A Rose Between Two Thistles

The thistle is the floral symbol for Scotland.  While doing research for my books, I am learning so much more about this lovely country.  Immediately charmed by it, I became more intrigued each time I visited.  I don't get there much anymore, but continue to live vicariously through my books and research.  I am hoping to get there for a few days this fall when I am taking a trip to Europe.  But I am definitely planning a longer trip next year.  In the meantime, I thought it would be nice to share some of the symbolic history of this lovely country and perhaps you can understand why I choose to make it the center stage of most of my books.

Thistle grows abundantly at Coyote Creek Golf Course in San Jose

The symbolism of the thistle stands for nobility and in Celtic folk lore, damaging a thistle was cause for punishment.  Although the details of the punishment were not explicit in the tale, try grabbing one around the neck and believe me, your hand will be punished!!

The thistle has been the flower symbol of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249-1286) and the symbol for the Scottish police force for many years.  One of the legends about this beautiful plant is that when the Vikings tried to invade Scotland, they crept close to the villages at night to overcome them while they slept.  They crept quietly, on bare feet. Unfortunately, they did not see the thistles surrounding the village and some of them let out cries of pain, waking the Scots and bringing them to battle, victoriously.

Thistles are biennials, which means they flower in the second year and then die. They do reseed easily and each year, it seems they get more abundant and beautiful along the cart path at Coyote Creek's Tournament Course.  They are a beautiful sight here, in the dry hills, seemingly unaffected by the drought.

Plum Crazy

I started canning last year.  I'm no expert and I don't can a lot.  But I do like taking advantage of preserving some of the fresh foods of summer, and now that I am growing some of them myself, it's especially rewarding.  Last summer I canned tomatoes, put up lots of different kinds of jams and preserves, chutneys and sauces.  

My sister's neighbor has a plum tree that works in overdrive this time of year.  She calls my sister to tell us that the plums are dropping and we go over with a big box and pick up the undamaged ones on the ground and then start picking the ones off the tree.  Here's one big bowl that were not quite ready for prime time.  This was what was leftover after we made a plum crisp for dessert.  More about that in a minute, because as you can see, the first order of business, before we got started cooking, by the way, was the plumtini.

As you can see, I almost forgot to take the picture before I had the thing polished off, but well, here was the second half of it.  We made a simple syrup with sugar and water and added a few meaty plum pits to the concoction and let it steep.  That's what made that beautiful color.  To mix the plumtini, we used one part vodka, one part marshmallow vodka, one part simple syrup.  It was pretty sweet, so we tried it without the marshmallow vodka but it didn't taste nearly as good.  So we added ginger ale to it to cut the sweetness.  Much better.  Still a bit on the sweet side, but very refreshing!  Next time, we're going to make the simple syrup with one part sugar to two parts water to cut the sweetness, instead of one to one.  If you try it and build on it, let me know.

Here's the plum crisp, which was delicious, but a bit runny.  We made the recipe up.  Plums, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon covered with a standard crisp topping of oats, brown sugar and butter.  The ripe plums were pretty juicy and I think we should have drained them longer.  But still, very good. 

I haven't had a chance to do it this year yet, but last year, with the overabundance of the plums, I made plum sauce and it is out of this world.  This recipe makes about 4 pint jars.
 2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 T. finely chopped chili pepper (I used a jalapeno which I seeded)
2 T. mustard seeds
1 T. salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T. grated ginger root
10 cups finely chopped pitted plums

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil gently for 1.5-2 hours until it is thick.  Fill sterilized canning jars with the hot sauce, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.  Remove bubbles and clean the jar rims if necessary.  Screw tops on finger-tip tight.  Process in your canner for 20 minutes.  Remove canner lid, let rest 5 minute.  Remove cans from bath and let cool.
This makes a great sauce for any kind of grilled meat and can be used as a barbecue sauce as well.  

Fetteresso Castle

I always knew I was meant to live in a castle.  This intriguing place is Fetteresso Castle.  It just so happens that my maiden name is Fetter.  This castle is in Scotland, outside of a town called Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen.  The castle is steeped in history, with the original structure having been built in the 13th century.  The area around the castle is covered with Bronze age cairns (thought to be burial grounds) and stone circles.  Sounds like just the place to set the next Mick Malone Mystery, doesn't it?  I've already started!

I would like to thank so many of my readers for their wonderful encouragement and kind words.  In the last book I took an idea sent to me by one of my readers and wove it into the story.  So if you have an idea, speak up.  And if you haven't read it yet, you can get it at the link to my Author's Page.

All four books are now available at Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon.  And the third book, The Mystery of Loch Duny, is now available at Smashwords and will be available soon on all major e-readers.

I recently did an interview with Smashwords, a large e-publisher.  Here is an excerpt from that interview:

Who are your favorite authors?

I love to read all kinds of books. Not surprising, though, mystery series are my favorite. Martha Grimes, Caroline Graham and Elizabeth George are among my very favorite authors. I also like Dorothy Cannell and of course the classics like Agatha Christie and Dashiel Hammett and many more. But I also love Stephen King and most recently have become quite a fan of David Rhodes.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

I feel very grateful for all the things I have been given in life. But there is so much I still want to do that I am anxious to get as much of it done as possible before the runway runs out. I have a sign in my office: "What are you waiting for?" I look at that every day and it inspires me to keep doing new things. 

What is your writing process?

I am a very visual person, so I draw a line similar to a graph on a piece of paper and fill in the major ideas for the story from beginning through to building suspense, then the climax and conclusion. Since I write a series, I also write down the big things that are going on with my characters. Once I have a good visual outline, I start writing and usually the story details unfolds pretty readily as I go. The most important thing for me is to sit down and start writing. Even if I think I have writer's block, if I just sit at my computer and start to type, the story usually comes.

If you're interested in reading more, here's the link:Interview with Smashwords

The Mystery at Oyster Point

I am very excited to announce that the next Mick Malone Mystery is now published

 and available on Amazon.  The Mystery at Oyster Point, the fourth in the series, takes place primarily in San Francisco.  Oyster Point is on the shore of San Francisco Bay, near South San Francisco.  Once home to abundant oyster farms, this area is now a beautiful little marina with a lovely park and a ferry terminal.  On the shore, the quiet fishing businesses have long since given way to large buildings that house multinational biotech companies.  But the area maintains its beauty and charm.

 After completing a security job in London, Mick Malone and his partner, Jock McDuff are anxious to get back to Scotland for a little rest and relaxation. But Mick’s plans are diverted, when he gets a ransom note. Someone has kidnapped Dr. Finfrock, an orange tabby cat that an ex- roommate left with Mick when she moved out. The kidnapper has instructed Mick to meet him at the Ferry Building in San Francisco if he wants to see the cat alive. Flying to San Francisco, Mick finds the kidnapper and is pulled into a much deeper plot, one that skirts the darker side of prescription drug trials.

For more about this book, visit  My Website  

Start Your Summer!!

What is the first thing avid Weight Watchers do when it comes to a three day weekend?  Why we plan the menu of course!  Day one: Burgers; Day two: Barbequed Chicken; Day three: Ribs.   And yes, you can have all of that on Weight Watchers, although it's not quite advisable that you drink a bottle of wine while you're preparing it.  So Julie, my sister, and I poured ourselves a bourbon and gingerale instead.  We actually decided to spread the meal out over a couple of hours by eating in courses.  Here's a recap of our Friday night feast:

For appetizers, we made stuffed cherry tomatoes.  This is a WW recipe that we tried for the first time last week and we loved it.  Scoop out tomatoes, fill with a teaspoon of crumbled bleu cheese and then sprinkle with finely chopped bacon bits and chives.  Two stuffed cherry tomatoes or one stuffed cocktail tomato is only one point.  Absolutely delicious.

For the second course, we made a caesar salad of sorts with baked shrimp.  We took romaine leaves, very lightly dressed them with a combination of bottled caesar dressing (Girard's) and low fat italian.  I like combining the two, as the dressing is not so thick.  Then we shaved parmesan cheese on it and served it with little cheese toasts.   For the baked shrimp, we marinated it in lemon juice, garlic and a little olive oil.  We drizzled about 2 tablespoons of clarified butter on it and  baked it in 400 degree oven for about 7 minutes.  Again, this was really delicious.

We never quite got to the hamburgers even though that was supposed to be the star of the show.  We had planned on makinng little sliders.  But honestly, we just weren't hungry, so we stopped.  Now that is a novel idea!!!!  Half an hour later we did have a bit of blackberry fool.  But it really paled by comparison to the other dishes.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!  Let's all take a little time this weekend to remember our troops!  

Oh, and stay tuned.  BBQ Chicken and Corn tonight!

Ranch #2....Ed Saves the Day

Babers is an outdoor cat that lives on Chris' ranch.  Maybe Babers is going to miss the ranch more than any of us.  Miss Babers is a good mouser and a good birder (unfortunately). And she seems completely comfortable in the "wild" where the coyotes prowl.  But she did some wandering while I was visiting.

Chris: "I haven't seen the cat in two days."
Me: "Maybe she's just hiding in the garage."
Chris: "No.  She hasn't touched her food or used her cat box."
Ed: "Hmmph."
Chris: "I'm really worried that she's hurt."
Me: "C'mon, let's go find her."

So, Chris and I wander all around the ranch, calling out for Baby.  Well, Chris calls, I stay silent because as Chris says, Babers is very shy and won't come to anyone but her.  We search.  We look in the blackberry patch, the meadow, down by the creek, the skunk hill.  No Babers.  We come back up toward the house and the deck out back.  I am looking under the deck, next to the pool.  No Babers.  But then, Chris stops.

Chris: "You don't suppose she could get stuck down this post, do you?"

Me: "Down this skinny post?  Did she like to climb on the gazebo?

Chris: "I don't think so.  But listen.  There's definitely something stuck in this post......ED!!!!"

And twenty minutes later, after Ed took the gazebo apart, the bird was free.  Yes, I got a picture of the bird.  It flew right past me on the right and then on the left and then fluttered right in front of me, confused as it was. When it got its bearings it dashed off to the almond tree in the picture below.

I know, I know.  You can't see it?   In all my excitement, I was madly trying to get the picture as the bird flew first one way and then the other.  Photography will never be my forte.  But trust me he's there.....and Ed is a hero.

Oh, and the cat?  Chris found her sleeping soundly in the garage the next morning. Ed: 5;  Babers: 1; Chris and Sallee: 0.

Goodbye, Ranch.....#1

My sister and brother-in-law bought a beautiful 10 acre parcel in the Sierra Foothills over 15 years ago.  It had always been their dream to live in the country.  I remember that the whole family loved that land even before their house was built.  We used to go up for picnics.  Our dad pulled his camping trailer up there and parked it under a lovely stand of oaks right on the edge of the creek and for the first few years, Chris, my sister and her husband Ed, would camp out there.  We all had dreams of eventually building cabins on the property and having a place where we could "get away from it all".  Chris and Ed did build their house and moved up there a few years later.  But we are all getting older and this year they decided to leave the ranch and move back into a smaller, more manageable home. So I took one last trip up to the ranch to visit it the last time and say "goodbye". 

The photo on the left is their driveway.  It curves up to the left and if you look carefully you can see the cars parked in front of the garage.  A six car garage, by the way, that housed Ed's shop and tractors as well as Chris' framing business.  The photo on the right side gives you an idea of the view from their kitchen windows.  They wisely built a kitchen that was all windows and a view all the way to the Sierras in the distance. 

 Our dad liked to sit under this big black oak tree.  The land has many live oaks and a lot of almond trees from an old orchard.  But only a few black oaks.  This big old tree is next to the creek on one side and a large blackberry thicket on the other side.  All kinds of birds and other critters (some might call them varmints) live in that thicket.  At one point, Chris and Ed had a picnic table sitting under that tree.  In the summer, when the weather is hot, hot, hot, that is the coolest place on the ranch.  The deep shade, along with the gentle sound of the creek bubbling by, just made you feel cooler.  When I took this picture, yesterday, I could still see Daddy sitting there.  And then a family of quails scurried out of the thicket and added to the  happy memories.

Sometime after Dad died, Mom's health started failing.  Toward the end, she dreamed of building a house up on this hill.  From up on top, you can see for miles in all directions.  She never lived to see the house built, but the dream kept her going for many months.

This is a really special place and I will truly miss it.  The land is beautiful, the wildlife plentiful.  Deer, turkeys, skunks, squirrels,  hundreds of species of birds.  The neighbors have horses and cattle that you can see from Chris' kitchen window.  We always loved watching the new calves' first adventure into the fields in the spring.  Melissa, my niece, used to name them.  Last night, my last night ever on the ranch, we heard a coyote that couldn't have been more than thirty or forty yards from the house.  I took a ton of pictures and will share in future posts some of the other memories and stories about the ranch, including the most recent one, which happened yesterday, when Ed saved a trapped bird.  Stay tuned!!