BREAD

March 29, 2020 / janpriddyoregon / 4 Comments

When I retired I intended to revive a college habit of baking a braided loaf on Fridays. I used to make it entirely by hand and I once broke a wooden spoon beating the sponge. This loaf is only three strands and I always braided four, but it’s a tasty loaf.

We have all our mail through this past Thursday. I baked bread the next day. We’re still getting our early walks, but there are unfamiliar people and dogs on the beach today. Yesterday the gale force wind was desperately chilling in the morning. Today is mild. So. Walking, baking, writing, and staying safe.

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The Mentalist: Reward and Routine

March 25, 2020November 28, 2020 / janpriddyoregon / Leave a comment

Getting through a national crisis might be a little crazy like a police consultant following instinct and impression or it might be orderly like completing a knitted pair of socks. Maybe it’s a little of both. I have one sock of a pair in the works, knit top down. The leg part is done, the heel flap, and the heel is turned. I also have five book-length projects I could be working on just now, at least 350k words that need work. I could be working on revising those books, or I could be painting the hallway even though there is snow on the hills behind my house. (Because the paint is zero-VOC and I have brushes and a roller ready to go.) I could scrub dust from the baseboards or the molding of the bathroom door. I could sort my books or bake sweet rolls. I still have plenty of flour, five eggs, and sis sticks of butter. I could bake something. My husband says I should be doing our taxes. And I have the time.

I am not going anywhere anytime soon.

Instead, I want to watch season 6 of The Mentalist. Continue reading →

ASSIGNMENT #1: Fable

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020 / janpriddyoregon / Leave a comment

Today, and at least for the following four Mondays, I will post a writing assignment. Then later in the week, a weird revision strategy.

Just for fun, write a fable . . . We will follow the conventions (rules) of a fable, at least at the beginning. They are relatively easy rules. If you have a computer and prefer to type, you may use it or write it out long hand. The assignment is short—that’s one of the rules. Continue reading →