Day after Halloween

We had plenty of treats for the little ghouls and hobgoblins that came calling last night. I think my companion really enjoyed doing the Halloween thing. He was listening to the Astros in the World Series last night at the same time kids were coming to trick or treat. Being that he is a long time fan of the Astros he is Thrilled to see them in the series and he would tell the trick or treaters instead of trick a treat to say Go Astros!

However, the series didn't end last night and so it's on to game 7 tonight. That will be the end of baseball season and we can get on with the real sports Premiere League Football. Was able to pick up the UEFA game between Chelsea and Roma, such a disappointment with Roma taking 3 to Chelsea being scoreless.The Blues are having a rough season so far.  As always still have hope the season is just getting into the swing.

Today begins the Nanowrimo and I got my first 1,809 words down, I will probably get back to that a little later but need to get something planned for tonight's supper. 

Writing Challenge

The challenge this time was to write your stereotype character in a more complicated fashion.
Here's my attempt.

Jericho Dylan Basham was like a blast from Hollywood past. Tall and distinguished he had thick, wavy, sandy coloured hair. He sported a moustache in a similar style of Salvador Dali. 
 He is an enigma, born and raised in Wore, West Virginia a very small poor community in the Appalachian Mountains. Things were tough for him and his family in his youth. 
He worked his way through university and worked hard to separate himself from that lifestyle. Today he is one of the best-known celebrity designers. He is known for his flamboyant eccentric style.The blazers he wears with, bright coloured ascots has a patch on the pocket with the JDB logo of his world renown fashions. 
He is often seen among Hollywood celebrities and his fashions are worn by the rich and famous on red carpets throughout the world.
He is known for being a bit brash and pompous. One time a reporter trying to get his attention called him Jerry. He turned around with his nose in the air and said. "My name is not Jerry. I am Jericho Dylan Basham. I own a company worth 10 figures. Jerry is a nacho eating, beer guzzling double-wide trailer dwelling neanderthal."
 During the day his life is fairly public and splashy he is surrounded by fabulous fabrics, sequins, marabou feathers, all the trappings of fashion design and beautiful models. that he takes great pride in dressing for the runways. 
 At the end of a workday, he gets into his Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and goes home to a beautiful secluded gated community.  Golden Glen Community is where Jericho Dylan Basham lives is extremely private.The homes in the community are multi-million dollar homes with top security. His neighbours include top celebrities, politicians and CEOs of mega-million dollar companies. 
As he drives down the tree-lined streets he removes his bright coloured ascot. Once he steps out of his vehicle he removes his blazer with the JDB logo. He is invited to a pool barbecue at one of his neighbour's estates.

He has a shower, dries his hair to perfection. He decides on the bottle of Clive Chrisitan Men No 1 for a fragrance and a pair of leather sandals for his pedicured feet.  He remembers he agreed to bring the Dom Perignon to the party and walks nude to the kitchen to get the case he had his butler bring up from the wine cellar. He grabs his towel and heads out the door to join the evening's event.In the naturist community.

Rant on clothing

  I rarely go out and buy clothes, most of the time I wear what I have until it is worn out before I purchase anything new. I am not a fashion person in any way and I have come to the conclusion that the fashion industry is such a load of rubbish. Why would anyone want to wear half the crap that is in the stores?
  I wear what I like and what I buy is mostly for practical use. My current pet peeve has been shirts and blouses with slits and cuts in them. The ones I have seen look like someone's ragbag has been hung on hangers with a price tag. What am I missing here?  They are not attractive, really sloppy looking and overpriced.
  I've been looking for some time for a pair of house slippers. Again I see plenty in the stores, but they are half slippers WTH? The reason I want slippers in the first place is to keep my feet warm. If half your foot and heel are sticking out in the air it's cold! There are some cute ones but only half a slipper. Price doesn't reflect that you're getting less of the item either.
  If that is fashion I will gladly stay out of it.

Another Appliance Bites the Dust

After millions of jalapenos and habanero peppers making pepper jam, it took the mighty cushaw being pureed to kill my food processor. It has gone to the smoking appliances heaven. It gave 15 years of good service.

Getting in the habit

 Ha! Well, I think I have gone and done it now. Put my foot in my mouth as the saying goes. From writing course, I have learned about and read up a bit on NANOWRIMO  National  Novel Writing Month. https://ywp.nanowrimo.org/ 
 It's writing 50,000 words basically a novel or at very least the beginning of a novel in the month of November. 
First thought was I am not ready for this.... but then if not now when?  I think the very least it can be a learning process even if I don't get as much written 50,000 words I think it is largely the challenge and learning from the forums that will be a help to gain experience if nothing more. Secondly, it will I hope put me in mind of writing regularly. I have no intentions or dreams of becoming a published writer, but I am curious to see what I can come up with.
The saying goes that everyone has a novel in them.

Cushaw The Magical Gourd

When I moved south I expected to encounter cultural differences as well as regional cuisine differences. Biscuits, gravy, grits those are some things I was ready to encounter. What I hadn't expected was this crazy necked gourd. It's a gourd and comes in pretty large sizes. 

The flesh inside is light coloured and is filled with seeds . The flavour is similar but lighter tasting than a pumpkin or other winter squashes. I have not done much with the seeds yet, except for plans to plant some however since they are numerous I will try them roasted like pumpkin seeds and see how that works.

 One thing I have learned is that it is very versatile and so far have tried it in a number of recipes . 

cushaw pie bars 

Cushaw Carbonara
Cushaw carbonara was easy just using a roasted squash carbonara recipe and adjusting the seasonings to the lighter flavour of the cushaw.
Have also made cushaw bread and cushaw muffins. As I have said it is versatile and I expect to try it in a number of different ways before the season is over.

Writing Fiction

The assignment was to write a 500-word story using word prompts from the radio. I put on the radio and got football scores. So after thought here is the story I came up with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Deakon sat on a bench lacing up his boots for the match. The royal blue of his fresh clean kit looked pretty good against his brown legs and arms. He ran a hand through his close-cropped dark hair.A little prematch angst coursed through his veins. This was a big deal, a serious match with the club. Under twenty-one, he had come a long way in his football career. His Pawpaw and Momo would be among the supporters in the stadium.Making this match more personal. 
 He took a drink of cold water and closed his brown eyes trying to focus on the task before him, but his mind wandered. 
  He was visiting his Pawpaw in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. At the time he was barely a year old, Momo gave him a gift. Momo wasn't from the south, she spoke differently from the rest of the family, and this was a great present it was round and soft plus it made noise. It said things like "Goal!" or "Kick it!" It had lights and played music. He loved that toy.Today he recalled that gift was his first football. It also came to mind that there were pictures of him that first Christmas wearing a toddler size version of the kit he now wore for real.
  When he was young he tried a lot of different sports but whenever he visited Pawpaw he heard about football and it wasn't  like the American football his friends talked about. This was worldwide football!
  Now all these years later Deakon was a part of that worldwide football, but not just any team this was his Momo's  favourite team even before he was born. He had played many youth matches, but this was his professional debut. There were even rumours, club legends were in attendance. All of the team members were stoked. Feeling charged and ready to get out on the pitch. Deakon stood up and caught his sturdy frame in the mirror. He paced a little. The team manager came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder "Hey Deak , here's your chance kid. You're starting in midfield today. Go out there have some fun and be the star we know you're going to be!" Deakon smiled and nodded his head.
 They left the tunnel and walked out to the pitch. When he saw the sea of red on the visitor's side he growled, just like he did with his Momo before he could talk. The kick-off took place and within minutes the ball was in front of him he kicked it and he smiled. He was in the game mind, body and spirit. 

When the game ended in victory he proudly brought his Pawpaw and Momo over to meet the legends. His face beamed as he handed his Momo a ball signed by them, returning a gift he received so long ago.

Been forever since I blogged anything and not sure if I should just continue from here or start an entirely new blog. 
Since taking some courses online one of them is writing course and more are to come in that thread. They recommend a writing blog just to get in the practice of writing and to be able to share my work in classes easier than the options available at this point in the course. So here I am back at my old blog with intentions to use it for something useful. as well as for nonsense, just because nonsense comes with writing.