April 26, 2021
My house is full of cats on every spectrum of cat age, from not-quite-a-kitten (now a human 2-year-old) to “super seniors” (defined as cats aged 15 or older). I think we’ve mastered the How Cats Age stuff, but I will draw on several websites written by people smarter than me. The blog will end with a chart that will tell you how to define your cat in terms of human years. Read more,,,
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10 of 10 Greek Power Bowl
INGREDIENTS FOR THE BOWLS
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. oregano
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 c. cooked quinoa or brown rice
- 1 c. halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 1/2 c. halved kalamata olives
- 3/4 c. crumbled feta
- Fresh dill, for garnish
INGREDIENTS FOR THE DRESSING
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken and season with dried oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook until golden and no longer pink, 8 minutes per side. Set aside to let rest 5 minutes, then thinly slice.
- Assemble bowls: Place cooked quinoa or brown rice into bowl and top with tomatoes, cucumber, sliced chicken, avocado, kalamata olives, feta, and dill.
- Make dressing: In a small bowl, combine red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and dried oregano and season generously with salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil, whisking to combine.
- Drizzle with dressing and serve.
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I think many of us, myself included, are capable of much more than we typically produce — our best work is often still hiding inside of us. How can you pull that potential out of yourself and share it with the world? Perhaps the best way is to develop better daily routines. When you look at the top performers in any field, you see something that goes much deeper than intelligence or skill. They possess an incredible willingness to do the work that needs to be done. They are masters of their daily routines.
https://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers
#8 Barbara Kingsolver: “I have to write hundreds of pages before I get to page one.”
I tend to wake up very early. Too early. Four o’clock is standard. My morning begins with trying not to get up before the sun rises. But when I do, it’s because my head is too full of words, and I just need to get to my desk and start dumping them into a file. I always wake with sentences pouring into my head. So getting to my desk every day feels like a long emergency. It’s a funny thing: people often ask how I discipline myself to write. I can’t begin to understand the question. For me, the discipline is turning off the computer and leaving my desk to do something else.
I write a lot of material that I know I’ll throw away. It’s just part of the process. I have to write hundreds of pages before I get to page one.
For the whole of my career as a novelist, I have also been a mother. I was offered my first book contract, for The Bean Trees, the day I came home from the hospital with my first child. So I became a novelist and mother on the same day. Those two important lives have always been one for me. I’ve always had to do both at the same time. So my writing hours were always constrained by the logistics of having my children in someone else’s care. When they were little, that was difficult. I cherished every hour at my desk as a kind of prize. As time has gone by and my children entered school it became progressively easier to be a working mother. My oldest is an adult, and my youngest is 16, so both are now self–sufficient —but that’s been a gradual process. For me, writing time has always been precious, something I wait for and am eager for and make the best use of. That’s probably why I get up so early and have writing time in the quiet dawn hours, when no one needs me.
I used to say that the school bus is my muse. When it pulled out of the driveway and left me without anyone to take care of, that was the moment my writing day began, and it ended when the school bus came back. As a working mother, my working time was constrained. On the other hand, I’m immensely grateful to my family for normalizing my life, for making it a requirement that I end my day at some point and go and make dinner. That’s a healthy thing, to set work aside and make dinner and eat it. It’s healthy to have these people in my life who help me to carry on a civilized routine. And also to have these people in my life who connect me to the wider world and the future. My children have taught me everything about life and about the kind of person I want to be in the world. They anchor me to the future in a concrete way. Being a mother has made me a better writer. It’s also true to say that being a writer has made me a better mother.
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This cozy series has everything you want and more: an eclectic cast of characters, a mystery or two, and diligent detectives on duty. The detectives, feline and canine, figure it all out, but they have a dickens of a time getting the humans to understand them.
The series, Tiger Lily’s Café, is set in a Midwestern town nestled into the sunset coast of a Great Lake. The setting itself acts as a character, bringing the reader into the sights, sounds and smells of the small resort community of Chelsea.
Read the series in order, or read any book alone. Each volume stands alone with a clear beginning and a clear end.
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Unsure what to give for a gift?
Friend or family member reading the series, and you aren't sure which volumes they have?
Get a gift certificate!
If the book must be mailed, you can add postage to the certificate.
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