Author: BeverlyArmyWilliams

Ten on Tuesday: Good Deeds Edition

I’m not sure I did any good deeds, so I’m going to reinterpret Carole’s topic to Ten Good Things. You can do a good deed by forgiving me!

1. Your Lovely Life is featuring my favorite ways to eat watermelon and my favorite song about watermelons.

2. My favorite dress company interviewed one of my favorite pals.

3. Neal has been patient as all get out as he helps me train for my 100-mile ride. I’m aiming for late September or early October in hopes of cooler weather.

4. Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, which didn’t do much for me as I started reading it, upon completion, has rocked my world.

5. I left the dentist’s office this morning without any cavities.

6. 8 Tracks has an iPhone app, which means I can listen to the #roadtrip mixes any where, any time.

7. My oldest sister, who thought she would not be able to travel to CT for our nephew’s wedding bought a plane ticket. She will be here!

8. The Olympics Opening Ceremony featured an Army of Mary Poppins. I loved the ceremony so much, not just for the plethora of nannies.

9. I’m crocheting this shawl for my Ravellenic Games project.

10. I posted an interview with Charlotte Rains Dixon, another writer who loves yarn.

Ten on Tuesday: Farmer’s Market Edition

Farmer's Market Bike Ride

Carole’s topic for today is Ten Great Things About Farmer’s Markets. Each year it seems there is another town nearby with a market. Pretty soon I might be able to buy the day’s produce at a different market all week long.

1. Fresh produce.  Duh!

2. Proximity. I can ride my bike to at least two markets now. It’s a little precious of me, but I adore riding my Kona Africa bike with a bundle of flowers in her basket. C’mon, you would feel happy doing the same, too. Admit it.

3. Bread. I’ve cut back my bread intake to help lose weight for my 100-mile bike ride. When I see a boule from my favorite French bakery or an olive ciabatta from Collinsville bakery, well, I’m a bit helpless. Could I go to the bakeries for these treats? Of course. But it is nicer to pick them up at the Farmer’s Market.

4. Seeing people. I’ve been feeling a bit lonely now that Sara‘s back in France (collective aww, poor PoMo not necessary!!). I work from home and don’t make plans with my other friends often enough. I like when I bump into people I know at the Farmer’s Market. It’s a bright spot for me.

5. Music. I enjoy hearing the singer songwriters play as I wander about.

6. Tips from the farmers. Or the people helping the farmers. It’s great to pick up an unfamiliar veggie, ask what I should do with it, and get some culinary ideas.

7. Eating local. One of the best things about summer is the ease in eating local. Farmer’s Markets allow for even more variety than a visit to just one farm stand would.

8. Dogs. Unlike Albuquerque, where I first became a dog owner, my little corner of Connecticut is not the most dog-friendly. There aren’t many places to bring Coco and let her have a social experience, and that little mutt does love to get out and about. When I drive rather than bike to the market, as long as it isn’t too hot, I bring Coco along. Sometimes she acts aloof with her fan club, but I know she loves every moment. One of these days, I’ll train her to ride in my bike basket, and won’t that be precious!

9. Local crafts. Right now beaded jewelry is big at the market I attend most frequently. There’s a potter who makes beautiful objects, and I’ve seen some lovely local yarns.

10. Fresh air. I don’t know about you, but I dread the supermarket in the summer. I feel so much better buying my produce when I am out in the fresh air, when the produce is not freezing cold, but warm, as it is meant to be.

There’s really nothing to dislike about a farmer’s market! I’m pleased to see more and more popping up, and I look forward to exploring each one for the different vendors and “flavors” each has.

What do you like best about your local farmer’s market?

 

Summer Love

Feels like a good morning to think about a few favorite things. Here’s what I’m loving right now:

1. Zulu Grass Singles. I have strands in turquoise, green, and orange. I wear them wrapped around my wrist almost every day. So summery and cheering!

2. MZ Wallace Lula (I have it in black with red trim). I usually carry bigger bags, but I wanted something smaller for jetting about on my bike or tucking into a tote. This is a small, small bag, but it holds so much: iPhone, Moleskine calendar, wallet (it’s a small wallet), pen, tissues, mints, bobby pins, ear buds, lip gloss (my favorite!).

3. Karina Gala. I still adore my Rita, but the Gala’s sweetheart neckline is flattering. I wore mine to a recent Salsa lesson, and I felt festive in it. It’s another fantastic Project 333 choice.

4. Low Impact Betty’s new Live Life on a Little series. She’s a cool woman with great, healthy ideas.

5. Farm-fresh food. I’m getting more variety from my CSA. Our local meals are moving beyond salads to delicious things like panzanella (the bread was from a local bakery).

6. #roadtrip postcards. You can see the latest prompt here, and take a look at some of the postcards here. They are awesome!

What’s giving you that Summer Love feeling today?

CSA Eating

I like to meal plan. Oh, there are challenges in a bi-diet house (I’m ovo-lacto vegetarian; he’s an equal opportunity eater), but over the years, we’ve learned to make it work.

Here’s my usual practice:

1. Sunday morning: sip coffee, peruse recipes, consider what is seasonal.

2. Make meal list for week. Strive for meals that will use up similar ingredients

3. Grocery shop

4. Prep food

Things around here are changing, though. I joined a CSA. I pick up my allotment each Tuesday. It’s always a mystery what will be in the mix until I’m at the farm.

I could just save meal planning until Tuesday, but I like to get grocery shopping out of the way. So here’s what I’ve been doing:

1. Make sure I have staples that will work well with most veggies. To me that means tortilla, quinoa, eggs, corn meal (oh, creamy polenta, how I love you).

2. Assess mid-week. I spend time prepping the CSA share on Tuesday. So far that has entailed lots of washing greens. Once I see all the clean produce in front of me, I decide what I’ll use for salads, what I might roast and sautee, and I think up meals for the next few days.

3. Visit the farmers markets. We have one near us nearly every day, and while I don’t want to spend my time going to markets each and every day, they do allow me to supplement what I have with fresh, local goodness.

4. Read Cheryl’s CSA diary. She’s doing a fantastic job tracking how she uses her CSA, and I’m getting loads of new ideas from her.

There you have it. Joining the CSA has thrown me off my routine (not a bad thing!), but it’s giving me a great reason to experiment with new, often improvised meals.

And when all else fails, there are always smoothies to be made!

What wonderful ways does your meal planning change this time of year?

 

Ten on Tuesday: Feel Like a Kid Edition

Carole asked for Ten Ways to Feel Like a Kid Again. I don’t know about you, but summer makes that an easy endeavor for me!

1. Hoola hoop! I spend a lot of time planted in a chair during the summer, busy with writing and planning for fall. One of the ways I balance multiple projects is to take short breaks, and hooping is the best kind of break.

2. Wash the car with your garden hose. Then spray other people with it (the hose, not the car!).

3. Put out a blanket, stretch out, and imagine what shapes you see in the clouds.

4. Chase down the Ding Dong Cart*.

5. Ride a bike with pedal brakes. Seriously, I feel like I’m ten every time I mount my Kona Africa Bike.

Farmer's Market Bike Ride

6. Play frisbee. I’ve been trying to teach Maddie to catch a frisbee. The game, though, is that I throw it, she picks it up when it lands, then she tries to get me to chase her. Still, it makes me laugh.

7. Swap some friendship bracelets (anyone want to do this again this year?).

8. Spend an entire day outside reading a fantastic book you loved as a kid. When I could get away with it, after swimming lessons, I’d climb a tree or hide in the field behind my house and read, read, read until I heard the call for dinner.

9. Get in some water. I prefer the ocean, but I’ll take what I can get. Water, without fail, makes me feel like a kid. Maybe it was all those years spent in swimming lessons and synchronized swimming?

10. Take a roadtrip. Or at least pretend to take one!

* This spring I asked around on Facebook to see what others call ice cream trucks. Apparently the Ding Dong Cart is a Western MA company. I’ve always used the term, universally, for any ice cream truck, but who knew? It’s a regional thing!

Try

My colleague Leah introduced me (virtually) to her pal TJ Beitelman. He’s a poet and creative writing teacher, and he has written a fantastic manifesto. I’ll wait while you go read it.

Wasn’t that amazing? Don’t you want to emboss the word “Try” on everything around you?

Reading that, and participating in Courtney’s The Goodblog Project have led me to today’s post, in which I want to share what I’m trying.

A few years ago, I put out my shingle as a writing consultant. I was critiquing manuscripts, copyediting websites, reviewing grants as favors to friends. This is work that I love, and I was doing it for free.

What if, I thought, I made this into a business?

So, as Holly Golightly might say, I bought some furniture and gave the cat a name. Okay, I gave the business a name, asked a friend to create a logo, knocked up a website, and Open Road Writing was born.

This spring, I decided that I want to try to make something more out of ORW. I want to see if I can reach a place where my part-time business becomes full-time, allowing me to help more writers in a meaningful way.

And I need your help. I’m not comfortable asking for it, but, dear reader, we’ve been together a long time (seven years in August!), and I believe you might be willing to try to help me.

Here’s what I’m hoping you’ll do for me:

  • Share the news about Writers Write: Carving out your Writer’s Groove, my online workshop. It’s going to be chock full of practical and inspiring material to get the creative groove moving. If you, or someone you know, would benefit from the workshop, well, I’d love to see you (or them) there!
  • Suscribe to the Open Road Writing blog. I’ve got plans for a super fun summer project, more writing prompts, and interviews with creative gurus. I don’t want you to miss any of it!
  • Invite your friends to do the same. I’m so grateful for the wonderful readers (and now friends) that I’ve connected to through PoMoGolightly, and like a great cocktail party when I get to meet my friends’ friends and realize they, too, are fabulous, I want to mingle a bit more.
Thank you. I mean it. Thank you for reading this, for considering taking a few moments to help me. I am grateful.
Before you go, what do you want to try next?

 

 

Ten on Tuesday: Strawbs Edition

Fruit Salad

Carole invited us to share Ten Ways to Enjoy Strawberries. Here goes:

1. Warm, in the sun, as they are being picked.

2. Sliced over cereal for breakfast.

3. Spinach strawberry salad. A former co-worker gave me this recipe circa 2002; it is sooo good.

4. Sliced over low-fat Greek yogurt with a tiny drizzle of honey.

5. Cut up into a fruit salad with other ripe berries (see above).

6. Blended into a smoothie. Lately I’ve been having spinach, strawberry, banana, almond milk smoothies for lunch. Tasty!

7. Dipped in chocolate. The big strawbs from the grocery store are better for this than the native ones.

8. Freezer jam. Opening a jar of this jam in December or January makes spring rush back, at least for a moment.

9. Over frozen yogurt or ice cream.

10. Out of a big ol’ bowl, just plain.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy strawberries?

Ten on Tuesday: Summer Goals Edition

Hermes 3000

Carole invited us to post a list of summer goals for today’s Ten on Tuesday list. Some of mine harken back to my 2012 year-long list, and some are newer. I’m breaking down my list by categories.

Physical

1. Ride a century. I’ll spend the next few months building up mileage. I hope to achieve my goal some time in August.

2. Participate in Plank a Day each and every day. I’m at 52 seconds now, and I’d like to complete the Plank an Hour challenge before the end of summer.

Continue reading “Ten on Tuesday: Summer Goals Edition”

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