Kate Collins's Blog, page 199

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest

Hosted By Ellery Adams

It's the first of the month and a chance to win an e-gift card for $10 to the bookstore of your choice).

This is how it works: I post a few lines from a cozy mystery. You post the title and author in the comment section. Then, I'll draw a random name from the winning guesses and post that person's name on this page and on Facebook by 10 p.m. on April 2nd. I'm doing this so I don't forget to post the winner for all to see. This contest is now fast and furious as well as cozy and cool! 


Here are the lines from this month's mystery cozy:

"This lady out here?" called Chris. "She makes a killer gelato that's okay for your diet!"

Ellery's helpful hint - This culinary mystery might have you craving Mexican food. Good Luck!

Is This Spring Fever?

by Kate Collins

Why do I suddenly want to throw out my comforter and shams and buy something colorful? Why does my kitchen look drab, dreary, and dull? Why does the cranberry throw on the sofa look like a fugitive from Christmas? Why am I walking around my house going, "I need color, people!"

Could it be spring fever?

"Spring fever is not a definitive diagnostic category," says Michael Terman, director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center. "But I would say it begins as a rapid and yet unpredictable fluctuating mood and energy state that contrasts with the relative low [of the] winter months that precede it."

And what wicked winter months they have been!  Is it any wonder that spring fever may hit harder than ever this year? Hasn't this been the winter that wouldn't end?

I crave color. I thirst for the new. Dingy? Out. Bold and beautiful? Welcome, friend.

Are you feeling it, too?

Two Promising Shows Now Seriously Flawed

by Leann

Caveat: The following post contains minor spoilers if you have not watched either The Following or Hannibal and plan to catch up in the future.

I admit I love TV. I want stories. Good stories. Well written and well acted stories that keep me guessing. I was so sorry to see The Closer end. It was by far one of my favorite shows of all time. But when Kyra Sedgwick's husband Kevin Bacon was cast in The Following I was excited. I adore Kevin Bacon. The first season, though short, was great. But this season? Uh-uh for me.

What was a thriller-type show with lots of twists and turns and a character-driven plot has turned into a horror program. I am a fan of The Following. But ever since I read The Exorcist decades ago and it scared me so bad I couldn't sleep for a week, I crossed horror off my list. I was optimistic when the antagonist ended up in a cult. I mean, what better place to find, well, followers? But it has become over the top with too much gore and no one with a conscience to be found. I don't know if I can stick with it. I understand we all have our preferences and I'm sure there are people out there who still love horror.

The other show I thought had so much promise? Hannibal. Last season I was remembering how much I liked Silence of the Lambs. Even though
awful stuff happens, the protagonist is strong with a sound moral compass. I was a tad squeamish about Hannibal's choice of menu, however the artistic quality of the show and the amazing Hugh Dancy
hooked me. This season? The good guy is in jail, the gore factor has been raised to way more than I can stand and I am disenchanted. Even though the artistry and originality in the show has been maintained, it cannot make up for the yuck factor. Don't these writers know that less is more?

I have to say, one show that has surprised me is Crisis. I was prepared to to see one episode and not like it, but it has the stuff I enjoy: solid good guys, really bad bad guys and lots of twists and turns. So, my thrillers for the year are The Blacklist (James Spader KNOWS how to do an excellent bad guy) and Crisis. If The Following and Hannibal go away, I'll understand why.

If you like horror and are hooked on the shows I have fallen out of love with, I hope they continue for your sake. After all, everyone's taste is different. But I'd love to hear your opinions on these shows. Maybe you'll change my mind, or maybe you'll validate what I've been thinking. Let me know!

IT'S TRUE--CHOCOLATE REALLY IS A MOOD ENHANCER!

by Mary Kennedy             
                                                 


A recent scientific study shows something you’ve probably suspected–eating chocolate really does make you feel better! Almost one thousand men and women were included in the study which examined the amount of chocolate consumed by depressed people versus people who are not depressed. The results are startling. People suffering from major depressive symptoms ate 12 one oz servings of chocolate a month, while those with milder depression ate just 5 servings a month. Researchers have not come up with a reason for these findings, although past studies indicated that an ingredient in chocolate is the same as a "feel-good" hormone that is related to falling in love.  (Phenylethylamine) So if you feel the urge for chocolate, feel free to indulge. Just remember to use common sense about portion control and to choose dark chocolate, if possible                                                                                       And if you feel you're becoming a chocoholic and your chocolate addiction is seriously getting out of control, here's a tip from Psychological Science. New research shows that the smell of jasmine inhibits a desire for chocolate. So you can always brew a cup of jasmine tea and savor the scent.                                                                                                     Enjoy everything in moderation! What's your preference in chocolate? Dark chocolate, milk chocolate? And do you prefer it in cookies, cakes or brownies or do you like to bunch on a chocolate bar? by Mary Kennedy

Rehab Chick

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

My name is Lorraine, and I'm a Rehab Addict. Honest, an HGTV (or DIY Network) Rehab Addict.  I don't have HGTV but discovered it several years back while on vacation. (The truth is, I only watch one network show: CBS Sunday Morning. My basic cable is exactly that:  NBC, CBS, ABC and the Weather Channel.) But my guilty secret is DVR ... my Mom has it and she's my enabler.

My most recent guilty pleasure is Rehab Addict.  Nicole Curtis is a home flipper, but not like you think. She old takes (often condemned) homes and brings them back to their former glory.  That really appeals to me. My Dad was a recycler, and he made useless things into useful things. He made furniture out of old wood pallets (the pallets were poplar). He would find broken stuff and fix it. He truly was a Jack of all trades. Sadly, I didn't inherit that gene. I love to watch Rehab Addict because Nicole does what I would LOVE to do--take things that are broken and ugly and transform them into useful things of beauty.

If you don't have HGTV, you can get your Rehab Addict fix online by watching the entire episodes, or snippets on just the subject you're interested in; like recycling lumber and other scraps, fixing broken original windows, recycling vintage cabinets, refinishing old and scruffy furniture.  Lots of fun.

Were you graced with a DIY gene?

Blissfully presented by Mary Jane Maffini aka Victoria A...

Blissfully presented by Mary Jane Maffini aka Victoria Abbott



I am writing this as an excellent conference draws to a close.  Left Coast Crime was in Monterey, California, at the end of a brutal Ottawa winter, it was a double plus.  However, the wonderful location let to a certain amount of tiptoeing out of the hotel to explore the area.  See why? 
This is the town that John Steinbeck immortalized in his books, Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat.  As a young reader, I loved these books. They took me to a world far removed from my small industrial city on the East Coast of Canada.  From the inhabitants of the brothels to Doc, the marine biologist, the landscape and the creatures of the sea as well, everything about them was a sensory experience.  I believe he changed the way I look at the world. 


I was thrilled to come across a wonderful statue of John Steinbeck. It reminded me of the impact a writer can have.  How wonderful to have a memorial to a man who made a difference.  I enjoyed sitting at his feet. What a role model.  I made a note to reread the books set in Monterey and hope to also relive the emotions they triggered in my younger reader self. 
Here's my old friend John Steinbeck with my longtime friend Erika Chase!
So it was extra special, and appropriate, to find so much of contemporary Monterey paying homage to Steinbeck.  Of course, the canneries have been closed and the town is clean, elegant and respectable, a haven for tourists like me.  I am soaking it all up at the base of this wonderful set of sculptures set into a massive stone.


So many writers have made a difference to my world. I am grateful to them all.  It's lovely to celebrate one of them here. 
As Victoria Abbott,  my daughter and I write the book collector mystery series. They are based on the books of the Golden Age of Detection and the writers who influenced us then.  What about you?  Are there writers who made a huge difference to your younger self? Someone who changed the way you look at the world?  I’d love to hear who they are! And feel free to correct anything I got wrong here. 
So, over to you, my friends  …

Rise and Shine Or Where Has the Morning Gone?

by Deb Baker/Hannah Reed

First things first -Turn on the computer

Start coffee

While it's brewing check email in case my ship came in

Delete lots of spam instead of breaking out the mimosas

Pour cup of coffee (mug from my vacation in Mexico)

Go to bookmarks/favorites and start working through my morning routine list

Savor coffee for first stop at Cozy Chicks

Facebook Next – happy birthday wishes, spy on family and friends

Scan a few news sources for latest impending disasters  and find plenty to worry about

Check my online bank account to make sure I haven’t been hacked, whew, A-ok

Pour more coffee

Settle into my list of about fifteen blogs and follow lots of links

A few personal favorites after the Chicks and Facebook:
 RVSue and her canine crew, who have chucked it all and are living the high life in a travel trailerMr. Money Mustache - especially his forum where we throw down our gauntletsThe Passive Guy - compiles daily lists of important writing/industry news LifeHacker - with so many ways to simplify my life I could hang here all day  Where are your favorite online stops? Because I really need to expand my waste-the-morning horizons:)
 

Flu Is Back. . .And It's Badder Than Ever

by Maggie Sefton


Yes, yes, I know it should be "worse than ever."  But I'm a writer first and last, and I loved the alliteration of Back and Badder.
See?  I told you we writers were strange.  :)

Listen, Everyone, please pay attention and don't just nod and say "Yeah, yeah.  Flu comes every year.  What's the big deal?"  Well, the deal is that influenza is caused by a virus.  Smart vitruses.  Viruses are organisms that mutate.  They change because of the surroundings and/or what they encounter when they're doing their dirty work of making people sick.  That means that every year, viruses get smarter.  Yeah. . .smarter.  By  that, I mean that the organisms adapt to what they encountered, and then. . .they change, mutate, and in the process----they become different.   So. . .when the next late Fall rolls around and flu appears, it's actually a NEW flu.  It's changed.  Consequently, our flu vaccines don't realy work on the new strains.  The vaccines were made over the intervening months using LAST year's flu as the model., so to speak.  The flu vaccine can help shorten or lessen some of the symptoms you encounter, but it won't stop flu from making you sick.

This is a really simplistic explanation of a VERY complicated process, but it serves my purpose.  And my purpose is to warn you that this year's flu is a very bad flu.  Worse than last year and the year before and. . . so on.   Many people here in Colorado who've caught it have seen really bad symptoms----coughing in one person, nausea in another.  The Urgent Care clinics all over my town Fort Collins are packed.   When I caught it Tuesday of last week, I fought the nausea for over a day with prescription anti-nausea pills.  Didn't faze the flu.  Every six hours when the pills wore off, the nausea was back, again and again.  Those pills have always worked before----for years.   Not on this flu.  On Wednesday I had to throw in the towel and go to the hospital ER for an IV drip with special anti-nausea medicine which stops it cold.  Brother!

So----the purpose of this post is to warn all of you readers and bloggers and visitors:  TAKE THIS FLU SERIOUSLY.  It's vicious.  It grabs you and won't let go.   Go to your town's Urgent Care or clinics and get help.  Don't think that resting, taking Tylenol, and drinking fluids will get you through this.  As I said-----this flu is vicious.   Take it seriously and seek treatment.   Stay safe.  

CHICKEN STEW FOR THE SOUL

by Kate Collins

I don't cook too often anymore. After my husband died, I lost my appetite for it, so to speak. But one can't survive on restaurant food forever, so eventually I returned to my kitchen. Now when I cook, I make enough for five meals. Cook once, eat all week is my motto.

So I make huge batches of marinara sauce, meatloaf, spicy joes (recipes available in this cookbook -- The Cozy Chicks' Kitchen) and my latest, greatest discovery, chicken stew.

This isn't any old chicken stew. This is the NEW AND IMPROVED version, using the healthiest and tastiest ingredients I can buy.  I try to use only organic, but I can't always find everything I want all the time. I've made several variations, all delicious.  You can see one such variation in my photo, but I apologize for the yellow tint. I think it's the turmeric I used in this one -- or maybe the gold background. My children were so taken with the stew that they now make it in their homes with their own versions of it.

Curious? It's a very simple starter recipe. For five people you need:

3 large chicken breasts, cooked, and then chopped or shredded
1 medium head cabbage, sliced thin and chopped (or shredded)
1/2 lb carrots, sliced in thin rounds
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 carton low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or sage
sea salt, pepper to taste

Saute chopped onion and garlic until onion is clear. Add carrots and sauté 5 minutes. Add cabbage, broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Eat and enjoy.

To that basic recipe, I've added kale, swiss chard, spinach, mushrooms, turnip, leeks, or whatever other vegetable you like, how many you like. I also like to add turmeric, but you could use any spice you like. To mix it up, add Italian chicken sausage. If you like potatoes, throw them in. If you don't like cabbage, throw it out. For variety, use red cabbage or pasta.  Be creative. It's fun to experiment with this dish.

If you try it, please let me know via my Facebook page what you think of it and what ingredients you used.

Bon appetite!

It IS The Best Medicine!

by Leann

I used to be a night owl and in fact, when I was a hospital nurse, I preferred the three-to-eleven shift. It suited my biorhythms, I guess. And I loved late night TV. Johnny Carson and David Letterman were my favorites. Laughter is so important to me, and since I contracted Lyme, it
became more important than ever. There are many days it's not so easy to laugh--but I know I must.

I am no longer a night owl but I have DVR that stays very busy. Jon
Stewart and Stephen Colbert have been
my go-to guys for quite a while now, but when Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers took over the late nights on NBC several weeks ago, I decided to give them a try since I enjoyed them both so much on Saturday Night Live.

I am so glad I began recording their
shows. I now have a lot more laughter in my life (Love ELLEN, too!) now and I can feel a big difference in my mood. With this house building business stretching on and on without a definite end in sight (I know it will happen sooner than later) I have been feeling pretty stressed. But now that I know I can turn to my recorded programs and get some good belly laughs in (which they say is as good for your heart as a jog), I'm far more optimist. The bit Seth Meyers does with former SNL cast-mate Fred Armesin every night is my favorite. Fred lies so convincingly and never fails to crack Seth up! Love it!

Keep up the good work new late night friends. You make me happy! And what about you? What makes YOU laugh? Because it's so important.