Tasty Tuesday - Oatmeal?

Many of you know I'm a scent-ual person. I love my senses! So let me take you on a journey and experience the sense of smell.

First, make a nice hot bowl of oatmeal. Not the fancy flavored kind, but the good old fashioned kind.

Now close your eyes. Well... you might have to keep them open to read this.

Breath in.

First is the heart of the smell. By breathing in your oatmeal, you smell the odor of the oats. But that is not the heart of the odor. Close your eyes. Breathe in. Relax. Breathe in the world of fire, ashes, clothes, home, nature, sky, the universe and heaven. You will feel your consciousness penetrate to the heart of the smell. This is real. It is delicious.

Next take a bit of the oatmeal. Savor it. Allow your sense of taste penetrate to the heart of taste. This contains all the flavors of the earth. This is the unique savor.

Even though the oat flakes have lost their form in the cooking process, they have taken on a "heart form" which is something more that what one experiences in a moment.

Do you remember when you mother told you to slow down and not eat so fast? Have you noticed how many diets tell you to eat slowly? Perhaps if you head these words, you will experience the true meaning of taste and enjoyment of food. Savor those sips and bites. Let the flavor travel past your lips, across your tongue, and feel it enter your body.

A simple meal of basic food can be a sensual or should I say, scent-ual" experience. Enjoy!

Excerpt from Presbyterian 101

Mother

Yes, it is one thing all Presbyterian share… we all have a Mother. In our faith we don’t put Mothers on a pedestal or worship them, but we do honor them. We honor those in the bible and those in our lives. Not only do we honor the women who gave birth to us, but we also the women who made a positive difference in our lives.

If you can, take a moment to think about your own mother. Do you remember the warm hugs, the gentle words, the guiding hand, the care she gave you? How many times as she told you the story of your birth, or adoption, with a sparkle in her eye? The bible speaks of birth as a miracle, today we still refer to it as such; and we see a miracle each time we gaze into the face of a child.

Take another moment to think of a woman who helped you somewhere along the way. Was it a teacher at school, or perhaps your Sunday school teacher? A neighbor or a friend’s parent, or maybe even a member or your church family.

If you are a child, write a story or draw a picture for that person and give it to her. Bake some cookies and do something nice for her. Tell her you love her.

If you are an adult, interview that special lady and ask questions about where she was born, where she grew up, what her childhood was like, what her faith was like what jobs she had, what interests she had – make a biography. Bake her cookies and do something nice for her. Tell her you love her.

Mother
Blessings of: Psalm 113:9; Isaiah 40:11
Comfort of: Isaiah 66:12-13
Duties of: Titus 2:4; Proverbs 31: 26-27,30
Gift of God: Psalm 113:9
Praised by her family: Proverbs 31:28
To be honored and cared for: Genesis 32:11; Proverbs 23:22; John 19:27; Ephesians 6:2

A Poem

My 28 year old nephew was killed in a car accident this week in Florida. He's featured in the above photo with his parents and sister. He left behind a 2 yr old son.

I won't be able to attend the funeral, I'm stuck in Michigan, so I wrote this poem for him. I hope my family likes it.

Joshua
The Hebrew form of the Greek name Jesus.
The name by which Jesus was known by His friends.
Meaning God is Salvation.

Joshua
A son, a father,
A nephew, a cousin,
A friend, a leader.

Joshua
Our Josh
A toe-head boy
With shining blue eyes
Hugs for all
And a never ending smile.

Joshua
Our Josh
A teenager with dreams
The love of baseball
Flirtatious banter
And a never ending smile.

Joshua
Our Josh.
A generous man
Willing to lend a helping hand
A kind soul
And a never ending smile.

Joshua
Our Josh.
Chosen by the Lord,
A guardian angel to his son
Leader of souls on the baseball team in the sky,
And a never ending smile.

Joshua
A leader, a friend
A cousin, a nephew
A father, a son.

And he is still smiling.

Indie Bookstores Press On Despite Economy

A look at what independent bookstores in Michigan are doing to keep sales up in a tough economy.

by Jennifer Guerra

Independent bookstore fans who live in the Ann Arbor area have probably heard that Shaman Drum Bookstore might close. Well, there's good news from bookstore owner, Karl Pohrt:

"I'm going to move ahead and continue to do this store."

The store will look a little bit different - the top floor for university text books is gone. Instead, there's one main floor for trade paperbacks and hard covers, and it could become a non-profit. Down the street Borders isn't doing so well. The Ann Arbor-based bookstore posted a 57% drop in 4th quarter earnings, and it plans to cut expenses by $120 million this year. So Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra went out to find how others Michigan bookstores are doing.

The tiny town of Mason, Michigan is located between Jackson and Lansing. There's an independent bookstore there called Bestsellers Bookstore and Coffee. When I visited on a Tuesday morning, it was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning: there's Bill the local minister, Rollin Dart whose family owns the local bank, and a group of ladies in the corner doing Bible study.

At the center of it all is Jamie Robinson. She's the owner. She opened the independent bookstore 12 years ago, back then she only sold books. About four years ago she bought a bigger building and added an espresso bar and some breakfast snacks, which she says has done wonders for business:

"Oh yeah, before maybe you'd have 40 people a day, now we're probably running 150 people a day through the doors, yeah."

She says about every other person that comes in for coffee buys a book. But book sales are still pretty flat. Plus, she's competing against Google books, Amazon.com and to a lesser extent Kindle and other digital books. So you'd think, given the recession, she'd be nervous about the future of indie bookstores. But you'd be wrong.

"No, I'm really not. It's a great niche. Most generally if people want to stop local, they still are very conscientious that we have a brick and mortar building. That when school groups come and say can I sell Girl Scout cookies here...Amazon has never hosted an author reading, Amazon has never had a book sale for a local community charity. People that realize the value of independents, they'll wait a couple days for a book."

Turns out Robinson's experience isn't the exception.

Jim Dana says "for the most part they're doing alright."

Dana is executive director of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association. It's a kind of umbrella organization for indie book stores in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. He says it's hard for any business to do well in a recession.

"Our stores actually got through the holidays better than they thought, I think. So they came out of the holidays with a sense of confidence that they could get through this is. For the most part, there are a few exceptions."

As far as new independent bookstores go, last year was pretty much a wash for Michigan: 7 stores opened, and 7 stores closed.

In the early 90s, there were around 4,500 independent bookstores nationwide that were members of the American Booksellers Association. Now there are about 1,800.

The ones that seem to make it have turned their bookstores into community centers. They hold open mic nights, sell coffee or wine, and offer writing classes.

Lara Zielin is a Michigan author. She has a new book coming out for young adults coming out in August. It's called "Doughnut Days." She's rooting for the 1,800 indie bookstores to survive. She says, like a lot of first time authors, she's going to rely pretty heavily on indie bookstores to get the word out about her book, because getting her foot in the door at a big bookstore chain is pretty hard.

"There's usually 1 buyer at the top for the big bookstores, and so if the buyer at one of those big bookstores doesn't like your book, they won't carry a lot of copies. But with indie bookstores, for example, someone who might just work the cash register might get a hold of a galley that comes in. They'll read it, love it, and then tell the owner that they love it. And it's much more likely for the bookstore to carry it. So it's not just one person who is the decider. There's lots of deciders.

And it seems like the deciders in Michigan's independent bookstore world are determined to stick around.



Special thanks to Michigan Public Radio for featuring this outstanding and positive article!!!!!!

Tormented Soul Excerpt

Blurb -
Erick McAlister is known as London’s Most Dangerous Bachelor; he enjoys scotch,women, and spending time in the London underground club, The Skunk’s Den.He’s never had a real relationship; women only want him for one thing- he desires more.

When the one he vowed he would never toy with, Lynn Westmore, gives him an unexpected proposition, his life takes an enjoyable turn. Just as he is beginning to find happiness, tabloids headline him, a woman from his past announces she’s expecting his child, someone is trying to kill him, and he finds himself questioning his relationship with the young courier he’s hired to teach him to ride his new motorcycle. Even though his life is in torment, he begins to believe in love, something he never thought he’d feel.

Unfortunately, Lynn doesn’t think Erick could ever be faithful to one woman, let alone be in love with her, so when she finds herself in love with him she runs. Erick falls into a spiral of depression, and it takes his brother and closest friends to bring him to his senses.

When he finds out a magazine has rated him as the World’s Most Dangerous Bachelor, he agrees to do the interview only if Lynn is the photographer and he uses the opportunity to let Lynn know
how he feels; he offers his heart to her one more time...



Excerpt #2:

Erick stretched out his legs as Penny rushed up the stairs. He found himself becoming very attached to his four-legged friend: it was easy to care for her and even worry about her. After he hired a dog walker to take her out around lunchtime for a stroll, he had a peace of mind.

The phone rang and he raced up the steps.

“McAlister,” he answered.

“A large crate arrived for you today,” Andrew’s voice came through the line. “Would you care to elaborate what is going on?”

“Do you know what it is?” Erick puffed.

“Bloody hell, I do! Are you nuts?”

“Only as much as you are.”

“Fair enough.”

“Go ahead and open it if you want.”

“What? And spoil your fun! Never! When are you coming to Sussex?”

“I’ll leave tomorrow. Can you send your driver to get me?”

“No problem. How do you intend to get this beast back to London?”

“I’ve hired a courier to teach me to ride. I’ll bring him with me.”

“A courier! Those creatures are lunatics who are more intended for motor sports rather than driving on the streets of London!”

“Oh, I think you’ll like Duncan. He reminds me of someone. You’ll see what I mean.”

“Argh!” Andrew groaned.

“You enjoy riding. You own a motorcycle.”

“I own a Harley. A piece of art. This is an engine with a saddle!” He paused. “You’re going to love it, mate.”

“Thanks.” Erick smiled. “We will see you tomorrow night.”

Erick relaxed and put his feet up in the Rolls Royce. Penny was curled next to him, dreaming what dogs do. He looked out the back window and saw Duncan following on his motorcycle. He had passed a note to the courier when he arrived in the morning. Life had become busy for Erick between business and the occasional dinner with Peter and Abby; he only saw Duncan at work and occasionally was joined by him on an evening jog with Penny.

They traveled past the gatehouse and up to the entrance of Hampton House. Penny jumped out with excitement when Andrew, Elizabeth and Lady greeted them. Duncan turned off his engine, took off his helmet and looked around as he slowly dismounted his bike. Erick took his sister and Andrew over to meet him.

“Duncan,” Erick called to him. “I’d like you to meet my sister, Elizabeth and her husband Andrew.”

Elizabeth drew her breath when Duncan looked at her.

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Somerby.” Duncan broke the spell and held out a hand to Andrew. “Mr. Somerby.”

“Please, call us by our first names,” Andrew said.

“You are really him.” Duncan couldn’t take his eyes off Andrew’s stripe. “You’re Puzzola!”

“Yes.” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, wow!” Duncan stomped his booted foot and spun around with excitement. “I love your work. I could never afford your work, so I framed your publicity posters. Oh, man! I cannot believe I’m standing here with you. Wait until I tell my friends!”

Andrew and Erick looked at each other and laughed.

“I think I like this kid.” Andrew teased. “Say, do you want to take a look at your box or eat first?”

“You have to ask?” Erick took off with long strides to the garage.

Andrew had a crowbar with a bow tied on it waiting for Erick. Erick laughed, grabbed it and began to open the crate. Andrew stood behind Elizabeth with his arms wrapped around her watching Erick and his younger twin tear at the wood. The sides fell down to expose the sleek, black and chrome machine.

“Yes!” Erick caressed it as if it were a naked woman. “Beautiful, and all mine. What do you think, Andrew?”

“She’s a beauty all right.” He looked it all over with scrutiny. “She’s ready to go. I had my man from the local shop come over and service it. Then we nailed it back up. Why don’t you start the engine?”

Erick threw his leg over and sat in the saddle, then turned the key. He revved the engine and looked at everyone. Elizabeth was laughing at him, Andrew nodded his approval, and Duncan walked around checking out the features on the bike.
“
Give it a go!” yelled Duncan.