I hate them, since you’re asking

Yes, I hate Mondays. Can’t think of a time when I didn’t. The weekends never seem long enough and then Monday rears its ugly head again, my iPhone blaring its alarm (I use the klaxxon sound effect) to scuttle me from my bed. Even if the night wasn’t restful, staying in bed fitfully sleeping would be preferable to getting up Monday morning and going to work. Mondays are so close to the weekend, but yet so very far away. It doesn’t seem fair, though in the grand scheme of things I am glad to have a full-time job that (mostly) pays the bills.

This one, like most, was full of fun: thunder, rain , and wind waking me a few hours before my alarm, rousing my daughter to get up and ready for school, making her lunch, making breakfast, it’s raining, taking the trash out in the rain. Good times. Driving to work in the rain, having some jerk riding my bumper in the rain, getting cut off by a teenage driver in the rain. You get the picture.

I’ve not written anything here in months, due largely to the (delayed) start of the NHL season back in January. I’ve been writing about the St. Louis Blues over at BleedinBlue.com, and neglecting my personal writing and blogging community of friends. Now that the season is over I’ll still be writing over there, but perhaps not as frequently, and I’ll be spending more time here once more.

This morning I was poked and prodded (in a good way, I’m thankful) by Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom to join in her “I Don’t Like Mondays” blog hop. Make it a point to click through her button and read all of the great posts linked up there.

 

I’ll be back soon with a few words on the 1st Annual NHL Blogger Bet, but for now I’ll leave you with an inspirational quote to start off your work-week:

 “It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.”

― Walter Lippmann

WWW Wednesdays 3-13-13

A weekly installment of WWW Wednesdays prompted by Should Be Reading. You should be reading that blog too. 

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

 Currently I’m reading Grimspace (Sirantha Jax, #1) by Ann Aguirre. It’s another sci-fi series I found thanks to Goodreads friends, and so far it’s not terrible. Jax is a fairly interesting character and it’s a pretty quick read. That sounds much more negative than it should- I’m simply not a huge sci-fi reader, despite my love for Star Wars etc.

 I recently finished Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K. Randall. It wasn’t nearly as good, or overall insightful as I’d hoped, but it did touch on some intriguing concepts, namely that “normal” sleep patterns may have once involved going to bed as the sun went down, sleeping 3-4 hours, then waking again for a few hours, then sleeping again for a few hours. Apparently, in the absence of artificial light our bodies naturally fall into this routine and experience more satisfaction from sleep than when we try to get 608 straight hours of shuteye. Who knew?

 Next will be Revenge: Stories by Yoko Ogawa, a collection of short stories all connected by a common thread. Supernatural, possibly, and suspenseful. It’s sitting on my desk at home, we’ll see how it goes. I thoroughly enjoyed the last collection of shorts I read, which is atypical for me.

 

WWW Wednesdays 3-6-13

This weekly event from Should Be Reading gives us a chance to share what’s we’re reading and often find new treasures we might have otherwise missed. Join in the fun!

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m still working on the same books I had open last week: Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell and Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, by David K. Randall. I’ve also started Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre.

 In between continuing those titles I picked up and finished Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne. I have to say, I nearly put this one down before I was halfway through. I loathe being unable to finish a book, but I didn’t feel like this was very well written. The dialogue seemed a bit clunky, too forced at times. The characters though, are intriguing. I’m also a huge fan of mythology and it’s well represented here. The book is a pretty quick read, so I finished it and you know what? I’m going to give the next in the series a shot. Hearne has something here to build upon and I’m hoping I enjoy the other “Chronicles.”

 Kevin’s titular druid, Atticus, reminded me a lot of a character I’ve met before and really loved, which may be why I’m giving that series a chance. The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #1) by Michael Scott is one of my favorites, the first installment in one of my favorite series ever. If you’ve not found Scott’s books yet, I highly recommend them. I may read this again next.

 Hexed (The Iron Druid Chronicles #2) by Kevin Hearne will be coming up soon too.

 

 

Haiku Friday 3.1.13

Snow still falls outside,

My car can barely be seen.

When does Spring begin?

 

100 Word Song – Brilliant Mistake

Ralphie thought it all felt like an episode of The Chicago Code as he and Max cautiously followed the officer out the door and down the hall to the stairwell. She had her gun drawn, a grim, stoic look on her face, and moved with trained fluidity. Contrastingly, it was all Ralphie could do not to trip over his own feet.

Max followed a bit too closely, his head swiveling nervously, hissing into Ralphie’s ear. “This is such a mistake. We’ll be sitting ducks going down the stairs!”

“Are you kidding?” Ralphie whispered, breathlessly, in reply. “This is fucking brilliant!”

This is my response to this week’s 100 Word Song Challenge from Lance, Leroy, and Linda, Elvis Costello’s wonderful “Brilliant Mistake.” 

WWW Wednesday, February 27, 2013

This is a weekly prompt, thanks to Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently I’ve got two titles open:

 Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell. It’s a book of short stories, and while I’m not usually a fan of reading shorts this collection is very enjoyable so far. The vampires are far from the popular versions you might be familiar with today.

 

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, by David K. Randall, is a non-fiction look into our heads and nocturnal tendencies. No, it’s not all what that might sound like, keep it clean people. Apparently, humans naturally tend more toward “segmented sleep” than the “solid 8 hours” we so often talk about missing. Intriguing stuff.

I recently finished reading:

 In Milton Lumky Territory, by Philip K. Dick. Dick is well-known and respected for his writing, which I’d say typically falls into the “sci-fi” category, though he wrote professionally for 30 years in multiple genres. To be honest, I only finished this out of respect for the author, wanting to give it a chance to wow me until the end, and while the characters were somewhat interesting, it was more like a train-wreck you can’t look away from than something I enjoyed. Maybe it was the 1950′s setting, but it was boring to me. Plenty of underlying themes to dig out if you’re a fan of Phillip K. Dick.

Next up in the queue:

 Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre. I’m going to give the Sirantha Jax series a try. I’ve never been a big sci-fi reader, but I love a good series, gives me more time with the characters. I heard about this one through my Goodreads friends.

 

 

Cabbage and White Bean Soup with Sausage

Last night I made this delicious soup for dinner. It took roughly an 1:45 from prep to eating, not too bad as far as time, and it was very good if I do say so myself, well worth the minor effort.

Plenty of veggies, low sodium chicken stock, All-Natural chicken-apple sausage = good for you and easy. I used Aidells brand sausage, because that’s what the grocery store had, and it fit the soup perfectly. 

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 12 ounces fully cooked chicken-apple sausages (about 4), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/2 small head)
• 3 leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 cups)
• 2 cups baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise, then halved crosswise
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste concentrate (from tube)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 8 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

I didn’t use baby carrots, but I don’t think they would add much specifically to the flavor. Use whatever carrots you have. I’d be interested to see how the soup turned out if I used Savoy cabbage or even bok choy. I think a large chopped tomato would go well in this.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage slices and sauté until brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage; sauté 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to same pot and heat over medium heat. Add leeks and carrots and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, parsley, and rosemary and stir 1 minute. Add broth, sausage-cabbage mixture, and beans and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I tasted throughout the cooking time, as any good chef would, and added salt & pepper very near the end, after everything had cooked together. The tomato paste gave the soup a reddish tint and I think there was a good balance of ingredients to broth. Hope you enjoy as much as my girlfriend and I did.