Marlene Dotterer's Blog, page 14

Happy Meal

The color alone makes me smile and it tastes as good as it looks. Also: easy.

1 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries
1/2 roasted butternut squash, chopped
1 granny smith apple
3 tblsp minced red onion
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup chopped cooked green beans
Juice from 1/2 lime

I did have to peel, chop, and roast the butternut squash, which was the most work. But you know *shrugs* It needed to be done anyway and now I’ve got extra roasted squash to use with something else.

Oh, and I had to...

In Which the Author Waves the White Flag

I’ve been writing almost ten years. I never thought about that until right now, when I wrote that sentence. It sort of takes my breath away.Of course, we all know I haven’t been writing for theentireten years. Based on recent performance, I have to lose the past year or two when I’ve only come up with a few hundred words. Barely qualifies.

During this time, I’ve belonged to various writing groups, such as OWW (Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror), CWC (California...

The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, Epilogue

Epilogue

August 1972, Belfast

Avoiding the busy pedestrian traffic, 26-year-old Sam Altair parked in front of the house known as Dunallon, and waited a moment to gather his nerve, reflecting back over the strange invitation he’d received. He knew who Casey Andrews was, of course. Everyone in Ireland did. The widow of Thomas Andrews, the man who brought Harland & Wolff through the twentieth century with increasingly modern sailing ships, airplanes, and eventually space shuttles. He made Irelan...

View From the Hotel Window, Black Forest

Eat your hearts out:

For the record, we’re in Titisee, Germany. “See” means “lake” in German, so you’re looking at Titi Lake.

The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, Chapter 44

Thomas Andrews, Managing Director, Harland & Wolff Shipyards

Chapter 44

May 1915

Tom watched as George signed off on the final paper turning the Britannic over to White Star Line. She was every bit as beautiful as her sisters had been. George was confident she would perform well. Despite the Titanic tragedy, he said he was looking forward to heading the guarantee group on this voyage. Handing Tom copies of the reports, he raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Sure you don’t want to come along?” h...

Oktoberfest in Munich

Somehow, we managed to be in Munich for Oktoberfest. We didn’t plan this, it’s all serendipity. But here we are, and we had an awesome time, thanks to even more serendipity.

We had a good day wandering through the Marienplatz, a popular square with a huge street market. Then we had a not-so-wonderful time exploring Dachou, site of the first of Hitler’s concentration camps.

We returned to our hotel with plenty of time to walk the scant mile to where the Oktoberfest was happening. So we bundle...

The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, Chapter 43

Statue in Cobh, Ireland, representing the many Irish who left for America through Cobh port.

Chapter 43

April–May, 1912

Subpoenas awaited the crew and guarantee group at Liverpool, and that meant traveling to London rather than the homes they had been longing for. Many passengers were suing, and the Americans had already begun an inquiry; Britain dared not lag behind. Although the ship was owned by an American company, most of the crew was British. The Wreck Commission was convened immediatel...

View From My Hotel Window

We are in Dresden, the Christmas capitol of Germany. There’s a charming center of ancient buildings, but you can’t see that from here. Take a look:

The Time Travel Journals: Shipbuilder, Chapter 42

Wreaths for the memorial ceremony on board Balmoral, April 2012. The wreaths were tossed into the ocean above the site at the time of Titanic’s sinking, one hundred years later.

Chapter 42

April 15, 1912

As dawn lit the sky, the Virginian came over the horizon. Captain Rostron gave way for them to finish picking up the people in lifeboats. By eight, the Californian arrived, having spent some hours working her way around the ice field in which she had stopped the night before.

Baltic came in a...

Legal Fun

Last night was conga lines and singing, the corny kind of fun that’s. .. fun. More later.