Book Review: Sutton's "And the Devil Laughed"

Hannah is sent undercover to a small town to try to get details on the local drug trade--if there is any truth to the rumors. She arrives in town the day one of her distant relatives turns up raped, murdered, and buried in the bottom of a grave that was expecting a different occupant. Her planned cover story is as a writer for a glossy magazine working on stories on the town's history, but the town isn't too keen to let in any kind of reporter that might be on the tails of a murder.

Hannah's willingness to fill in part time at the bar where the victim worked gives her a better in with the townspeople. Her own past baggage makes it impossible for her to resist the opportunity to look into her relative's death, so looks into both the murder and the drug issues.

And the Devil Laughed is very exciting reading and not an easy book to put down. I would have read it in one sitting even with my DH home from work in the evening if I hadn't gotten really sick partway into it and been forced to take a break. I was impatient to get back to it after I woke up this morning and put off other projects so I could read.

Because Hannah is a police officer, I don't think this book classifies as a cozy, but it is still a great read. Her past adds some hard core elements, but they fit with the story and aren't overwhelming. I think even readers who tend to want to avoid the worst violence in their reading will be comfortable with this book (like my mother and grandmother).

The characters are realistic and well-developed. I felt comfortable with the setting and could picture things even htough it is set in a country very foreign to me.

The POV is third person limited but has appropriate head-hops at scene breaks.

I really liked this book and wished I owned a copy (this one is borrowed from a friend). It is one I wouldn't mind reading multiple times.

Can't wait for Carole Sutton to come out with more books I can read! I also loved her earlier book Ferryman.

If you want more about it or to get a copy, just check out the info on www.goodreads.com -- the site that provides my bookshelf in the corner.

Working Again

Left the laptop without battery or power overnight and tried again this morning. IT IS WORKING! So now I am making a desperately needed backup. No longer missing data!!

Laptop Down

My IBM thinkpad died unexpectedly today. I am trying to find out whether I have any chance of warranty fixes or at lest data rescue--I've lost my novel. I haven't backed up since 3 November. My 12000+ words of nanowrimo writing are gone. All the files I'd been stockpiling for DH's company are gone. Only a few PDF copies remain on DH's computer.

This is writtenfrom DH's netbook. No voice. So I will be pretty AWOL until we figure something out.

I am also without e-mail addresses and other things from my system, so this is why some people I really wish I could write back to (like the nice woman I met through nanowrimo who lives in Denmark) won't hear from me. :-(

Sam, if you're out there, I need your address! I lost that too. :-(

RMR Project: Francis's "Longshot"

I remember reading a lot of Dick Francis mysteries when I was younger and lived in the states. I've always loved horses and the horse aspect of his books is what interested me then. I forget where I picked this one up. I found it on the back of the shelf one day digging for more to reread.

A well-known race horse trainer (steeplechase mostly) wants a ghostwriter for his memoirs. He expects the author to come live with him for a month or so to do the research and interviews.

When a starving author is kicked out of his attic apartment because of frozen pipes, he begs the agent to get him the job with horse trainer. The agent isn't happy about the idea, but does the job.

The author suddenly finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation.

Longshot was published by Michael Joseph Ltd (a UK division of Penguin)and has a 1990 copyright.

This was filled with excitement and action. The equine aspect was interesting but not dominant.

Tense

Past.

POV

First person. Writer John Kendall, but he mentions things he couldn't know yet. That is kind of annoying even though it is written in past.

page 92 the POV breaks to a third person omniscient POV that talks about a body and the police reactions. This POV switch repeats several points in the book.

Deaths

p. 37. A girl died a year earlier at a party. Trial underway--a jockey who rides for the trainer and is related to one of the owners.

p. 71. The author reads a news clipping about 6 months old mentioning a missing female groom.

p. 87. A body is found in the woods. More details would be spoiling.

Suspects

The investigation searches pretty far for suspects, but focuses primarily on the jockeys, especially the one charged in the party death, and the husband of one of the horse owner's.

Other

An accident eliminates one of the suspects on p 167.

Mention of horse doping interesting to me--may be useful in my own book--caffeine and theobromine (both found in chocolate) are banned substances. So giving a horse chocolate can result in doping charges!

Nasty Weather

It seems like we get very little other than rain these days. But at least Sunday we got one of these.

DH deserves the credit for this rainbow picture. He took it right before doing a photo shoot with me and the girls (see the bookends blog).

 

RMR Project: Crane's "Miss Seeton Cracks the Case"

Miss Seeton has a knack for finding and getting into trouble. She is quite unaware of this and very humble about the occasions when it puts her into a situation where she can help the police solve a crime or two.

The police call her in to help as a police artist when a gang of criminals target the elderly for home robbery. Her skills also come in handy with some highway robbery cases.

Miss Seeton Cracks the Case was published by Berkley Books and has a 1991 copyright. I think someone else created the Miss Seeton character because the top of the cover says "Heron Carvic's Miss Seeton."

This is much different than most of the mysteries I read. It does include a death, but the heroine doesn't even know about it. The man died as a result of the home robbery so Miss Seeton solves it when she locates the band that did that and other home robberies.

Despite this significant difference--or perhaps because of it--the book was a very fun read. Miss Seeton is an interesting character with a good blend of strengths and weaknesses.

Tense

Past.

POV

Third person omniscient. This is unusual. Most of the cozies I've read had either been first person or limited omniscient. It does tend to focus on one group of characters per scene, but there is also a clear narrator voice in several places. But I liked the narrator.

Deaths

p. 14. RSM Brent. An elderly man killed by the "Sherry Gang" in a home robbery gone wrong.

p. 76. No death exactly, but a great deal of focus on rumors of a possible dead body being hidden in an air raid shelter thirty years earlier.

Suspects

They don't identify any specific suspects until near the end. They believe two women and a man are involved in the two gangs, but the details aren't revealed until the end. The reader, like the police, has to wonder whether it is one gang doing two types of crimes or two separate gangs.

RMR Project: McKevett's "Just Desserts"

I haven't gotten behind on my reading, but I have gotten behind on posting them to the blog.

Savannah Reid is a police officer who takes her job seriously. When she gets a job, she cares about doing it right. But when the husband of a local politician is killer, Savannah's dedication to the truth costs her her badge but she still doesn't give up.

Just Desserts was published by Kensington Books and has a 1995 copyright. The author is using a pseudonym, but the real name isn't listed in the book. I couldn't find mention of others, so this must be the first in the Savannah Reid series and the first using this pseudonym.

I like Savannah. She has a great sense of humor, a love of chocolate and other small luxuries, and cares about her friends and family. The book is pretty well done, but the POV break I will mention later really bothered me.

Tense

Past.

POV

Most of the book is told in third person limited omniscient from the perspective of Savannah herself.

However, it switched from pages 281 to 282 to Ryan, I think. I remember really studying the switch. I really think the story could have been told without the break. Enough details could have come from Savannah's perspective. This single irregularity in POV really bothered me when I was reading it.

Deaths

p 17. a homicide by shotgun. Later determined to be Jonathan Winston, wife of a councilwoman.

p. 254. Another homicide. Don't like spoilers, so won't tell you who.

Suspects

• Beverly Winston, the victim's wife. She is the prime suspect
• Police Chief Norman Hillquist, who takes a very personal interest in the case
• Fiona, Jonathan's ex-wife
• Danielle Lamont, another ex-lover
• Eric Bowman, a scumbag
• Paul Connors, another designer

Other

Savannah's dialog has a southern flavor.

The start to the book is made exciting by having Savannah and her partner chasing down a fugitive.

Tension is increased with tips from an anonymous caller--a woman with a NY accent.

Spoiled Rotten

Much to my surprise, there are people out there who love me and are determined to cheer me up.

A few days ago, I got a mysterious package in the mail that turned out to be from one of my friends on the border collie rescue forum. When everyone was discussing Halloween candy and mentioning Reese's peanut butter cups, I bemoaned their absence from the Danish market. A couple people asked for my address, promising to send me some.

So the box that arrived was from a friend in California, who is struggling to train his border collie Jin as a service dog. He is a Vietnam vet and has up until recently worked as a tour guide in the desert. As an extra bonus he threw in some really neat bandannas that are basically wearable survival guides for the desert. Their information is actually useful even when you don't have a desert around. I strongly recommend them as the ideal stocking stuffer for anyone who loves the outdoors, hikes a lot, or goes anywhere near the desert. You can check out the website at http://www.desertbandanna.com

I am sure DH and I will be wearing hours with pride on a few occasions. Or maybe we should put them into our emergency kits for riding that we plan to get around to making one of these days.

Well, DH decided that I needed to be even more spoiled today. Things have been pretty hectic for us lately and I actually haven't been doing well for the past month or so. I've had a lot of problems with pain levelsand they've been bad enough to mess up my sleep. Some nights I end up lying awake and maybe reading for more than half the night before I can sleep. Other nights I fall asleep okay then wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep. The top things off, we had a very unpleasant meeting with a bank yesterday. I had to limit my painkillers all day so I could drive enough to be able to come along. By the time we got home I was pretty much in tears from the pain and frustration.

Today hasn't exactly been a great day either.I have been fighting an unbelievably insane amount with Dragon my voice system. Cross your fingers for me that it'll keep working for a while. I found an optional update for my sound system for Windows and maybe that helps.

The pictures really don't do the bouquet justice. They are ten gorgeous dark red roses. Unfortunately I don't know a way to digitize smells so I can't share of their scent with you. Please forgive the messy background. I had to use the desk instead of the dining room table because otherwise I might accidentally include secret leather projects in the shot.

DH swears he'd ordered the roses before he got my whiny text message saying that I was going back to bed in frustration. I wasn't trying to beg him for pity, just to warn him that I wasn't in a good mood so he was prepared when he got home.On my bad days and sometimes helps that he stops at the horses before he comes in so that he has a chance to disconnect from work stress before he has to deal with me stress.

Today, he came home and parked right in front of the front door. I thought the parking might mean he wanted to run errands today, but he just wanted to get it with flowers without hassle.

So now I have too big of a smile on my face to be in a bad mood. Reese's peanut butter cups help, too.

Leather Bracelet

 

I did a pretty simple leather bracelet as a test project. First time we've dyed anything I've tooled. I wanted to test using ink jet transparencies for patterns--worked pretty well when drawing with ball point pen. A stylus scratched off some of the pattern's ink. I also planned to use a fancy round braid for the outside, but that ended up being too much for the pattern. I had to cut it off and did a simple whipstitch instead.

This item is not yet earmarked for anyone. I am thinking of selling it.

Note that I didn't make the holes yet for strings for keeping it on. Will use natural-colored leather strings for that.

 

Wind on the Beach

 

We took the girls to the beach for their  birthday. It was unbelievably windy. Sand was blown in streams just over the beach surface.

 

Happy Halloween from Denmark

 

Since we have all these pumpkins lying around, we decided to make a jack-o-lantern even though Danes don't normally celebrate the holiday. Unfortunately we didn't have enough sun for the leftovers to have gotten properly orange.

DH has never made a jack-o-lantern before, but he seemed to have a lot of fun and really got into.

 

RMR Project: Andrews's "Owls Well That Ends Well"

Desperate to rid the house of clutter, Meg Langslow recruits friends and family to help with a giant yard sale. Along with the usual locals, Meg has to deal with a number of unusual junk dealers, her own extensive family (many of whom are meeting her boyfriend for the first time), and the heirs of the family from whom she and the boyfriend bought the house. A sales clause gives those heirs 10% of the profits from the sale of the items left on the property. It's enough to drive a woman crazy.

Then things get worse. Gordon, the worst of the junk dealers, turns up dead in a locked trunk. Her boyfriend's best friend Giles is arrested. But he wasn't the only one with motive and opportunity. Meg sets out to clear Giles's name.

Owls Well That Ends Well is copyrighted in 2005 and published by St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries.

This mystery is filled with humor thanks to Meg's unusual family. It was a great distraction from the pain I had while reading it. I wouldn't mind reading more in this series.

Tense

Past

POV

This is a first-person story, told from the perspective of the heroine, Meg Langslow. The POV is very effective for the story because the reader is led to believe what Meg believes, which isn't always true.

Deaths

p. 58--Gordon, a junk dealer, is found in a trunk.

Suspects

• Giles, a college professor who had argued with the victim over a book
• Schmidt, another professor who wanted to keep his problems with Gordon a secret
• Carol, Gordon's wife who was trying to divorce him
• Ralph, Gordon's former business partner
• The hummel lady, who competed with him for good items at sales

RMR Project: Black's "A Vow of Fidelity"

 

When she receives a photograph of her art college class, Sister Joan is reminded of her promise to meet her classmates for a 20 year reunion. She is allowed to go, provided she uses the opportunity to advertise for the convent's new retreat offers.

At the meeting in London, Sister Joan learns that two of her classmates are already dead. Her visit to a third's home reveals that he died a few months earlier. As if that weren't enough to make her suspicious, the woman she talked to at the home of the deceased is murdered a few hours after they spoke.

The remaining classmates decide to book a retreat at the convent to continue the reunion. Then Sister Joan receives another copy of the class photo--with a threat in it. Can she find out what is going on before more classmates die?

A Vow of Fidelity was published by St. Martin's Paperbacks and has a 1995 copyright.

Despite the foreignness of the main character (I am not religious so have no experience with nuns and convents), I was comfortable with her perspective and quickly drawn into the story. The characters are interesting and realistic and the entire story is exciting. A good read.

Tense

Past.

POV

Vow of Fidelity is told in third person limited omniscient from the perspective of Sister Joan. Despite careful study, I found no POV breaks. It is very well done and Sister Joan is an interesting character.

Deaths

There were plenty of deaths talked about in the book, but only one is in the present. On page 26, we find out that Sally, the wife of a classmate and a classmate herself, died a few years earlier after a fall from a car park. The car park was known to be dangerous and her death is considered an accident, but there is some question in the minds of the classmates.

Bryan Grimes, another former classmate, was killed in a hit-and-run. We find this out on page 29.

Sister Joan learns of the death of Serge, a third classmate, on page 47. He had died a month earlier of an overdose. But his girlfriend swears he didn't take drugs and was not suicidal.

The death of a gypsy child on page 138 is a reminder of a child who died several years earlier.

There is another death on page 162, but telling you about it would be too much of a spoiler.

Suspects

Sister Joan fears that one of her living classmates is behind the crimes. She focuses her attention there.

Other

There was plenty of back story but it wasn't intrusive.

The book is a fine read on its own, even without knowledge of the several earlier books in the series.

RMR Project: Carter's "Candy Apple Dead"

 

Candy Apple Dead by Sammi Carter revolves around Abby, a corporate lawyer who returned to her hometown after her marriage failed and took over her great aunt's candy shop. When a friend's store burns down and his body is found in the rubble, her brother is the townspeople's main suspect. Assuming, of course, that the man didn't burn the shop down himself and get caught in the blaze. Abby can't believe either could be thought guilty, but soon finds out many things about both of them that she didn't know.

The book was published by Berkley Prime Crime and has a 2005 copyright. For subgenre, it is probably somewhere between a regular cozy and the newer class "culinary," which seems to simply be a cozy with a food aspect. Candy recipes are included (not something that would make me buy a book, but who knows).

I really liked this one. Even better than the previously read one in the project. I may partly prefer it because the POV is more like my own work. The characters were real and I could relate to them easily. The woman's need to find the answers herself were very understandable. Even analyzing it closely, I didn't find any real problems with the book. Just one spot where it says she turns on the flame then half a page later starts the burner--for the same pot. Not a big deal and probably not very noticeably problematic if reading just for fun.

The play between what the narrator thought of characters versus what the town thought added to the enjoyment. Abby made you sympathize with the dead guy even when the rest of the town had a grudge. She had a great sense of humor and personality as well.

POV

First person. Abby herself narrates the story and I found nothing that even hinted at a possible POV break.

Tense

Past.

Deaths

The victim fails to turn up for a date with Abby already just a little way into the book. Then the fire happens soon after (p. 18). An unidentified body is found under the rubble of the fire on page 42, but is not identified as Brandon until page 62.

Suspects

Although Abby tries to suspect pretty much everyone, the police only appear to suspect Wyatt, her brother, and Brandon himself of starting the fire. Abby turns up hints of other possible suspects on her own.

Other

Page 9 foreshadows events to come as the end of chapter hook. This makes sense when it is written in past tense--as if Abby herself wrote the tale once it was completed. But I am not sure I like that as much--I think I prefer to believe the narrator is just as ignorant of what's going to happen as I am.

Chapter 1 has minimal back story but Ch. 2 has plenty of it.

In the earlier chapters, I played close attention to the EOC hooks and found them very effective. I forgot to pay as much attention later on. Also by that time you are so far into the book that you want to know what happens anyway, even if the EOCs had been a little weak (not saying they were--I didn't notice).

RMR Project: Page's "The Body in the Belfry"

 

The Body in the Belfry is, according to the back flap, Katherine Hall Page's first book and it earned her the Agatha Award for best first mystery novel. From a reader perspective, it captivated me easily and carried me happily along on its tale. No problems with suspension of disbelief or characterization. A pleasant read.

Copyright 1990. Published by Avon Books.

Now for the more clinical aspects.

POV

The book starts out with Faith, a minister's wife and new mom. My expectation after reading the first few pages was that it would be a third person limited omniscient POV. I was wrong.

Already within the first chapter I found hints of omniscient--no clear narrator, but obviously more than Faith should know.

As a short example of the most glaring breaks of Faith's POV:

• p. 73-74. Dave's POV
• p. 79. 1 para of Dunne, back to Faith, then a touch of Tom
• p. 82. Millicent
• p. 92. Pix.
• p. 106. Scott

By the time I'd gone through that headhopping section, I quit noting the shifts, declaring it some kind of third person omniscient perspective.

I think I need to study more on third person omniscient because of the questions I am left with.

Was Page trying to write third person omniscient or did she just break the limited POV without realizing it?

Perhaps she was not edited as firmly because of her Agatha prize? Is the prize awarded to a draft or to a published book? If the former, the award might result in less thorough editing in the haste to get it published.

Tense

Past. That was easy.

Deaths

There are two. Cindy Shepherd on page 12 with a knife and a second murder on page 168. I won't reveal the victim and method of the second here because it might be a bit of a spoiler.

Suspects

Pretty much the entire town and even beyond. The first victim was quite a troublemaker. The second narrows the suspect field in some directions and opens it in others.

Other

The first chapter is all back story. That continues up to the death on p. 12. Agents on Twitter recently have been talking a lot about the importance of limiting back story in the early chapter. I guess no one told this author or she did it so well that no one was disturbed?

Rereading Mysteries for Research: The Project

I always said this blog would be about whatever didn't fit in my dog blog. This may get boring for some people, but I don't really have a gumption to start a new blog right now. If it seems necessary at some point, advise me. I have a complicated brain and a complicated life and am not very good at compartmentalizing. But I will try to index intelligently to make the blog more useful for readers.

In case you don't know this already, I am trying to write a mystery. To help myself on this goal and occupy times when pain keeps me from writing, I've decided to go back through all the mysteries I have, which I have read at least once already for pleasure, and start trying to get more useful tidbits out of them.

The things I look at will probably vary with time based on whatever is worrying me most about writing, but so far I am working with a rough note scheme with the following categories.

• POV
• Tense
• Deaths (who, how, what page)
• Suspects
• Whodunit
• Other

I am going to post these on my blog as I do it in case the info is useful to anyone else. However, I suppose I must have the Whodunit part only in my notes. I refuse to put out total spoilers right now.

I guess you could say I'm not ready to share my work with the world, but I will share my research! The notes won't exactly be reviews, but may interest someone. Who knows.

Pondering Pie Crust

 

I have a tendency to think while I'm cooking. My body is busy, but my mind is not that occupied by food preparation. Today I ended up thinking about pie crust. Not that unusual as I was assembling a pie at the time.

I grew up with an almost mystical attitude towards pie crust. It took magic or maybe a miracle to make one right. That's what I used to think anyway.

But I don't remember the last time that I felt like making a pie crust was a big deal doing it myself. Obviously take some time and I have to make DH get the machine out but I don't usually fail. I think I only had trouble the first time I tried. I'm not saying it's been equally easy every time. Sometimes it's a little harder to handle or I need to add some water or flour. But it works and it's edible.

Okay, I admit it. I cheat. I use Joy of Cooking's pie crust recipe, but I make it in the food processor. I use the regular recipe not the one made for food processor. I also use margarine. I know, you are not supposed to use margarine for pie crust, but we don't have Crisco in this country. I just can't handle the thought of using lard to make a pie crust for dessert. It feels wrong somehow.

Anyway, I put the margarine flour and salt in food processor and turn it on. A couple quick spins and it's all mixed together. Then I had to 4 tablespoons of water and let it work until the crust is in a big ball. That's that.

When it comes to rolling the dough I am probably spoiled. We have a marble section on our counter. As long as I chill the dough long enough, it's easy to roll on that. I usually make a full bottom and a lattice top.

So why do I think it takes magic to make pie crusts? Pie crust was not exactly my mother's strong suit. I don't remember it being bad, I just remember lots and lots of stress involved in trying to make it. I guess it likes to tease my mother.

Don't get me wrong here. My mother is not a bad cook. She makes cakes that are the envy of anyone who sees them because they are fully edible personalized birthday cakes and often quite an adventure to figure out. She doesn't use a cookbook for most things. Her pancakes only failed once and that was my fault. That was after we found out I was allergic to wheat and milk, so she was experimenting with alternatives and something didn't go well together. But how many people can make pancakes out of potato milk and rice flour?

There are things that she did that I would never want to have to do. She put food on the table for five picky people every day. She made most of our breakfasts and everyone's lunch. She cooks turkeys that are so big they barely fit in the oven. She adjusts meals for family gatherings to serve carnivores, vegetarians, and vegans all the same time.

I have trouble getting dinner on the table for two people every day. DH makes his own lunch, and his own breakfast, and does probably at least a third of the cooking. He also does most of the dishes, something Mom had to tackle on her own.

So, we grow up with attitudes about things based on how our parents felt about them. But we don't necessarily have the same strengths and weaknesses that they had. It doesn't make us better people than they are. We're just different.

So Mom, if I come for Thanksgiving again or Christmas, I'll make the pies. But you have to stick to doing the birthday cakes

Chicken-Pumpkin-Curry Soup

If you were following my tweets yesterday, you already know some of what I was doing. Since my experimentation succeeded, here is a rough guide to making Chicken-Pumpkin-Curry Soup.

I had the rough idea for this recipe in my head, thinking the three flavors would go well together. Plus we had them and I do need to get some of these pumpkins used. So I went googling on recipes for reassurance, but I didn't like parts of anything I found. So I just made it up as I went along. Note that I had this cooking much of the day, but I will include some tips for shortcuts along the way.

Making the Base Stock

I wanted chicken pieces for the soup and a good flavorful base, so my first step was actually to cook a "stock" that I strained. You can skip this step and use premade stock or bullion cubes dissolved in water and add leftover chicken pieces or browned cut-up chicken breasts or whatever works for you in the end step.

Rough ingredients (vary to suit your preferences and supplies):

• two whole chicken legs with backs--skin on and bones in (or more if feeding a crowd)
• black and white peppercorns
• sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and curry
• several blades (or whatever they're called) of fresh chives
• a couple handfuls of pumpkin guts (strings and seeds)
• greens off a leek
• salt
• water to cover

Throw it all in a pot and let it cook on low heat until the meat is falling off the bone. Strain it, putting the liquid aside for later.

Once cool enough to handle, pick the meat off the bone and break into small chunks. Save for adding to the soup later.

Prepping the Pumpkin

The recipes I found reading online either used canned pumpkin or baked the pumpkin in halves and made puree that way. Part of my goal with making this soup was to use one of the fresh pumpkins, so canned or my ready-made puree weren't ideal for this round. I certainly didn't want to waste my energy or electricity on the puree process when I planned to have a soup pot simmering on the gas all day (sure wish we had a wood stove I could do this on).

What I did instead was to cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the stringy guts and seeds. A couple handfuls of that went straight into the stock pot already started.

Then DH helped me out and we cut the pumpkin into huge chunks that were easy to handle. We peeled the tough skin off with potato peelers then cut into smaller chunks that would fit in the soup pot better. We put these aside in a clean dishpan for when I needed them later. Shortly before putting them into the pot, I put water into the dishpan to rinse them off.

Making the Pumpkin-Curry Base Soup

If you are like me and using a fresh pumpkin, you may end up with far more of this than you need for your meal. It is easier to freeze and store at the end of this stage instead of once the final soup is assembled (takes up less space).

Ingredients

• Curry powder (how  much depends on your taste, the curry's strength, and how much pumpkin you have)
• A couple onions chopped or sliced coarsely
• A little butter, margarine, or oil for starting the onions and curry
• Garlic
• Pumpkin prepared as above (or puree or canned if you haven't the fresh to use up or are lazy)
• The base stock prepared as above or the alternative ready-made stock or bullion (how much depends on how much pumpkin you have and how wet you want your soup... it is easier to add more later than to cook it off, but more will help the pumpkin cook faster)
• A few apples, peeled and cored (I used six small ones but it was a lot of pumpkin)
• Some carrots, peeled (they help with the color if your pumpkin is a little pale and add more nutrients. could be skipped)

1. Make sure you start with a pot large enough for all the stuff you plan to put into it.
2. Melt the butter or margarine or heat the oil in the bottom of the pot.
3. Throw in the onions and let soften a little.
4. Add the garlic.
5. Put in the curry powder, stirring and watching the heat to avoid burning. Doing this with the curry powder releases the flavor. You can add more later, but it won't be as good if it hasn't had this step.
6. Pour in a little of the stock to keep the paste from burning.
7. Throw in some of the pumpkin chunks and stir them around in the paste. Not sure how important this step is, but it's what I did.
8. Add the stock and the rest of the pumpkin chunks. Do not worry if the stock doesn't cover all the pumpkin. I would worry more if it did ebcause it would be awfully wet. Mine was maybe halfway up initially and had to cook it down for a while.
9. If there is room in the pot (there wasn't for me), add the carrots and apples.
10. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally. Add left out ingredients, if any, when the pumpkin has collapsed enough for it to fit.
11. When everything has softened enough to stir easily and be somewhat mushable with your spoon, consider the moisture amount. If it is really wet, you might want to remove the lid and let it cook down for a while. It will splatter less and be less likely to burn if you cook down before completing the next step.
12. Blend everything until creamy. I used my staff blender directly in the pot. I did have to take it off the stove because my cord wasn't long enough. If you aren't lucky enough to have one of these heat-tolerant pot-safe blender sticks, you'll need to transfer it to a regular blender or food processor or mash by hand and have chunky soup.

Note that I ended up with something like 8 liters of soup base. But I did use a whole pumpkin of a very meaty type.

Assembling the Final Soup

• Pumpkin-Curry base soup
• A can or so of coconut milk or a creamy alternative like cream or soy-cream substitute. Coconut milk is really a great choice because the flavor complements the rest of the soup well
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Your chunks of chicken resulting from the first step or a time-saving alternative

Take enough of your soup base for the number of people you want to feed. Heat slowly and mix in the coconut milk. If you have any issues with the creaminess, you may want to blend again, but that wasn't necessary for me. The coconut milk mixed in fine once it was heated up.

When satisfied no blending will be needed, add the chicken. (Not that blending the chicken would really hurt anything.. just seems odd to me)

Season to taste.

Vegan or Vegetarian Alternative

Obviously you won't want to use chicken and chicken stock if preparing for vegans or vegetarians. The alternative is quite simple. Use a vegetable stock base instead of chicken stock--either vegetarian bullion or a homemade stock. It would also be an option to just skip to the pumpkin stage and just use a little water and add more other vegetables for flavor, such as celery, leeks, parsnips, or whatever you want. Those vegetables would then just be blended along with the pumpkin to give the final creamy result.

The soup will be delicious even without chunks of chicken or something in it. We add that because DH is a very hardworking man and it helps him feel fuller. You could use chunks of tofu or something if you wanted.

Serving Suggestions

As you probably noticed from the picture, I served with a spoonful of sour cream on each portion and bits of fresh chives. We had some coarse bread on the side.

Although I liked the combination of the soup with sour cream, DH did not. Some whipped cream (NOT sweetened or with vanilla in it!) would be another choice if you like the looks but not the flavor.

Of course you can also just serve it plain, with or without the bread.

Vær's'god (sorta means "Enjoy the meal" in this context although the literal is "be so good")

Feeding Daisy and the Rest of the Herd

 

Winter is coming fast and Daisy is already showing signs of its approach. For anyone who doesn't know, Daisy is DH's 23-year-old Oldenburg mare. The picture here is an old one, but it's our favorite. Bryan doesn't ride Daisy very often anymore because she hasn't been doing well with long rides. She enjoys the occasional trip to the beach and that's about it.

The point is that Daisy's getting very thin and that is a very bad sign.We noticed when we brought them home from the summer pasture this weekend that she was really showing signs of her age. We agreed that I would go out every day and feed herto try to get some weight back on her before the cold really hits.

We expected this to be a hard winter for her. We had gone out about a month ago and bought a special food for her, that is designed for horses that have a little troublekeeping weight on, whether they are breeding or are old. Luckily for us, she seems to love her new food.

When I fed Monday, she gave me a bit of trouble. This would be the first time for her to go into the box in many year and she was not liking the idea. I ended up feeding her at her usual trough and fighting to keep the other three horse off her food the entire time. That was both unpleasant and painful for me.

So Monday night DH went out and taught Daisy to go in the box. He ended up feeding the rest of the herd while he was there.

Tuesday I went out to feed only Daisy again. She went willingly into the box and was eager to eat. But then the other three started fighting in the shed, trying to be as close to Daisy as possible and unhappy about the lack of feed for them. I drove them out of the shed, shut them out, and went and gave them hay. The result was that Daisy refused to eat until they were back inside and even then she was uneasy, wanting to know what was outside. AARGH!

Last night our favorite fruit and vegetable man came by with some stuff he couldn't sell for us. Mostly carrots and apples on the verge of being too old. So DH went over with that stuff and to feed Daisy and ended up feeding hte whole herd again.

When he got back in, we made a new deal for the near future. If the whole herd needs to eat once a day now, let me feed them so there is no fighting and hassle. He agreed. This is new for me--DH has always stood for horse feeding. Our feeding method is complicated with several different feeds and supplements to mix and he would adjust it based on exercise level and weather. Now that responsibility is mine--if I can handle it.

It went really well today. Ria (QH mare, around 7, proper name Borregos Maria) got the new box spot because it has a section of concrete on the floor. That lets the messy pig clean up all the food she throws all over. Because she tends to fatten easily, she also gets less feed than everyone else. Having her in the box keeps her from getting as annoying with her neighbors because they have more food and eat more slowly than she does. Ha!

This picture, by the way, is from this summer when she was on the pony pasture with Tanja, the fat shetland pony, for both of them to slim down a bit. She looks GREAT that way but is already bulking up a bit from having free access to hay in the past few weeks.

Quintas (paint mare, 4, proper name Quintas Cold Cash) came home from the trainer looking very fit and trim. Since the typical Danish wind and rain (and early dusk) keep us from riding as much as we'd like, this won't last long. But she still needs some feed now because there is so little on the pasture and the cold nights are coming fast (2 hard frosts already!!).

These pictures are from DH's first ride on Quintas after she came home from the trainer. The helmet was a concession to my concerns that we didn't know how she'd react with nearby cows, lots of on and off fitting the saddle on "The CorrecTOR" and a good bit of wind. He minds the helmet much more than he minds the safety vest. The CorrecTOR does its job excellently, BTW, and  makes his saddle fit her perfectly. I don't think we had it adjusted right in the first picture--his feet are farther forward than he usually has them riding. Another day we had taken a good length trail ride on our two and you couldn't even tell where the saddle had been on Quintas except for the slight smudge from the leather grease on the girth strap.

 

Our final large horse is Tracy (solid-bred Paint, 2, Miss Tracy King). I am ashamed to admit that this is the best pic I can find of her on my laptop. I swear DH went out one day this summer and took awesome pics of all of them, but I can't find those pics on my laptop.

Anyway, Tracy is a young two, being a late-in-the-year foal. She is still growing, probably, so needs plenty to eat. She seems to have a great temperament and we love how she moves. We hope she might end up being an even better riding horse for me than Ria because she doesn't have the sensitive feet and tendencies to pudginess that Ria has.

So, with these different needs, feeding really is quite an interesting job. The basis for all of them is whole oats. But I have to mix the leftover oats from last year with the new oats from this year. Ria only gets a small portion because of her weight issues.

To the oats for Daisy, we add some wheat. It should help her put weight on. She can't have barley because it makes her legs swell. Daisy also gets a glucosamin supplement that we are trying for the first time to see if it helps her move better and feel better. A dose of "Shy Feeder B" encourages her to eat. She also has the special gain-weight food I mentioned above. It is a mix of a bunch of different things, so we tend to think of it like a musli.

Ria has a special Musli of her own too. It is designed for ponies and other horses that gain weight easily. Part of the point is that it should have a long chew time, keeping her occupied with less feed.

Quintas and Tracy aren't left out on musli. They have a normal one with lots of herbs in it. Daisy gets some of that one too. Those three also get a type of melasses that is mixed with wheat bran. It is much cheaper and less messy than liquid melasses. We tried liquid last year but it didn't work well. They didn't really like it. We manage to keep water liquid many times by putting it in the shed, so don't need liquid for that either (that's what my mom did for the sheep when I was growing up).

Then all of them get the main vitamin supplement and hoof supplement, although Ria is the one most in need of the latter. We also use some kind of soy product that I don't know how to translate. Also not exactly sure why, but they like it.

Sound complicated enough for everyone? We had tried a full feed two winters ago, but none of them did well on it. They tended to turn up their noses at it.

Oh, I forgot to mention the green pellets that are basically a pressed grass. They look like giant rabbit food pellets. They're filling and help prevent problems from grass changes. Ria especially is getting a few handfuls of those right now.

Book Review: "The Equivoque Principle" by Darren Craske

This is my first attempt at a book review, so please forgive me if it sucks. I won this book in a drawing from Caroline Smailes.

The Equivoque Principle is a murder mystery set in Victorian England. When a bishop hires criminals to clear a section of England, Cornelius Quaint and the members of Dr. Marvello's Traveling Circus are dragged into the middle of the killing spree. Prometheus, the strong man, is framed for the murders by being drugged and left with the body of his love.

Struggling to prove the mute innocent, the troupe is forced to face nightmares from Prometheus’s and Quaint's pasts. The quest is a trying one that unites the group, but forces some members to face their fears of their own inadequacies.

Personally, I enjoyed the book. I found myself quickly drawn into the vibrant settings and connecting to the humanity of the unusual circus characters. Although most people's personal struggles are not as dramatic as those in the book, I think it is easy to relate to the issues of loyalty, trust, and fear of failure.

Even if I weren't trying to hide from pain, I think I would've had great difficulty putting the book down in the middle. The book is well paced and keeps you hooked on every page.

Although it is written in third person omniscient, the writer has held back enough important information to leave the reader guessing. It also gives enough view into the perspective of individual characters to allow the reader to feel a bit of a bond with those characters.

One thing is bugging me about the ending. I feel like there is a flaw in the book, but it was late and I was drugged and I might just read something wrong. I'm going to have to reread part of it to check how those bits hang together. However, even if I am right that there is a flaw there, I doubt the average reader will notice.

I recommend the book to anyone who can find it. It is a good and exciting read, and I'm looking forward to more with these characters.

Edited to add: I talked to the author about the thing in the end that was bugging me. It was just me being paranoid and probably a little out of it when I read it. It doesn't have that flaw, so I am just insane.

Squash, Pumpkins, and Squmpkins

I have been trying to get a post like this on my blog for probably about two weeks. Unfortunately things have been very hectic and I haven't had the chance to write it. I hope to correct that now.

I will start with the pictures from 19 September. I harvested a pumpkin and squmpkin then and planned to make a blog post, but that didn't happen.

Our zucchinis have done very well this year. We have harvested plenty for ourselves, to give away, and even sold some by the road. We didn't sell very many, but it was probably enough to cover the costs of seeds. We used a good bit during the course of the summer and now I have some in the freezer for the winter. When I free zucchini, I greatly in advance and then package it in 2 cup amounts in bags. 2 cups is the right amount for zucchini bread and also works well for many of the other recipes in which I include squash, such as soups, spaghetti sauces, and Mexican.

I don't know how well you can see it, but this picture shows a very large squash. We let this one grow large on purpose with the plan of harvesting seeds for next year. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that these seeds will actually produce zucchini, but we've decided to give it a shot. I harvested seeds by cutting it open and removing the best ones I could find. I then washed them off and spread them on newspaper to dry. I probably also could have taken the meat of the zucchini and grated and frozen it, but I decided not to.

These squmpkins are proof of how uncertain it is to collect seeds from squash for planting. They were grown from seeds that we brought home from one of my mother's squashes on our US trip last year. I had to plant about 25 seeds to get these two plants.They initially grew like a squash in one place, but later the one of them began to send out feelers like a pumpkin.

 

 

 

It was quite exciting to see what the white fruits would turn out like. We expected an oddly shaped white squash like the one that we think we got the seeds from. Instead, we appear to have gotten a white pumpkin. As you can see, when cut open, it shows stringy insides like a pumpkin. I baked it in two cut halves with the open side down, like I usually do for pumpkin. The resulting cooked pumpkin tasted like pumpkin usually does. I strained some of the extra moisture from the meat then puréed it with the staff blender. After packaging in 2 cup portions, I froze it. 

 

This type of pumpkin translates to “giant pumpkin.” They did not end up as large as I expected. I have not yet tried cutting or baking any of these. We have one that is ripe and two nice not ripe ones and one that is a little odd.

 

 

 

This is the only ripe one we have of the more classic American halloween pumpkin. My understanding from the seed packet is that they should still have a good meat for pies and other food uses. We have several in varying sizes at different points in maturity.

 

 

 

 

Because we have begun getting frost at night, I have had to harvest all the various squashes and pumpkins to prevent them from being destroyed. All are now packed in a clear tarp on the picnic table that I can open on sunny days. I hope at least some of them will ripen so I can harvest them. We also promised a white one and the ripe halloween-style one pictured above to my mother-in-law. She cans them in a Danish style that is sorta like a pickle. These two are the best in size for her to handle and use.

 

Riding Quintas

A little over a month ago, we made a long drive with the horse trailer to take Quintas Cold Cash to our preferred trainer down south. This is the same trainer that did Ria two years ago and Daisy fourteen years ago. Obviously we are satisfied with the results or we wouldn't keep going back.

After we dropped Quintas off, it turns out she got into a bit of trouble. She wasn't too happy with the gelding that was put into the box next to her and kicked the box wall. It left her a bit lame for the first few days.

Unfortunately, a few days were not enough to completely resolve the problem. It wasn't that she remained lame, but she would be a bit stiff getting moving. The trainer found that working her on the longe helped and she would loosen up after a few minutes. Quintas was not comfortable galloping and her gait wasn't quite right sometimes. It didn't seem to be anything serious the she probably needs to have it checked by a chiropractor.

Over a week ago, we went down to see how things were going. We also took our two available saddles to see what fit her. We could see the problems she was having moving, but it wasn't anything we need worry too much about. It wasn't possible to get an immediate chiropractor appointment anyway.

DH rode as did the trainer. After having ridden nothing but Daisy for more than 15 years, DH found Quintas quite an adjustment. Their ride went very well anyway. I think a lot of the difficulties he had were caused by riding in the trainer's saddle as opposed to his own, which did not fit.

This past Wednesday, we went back to pick Quintas up. This time I rode before DH. Because Ria was only trained two years ago, the adjustment to riding Quintas is very minor for me. Ria is still being ridden in two hands.

That time we took Ria’s saddle, which sort of fits. The trainer seems to be satisfied with the fit, but DH and I are not. The back tips up when without a rider and bumps when riding faster than a walk. We are still optimistic that the product we are expecting from the United States will solve these problems and allow us to use DH’s roping saddle on his horse.

After I rode for a while DH did try for short time and did very well. Quintas was getting a little bit annoying, which was probably because she was tired. Having three different riders in one day it is quite a lot for a young barely trained horse to handle.

Then we loaded her up and drove home. She did fine in the trailer, but was very happy when we got home. Released her immediately onto the pony pasture with Ria and the fat pony Tanya.

Thursday morning, we didn't want to work Quintas. She had a hard couple days and reintroducing her and Ria to Daisy and Tracy on the other pasture gave all of them plenty of exercise.

Friday we went out and got a longe line, which we didn't have. I worked Quintas on it for probably about 20 minutes. Much to my surprise, her gait was completely normal in both walk and trot on both sides. She was even quite content to gallop on the better side. The slight bulge she had had on her back to the side of her spine was gone.

Yesterday's weather was absolutely miserable and not suited for working a horse. Today is windy but better otherwise. I didn’t want to wait any longer to get out her back.

So I started working her on the longe line. Again, no signs of the bulge and her gait was clean. This time I even got her galloping on both sides, but only a little on the worse side.

Then we saddled her up—in my saddle. DH held her while I got on from a block. The stirrups were too long, but she stood pretty quietly for those to be adjusted. DH led a short distance into the more open area of the pony pasture. The stirrups were still too long and she waited again for adjustment.

He removed the lead line and I began riding. She is a joy to ride—smooth and soft and easy. Just the slightest touch on the reins or press from my leg is enough to adjust her position.

She was actually easier to ride today than at the trainer’s. Down there she seemed nervous and insecure. She had trouble focusing. Here she was calm and, although I won’t go as far as saying confident, seemed less unsure of herself. She didn’t freeze up and get those “blonde moments” (as the trainer called them) where she seemed to have completely forgotten what to do or couldn’t figure out to combine two things together. Her concentration was complete, despite traffic, cows in a nearby pasture, and a good bit of wind. Wind and horses normally don’t mix well together.

Before my mother or anyone else gets too worried, I wore both helmet and safety vest while riding today. I am not taking any unneeded chances and wouldn’t have gotten on her back at all if she had seemed upset working on the longe.

I only rode for about 25 minutes. I wanted to stop while things were going well and didn’t want to push either of us too hard for the first day. I did jog a little on her as well as walking. I don’t even gallop on Ria most of the time, so am not about to be the first rider to gallop on Quintas right now.

We have an appointment next Friday with a local vet that also has equine chiropractor training. I’d used her for acupuncture on a horse several years ago and like how she works with horses. This also means that Quintas will not have to go through a long and difficult trailer ride on both sides of a chiropractor treatment like she would if we used the chiropractor the trainer recommended. We hope that will sort out the problem she had—if she even still has it.

I told DH he better not have me ride Quintas too much I will get horse jealousy. She is much easier to ride than Ria because of her sensitivity. I have to ride in spurs on Ria because my legs lack the strength to give a good strong kick. Instead I barely touch her with the spur. But Quintas reacts to much more subtle ques.

While riding today, I tried some of the things I know DH will be doing when he rides, like moving the outside rein into her neck. He’d rather ride one-handed, but she isn’t quite ready for that yet. Quintas had no problems turning as long as the outside rein was LOOSE, which it always is for DH. At the trainer’s, she had had trouble with that. With her increased calm, I am sure the two of them will be able to sort things out quickly and build up a relationship at least as good as the one he has today with Daisy. Because she is so light and sensitive, it is likely to be even better—even more telepathic where he just thinks it and she does it.

So I am VERY happy today and feeling much better thanks to the ride. I’ve been tired for several days and have slept most of the weekend so far. I do think I need a nap soon though…

Just Got My Haircut

You'll have to excuse me for squinting a bit at the sun while DH took my picture.

Right before this picture was taken, a friend came by and did my hair cut.I am so relieved to be rid of that big fluffy bush I used to have.

On a side note, I am currently testing a new application for publishing to my blog.It's Windows live writer and it looks like Dragon supports it without serious problems.This will make posting a lot easier than a copy and paste method I used to use. It also helps because now I can get pictures and then lay them out the way I want while editing text.

There Aren't Enough Hours in the Day

My mother reminded me that I have been neglecting my blog dreadfully lately. The problem, quite simply is that there aren't enough hours in the day.

My health has been demanding that I sleep a lot. Nothing new there really but I have more things I want to do every day and it's getting harder and harder to get even a fraction of them done.

It's 10:30 now and I haven't even had breakfast yet. I have made it and had a few cups of tea. I've also managed start vacuuming that I need to do today. The vacuuming is far from finished, but I have to empty the vacuum before can do more.

Molly is in heat, so needs panties on to be allowed beyond the kitchen. She's been out twice today already, so that's multiple panty removals. Shawnee still seems to believe that she is to go out every five minutes even though she's as old as she is now. I think she's been out four times and spent some time in the crate to tried to encourage her to hold it longer.

In other things I need to do today, I am planning to make calzone for dinner, so need to make the dough and slice tomatoes and onions before DH is home from work.

Tanya and Ria are still on the pony pasture, which is without grass. They need hay twice a day so I do that in the mornings and DH does it in the afternoons.

There's a big pile of dishes that need to be done.

I am desperate to write. My struggles to write are taking a lot of my time. I also need to maintain a certain level of activity on the writer's list that I'm on. I have subbed two of my chapters already and have crits on those waiting for me to respond to and process. There also a few works by others that I need to crit. One is a complete book draft from someone who has contributed a number of useful comments to my subs so far. I offered to give her book a complete readthrough, because there are a lot of flaws in the chapter by chapter method that the group uses. By offering do this for others I have favors I can draw on later when I need my own done.

As if that weren't enough, the girls are desperate for training and attention. I really haven't been giving them enough training lately. Molly is really feeling it because she's not allowed to go anywhere when she's in heat. Since Shawnee hasn't started yet, she at least has been allowed to make some small outings with her father.

My health needs me to ride. Right now, I still can't saddle up by myself. DH has built the lift system for me, but Ria needs training before she's willing to go under the saddle. So I ought to spend at least 15 minutes working on that.

If I am going to finish my next secret leather project in time for when I plan to give it to the recipient, I need to get working on it. My drawing for the design is finished and I'm very proud of it, but I need to make a pattern for the pieces I need cut out of leather. The woman in the leather shop offered to help DH cut them out there.

I also have an order, when I eventually get around to it, for a lady's wallet for the friend down the road that ordered last one for husband. That one is finished by the way he should be getting it tomorrow. Idiot me didn't think to take any pictures of it. At least I still have copies of the drawing for the design.

Well, if I don't eat soon I'm going to pass out. Hopefully this gives you an idea why I am not updating my blog more often.

Contemplating Grandparental Nomenclature

This is actually a blog entry that I've been planning to write for months. I just keep not getting around to it.

As a writer, the names I choose for my characters and what my characters call each other is very important to the suspension of disbelief. Have you ever read a book and thought that a name just didn't quite fit? What about what they called the grandparents?

For names themselves, I am not having much trouble. But many of my characters come from families with strong religious backgrounds, so biblical names are an easy choice for first names. For last names, I am relying on historical research into early settlers of the area from which the families come that have that religious background (church and cemetary records usually). In that way, I can ensure that anyone that is familiar with that area and those cultures will not find the names unusual.

But then I have the issue of what my narrator, who is also my protagonist, calls her grandmother. I don't think I can effectively Google what people in that area and with that background called grandparents.

So I myself wondering what the factors are that influence the selection of grandparental nomenclature. Here are some of the things I can think of.

• Education and literacy level of the family.
• Family tradition.
• Cultural background.
• Childhood mispronunciation.
• Grandparental attitudes towards being a grandparent.
• What other children in the family are calling the person.

Here in Denmark, the selection is simple. Are you the mother's mother or the father's mother?

The maternal grandmother is pretty much always called "mormor." The paternal grandmother is "farmor." The maternal grandfather is "morfar." The paternal grandfather is "farfar."

When you get into mixed families with stepgrandparents, "bedstemor" and "bedstefar" are often used. The generic word for grandparents is "bedsteforældre."

What I find impressive is that no one, especially the children, find it confusing that one cousin calls the person one thing and another cousin calls the person something else. That always seemed very complicated to me.

Then we have the factor of distinguishing between the grandparents on both sides. I called both my grandmothers grandmom and both my grandfathers granddaddy. But I know that at least one of my brother's families has insisted that my parents and the child's mother's parents have different nicknames. So which way will my character's family deal with this issue?

The sheer number of options for naming grandparents in English is simply overwhelming.

Grandmother Names

• Grandmother
• Grandmom
• Grandma
• Gramma
• Gran
• Gram
• Mommom
• Nana
• Granny
• Grammy

Grandfather Names

• Grandfather
• Granddad
• Granddaddy
• Grandpa
• Grampa
• Gramps
• Poppop
• Papa

I am sure that there are more I haven't thought of.

In some of these cases, the word may be combined with a first or last name to identify the specific person.

Although this seems like a minor issue when writing a book, it feels important to me. It would help define my character and her background.

For example, if you hear someone calling their parents ma and pa, the thought would usually be that either the family is extremely old-fashioned or it is not that highly educated. My mother always calls her mother "Mother," which throws another wrench into it all.

I tried googling for relevant linguistical research, but found the only, a Washington Times reporter who was contemplating the same thing in his blog. That didn't help much.

Anyone have any ideas?

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

Oh, what a beautiful day. Oh, what a beautiful morning. Everything is going... okay.

Yes, I know that's not the proper words to the song but the proper words do not fit. But at least I'm feeling better today.

If you've been following my tweets, you know that I was down much of yesterday with a really bad migraine. DH had been up overnight because he couldn't sleep. He had gone out to the computer to check on the status of an auction on eBay. We were bidding on a new headstall for Quintas, because the pretty one that supposed to be hers I've been using on Ria because it has the bosal on. But that bosal and headstall match each other. The bosal is red and headstall has red details. They should, after all, both were bought for the same horse. What we didn't realize was that Ria would need one because she has stallion teeth.

To get back to the point, DH came back to bed after winning the auction. He woke me up because apparently I was whining, moaning, screaming, something like that in my sleep. So he asked me what was wrong, which was a migraine. Sweetheart that he is, he brought me a headache pill.

He brought me another one along with my regular painkiller before he left for work in the morning. When I first got up, my head wasn't too bad, but my hands were killing me. Sometime in the afternoon, my headache came back with a vengeance.

I took a pill and went to bed a little before three. Around quarter after, I had to run to the bathroom. I was sick. After a little while I went back to bed with my favorite bucket.

The noise was also bothering me of the traffic on the road. That I could fix with earplugs. I couldn't do anything about the blinking lights in my eyes because they were there when my eyes were closed and covered.

I guess I finally fell asleep because I don't remember anything else until DH got home. Even that I didn't hear at first because of earplugs.

When I told him about the squash situation he was mad. The first half of the squash situation is good. I put out 4 squash in the morning and by mid day two of those have been replaced by 10 kroner. When I went out to check later in the afternoon, the third was missing, but no money. I am still little bit optimistic that the person just didn't have change, so after making sure I had one in the garden for dinner tonight, I put the last one back out this morning.

Ria eats too much. She is the horse of our herd that needs the least to eat. Unfortunately, Daisy is still on the thin side. Because of an extreme lack of grass, we had to give the horses a big bale of hay. Since she's a bit of a pig, Ria stands there eating all day. Last time we were in a horse supply place, we bought her a grazing muzzle. So when DH got home last night I helped her put that on her. She handled it quite well.

So, getting back to the point of this morning, I woke up pretty much okay. My head's not too bad, but it's not great. I let the girls out right away and got a load of laundry started. After I had my glass of juice, I put my steel-toed boots on to go outside. I needed to put grazing muzzle back on Ria.

I did that without problem. However, Tracy was rubbing her head quite insistently on my rear end. I decided her fly mask was bothering her. I pulled off to find that there was a lot of hay under it and it was pretty dirty. The flies didn't seem bad, because there's a nice breeze outside. So I decided to take all the fly masks off to wash them. I took hers and Ria's and both seem relieved. Not long after I took Daisy's, she asked for it back. So Daisy is back in her fly mask.

Then I went to the garden to check on the squash. We had a new zucchini, which I need for making an omelet for dinner tonight. Oddly enough, I can't find the yellow roundish one that I had taken a picture of before. I hope it's just hiding in the leaves somewhere. The pumpkin on the giant pumpkin plant is now larger than a cantaloupe. There are also pumpkins on the other giant pumpkin plant. I'm very happy about that.

Since I have squash I need for dinner, I put the basket back out the road side. But if another one gets stolen I may have to give up this idea. I'm still hoping the person will come and leave money. Maybe they just didn't have change on them. If I knew it was someone that was starving and couldn't afford vegetables I be quite happy to give them my squash. DH thinks it's just the way people are -- that they suck.

So after that I came in with the fly masks, I got out the old dishpan and got them soak in the sink. Then I put Molly to work getting my boots off. I tried clicking and treating more often in the hopes that she would be quieter. It did seem to help a little bit, but it also annoyed her that I kept interrupting her work. However, she did her move my socks almost silently, and I clicked three times in the process.

I'm not sure how many times now change the water on the fly masks, but it seems to be getting cleaned out.

And while writing this my tea steeped (keemun with ginger). So now I'm going to have breakfast.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Tongiht we are having stuffed zucchini boats, bex-style. So this is more a recipe than my actual process of doing it. When I do it, there are tons of extended breaks.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats--Bex-Style

• Large zucchini or a couple mediums
• Ground meat (beef, pork, a mix, whatever you have or is cheapest)
• Loose rice
• Some salsa
• Salt and pepper
• An onion and optionally a chopped pepper
• Grated cheese

1. Wash the outside of the zucchini.
2. Cut the ends off and cut it in half lengthwise.
3. Scoop out the seeds and get rid of them.
4. Scrape out the inside of the zucchini (putting your scrapings into a bowl) until you leave a shell about .5cm thick in smaller zucchinis up to about 1.5 cm thick in baseball bat sized ones. Leave a little extra towards the ends, where there isn't peel to reinforce it.
   
5. Put the halves cut-side down on a dishcloth or papertowels to drain while you do everything else (and probably take a few breaks).
6. Use a staff blender to turn the zucchini scrapings into mush.
7. Peel the onion and cut it into large chunks. Add them to the zucchini mush and again process with the staff blender.
8. Add salt, pepper, salsa (probably at least a tablespoon per person you are feeding, but vary according to your preferences and the strength of the salsa), rice (I use about a cup [2.5dl] for a giant zucchini), and meat.
9. Mix it all together with your hands, a spoon, or an electric mixer. I think hands are easiest.
10. Turn the zucchini shells over and salt the insides. Put them on an oven-safe dish or cookie sheet. Use something with a little depth, because they will ooze a lot of liquid in the oven.
    
11. Spoon in the stuffing.
12. If you have too much stuffing, you can bake the extra in hollow peppers, onions, or just in a dish. But it may need some water added, because normally the rice sucks up the juices from the zucchini.
    
13. Cover with foil.
14. Bake at around 350 (175C) for an hour probably. If you aren't sure when you want to eat, you can always put it in at a much lower temperature to get it started. The time varies depending on the size. You can tell it is done by the color of the meat and by the shininess and softness of the zucchini boats.
    
15. Remove the foil and cover with grated cheese.
16. Turn the temperature up to grill, or broiler, or high or whatever works for you and bake until the cheese browns and bubbles.
17. Serve.
18. Since the boats include meat, vegetables, and rice, you really don't need a side dish.
19. This goes well with a nice glass of red wine!

Note: You can vary the seasonings and meat extensively. This is just the one that usually goes over best with visitors and is easiest.