Category: (it's all about the) food

Mary Ann and me

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, author, books, italian, Karen's Kitchen, local fun

Mary mary-ann-espositoAnn Esposito and I go way back. Okay, sort of.

I met her in real life at a Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School event in 2008. (Also, once I saw her at the Market Basket, but I didn’t actually talk to her. Does that count?)

I really met her for the first time in my younger years, watching her on TV. She hosted  Ciao Italia on PBS. Years later, I watched all the reruns, too.

She is a skilled, wonderful cook, as anyone who has ever watched Ciao Italia knows. She was as warm and funny and caring in person as she was on TV.

I’m Italian, as anyone who knows me knows. I learned so much not only about cooking, but about life and how to live it from my Italian nana, Mary. Meeting Mary Ann, watching her cook in the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School’s cucina, gave me back that feeling of being with my grandmother in her kitchen again for a few hours.
Being with your people: Priceless.

Anyway, Mary Ann Esposito is also an author. The Stonewall event was a cooking class and a book signing. She was kind enough to sign my book, and gracious enough to pose for a photo with me. Here’s how much it meant to me: I was able to put my hand on this photo of us from 2008 literally in seconds. I knew exactly where it was.

I am beyond excited to tell you that she will be at the New England Authors Expo March 31st event: 2017 Authors Night by the Sea, in Portsmouth, NH, signing her books. I will be there, too, signing my novel, One Brave Thing.

And visiting with Mary Ann. Maybe I’ll even get another photo with her.

Life’s funny, isn’t it?

me-and-mary-ann-on-the-authors-list

Click here for the information, if you want to come!

 

MOVIE REVIEW: Patriot’s Day

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food

patriots_day_ver3

I went to see Patriot’s Day  at the movies this week. I was anxious about seeing it, because I had some personal connections to those events and locations surrounding the Boston Marathon tragedy in 2013, so I didn’t know how I would react emotionally. It’s actually because of this that I felt I needed to see it.

Overall, I am glad I went, even though I didn’t like it very much.

Or at all.

This movie was much gorier than it had to be to deliver the same message, in my opinion. It was grisly, gruesome, violent, and bloody (these are most of the synonyms I could find for ‘gory’, because I thought just one ‘gory’ didn’t fully convey my horror).

I’m a nurse, but I’m not that kind of nurse.

When I am watching something that I want to hide from, I am able to put my severe nearsightedness to work to my advantage. I just push those glasses up to my forehead and then the screen is blurry and out of focus enough to allow me to, you know, stay in the theater.

And it wasn’t just during the bombing scene. The soul-crushing bloody guts and death went on and on. And on. In many scenes thereafter.

Early in the movie, I noticed the camera was lingering on the legs and feet of the beautiful couple in the apartment. I realized, oh, these are people who are going to lose their limbs in the bombing. Ugh. Predictable. Terrible.

On the plus side, Mark Wahlburg was amazing in his role as the Boston cop. Hello? Can I just say what a breath of fresh air it is to hear someone speak with a ‘Boston accent’ who really has one and doesn’t murder it?

OMG. See how all that brutality informed my writing just now?
There was also an older man playing a Watertown cop whose acting stole the scene (so sorry that I don’t know his name). And the female Framingham cop on the roof? She nailed it.

About midway through the movie, 4 or 5 youths came into the theater with their hoods pulled up over their heads and one even had on (gasp!) a backpack. I am embarrassed to admit that, at the sight of this, I felt fear. I mean, the bombs in Boston were packed in backpacks. Batman flashed through my mind. I was very glad to hold the hand of my husband sitting to my left, between me, my daughter, and them.

So, I think Patriot’s Day is an important movie but I would say that, if you can, you should be kind to yourself and wait for the cleaned up made-for-TV version.

On the radio with Megan Brady

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food
**UPDATE: Here is the link to listen to the interview!**
http://www.edgeradioarchives.com/audio/121916creameronbravething.mp3
I was just interviewed about my book by Megan Brady for her show “The Morningline with Megan Brady” for EdgeRadio (an online streaming station through Seacoast Media Group).
smg2How wonderful it is to be interviewed by someone who is great at it (thank you, Megan). I felt comfortable right away, like I was having coffee with a friend. Which, I sort of was. I mean, I did bring my coffee, my current favorite, Spicy Eggnog (was that wrong?). And Megan was very friendly.  🙂
We talked about how I wrote the first draft of my book, One Brave Thing, during NaNoWriMo in 2010, and my blog, kwrites.com.  I mentioned how people can ask to join the One Brave Thing Private Facebook Group for readers and purchasers of my book, and about how I interview one reader a month about ‘one brave thing’ that they’ve done in their own lives. Click here for the current list of The BRAVE Interviews. We also talked about my upcoming book, which is related to One Brave Thing. The working title is: What if Bebe Stays with Steven?
I know, right?!
And we talked about the Stephen King trick of putting the draft of your manuscript away in a drawer for a while to give you some perspective on it. Megan reminded me of Joey Tribbiano’s trick of putting Stephen King’s book in the freezer! So I leave you with this clip, to leave you with a laugh today:
My talk with Megan Brady will air Monday morning at some point between 6AM-10AM. 
Click here to listen on Monday morning for my interview (not sure what time yet!) or anytime, just to listen! After it airs, I will be posting the audio clip on my blog, so if you miss the show you can still hear the interview.

The power of one

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, author, book reviews, books, family, friends, Holidays, local fun, writing

I have been giving a lot of talks at local libraries. For my most recent one, I personally invited and Facebook invited a lot of people.

yorklibraryphoto2

A lot.

Plus, it was a full moon in Gemini (my sign)! At 7:05pm! And my talk started at 7:00PM!

I know this is a busy time of year for us all, but I was expecting at least 10 people or so.

When it 6:59pm and still no one had come, I began to consider that maybe I had saturated my geographic location.

If no one came (as I have heard sometimes happens, but thankfully had never happened to me), my Plan B was to have my husband make a video of me reading so I could post it on my YouTube Channel (still evolving–don’t judge it). At least this would be time well spent, right?

What I learned: Don’t accept a time slot that starts when the library is CLOSED. Duh. I’m not sure why they even did that… oh, wait. Yes, I do. I took the slot because I was hoping to sell a lot of books before Christmas, and this was the only December slot they had. They had one slot available in January, but I thought people might not come out in the cold when they weren’t possibly out already, shopping for the holidays (books make great gifts!). Note: the temperature was in the 20’s last night.

And then, at 7:05pm, one person came into the room.

My audience had arrived. She probably didn’t really feel like going out, but she wanted to support a fellow writer/author, and guess what?

SHE DID.

Thank you again, Katherine. ❤

For some reason, this song was in my head on my way home from the event, so I am including it here for your listening pleasure:

One week ONE BRAVE THING Kindle Sale!!!

by Karen, posted in books, Brave books, shopping, writing

For one week only, One Brave Thing will be for sale on Kindle for only 99 cents! If you have already liked my book, please consider sharing this post with any of your friends who prefer to get their books on Kindle.

amazon-cover

This special price is in effect only from December 9th (TODAY!) through December 16th, 2016.  Click HERE!

Thank you!

 

Look what I FOUND at FOUND!

by Karen, posted in author, books, Fashion Sense, quest for the best, shopping

I followed the articles in the local papers about the evolution of FOUND, a shop that is the vision of FOUNDer 🙂 foundPamela Bennett. Pamela wanted to showcase the talents of Maine women (and some men!) who create from the heart and give them a venue in which to make their products available to people who might not otherwise find them.

 

For example, Amy Rose of  Amy Rose Made in Maine makes lovely jewelry. One of my favorite pieces is her silver charm of the state of Maine on a silver chain. Find it at FOUND, as well as at her ETSY shop: Amy Rose Made in Maine. Below in the slideshow are some photos of her products.

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Also, Jeanne Emerson has some of her designs at FOUND. This is her process (paraphrased from her website): Eco-printing, sometimes known as botanical printing, uses the natural dyes in flowers, leaves and other natural materials to produce one of kind, magical and beautiful designs on paper and fabrics. Check out the slideshow below to see her scarves and cards.

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FOUND also has books! Kathy Eliscu’s wonderful book is there, Not Even  Dark Chocolate can Fix This Mess! Kathy’s book is about Tink, a woman in midlife who is so busy saying ‘yes!’ to everyone else that she starts to lose track of herself. She becomes overwhelmed, and then makes a mistake that turns into a big (you guessed it!) mess. Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down!

My book, One Brave Thing, is also at FOUND. Bebe wants to get married some day but keeps picking guys that are wrong for her. She learns from her mistakes, however, and in the process, learns how to stand up for herself and trust her gut about how to live her life.

me-and-kathy-at-found

Find signed copies of both books at FOUND!

I have given you just a small sampling of the amazing gifts at this great shop. Have some Christmas shopping left to do? Stop in at FOUND in Kennebunk, Maine! You will be able to find a beautiful gift for everyone on your list.

You’re welcome!

The BRAVE Interview #3 October 2016: Sheila Brownlow

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, friends, health, Interviews, The BRAVE Interviews

Here is #3 in The BRAVE Interview series! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How,  (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’! November’s interview is with Sheila Brownlow!

scale

WHO AM I?  Sheila Brownlow

MY ONE BRAVE THING—when, where, with whom:  I have stopped discussing eating, how upset I am at my eating, how much I weigh, whether I am peeved at myself for overeating, how awful I am for not weighing 110 lbs., whined about how I can’t eat like a normal person anymore at age 55, or otherwise wasting time – precious time – talking with my friends, so many good friends….about eating and weight.  Not in person, not online.  For one month. 

WHY DO I THINK THIS IS BRAVE?  I’m at this age/stage of my life where I’ve felt compelled to start every interaction with a justification of how I look and why I don’t look like a 30-year old anymore. It’s not ok to essentially apologizing for myself to start every interaction.  To me it’s brave because I have completely shifted my lens on the world.

WHY:  Because I waste so much time and energy where I could be helping others, learning things, doing things, having meaningful conversations, being supportive, just being in the moment…with all this constant food and weight talk I am taking away from the productive possibilities of my life and my friends’ lives. 

So how do I feel about this?  Well, I miss commiserating, and I’m still working on not “leading” with that foot in every conversation (“let’s talk about food, eating, how much, when, regrets…again?”).  I think I am listening better rather than just winding up to say how upset I am about this that or the other weight thing. 

Can I continue?  I don’t know.  Maybe if we all spent a month on something other than our food and body appearance we could make a lot of changes in the world.

Thank you so much, Sheila!

From sh*t list to hit list

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, He and me, local fun, movies

I have recently written about my evolving taste in movies. That got me thinking about some other things that I like now that I used to hate.

Here are a few:

  1. Fish. With the exception of canned tuna, I hated fish. This may have stemmed from when I was young and mom made fish sticks for supper, which I tried to decline. No way. Food on the plate? We ate it. Whether we liked it or not was not even a consideration. We were a family struggling to get by on food stamps. Anyway, she made me sit at the table for hours, telling me I couldn’t get up until I ate it all. I got it down drowned in a quart of ketchup, while sitting on the floor under the table in protest. After I moved to Maine, my husband told me I had to start eating fish, because, you know, it’s the law. I have heard you have to try something you dislike 17 times before your tastes change and you actually like it (“He likes it! Hey, Mikey!). Now I love fried whole clams, haddock, cod, calamari, and I’ve even been known to eat some of Gorton’s crunchy fish sticks (without ketchup!) on occasion.
  2. Margaritas. I used to make fun of women who went out for a drink and chose a margarita. Hello? Classic cliché! And then I tried a strawberry hibiscus margarita at Pedro’s in Kennebunk. Oh. My. God. May I just say that now I am a cliché–I mean a fan?
  3. Christian music. I never paid any attention to my friends who said, “Hey, you should listen to it. I bet you’d really like it!” And then my daughter started putting KLOVE on in the car. And I started listening to it. Guess what? I really like it! Hey Mikey!
  4. Exercise. No, wait. I still hate that.
margarita
Pineapple Coconut Margarita at Side Street Cafe

I will leave you with this look back at Mikey. Enjoy!

 

SPOTLIGHT ON: Nonesuch Books, Biddeford ME

by Karen, posted in author, books, Crystals, local fun, shopping

There is a great book store in Biddeford: Nonesuch Books. They have books for sale, of course, both new and used. They also have a lot of interesting magazines along the left side wall of the store, complete with strategically placed chairs, to aid and abet your magazine perusal.

🙂

What you might not know is how many other cool things they sell.

  1. Some of the best little greeting cards I’ve ever seen; I buy them in lots.
  2. Himalayan Salt Lamps! At a very good price!
  3. Lots of wind chimes and prisms!
  4. Engraved stones…I found one with myoneword for 2016 on it! Grace!
  5. Tarot card decks! As if you can ever have enough of those…
  6. Stonewall Kitchen products!
  7. Candles!
  8. Chocolate!

This and that at nonesuch

And of course, the best thing they sell is my book, One Brave Thing! I stopped by last night and they still have 2 copies left.

Nonesuch my book

Just sayin’.

Learning from others

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Animals and pets, author, Brave books, local fun, writing

I went to the Kennebunk Community Market a few weeks ago, and I saw another author selling her books. Hello? Great idea! She was very Kimberly Suekind and answered all of my (zillions of) questions about how she got started and such.

I loved how she set up her table, how visually appealing it was, and spent several minutes admiring it. I am always looking for ideas for how to arrange my books and paraphernalia, and I take my inspiration where I find it.

This is Kimberly Sue McLaughlin, author of Come Running When I Call. I know this book is about a girl and her horse (because I talked with the author and read the cover!) but I haven’t yet read it myself. It is on my list! I love reading books by local authors, especially those that I’ve met.

You’ll know when I’ve finished reading it because I will post a review of the book right here on my blog.

You don’t have to wait for that though! You can come down to the Kennebunk Community Market on Saturday morning and buy your own copy, signed for you by the author! While you are there, stop by my table, where I will be selling and signing my book, One Brave Thing!

P.S. I will have chocolate. 🙂