Thursday, April 9, 2015

Not granny panties!


 
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17 yr old daughter and I recently spent a little mother/daughter time shopping in the big city. We cranked the tunes on the 2 hr drive to our nearest big city, sang and took pictures as we drove. It was great to connect with her. We hit a number of stores, you know the usual, Wallmart, groceries, a few mom and pop stores to drop off some copies of my latest paperback, lunch, the equine supply shop and then my daughter spied the LeSenza store. I’m only 40 but touring a ‘bra’ store with my daughter was… well… not the experience I’d like to repeat in the near future. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of pretty bras, water filled ones, gel ones, padded ones, lift ones and strapless wonders, but what sent a chill down my spine were the underwear. I’m talking about the panties. Yes, lacy little confections in pretty colors are nice and all but… there were tables and tables of tiny triangles held together with a string. Bright neon colors, straps that were little more than strings and tiny bits of lace that were designed to cover, well, nothing really.

Ok, I am not a prude, far from it, my kids can wear whatever they want as long as they don’t look like the neighbourhood hooker, heck my one son even sported an orange Mohawk when he was in grade 4, but really? Underwear are supposed to cover, well, you know, that region mom’s don’t want boys to be ogling on their teenage daughters… am I right here? And the prices? I usually pay $8 for a 6 pack of what my daughter calls ‘granny panties’. Yes, smart serviceable cotton briefs that cover what God intended they cover. 

 Anyway, after paying $60 for 9 pairs of panties… um lace postage stamps, I got thinking about how different under garments are from the regency and Georgian periods I write most of my romances in. Underwear back then was basically short pants and a thin chemise with a bit of a boost for those lovely ‘puppies’ used to lure a prospective husband, and let’s not forget those wonderful torture devices the corsets. It seems as the centuries accumulated the clothing thinned. That’s progress I guess. Have underwear become more comfortable? Well, the lack of corsets sure help, but honestly, I did try a G-string once and that little piece of string between my butt cheeks drove me crazy! I thought it was horribly uncomfortable and I will never get over that practically naked feeling. I’ll stick to my comfortable cotton ‘granny panties’ thank you! What do you think about the underwear of today compared to the regency period? 



Wednesday, April 8, 2015







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SPRING IS HERE AND FRESH TASTES ABOUND
Betty Jo Schuler

Have you planted your Spring garden yet?  Lots of good eating from the season…and some of it is ready to pick and eat 

I’ve always loved reading and can lose myself in a good book.  I got my first bee sting when I was a preteen sitting in a porch rocker and a pesky ‘fly’ kept bothering me and I kept swatting at it.  Yeow!  I still read a lot but open my eyes to buzzing sounds.

Another passion of mine is collecting recipes and preparing new dishes.  There were a lot of steps between the book and the bee and the book I wrote that launched my new career. 
My husband and I self-published it (an adventure in itself), had it printed and sent out flyers.  Creative Dieting, reviewed by a major tabloid, sparked a lot of interest and assignments for other publications. It was a science to write an appealing seven day diet with the exact calories and fat but I loved doing it. Then after a few years, Healthy Foods took center stage and the word “diets” almost disappeared, taking the fun and challenge out of writing them.
However, I still love recipes and I’d like to share them with you.

One of my favorites. 



CARAMELIZED BROILED ASPARAGUS   This great recipe caramelizes the sugar of the asparagus and really brings out its sweetness. Ez-Peeze to prepare.
1 pound asparagus (thicker spears)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
Preheat broiler.
On a baking sheet, toss the asparagus with the oil and ¼ teaspoon each of salt and pepper to coat. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer and broil 6 to 8 minutes, shaking the baking sheet occasionally until the spears are tender and slightly charred.

OVERNIGHT SALAD (So handy for picnics and potlucks)
½ lb. bacon
1 head cauliflower
1 head lettuce
1 C. Mayo
¼ cup sugar
2 or 3 green onions
Salt, pepper, grated Parmesan
Clean vegetables. Break cauliflower into small pieces. (I mostly remove the hard stem part.)  Cut up lettuce and green onions. Toss (no dressing yet).
Microwave the bacon. Break into bits.
Mix sugar and mayo (or Miracle Whip). Spread across the top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, and bacon. Cover and refrigerate for the next day. Toss when ready to serve.
CUCUMBERS IN SOUR CREAM (refreshing side dish)
2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
½ C. dairy sour cream
1 T. sugar
1 T. vinegar
½ tsp. salt
            Combine cucumbers and onion.  Stir together sour cream, sugar, salt, and vinegar.  Toss with vegetables.  Cover and chill, stirring occasionally.  Makes 3 cups.  (I like to use red wine vinegar and fat-free or “light” sour cream.)  Enjoy!

MINTED NEW PEAS
½ C. chopped green onions with tops
3 Tbsp. butter
2 cups shelled peas or 10 oz. pkg. frozen
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp salt and ¼ C dried rosemary, crushed
Cook onion in butter till tender. Add peas and rest of ingredients plus 1 Tbsp. water. Cover and cook till peas are just tender (10 to 12 mins)., adding a little more water if needed. Garnish with mint leaves and lemon twist.

So here’s one more dish that you might want to make for company…
LETTUCE WRAPS OR CUPS   So versatile and less calories than burritos, they’ve become quite popular. This is a recipe my sister-in-law used to serve with Fritos for dipping. But you can serve it over lettuce and it’s more like a main dish.  I like shredded lettuce.  There are so many types of lettuce and then there’s spinach and other kinds of greens.  If you need help distinguishing between them, ask the produce manager.
PARTY CHICKEN SALAD
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves.
½ C minced celery
¼ C. minced onion
2 big dill pickles, minced (or sweet if you prefer)
½ C. sour cream (regular or fat-free)
½ C. mayo or mayo-type salad dressing
Salt, pepper, dash sugar
Dash of dill pickle juice  

            Cook chicken and cool.  Process or grind chicken, celery, onion, and pickle.  Mix sour cream, mayo, salt, pepper, and sugar together, then stir into the chicken mixture. Chill for several hours so flavors blend.  (I use fat-free sour cream and fat-free Miracle Whip in this recipe and it tastes delicious. (I just can’t ditch the diet director role. LOL)  

Male Wanted by Betty Jo Schuler

Taylor Gayle advertises in The Town Crier for a male to date, but Max Stuart misprints her ad to indicate she’s looking for a “sadomasochistic male to mate” and includes her address. To atone for his mistakes, Max becomes her live-in protector. Now, who’s going to protect this high school librarian from the unbelievably sexy newspaper editor? And who’s going to save Max from this feisty Plain Jane’s charms?
            IS your mouth watering YET?   Thanks for reading and “eating” with me. Betty Jo 
Schuler 


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We've had some terrific new releases this past month.  From the story of a plantation owner's son who sets out on a terrifying and perilous journey, determined to find the Ohio River and freedom for his best friend and his friend's parents, despite the fact that all three of them are slaves that belong to the young lad's father.

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 Who murdered Lady Pentreath? The year is 1781, and the war with the American colonies rages across the sea. In Truro, England Branek Pentreath, a local squire, has suffered for years in a miserable marriage. Now his wife has been poisoned with arsenic. Is this unhappy husband responsible? Or was it out of revenge? Branek owns the apothecary shop where Jenna Rosedew, two years a widow, delights in serving her clients. Branek might sell her building to absolve his debts caused by the war—and put her out on the street. Jenna prepared the tinctures for Lady Pentreath, which were later found to contain arsenic. The town’s corrupt constable has a grudge against Branek and Jenna. He threatens to send them both to the gallows. Can this feisty widow and brooding squire come together, believe in each other’s innocence— fight the attraction that grows between them—as they struggle to solve the crime before it’s too late? Five Star Review from Historical Novels Reviews  
What if a native legend came back to life and was saddened by the destruction of his people, their culture and their environment?What if that legend was the Haida creator god Raven and he spirited away the girl you were falling in love with?What if you didn’t believe in native spiritualism and found yourself battling Raven with only a shaman to help you?
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Jain Ryan moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway. What she didn't figure was falling for and under the watchful eye of NYPD Detective Marcus O'Boyle, her brother's best friend.
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 It looks like straightforward suicide to Detective Janna Brill. Starship outfitter Andy Kellener locked himself in his office after hours and took a fatal drug dose. But Brill’s exasperating new partner Mama Maxwell thinks it’s murder, and his chief suspect is Kellener’s partnerCLICK TO BUY

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