Repeating An Irish Recipe and Blessing

I was perusing my Irish Soda Bread recipe while I ought to have been thinking about a blog post, but then realized I can kill two birds with one stone by sharing the recipe. (Where does that dreadful saying come from? I couldn’t kill one bird with anything!) This is a post from 2012. I hope you

A taste of flash fiction

Writers are always writing something. I have another novel in the works, and my long-suffering critique partners have been reading through each chapter as it rolls out of my brain. First drafts aren’t fun to read, believe me, and mine can be especially brutal when I’ve been short on writing and preparation time. Christmas is always

Will it be survival of the fittest or of the most diligent seeker?

Nobody’s very happy about it. When a bear and her cub found their way into our back yard last week, I knew it was past time to put away the bird feeders for the summer. But you should see the looks I’ve been getting…         Sorry guys, but this lunch counter is closed for

Going Green?

Leafy greens Ecologically green Greenhorn cowboy Greenstick fracture Green apples ~ No matter what version you favour, come mid-March there’s really no other green except an Irish one. It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. I wasn’t particularly innovative, but I wore green, and my visiting daughter baked a batch of green cupcakes for her girls. There was

This Writer’s Daily Bread (and some baking, too)

Bread for myself is a material question. Bread for my neighbor is a spiritual one. (Nikolai Berdyaev) Baking is a rarity around here. I haven’t pulled out a recipe book since before Christmas. When my hubby gets desperate for a homemade sweet, often as not he  ends up baking something himself — his peanut butter

The Squirrel Saga Continues (aka Knowing when to quit)

There are times in this life as a writer when I want to toss the manuscript into the trash and stomp away. But I don’t. Not literally, anyway. I’ve been well warned about those moments, so I dutifully ‘save’, ‘close’, ‘quit’, and then stomp away. You know those times, don’t you? Please tell me you

Squirrel! Squirrel!

I sometimes wonder at a squirrel’s mentality. Does he think at all, or simply react to survival needs? The Douglas squirrel is a regular around here… one or two of them come by periodically to investigate the state of our birdfeeder. Last spring the bears demolished the feeder that had attracted a good variety of

All Hallows’ Eve

Some say All Hallows’ Eve has Christian roots, while others suggest they are Pagan. Either way, it would be hard to convince our little ones that there is anything but carved pumpkins, candy and costumes associated with their Hallowe’en traditions. As they traipse from door to door I doubt many of them  even know about the feast

An Irish Recipe and Blessing

. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all! This is the day to be celebrating all things Irish, sharing shenanigans and wearing green. At least that’s how North Americans seem to celebrate, along with perhaps raising a pint of ale or Guinness. We make more of St. Patrick’s Day here than they do in

♥ Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

. I’ve nothing profound from a writing perspective to share, but with all the focus on love today, I thought I’d give you a peek at the Valentine goodies I made for my hubby. I’m not a creative cook — nothing like Ruth Logan Herne at her Yankee-Belle Cafe (go check out the guest post