Fun Friday

As many of us are continuing, starting or maybe even have finished (I have no words for these people) their Christmas preparations, here are a few images I've discovered on the internet to give you a bit of break. For those of you who don't celebrate this holiday, just enjoy!

Wise words.

Obviously, there are no seat belts in Santa's sleigh.

Remember this.

Oh dear.

It can happen to anyone.

Perfect!

And a few holiday comments from some funny people:

"Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space." ~ Dave Barry

"Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer. Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?" ~ Bill Watterson in Calvin and Hobbes

Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. P.J. O'Rourke

Thirties Thursday

Today's date is December 9, 2010.

But...what if it was December 9, 1936?

Here's a small glimpse of your life (if you lived in England):

When you listen to the wireless (radio) you'll hear these tunes:

Pennies from Heaven - Bing Crosby

The Way You Look Tonight - Fred Astaire

You giggled when you saw this film, which was released this year:

Modern Times - Charlie Chaplin

You enjoyed reading Agatha Christie's new mystery "The ABC Murders" earlier this year, but right now you and your neighbours are busy reading that new American novel "Gone With the Wind".

Back in August, you followed the fortunes of your team at the Olympic Games in Berlin. This was the first time there was an Olympic Torch relay and you wonder if there will be another one in 1940 before the summer games in Tokyo.

You're worried about the cost of Christmas dinner (you want to have the traditional roast goose and Christmas pudding), but you're grateful that your husband still has his job. More than two million Britons are unemployed.

When you've been Christmas shopping, you look like this.

But while you were out, you saw demonstrations like this.

This was the front of the newspaper today.

And (although you don't know it yet) this is the paper you'll be reading on Saturday.

Writing in December

At this time of year....

When you're trying to find the time to buy this...

so you can turn it into this...

Not to mention, lighting these...

and fighting this...

so you can wrap these...

And, did I mention baking these?

Or hanging these?

And going to hear this?

And preparing this?

And look! Did you write and send out these?

If you actually find time to do this....

Then (in my opinion) you are indeed worthy of this.

I'm also over at the Blood Red Pencil writing blog today. Pop over and say hi!

10 Things You Have To Do Before Writing (usually)

You sit down with the best of intentions, abrim with ambition. You've got a whole hour to write. Your output is going to be outstanding. You know this. But first...

10. Just a quick check of your emails. Oh look, a message from someone you haven't heard from in a while. Reply. Then remember that funny joke that got sent to you yesterday. Forward it on to several people.

9. Now a quick check of Facebook to read status updates. These demand several comments. And look, some of your friends have posted pictures that demand comments as well. The urge is there to play a few games...

8. Having squashed the urge to play a few games of whatever on Facebook, you reward yourself with a game of Solitaire. You'll only play once. Really.

7. Somehow, your coffee has gotten cold. Go and refill it. Then remember you haven't taken anything out of the freezer to defrost for dinner. Open your freezer and spend the next 15 minutes trying to discover what's in all those tin-foil packages. Good luck.

6. Looking into the freezer has made you hungry. Make a light snack and carry it back to where you're writing.

5. As you watch a giant blop of mayonnaise fall and puddle on your keyboard, tell yourself that perhaps you haven't made the correct choice of snacks.

4. Try to ignore your pet, who is dancing at your feet demanding your attention; after all, you're busy writing. Notice that the dancing is getting more and more frantic. Feel sorry for the animal and give it just a few moments of your attention.

3. Remember you haven't popped onto Twitter. It'll only take a moment.

2. As you're on Twitter (hey, there are some really good links you have to check out) you see you've got notifications of three new emails.

1. Look at your computer clock and notice your writing time seems to have flown away. Remember that last time you wrote, you remembered to disconnect from the internet. Try to ignore the impulse to bang your head against the wall.

Finding Time to Write

Let's face it; taking the time to write can often fall to the bottom of the list of priorities. For many of us, there's that little thing called the paying job; you know, the one that actually pays the bills. That task demands a certain amount of hours. Then there's the whole eating habit, which also demands a few minutes of our time; not to mention the hours eaten by trips to the grocery store because we forgot to buy everything we needed for the week.

There's also family time - no, not necessarily warm fuzzy time spent being the perfect parent as your child (or children) smile adoringly at you as you play some improving board game and sip homemade hot chocolate as the fire crackles in the fireplace, but the time spent doing laundry (and the ensuing search for socks) or throwing your back out as you flip the mattress or making cupcakes in the dead of night because dear little child only told you at bedtime that Ms. Teacher is throwing a class party tomorrow and your darling volunteered to bring baking. And no, you can't pass off store-bought goodies as your own, because the same little treasure has shared with her class her love of your chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles.

Aren't kids great?

Anyway, somewhere in this utopian existence, you know, you know you're supposed to be carving out time to write. If you don't, you know, you know you'll have that little voice whining in your head as you lay your head down on the pillow at night,"You didn't write today. Not a word. No, writing a grocery list doesn't count."

Take my advice. Find the time; even it's only ten minutes. It doesn't have to be two dedicated hours on the computer as you fling out 2,000 or more glistening words, it might be a few snatched moments as you're sitting in a parking lot, or on the commuter train, or wherever. NOTE: I am not advocating writing and driving at the same time. This is foolish, not to mention potentially life-threatening.

I confess, there are days when I try to placate the whining little voice by pleading that at least I wrote a blog post. Other days, I convince it that thinking about my next plot point counts as writing. No, no actual words were written, but my thinking has untangled several problems that will make future writing easier.

Or maybe you're one of those wonderful, gifted writers, that always find time to write and never has to argue their case with the whining voice. If that's you, reading this blog post has wasted time you could have been spending writing.

I feel somewhat victorious - in a very schadenfreudey kind of way.

Fun Friday

As we decorate (or have decorated) our houses for the holiday season, take a gander at some of these unique houses I've found on the internet. I admit I'm intrigued.

Spaceship House - Chattanooga, TN

Boeing 726 House - Benoit, Mississsippi

The plane cost $2,000.00, $4,000.00 to move, and $24,000.00 to renovate. The stairs open with a garage door remote, and one of the bathrooms is still intact. And yes, that is a jacuzzi in the cockpit.

Nautilus House - Mexico

Upside-down House - Szymbark, Poland

Castle House - San Juan, Dominican Republic

Thin House, London, UK

Shoe House - South Africa

Thirties Thursdays

Two more recipes from the 1930s for you to try! The first one would have been made for a special occasion, while the second one would have been made for family desserts.

Enjoy reading and making. Or maybe just thinking about making. It's up to you!

Hawaiian Refrigerator Pie
Crust
20 graham crackers, rolled fine
4 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter
Filling
1 package lemon flavored gelatin
1 3/4 cups boiling water
1 cup canned crushed pineapple and juice
1 1/2 cups cream, whipped stiff
8 graham crackers, rolled fine
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
Combine the ingredients of the crust, blending well. Pat the mixture firmly over the inside, bottom, and sides of a ten inch pie pan. Chill this while you make the filling. For the filling, dissolve the gelatin mixture in the boiling water, then add the pineapple, which--if fresh--must be scalded. Chill this combination and just as it starts to thicken add the whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and the sugar. Our the mixture into the cracker shell until set."
---"Tribune Recipes," Chicago Daily Tribune, September 11, 1936

Tomato Soup Cake also known as Mystery Cake

Makes 1 Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 2 cups all-purpose white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup seedless raisins

Directions:

1. Liberally grease an 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350F
3. In a large mixing bowl, using the back of a wooden spoon, blend the shortening and butter into the granulated sugar. The mix will be crumbly and any pieces of butter or shortening should be quite small, similar to the texture of sand.
4. Add the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and condensed tomato soup to the mixing bowl and stir until all of the ingredients are fully combined. The mixture should be homogeneous and without any lumps.
5. Slowly add the flour to the mixing bowl in half cup increments, stirring between each addition until all of the flour is fully combined.
6. Add baking powder, baking soda, and the seedless raisins to the mixing bowl. Continue stirring until all ingredients are fully incorporated into the cake batter.
7. Pour the cake batter into the greased loaf pan (8" x 4"). Place the loaf pan into the oven and bake at 350F for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake tests done.
8. Cool the loaf pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.
9. Slice the cake and serve warm.

The cake can be served on its own or it can be accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Creating a Character

You're creating a new character...

Of course you have to know if their eyes look like this...

or this...

Or if their hair looks like this...

or this...

Or if they need this...

Or like to wear this...

But think about this....

Did their school look like this....

or more like this?

Do they have this?

Are they this?

Or did it end up more like this?

Do they get around in this?

This?

Or this?

Would they be happier somewhere like this?

Or somewhere like this?

Remember...

Once you know your character's this....

You'll find all the answers you'll need.