Showing posts with label cheese straws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese straws. Show all posts

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Guests That Never Arrived


Due to the weather, our small dinner party was cancelled, and S.O. and I dined in isolated splendor at the long table with the Christmas cloth and the red napkins, and the little green vases with red and white chyrsanthemums and a few sprigs of cat-chewed baby's breath.


What is is about cats and baby's breath? They go absolutely apeshit.


I took my fruit cake cookies around to the neighbors. The recipe made 9 dozen. Hey, they're good, too. No icky yellow or green weird stuff, but rather my own candied orange peel. How cool is that?


Of course the baked goods disappear rather rapidly. I bake until the New Year, so it matters not if we eat stuff. What else is it for?


The menu was cannolli shells stuffed with spinach, chicken and cheese and baked in a light cream sauce, cherry tomatoes provencal, iceberg salad with special fancy homemade dressing, cheese straws for an appetizer, and then of course, all the desserts, now only two, including cheese cake. What is it with me and cheese? Life would be diminished without cheese.


Of course too busy to write this week. Next week will be worse. The tree is still undecorated and listing to port. The snow, however, is lovely.


More anon.


Grapeshot



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Gloom & Doom in Publishing


Today's Galley Cat had one sob story after another about the publishing business. Everything from Border's going under next year (maybe) to a writer saying let's have fewer stupid books, and some riffs about e-books.


I feel like a veteran of these wars. Published an e-book. At the time, you couldn't give them away. Publisher went under, got back my rights and took The Shadow Warriors to a POD outfit. No respect. Tried to find my book on Amazon by its title yesterday and there were something like 103 books with Shadow and Warriors in the title or blurb and somehow The Shadow Warriors was coming up 104. Merde, she said. Wrote a stupid rant on Amazon. With Amazon the owner of the POD company, you'd think they'd bump it up a bit.


Why does one bother? Because there are still a few people who believe in me. That's all I need.


The Christmas baking has begun. I have mini-cheesecakes just out of the oven with some cranberry topping, and savory cheese sticks ready to bake. Glazed spices pecans ready to glaze. Lots of activity in the kitchen tomorrow. Bustle, and good smells.


The tree is up but not decorated. It is huge, large enough for any number of cats to snooze under it. Drinking water like a fish.


Shopping almost done. Cards almost ready. Wrapping not started. Preparations progressing apace. Ho. Ho. Ho.