Kate Collins's Blog, page 201

Sounds of Silence - NOT!

by Deb Baker/Hannah Reed

One thing I noticed right away during my vacation in Mexico was the noise. With perfect weather almost year round in this mountainous village called Ajijic, people do a lot of outdoor living. Horse hooves on cobblestone, music wafting in the air, the rooster next door who seemed confused about when to wake the world up. He start his alarm well before daylight and carried on all day. This is him.  Isn't he a beauty?

Then there were the dogs. Not much action during the day, but at night they woke up. One would start barking or howling somewhere in the
village and the rest would chime in. This guy is taking a nap right on a street corner, exhausted from a night of carrying on. The canines here are all well fed with limitless freedom to roam.

At first I couldn't sleep for all the noise. Then as the days progressed it bothered me less and less.

My first night home to Wisconsin? I couldn't sleep.

The sounds of silence keep me up. Isn't that a twist?

No Escape

by Maggie Sefton

A great way to escape unpleasant chores would be to take a great hike here in Colorado.  Unfortunately it's not Spring yet.  March in Colorado is our snowiest month with Spring snow, and in between beautiful warm Spring-like days that tempt the buds on trees and plants to fatten.  But---real spring won't begin until April.  Our High Country is still covered in snow.  Perfect for skiers.  :)

So, what chore have I been ignoring?   Hint:  Everyone has to do it here in the U.S.

I've been back from my month-long writing retreat for over a week now and have been catching up every day PLUS writing on the next Kelly Flynn mystery which my editor expects
to see in June.  Add to that, I've been finishing details on my NEW E-Book Original Historical Mystery which I hope to have out as an E-Book this month.   So, I've been busy.  So busy that I've been able to totally ignore this VERY IMPORTANT TASK.   Have you figured it out?   It's the same task that all of us have to do after the turn of each new year-----gathering all the financial information for Income Taxes.

  Another way to avoid tasks would be to indulge myself with sinfully soft yarns.



You'd think as a former CPA, there's no way I could forget that important task.  And you'd be right.  I never forgot it. . . I just chose to attack the long list of "Have To Do's" first.  Normally I have all the information ready to take to my CPA by the first week of March.  But this year I was out of town for the entire month of February, and that took away my precious "sorting time."  Going through all my receipts and organizing them.   So----now it's the second week of March and I haven't even started sorting yet.

No escape. . . 

Don't say it.  I need to get all my info on a spreadsheet, and every year at this time I swear I will do it.  Then the schedules of writing deadlines and writing-related and other travel intrude and I simply choose not to take the time.  Yep.  It's my fault so I have no right to complain.  Well. . .maybe I'll whine just a little.   Meanwhile, I'd better get started on the sorting.   No escape.   What about you folks?  Have you done your taxes yet?   Go ahead.  Make me feel guilty.  

Medical Marijuana Myths

by Kate Collins

A lot of information has been coming out lately on the medical benefits of cannabis -- impressive studies by respected researchers -- which alarms many people who view marijuana as a gateway drug.

I was back and forth on the issue until I read a very clarifying article and learned that, as per usual, much of the information being put out there to scare people is coming from pharmaceutical companies who stand to lose money. Surprised?

Here's why.  Medical cannabis can take the place of a wide variety of synthetic drugs, especially for the following conditions, without the toxic side-effects of pharmaceuticals: Mood disorders, pain disorders,
degenerative neurological disorders such as dystonia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, PTSD, and seizure disorders.

But is that same marijuana a gateway drug? Consider this.  Prescription drugs have far greater potential to turn you into an addict.  Legal drug addiction is taking lives in record numbers and leading many to heroin, which is many times cheaper to buy than oxycontin, for example.  In the US, according to a CDC press release of July 2, 2013, there were four times more deaths among women from prescription painkiller overdose than for cocaine and heroin deaths combined in 2010.

Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some medicines have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market.

The diabetes drug Avandia, it is estimated, in a five-year span killed some 800,000 people in Europe from inappropriate use of beta-blockers in non-cardiac surgery patients.

In comparison, deaths attributed to cannabis hardly register. And medical grade cannabis, by the way, has very little of the chemical in it that makes you high.

I'm fortunate that I don't have a condition that requires any kind of drug intervention, but if I did, and medical marijuana would help treat it, you can believe I'd be seeking more information. If you're interested in reading the article I'm referring to, here's the URL: Cannabis or Marijuana as Medicine

Wishing you good health,
Kate

Oh What a Relief It Is!

by Leann

When I moved from Texas to South Carolina in August of 2012, I left the best chiropractor I'd ever gone to. Because I have many old whiplash injuries as well as fibromyalgia, my back and neck hurt quite often. Working at a computer for hours a day doesn't help. But did I find a new
chiropractor as soon as we moved here? No. I thought the best ones would be in the closest large city, Greenville, and that's an hour away. Driving two hours for an adjustment that could be wiped out just by the long drive home held me back. Or that's what I told myself. Looking back, I was just worried about adding another new health care provider. Good ones are hard to come by!

Then, as the clumsy oaf I tend to be, I fell in January. It was a quick jarring fall and I felt my whole spine tingle from the bottom up to my neck
even though I fell on my knees. (By the way, there was a drain pipe in the sidewalk that shouldn't have been there, so this time it wasn't totally my fault! Really. It wasn't.) I was sore, yes, and tried to ignore the aches and pains in the following days. But my neck just kept hurting until it became absolute unrelenting pain. No amount of medicine, ice, heat, Traumeel cream, changes in pillows, sitting positions or stretching helped.

Finally, I talked to my hair stylist. If anyone knows the "best" people for just about any job, ask the ladies and gentlemen who work in a salon. She recommended a woman and I made my first appointment. The x-rays
weren't pretty. My too-straight neck now has a reverse curve. In other words, in the year and a half since I last saw my last chiropractor, my bones have rebelled. She confirmed the old whiplash injuries caused this when my spine went untreated.

It has been a slow recovery, but finally, medicine works again. I have hours where I feel no pain and Dr. Shana is an absolute sweetheart. I am still going three times a week, but adjustments, electrical stimulation and traction are working. Oh what a
relief it is indeed. And I have learned my lesson. Chiropractic can work very well for people with fibromyalgia. And for the clumsy folks in the world!

Ever been to a chiropractor? Did it help? From my experience, you definitely have to find the right one for you. So hurry to the salon and ask for the best!

There's Something Magical About the Ocean

By Mary Kennedy  
After spending two weeks in Ft. Lauderdale, I'm more in love with the ocean than ever. We always stay at the same beachfront condo and as soon as I hear the crash of the waves and the cries of the gulls, I know I've come "home."

Metaphorically at least. My permanent home may be in the northeast, but spending time at the ocean in Florida takes me off the merry-go-round, away from deadlines and responsibilities. I listen to the sound of the surf, walk for miles along golden sand and I no longer feel like I'm running in front of a train.

Since we're just a few yards away from the water,  the sound of the ocean is like a soundtrack to our days and nights, always playing softly in the background. In the evening, it's relaxing to open the glass doors to the balcony and let the sound of the surf drift in, lulling me to sleep.                                               
 Somehow, problems seem to dwindle when you're in the presence of something so powerful and so beautiful. The ocean was here before we arrived and will be here when our time on earth is finished.  Do you have a favorite place, a refuge, that restores your soul and makes you feel like you've come home? Mary Kennedy

Snap Stories

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


A friend of mine is getting into Snap Stories.

"What the heck is that?" I asked.

A short story based on a snapshot, and less than a page long.  Maybe 250-500 words.

Well, I've always struggled to write LONG so a snap story should be easy, right?

WRONG.

I tried to write one and found I wanted to add a LOT more detail. I wanted more rich description. I wanted character motivation.  Maybe I'm just destined to write stories that are 2,000-80,000 words in length.

Would you like to read these kinds of stories as a freebie on a website or blog?

Here's a photo I took  What do you think the story should be about? 

Time out!

Mary Jane Maffini aka Victoria Abbott 


So I was minding my own business setting the timer in the kitchen today, when my darling husband (DH) announced, for no good reason that I can think of,  that physicists now say that time does not exist. Time is nothing more than a perception problem or an impression. He then drifted off to his office leaving me to deal with this bombshell.  He didn’t name any of these alleged physicists.
All I have to say is,  "Really, physicists? Really?"
If that is so, then why am I always ten minutes late?  Why do I own all those watches, most of them non-working?  How do you explain the deadlines that go whooshing by?  What about those clocks on my stove, my television, my phone? You can't escape the time.
The notion of time is an interesting one. In our time-stressed society, we feel the pinch, the sense that we are squeezed for time, short of it and that scarcity can only result in trouble.  
How many of you have made any of these comments lately?
“I don’t have time.”  
“There’s not enough time!"  “Not sure if I can make time for that.”
Or the more ominous-sounding: “I’m out of time.”
Yikes. 

What’s that all about?  According to my calculations – which admittedly assume that time exists – we all have the same amount: in a week, seven days and twenty-four hours.  That’s a hundred and sixty-eight hours.  Quite a bit.  And yet, I seem to be behind schedule again.  Where do those hours and minutes go?  Specifically what happens to the ten minutes that vanish between when I step through the front door and get into the car five feet away?  
I realize, it’s not how much time you have, it’s how you use what you have.  We all know that.  And yet often, I feel I’ve squandered time.  We have to use what we have to live well. If you know me well, you’ll realize that’s usually a preamble to an announcement that I plan sit and read a bit even in the afternoon.  
I will always make time for reading. After all, we only live once, unless the physicists have news on that front too.
Have a great one hundred and sixty-eight hours this week, my friends, and I hope that includes time for reading.  With luck, you’ll  find a couple of minutes to share your opinions here!

A new Belgian sleuth and author are among us

Introducing new cozy mystery author Christine DeSmet of Madison, Wisconsin                
            I’m pleased to be writing for the Cozy Chicks in this guest blog because Cozy Chicks author Hannah Reed has been a mentor of mine.And silkie chickens are featured in all my short stories written in collections that were published by Whiskey Creek Press.  I feel a kinship to anything having to do with chicks. Silkies are those chickens that are “furry” right down to the fur on their legs and feet. They also have big feet—they have five toes instead of the standard four. They’re furry because their feathers lack barbicels. That’s why they look like a big pile of fluffy down or a silly lady’s hat. Silkies are considered ideal for pets.My new series has me turning from chickens and now making fudge like crazy as well as reacquainting myself with my Belgian heritage. Sometimes research for a book is tasty torture.What surprised me more than all the varieties of fudge and the recipes I could whip up—including my own Fairy Tale Fudge line—was that I knew only a speck about my own heritage. Belgians have had a huge impact on this country. We all know that Belgians invented chocolate and pralines, and they make great lace. And if you’re wearing a diamond it probably traveled through a port in Belgium because it’s the seat of the world’s diamond trading. Some other facts about Belgians:1.       A Belgian negotiated the deal for Manhattan Island.  New York wouldn’t be what it is today without a Belgian. 2.       Belgians are often called buffalos because they’re tough, hard workers, and maybe a touch stubborn now and then. Others say they got the nickname because of landing in Buffalo, New York, before getting on ships for Door County, Wisconsin in the 1850s.3.       Hoboken, New Jersey? Named after a place in Belgium. 4.       The Green Bay Packers? Created by a Belgian—Earl “Curly” Lambeau. Lambeau Field is named after him. 5.       The Green Bay Packers and Agatha Christie’s Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot debuted in the same football season—1919-1920.             
               It’s been 24 years since Poirot’s debut, but now we have another Belgian I hope to make famous for her fudge and fun—Ava  Oosterling . Ava and her Grandpa Gil operate Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer on the shores of Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin. (In Wisconsin, everything has “beer” connected to it, and Belgians make the best beer.)                My mystery series’ Door County setting—known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest—is a thumb of land jutting into Lake Michigan. Its lower half was settled mostly by Belgians who snapped up land selling for $1.25 an acre in the 19thcentury. Wisconsin is thought to have the largest rural settlement of Belgians in the United States. The total population of the county today is 28,000, but 15,000 Belgians immigrated here—a significant influence.  Many towns in Door County are named for towns in the homeland:  Brussels, Namur, Rosiere.               What does it mean to be a Belgian?1.       You love beer, brats, and booyah. Belgians know how to make great sausages, or tripes. Booyah is a chicken stew made in the fall in large stainless steel drums over an outdoor fire. The second book of my series has a recipe that I got when visiting a Wisconsin kermiss (also spelled kermis)—a Belgian fall harvest festival2.       Belgians have endured hardships. The Great Fire of 1871 in Wisconsin—happening the same days as the Great Chicago Fire, swept through lower Door County and nearby counties, killing about 1,000. The Chicago fire took around 300 lives. Belgians rebuilt using red brick and yellow Cream City brick from Milwaukee that you now see all over Door County today. 3.       Belgians are famous for pies. These are not sissy pies made in mere 8-inch or 9-inch plates. The old country uses 12.5-inch plates. Rice pie is a traditional Belgian thing.                
            Thank you for letting me introduce you to this country’s Belgian heritage.              
           Back to those cute cozy chicks—Belgium has several great breeds. I love the Belgian Braekels (one of Europe’s oldest breeds) and Belgian d’Uccles (pronounced dew-clay).


           Thank you, Cozy Chicks, for allowing me to be your guest!   
           Christine DeSmetis the author of First-Degree Fudge, on the Barnes and Noble mystery Hot Fudge Frame-Up, debuts June 2014 and focuses on the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County, chosen by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Association as the Summer 2014 lighthouse of the year.
bestseller list for 10 weeks in Fall 2013. Her second book,
Christine teaches writing at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and will be part of the 25thanniversary Writers’ Institute conference April 4-6 in Madison. She also teaches at the Write-by-the-Lake Writers’ Workshop & Retreat, June 16-20. Visit her online at the university or  www.ChristineDeSmet.com, or email cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu.

To Pre-order Hot Fudge Frame-Up click here!  

Downton Catchup

by Maggie Sefton



I arrived back at my home in Colorado late last Friday night---actually, since
it was after 1:30am, it was technically way early Saturday morning.   Consequently I used the rest of the weekend resting up from travel and relaxing.  I also caught up on some of my favorite television dramas which I either recorded or watched on Infinity on Demand.

The Blacklist is my favorite new show.  I've also enjoyed the new one, Almost Human.  But the very first one I chose to watch missed episodes was the wonderful Downton Abbey series.  This was the fourth season for the English drama.   And I was hoping to see how the problems that had been introduced into the plotline before I left Februrary 1st were developed before the season ending episode which was this last Sunday night.

I'd already been surprised (to put it mildly) by the shocking development of Anna's attack by that horrible man.  I think most of us were naturally concerned about Bates reaction.  None of the faithful audience wanted to see wonderful Mr. Bates thrown into jail again and most probably be hanged.

This season didn't lack for additional drama and problems.  The most significant was Edith's surprise discovery.  Also, the introduction of not one but two new suitors for Mary's attention.  And, dear son-in-law Tom Branson has managed to become innocently entangled with a young woman who has an agenda.  As always, scheming valet Thomas is lurking about and up to no good.

So----for those of you who're also Downton Abbey fans, please share with us your theories about some of these plotlines.   What do you see in the future regarding Edith's important decision?   What about dear Tom, do you foresee further entanglements with this young woman who has an agenda?  What about scheming Thomas?  And, which of Mary's two suitors do you favor?  Do you think either one has a real chance of winning her?

OSCARS: Why Do You Watch?

by Kate Collins

I'm watching the Academy Awards as I write this, trying to think of some witty repartee with which to engage you, but all I can think of is:

1. Why did that person choose that particular dress?

2. Also the hairstyle?

3. Ditto the heels?

4. Huh. So that's what the actor looks like without stage makeup.

5. Was Harrison Ford on something?

6. What does everyone do when they cut to commercials?

7. Do we really care who wins or do we just want to see the dresses?

What would you add to the list? What do you agree with?