FRIDAY STIR FRY: Where Is It?

 I thought this picture was funny. Here is this soldier searching for something in the distance and the bird seems to be trying to help him. 

What are they looking for? Perhaps the bird is just looking for fish to eat. The soldier is probably on the lookout for the enemy. Or, maybe not. 

On a more spiritual level, they could both be looking for a purpose to life. Or somebody to love. Or friendship. 

Maybe, like me, they are hoping to find inspiration. It's out there somewhere. 

Actually, I found inspiration this morning while having breakfast with some of my writing buddies. I am thinking of writing a cozy mystery for NaNo this year. I'm a big fan of Murder She Wrote so, I thought, why not. I was having a hard time figuring out what my setting should be and they helped me decide. 

I'm going to keep this inspiration to myself for now. But, stay tuned.                                                          

 

 

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Cooking

 

Are you a good cook? Do you enjoy cooking? 

I am not and I don't. I just never seemed to move past the simple fried foods, lumpy mashed potatoes, and canned veggies.  Even when I followed a recipe, it always seemed to fall short. I managed to feed my family for over 20 years but, none of my dishes have been passed down to their families. My husband was a pretty good cook, but he worked two jobs so I didn't feel right asking him to step in a lot. His mother passed her cooking skill down to him.  She could make a dirty dishcloth taste good.

I can remember my grandmother cooking on her old farmhouse stove. Throwing this in and that in, never measuring anything. And it all tasted wonderful. 

My mother, on the other hand, worked outside the home. We ate a lot of canned goods and frozen dinners. I don't blame her, but that was my training ground. My dad was a cook during WWII and would occasionally cook a big pot of chili or stew. And I do mean big. It was like he was still cooking for a platoon. And it was just mom and me. 

My daughter had a homework assignment to make an ABC book all about food. For H, she picked Hamburger Helper. That pretty much summed up my culinary wizardry. 

I think you need to have a chemistry degree to be a good cook. What spices go with this food? All purpose flour or self rising? What is the best way to cook a steak, etc? I still don't understand the difference between baking soda and baking powder. 

So, if you ever come to my house, don't expect any homecooked meals. In fact, if you want to eat, you should bring a pizza.

FRIDAY STIR FRY: Weird Times

 I used to collect teddy bears. If I still did, I would adopt this one. He looks lonely. And worried. Kind of like a lot of us during this weird time. 

I know a lot of people adopted pets to help them through quarantine and beyond. That's not for me. Not that I don't like animals, I just don't want to take care of one. I have a tough enough time taking care of myself. The feeding, the walking, the grooming is all so tiresome.  I don't want double duty. Plus pets die eventually. I've seen many people really tore up when their pet dies. I don't need that sadness in my life, especially now when the world is filled with it. 

But, a teddy bear would be the next best thing. I could cuddle it, pet it, talk to it, take it on car rides. And, the only care it needs would be an occasional dusting.

Amazon, here I come.   

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Ideas

https://morguefile.com

 

Writers are often asked "Where do you get your ideas?" 

I don't like this question because, frankly, I have no clue. Literally no ... freaking ... idea.

Just coming up with something to write for this blog is difficult for me. 

And to tell you the truth, I don't come up with tons of ideas for stories or novels. There are authors out there that have notebooks full of ideas. Visions and stories that seem to float down to them from the heavens. I'm not one of those lucky writers. 

I hate them.  😏

I use writing prompts sometimes. Anything to spark my imagination. But even then, I don't know where the story will lead me, if anywhere. One site I use quite a bit is https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/. There are also books full of ideas. Just go to Amazon and type in 'writing prompts'. 

After I finish my current novel, I have two others I started during National Novel Writing month. At least those ideas are already formed and just waiting on me to do something with them. Sorry about the wait characters. I'll get back to you soon.