Marisa's Ramblings

It’s offical, I have the Winter blahs. Usually around this time of year I’m so sick of seeing snow piled high that I wish it would just all go away. I’m not a big fan of Winter to start with. Looking out my window today the snow looks dirty, no longer the pristine white it once was, and it’s raining. That means we are going to have a nice sloppy mess out there to contend with. The only plus side about the rain, it will melt the snow. We’ve been dumped on so much the last three weeks, the snowbanks at the end of my driveway are shoulder high.

It’s also around this time of year I start getting what I call “Spring fever”. I have the urge to go outside and run, and I’m not a runner LOL. I think I get this way because I know Winter is slowly on its way out, and I’ve been cooped up in my house for most of it. As I said before, I’m not a fan of Winter so I tend to only go out in it if I can’t avoid it. I’m a Summer person through and through LOL.

In Canada, where I live, winters tend to hang on until almost the end of March. So I really still have another month of Winter to deal with. But once March arrives I usually figure I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to the time that I can just slip on a pair of shoes to go outside, instead of having to take the time to bundle up against the elements.

I’m still finding it hard to believe 2007 is almost over. This year has just flown by. For me, 2007 will always be the year I’ll remember. It was the year I finally was able to see my books published after 11 years of trying. At one time, I thought I never would see the day. I had almost given up until I learned about epublishers. For an unpublished author, epublishers were a dream come true. I will forever hold Liquid Silver Books near and dear to my heart because they were the first publisher to ever request a full manuscript of any of my books. And when they eventually offered me a contract for The Blue Lotus, I was proud to finally, at long last, call myself an author, which was something I said I would never do until one of my books was actually published. Now with two books out, contracted for a third, and a fourth one submitted to Liquid Silver, I’m finding it hard to remember those days when I would spend hoping a publisher would actually be interested in any of my books. So 2007 has in some ways been my year.

With tomorrow being New Years Eve, most people will be making their New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t normally make any myself. I don’t smoke, so that’s one habit I don’t have to break. I could probably stand to lose a couple of pounds since I haven’t been to the gym since the holidays started. But if I had to make a resoultion, it would probably be to write more books and hopefully the stories bouncing around inside my head will never stop coming. With that said, I hope everyone one has a Happy New Year and a great year ahead.

Now that the nights are starting to get colder, I find myself getting into the whole Fall thing.  I’m looking forward to Halloween next week.  I’ve bought two pumpkins for my kids to carve and will soon get all the candy I will need for the 80 plus kids I usually have come to the door each year.  Have to love all the cute costumes all the little ones wear.  It sort of has become a family ritual here that we carve the pumpkins a couple days before Halloween.  Since I have four kids, they have to pair up to do a pumpkin.  I refuse to buy four pumpkins for each of them.  After they are carved I roast the seeds in the oven.  Everyone here loves salted, roasted pumpkin seeds.  Another part of the family tradition is after Halloween to dispose of the pumpkins my husband allows the kids to smash them on the garage floor LOL.  His idea, not mine.  As long as he cleans up the mess I don’t complain.  I can’t think of better way to get rid of them ha ha.

There is one thing I’m not ready for yet–Christmas.  I may not be ready for it, but the stores around here are.  Scary.  I dropped by our local grocery store with my husband this past Monday and was drawn up short by the loud music they were playing.  You guessed it, it was a Christmas carol.  They had artificial Christmas trees set up and there were other decorations hanging from the ceiling and walls.  Way too early for me.  We haven’t even gotten past Halloween and the stores already want you to start thinking of, and buying for, Christmas.  In my house our Christmas tree and decorations usually don’t go up until after Dec. 10th.  The 10th is my birthday and I sure don’t want Christmas stealing my day LOL.  I’m also not one of those types of people who start Christmas shopping months ahead.  Once again I usually don’t start until after my birthday.  To be honest, when stores start pushing the whole Christmas thing two months in advance, I’m beginning to get a little sick of seeing anything to do with Christmas long before the actual day comes about.  I know there will be some of you who are shaking your heads at me, but we are all entitled to our opinions LOL. So what type are you?  Are you the type of person who will jump into Christmas the same time the stores do, or are you like me, trying to hold it back as long as you can?

Today is Thanksgiving for those of us who live in Canada.  To be honest, I like that our Thanksgiving is in October instead of in November like it is in the States.  Gives me a good break in between having to cook the huge turkey dinner at Christmas.

And that being said, yes I’m doing the full Thanksgiving meal for my family today.  I only cook turkey twice a year, so when I do I tend to go all out.  I make homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce, none of that out of the box or can stuff for me.  It really isn’t that hard to make them from scratch.  It just means I have to make those the evening before the big turkey dinner.  My family appreciates it so I don’t mind.  Would be different if they turned their noses up at it though LOL.

I have followed in my family’s traditions and make the same food my Mom made every Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was growing up.  So that means I’ll be making along with the turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed turnip and of course a boat load of gravy to drown it all in.  For dessert there is triffle.  My father’s side of the family being of British descent, my Mom always made the English dessert, triffle, and she taught me how to make it when I started making my own turkey dinners.  For those of you who don’t know what triffle is, it is a seriously rich, sweet, and fatting I might add, dessert.  Only problem is it tastes so good I eat more of it than I should.  Triffle is a layered dessert usually done it a large glass bowl so you can see all the layers.  It starts off with a layer of sliced jelly roll that lines the bottom of the bowl.  On top of that goes fruit, ususally previously frozen so you get the syrup with it as well, then a thick layer of custard.  To top it all off, there is another thick layer of fresh whipped cream that has a shaved chocolate bar on top of it.  Yummy. 

Usually when I have to cook such a large meal I end up not eating much of it because I had to smell it for hours as I cooked it.  But that isn’t the case when it comes to a turkey dinner.  I know by this evening I will be so full I won’t want to move, or clean up the mess either.  That’s when it comes in very handy having two teenagers who have to take their turn at doing dishes.  Luckily for me it isn’t my turn to do the dishes today.  I just know I will be whined at for making so many dirty dishes, but I can put up with a little bit of whinning LOL.