Julia Rachel Barrett's Blog, page 22

Vegan Noodles.

I was once a vegan. Aside from making ‘facon‘ for my kids, I sort of had the notion that a vegan is a vegan is a vegan. I didn’t try to find substitutes for meat/dairy/eggs. I was simply eating vegan, combining vegan sources of protein so I got the nutrients I needed. It wasn’t easy. I did it for maybe five years and then added back in eggs and dairy. I gotta admit, I love eggs and I love cheese. I cannot tell a lie…

My son was vegan with me, but when my first daughter was six months old I cou...

In Gratitude.

Many thanks to those who sacrifice for our freedoms.

My father served in the army and was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps.

An uncle served in the Coast Guard during the Korean War.

An uncle served as a bombardier in WWII. His plane was shot down over occupied France. He spent 2 years in a German POW camp.

An uncle served as a gunner in WWII. His plane was shot down over occupied France. He was the only survivor.

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Gratitude. Tis’ the season, you know. Eh. I’m not much for......

I haz a conversation with my mother.

Don’t mistake circular-speech for stupidity. My mother is sharp as a tack.

“Hi mom. I heard you went to a Shakespeare play. Which one?”

“The one with no arms.”

“A Shakespeare play with no arms? What had no arms? The play?”

“No, the woman.”

“What woman?”

“The bartender. She didn’t have any arms.”

“The bartender? Which play was this?”

“Oh, some people didn’t like it, it got a few bad reviews, but I thought it was interesting. They had to dress her.”

“Had to dress who?”

“The woman with no arms.”

“But you s...

My Father Confesses.

I had never heard this story before this past Halloween night.

My dad confided in my son, my son repeated the story to me, and I immediately understood why my childhood had been filled with irrational fears and neuroses, why our hearts were always heavy with dread. Why we were convinced something awful was about to happen, every single day of our young lives. And awful things did happen.

Because of his story, I had an epiphany. My baffling anxious ulcer-inducing childhood made complete sense.

My...

It’s the little things.

I know ya’ll think I’m crazy but I love coming upon evidence of the existence of the mountain lion. Thursday Jake found a buried mountain lion kill. Mountain lions do bury their kills, or at least cache them, cover them up, to keep them from other predators and scavengers.

It was so interesting. We were maybe a quarter mile from the summit, still deep in the woods, when Jake got this real funny look on his face. I had him on his long leash- the 18 foot extendo leash, so he took advantage of th...

Amazon is doing this right:

Anticipation.

Amazon anticipates the needs of its customers and purveyors in such a way that the company remains ahead of the curve, or at least those in charge try their best to stay ahead.

Never underestimate the power of anticipation.

Anticipation is what makes a quarterback a great option quarterback.

Anticipation is what makes a coach irreplaceable.

Anticipation is what makes a chef cutting edge.

Anticipation (on my part) keeps my impulsive dog safe. I know what he’s likely to do before he kno...

One Foot In Heaven, Journey of a Hospice Nurse…

Is now in print!

You can purchase your copy here: One Foot In Heaven, Journey of a Hospice Nurse.

This is kinda one of those books readers like in print.

People die everyday. While most people in America die in a hospital, many families choose hospice for end of life care. Death, as experienced by hospice nurses, can be beautiful, peaceful, humorous, touching, tragic, disturbing, and even otherworldly. Hospice nurses act as midwives to dying people every day. Death transforms not just the patien...

Villette, by Charlotte Bronte

I just began reading Villette, written by Charlotte Bronte– oh she of Jane Eyre fame. This was her fourth novel, written in 1853.

The interesting thing about Charlotte Bronte and, of course, my fandom, is this– she possesses the uncanny ability to catapult me into her stories within a sentence or two.

In my version of the Bronte-Austen Fight Club, Bronte kicks ass with her introspective angst-ridden other-shoe-might-drop-at-any-time Gothic prose while Austen wanders aimlessly page after page, p...

So You Think You Want A German Shepherd Dog Like Jake…

My husband and I were hiking this morning, discussing how much time we both devote to our dog– by necessity. You know, the woman who bought Jake’s full brother gave him up after nine months. She couldn’t take it anymore.

At least two or three times a week someone stops me expressing gushing admiration for our beautiful German Shepherd dog and asking where they can get one just like him. We have decided these people should take a quick quiz to see if they are really ready for a dog like Jake.

Ge...

Kindle Countdown Deals Brought to You by Amazon!

Amazon has this new program – Kindle Countdown Deals. I’m giving it a try. It works like so– This is a new book promotion tool for authors enrolled in KDP Select on Amazon and Amazon.UK. It allows authors to provide readers with promotional discounts for a select period of time.

I’ve enrolled two books: Beauty and the Feast and One Foot In Heaven, so one fiction, one nonfiction, and we shall see.

Both books go on sale tomorrow at the discounted price!

Links ahoy!

Buy here: Beauty and the Feast.

Bu...