BAM! Let's knock it up a notch.
Rich vanilla ice cream with Frutas Tropicales is my favorite although you may like to try some of the other flavors.
Enjoy!
Www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Emeril Lagasse is alive and well - in Mexico
Remember these?
BAM! Let's knock it up a notch.
Rich vanilla ice cream with Frutas Tropicales is my favorite although you may like to try some of the other flavors.
Enjoy!
Www.darlenejonesauthor.com
BAM! Let's knock it up a notch.
Rich vanilla ice cream with Frutas Tropicales is my favorite although you may like to try some of the other flavors.
Enjoy!
Www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Saturday, January 27, 2018
It’s not writer’s block, it’s writer’s blackout.
I’ve been through this before. The flurry of publishing a novel, announcing the launch, marketing….
And then? The crash. You’re done, burned out, ready for a break. This stage lasts about two days and you’re antsy to start on another story. But what if you have no ideas at the moment? You fret and worry and the more you reach for an idea, the more elusive it becomes.
That’s when you launch into major cleaning, declutter the house, become obsessed with social media and spend many too many hours on the Internet.
And suddenly, when you least expect it your brain clicks on “an old lady in a nursing home and a young girl just out of high school, who desperately wants to go to university, but can’t afford it. What if the two…?”
Where did that germ of an idea come from?
For the life of me, I can’t remember, but it grew into a two-novel-set of mystery, adventure, and romance—Alzheimer’s, a reporter fleeing across the Sahara, a son and daughter-in-law trying to decode a mother’s notes, a man waiting to be caught and tried, and the young girl trying to save him….
I’m ready to write, but again I’m wallowing in writer blackout—no ideas, none, zilch. What to do? Clean, declutter the house, spend many too many hours on the Internet, go to Mexico for Christmas and wait. Something will pop up. Of that I am certain. Meanwhile, I have time to relax and read, read, read.
P.S. Currently I’m reading the amazing, brilliantly written Welcome to Lagos by Chibunda Onuzo.
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
And then? The crash. You’re done, burned out, ready for a break. This stage lasts about two days and you’re antsy to start on another story. But what if you have no ideas at the moment? You fret and worry and the more you reach for an idea, the more elusive it becomes.
That’s when you launch into major cleaning, declutter the house, become obsessed with social media and spend many too many hours on the Internet.
And suddenly, when you least expect it your brain clicks on “an old lady in a nursing home and a young girl just out of high school, who desperately wants to go to university, but can’t afford it. What if the two…?”
Where did that germ of an idea come from?
For the life of me, I can’t remember, but it grew into a two-novel-set of mystery, adventure, and romance—Alzheimer’s, a reporter fleeing across the Sahara, a son and daughter-in-law trying to decode a mother’s notes, a man waiting to be caught and tried, and the young girl trying to save him….
I’m ready to write, but again I’m wallowing in writer blackout—no ideas, none, zilch. What to do? Clean, declutter the house, spend many too many hours on the Internet, go to Mexico for Christmas and wait. Something will pop up. Of that I am certain. Meanwhile, I have time to relax and read, read, read.
P.S. Currently I’m reading the amazing, brilliantly written Welcome to Lagos by Chibunda Onuzo.
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Thursday, January 25, 2018
The things we take for granted
"I can relate with your excitement as a child when you and the rest of your family moved to Edmonton—and my goodness, your story gave me a good laugh," Uzo writes. (I was 9 when we moved and I had told Uzo that I was so fascinated with the flush toilet that I got up several times to use it until my mother finally told me to get back to bed and stay there.)
"The day I left Mambilla plateau," he adds, "I was so eager to browse the Internet, to watch TV, and to enjoy other modern conveniences. That night in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba, I couldn’t sleep; even as an adult, I was so excited about just everything. Everything looked new. I remember I did stare at the bulb in my room from time to time, praying it stayed that way—that it continued to shine its yellow light (the country’s electricity generation has barely improved since then)."
How lucky we are to have power we can count on.
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Only in Mexico - cucumber candy
Yes, we tried some and yes, they did taste like cucumber with a dash of chili.
Ingredients:
corn syrup, sugar, water, gelatin, citric acid, modified startch, natural flavours, lactic glycerin, red, yellow, and blue food colouring.
Each package contains 3 grams of protein and 26 grams of sugar.
www.darlenejonesUthor.com
Ready to read?
Now that the festivities are behind us, we're ready to while away the evenings with a good book so head over to your favorite online bookstore and load up your ereader with these.
For a little Mystery, join Brittany: Her dream was to go to university. Instead she’s working in a nursing home hunting a killer. (When the Sun was Mine)
Mystery and adventure are yours when you embark on a wild trek across the Sahara as Sidu tries to escape his fate: The old lady is dead, but she could still destroy him. (Whispers Under the Baobab)
Or, if Science Fiction is more to your liking, check out the Em and Yves series.
Book One: Em - Gifted with superpowers she can’t refuse, her life spirals out of control.
Book Two: Jaz - She’s crazy to build her life on childhood visions, but …
Book Three: Abby - Controlled by an Alien, Abby must decide if he’s real before she loses her sanity.
Book Four: Emily - Inexplicably drawn to the man stalking her, she knows she needs help.
And click HERE for a bit of humor in Mali to Mexico and Points In Between
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
For a little Mystery, join Brittany: Her dream was to go to university. Instead she’s working in a nursing home hunting a killer. (When the Sun was Mine)
Mystery and adventure are yours when you embark on a wild trek across the Sahara as Sidu tries to escape his fate: The old lady is dead, but she could still destroy him. (Whispers Under the Baobab)
to learn more about Brittany, old lady Flo, and Sidu: click HERE
Or, if Science Fiction is more to your liking, check out the Em and Yves series.
Book One: Em - Gifted with superpowers she can’t refuse, her life spirals out of control.
Book Two: Jaz - She’s crazy to build her life on childhood visions, but …
Book Three: Abby - Controlled by an Alien, Abby must decide if he’s real before she loses her sanity.
Book Four: Emily - Inexplicably drawn to the man stalking her, she knows she needs help.
to learn more about the alien who has taken over their lives click HERE
And click HERE for a bit of humor in Mali to Mexico and Points In Between
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Who knew the Munchkin's field trip to the dump would be so interesting?
I'm the designated driver for the munchkin's school field trips. Some are more interesting than others, but who knew the trip to Hartland Landfill would be so fascinating?
The site is huge with a gas-to-electricity plant, a recycling and salvage area, a yard waste area....
We tour the 400 acre site by bus and our guide explains that there are 82 categories for recycling - bikes are sent to be refurbished and given to charity - that the solar panels spotted by the kids are used to create electricity to run the water testing stations.
When we reach the "garbage" area, the kids (grades 3 and 4) are most impressed with the piles of mattresses and the huge compactor and the fact that 3 hawks help to keep birds away so that they don't get sick from picking at the garbage.
Google satellite view
The technology of the "dump," as we called it when we were kids, is impressive. Significant measures are in place to reduce the impact of waste on the environment and the site creates enough electricity to power 1,200 houses.
Eventually, likely by 2049, this landfill will have reached it's limit and will be re-purposed.
After the tour the kids participate in an activity bound to capture their attention. The guide dumps a garbage can of party left-overs on the table. Soiled paper napkins, paper plates, plastic cutlery, juice boxes, etc. She challenges the kids to work in groups to find ways to plan a party reducing the garbage and keeping the budget under $40.
Armed with a grocery store flyer and the list of items for a party of 10 kids they set to work. The groups list the things they can use from home: cloth napkins, metal forks and spoons, glasses and a cloth tablecloth and then "buy" the food.
Every group comes in under budget (the highest at $30.20) and with 11 to 12 garbage points. The original party left-overs clocked in at $64 and 49 garbage points.
On the way home, Grandpa, who didn't bring his water bottle along, says he wants to stop and buy a bottle of water.
The munchkin reacts: "Seriously! After what you just saw?"
Grandpa waits until we get home to have a drink.
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
The site is huge with a gas-to-electricity plant, a recycling and salvage area, a yard waste area....
We tour the 400 acre site by bus and our guide explains that there are 82 categories for recycling - bikes are sent to be refurbished and given to charity - that the solar panels spotted by the kids are used to create electricity to run the water testing stations.
When we reach the "garbage" area, the kids (grades 3 and 4) are most impressed with the piles of mattresses and the huge compactor and the fact that 3 hawks help to keep birds away so that they don't get sick from picking at the garbage.
Google satellite viewThe technology of the "dump," as we called it when we were kids, is impressive. Significant measures are in place to reduce the impact of waste on the environment and the site creates enough electricity to power 1,200 houses.
Eventually, likely by 2049, this landfill will have reached it's limit and will be re-purposed.
After the tour the kids participate in an activity bound to capture their attention. The guide dumps a garbage can of party left-overs on the table. Soiled paper napkins, paper plates, plastic cutlery, juice boxes, etc. She challenges the kids to work in groups to find ways to plan a party reducing the garbage and keeping the budget under $40.
Armed with a grocery store flyer and the list of items for a party of 10 kids they set to work. The groups list the things they can use from home: cloth napkins, metal forks and spoons, glasses and a cloth tablecloth and then "buy" the food.
Every group comes in under budget (the highest at $30.20) and with 11 to 12 garbage points. The original party left-overs clocked in at $64 and 49 garbage points.
On the way home, Grandpa, who didn't bring his water bottle along, says he wants to stop and buy a bottle of water.
The munchkin reacts: "Seriously! After what you just saw?"
Grandpa waits until we get home to have a drink.
www.darlenejonesauthor.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)