My nod to St. Patrick’s Day is a huge moss agate pendant–green of course. So, if anybody pinches me, they are definitely out of line. Not only that, they might get hurt.
Last week’s winners, Janie and Shirley W., have been notified, and their prizes are in the mail. Congratulations, Janie and Shirley.
Today, of course, the new contest begins. One winner will receive a copy of POSITIVITY and a signed LLM book, and the other, one of my necklaces and, of course, an autographed book. All you need to do is comment. 🙂
What I did this weekend: mostly, nothing. I painted background papers–in this case, paper towels–using liquid watercolors from Dick Blick, my favorite online art supply source. (These people must love me, since I buy blank artist trading cards in bulk, among other things.) Now, painted paper towels might sound like a pretty stupid way to spend time, and maybe it was, but the results are surprisingly beautiful, especially those I later embellished with glitter or metallic paint. At some point, I will use them in a collage–almost certainly the “Torn Paper Collage” swap I just set up on Art42.org. (Check it out if you’d like to try your hand at making artist trading cards, generally referred to as ATCs.) I love to swap on this site and have a growing and wonderful collection of truly amazing cards. I keep them in binders, using those plastic sheets that hold nine cards. I also keep binders of my own cards, and it’s really fun to flip through them and see how far I’ve come since I began the hobby four years ago. My enthusiasms are usually short-lived, but not this one. I fully expect to remain passionate about gemstones, too–I find them totally and completely fascinating, as many of you already know.
What else I did this weekend: I cooked a turkey, and Wendy and Jeremy came to dinner last night. Jeremy made the rest of the meal–mashed potatoes, gravy, etc. I thought the turkey turned out a little dry, but the kids ate hungrily and proclaimed the bird delicious, so there you go. I observed the Weight Watchers way and also sent all the leftovers home with them. Mashed potatoes are okay on Simply Filling, especially if you use fat free milk and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (I can believe it, of course, but the stuff isn’t bad), but the gravy is a no-no, except in very small and rare amounts. Gravy is a buzz-food for me, like Mother’s Frosted Animal Cookies–I can’t have it in the house. As Erma Bombeck used to say, “In my family, gravy is a beverage; we drink it from mugs.” 🙂 Fortunately, I don’t miss it much–just enjoy it when I have it and there you go. I think that must be the way normal people do it. More surprisingly, I don’t miss sweet things–not even my all-time favorite, lemon meringue pie. I stopped drinking wine–or any other alcohol–mainly because it’s a waste of good points. 🙂 I sometimes miss my red wine, but, frankly, I’m feeling so much better in so many ways that I know I made the right decision.
I’m off to check your comments, write more of CHRISTMAS IN MUSTANG CREEK, and finish downloading the new audiobooks I purchased this morning. I’m LOVING the Great Courses HEROES AND LEGENDS of Great Literature.
See you tomorrow.
PS The daffodils are starting to come up!
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
