M. Jean Pike's Blog, page 9

A Sweet Tooth Problem

In case you hadn’t noticed, my blog is kind of a mash-up; writing, books, my dog, puzzles, a memory here and there. I like to think of it as a patchwork of random thoughts. I’m not a food blogger and I don’t intend to become one (with the exception of sharing a fantastic recipe now and then) but with my new healthful eating venture, food is on my mind a lot right now

Earlier this week I made a zucchini pepper stir fry. It was so good!

Peppers, onions, and zucchini drizzled with a mix of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, paprika and cumin. I added a few Chow Mein noodles just to give it a bit of crunch! The next day I reheated it and had it in a whole wheat wrap for lunch. The flavor was even better the second time around. I’m going to introduce some salmon and eggs into my diet next week to boost my protein. I’m not really an “egg” person, but I do like hard boiled eggs crumbled in my salads.

So with fruit bows for lunch and a ton of neat recipes for dinner, I’m pretty well set for meal ideas for awhile. What I’m short on is ideas for snacks that actually seem like snacks. I have a terrible sweet tooth and an equally terrible habit of snacking before bedtime. I’ve been looking online for healthy snacks to replace my sweets with. I’m definitely not a celery stick or Greek yogurt kind of girl. Like I said, I want snacks that don’t seem like a punishment So if any you healthy eaters out there know of some amazing snack ideas and want to send suggestions my way, it would be greatly appreciated!

The Taste of Summer

The farm markets are open and I am ready for all the deliciousness of summer that comes with them! I headed out bright and early yesterday morning, before it got too hot and before the crowds gathered, to get my fix of fruits and veggies for the week. So much to choose from!

A couple of years ago after having bloodwork done, I knew I needed to change my eating habits. I went on a total plant based diet. I lost ten pounds and I felt great. Then the farm markets closed for the year, the holidays rolled around and I fell off the wagon. A recent round of bloodwork showed just how far I have fallen. So I’m hitched back up to the veggie wagon and ready to try again. I think I’ve made a good start

I love zucchini and any kind of squash, so I scoured the web and found a few recipes. This Tex Mex Zucchini bake is as delicious as it looks!

With an ear of fresh corn on the cob and a bowl of juicy cantaloupe for dessert, I was completely satisfied. Who needs cupcakes?

I’m looking forward to delving back into plant based eating.

What’s your favorite taste of summer?

On Making Potholders, Helping Jerry’s Kids, and Waiting Till Our Father Got Home

The other day my sister was out and about, poking around an antiques shop. She sent me a picture, and just like that, I was strolling down memory lane.

Remember these?

Oh, those little plastic looms! The carnival of brightly colored, stretchy cotton loops you’d weave together until you had that beautiful creation known as a potholder. We spent hours making them as kids. I still remember the joy of weaving them together in every color combination imaginable. My mother bought the loops by the bagful. I’m sure she was more than happy to do it, to keep her four children occupied on those long summer days.

We made a bunch of them. They peeked out of drawers and hung from hooks. They served as coasters and sat beneath potted plants. When our house was overrun with them, we presented them to our grandmother. And then to all of our aunts. But how many potholders does one extended family need?

Not making potholders was unthinkable, so we got the idea to sell them and donate the money to charity. The only charity we knew of at the time was the Jerry Lewis telethon. Jerry’s Kids. We’d save up our change  for a year, until Labor Day weekend, when Dad would drive us into the city to the collection center, where we’d dump our coffee can of pennies and dimes into the ginormous fish bowl. The event was televised, so there was the added thrill of being on TV! It seemed the perfect solution to our potholder problem. We could continue the hobby we loved and help Jerry’s Kids in the deal.

So one morning, my sister and I set out in the neighborhood with our bags of potholders, priced at ten cents each. We lived in a quiet neighborhood in a suburb of Rochester, NY, at a time when it was safe for little girls to knock on a stranger’s door. We did well that day. One lady even gave us a dollar. Looking back, I’m sure it was more about supporting the charity than the actual potholders, but we felt very proud of ourselves. So we built our stash of potholders back up and set out again the next week. But we’d already visited most of the houses in our neighborhood the week before. We needed new customers.

Our quiet street ended in a cul-de-sac. It began two blocks from our house, a quick right -hand turn off of Penfield Road, Route 441, a busy, four lane highway that carried people to and from the city. I didn’t know that at the time. I only knew it as “The Main Road.” A road  we were not, under any circumstances, allowed to cross.

We crossed, dreams of nickels and dimes dancing in our heads.

By the grace of God and probably a guardian angel or two, we made it safely to the other side. It was all good. Until a neighbor spotted us and alerted our mother, She immediately got in the car and came looking for us. And she wasn’t happy. I’ll pause here to say that my parents were very generous people. They instilled the love of giving in their children. The next summer they would organize backyard carnivals to help us raise money for Jerry’s Kids. Mom was pleased that we’d decided to donate our potholder money to charity. She was not, however, pleased that we’d disobeyed her rule.

My sister and I received a stern talking to. Then we had to sit on our beds until Dad got home and think about what we’d done. What a tear-streaked, nerve jangling wait that was for us. Believe me, we thought long and hard about what the consequence might be when our father got home.

To my knowledge, she never told him.

Fireworks and a book review

Happy Fourth of July to all of my readers in the USA! And to those in other countries, happy Friday! Our county is very small, with just two cities, two villages, and a handful of unincorporated communities. Since we like to spread the celebration out, our city always has its fireworks and parade on July 3. The other towns will have their celebrations tonight.

The display was beautiful this year. And like the fireworks that lit up the night sky, a smile lights up my face this morning. What a lovely surprise to discover that Hazel over at Seven Sisters posted a five star review for King of Hearts If you haven’t subscribed to her blog, you should do that. She’s an amazing young woman!

Book review: character-driven and compelling

June was a grab bag

When I was a kid, birthday parties usually involved giving grab bags to each of the party goers. These little plastic bags were printed with bright colors, cupcakes, and balloons. The fun of it was you never knew what your grab bag would contain. Usually there were a few pieces of candy, some trinkets, a gag gift of some kind, and also something really nice.

I feel like June has been a grab bag.

The really nice thing was celebrating my birthday with a coffee date, a birthday picnic, and some very lovely gifts. I had a bit of a health scare this month, which involved two doctor visits and a trip to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist. I’m thankful to have gotten good news — even if the booby prize was a round of bloodwork (I’m a colossal baby about needles )

I’m ending the month with kind of a heavy heart. My prayer pouch is overflowing this month. So many people in need of prayer.  But what a privilege it is to lay these needs at the feet of our loving Heavenly Father.

I’ve talked enough about the weather this month. Plainly put, it was HOT in Southern Ohio. Miss Emma and I have not ventured out for too many walks in the park. We logged even less laps in June than we did in May. Dare we hope for a cooler July?

Though my poor petunias in my planter boxes have kind of fizzled, I do have some lovely things in the garden this month.

I wait all year for this lovely cone flower. It amazes me that it blooms in three colors- orange, red and gold!

I wish I had gotten a pic of this gorgeous lily yesterday, when all of the spent blossoms were a full bouquet of blooms. Happily, there are more coming!

My Rose of Sharon popped open this week! I love the showy purple blooms, and there are TONS more about to pop!

On the Bookish front, my reading selections for June were also a bit of a grab bag. I finished  five books and had one rare DNF.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller. I had mixed feelings about this one. It was the story of a lonely wife who writes brutally honest letters to her unfaithful husband and hides them among his book collection– just before she disappears. I loved Ingrid, the female MC, so relatable and complex. The book was beautifully written, however the ending was rather ambiguous to say the least. I will say, the question the author raises at the very end kind of made me like Ingrid (and the story) a little less. 4 Stars

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard. This was a coming of age story about a young boy and his mother who aid a convicted murderer in his escape. The mother and the convict inadvertently fall in love. The characters were all so well written and the story drives home the point that people and situations are often not what they seem. I loved it. 5 Stars

Hannah’s Quest by Jodie Wolfe. I read an ARC of this charming Historical Christian Romance set in Shippensburg, PA in the 1800s. I always enjoy books set in this time period for the glimpses of life as our ancestors knew it. The romance was sweet and I loved the faith thread woven throughout the story. 5 Stars

Falling Together by Marissa de los Santos. I hate to abandon a book, and especially one written by an author I have enjoyed in the past. Marissa de los Santos’ I’ll Be Your Blue Sky was one of my favorite reads of 2024, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I abandoned it at 50 pages. I just couldn’t connect with the characters I will definitely give her work another try. Maybe it was just me.

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson. The story of a high power NY attorney and the impact her childhood (growing up with her hippie mother) made on her life. It is a beautifully told story  of finding (and accepting) love in its many forms. 5 Stars

Surprisingly, my favorite book of the month was not a novel but a volume of poetry. I was blessed to receive an ARC of Kimberly Vargus Agnese’s Paduka Flower from her publisher. This small volume of poetry speaks so loudly. About life. About humanity. About our world. I loved its message and the beautiful, stunning, and at times startling imagery in these poems. The small but impactful moments of life that others might capture in snapshots, Kimberly Vargas Agnese has masterfully captured with words. Kadupul Flower is truly a book of treasures! It releases in October. 5 Stars

In my personal book world, I’ve decided to take my current WIP, Blackberry Summer, in a bit of a different direction. This has slowed the actual writing, since I have a lot to rethink. But I’m excited about the changes and I feel like it will be a much stronger story in the end. It will just take me a bit longer to write than I first thought

Super excited for the release of Superheroes (Coming August 22!!) I’m reposting the video, just because.

I have ARC’s available if any of my book blogging/book reviewing/book loving friends would be interested in receiving one in exchange for an honest review. No pressure though

So that’s my June. How did yours shape up?

Strength

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31

I won’t lie, this week has been brutal. The heat and humidity have been relentless. On top of that, the AC at work has been acting up. It’s too hot for housework. Too draining even to write. I have done very little in my off hours except sit in front of my window AC unit and read Yesterday I left work feeling like the truck we unloaded ran over me on the way out of the parking lot. I have made it through the week on bottled water and prayer.

Then last night we had a rip-roaring thunderstorm. I woke up to a lovely 71 degrees. My poor, thirsty flowers look as refreshed as I feel. Thank You, Lord, for the blessing of rain. And for giving me the strength to weather the heat and the storms

A thought for today

 

 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
 more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 130: 5-6

 The world seems like kind of a mess right now, doesn’t it? As I read through the Psalms early this morning these beautiful verses spoke to me and gave me comfort.

I thought I would share them today with this pic of an early (cool!) morning over Lake Erie.

Have a blessed day, my friends.

Hot Hot Hot!

It’s going to be another hot one in Southern Ohio today, and probably where you are, too. They say it will hit 97 degrees by noon. And there’s this:

HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT WEDNESDAY

* WHAT…Heat index values up to 103.

* WHERE…Portions of northeast Kentucky, southeast Ohio, southwest
Virginia, and portions of the southern coal fields and lower
mountainous terrain of West Virginia.

* WHEN…Until 8 PM EDT Wednesday.

* IMPACTS…High temperatures and humidity may cause heat illnesses.

I don’t do well in the heat. I’m thankful I have an indoor job with A/C

Stay hydrated, my friends!

A Scare and A Bookish Blessing

A few weeks ago I noticed a suspicious spot on my tongue. It didn’t hurt, particularly, but knowing it was there drove me crazy. I have OCD. I tend to obsess over things, especially when it comes to my health. After a couple of weeks of constant checking, it didn’t go away, so I worked up my nerve and went to see my doctor. She didn’t like the looks of my spot any more than I did. She called Ear Nose and Throat and got me an appointment for a biopsy the very next day. Which gave me a full 24 hours to obsess over it.

I spent that time alternately face- down in prayer and on my phone Googling. I should have stopped with the prayer. What a Pandora’s Box of symptoms Google can open up! What a range of evil ailments you can convince yourself you have

I was unable to concentrate on anything, almost too consumed with worry to function, even though I knew God had me. Even though I heard that still, small Voice whisper… Trust Me.

Unable to work on my writing project or catch up with emails or blogs, I did what I do. I escaped into the pages of a novel. It didn’t have a particularly uplifting message (lol) but it had plenty of action and good characters and it kept my mind off of the dastardly spot for the whole day. Books are wonderful that way

It turned out I didn’t need the biopsy after all. The ENT doctor assured me he has seen these kinds of spots many times before, and though ugly, they are harmless. (Thank You, Jesus!)

This whole experience has gotten me thinking. What if my books could do for someone what this novel did for me? Provide an escape for someone facing the unthinkable? Provide comfort for the hurting, or a message of hope to the fearful? I have five or six books left over from an event I did last year. What if I didn’t sell them? What if I gave them away to people in need instead?

I really believe this notion is coming to me courtesy of God.  Face it, you don’t make money by giving your work away. But this isn’t about money. It’s about using my gifts to try and help others. I really want to do that. To be honest, I’m not sure how to go about finding them. I’m a bit on the reclusive side and I don’t get out and about among people a whole lot, except for at work. So after some thought and prayer, I’m putting it out here. If you know someone who is lonely, afraid, or really needs a pick me up, please let me know. I’ll mail a book out to them soon. And hopefully they’ll be blessed.

You can comment here or email me at mjeanpike2(at)yahoo.com

(I’m sorry, but because of the crazy cost of postage I’ll have to limit this offer to USA readers only)

Miss Emma’s Socks

Miss Emma is allergic to grass. Even with her allergy medicines, a walk, or even a few minutes outside can lead to sore, itchy paws. Since she is having trouble getting the hang of her boots, our friend Chester gave her a pair of doggie socks to try instead. She let me put them on her, but so far she won’t get off the bed…