Hissy's Newest Embellishment

Cape Cod Weekend

Photos: Dolores talks to Holly Golightly!

As we drove past, Dolores made a comment indicating she thought the mannequin was real. We had to stop and find out…in the process we found a very unique boutique…Wilma’s Eclectic Finds in West Yarmouth. Wilma’s is a consignment shop that has everything from clothing, jewelry, dishes, fancy serving/display platters, sconces…basically, you name the category and Wilma probably has it. Dolores went wild looking. Wilma wasn’t there because her best friend, Leigh, works the weekends so Wilma can have time off. This is a place you must stop at either coming on or going off Cape. On the Internet go to http://www.capecodconsignments.com/MidCape.html and scroll down to #5. Wilma's Eclectic Finds For You and Your Home, 616 Rte 28 (Main St.), West Yarmouth (508)-778-0123.

Highlights
Breakfasts at The Fairway Restaurant in North Eastham.
Dinner at the Lobster Pot in Provincetown.
Shopping at the Birdwatcher’s General Store in Orleans and Cuffy’s in Provincetown.
Beach hopping and the incredible surf from Chatham to Wellfleet.
Watching surf crashing on rocks in Cape Cod Bay.
Fifty mile per hour winds.
Power outage Saturday night.
Poetry at Chapel in the Pines in Eastham.
Hearing the incredible poetry of Christine Rathbun.
Trip home successfully avoiding the Sagamore Bridge.
Finding Holly Golightly.
Arriving home safe and sound.

The above list is not in order of best to least…that would be difficult. Each item is a story in itself that would take up way too much time and space.

A lot of hilarity came from Dolores and I being complete opposites in so many, many, many ways. We are both poets, but our poetry is totally different (there may be a poem here… Givenchy meets L.L. Bean). ☺☺☺☺☺☺ (When have you ever seen me give anything 6 smiley faces? Never!)

Shelburne Falls, MA

Main Street, Shelburne Falls, MA looking east.

Left: Reflection.

Right: Literally, the last rose of summer!

Brilliant colors on the Flower Bridge.

Left: Nature uses this brick wall to display her finery, while a skilled artist decorated an otherwise uninteresting space.

Right: Sign telling the history of the glacial potholes. This area is a must-see when in Shelburne Falls.

On the 21st of October, Barbara and I went to Shelburne Falls, MA…just because. On the way up we took a detour through a neighborhood in Enfield where I found a nice little condo unit that I would dearly love to make an offer on, but I have to get an firm offer on my house first. Barbara liked the unit and said she could see me there. So can I!

The ride up to Shelburne Falls was beautiful and uneventful. For the most part the foliage was peak or just past peak, but we didn’t care.

We were very hungry by the time we got there and immediately hit Café Martin for lunch. We each had the butternut squash bisque and half a BLT. The bisque was unbelievably delicious! I must find a recipe on line and see if I can duplicate it.

Then we ambled over the bridge into Buckland (which is a section of Shelburne Falls) and moseyed along the different shops along the river. Our objective was Stillwater Porcelain. The items in this shop are beyond belief. Pat Pyott uses actual leaves and plants to make her “casts”. Her creations (when purchased) become immediate heirlooms.

We made our way across the Flower Bridge, which was way past peak. Almost everything had been cut back for the winter’s nap, but we managed to find, among other things, the last rose of summer! ☺☺

CAPA Meeting

This past Saturday morning Barbara and I went to a CT Authors and Publishers Association meeting in Avon. Dolores met us there. The three of us are writers and have been published in one way or another.

I probably should identify my friends. Barbara and I went to high school together, have been friends since that time and I just happened to marry her cousin. Dolores is a poet I have known for about four years. Both women have creative minds and personalities.

Upon our arrival, we signed in and were given name tags (thank goodness). We found some seats close to the front then went for the goodies.

I began recognizing faces from the Millrace Bookstore this past August. It didn’t take me long to find DeEarlon (Joe Wactowski), author of Heaven’s Wave. I explained to him how the two "speed bumps" in his book spoiled the story for me. The story concerns the Mayan predictions for 2012 and bounces back and forth between the 1500s and the present. However, he gave the college president in the story the name of Wilson Woodrow and, later on in the story, had a military captain named Kurk and a sergeant named Sgt Scott. When Capt. Kurk said, “Send them up Scotty,” I wanted to slap the author up side the head. Otherwise it was a fairly captivating story. Joe is no Dan Brown, but he tried.

The first part of the program was introducing new members and guests, and listening to success stories. There were several stories of recent publication. At the break we were able to talk to several people and make excellent connections. The nice thing was that the members sought us out and wanted real conversations about what it is we do in the writing business.

The speaker was Adele Annesi who spoke on the importance of “Branding” and “Platform”. Basically hone in on your subject and know for whom you are writing. One woman took an adult subject and wrote a story for children: a story about identity theft. This is her 25th published book, so I guess she knows what she’s doing!

We were invited to join several members at the Wooden Tap in Avon for lunch, but we declined the invitation this time. Maybe when we go back in November. We can attend three meetings without joining. After that, it’s expected you will join, although they say they have never thrown anyone out yet.

As we were leaving Joe rushed over to me and asked if I had noticed the errors in the book. Indeed I had. He was pretty distraught and said that when he read the galley it was perfect. Then, for some reason, the publisher sent the book back to an editor and that’s where the errors happened. He said the book would have a second printing immediately and the errors would be fixed. I offered that this was his magnificent chance to fix the speed bumps. The look on his face told me he was in love with those facets of his story and probably will not change them. The Wilson Woodrow was just something cute he thought up and the Capt. Kurk thing was because he’s a Star Wars fan. He’s the author.

Once I move and the dust settles in my life, I will join. I look forward to being part of their booth at the Big E in the Connecticut Building where I can display my books of poetry and sell them.

So often those of us who write anything do so in a vacuum. Not so much poets like Dolores and me, since we go to critiquing workshops and do a lot of public reading. Barbara, on the other hand does work in a vacuum and said she got a lot out of being at the CAPA meeting. One good reason for joining.

Assisted Suicide

In this morning’s Hartford Courant, there was a letter to the editor from Kenneth Stevens, MD, of Sherwood, Oregon. I have reproduced, below, it in its entirety directly from the Hartford Courant’s web page. I feel it’s that important.

Suicide Bill Can Have Unintended Consequences

I am a cancer doctor in Oregon, where physician-assisted suicide is legal. I am also vice president of the Physicians for Compassionate Care Education Foundation, which opposes assisted suicide.

When considering this issue [editorial, Oct. 11, "Docs Deserve An Answer"], The Courant and its readers should remember the names Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup. Wagner was an Oregon resident who died last year. The Oregon Health Plan (Oregon Medicaid) had refused to pay for a cancer drug to possibly prolong her life and offered to pay for her assisted suicide instead. This position saved the plan money.

Stroup had a similar experience. The plan would not pay for a drug to prolong his life and ease his pain, but would pay for his suicide. He said: "What is six months of life worth? To me it's worth a lot. This is my life they're playing with."

In both cases, the Oregon Health Plan's position was possible only because assisted suicide is legal in Oregon.

With assisted suicide now proposed in Connecticut, will you and your families be the next Barbara Wagner or Randy Stroup?

Kenneth Stevens, M.D., Sherwood, Ore.

Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant (http://www.courant.com/)

I was stunned to think that an insurance company would pay for death and not for life. If Connecticut passes such legislation, I hope it has a provision in it to prevent assisted death when the patient wants assisted life.

I have no problem with assisted suicide. When an illness produces unbearable pain and suffering with no hope for recovery, I believe it should be allowed with the patient’s request. This could also be addressed in a person’s Advance Health Care Directive (Living Will).

I would prefer a different name however, such as Compassionate Termination of Life.

Autumn Splendor

I took these photos at Crandall Pond in Tolland, CT. The foliage is so spectacular I wanted to share these.

We have the best colors in many a year this year, but I won't be on my bike to capture all of it. This is the time of year when pictures taken of the valley beyond the Lyman Viaduct on the Air Line Trail are especially breath taking. Next year for sure.

Power Outage

A cold front passing through the northeast today generated a high wind warning. The winds brought down power lines up the street from me around 1 p.m.

The good news: it was a mild, mostly sunny day so the temperature in the house never dipped below 68°.

The bad news: we were without electricity until a little after 7 p.m. I don’t have to list all the things that I couldn’t use or enjoy. It also meant I had no phone other than my cell and that was close to needing recharging. No way I could recharge it. Well I could have used the re-charger in the car, but with no electricity I couldn’t open the garage door for ventilation.

Also, because I couldn’t open the garage door, I was unable to accompany my mother from the nursing home to a doctor appointment. I will catch up with her tomorrow morning and I’m sure she will not be happy.

So the electricity came on, the furnace clicked on, the lights came on, all the digital clocks had to be reset and the phones are all recharging.

Life is good!

Home Made Salad Dressing

Because of the power outage I was limited to what I had for supper. I decided on a spinach salad with my specialty…home made salad dressing. The salad was spinach, chopped tomato, chopped onion and pine nuts.

For the dressing, I used 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar (pomegranate infused) and 1 teaspoon honey. Oh! So good!

Years ago I used to make a salad every night for supper. One night I had the salad all made and realized I was out of dressing. What to do???

I looked in the refrigerator to see what might substitute. I had an almost empty jar of pickles with lots of juice. I mixed the juice with some mayonnaise in a jar, shook well and instant salad dressing. When you change the kind of pickle juice you get an entirely new taste. So inexpensive. No need to buy those expensive dressings any more.

Here’s to my genius! Cheers.

Mini Family Reunion

I have pictures but will not post them because I don't want to compromise anyone's privacy.

It’s sad that my family doesn’t get to see each other often. On my mother’s side of the family we get together on occasion, but it’s usually a funeral. I think Claire and Bill’s 50th Anniversary was the exception until yesterday.

My cousin, Art, the Elder Statesman of the family now, was coming north for a high school reunion. His brother, Paul, and sister, Carole, put together a gathering of family at Paul’s house.

What a treat to not only reacquaint with my cousins, but, in some cases, to meet their kids for the first time or the first time in a long time.

Then there were the aunts on Art’s, Paul’s and Carole’s mother’s side of the family who remembered me, but my memory did not go back that far.

I would like my kids to get to know their cousins. I hope I can do that once I get settled in wherever I’m going to be living next. I’ll just bet Anne would come up from Maryland.

If you were to take my cousins on my mother’s side and combine them with those from my father’s side…you would have the population of a small city.

If I Knew What I Was Doing…

I don’t cook. I can prepare a meal, but I don’t consider myself a cook. A cook is someone who knows what they are doing. I’m never sure. For instance…

Yesterday I decided to make cream of asparagus soup. I had frozen asparagus from a great sale at Geissler’s Supermarket a couple weeks ago. I had to buy a lemon, however, because it called for ½ tsp. finely grated lemon peel. I already had all the other ingredients: flour, nutmeg, butter, milk, turkey broth I had frozen a while back.

I made the soup but I’m not sure if it’s good. I’ll wait until later today to sample it. If I knew what I was doing I would have no doubt. I won’t be home for lunch so I’ll have it for supper with buttered crackers.

So there I was, left with this scarred lemon. What to do? If I knew what I was doing, I’d know exactly what to do.

The best I could come up with was grating the skin from the rest of the lemon. I spread the grated peel on a small plate and popped it into the freezer. I’m thinking I can freeze it and have it for other recipes that call for grated lemon peel. I usually shun such recipes because I never have any lemons to grate, and I will not pay $6+ for a bottle of dried peel. If I knew what I was doing, I’d know if lemon peel can be successfully frozen. It will be a while before I find out.

So there I was with a naked, freshly shaved lemon, and for a change, I had an idea of what to do. I cut it into 8 wedges and will use them in iced tea. I have bottles of Arizona green tea with ginseng and honey in the fridge. I like this alone or half-and-half with pomegranate juice. Either way, it’s one way to use up the lemon wedges.

If I don’t experiment I’ll never know…maybe one of these days I will know what I’m doing. And that will take all the fun out of it. ☺☺☺☺