Marcia Lynn McClure's Blog, page 8

Sharing Snacks to Lose Weight AND the winner of "Jesse Bryant's" Raspberry Almonds!

So, I have a cherished friend named, Jeannette. (You may or may not have seen her photo on Facebook so here she is).  As you can see, Jeannette is way skinny and gorgeous, right.  I, on the other hand, struggle with the old "w" word (weight).  Now, a couple of years ago I began to notice something…every time I was over at Jeannette's house and the evening rolled around to find us both sitting at her kitchen table chatting (one of my favorite pastimes, by the way), Jeannette always, always says, "Hey…do you want some candy?"  Not wanting to be rude, of course, I always say, "Sure!"  Each and every time this happens, Jeannette the proceeds to pull a giant bag of candy out of her cupboard (usually one of those mixed candy bags that has like mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, bite-sized Snickers, etc. in it).  She then tears the giant bag of candy open, plops it down in the center of the table, sits down across from me and we each choose a piece.

Now here's where it gets interesting.  Jeannette will eat her one bite-sized snickers or her one mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, then as we sit at the table for several hour, she'll watch me eat piece after piece and never, ever eat another one herself!  One night a few years ago, I realized something about this little routine.  It was like a light went on in my dark brain!  I think watching me eat candy satisfies Jeannette's need to eat it somehow.

Upon the sudden realization of this I exclaimed, "Hey!  I know what you're doing!  You get your jollies out of watching ME eat the candy and get fatter…that way YOU don't eat it and gain any weight!"

Jeannette laughed and denied everything.  But here's the deal…I think she really does do that…only it's subconscious and not intentional.  I'm serious!  She would never sabotage me that way…but I do think she gets some weird sort of satisfaction out of watching me eat candy that helps her not to eat it.  So guess what?  I tried it myself!

The other night when Kevin's parents, sister, niece, nephew and brother were over…as it started to get late and Kevin and I hadn't had dinner yet…I started to get really really snacky feeling.  BUT I am trying to eat better and cut out things like super cheesy Twirly Cheetos, peanut butter and milk chocolate chips, BBQ Pringles, etc.  So here's what I did…as part of my 'eating better' goal, I've gut out cheeses.  So I had all this delicious deli cheese in my fridge that I thought I should maybe give to my mother-in-law and father-in-law to take home and use.

Well, when I got the cheese out of the fridge, I noticed everyone wanted to taste the different kinds.  There was a package of pepperjack, some provolone and some white cheddar with horseradish (mmmm!).  But when everyone started sampling cheeses…well guess what…I sort of felt satisfied by their enjoyment of it and wasn't as tempted as I had been when I was simply thinking about snacking.

I then went to the fridge and pulled out a new back of "Jesse Bryant's" Raspberry Almonds.  I wanted my sister-in-law to try them and then found out that my nephew is a nut fan as well, so I opened the bag and watched as everybody went crazy over the raspberry almonds!  It helped!  I'm not kidding!  Watching everyone enjoy some of my favorite snacks really did give me some much needed satisfaction where the munching problem was concerned!  It's a miracle!

Furthermore, I find that I can enjoy baking again!  All I do is bake a big old batch of cookies, brownies, etc. and then give them to my kids or take them to people as a random "cheer up" thingy!  It's amazing!  Can you believe it?

Well, there is still one problem…and that is that all day long I've been thinking about nothing but my favorite store-bought cookies!  Mmmmm!  Here they are in order of favoritism:

1.  Keeblers' Fudge Stripe Cookies (I'm salivating over here!)

2.  Nabisco's Traditional Chips Ahoy (Aye Yi Yi!)

3.  Keebler's Sandies Pecan Shortbread (OUCH!!)

4.  Nabicso's Nutter Butter Bites (Gulp!  Delicious!)

5.  Nabisco's Double Stuff Oreos (Help Me!  I'm Melting!)

AND…a couple of rather seasonal favorites are:

6.  Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies (Hallelujah!)

7.  Girl Scout Thin Mints (Naturally!)

So, now that I've already explained my theory of enjoying junk food through feeding it to others, today's ridiculously Marcia-style contest is this…leave a comment (or email me) listing your favorite store-bought cookies and you'll automatically be entered to win a care package stuffed with as many kinds of MY favorite store-bought cookies as I can find this time of year!  (I'm really only worried about the Girl Scout Thin Mints.)!  Okay?  Yep!  An entire box of cookies to share with others or sit down and eat yourself sick on!  What do you say?  I would LOVE to get a box of cookies in the mail!  It's so…sort of something your grandma or favorite auntie would do back in the day, right?

Now, there's one other item to address today…the winner of Jesse Bryant's Raspberry Almonds!  I just picked a random entry and it is….Debbie Budge!  E-mail your address to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com, Debbie and I'll get your almonds in the mail!  I LOVE edible contest prized!  Bwah ha ha ha ha!

 

Finding Huckleberry Contest (AND re-posting the winner of The Transporter DVD!)

(Psst…Kacee? Did you miss that little announcement that you are the winner of The Transporter DVD? It was mixed in with the Pumpkin Cookie recipe blog! Ha ha!)

For years and years and years, I've wanted to write a sort of autobiographical book for you called Finding Huckleberry.  I just envisioned it as being a compilation of short stories (romantic stories)…you know…romance and drama experiences I lived through that eventually not only made me who I am now, and inspired me where my books are concerned…but that allowed the reader to follow my yellow brick road to finding my Mr. Perfectly Imperfect, Kevin!

However, with the demands of being a novelist and still putting my husband, kids, grandson and love for sugary desserts first…there just is never time for me to sit down and write that book.  As time has rolled on, I began to really, really worry that I'd never get to tell my story of Finding Huckleberry (a.k.a. Kevin) and it bothered me.  I finally just gave up on the idea and figured my kids would just have to try and remember the life experiences I'd shared with them and that you would just have to guess at which scenes, events, etc. in my books may have been inspired by actual events.

BUT…(and thank goodness my mind works best at 3 a.m.)…then I woke up one early morning with a little tickle of an idea.  If it worked, it would allow me the time to write my Finding Huckleberry memoirs thingy, AND not interfere too much with my regular fiction writing schedule.

Back in the olden days (like 1980-something) there used to be a thing called an Installment Publication.  (I even think Scott Card told me he did this with one of his novels a few years ago.  I think.  But I'm not sure.)  The type of Installment Publication I remember usually ran in the newspaper.  I remember when one of the Albuquerque newspapers ran part of the first Star Wars book this way…each day or week, there would be a new installment of a story or book in the newspaper.  Well, I don't really like the word installment (it sounds like a money/loan/stress thing to me).  But I do like things that come in episodes…like TV series, trilogy books and movies, etc.

Therefore, at 3 a.m. that particular morning, I sat up in bed and thought, "Hey!  I could write Finding Huckleberry a chapter at a time and let the publisher release it as an "Episode Publication!"  That way I can still work on it without throwing off my current writing schedule AND I can share it with my friends/readers as I go so they get to read it, too!"

Furthermore, since I've been getting so many e-mails about "why can't you write faster" and "I need something that you've written to read between books"…I thought this Finding Huckleberry project my serve as something silly, fun and romantic to read for you, too!  E-Books used to be the "Quick Fix" between novels…but obviously that was before the world caught on to the e-book thing, making e-books as a "Quick Fix" archaic and impractical.

And you know me…always nostalgic…always wishing things weren't quite so fast-paced and techy!  So why not combine the best of both worlds and have an Episode Publication that is electronic, right?

Therefore, as you know, I have begun my writing adventure of Finding Huckleberry: Memoirs of a Romance Novelist for you, my family and myself!  The first episode is up and available and I want to thank you all for the great responses and encouragement!  I'm glad you're enjoying it!  (Whew!)

And since I am starting at the very beginning with my Finding Huckleberry tales…I thought it might be just perfect to include a little blog contest this week that sort of relates!  If you're read Finding Huckleberry:  Memoirs of a Romance Novelist (I'm so corny with titles), you'll know that this little DVD is dear to my heart!  If you've never seen this old, classic, musical version of Tom Sawyer…you have really been missing out on life!  The music by John Williams and the Sherman Brothers is FANTASTIC!  The songs are ones my adult children still remember with delight…and my daughter and I can pretty much sing any song from this movie on demand!

Furthermore, Huck (played by Jeff East) is ADORABLE!  I was totally in love THIS very Huckleberry Finn for like EVER!  I still think Jeff East is the best ever Huckleberry Finn in movies!  So…whether or not you've read Finding Huckleberry:  Memoirs of a Goofy Romance Novelist, you will LOVE this movie!  It's a great, fabulous, wonderful family film, too!  (Okay…there is one scene when Tom and Huck are 'swimming in the nude' where there little bums pop up out of the water for a second…just so you know.)  As usual, just leave your comment here as your entry!  You can also e-mail me at marcialmcclure@cs.com or facebook me!

Thanks for encouraging me through my project of writing Finding Huckleberry!  It's so important to me!  And I think it will be fun for your, too!  Can't you just hear that song echoing through your mind now?  "Tom goes out with Huck, swimming in the nude?"

Updated Red Stuff and Noodles Recipe! (And Ginger Muffins Recipe, Too!)

Okay!  Okay!  It looks as though I need to post my famous "Red Stuff and Noodles" recipe again!  It is delicious!  Furthermore, my daughter pointed out to me that I make it a little differently than my original recipe states…so I've updated it, too!

My kids loved this when we were all home together and it still endures as a family favorite!  I usually serve it with fresh steamed broccoli spears and my mom's "Ginger Muffins"…Mmmmm!  Hey!  Here's a crazy idea from your ding-bat friend (moi)!  I'll include my mom's "Ginger Muffins" recipe today, too!  Yum, yum, super yummy!  Let me know what you think!

"Red Stuff and Noodles"

Ingredients:

2 lbs Stew Meat or Roast, cut into bite-size pieces.

1 large Onion, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons Butter

2-3 cups Water

1-2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

¾ cup Ketchup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1/3 cup of Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons Mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons Paprika

2 Dashes of Cayenne Pepper

Extra Wide Egg Noodles

1. Melt butter in electric skillet and brown meat over medium heat.

2. Add onion and sauté until tender.

3. Add remaining ingredients (except noodles) and cover.  Simmer for 1-2 hours until meat is tender and sauce is thick.

4. Serve over hot noodles!

"Ginger Muffins"

Ingredients:

¼ cup Butter

¼ cup Sugar

1 Egg

½ cup Molasses

1 ½ cup Flour

¾ teaspoon Baking Soda

¼ teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Cinnamon

½ teaspoon Ginger

¼ teaspoon Cloves

½ cup Hot Water

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cream butter and sugar together.

3. Beat in egg and then molasses.

4. Mix in dry ingredients.

5. Gradually stir in hot water and beat until smooth.

6. Fill each muffing cup 2/3 full and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookie Time! (AND Who Won Jason Statham?)

At last! Oh at long, long last! I'm nearly in tears with joy! I love autumn and it's whispering through the morning air here in Albuquerque! Those subtle changes in the temperature…that feel that lets you know it's on it's way…the sound of hot air balloon burners to wake you in the morning! I LOVE it all!

To me, the first day of school is my official "pumpkin cookie day!" For years and years I've baked pumpkin cookies for my kids on the first day of school so that the warm, comforting aroma of pumpkin, spiced and milk chocolate chips is wafting through the house when they get home…delicious pumpkin cookies waiting to tantalized their taste buds after that stressful first day back! Oh, I love them! If I had to pick one recipe my mom gave to me that would be known as my favorite, it would be this pumpkin cookie recipe! I've made a few subtle changes over the years…but nothing too rash…and let me tell you, these cookies are delicious!

Now, I have shared this recipe publicly in past years, but in case you missed it along the way, I'm posting it here.  The original recipe makes a TON of cookies…so I've also shared a half batch recipe, okay?

Marcia's Pumpkin Cookies

1 ½ c. Shortening (I use a butter…about 1 ¼ c.)

4 c. Sugar

3 Eggs

2 t. Salt

3 t. Nutmeg

3 t. Cinnamon

1 t. Ginger

1 t. Allspice

1 t. Cloves

1 29 oz. can of Libby's Pumpkin

½ t. Baking Soda

3 t. Baking Powder

7 c. Flour

1 large package (3-4 cups) of Milk Chocolate Chips (Nestle's)

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs.  Sift remaining dry ingredients together and add in.  Mix in Milk Chocolate Chips.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 14-17 minutes until soft and cakey.

And the half batch recipe…

Marcia's Pumpkin Cookies

¾ c. Shortening (I use a butter…about 1 ¼ c.)

2 c. Sugar

1 Egg and 1 Egg Yolk

1 t. Salt

1 ½ t. Nutmeg

1 ½ t. Cinnamon

½ t. Ginger

½ t. Allspice

½ t. Cloves

1 15 oz. can of Libby's Pumpkin

¼ t. Baking Soda

1 ½ t. Baking Powder

3 ½ c. Flour

1 regular sized package (2 cups) of Milk Chocolate Chips (Nestle's)

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs.  Sift remaining dry ingredients together and add in.  Mix in Milk Chocolate Chips.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 14-17 minutes until soft and cakey.

These are sooooooooo good!  In fact, now that we've been discussing them…I think I'll whip up a batch today!  How about you?  Mmmmm!  I'm salivating!

Now as far as the Jason Statham in The Transporter CD is concerned…Kacee…I drew your name out of my hat as the winner!  Toss and e-mail out to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com and I'll get it in the mail to you asap!

Shall we have another contest this week, ladies?  Hmmm…I think so!  How about…hmmm…let me think a minute!  Oh!  I know!  How about a one pound package of Jesse Bryant's Raspberry Almonds?!  Yeah?  Let's do it!  Just post here…let's see…post your favorite thing about Take a Walk with Me and I'll draw a name later this week!  The winner will receive a pound of the Raspberry Almonds that so so soooooo inspire me!  I only have a photo from one of last year's contests to show you…but it gives you an idea of what the almonds look like!  They are sooooooooooooooooo delicious!  You'll never be the same!

Something Random to Share with the Man in Your Life!

As desperately as we girls love our romantic comedies, period dramas, and kissing scenes…boys love their action adventure movies, right?  Well, the truth is that I love action adventure movies, too!  (Especially if they have good running…i.e. Shia LaBeouf in the Transformer movies, Eagle Eye, etc.  He's a great runner!)  And one of my favorite, favorite action movies (though it is admittedly considered a "B Movie") is the first installment of Jason Statham's Transporter films…The Transporter!

I LOVE The Transporter!  (I do have to sort of endure The Transporter's romantic interest in this film…she's not who I would've chosen for him…but it makes sense, considering the story line.)  Furthermore, my husband and sons love The Transporter, too!  The choreography of the fighting scenes is awesome!!!  AND I have a secret desire and wish…I totally wish I could drive the way The Transporter does!

Let's veer of for a moment as I ramble about the importance of movie-fairness in couple relationships and family relationships.  As we all know, women will usually choose something light-hearted or romantic when it comes to a movie, while men prefer action most of the time.  I remember when my kids were all at home we always had a family movie night.  At first, I just picked all the movies because I was trying to make sure that both my daughter and my sons had a good, well-rounded exposure to different kinds of movies.  I didn't want them growing up to be like so many people I knew who couldn't sit through a movie and enjoy it if it wasn't just the one kind they liked.  Therefore, the boys grew up learning to endure/enjoy musicals, period films, old black and white movies…and my daughter grew up learning to endure/enjoy things that the boys liked.  Naturally, as the kids got older, it became more difficult choose movies that everyone would enjoy.  So we started taking turns choosing.  All of us took a weekly movie night and chose whatever we wanted…keeping in mind, however, that it was for everyone to watch, so there needed to be that consideration.

This actually worked for quite awhile, until my daughter realized that there were three males in the family and only 2 females.  So the ratio of girl movies to boy movies was skewed.  But it was what it was and we continued this until the kids were grown (we still do this with our youngest son, Trent…being that he's still at home).

However, it got me to thinking about the fact that even as adult couples we girls need to be willing to watch some action, and the man in our life should be able to make it through a Doris Day movie once in a while.  Right?  And after babbling on nonsensically here…I have to say that this is one reason I like The Transporter so much…we ALL love it in our family…girls and boys!  So I figure it's a good couple pick, too!  Your husband, boyfriend, brother or teenage son should enjoy it because it's totally action packed (and Jason Statham's fight scenes are AWESOME!) and you might enjoy it because Jason Statham's character is uber cool, suave and heroic!

Now that we've established the reasons why men AND women can enjoy The Transporter, let's talk a little about The Transporter movie star himself.  We've established that Jason Statham plays the role of The Transporter (If you've ever seen The Italian Job (Love it!) he plays handsome Rob) and is perfect!  But Jason didn't start out as The Transporter, however.  He was on the British Olympic Diving Team, and was ranked 12th in the world in diving in 1992.  (What is it with Hollywood and swimmers?)  BUT to me (and my family) he's known simply as The Transporter.  He's well known in the Men's  Health arena, and in many physical fitness venues.  (That's something he and I do NOT share, by the way.)  I find it interesting that, though he was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England…his accent doesn't really sound English.  Hmmm.  But anyway…blah blah blah…

By the way, there are two other Transporter movies, but the first one…The Transporter…is the purest.  And by purest I mean that even though it obviously had a lower budget, it's got more action and, in my opinion, a better story line.  And I don't know why I chose The Transporter DVD as this week's contest (probably to encourage us girls to sit down and watch something with our guys that they will really enjoy for a change), but I did.

So, Tiffany Deza…you won last week's contest for the P & P soundtrack!  (E-mail your address to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com please, and I'll get your soundtrack dropped in the mail for you!)

Meanwhile, leave a comment here to enter this week's contest for a DVD of The Transporter!  What should you comment about?  Hmmm.  How about other movies you've found that cross the barriers between chick flicks and guy films!  Fun!  And…just to pique your interest…here's the original movie trailer for The Transporter!

Oooo! "In the Mood to Write Romantic Scenes!" (and jumping beans winner!)

Ooo!  Yesterday I asked for more blog suggestions…and Heather Hilmer…you won the Jumping Beans!

Now, if you seen Heather's suggestion yet, this was her blog suggestion for me…"I always wonder how you get in the mood for writing your passionate romantic scenes and/or how you think up your dreamy men!! Is there certain music you listen to when writing to get in a certain mood, or certain movies or shows that have inspired your writing?"  It's a great prompt!  I just hope I can do justice to it!  Ahhhh!

I'll start out by confessing something…when I'm writing romantic scenes (especially kissing parts) I have to close my office door…because I sit there at my computer and blush my guts out the entire time!  I'm not kidding!  I get all flustered and blushy and grinning and nervous…so I have to make sure no one's going to wander past my office door, glance in and see me all goofy and blushing!

As far as how I "get in the mood" for writing my "passionate romantic scenes"…well, usually I start by literally announcing to my husband and son that I'm going to be working on a 'difficult' scene, so I'm closing my door.  I also put my cell phone in another room so that I don't have anything close that might distract me.  Next I pull up my iTunes playlist that I have previously created for whichever book I'm currently working on.  My iTunes playlist for any given book always includes one, two or three songs that 'put me in the mood' so to speak for that particular hero and heroine's romance.  For instance, I wrote the entire text to Saphyre Snow with only one musical track set on repeat.  It played any time I was working on that book and nearly drove my family nuts!  For Saphyre Snow, I listened to Track #15 (Your Hands are Cold) from the 2006 movie version of Pride and Prejudice.  Seriously!  I had that one piece of music on repeat the entire time!

But writing to only one song isn't my normal habit.  As I said, I do make a playlist…but most of them include far more than one song.  Still, there is usually only one or two songs I listen to while writing the romance scenes.  During The Tide of the Mermaid Tears, I listened to recordings of Ocean Waves from some Sounds of Life CD most of the time.  But whenever I was writing the scenes between Ridge and Ember I had one song on repeat…Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine.  I'm not sure why that particular song was in my heart for Ember and Ridge (it really doesn't fit the time period or anything), but it was.  To me it was there theme.  Does that make sense?  For The Trove of the Passion Room, I chose three songs for Maxim and Sharlamagne…I Remember You for certain scenes, as well as I Can Dream, Can't I.  During the most romantic/passionate scenes, I listened to a song entitled Insatiable…but on a low volume because some of the lyrics are…um…well, the push the envelope if you know what I mean.  There are other songs on that "soundtrack," too…All the Cats Join in by Benny Goodman, Casper's Lullaby from the movie Casper, and The Gypsy by the Ink Spots.  The Look of Love by Diana Krall was Jagger and Tabby's theme in A Better Reason to Fall in Love, The Lights of Albuquerque was one I listened to while writing The Time of Aspen Falls, and for hottie with a naughty body Sir Broderick Dougray (i.e. A Crimson Frost) I had a playlist packed with selections from Brian Crain!  FABULOUS soundtrack!  (Obviously, since he's one of the people I dedicated the book to!)  Let's see…to give you more info than you want or need…I'm Yours by The Script was Jesse and Cozy's kissing theme and Hey There, Li'l Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs was Jesse's 'flirting/prowling' song for me!  Ha ha!  I'm so weird!

Heather also asked how I think up my dreamy men.  Well, I hope it doesn't disappoint anyway, but I draw from real life…my husband, sons, uncles, grandfather, my dad (I get a lot of smart aleck one-liners from my dad…though I have to change some of the…um…colorful metaphors here and there) and other wonderful husbands, fathers, boyfriends…good men I've known who are truly admirable, etc.  But admittedly…Kevin is my main inspiration.  So so so many of the romantic one-liners in my books, the humor, the flirtations and physical attributes of every hero come from a base of Kevin-ness.  It's true!  It may seem corny, and you may wonder if I'll ever run out of inspiration because Kevin is only one man…but I promise…the inspiration he gives me is boundless!

Now as far as "movies or shows" that influence me…well we cannot overlook her majesty, Jane Austen!  Or the Queen of Gothic Romance, Victoria Holt as far as authors and books-to-movies go.  I'm sure that Jane Austen BBC movies, etc. inspire me…more along the lines of just helping be to see the life-styles etc.  I like period pieces like that…westerns, etc.  They do assist me in capturing a 'feeling' of the era I'm writing in.  Even Anne of Green Gables and the spin off series Road to Avonlea have helped me to write some visual descriptions such as cloths, buildings, etc.

Did I answer your question thoroughly enough, Heather?  I hope so!  Send me your snail mail address so I can have your jumping beans sent to you!

And now…a new contest!  Leave a comment here and I'll pull a name out of my hat next week as the winner for a CD of the soundtrack to Pride and Prejudice!  You'll LOVE it!  It's a gorgeous soundtrack!  Okay?  Want a sample?  Sure!  Here's the infamous Track #15…my Saphyre Snow inspiration! It starts out very quietly…and it's after the first crescendo that I really like it!

Wah Whoooo! It's Mexican Jumping Beans Season! (Win some!)

I'm soooooooo excited! It's Mexican Jumping Bean season! I ordered by first "tin" of beans and received them last week! AND we are already loving them! I get such a kick out of sitting at the table during breakfast or dinner and hearing them click around in their little plastic house (one of those clear plastic boxes that push pins come in that I use to store them in)! My grandson is still a little wigged out about them…but mesmerized at the same time! He's so cute to watch when we put them in his little hand!

So, if you're in the mood for a little something fun, just leave a comment (your blog suggestion for me) here for the chance to win your own little family of Mexican Jumping Beans! If you want to skip the contest all together and go straight for your own beans…this is the place I order them from! My Pet Beans dot Com! The beans I get from this site are fresh, healthy, happy and almost all of them hatched into moths this last spring! I think I had one that didn't hatch, that's all! They're awesome! I find the "Ten-in-a-Tin" are the best bang for your buck!  Though…I will admit…I do like to give them a little 'house' with a little more room to jump AND so I can hear them better!

Now…let's do this…in your comment, leave a blog suggestion for me and I will randomly pick one to blog about!  That will be the winner of some fun, wonderful Mexican Jumping Beans from My Pet Beans!   Random fun!  AND if you have kids…they will LOVE them! Pssst…remember to take the lid off your bean house (whatever you decide to use) come February or March.  My daughter forgot to take hers off and all her bean moths died

Winner of the Frequency DVD!

Oh, Kristie Whiting…you won the Frequency DVD!  Where do I send it? Drop an e-mail to me at marcialmcclure@cs.com so I can drop your DVD in the mail!

As for something new…hmmm…I'm a little off my game today, so I'll have to think about it.  In the meantime…your thoughts on…dill pickles please!

The Importance of a Good Stick!

The other day, a friend posted this on my Facebook wall:

"So I am reading Sweet Cherry Ray and you talk about poking the coyote LOL any ways I've read all your books a bunch of times and I guess I really never realized that you talk about poking coyotes or other animals with a stick a lot.  Or maybe it is just the books I reread this summer.  So now to my question…Is this one of those things that has a funny story to it or were you just interested in those kinds of things?  Maybe it is something to blog about…lol I guess I just found it interesting…ha ha ha ha!"

Well, I think I WILL go ahead and blog about the stick thing…specifically, the importance of a good stick!  I mean, let's think about it…sticks are quintessential in so so so many ways-obviously!  However, when it comes to poking things (especially dead things) the availability of a good stick is paramount!  I don't know about you, but road kill and other dead animals…well, how do YOU investigate them, if not with stick?

Of course I poke dead things with a stick!  I also use a stick to test spider webs…you know…like this summer when I showed my new daughter-in-law how to tell if a spider web was a black widow web just by the feel of it when you pull at it with a stick.

An arrogant little black widow decided she was going to live in the bottom of the pot of my violets!  Now, naturally, this pot of violets was the one pot my little grandson was always drawn too.  So when I saw the web that was spun from the bottom watering hole of the pot of violets to the side of my sage pot…I was worried.  Well, naturally, I found a good stick and ripped up that widow's web.  Then I watered my violets so that the water in the bottom of the pot was pretty deep.  Voila!  I thought I had drowned that nasty little she-devil.

But NO!!!!  The next morning I went out to find a bigger and stronger web!  The little she-devil had spun her new web, not only between the violet pot and the sage pot…she'd ventured out onto the walkway!  Can you believe the audacity?!  Well, another stick was in order!  And I found one!  I whipped down her web and watered my violets again, thinking surely she'd be discouraged by now, right?  But NO!  This went on for days and days…back and forth…a contest of wills between a protective grandma and a she-devil, husband-killing black widow spider.

Well, one morning, the web the spider had spun during the night stretched clear across the walkway!  Anyone coming to the front door would've walked right through it…including my little Lincoln!  I tore down the spider's (Belligerent little so and so!)  web again and this time went and got the small little blow torch type thingy Kevin uses to light the grill, and burned the rest of her web in the bottom of the pot!  I also stuck the torch in to the watering hole of the pot and let it rip!  I thought we were done with Miss "I'll build a web to worry you when the grandbaby is over" Widow!  (Remember, it's her own fault she's a widow in the first place!)

The next morning I walked out to find the biggest, longest, thickest. highest, most belligerently spun web ever!  Okay…now I was really vexed!  Mallory (my new daughter-in-law) was over and so I explained that I was through messing around with this spider!  BUT…being so much like my mother the way I am…I saw the opportunity to have Mallory learn a little about Black Widow Spiders.  I found a good stick and told her to use it to feel the unusual strength and stickiness of the web.  I explained that black widow webs look chaotic, too.  To the trained eye they're very recognizable…but not to the untrained eye, or to a 16 month old little boy who loves to get into mischief!  Needless to say, Mallory was very impressed with her new-found knowledge and stick skills.

After I was certain Mallory was sufficiently impressed by what a good stick can teach you as far as spider webs are concerned, I turned on the hose and stuck it right into the watering hole of the pot!  Moments later, here she came…that competitive, belligerent black widow who was keeping my grandson away from my violets!  She came crawling out of the hole and began making her way up the side of the pot.

BAM!  She never saw it coming!  I used my one of my chartreuse colored Crocks (the right one, I think) to smash her flat on the side of the pot!  Victory!  And now my little Lincoln can sniff and pick my violets 'til his little heart is content!  Thus, I've presented only one reason a good stick is important!

One of my greatest frustrations about the 8 years we lived in Washington state, was the sad lack of a good stick to poke dead, living, or interesting things with.  Everything was so green and gorgeous and alive, that when a nine inch slug presented itself, there was never a stick available to poke it with.  It was infuriating! There was never a stick around to fish something out of the creek with…never a stick available to poke a rotting pumpkin with.  Nope.  There ain't no good sticks in Ferndale, Washington.

Thankfully, we're back in New Mexico now…and when I found a dead rattle snake while on my walk a couple of years ago, I glanced over to the side of the road and Voila!…a big, perfectly strong and dry stick was right there at hand!  Therefore, I was able to carry the snake home for Trent to see (and for the UPS man to wonder about when he saw it laying in an old pie dish on the bench on my front porch).

I mean, what are you going to prod animal feces with if there aren't any good sticks around?  What are you going to stir mud with?  What do you use for poking dead things with if you don't have a good stick?

Which brings me to this…if you were walking along the shore and you saw, let's say, The Count of Monte Cristo/Jim Caviezel washed up on the sand…you'd want a good stick so you could poke him and make sure he was alive, right?  I love the movie The Count of Monte Cristo!  AND I love Jim Caviezel in that part, AND I would totally poke him with a stick if I found him washed up on the shore!  I wouldn't poke him as hard as I would, let's say, a washed up, squishy, transparent-ish jelly fish.  But I would poke Jim Caviezel/The Count of Monte Cristo with a stick if I found him.

So…in honor of Jim Caviezel and the fact that any of us would probably poke him with a stick if we had the chance, I've chosen one of my favorite Jim Caviezel movies as this week's blog contest!

I know, I know…my brain runs around like a chicken with its head cut off sometimes!  But, in thinking about the question of a good stick and poking things with it…I thought of The Count of Monte Cristo and how I would want a good stick around if I came across him on the beach.  That led me to Jim Caviezel…which of course let me to thinking about the first Jim Caviezel movie I ever saw…which was Frequency!  LOVE it!

So…the winner of the last blog contest and the pirate/mermaid puzzle is Nikki!  E-mail an address to me, Nikki…one where I can send the puzzle…at marcialmcclure@cs.com and I'll get that in the mail for you!  Meanwhile, leave a comment here if you'd like to be entered to win one of my favorite Jim Caviezel movies-Frequency!  Okeydokey?

Ahhh, some truths cannot be ignored!  You can never underestimate the importance of a good stick.

The Importance of a Good Stick!

The other day, a friend posted this on my Facebook wall:

"So I am reading Sweet Cherry Ray and you talk about poking the coyote LOL any ways I've read all your books a bunch of times and I guess I really never realized that you talk about poking coyotes or other animals with a stick a lot.  Or maybe it is just the books I reread this summer.  So now to my question…Is this one of those things that has a funny story to it or were you just interested in those kinds of things?  Maybe it is something to blog about…lol I guess I just found it interesting…ha ha ha ha!"

Well, I think I WILL go ahead and blog about the stick thing…specifically, the importance of a good stick!  I mean, let's think about it…sticks are quintessential in so so so many ways-obviously!  However, when it comes to poking things (especially dead things) the availability of a good stick is paramount!  I don't know about you, but road kill and other dead animals…well, how do YOU investigate them, if not with stick?

Of course I poke dead things with a stick!  I also use a stick to test spider webs…you know…like this summer when I showed my new daughter-in-law how to tell if a spider web was a black widow web just by the feel of it when you pull at it with a stick.

An arrogant little black widow decided she was going to live in the bottom of the pot of my violets!  Now, naturally, this pot of violets was the one pot my little grandson was always drawn too.  So when I saw the web that was spun from the bottom watering hole of the pot of violets to the side of my sage pot…I was worried.  Well, naturally, I found a good stick and ripped up that widow's web.  Then I watered my violets so that the water in the bottom of the pot was pretty deep.  Voila!  I thought I had drowned that nasty little she-devil.

But NO!!!!  The next morning I went out to find a bigger and stronger web!  The little she-devil had spun her new web, not only between the violet pot and the sage pot…she'd ventured out onto the walkway!  Can you believe the audacity?!  Well, another stick was in order!  And I found one!  I whipped down her web and watered my violets again, thinking surely she'd be discouraged by now, right?  But NO!  This went on for days and days…back and forth…a contest of wills between a protective grandma and a she-devil, husband-killing black widow spider.

Well, one morning, the web the spider had spun during the night stretched clear across the walkway!  Anyone coming to the front door would've walked right through it…including my little Lincoln!  I tore down the spider's (Belligerent little so and so!)  web again and this time went and got the small little blow torch type thingy Kevin uses to light the grill, and burned the rest of her web in the bottom of the pot!  I also stuck the torch in to the watering hole of the pot and let it rip!  I thought we were done with Miss "I'll build a web to worry you when the grandbaby is over" Widow!  (Remember, it's her own fault she's a widow in the first place!)

The next morning I walked out to find the biggest, longest, thickest. highest, most belligerently spun web ever!  Okay…now I was really vexed!  Mallory (my new daughter-in-law) was over and so I explained that I was through messing around with this spider!  BUT…being so much like my mother the way I am…I saw the opportunity to have Mallory learn a little about Black Widow Spiders.  I found a good stick and told her to use it to feel the unusual strength and stickiness of the web.  I explained that black widow webs look chaotic, too.  To the trained eye they're very recognizable…but not to the untrained eye, or to a 16 month old little boy who loves to get into mischief!  Needless to say, Mallory was very impressed with her new-found knowledge and stick skills.

After I was certain Mallory was sufficiently impressed by what a good stick can teach you as far as spider webs are concerned, I turned on the hose and stuck it right into the watering hole of the pot!  Moments later, here she came…that competitive, belligerent black widow who was keeping my grandson away from my violets!  She came crawling out of the hole and began making her way up the side of the pot.

BAM!  She never saw it coming!  I used my one of my chartreuse colored Crocks (the right one, I think) to smash her flat on the side of the pot!  Victory!  And now my little Lincoln can sniff and pick my violets 'til his little heart is content!  Thus, I've presented only one reason a good stick is important!

One of my greatest frustrations about the 8 years we lived in Washington state, was the sad lack of a good stick to poke dead, living, or interesting things with.  Everything was so green and gorgeous and alive, that when a nine inch slug presented itself, there was never a stick available to poke it with.  It was infuriating! There was never a stick around to fish something out of the creek with…never a stick available to poke a rotting pumpkin with.  Nope.  There ain't no good sticks in Ferndale, Washington.

Thankfully, we're back in New Mexico now…and when I found a dead rattle snake while on my walk a couple of years ago, I glanced over to the side of the road and Voila!…a big, perfectly strong and dry stick was right there at hand!  Therefore, I was able to carry the snake home for Trent to see (and for the UPS man to wonder about when he saw it laying in an old pie dish on the bench on my front porch).

I mean, what are you going to prod animal feces with if there aren't any good sticks around?  What are you going to stir mud with?  What do you use for poking dead things with if you don't have a good stick?

Which brings me to this…if you were walking along the shore and you saw, let's say, The Count of Monte Cristo/Jim Caviezel washed up on the sand…you'd want a good stick so you could poke him and make sure he was alive, right?  I love the movie The Count of Monte Cristo!  AND I love Jim Caviezel in that part, AND I would totally poke him with a stick if I found him washed up on the shore!  I wouldn't poke him as hard as I would, let's say, a washed up, squishy, transparent-ish jelly fish.  But I would poke Jim Caviezel/The Count of Monte Cristo with a stick if I found him.

So…in honor of Jim Caviezel and the fact that any of us would probably poke him with a stick if we had the chance, I've chosen one of my favorite Jim Caviezel movies as this week's blog contest!

I know, I know…my brain runs around like a chicken with its head cut off sometimes!  But, in thinking about the question of a good stick and poking things with it…I thought of The Count of Monte Cristo and how I would want a good stick around if I came across him on the beach.  That led me to Jim Caviezel…which of course let me to thinking about the first Jim Caviezel movie I ever saw…which was Frequency!  LOVE it!

So…the winner of the last blog contest and the pirate/mermaid puzzle is Nikki!  E-mail an address to me, Nikki…one where I can send the puzzle…at marcialmcclure@cs.com and I'll get that in the mail for you!  Meanwhile, leave a comment here if you'd like to be entered to win one of my favorite Jim Caviezel movies-Frequency!  Okeydokey?

Ahhh, some truths cannot be ignored!  You can never underestimate the importance of a good stick.