It’s been a bad weekend (mental health wise).  On Friday, I got my hair done.  It was quite a dramatic change.  It’s now pink.  It’s so different and cute, and I’m absolutely in love with it.  That was great.  When I posted it on the interents, I was overwhelmed with “cute” comments followed by “love it” comments.  It was so nice and a total self-esteem boost.  That was good.  Then it all went downhill.  I had plans to meet two friends Friday night after karaoke.  They both canceled.  Sad and feeling abandoned, I came home.  Mamoru saw my hair (which I know he had already seen on Facebook) and said 「ヤンキ」to me as soon as I walked in the door.  Basically it means “punk” and he says that to me all the time and I know it was meant to be a joke but fuck if it didn’t crush me…

The Journey Of The Magi

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to…

“Time to die.”

The Bells of St. Mary’s, 1945, RKO Pictures. Starring Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman. Directed by Leo McCarey. B&W, 126 minutes.

Father Chuck O’Malley (Bing Crosby, in a reprisal of his role from Going My Way) has been assigned to pastor a school with a flagging reputation, in large part because of its dilapidated building. When he meets Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman), he learns of her faith that one of the town’s wealthiest men, Horace P. Bogardus (Henry Travers) will deed them the new building next to the school. It seems an impossible belief, but nuns are known to have confidence in the impossible.

Father O’Malley and Sister Benedict share a pleasant relationship, but they don’t always see eye-to-eye. When two boys are caught scuffling on the playground, the solution is a point of friction between the leaders of the school. A more important area of disagreement is the…

Writer’s read, and readers write.  This summer, I’m determined to take breaks between writing and catch up on books patiently waiting to be read on my Kindle. Stepping away from my work-in-progress for reading breaks clears my head  and helps me forge ahead with my writing and world-building.

Below is my summer reading list. Currently, I’m  50 percent through The Woodcutter and enjoying every bit. Look for my review soon.

The Woodcutterby Reginald Hill

In a stand-alone psychological thriller from acclaimed mystery master Reginald Hill, a mysterious ex-con returns to his remote childhood home on a deadly hunt for revenge. Combining the chilling atmospheres of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, the narrative ingenuity of P.D. James’s The Private Patient, and the compelling characterizations of Hill’s own Dalziel and Pascoeseries, Hill delivers a frightful, fast-paced study of suspense at its most sinister in The Woodcutter.

Fresh Raspberries from my Red Raspberry bushes were screaming to be made into an easy and delicious four ingredient sauce to top off my ice cream. It could also be used to top pancakes, waffles, cake or whatever you would like to pour it over. There are only four ingredients in this amazing Raspberry Sauce. This is so simple to make and the flavor of the sauce is unbelievable!

Ingredients

In a fine mesh strainer gently

rinse the raspberries.

In a small saucepan, add

all of the ingredients.

Over medium high heat bring it to a boil.

Continue to boil while smashing

the raspberries as they cook.

I cooked mine about 7 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and

pour the sauce into the mesh strainer

with a bowl under the strainer.

Using the back of a spoon, press the pulp

through the mesh strainer. This took me

a…