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Dinner at the Nelson Table
I’ve cooked thousands of dinners. Most of them have been pretty good. My grandmother was the very best cook in the world, so having watched her cook thousands of meals, I had to develop a bit of skill.
Night after night, I put dinner on the table. The kids dive in with their oh-so-polite manners and then we clean up. I’ve never been one to handle routine too well for too long.
So every once in a while, I do something different, something, maybe a little silly. It started when Jason and I were first married. My cooking skills were still coming along, but I had grown tired of making the same dishes. That’s when I decided to have Caribbean Night.
We don’t live in the Caribbean. We don’t even live in the South. I had absolutely no idea what okra was or how to find it. But, with the help of the guy at the grocery store and my Missouri-raised grandmother, I found my ingredients.
I worked all day on dishes that smelled funny and tasted unusual. My husband was kind, but I’ve forever canceled any plans to move to the Caribbean. He’s sure he’d starve to death there.
Last Friday I’d come to a point of boredom again. So we had Seafood Night! Not your normal seafood, we had oysters, clams, shrimp…and baby octopus.
The challenge? The first two kids to take a big bite and get it down won the privilege of choosing a meal for the next week.
My youngest bit right in. That girls has no fear. She chewed it up, swallowed and proceeded to eat more.
Next to the challenge was my oldest (the middle two would have none of this game). His eyes watered. Strange sounds erupted from his belly. We all sat watching with a touch of humor and an ample dose of fear. That one bite stayed in his mouth for at least five minutes before he finally coaxed it down his throat.
It was fun, but I noticed the kiddos went back to the kitchen a little later and enjoyed the lasagna leftovers.
Two days later, it was time for Friend’s Thanksgiving.
For twelve years now, we’ve invited our friend over for a Thanksgiving meal before Thanksgiving. Numbers have always been high, but as the years increase so has the number of children. I think our total was around sixty. There were a few that had to cancel due to illness.
Though Friend’s Thanksgiving is a crazy amount of chaos, I love that moment when we all sit down at the huge table that fills my living room and takes a turn into the hallway. Looking out and seeing all the friends who have become family it a special sight. I took a picture so you could get the idea, but it really doesn’t do it justice.
Happy Thanksgiving! How will you spend the holiday?
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Where do you write?
As a mom and a writer, sometimes I have to leave the house to really get solid writing done. At home the laundry, dishes, and all sort of other chores call me away from focusing on my story.
But I can’t just go anywhere. I’ve learned this the hard way. Certain establishments spell productivity, while other produce only distraction.
For me there are many factors. I need the temperature to be warm enough. Some places are plain chilly. I also need the music to be the right type and volume. And there’s the seating arrangement. I can’t write dialogue when the table next to me is having a conversation over my character.
Oh, and one last point. There needs to be yummy coffee or tea.
I use to write at the coffee shop in Borders. The proximity of hundreds of books didn’t hurt that location at all. There was also a great little coffee shop in the town where my older kids attend high school. Both of these places have closed.
Recently a not for profit coffee shop, Imagine Coffee, opened. It’s perfect. And now we have Panera too! I’m looking forward to many productive afternoons at my new writing locations.
So, what makes a good writing (or other type of work) place for you?
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Panera!
For years I’ve listened to the writer’s chatter about Panera. This place comes up so often, a writer like me could get the impression that without Panera one’s career in publishing will lack some sparkle. Well, I love sparkle, so I felt left out.
The 2010 ACFW conference took place in Indianapolis. An added bonus to the awesome conference was my chance to see what a Panera actually was. And Yum! I went with my lovely critique partners, Kimberly Buckner, Jodie Bailey, and Donna Moore, for a final meal together before we left for our separate corners of the country.
I’m afraid I didn’t get the full benefit. You see my vanity was kicking me in the head that day. I’d chosen to forgo my glasses the night before. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I guess the glitz of the banquet and the fact that I was up for two awards…Okay, I was VAIN! The migraine that accompanied me for the entire trip home wiped up that little problem. There’s nothing pretty about me with a migraine!
Okay, back to my point. Today, not far from where I live, Panera opens its doors. Now I can be a REAL writer. Look for my tweets about writing at Panera. I’ve joined the club.
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A Little Bit of Wisdom (part 2)
Here’s the rest of my 40 things I’ve learned in 40 years. To see the first ten, click here.
11. Revenge only causes more hurt.
12. There IS such a thing as too much technology.
13. Okay, I really don’t want to admit to this, but I love the guinea pig we’re watching for three years. Yes, I said three years.
14. Books are still better than movies.
15. It doesn’t matter how much gravel we put on our driveway, as soon as it rains, the rock runs for cover somewhere in the center of the earth.
16. Feeling loved is more important than having a spotless house. My kids aren’t going to remember if the windows had smudges.
17. Eating healthy makes me feel healthy. Okay, I know this, but I don’t always apply this one.
18. Along with number 17, exercise actually gives me more energy. Yep, I need to apply that one more too.
19. Sheep food is very dangerous to horses. See my guest blog on Nicole M. Miller’s site for details.
20. Being forty is better than any age so far.
21. I can convince myself of all sort of silliness through positive thinking. (see #20)
22. The enemy wouldn’t bother to attack if I weren’t headed for something amazing!
23. Investing in a child is never a mistake.
24. I will miss my grandmother every day of my life, especially on the particularly hard days and the particularly joyful days.
25. Learning to read opens up the world.
26. It’s okay that my taste in music is seriously eclectic.
27. When a child climbs into your lap with a book, there is nothing important enough to skip that moment.
28. Rejections move me forward and teach me more than any pat on the back. That’s not to mean I would turn my nose up at more contracts. Seriously…Anyone want to buy a manuscript?
29. Great Danes make awesome pets.
30. It’s not the people who don’t love you, it’s the people who DO that count.
31. Other writers are weird just like me.
32. I love spending time with other writers.
33. Prayerfully choose your top priorities and make decisions for your time based on these.
34. Spinach is actually very yummy when it doesn’t come out of a can.
35. Liver is not to be eaten.
36. Family has little to do with biology and more to do with the love and choices.
37. Women are their most beautiful at forty. Seriously…I read that somewhere.
38. Marriage is hard work, and worth every ounce of effort.
39. One sure way to cure a bout of sadness is to serve someone else.
40. And finally…I’ve learned that, although I’ve gained a bit of wisdom in the last forty years, I still know very little. Maybe by the time I reach eighty I’ll be wise.
