes in the area and the residents of those houses had formed a league of sorts.  After writing down the directions, I jumped in the house van and took off. Just inside the city limits I took a wrong turn. Then I took another wrong turn. Before I knew it I was trapped in a maze of one-way streets and dead ends. As the minutes slipped away, I grew more and more anxious. The Gerrys liked their routine, liked things to go according to plan. Would they be upset when I wasn’t there to pick them up? Would they be angry? I finally pulled into a gas station and used the pay phone (Yep, it was that long ago!) My supervisor was able to deduce where I was and get me back on track.

When I arrived at the bowling alley the clients had finished their games. I was about fifteen minutes late, and though I was stressed and anxious, The Gerrys were seated at a table, contentedly sipping Cokes and eating popcorn. And then a beautiful thing happened. My favorite client, Alice, caught sight of me and announced joyfully, “She’s here!” Alice started clapping, which caused all of the other Gerrys to start clapping, This created a Domino effect throughout the bowling alley. Seeing a celebrity had arrived, all of the clients from all of the houses stood and cheered and applauded. It was one of the loveliest moments of my life. The day I got a standing ovation just for showing up

Some weeks

Some weeks are more challenging than others, and this one definitely qualifies. I’ve worked a long stretch of days. The first week of the month in retail is always a high traffic week. Add to that two trucks to unload and put away plus, plus, plus, and it’s been a little much for this old girl. Not complaining, I’m thankful for my job, but this week I’ve been in my jammies by six. By seven, I’ve been in bed with a book! I’ve gotten behind on a lot of things.

Last night’s dishes are still in the sink.

I ran out of biscuits so Miss Emma had to settle for Saltines this morning.

I looked out the window and discovered my pretty, red car, that I just washed last week, is covered with dirt Evidently we had a dirty rain overnight because of the dust storms taking place. As far as they can tell, it came to us courtesy of Texas. (Rude, y’all, lol.) So that will mean another trip to the car wash.

(Last week, when it was clean and shiny!)

My inbox is overflowing with notifications of your blog posts I haven’t had a chance to read. I enjoy them so much and look forward to reading them soon. After today I will have a few days off to catch my breath and catch up! How’s your week going?

What’s so amazing about grace?

The world is filled with curious ironies and flawed people. It’s easy to judge if you are not one of them. And so much easier if you are.

The Christian romance author who failed at marriage. Twice.

The socially awkward introvert who loves God but doesn’t always like His people.

The girl who has seen God’s faithfulness again and again, but still gets tied up with worry sometimes.

I am she. I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ve seen people spill their deep, dark secrets all over Facebook. Just… no. There’s a big difference between being genuine and honest and being, well, embarrassing. There’s definitely a balance that needs to be struck. A blogger I like recently disclosed a few of her personal struggles. I admired her so much for that. It made me feel closer to her, because I struggle with some of the same things.  There’s a risk you take when you admit your vulnerability. You open yourself up to other people’s judgment. But sometimes, it’s the judgment in your own head that hurts the most.

There’s a little voice that starts chattering whenever I start to get excited about a new writing project. Who do you think you are? Do you really think you’re a good enough Christian to write Christian fiction? The answer is no. I know I’m not. But here’s the amazing thing about grace – it gives second chances. And third. And fourth…

King David made his share of mistakes. His son, Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever live, also made a bunch. And yet God chose them to write some of the most beautiful books in the Bible.

 He uses us in spite of our shortcomings.

Am I a brilliant author? No. Am I a perfect Christian? Definitely not. I’m just a girl who loves God and loves to tell stories. Through them, I want to declare to anyone who doesn’t know, and to anyone who knew, but maybe forgot, Look at my Jesus! Look how much He loves us! Not because we’re good enough. Because of his astounding, amazing grace

Cabbage Stir Fry

It occurred to me that as much as I love to cook and try new recipes, I rarely post about food. Since my blog is rather a mish mash of random things, I thought it might be fun to add some of my kitchen adventures from time to time (both the delights and the disasters!) I love stir fry and this one is definitely a delight, a quick and easy go-to at the end of a long work day!

Recipe:

4 medium chicken breasts, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons each of mayo and soy sauce (I use low sodium) 3 cups shredded cabbage, 1 medium red pepper, 1 medium yellow pepper, 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets (I usually use a bag of frozen medley veggies, rather than the raw broccoli. It not only has the broccoli, but also carrots, snap peas, water chestnuts and cauliflower.)

Cut the chicken breasts into strips, heat oil in large fry pan over medium-high heat(I use my wok instead of a fry pan.) Add chicken and sear five minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the middle. While chicken is cooking, drop in the veggies. In separate bowl, mix the mayo and soy sauce together (I whisk until it’s nice and smooth) Just before serving, add the mayo and soy sauce mixture.

I recently discovered these frozen Fajita Chicken strips. Another time saver, and the seasoning adds another little pop of flavor!

If you decide to try it, let me know if you love it as much as I do!

Wait, February is over?

I say this every month, but I really don’t know where February disappeared to. Granted, I “lost” a few days of an already short month to the flu, but still…

 Looking at my calendar, I did do rather a lot this month (for me!) Minus a couple of sick days I worked my regular amount of hours, though sometimes it feels like I spend every waking hour at my workplace.

I read just three books (well, three and a half, as I am in the middle of one now.) All three were ‘new to me’ authors and all were very good!

The Favorite Daughter by Kiara Rouda – a psychological thriller I literally could not put down.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, a tender late-in-life love story set in the English countryside.

His Dark Song, by an author and blogger I recently discovered, Ada Jenkins. This is a delightful retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. If you like a clean romance novella with feisty heroines and tough-n-tender hero, you should check this one out!

I decided to alternate my reading between physical books and Kindles, and since the first of the year I have managed to clear some space on my bookshelf. Which is good, because the Library Spring Book Sale is just around the corner

I also did three puzzles, had a lunch date with a friend who recently retired, and a coffee date to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I won a Valentine’s Coffee Date with Jesus from Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase. I haven’t done that yet. Soon!

There was a haircut, a doctor’s appointment, a hearing aid check, and my usual service projects. I didn’t make much progress on my current WIP but I plan to change that in March. I’m anxiously awaiting my final edits for Superheroes. I always feel a little bit in limbo before the release of a new book. I did put a final polish on my latest Christmas novella, which I will submit to PBG by the end of March – I’m super excited about that one, too

So that’s how a month slips away, a day, a moment, at a time. What was your February like?

Friends for Sale

Something came to my attention recently and I can’t quite get away from it. I’m a bit obsessive that way. A blogger I follow mentioned that one of their social media sites was restricted because they were perceived to be paying for likes and follows. They weren’t.

But…Wait, what? People actually do that?

I’m sure it’s mostly about money. Most things are anymore. I know that on some sites more engagement = more revenue.  But for some, I wonder if it’s that age old desire to be perceived as popular. It makes me wonder, as adults, have we really come very far from the kids who paid for other kids’ friendship with their lunch money?

 If you’ll pick me for your dodgeball team in gym, I’ll give you $1.00…

It’s human nature to want to be liked, to be valued. To feel like our art and our thoughts matter. Several years ago I joined a popular site as a means of promoting my books. I slowly built up a following. When I say slowly, I mean slooowly. It took me three years to get to 500 followers. But I noticed a strange trend. I didn’t post often, but every time I did, I lost twenty to thirty followers. So, OK, people are happy to follow me as long as I don’t post anything, lol? It bothered me for a minute. It doesn’t anymore. Just to put it into perspective, I am supremely loved by the King of the Universe (and so are you!) He has given me a talent and I believe He is pleased with the way in which I am using it. So what difference does it make if 30 unknown people (or bots) don’t “like” my post – absolutely none!

That being said, I’m so thankful to each one of you for following my blog for free, lol. Every like, comment and interaction means the world, because I know they are genuine. And if I subscribe to or visit your little corner of the WordPress world, you can be certain it is not merely a like for a like, a follow for a follow. If I visit your blog, it is because I have found beauty, humor, encouragement or value in your art, photography, poetry, stories and thoughts! It’s because you matter to me

Just one more…

Puzzling has always been kind of a winter thing for me, a fun and relaxing way to pass the cold, snowy days and the evenings that start at five or six o’clock. I have done more puzzles this winter than the last two put together. My latest, a 500 piece Springbok puzzle called Country General Store, was so much fun!

Like the last one, it conjured up pleasant thoughts of yesteryear. It’s still almost a month before spring officially begins, but I think after one more (a lovely 300 piece scene of a cabin in the mountains) I will put my card table back under the bed and be done for awhile. I need to turn my attention back to my writing now