A Litte of This and That

Summer is rolling into fall. Every mother of school age children who are not home schooled sighs when school reconvenes. I marvel at families who chose to home school and who do so with great success.

My herb plants are scraggly from lack of attention. The harvested basil has been put to use as has the mint. I shall pluck what I can from my favorite herb, the lemon verbena that struggles to survive. Now that fresh herbs are available at the market, my natural tendency to avoid gardening has taken hold and keeps me inside where it is cool.

A few notes about the broad category of romance fiction: Romance was the biggest fiction category published in 2007. The number of men reading romance is increasing. Contemporary, Inspirational and Historical are the three top sub-genres. I have tried writing all three. My heart prefers writing what is known as the Regency historical.

Words of inspiration:

Hope and be happy that all's for the best!
Martin Farquahar Tupper: All's for the Best, st. 3

Adversity

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.
James Montgomery: What Is Prayer? st. 2

State Houses

We can see the end.

Last week we took in three more State Capitals: Sacramento, CA; Salem, OR; and Olympia, WA. Giving us a grand total of 46. The four remaining are: Utah; Montana; Idaho; Hawaii.

Now we have to decide how to get to Hawaii. Cruise or fly? Having lived there for three years and then been back on Oahu years later for a week long visit before we'd started our quest to visit all of the US State Houses, staying on island isn't a priority. Still getting to the the west coast requires a long flight, an overnight stay, the cruise and then reverse (staying overnight depending on when the cruise docks). Flying the whole way would be faster. At the moment, after the trip last week, I am inclined toward choosing the cruise.

Once we finish this grand tour with a visit to the Federal Capital what will be our next goal? There are numerous exciting possibilities.

England

The estates of the titled were extensive, providing them the basis of their wealth. Today many of these estates are part of the National Trust and are open for public visits.

England and Austen

This is an image from an illustrated copy of Emma. The latest PBS series of Austen books, the shows that were filmed for the series, were a disappointment. How sad to have the writings of a master writer turned into a cheap suit.

Happily Ever After

Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy.
Robert Polock: Course of Time, Bk. I

Joys are our wings, sorrows our spurs.
Jean Paul Richter

Romance fiction demands a promise of happily ever after before the writer ends the story. Every fairy tale ends with the promise of a happy ever after. But, in all of these stories, obstacles arise that must be overcome and resolutions to differences must be found.

Real life is full of obstacles, sorrows, differences, and grim news--things that detour us from obtaining the happiness we seek. But overcoming the pot holes of life leads to happiness.

Keep positive. Remember past woes, but don't let unhappy memories spoil today.

Brownies In A Jar

These ingrediant jars make great gifts. This one is from the Hershey website and calls for a combination of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips. I should think you could substitute any flavor chip combination as long as you use the one and a half cups called for.

So find a clean 1 quart class canister or jar and layer (tapping the jar gently on the counter to settle each layer before adding the next layer) the ingredients in the following order: 1-1/2 cups sugar; 1/3 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa; a combined 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt; 1 cup of whatever chips you choose, ending with 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate mini chips.

Cover and attach baking directions.

Baking directions: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Combine 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted and cooled butter and 2 slightly beaten eggs. Gently stir in jar contents. Spread in pan. Bake 35 minutes. Cool in pan then cut into 16 bars.