No Exercise No Diet But 19 Pages

Last week I was under the weather. Missed work for the first time since November 2001, when I had shingles.

Last week I didn't walk or lift weights or even think about exercise. No food obsessions, either, namely because I wasn't all that hungry and so a salad for lunch for filling enough, ditto yogurt for breakfast.

I wrote fifteen pages! Added to the four from the week before, Festival Madness has a real beginning. Amazing when one's focus changes purely to writing what one can do. I am so psyched! And add two pages for work on the short story, which is turning out to be as weird as everything else. Add five agents queried. Well, make that four. When I was filling in the spread sheet where I keep track of this stuff, one of the names self-filled. Turned out I had queried that agent in May. Never heard from him. Looked at the nice neat envelope, already sealed and stuffed with SASE and a two page synopsis as well as the World's 2nd best query letter and thought what the hell? Maybe it will sound better the second time, maybe there will be a jolt of recognition. Maybe he will say, "Yes! I want this novel!"

Any then again, maybe it will be deja vu all over again. The small press turned down World of Mirrors, along with everyone else. A year's effort and not one nibble! I am thinking of changing the character's names and some of the information and taking it out of the Emma Lee Davis Cybersleuth Series so that I make it a little darker and untangle the main character from some of her baggage. But would it still be a dramedy, which is Hollywoodese for part drama, part comedy?

Saturday we watched Muriel's Wedding again, a dramedy and a good one, but not a great one. Fed the cows in the rain. The flies are gone. The baby is growing shaggy fur. Ma still tries to hog the food.

I cooked two recipes from the New York Times, (Chili Shrimp and Escarole Bean Soup) one from Williams Sonoma(Cherry Pancakes) and something known in New England as American Chop Suey, which had the virtue of being very cheap, very filling and very fast with respect to preparation.

American Chop Suey

Brown a pound of ground beef.
Cook 1/2 pound of macaroni. Don't foget to salt the water.
You will also need about 3 cups of Italian red sauce. I buy whatever is on sale.
Mix all together in a large casserole. Add a little parmesan cheese. Top with sliced fresh tomatoes and a few (if you like) chopped ripe or stuffed olives. Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes covered, and 20 minutes with the lid off at around 325 degrees.
Serve with bread sticks and a green salad.

Or garlic bread if you aren't always watching your weight. I hope you use real butter and fresh garlic and a decent bread and toast it under the broiler with just a sprinkle of paprika.

Life is good.