Pic a Day - 7/22 to 7/28

Mon. July 22, alien moon

Tues. July 23, Patch goes to small-group summer school classes every day, and the "tablet" is the hit attraction

Wed. July 24, lost at sea

Thurs. July 25, Rotary Park

Fri. July 26, the ghost smoke

Sat. July 27, a foot bath after a particularly invigorating bike-swim

Sun. July 28, if you ever went through playing scales all the time...

Single-Serving Vegan: Crisped Potatoes

Ingredients:
2-3 small/medium potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub or peel potatoes. Slice into less than 1/8 inch thick slivers or utilize mandolin slicer. Arrange slices on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Spray with olive oil. [If you don't have an olive oil sprayer, put potato slices in a colander/strainer, toss with olive oil, then arrange on parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.] Season with salt and pepper. Put in oven for 25-30 minutes. To crisp them better, remove potatoes on the edges that have already browned and rearrange slices while cooking until they are crisp enough to your liking.

Pic a Day - 7/15 to 7/21

Mon. July 15, interactive soap opera

Tues. July 16, love

Wed. July 17, dinner's pretty free for all

Thurs. July 18, first sprout

Fri. July 19, reading Spanish books requires a dictionary

Sat. July 20, the sugar cookie dance

Sun. July 21, my new bucket list goal is to collect $100 in pennies

Also, today is Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens') 65th birthday! 

I played some Cat Stevens songs and posted them to YouTube:

"Lilywhite"

"Boy with a Moon and Star on his Head"

signing along with "Home in the Sky"

Pic a Day - 7/8 to 7/14

One whole year! Way to go!

I'm glad I've gotten to do this. The past year has been pretty cool to be able to remember like this.

Mon. July 8, Scarlett O'Hara, with PaintJoy

Tues. July 9, going on an odyssey by reading The Odyssey

Wed. July 10, my new digs

Thurs. July 11, "this is the best burger I've ever had" 

Fri. July 12, in memoriam

Sat. July 13, food for a three-and-a-half-hour movie

Sun. July 14, avid readers

Garbanzo

Three wonderful years.

 I'm gonna miss you, toadie boy.

Pic a Day - 7/1 to 7/7

Mon. July 1, summoning Bloody Mary?

Tues. July 2, Independence Day

Wed. July 3, the smallest bike I've ever attempted to ride

Thurs. July 4, Patch can now enjoy my reckless bike maneuvering too!

Fri. July 5, we were both pretty caught up in this book...

Sat. July 6, my rain-walk attire

Sun. July 7, this picture doesn't convey how hectic it was in my mind during this drive, for many reasons

What to Do... Dead Plot (4)

... if you have a piece of writing where the plot is just dead. You don't know what went wrong with the idea or how it just came to stop where it did. Well, don't despair! And certainly don't throw it away. (Trust me, I always end up regretting that at some point later on.)

"Ways to Revive Dead Plot

• throw in a surprising or unexpected plot twist
• introduce a new character that will change the plot or the main character
• determine where you think the story is headed and map an outline - how to get to the story's climax
• pause the action with a flashback of the character(s)
• have the character soliloquize or ponder on their desires, thoughts, problems, memories, etc.
• off to the side, write character descriptions, setting descriptions, plot planners, etc.
• try to get another, fresh mind into the world of the story to give a new take on things (i.e., a friend or relative)
• what are you feeling/doing? -- put it into the character/plotline
• write down any and all snippets that come to mind in developing upon the story
• backtrack from a different character's point of view"

excerpt taken from journal; written on July 2, 2013

Now, I haven't really taken my own advice on this, so I don't know how useful any of this will be. I do find that secondary viewpoints give you a deeper understanding of the characters' emotions and the feelings in the plot. 

Single-Serving Vegan: Zucchini-Rice Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 1/3 cups cooked white/brown rice
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
3 to 5 chopped kalamata/black olives
1 teaspoon chopped red/white onion
dressing

• 1 tsp balsamic
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

In a large serving bowl, combine rice, zucchini, pepper, olives, onion, and dressing. Mix well. (This says to refrigerate at least one hour before eating, but I just ate it room temperature instead, so, your call.)