Scarlet Letters

This blog is in danger of becoming all about food, but a) the writing stuff is in motion but still hush-hush, and b) the family sees each other so rarely right now that we don't even get much in the way of Snippets. That is, unless you could yesterday's endless snark of poor Jim on his 51st birthday, which I kept misremembering as 61 with a big ol' grin. And yet he married me. If you're curious what's going on, you can catch up with the Literary Underworld crew at its site ; with my professional photography and newstuff at Donald Media ; and of course my Facebook and Twitter . I promise there's going to be very big changes soon. In the meantime, our observance of Memorial Day means the family gets to spend a few days actually in each other's company. Not Friday, as Boy had rehearsal for Beauty and the Beast  and I had the night shift. And not tonight (Sunday night), because Jim has a night shift and Boy is seeing one of his friends in a play. (In case...

I love big food holidays. I really love to cook, and my crazy-ass life does not often give me the opportunity to experiment. This year I had coffee hour responsibility at church on Easter Sunday, which meant twice the desserts and snacks as usual, plus our family feast. That meant a lot of baking! As promised, here are some of the recipes, and how well they turned out for us. KEY LIME PIE Source: Patrice Nelson This one couldn't be simpler. I use Pillsbury pie crusts because life is too short for making crust, and I know this is religious debate that cannot be easily resolved, but hey, I work. So you bake up the crust first of all, and I am going to have to get myself some pie weights on a string to make my life easier. While the crust is cooling, mix 8 egg yolks with two cans of sweetened condensed milk, the lime zest of two limes, and 6 ounces of key lime juice. I generally don't have lime zest and substitute lemon powder from Penzey's, with no complaints registe...

In the last three weeks, I have successfully: • Planned and executed Easter dinner; • Planned, promoted and baked a smorgasbord for a pottery-painting fundraiser (cookies, brownies, strawberry cake, fruit punch) to benefit Relay for Life ; • Done a writing/photography/signing trip to Louisville; • Planned, promoted and coordinated an author fair; • Prepared and served a fundraiser chili supper with chili, hot dogs, chips, fruit cups, cupcakes, cookies, key lime pie, candybars and more for Relay; • Prepared and served a dessert buffet for the church (chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, cheese and crackers, cheese dip, bagels and cream cheese); • Prepared and served the remains of the chili supper for the church. I'm... tired. No rest for the wicked; next comes preparation for Jim's 50th birthday and Ian's high school graduation, which take place the same weekend. I am in search of the little elves and forest creatures that are supposed to appear out of ...

Oh, just pick a state, willya... I greet you from a lovely bed and breakfast in Charlestown, Indiana. It's a charming mansion with many rooms decorated in a comfortable, Victorian-inspired style, a billiards and music room downstairs and lovely gardens, at least what I could see when I arrived after dark. So far I approve. The only downside of the room: No desk, and I neglected to charge the laptop, so I can't work at the nifty writing-desk in the hall. Therefore I have the laptop balanced on my knees in the Victorian contour chair so I can write this blog. The things I do for you people. Today was supposed to be a leisurely drive to the Louisville, Ky. area to explore the area before the marketing symposium for writers at Karen's Book Barn , the store hosting me and many other authors this weekend. Of course, I got hit with about five errands to run "on my way out of town," no less than two minor crises, and got twenty minutes away from home before ...

So let's recap, friends and neighbors: This weekend: • I have a signing at Maeva's in Alton on Friday night - " Writers of the Riverbend ." • On Saturday, I work for Ye Olde Newspaper. • On Sunday, I am running a fundraiser at Pottery Hollow for the Relay for Life team. This requires baked goods, as treats were promised to the people coming to paint things. I might be able to get away with cookies and punch. • Meanwhile Boy goes through his Ordeal for the Order of the Arrow. Next weekend: • I am doing a signing in Louisville, Ky. I am leaving on Thursday so I can do some photography on Friday before the signing on Saturday. • But as soon as the signing is over Saturday, I have to book it back to Illinois. Because... • Sunday is the 175th anniversary of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church . I am responsible for the coffee hour baked goods. And coffee hour is, as we all know, the eighth sacrament of the Episcopal Church. • Therefore all baking must be done...

This just goes to show that second chances are usually a good thing. Waaaaaay back in the dim dark years of... um, 2011... I had a Groupon for The Abbey, a coffeehouse not far from the main office of Ye Olde Newspaper. It was not a pleasant experience. The space was okay but nothing exceptional, the food was okay (but nothing exceptional), and the server was positively growly. I didn't know if it was because I was paying with my Groupon (I tipped!) or if it was just a naturally growly place, but it put a bad taste in my mouth before I had the food. I'd never been back. From time to time I'd be looking for a place to grab a nice lunch, maybe get a little writing done before work. I'd do a search on coffeehouses and The Abbey always popped up, but I'd remember that unpleasant server and say, "Nah." This week I've been working in the main office on the night shift, but dropping Jim off at school meant I had two and a half hours to kill before my shi...