The Power of Music – IT’S MY TURN

As a voracious reader since childhood, I have always been acutely aware of the profound effect of books and the written word.  Pictures, not quite as much.  There was the cliche, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Seriously…1,000 words?  That’s a lot of words.  However, as I grow older (I said “older,” not “old”), I have become more attuned to ALL my senses.  I prefer to think I have a heightened awareness to life.  I take increased delight in photos that stir memories, scents that transport me more soundly than a time machine…and music.  Ah, music.

 Music has become a way for my spirit to wing its way to another day and time…and sometimes just to savor and embellish the here and now.  A song doesn’t even have to have a deep underlying meaning.  Sometimes it’s just fixing a certain time/day/era that’s meaningful in and of itself.

 One such song is It’s My Turn, sung by Diana Ross.  I love that song!  The irony is I loved the movie as well, although it has taken some hard knocks by reviewers.  Art is so subjective!  I want a DVD copy of that movie sooooo badly, but it doesn’t exist.  I don’t understand why.  It would sell at least ONE copy…to me <g>.  If anyone ever comes across a copy, please let me know.

 It’s My Turn captivated me when it was released in 1980.  I can’t even tell you why.  I went to the movies alone, it held no attachment to anything going on in my life at the time, and yet I fell in love with the character-driven movie…AND THE SONG.    That’s the beauty of music.  Did I like the movie for the music or the music because of the movie?  Who knows.  It doesn’t matter WHY.  I just know I came away from that movie enchanted for all time for some reason. 

Fast forward to 2011.  It’s My Turn, the song, is still a favorite of mine and I listen to it whenever I feel like it…just because it makes me feel good.

Do you have songs that create a mood for you or take you away to last week, last year, or another lifetime?  What songs are YOUR personal time machines?

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Craving Cuban Cuisine

I started this blog with “Reading, Writing, and Cruising” as some of my favorite things, but I’ve decided I’d also like to talk about some of my other passions…food, movies, and music. 

First up is my craving for some really good Cuban food.  The best I ever had was many, many years ago in Miami at a restaurant called Bilbao.  Has anyone heard of it?  Better yet, does anyone here remember it?  I enjoyed the BEST Paella and Sangria there.  That was my first time experiencing either, and I’ll never forget how delicious they were. I can almost taste the red wine and fruit in the Sangria even now. 

What Cuban food do you like to eat the most? 

 

As a tribute to my passion for Cuban food (which I really should learn how to make),  here is a recipe for Sangria that sounds really yummy.

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SANGRIA

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine
• 1/2 cup triple sec
• 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 1 lime, sliced into rounds
• 1/4 cup white sugar (optional)
• 8 maraschino cherries
• 2 cups carbonated water (optional)

Directions

1. In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.

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STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. Sigh!!!

I just finished listening to JULIET by Anne Fortier (audiobook version, narrated by Cassandra Campbell.)  What a fabulous book, in my opinion!!!

I have been a fan of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet since I was a teenager.  I first fell in love with the story when I saw the 1968 movie adaptation starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting.  I couldn’t get enough of that movie when I was a young woman.  That meant going to the movie theater over and over to see the movie, which I did.  Several years later, I bought my first VHS recorder, and Romeo & Juliet was my first movie purchase. 

That being said, I was naturally drawn to the book JULIET like a moth to a flame.  I found the multi-layed past/present plots fascinating and the romance completely satisfying.  Sigh!  I want to emphasize you do NOT have to be a fan of Shakespeare to enjoy JULIET, though.  MY love of the story may have added a deeper level of enjoyment for me, but it’s not mandatory.  I do believe you’ll still enjoy the story if you like mystery and romance combined and especially if you can appreciate the author’s weaving 14th Century and the present day world into a complex interpretation of Romeo & Juliet.  Apparently this is Anne Fortier’s debut novel, and I am impressed! 

This book was perfect for the romantic in me who believes in neverending love. 

Jamie Ford, the author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (which I also HIGHLY recommend) reviewed JULIET in part by writing:

“Our story begins when Julie’s beloved Aunt Rose dies, leaving Julie and her twisted sister, Janice orphaned. (Their parents died years earlier in Tuscany). But while Aunt Rose leaves the family estate to Janice, Julie is bequeathed next to nothing, just a passport, a key, and a secret–that her real name is Giulietta Tolomei, a descendant of the Tolomeis and the Salembenis, the real families that inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—and that the “Curse upon both your houses,” is alive and well, 600 years later.

With exquisite detail and flawless pacing, Juliet is a multi-layered tapestry of Julie’s present and Giulietta’s 14th-century past, where families, generations apart, are still at each other’s throats. Betwixt tragedy and epic romance, Juliet will stir your heart and quicken your pulse. After all, if Julie is Giulietta, then where art thou, Romeo?”

In closing, all I can add is…E N J O Y this novel.  I’d love feedback from anyone who has already read and savored JULIET. 

 

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Playing Tourist in Miami – Strawberries and Passion Fruit Wine

What a fun day I had yesterday way way way south in the Redland Riot area of Homestead, Florida.  My husband and I spent Valentine’s Day acting like tourists and visiting places we had never gone to.  The weather was beyond perfect, and we wanted to get outdoors and savor the moment.  We drove and drove and drove through farm country.

Our first stop was the Knaus Berry Farm.  All I can say is yum, yum, yum.  The fresh Florida produce thankfully has not been harmed by the “cold” winter we’ve had.  I bought a basket of perfectly ripe, delectable tomatoes that I yearned for all day today and devoured some of for dinner tonight.   The lettuce, onions, beets, strawberries…all the fruits and vegetables were amazing.  What a difference just picked FRESH PRODUCE makes.  Speaking of which, you can pick your own strawberries there, but I’m too afraid of creepy crawly things. 

My husband veered from the produce area over to the ice cream stand and couldn’t resist a huge strawberry sundae LOADED with jumbo fresh sliced strawberries.

After perusing my trusty map, we headed to the Fruit and Spice Park.  This was the EDUCATIONAL part of our day, where I learned how significant this Park really is.  According to the “guide” in the Park office, we learned the Fruit and Spice Park’s tropical climate can be found nowhere else in the continental U.S. due to a combination of latitude, longitude, and obviously climate.  The Park has over 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, and nuts, and other commercially important plant specimens from around the world. 

My head was spinning from information overload (not really but the only way I can justify the next photo).  We walked outside…I was feeling frisky…and…

One day off from court reporting and I go crazy!

Then we meandered down the road a pace (I was getting into this rural mode quickly and decompressing from a few HECTIC work weeks) and stopped at Schnebly’s Winery. 

Exotic tropical fruit wines are for sale at Schnebly Redland’s Winery, featuring such local delicacies as mango, guava, lychee, passion fruit and carambola.

Schnebly Redland’s Winery is the first winery in Miami-Dade County and holds the distinction of being the Southernmost winery in the United States. 

 

I couldn’t pass up the wine tasting and tried five wines.  I liked the carambola quite a bit, liked the lychee but wouldn’t drink a lot of it, and did not like the avocado, although I love avocados.  Go figure.  On Valentine’s Day I absolutely HAD to try the passion fruit.  Yes!

So there you have it.  Quite a different sort of “field trip” for me…but lots of fun.  Today I had to give up the Carmen Miranda look and head back to the courthouse and WORK again <g>.

 

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Share a Kiss — at least a Chocolate and Peanut Butter one

I thought I’d share a yummy recipe to continue my Hershey’s Kisses theme for Valentine’s Day.

PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

Ingredients:

48 Hershey’s Kisses

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup peanut butter (I like Peter Pan)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
2. 2 Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
3. 3 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. 4 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

 E N J O Y ! ! !

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February & Romance

Ahhh, it’s February, which connotes Valentine’s Day…and romance.  I’m a romance author, a romance reader, and a consummate romantic.  I believe in love…<g>.

What fun!  February actually has a designated day to celebrate romance.  What better way to mark the day than with CHOCOLATE?  Yummmmmmm.  What is YOUR favorite chocolate?  Yes, there are all kinds of special confections, but one of my passions is Hershey’s Kisses…small delectable morsels of chocolately goodness.  Unlike M&Ms, Kisses dooooo melt in your mouth, which makes them sooooo special.

I know the correct word is “music,” but to use a bit of poetic license:  “If chocolate be the food of love…”  Well, you get the idea.

This is also a great month for romantic comedies.  Some old favorites come to mind, Sleepless in Seattle (in which Valentine’s Day was very important), Serendipity (more chocolate), and Simply Irresistible.  Then there is a newer film, Valentine’s Day. What are your favorite romantic comedies and/or romance movies? 

How about romantic books?  What are your favorites?

Whatever your passion this month, ENJOY…and Happy Valentine’s Day…oh…and discover or rediscover the sensuality of chocolate.

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