Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Happy Book Day, Ellery Adams

Happy Book Day to my friend Ellery Adams, with her 5th entry of her Book Retreat Mystery series.

Storyton Hall, Virginia, is a paradise for book lovers who come from all over for literary getaways. But manager Jane Steward is temporarily leaving for another renowned resort—in hopes of solving a twist-filled mystery . . .

Jane’s boyfriend is missing, and she thinks she may find him at North Carolina’s historic Biltmore Estate. Officially, she’s there to learn about luxury hotel management, but she’s also prowling around the breathtaking buildings and grounds looking for secret passageways and clues. One of the staff gardeners promises to be helpful . . . that is, until his body turns up in the reading room of his cottage, a book on his lap.

When she finally locates the kidnapped Edwin, his captor insists that she lead him back to Storyton Hall, convinced that it houses Ernest Hemingway’s lost suitcase, stolen from a Paris train station in 1922. But before they can turn up the treasure, the bell may toll for another victim...

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Happy Reading!

Saturday, April 20, 2019

My Easter Dessert

The best part of holidays for me is ... the food. It's so enjoyable to share a wonderful meal with friends and/or family, and this year for Easter we're going traditional with a spiral ham, deviled eggs, honeyed carrots, rolls, and at least one more fresh veggie. We'll see what's at the store tomorrow.

But my favorite part of the meal is the dessert.  Okay, I've got a sweet tooth. This year, I'm leaning toward cake. My upcoming book, The Best From Swans Nest, a Lotus Bay Cookbook, has ten cake recipes and five frosting recipes. YUM! I'm leaning toward making spice cake with maple frosting. (That maple frosting also takes great with carrot cake or hummingbird cake. Yum-yum!)

Spice Cake
Ingredients
¼ cup butter or ½ cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark-brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup molasses
2¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC, Gas Mark 4). Butter and lightly flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Cream the butter or shortening and slowly add the two sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then add the milk and molasses, beating thoroughly. In another bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients and add to the wet mixture, beating until well blended. Pour the batter into the pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

Frost with your favorite cream cheese or buttercream frosting. Also tastes great with maple or caramel frosting, or sift confectioners’ sugar over the top.

Yield:  6 to 8 servings

Maple Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 30 to 40 seconds until whipped. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Sift the confectioner’s sugar into the bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 30 to 40 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the brown sugar and maple syrup. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the walnuts until just until mixed and spread on the cooled cake.

Yield: 3 cups

THE BEST FROM SWANS NEST arrives on May 14th. Pre-order your copy now!





Friday, April 12, 2019

Poppy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day


Our kittens are growing like weeds, but they are still kittens. They get into EVERYTHING.

Yesterday, I pulled out my computer tower because I needed to unplug it to try to coax it back to life. (It has issues.)  I try to start it up (cue the Stones) every few hours. Because I was going to do that, I left it pulled out from under my desk.

For some reason, the kittens decided that playing behind the tower was a fun thing to do. They got yelled at several times, but--they're reckless teens. (That's why we have no guns and motorcycles around here.) Poppy got back there and, usually when I holler, she listens to me and stops her bad behavior, but this time she didn't come out. I hauled the tower out even farther and found she was totally entangled in cords for the computer, the label printer, the Internet, the router--you name it. One of the cords was wrapped around her neck. Needless to say, I panicked but quickly managed to extricate her. Holy crap! My kitten nearly strangled herself!!!

Half an hour later, they had their (second) breakfast. (They get kitty kibble as a snack, then an hour or so later, the REAL breakfast of Friskees.) Soon after Poppy ate her food, she started pawing at her mouth and sounding like she was choking. YIKES! She did this for about ten minutes. She let me look in her mouth, but I couldn't see anything stuck on her teeth.

I called the vet, but got put on hold. While waiting, she stopped the pawing. I got cut off, but decided I was overreaching.  Until ... two hours later, she started doing it again. Now I was getting panicky. What if near strangulation had hurt her throat? She seemed to be breathing a lot faster than her sister when snoozing.

The vet was able to squeeze us in and so off we went. They had a lull and we were sent right in and were relieved that it was our favorite vet who saw Poppy. As soon as I told her about the noise Poppy had made, she went, "Aha." And then she showed us that Poppy already had a couple of her adult teeth, and that her gums were a little red and she had a wiggly tooth, but not wiggly enough to come out. (She tried.) Boy, was I relieved.

I'M A NEW MOM. I PANIC, OKAY?

And just as good, the vet didn't charge us for our little emergency.  (The woman is a saint and a brilliant kitty surgeon.) She said all Poppy needed was a visit from the tooth fairy.


Okay, I've lived around cats all my life, but we weren't around the babies all that much because we worked 8-5. Now, more than 20 years later, we're around them 24/7 and ... honestly, I never saw a kitten teething before.

So, first Poppy nearly got strangled, then her teeth hurt, then she was stuck in a carrier and driven to the (horrors!) vet. Yes, it really was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Poppy.  But we gave her extra cookies for Happy Hour and she seems to have overcome her ordeal.

Have you had a panicky moment with your pet?



Happy Book Day To Me!


It's always a fun day when you have a new book drop. Today, Foul Weather Friends, my 5th Tale From Blythe Cove Manor, is available. Check it out!

Alone and suddenly single, Teagan Tate's visit to Martha’s Vineyard for a previously planned 
couples weekend leaves her feeling more of a third wheel.  And when the last ferry off the island 
is cancelled, she finds herself stranded in the middle of a nor’easter. Will the magic of Blythe 
Cove Manor and the kindness of two strangers help her find a new and happier life path?



Friday, April 5, 2019

A DELICATE SUBJECT ...

 They say that a major contributor to global warming is (ahem) cattle farts. Well, in this house there are no cows/steers.

There are kittens. Kittens who fart. Kittens who take great DELIGHT in farting while they are on my lap. Oh, yeah -- they save it up for me. Mr. L laughs because they never fart on him.

Of course, we could change their diet. I know people who have fed their cats the same kibble every day, every meal of their lives. Uh-uh. I'd kill myself if I could only eat one thing for every meal.

Maybe I'm anthropomorphizing the girls, but our boys had definite ideas about what they'd eat. Fred was a tuna boy. Chester preferred shrimp (which Fred wouldn't touch). They preferred fishy food over the other canned foods. The girls gobble everything, which is why Emma has lost her kitten look--she's growing like a weed. (Poppy ... not so much, probably because her sister tries to steal her food. Emma is part piglet.) They do get kibble with their meals for their teeth and urinary tract health.

So ... do your pets pass gas?

(Look at that innocent face. "I didn't fart. I promise, Mum." Yeah, right.)