Ooops. “Ass At Own Risk.” Details Too Good to Waste

I collect details that I migrate to my characters, plots and pages. (My pockets and car corners are full of errant slips of paper.)

Today I thought I’d share some of the list that’s taped next to me. Right in front of my face as I work so it’s hard to avoid. Yes, it’s typed but as the pages accumulate, there’s lots of scrawled notes too: snatches of conversations I might hear or how someone’s dressed. (On the coldest day recently, I stood in line at the post office with a woman in a down parka and flip flops. Bare feet).

I add signs found in windows, bumper stickers, intriguing or bad behavior. (Like an “Ass at Own Risk” sign missing its opening P.)

In Quebec last summer at small, public park . . .
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Gifting. No Wrapping Necessary.

Here is a gift from Maine Crime Writers’ reader Mary Ann, and my story of the best gift ever. (My best gift ever.)

The Affordable, but Really Good Eats Quest.

Last month, (fed up with not-worth-it but expensive food), I asked readers this question. “How might we eat out one or two times a month and spend less than $40-$45 per meal? Hopefully less than $35. Hopefully, around $75 per month for two evenings out. The food has to be really, really good food.”

 Mary Ann (using the formula I suggested), generously sent this review for us to share. Thanks, Mary Ann!  (I plan to head there for the flatbread pizza and coleslaw and of course, a long browse at Shermans Books.)

Trackside Station, Rockland, Maine    (Reviewed by Mary Ann)

The Good: Trackside combines the best of pub food with touches of fine dining. On the menu are such appetizers as pretzel bites and chicken wings, perfect to go with drinks at the bar. On that same menu you can also find Lobster Scampi, complete with herbs and white wine for date night. The daily specials include favorites such as . . .
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Eat Well. Eat Cheap. Avoid Bloated Buns

In late August I was treated to a three-night cruise on the windjammer the Angelique. There was much to rhapsodize about. (Thank you, Leslie!), but this is a post about food and avoiding disappointment, financial or otherwise.

I was warned the boat food would be amazing. It was. And all cooked in two tiny, closet-like kitchens. I could smell the baking rolls, breads, and pastries by 6:30 each morning. A partial list of meals we ate helps explain my epiphany and my project.

Here goes: tarragon-curry chicken salad wraps with olive oil, lemon, chives, a touch of mayo, honey and pickled grapes and a crisp pink apple salad; breakfast, quiche made with lobster, Canadian bacon, and fruit salad; lunch on deck, freshly made fish chowder, green salad, and flaky biscuits . . . Read more >

Cooler Surprise. Deer Flies. Acres of Lettuce.

There’s a moment on every camping trip where you peer into the cooler to see what’s left floating around down there. A “Cooler Surprise” meal with a bit of everything often has us thinking over the whole trip’s memorable moments. Both the highs and the lows.

This post is kind of a cooler surprise: bits of my summer that might not have much to do with each other, but—to me—they are a rich dish of experience to savor …  and share.

Books On Tape in the Casita

My husband and I like to hunker down after dark (when the bugs are bad) and listen to audio books inside our tiny camper. C. J. Box opens Savage Run  with an exploding cow. (First lines are so very important! For sure.) Then after the cow, while investigating a string of bizarre murders, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is forced to flee across treacherous terrain with a brutal tracker on his trail.

In our tight space, dog Raven lying over our feet, we are clearly somewhere in Wyoming, even deep in the Maine woods. We have to force ourselves to stop listening at a reasonable hour.

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