Yum Yum Salad

This molded salad is a holiday meal staple at my house. The first version was one made by my mother. She softened cream cheese with mayonnaise, added a small can of crushed pineapple and added this to lime jello. One daughter still makes it this way. Everyone aims the serving spoon to get the balls of cream cheese.

In an old Women's Circle paper cookbook I bought at a used book store, I discovered this version and have been making it ever since:

1 (3 oz) package lime gelatin
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese softened
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cool whip (they call for whipped whipping cream)
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I leave these out as a family member is alergic to tree nuts)
Toated coconut (optional)

Place gelatin, hot water and cream cheese in pan and stir over low heat until cheese is blended well into the mixture. Remove from heat; add crushed pineapple and pecans. Place in refrigerator until it begins to thicken. Add whipped cream (cool whip) and let set until firm. Sprinkle with toasted coconut before serving.

From my holiday table to yours.

Now Kindle ready

I wish you all a fruitful holiday season. Several of my family members came here for Thanksgiving. It was a joyful time of sharing. Those who like a challenge headed out on Friday for the stores. Not me! Curled up and cozy, looking forward to a big turkey sandwich is how I like to spend my Friday after Thanksgiving.

I'm very excited that two of my Avalon books are now available as Kindle downloads and as paperbacks.

The third, Starting From Scratch, is available for pre-order in both formats.

 Amazon has also added their look inside feature. So if you have a minute or two to spare, check out the pages of Brompton Manor and Bed and Breakfast Blues.

A Sprig of Lavender should be released by Montlake Romance in December.

Hurricanes and Rain

How fragile our life and belongings in the face of fierce weather more powerful than we are.

And yet without rain and wind and sun and other things influencing this planet, we would not exist.

It is not how bad things can get, but how you respond that matters.

Are our material possessions more important than our souls?

If a person we love dies, we mourn the loss. If a thief or a storm steals something we value we mourn the loss. And we should mourn. But we should not be devastated, incapapble of finding joy.

Be prepared to say goodbye. To lose everything.

Things can get very very bad, but if you have faith you will find the light again.

Things are Moving

Amazon Publishing is incredible. My December release, A SPRIG OF LAVENDER, is on a fast track. They have done a super job of nurturing the step-children from Avalon Books whose assests they bought and are moving the books forward in an accelerated manner.

For someone who is always hesitant to take on the new, I have been very pleased.

August has been a very unusal month. One of my daughter's FIL had to have part of his right leg amputated. They were at the beach. Luckily my hub and I (and another daughter and family) were also spending the week at the same beach area. We were able to drive my SIL's truck back to our house and then on Tuesday we drove it back to VA and the next day rode the train home.

Amazing how things work out. I am well aware of God's timing. But it never ceases to amaze me.

Good Follows Bad

Okay. I'll admit yesterday was a bit of a downer. Facing strange new worlds is not so easy for me. But today the sun was out, things started to make sense, and I actually accomplished something concrete.

Tomorrow our vagabond daughter is off again. It's always fun to have her visit. But don't let the grass grow under your feet is pretty much her way of life. She's happy, she supports herself, and she makes us laugh.

My upcoming book is a Regency set sweet romance.

A SPRIG OF LAVENDER is on track for a December 2012 release.

Old Dogs and New Tricks

My to do list of figuring out many new things is overflowing.

At long last, my old (very old) desk top is unusable--comatose. Whatever ails it may not be worth the cure. But like an old comfortable dress, I long to put it back on.

I'm forced from my comfort zone into the brave new world of my new laptop. Everything looks different. Not to mention adjusting to Word 2010 from Word 200?.

I'm hoping everything will come together in one big ah-ha moment, and trying to stay positive,


Then there was the matter of spending five hours on the phone with the really nice Microsoft techs who restored things.

Think positive. One step at a time. Keep a stiff upper lip.

Celebration Time and Pesto

The revisions for A SPRIG OF LAVENDER were sent back. I breathe a sigh of relief and hope they are satisfactory. It is never easy for me to open an old manuscript after a year or more of moving on to other stories and make changes without reading through the darn thing several times.

I was very pleased with the editing done by Montlake Romance who bought out Avalon Books and will publish this book. In what forms, I'm not sure. I do expect it will be available for Kindles.

I really should keep a record. Did I say she had red hair. What color were her eyes? Is the conflict consistant? I cross my fingers and hit send.

The grapevine informs me some older Avalon Books, which were all hardcovers, are now available as paperbacks.


Excess of pesto this year. My basil is producing with abandon. I think it likes all the rain we've been having. I even made a sage pesto this year. They freeze with little reduction in flavor so will have them to enjoy later when the temperature drops.

One of the great things about writing is learning new facts all the time. From my library to yours.