Anne Kennison's Blog

Donuts and Grilled Peaches

I’ve been a slacker. I admit it. I promised to give you some cooking tips and my favorite recipes but I got busy solving another case. This was a tough one. My son Josh’s fiancee was accused of the attempted murder of her father. I had to go to Montana to solve the case. You can read all about it in Death by Justice. But now that I’m back home, I’ve got time to blog for Anne.

It’s summer and while I don’t pretend to be one of those healthy-ingredients-only chefs, I do appreciate the fresh seasonal produce, especially the fruit. My kingdom for a perfectly ripened peach. My fave farmers’ market is South of the James here in Richmond, VA. I go on Saturday mornings to browse, shop and, okay I confess, eat Mrs. Yoders’ donuts. Yes, donuts. Fresh. Hot. Deeeeeelish! These donuts are legendary and the line is often long. The wait is worth it. I would kill for the recipe but, alas, I have to stand in the line that snakes through the crowd as diehard fans patiently wait for their large, lumpy, hand-dipped glazed doughnuts.

Enough about donuts. Back to peaches.

One of my favorite things is a simple salad of grilled peaches and goat cheese. First, whip up a simple dressing of four tablespoons olive oil, two tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon of honey, salt and pepper to taste. Brush six peach halves (pits removed) with a bit of dressing and grill, cut side down, for about five minutes. Let them cool, slice, and add to a bed of arugula. Add fresh goat cheese. You can also add some fresh blueberries and sliced almonds. Serves four.

Couldn’t be simpler.

Enjoy!

Ryan

Bathing a Cat

I was minding my own business the other day, happily grooming my silky self, when I noticed my human was muttering to himself while reading something on his computer screen. I glanced up and, whoa Nellie, there were pictures of one of my feline brethren in a bathtub looking bedraggled and sodden. My human said, “Hey, Sophie, how would you like a bath?”

Seriously?

There’s only one thing you have to remember when it comes to giving a cat a bath: DON’T DO IT!

I’m under the bed where I’ll stay until my human forgets this silly idea and remembers that the only purpose for a faucet is for lapping fresh water and the only purpose for a sink is to curl up and nap.

Later,

Sophie

Frequent Foreplay Miles

Love and marriage. Like a horse and carriage, right? Well, sometimes, but let’s be honest. It’s not always easy. You say “I do” with such hope and bright-eyed optimism and then, before you know it, life gets in the way. Kids, jobs, mortgages. Stuff right out left field.

Here’s something I recently learned that’s pretty interesting: it takes five positives to make up for one negative. That’s because our brains are hardwired to make negative experiences more sticky. In order to survive, our caveman ancestors needed to learn that fire is hot and woolly mammoths are dangerous. That’s why we can get praise all day long except for one bit of criticism and what do we obsess about? The criticism. So think about the math for a minute.

If your sweetheart tosses his dirty socks on the floor twice in one week, that’s minus five times two. He’s lost ten points! So even if he puts them in the hamper where they belong the other five days, he’s still in the hole by five. See how easy it is for your sweetheart (or you) to end up in the doghouse?

That’s why it’s so important to wrack up Frequent Foreplay Miles by going out of your way to score points. I know. I know. We’re not supposed to keep score but we agreed to be honest, didn’t we? We all know who left dirty dishes in the sink AGAIN, who won the last three arguments, and who got to pick the last Netflix movie.

So here’s what Doug and I do. We go out of our way, every single day, to wrack up Frequent Foreplay Miles by being thoughtful, kind, and generous towards each other. If you ask yourself every day what you can do to make your sweetheart’s day a little better, it’s easy. An I’m-thinking-about-you-text, a small gift, the offer to run an errand, biting your tongue when you’re tempted to say something like “calm down,” and even a well-timed smile. All of those things help you wrack up points and you need them because, let’s face it, you’re going to screw up no matter how hard you try not to.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Oh, and for more about Frequent Foreplay Miles, check out the book by that title by Shela Dean, available on Amazon.

Love,

Mavis

Holiday Extravaganza !!!

Win prizes!! You can enter up to 14 times to win . . .

Anne Kennison

Four (4) Winners:

(1) print copy of DEATH BY ROMANCE (US only)

(2) eCopies of DEATH BY ROMANCE

(1) $10 Amazon Gift Card

Piper Templeton

Six (6) Winners:

(3) print copies of RAIN CLOUDS & WATERFALLS (INTL)

(2) eCopies of RAIN CLOUDS & WATERFALLS gifted from Amazon

(1) $10 Amazon Gift Card (electronic)

PC Zick

Five (5) Winners:

(1) eBook of Behind the Altar (gifted from Amazon, INTL)

(1) eBook of Behind the Bar (gifted from Amazon, INTL)

(1) eBook of Behind the Curtain (INTL)

(2) print copies of Behind the Curtain autographed (US only)

Meet the Characters

Since I’m going to be busy busy busy working on the sequel to Death by Romance, I’ve asked some of the characters you met in Death by Romance to contribute to my blog. Wander on over to their pages and say hello.

You’ll find them here: Detective Hamlin, Mavis and Sophie.

‘Til next time!

Anne

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