The Jimi Hendrix Experience

I've been reading books about Jimi Hendrix. I finished "Becoming Jimi Hendrix: From Southern Crossroads to Psychedelic London, the Untold Story of a Musical Genius" written by Steve Roby and Brad Schreiber. Although I found a really confusing typo on page one, I found the book to be mostly informative and very readable.

And I just finished reading "Jimi Hendrix, a Brother's Story" written by Leon Hendrix, Jimi's younger brother. This book contains astonishing details of the childhood of Leon and Jimi, known to the family as Buster throughout his life.

I recommend both these books to anyone interested in learning more about the surprising life and mysterious death of this talented, shy, conflicted young man, one of the most talented musicians ever.

Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle Washington on November 27, 1942.  His name was later changed to James Marshall Hendrix by his father. 

He died on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.

Here's one of my favorite Hendrix songs, The Wind Cries Mary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tQGA1eAbMM

And another favorite, All Along the Watchtower.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2bYJQFQMs8&feature=related

Ramey and Winston

I'm sad to report that my sweet friend, 

Winston the Possum

 has passed away and now resides in

Possum Heaven.

    

Blog Tag Party

A special thanks to KC Sprayberry for hosting a Blog Tag Party. This is such a great way to meet other writers and new friends. KC's blog, Out of Control Characters,  can be found at  http://outofcontrolcharacters.blogspot.com/

KC asked us to let others know what we are currently working on. I'm currently working on two exciting projects.

First, I'm writing the second book of the four volume Moonlight Ridge Series.

The four books in the series follow the seasons of the year, and this second one I'm currently working on is set in the beautiful backwoods of Alabama in autumn. You'll want to read the first book first, which tells the story of two children and their summer adventures in a magical world called Moonlight Ridge.

My Moonlight Ridge Series is very definitely Southern fiction. It's published as adult Southern genre, but crosses over as YA fiction as well. Young people of all ages love Lily Claire, Willie T., and all their peculiar relatives and neighbors. Magic wands, friendly animals, singing possums and mysteries on the mountain are just a few of the unusual attractions.
Which actors would I choose to play my characters in a movie rendition? I've thought about this a lot! Because the main two characters are 8 year-old children, I believe there would have to be a talent search across the South to find two talented youngsters for those parts. And just maybe, now that we've seen his stellar performance in the Hatfields and McCoys saga, we could get Kevin Costner to play Granddaddy W.T. Greenberry. That's for the already published Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge. For the "work in progress," we'll need a beautiful dark haired young lady to play the mysterious apparition that Lily Claire and Willie T. discover haunting the ruins of a 19th century landmark near their home.

My second Work In Progress is a YA supernatural mystery, with the working title Lovely, Dark and Deep. The first chapter won an award from Alabama Writers Conclave. The main character is a teen age girl who lives in a rural setting where mysterious events and night-time intrigue lure her into the woods at night.  It's about dreams, a young girls attempts to figure out the meaning of her dreams, and a cute boy named Buddy who may not be as simple as he seems.

 If you're visiting from the Blog Tag Party, please leave a comment. Happy blogging!

Sweet Possum Home, Alabama

       Winston's home,

 Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

                                     1214 81st Street South Birmingham, AL  (205) 833-8264

Visit Ruffner Mountain Nature Center for an unforgetable, relaxing and educational treat.

Dreams Are All True While They Last

Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?

Alfred Lord Tennyson

What a coincidence that my last blog post was about dreams! Today I just received word that  my YA novel in progress Lovely, Dark, and Deep has been awarded an Honorable Mention from Alabama Writers' Conclave in their First Chapter of a Novel contest. And this story is all about dreams, but definitely not in the ordinary sense.

None of my dreams are ever in the ordinary sense, so I have plenty of material for Lovely, Dark, and Deep!

Now, I just need to finish my Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge sequel, titled The Witches of Moonlight Ridge, which I'm determined to have finished by the end of summer, then get busy on Lovely, Dark, and Deep, a YA supernatural mystery.

Edgar Allan Poe said:  All that we see or seem , Is but a dream within a dream.

What Did You Dream Last Night?

Last night I dreamed that I was jogging toward home from The Rowan House, a restored home circa 1854 on Hwy 119, and I had some folded money in my hand. A cute, short guy with dark hair jogged up beside me and started talking about how he supposed I was a Democrat and he was a Democrat too. Then he went into this long discourse that was so far-fetched I couldn't follow him about Democrats in the UK! Just then I saw a wooden leg lying beside the road, and I thought it looked like something we ought to keep, but I couldn't stop to pick it up because the Democrat was so engrossed in his great conversation, and I was trying to follow what he was saying! And I thought it would be hard to jog all the way home carrying a wooden leg.

What did you dream last night?

Some Facts About Beans

Mr. Bean is one of my favorite guys.

In his book, Navajos Wear Nikes, A Reservation Life, Jim Kristofic says Navajos eat beans every day. He was talking about school lunches, but I decided this sounded like a good idea for everybody. so I'm eating more beans. It's a good book, by the way.

                                                                   The Pinto Bean

This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Phosphorus and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Folate.

For lunch today I'm having a bean burrito from Taco Bell...

And I'm trying, with minimal success, to keep it out of my lap and off the front of my shirt.

...and some Mexican Rice from Taco Bell.

I love Taco Bell rice!

                                                    

For desert I'm having peanut butter pie from Rusty's Barbecue, a home-town epicurean extablishment serving gourmet barbecue and various scandalous desserts. I don't know for sure if the peanut is a bean...but I think so. A legume, I think.

Oh! This is sooo good!

I don't often blog about food, but because I'm extra hungry today, and haven't blogged at all for a while, and because this lunch is so tasty and delightful, well, I'm blogging about lunch!

Here's a scrumptious recipe I found on the Internet at Scarletta Bakes .

Pinto Bean Blondies

2 c. pinto beans (I used well-drained, rinsed, canned beans.)
1 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/3 c. light agave nectar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large eggs

1 c. cashews, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place chopped cashews on a rimmed sheet pan and toast for 8-10 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Line a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the beans, melted butter, brown sugar, agave nectar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs. Process until smooth and remove to a large bowl. (Note that you should process the mixture long enough that the beans’ skins are in small pieces; you’ll still see little bits of skin in the mixture, but you want to get the pieces as small as possible. I processed for approximately 2 minutes.) Stir in the cashew pieces. Pour the mixture into the lined pan and bake for 47-50 minutes. Cooked blondies will be set and dark on top and at the edges, which should be pulling away from the pan.

Allow blondies to cool to room temperature before unmolding.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!