I was so excited to open my Economist & Sun today and find this (just in time for Halloween!!!)


A really nice article. Thanks to the journalist Keely Grasser! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

I love gingerbread. What can I say? Something about the spices--you can never have enough cinnamon in your life. I've been making gingerbread cookies since I was a kid. I remember trying several recipes and then settling on one that was published in the Toronto Star in 1982. I still have the original newspaper--now decrepit yellow, edges frayed, and covered in stains of various spilled ingredients.



One year, I actually constructed the sleigh--reindeer and all!

But now, here's the thing. Ever since I started teaching near the Village Grocer, I've been obsessed with their gingerbread cookies. They are the best ever. Not only are they true works of art, they taste awesome! I have tried no less than four recipes recently--some of which I had to toss the dough. DH thinks I've gone mad and perhaps he's right, but I desperately want the recipe! So. How does one go about asking a baker to divulge their culinary secrets? It would be like asking a magician to tell you how their tricks work. Strictly taboo.

 

Soooooo, here's my idea. I go to the store once a week for the next, oh, say, several months. Each time I buy a cookie and ask, "Is there nutmeg in this? Because I'm allergic to nutmeg..." Next time, "Is there cardamom in this? Because I'm allergic to cardamom." "Is there brown sugar in this? Because I'm allergic to brown sugar..." Slowly, but surely, I will amass the ingredients. Is this a great plan, or what???

At this point you may join DH in thinking I've lost it, but I've actually tried this twice. White sugar, not brown sugar and no cardamom. The third time, I felt I had to vary my tactic lest they begin to suspect a gingerbread spy in their midst. I said, "My mother and I are having this huge argument. I hope you can settle it. She says you use sugar beet syrup. I say molasses. Can you please tell me who's right?" Worked like a charm. Molasses. No sugar beets.

 

I think I've been writing too many zany scenes in my new WIP. Am I beginning to act like my MC or even worse, am I in denial that my MC is actually ME???!!!

 

Yesterday was the perfect fall day (even though it was still technically summer). You couldn't have asked for a more lovely day for a literary festival! Edin Mills was in full swing and something called Telling Tales (must look into that one--heard it was stellar). I was at Words Alive--third year in a row--presenting this year on non-fiction to a very small, but very engaged crowd. Even sold a few books. Bonus. The sunshine drizzled through the huge oak and maple leaves dazzling the grounds of Sharon Temple. I had the best conversation with author, Bruce Hunter--must run out and buy his books, especially his latest, In The Bear's House. I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing Natale Ghent read from her middle-grade, The Odds get Even. It was an awesome day.



There's just something about fall that puts me into writing mode. I'm not sure what it is. Fall's always been my favourite season. When I think of fall I think of my first year at the University of Western Ontario. I think of my first solo travel to Europe (aimed for Oktoberfest--but missed it. Who'd 'a thunk Oktoberfest was in September???). I think of wearing new boots--fall boots--which are infinitely more fun and chic than those practical winter boots, jeans and sweaters and of course poncho's. (I've never actually owned a poncho, or a wrap for that matter, but I think of them nonetheless.) Fall air feels fresh. Maybe because the summer smog has settled. People start using their fireplaces, though sadly most (including myself) now have gas fireplaces which may provide some warmth and ambiance, but totally lack that amazing smell. Fall makes me think of apple crisp and stew--oh and chili! Big pots of soup. All that comfort food. I'm not sure why fall makes me want to write--seems like it makes me want to eat.



Ah well, off to dig out my fall boots, jeans, maybe knit a poncho and write, write, write!

I’ve just completed a whirlwind of non-fiction books!!!! 4 in the past 2 months! And they are already up on Amazon alongside my new Y/A Ghost Ride!

I still can’t believe I wrote 2 graphic novels (which has provided me with a deepened respect for the genre!) and 2 science books in 2 months! I mean from sci-fi to science—genetic engineering no less—was a ginormous leap for me. I had a blast though. It forced me to do a ton of research (which has been the biggest barrier between me and historical fiction!) and I came across some amazingly interesting stuff! For example, when I learned that there are about 100,000 bacteria crawling around on every square centimetre of my skin, it sure made me a lot less of a germaphobe!

Here are the science covers! I’m obviously biased, but I think they look AWESOME!!!
 

 

Okay. So I decided if I was going to include experiments in each of these books, they had better work. Here are some photos of my incredible edible cell:

 

And if you think the concept of cloning is freaky and frightening, try cloning a cabbage to ease your concerns…

 

Of course my cabbage clones are still growing--stay tuned for regular updates!

Whew.

 

Now that the non-fiction take-over has passed (for the moment anyway...) I hoping to nurse my undernourished blog (and other facets of my life) back to good health!

 

 

Yesterday I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire—truly one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.  The story sucked me into another time and part of the world that I confess I know little about.  And it was shocking.  And humbling.  And certainly made me look at the rip in my leather sofa and the scratches on coffee table and my broken California shutters in a whole new and embarrassing light.

Growing up in Western society—in a far from affluent neighbourhood—I learned early in life what real poverty looks like.  Having a Romanian uncle who, at the time, was not allowed back into the country he’d escaped from, I was taken on two occasions, 9 years-old and again at 15, to a country that made my lower-middle-class house look like a palace.  I remember clearly seeing the white, bare store and asking, “What is that?’ and being told, “It’s the bread store.”  “But where’s the bread?”  “There isn’t any.”  And beside it another empty space.  “And what’s that?”  “The meat store.”  “And where’s the meat?”  “There isn’t any.”  I remember parked cars, snaking from a gas station in a ghostly line that went on for miles.   “Why are they parked like that?”  “They are waiting for gas.”  Let me guess.  There isn’t any.

For a 15 year old, it was an eye-opener and certainly a turning point in my life.  I am eternally grateful for that experience as I was able to remind myself often over the years that I have it good.

When I came home from the movie last night, gushing about how great it was, I was taken aback when my babysitter informed me that there was a huge back-lash against the movie in India, that using the word “dog” in the title was derogatory and that the scenes of total poverty in the movie were exploiting those that live in these slums.

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/the-real-roots-of-the-slumdog-protests/

I can totally see why there is such uproar, but in my opinion, the movie does less to exploit the poor and more to educate those of us living in a world so far removed from this sort of desperate poverty that we weep freely at seeing these scenes rather than gawk at them as sensational.  I firmly believe and live by the adage, “The more places you see, the more you know,” and for all those who never make it out of their own city, let alone province or country and who will never go half-way around the world and experience first hand just how good they’ve got it, this movie can at least transport them for two hours and hopefully have them leave the theatre as humbled as I did.

I just read an article by Marc Côté (for whom I happen to have the utmost respect!)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090213.wbkread14/EmailBNStory/globebooks/home

and felt his words spoke directly to me for three reasons: 

1.  Growing up, I loved Edgar Allen Poe.

2.  I went on to become a huge Stephen King fan.  I also enjoyed the works of Anne Rice, (who was truly an inspiration!) and Dean Koontz.

3.  One of my favourite all-time novels is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird AND not only haven’t I read Gwenthalyn Graham’s Earth and High Heaven, I’d never even heard of it. (It’s now definitely on my list of things to read!)

But despite all this, I find myself questioning whether my education and the system’s lack of promoting Canadian authors had anything to do with my taste and the writers I gravitated toward.  Media?  Absolutely.  But not sure about the schools…

In elementary school, two novels I studied that still stand out in my mind today are Luke Baldwin’s Vow (Morely Callahan—Canadian) and Underground to Canada (Barbara Smucker—American).  Sadly, I can’t remember many others, though this is more a reflection of my aging mind than anything else.

In high school, I was definitely exposed to a variety of Canadian writers—Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Margaret Atwood’s Lady Oracle, and Margaret Lawrence’s The Diviners, are those that come to mind.

I have to agree with Mr. Côté that American and British authors are far better promoted by the media, but by the schools (at least back in my day)?…hmmm…still thinking on that…

It wasn't what I'd call an exciting game--but hey, we'll take the win. So there I was, my mind wandering as usual, and a sports story plot (was I the only fan there thinking about writing) popped into my head. Now, if I could only find the time to finish my current WIP and get started on it!

Oh, and one of the things I really enjoyed about this game was the half-time show--they had a band! Not a little band--a BAND--a real band, all the way from Syracuse (go orange!)! I love bands! Why don't we have them in Canada? Do we have any big marching bands like they have in the US? Our west maybe? I'll have to google it.