Terry Odell's Blog, page 18

Travel Insurance Woes

Travel Insurance Woes

I dealt with our travel insurance people recently about being reimbursed for expenses incurred when the airline cancelled a flight and rescheduled it for the next day. Although the airline said, “send us your receipts for incurred expenses,” they didn’t mention they had rigid limits on what they considered allowable expenses. (Ever tried getting a hotel room at 1 AM? You don’t quibble about the price.) Seems their auditing department is a stickler for details. Our flight wa...

The Mapleton Mysteries

The Mapleton Mysteries

We had half a foot of snow, give or take, over the weekend. I was waiting to hear from a contact to make sure I had my facts right—or as right as they are in my fiction—and figured it would be several months before I’d finish the current WIP. The writing had been going gangbusters for the past week, but I bumped into one of those brick walls. The wall I hit in every book, and although I know I’ll break through it, I was spinning in six directions at once when I was moving...

Friday Fotos – Some New Zealand Experiences

Friday Fotos – Some New Zealand Experiences

In addition to hundreds and hundreds of images, I did take a few videos of our New Zealand experiences. Here are a few.

First, we enjoyed a short excursion on the Glenwood Vintage Railroad. Since our trip was booked through “Vacations by Rail”, there were a lot of train buffs in the group, and this was a highlight.

Another instance of still pictures not doing justice to the scenery was our viewing of geysers erupting. Be glad the video doesn’t capture...

WCW – Carrot Casserole

Carrot Casserole

I made this carrot casserole as a side dish for our Passover dinner, and it was deemed worthy of adding to our keeper list.. Although the recipe calls for matzo meal, you could use regular bread crumbs. I doubled the recipe without any complications.

Ingredients
3 c coarsely grated carrots
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 c minced onion
½ t paprika + more for sprinkling
½ t dried dill
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
2 T vegetable oil
1 c chicken stock
1 T fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
2/3 c matzo meal...

The Passover Story in Under Two Minutes

The Passover Story in Under Two Minutes

We will be enjoying our Seder dinner at our son’s house tonight, and I guarantee, it will take longer than two minutes.

But who can resist listening to Robin Williams telling the story of Passover (Pesach)  as only he can. Enjoy!

How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hands full. A murder, followed by several assaults. Are they related to the expansion of the community center? Or co...

Friday Fotos – A New Zealand Gallery

Friday Fotos – A New Zealand Gallery: A Work in Progress

I’m not nearly finished going through my photos, but I’ve started adding them to a gallery. Hope you enjoy them.

Did you miss last week’s photos of food? They’re here.

Or my more recent post, Recap 2 of my trip.

There will be updates, additions, and refinements via the same link as time marches on.

Have a nice weekend, those who celebrate.

How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Poli...

Don’t Be Afraid Of Said

Don’t Be Afraid Of Said

I’ve talked about dialogue before, but a recent read made me want to address the topic again.

In that book, the author seemed to be unwilling, for whatever reason, to use simple dialogue tags. You know, the kind that simply show who’s saying the words inside the quotation marks. For me, “said” is the easiest way to do this.

“I’m hungry. I skipped breakfast,” Gordon said.

“Asked” is another one that doesn’t interfere. (Note: It’s okay to use ‘said’ for questions. The ques...

Friday Fotos – New Zealand Food

New Zealand Food

Of course, no trip to anywhere would be complete without looking at the food. Here are some of the things we had to eat in New Zealand.

Breakfast spreads

 

Hotel breakfast cereal station

 

Fish and chips

 

Lamb Shanks

 

Salmon plate

 

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

What are some of your favorite foods you’ve found “away from home”?

Have a nice weekend, those who celebrate

How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hand...

I’m Talking About New Zealand on Let’s Talk Travel

A quick extra post to let you know that I’ll be talking about my recent trip to New Zealand (North Island this time) on Dancing Moon Travel’s Let’s Talk Travel podcast.

I know a lot of you don’t like using Facebook (although the host, assures me you don’t need a membership to watch), so, via the marvels of technology, and her own private time machine, she’s put it up on their YouTube channel early.

She does giveaways to “Live” listeners via the Facebook link, and she’s also said that she’ll acc...

WCW – Pearled Couscous with Feta and Chickpeas

Pearled Couscous with Feta and Chickpeas

This recipe is a minor modification of one from the New York Times. I had all the ingredients on hand, so I gave it a try, and it was yummy.

Ingredients:
1pint grape tomatoes, halved
¼ c sliced scallions
2 T extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1T balsamic vinegar, plus more for serving
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
1½ t kosher salt, plus more as needed
½ t black pepper, plus more for serving
3 sprigs oregano, rosemary or sage
2 c ve...