Turn the Radio On

Our radio wave reception at school was somewhat unique.

Out in the middle of the Yakama Indian Reservation, coverage - by air waves, cell towers, internet, satellite, television, radio - anything that travels invisibly through the air - was intermittent and many times non-existent.

But sometimes, when the stars, clouds, wind, sun, moon, weeds, tall trees, and traveling motorists were all in alignment, we could enjoy music and making calls on our cell phones.

It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was a "Hallelujah!" day.

I have fond music memories from walking down the hallway. When the invisible wires, waves, and receptions were all in place, I could often hear five radio stations going at once. Some would be on the same fuzzy station, but there were always at least two different channels, fraught with varying degrees of static.

If I timed it right, I could walk out of my room, singing with whatever song was playing on my station. Humming along to the music in my head, I would walk into the continuation of the same song, playing on a different device. Or I would jump into the middle of a new song and adjust my mental channel to play that song. This continued for each room I passed or walked into.

If, occasionally, I could not get reception in my room, there was usually at least one other person who could receive signals, and therefore, music.

Long-distance enjoyment and singing were side effects of this phenomenon. Harmony, debatable in its quality at times due to the interference of walls and time lag, was often produced. But all the more beautiful and interesting, right?

It was like visiting a music practice studio where little cubicles were filled with a musician or soloist, each performing a different song or musical piece. Only in the hallway could you enjoy the variety and choose one or the other to join in with and hum along.

I totally loved the fluctuating musical performances. We became quite adept at filling in the blanks caused by our placement in the reception grid.

Good reception is overrated. Any reception is awesome.

Zucchini Tugboats

Crispy brown cheese atop juicy tender zucchini tugboats. Just add sour cream and salsa.

It's zucchini time! The time when, just this morning there were no fully grown green garden jewels, and this afternoon, well, surprise -

a lurker the size of a small tugboat.

Stuffed zucchini, one of my favorite summer treats, lends itself well to stuffing. Each year I stuff, bake, and devour zucchini boats. And every year I include different ingredients in the stuffing. Tonight I even had stuffing leftovers, which shall be transformed into stuffed peppers tomorrow night.

Or we could just use up the other discovered tug zucchini and have a repeat. Hmmm. Choices, choices.

Zucchini Boats

Preheat oven to 425.

1 large, overgrown zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and scooped out (leave end caps on to contain stuffing)

Stuffing:

1 tube spicy sausage
olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 grated and blotted red potato (use paper towel to absorb liquids)
broccoli, cut into small pieces, about 1 cup
cauliflower, cut into small pieces, about 1 cup
fresh green beans, broken into one-inch pieces (precooking will make sure they are not chewy like mine!)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 cup roasted corn
water (about 3/4 cup, just enough to make stuffing a little saucy)
2 T. cumin
2 T. chili
2 T. oregano
1 T. Mrs. Dash
fresh ground black pepper
crushed red pepper flakes

grated cheese (your choice)

Toppings: sour cream and salsa

1. Cook sausage, onion, garlic, and potato in about 2 T. of olive oil. Stir often. Potato tends to stick.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese and toppings. Stir often. Cook until blended and bubbling.

3. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange zucchini boats in the middle. Fill with stuffing mixture. I smash it down and let it overflow. Top with grated cheese.

4. Bake about 40 minutes, or until fork easily pierces skin of zucchini. Keep watch over toppings to avoid burning.

5. Cut in half to serve. Top with sour cream and salsa.

Delish!

Tip: Use leftovers to stuff peppers or a second zucchini tugboat. Sometimes I add brown rice to the stuffing mix.

The Pool

I love freebies.

This summer, we have been plagued by heat.

Long, sweaty stretches of heat. Miserable heat.

Usually, the grands and I break out the little plastic wading pool. The three of us barely fit anymore, which is just as well. Since it bit the dust. We had one good use early on, then crack. A goner.

Enter said friend from the post yesterday about getting a free book. While on a rubber stamping trip to her home, she remembered that she had a pool.

An inflatable, bigger, deeper, plastic pool. For free.

Granted there were no guarantees on seaworthiness. But it was worth a try.

After picking off snails and earwigs (it was in storage, after all, in a damp climate), I popped it in the trunk. Upon arriving home, we spread it out to dry and wait for the grands to appear.

Oh, joy! A POOL.

Totally excited, they didn't care if we needed to add dish soap to help scrub the bottom while playing. Actually, I almost lost the whole bottle of concentrated Dawn when the younger decided to help speed things along.

The pool, large enough for even Papa to join us, works perfectly! Well, the sprayer umbrella thing is broken, but since sister is afraid of it, no biggy.

Summer, I can actually bear your heat.

I can even do some gardening. As long as I am in my Nana swimsuit and can take cool-off breaks, it's all good.

Thanks, friend.

Writers Promo Idea - Found While Camping!

We writer's have to stick together.

Good ideas need to be shared and are our machetes to combat the jungle we face when promoting our books.

A friend and her daughter were recently camping in the Wallowa area of Oregon. Due to circumstances, they could only reserve two separate campsites for their stay. Which required moving mid-stay. Luckily, the move was to the site immediately next to their first place.

It went down like this. My friend interacted with the couple residing at the future camp site by offering to share firewood. She let them know of the site transfer which was to occur on the following day. Later, my friend noticed the couple sitting in chairs, savoring the quiet outdoors time to read books.

Wouldn't that be great if they left a book for me to read? she thought.

Next morning, just as she crawled out of her tent, she saw the neighbors leave, heading towards their next destination. After a trip to the loo, she noticed something on the table.

It was a book! They had left a book, just as she had hoped.

But not just any book.

The book was his book. He was the author and distributor (while camping) of the book. His inscription was clever and made reference to their chance encounter.

Now why didn't I think of that?

Always have my books on hand.
Read them while out in public.
Add clever messages and sign them.
Give them away as the opportunities arise.

Whack, whack! Take that, you Jungle-of-Book-Promotion.

Kicked Out

It's true. I have been kicked out of a restaurant.

Not all by my lonesome. Thank You, Jesus. But with a group of friends and fellow conspirators. I mean choral members.

Picture the night. It was balmy and perfect (as opposed to dark and stormy). Dinner was being served at a local seafood establishment. Spirits were high as per the requirement that young people always exhibit high spirits and joyful glee with whatever life tosses in its path. Chattering and, dare I say, noise filled our booth. And several of the booths surrounding our table.

Time to pray and give thanks for the meal.

Except we decided to sing our blessing. In the form of an inspirational song based on Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You."

A beautiful and fitting song, we had it memorized and often sang it acappella to conclude concerts or as a benediction following times of worship or church services.

Each choral section was represented that night - soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Our blend was never more harmonious, the words never uttered with such perfect diction, our breathing and focus intent and in concert with each other. "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" was offered as both a blessing and a gift to fellow diners.

Until a manager approached and asked that we cease our song and retire from the building.

Bah-humbug! Someone had complained about our singing (and most likely, the content of our singing). No, others did not appreciate our attempts at singing for our supper, or at least singing before our supper. It was a rainstorm of complaint attempting to rain on our praise parade.

I'm sure there were some who enjoyed our song that night. We did not let criticism ruin our joy. Instead, we met in the parking lot, continued our song and regaled the heavens with blended voices and sincere hearts.

We can't please all the people all the time.

Sometimes, someone will not like something we say, do, sing, make, or think. But that's alright. Be true to our own hearts.

And be willing to be kicked out for the right reason.