A Different Kind of Day

Yes, today was a different kind of day ... unusual ... interesting.

It began with 'Oreo' chasing a mouse into my bedroom at 3 a.m., bumping into chairs and tables, skidding across the floor, rattling decor, scratching at cabinets. Of course I didn't know that was what he was after till I turned on the light and caught a glimpse of the little critter trying to escape from Oreo's clutches. One second he'd be caught, the next he'd get away. It went like that, from the bedroom to the kitchen to the living room and back again, till this afternoon when I finally entered the fracas and enveloped the little guy in a Russian Shawl that swags across a chair and put him out the front door. He didn't appear to be injured, just stunned. He disappeared within five minutes, once again happy go lucky. But it was confusing to Oreo, he's been watching the two spaces intermittently - one in the kitchen, one in my bathroom - where mousie would get up under the cabinet and rest, hoping to see him again.

THEN . . . I don't know what got into me today, for I spied a package of raw cranberries in the fridge and wanted to do something with them before they were a total loss, have been here since Thanksgiving. Well, I decided to make some jam or sauce, whatever you want to call it. I boiled a cup of water and a cup of sugar first with a couple tablespoons of ground lemon peel. Then added the package of cranberries (2 cups) and 2 cups of blueberries. I always have blueberries on hand - frozen whole berries. My taste imagination was at work and I added a third cup of orange marmalade to the mix, stirring occasionally over a soft 10-minute boil. I poured the mixture in a glass bowl to cool to room temperature, then refrigerated. Voila! My fabulous Blueberry Cranberry Citrus jam or sauce. And I mean it is good. I put some in a jar to use as jam, and the rest will be used as whatever. I don't know what possessed me to think of creating a recipe. But I'm glad I did. Felt good not to waste the cranberries. And I now have another recipe for the cookbook I'm writing.

THEN . . . the proof of E. Don Harpe's novel NEON RAINBO arrived this afternoon. So I've been doing one last read-through and edit before the launch of the book. It's a paranormal fiction this go 'round for Mr. Don. This one is turning out to be my favorite of his. It really is a must read, guys. Terrific book! Here's the blurb:

MORGAN NICHOLS was caught up by the music same as
the thousands of other hopefuls who came to Nashville
chasing the dream they called the Neon Rainbow.

The rhythm of steel guitars and twin fiddles had been
playing in his head since he was fourteen, and now he was
immersed in the heavy atmosphere at the bottom and craving
the thin, heady air that awaited his rise to the top.

He wanted it all, and he was willing to do whatever it took
to get it, including making a deal with the Devil. The Neon
Rainbow was real, and in a honky-tonk in Alabama that had
burned to the ground in 1957, he reached out and grabbed
it. Now all he had to do was figure out how to hang on to it.


Here's the cover:

THEN . . . I did some accounting, working with Excel spreadsheets, since the annual call came from the tax man. Gawd, I hate compiling all that stuff, although it isn't as difficult as it was at one time. Now I keep a monthly accounting during the year so I have the monthly totals at hand, just need to add them up. Easy, really, to do with Excel. I learned several years ago how to create Excel spreadsheets, when I worked for Barnabey's Hotel in Manhattan Beach. My boss, the GM, was an alcoholic and sometimes couldn't function, so right off the bat he taught me how to do his reports - spreadsheets, 90-day and annual forecasts, budgets, etc. Valuable stuff he taught me. I was his assistant, so that worked out well. Anyway, ever since then I've had several occasions to use that expertise with companies I've worked for, and in my own personal accounting. So today was also an accounting day.

AND ... then there was all the stuff in between. It's been a rather interesting day, as I said.

How was your day?