​Reading Now –  Willa of the Wood – This is the book I wrote about in The Warrior Queen. I’ve had it since 2019, but I never read it. I started today, and I’m six chapters in already. It has magic and nature and The Smokies. All the things I wanted to picture for my bats. I’m feeling the magic, that this is the right mentor book. I can’t wait to see where this story, my imagination, and a little research will take me.

Part 4 – One Last Queen and a Spindle  - They’re the last two books in my journey, so far.
January Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
​

The Last Queen - I wrote this after I finished The Warrior Queen. It tells you the direction I thought I needed to go with the bat story. The interesting part – I’d forgotten I wrote it . . .  
​
I pick my books by author, and I’ll take a look at Emily’s, along with my other favorite authors. It’ll be a while. I have book 1 of Harry Potter to read. Then I’ll skip to another magical book, and it takes place in the Smokies. I have the where for the story, but I need to figure out a problem for my bats to solve. I’m hoping Story Magic will point me down the right path. Fingers crossed!
​
​

​ Spindled – This is the first thing I wrote about it . . .

Shanna Swendson is one of my favorite authors, and that’s why I picked this book. I’m rereading it to uncover details I missed the 1st time through.

 - And this is how it’s helping me with my bats . . .  

​This book was written for kids aged 11-18. That’s the range I want to hit with my bat story, so this is another good mentor book for me. I’m also happy to announce – there will be a sequel. Dawn’s parents, the true king and queen, are hiding somewhere in east Texas. I can’t wait to read it!
​
Tomorrow – Where I’m at with my reading and writing.

Part 3 – A Witch, Three Queens, and a Sorcerer – Follow me through the next 5 books. As I read each one, I left myself notes about where the bat story should go.
December Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
​

​
William - PS – I picked this story because I need to reimagine my bat story. It’s keeping me in the middle grade range, but I haven’t found the perfect path to stretch it out. I think the witch character is the right way to go, but I think I need to look into some bat lore to help me push my story farther. Here’s to my new quest!

​Three Queens – I wrote this when I started reading the Hundredth Queen,
​and it’s what I noticed through the whole series . . . ​​

​I’m interested in how the author created the Tarachand Empire based on ancient Sumeria. Think pre-Babylonia! That’s exactly what I need to do for my bat fantasy. To create a new world for them. The only problem . . . I can’t picture it yet, but reading this book gives me a sense of the kind of major world building that I need to do for those bats! Somewhere in my subconscious, I hope, I’m weaving this world together, bit by bit, character by character.
​

Harry Potter, My Writing Mentor - I’m still reading the Hundredth Queen series to look at world building, but my mentor suggested I look at Harry Potter for my bat book. Why? She thinks the tone and complexity are what my story needs. I’ve worked with her since 2018, and I trust her advice.

Harry Potter – that sounded so intimidating until I wrapped my head around it. I don’t have to write 800 pages or sound like J.K. I’ll write my story, and I’ll follow Harry’s footprints. Not exactly, but in a way that fits my bats and 2 humans.

Reading Harry as a mentor text is different than reading it for fun. It’s like taking a road trip. You read as fast as you can and enjoy the scenery. But now that Harry’s my teacher, I read a chapter at a time, then take notes. I’m looking at how Jo put the story together, and the elements I want to remember. I just finished chapter 3. Here’s a peek at my notes.

Chapter 1 is all about setting the stage – introducing the setting and characters. Jo doesn’t show the inciting incident between Harry and Voldemort. We’re told about it through the fallout. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on one incident per chapter. Chapter 2 takes place 10 years later, and Jo uses a birthday to show how Harry’s treated in the family. Chapter 3 focuses on a letter, and all of Mr. Dursley’s attempts to keep Harry from reading it.
​
PS – I got stuck on Chapter 4. Harry’s a great mentor text, but he’s not helping me picture my story.

Tomorrow – The Two Final Books

November of 2021 is when I started reading for other reasons. I did it to help my writing. I was trying to find a way to revise my 2nd bat story. I saved it in my computer back in 2011, and now a decade later I pulled it out.  

I’m only sharing the books I picked as mentors, and I’m cutting out the parts that don’t apply to the bat story. Here’s the link if you’d like to read from those titles. Link: ​Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
​

Part 1 -  Me as a Reader, and a Writer – This is me, at a book event. I’m not just a reader anymore . . . I’m a writer. It changed the way I read, the way I write. Reading and writing are like opposite sides of the same coin. They work together.

I wrote my 2nd bat story ten years ago, and I haven’t touched it since. I pulled up the first chapter last week and revised it. It was easy . . . I’ve grown as a writer in the last ten years. My critique partners said I needed to push the characters, but I knew that. Ten years ago they were flat, and they still are. I was surprised that a couple people thought I should grow the story, a lot. I didn’t see the potential, last week.

This week I outlined my five chapters (I designed it as an easy chapter book) and sent it in . . . The response was universal! I need to grow this story . . . it’s way bigger than my original plot. I knew I needed to up the stakes and add complexity, but now I know . . . if I want this story to find its own depth, I need to let it grow. To become more than I can imagine now. WOW!
​
After I finished my critique group, I didn’t know where to turn, where to find ideas. Then I remembered that books have always been my mentors so I found it. My next read is imaginative, creative, and a fantasy. It’s a great place to start rebuilding my story. I also thought I should look at fractured fairy tales, fantasies with princesses and witches. Maybe even bats and bugs. Here’s to my new voyage, and however long it takes! Here’s to the new series – The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. 

​Part 2 – The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, plus a few PSs: Most of my book posts are about my reaction to the book and the plot. The PSs are where I wrote my thoughts about revising my bat story.
​

Book 1 - PPS – I’m three days in, and dragon magic is working! I moved the setting from Lienen to Tecklenburg. It has history and atmosphere, from the ruins of an old German castle to the Teutoberg Forest where Herman the German battled ancient Rome.

My story’s grandmother changed too. The bats called her a witch in the old version. Now I think making her into a real one, opens a world of possibilities. I also changed her granddaughter’s name from Hannah to Anna, because a real Countess Anna lived in Tecklenburg Castle. She didn’t want witches burned, and my grandma and her Anna won’t either.  Imagine what I can do with that angle!
​
Finally, I did some research and picked out one kind of bat. I also discovered that all bats need help. Did you know they’re in danger worldwide because of wind farms? In Germany too! I read that if they turned the fans off when bats are out, it would save their lives! AND we’d only lose 1% of the power wind farms produce. WOW! Who knew this book could get my juices going and fill my head with ideas? WAHOO! 
​

​

Book 2 - PS – I decided to rewrite/revise my bat story with the original five chapters. I need to explore it first before I look for ways to grow it. I believe in story magic, and I’m willing to let it take me wherever my story is meant to go.


​

Book 3 – Time for the December Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach

​PS – I just finished the first two chapters of my bat book. The witch’s part is the most fun to write. It all started with a throwaway line in the 2011 version. A bat thought that the grandmother was a witch. Originally I said she was a nice old lady, but this time I decided to play with it. I’m having so much fun that I can’t wait to see where that witch takes me!
​

​Book 4 - PS – My critique partners said the 1st two chapters are heading the right way. Their biggest piece of advice – GROW THAT PLOT! I’m working on it, but I’ll finish the last three chapters of the almost original story first.
​
Then . . .  I’m moving the story across the ocean to my lake in Tennessee. That’s the setting where I’ll work to imagine the fantasy, I believe it can be.
​

Part 3 – A Witch, Three Queens, and a Sorcerer – Follow me through the next 5 books. As I read each one, I left myself notes about where the bat story should go. 
December Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
​

​
William - PS – I picked this story because I need to reimagine my bat story. It’s keeping me in the middle grade range, but I haven’t found the perfect path to stretch it out. I think the witch character is the right way to go, but I think I need to look into some bat lore to help me push my story farther. Here’s to my new quest!


​

​Three Queens – I wrote this when I started reading the Hundredth Queen,
​and it’s what I noticed through the whole series . . . 

Harry Potter, My Writing Mentor - I’m still reading the Hundredth Queen series to look at world building, but my mentor suggested I look at Harry Potter for my bat book. Why? She thinks the tone and complexity are what my story needs. I’ve worked with her since 2018, and I trust her advice.

Harry Potter – that sounded so intimidating until I wrapped my head around it. I don’t have to write 800 pages or sound like J.K. I’ll write my story, and I’ll follow Harry’s footprints. Not exactly, but in a way that fits my bats and 2 humans.

Reading Harry as a mentor text is different than reading it for fun. It’s like taking a road trip. You read as fast as you can and enjoy the scenery. But now that Harry’s my teacher, I read a chapter at a time, then take notes. I’m looking at how Jo put the story together, and the elements I want to remember. I just finished chapter 3. Here’s a peek at my notes.

Chapter 1 is all about setting the stage – introducing the setting and characters. Jo doesn’t show the inciting incident between Harry and Voldemort. We’re told about it through the fallout. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on one incident per chapter. Chapter 2 takes place 10 years later, and Jo uses a birthday to show how Harry’s treated in the family. Chapter 3 focuses on a letter, and all of Mr. Dursley’s attempts to keep Harry from reading it.

PS – I got stuck on Chapter 4. Harry’s a great mentor text, but he’s not helping me picture my story.
​

Part 4 – One Last Queen and a Spindle  - They’re the last two books in my journey, so far.
January Book Link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach
​

The Last Queen - I wrote this after I finished The Warrior Queen. It tells you the direction I thought I needed to go with the bat story. The interesting part – I’d forgotten I wrote it . . .  
​
I pick my books by author, and I’ll take a look at Emily’s, along with my other favorite authors. It’ll be a while. I have book 1 of Harry Potter to read. Then I’ll skip to another magical book, and it takes place in the Smokies. I have the where for the story, but I need to figure out a problem for my bats to solve. I’m hoping Story Magic will point me down the right path. Fingers crossed!
​
​

 Spindled – This is the first thing I wrote about it . . .

Shanna Swendson is one of my favorite authors, and that’s why I picked this book. I’m rereading it to uncover details I missed the 1st time through.

 - And this is how it’s helping me with my bats . . .  

​This book was written for kids aged 11-18. That’s the range I want to hit with my bat story, so this is another good mentor book for me. I’m also happy to announce – there will be a sequel. Dawn’s parents, the true king and queen, are hiding somewhere in east Texas. I can’t wait to read it!
​
​

​Part 5 – What I’m Reading and Writing Now – I’ve never posted this before. It’s new material that I put together, just for this post.
​

​Writing Now - This week I finished revising the last chapter of my Almost True Bat Story. Next week I’ll hear what my critique partners think about it.

The old version’s pretty much what happened to me in 2007 when I held a bat on a mop in Germany . . . Really! What’s interesting is that this new version is still flat, and that’s the same comment an editor told me in 2011 . . . so I mothballed it, until now.

This weekend I’m going back to Chapter 1 for another round of editing, and I’m changing just ONE THING in the story. I’m moving it from Germany to the US . . . to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.
​
But I decided to change something else– the characters. I’m aging the girl. In the original she was 5-7 years old. Now she’ll be 11-13. That will turn it into a middle grade novel. I’m also making the grandmother a real witch. It was a throw-away line in the original chapter book, but now I’m ready to play with it in the new and improved story. And the bats, they’ll become American of course.
​
​

Started on 1/16
Shanna Swendson is one of my favorite authors, and that’s why I picked this book. I’m rereading it to uncover details I missed the 1st time through.

I had trouble with the first chapter, that first time through – I couldn’t get my bearings. I’d forgotten the Amazon description. All I had was the title Spindled. I was thinking Rumpelstiltskin. Wrong story! I forgot about Sleeping Beauty.

I really liked Shanna’s modern twists with Sleeping Beaty. This time the evil sorceress captures the wrong girl, but the chapter changes were a little fast. In one chapter we’re following Dawn, the true princess. In the next one we’re following her best friend Lucy (the wrong girl). The chapters go back and forth between them until the story ends.

This book was written for kids aged 11-18. That’s the range I want to hit with my bat story, so this is another good mentor book for me. I’m also happy to announce – there will be a sequel. Dawn’s parents, the true king and queen, are hiding somewhere in east Texas. I can’t wait to read it!

​​Amazon’s Description:
She’d always read fairy tales. She didn’t expect to find herself living one . . .

Once upon a time, a princess was brought to a strange land for safekeeping, until the day the curse placed on her in infancy expired and she could return to her kingdom.

Lucy Jordan is not that princess. But thanks to a case of mistaken identity, she’s kidnapped by an evil enchantress’s men and taken to a magical world, where she finds herself living out a story that seems awfully familiar. Meanwhile, Lucy’s friend Dawn suspects the “aunts” who brought her up might have something to do with Lucy’s disappearance, and she feels compelled to travel through the magical gateway she finds in the garden shed to find her friend.

Now Lucy’s rewriting the storybooks as she goes on the run with a handsome young squire and plots to save Dawn’s rightful kingdom from the evil enchantress, while Dawn is drawn closer and closer to her true destiny, entirely unaware of how dangerous a spindle can be for her.

A delightful new fantasy from the author of Enchanted, Inc. and Rebel Mechanics.

​

Started on 1/11                     2nd Read Finished on 1/16
​Would you believe I read Nora’s other book twice before the 11th? Tonight I’m starting I Remember Nothing, for a second time.

Why? I love Nora’s voice! I love her sense of humor, how she laughs at herself. I identified with her first book. It was about aging and the things I’ve gone through since I bought it, when I was in my 50’s.

Nora’s second book started with the things she’d forgotten. I had a hard time with it. I’m a daughter of Alzheimer’s, but it was easier the second time – I knew the rest of the story.

I loved when Nora moved into the things she remembered. Things that I was too little to understand when she was living them. Things like hippies and Vietnam. I got the women’s movement. That was easy! Boys could wear pants, but girls couldn’t, not until I was in 4th grade.

I loved the first book more, but I liked this one well enough to read it twice. Why? I really love Nora’s voice!

Amazon’s Description:
Nora Ephron returns with her first book since the astounding success of I Feel Bad About My Neck, taking a cool, hard, hilarious look at the past, the present, and the future, bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life, and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten.

Ephron writes about falling hard for a way of life (“Journalism: A Love Story”) and about breaking up even harder with the men in her life (“The D Word”); lists “Twenty-five Things People Have a Shocking Capacity to Be Surprised by Over and Over Again” (“There is no explaining the stock market but people try”; “You can never know the truth of anyone’s marriage, including your own”; “Cary Grant was Jewish”; “Men cheat”); reveals the alarming evolution, a decade after she wrote and directed You’ve Got Mail, of her relationship with her in-box (“The Six Stages of E-Mail”); and asks the age-old question, which came first, the chicken soup or the cold? All the while, she gives candid, edgy voice to everything women who have reached a certain age have been thinking . . . but rarely acknowledging.

Filled with insights and observations that instantly ring true—and could have come only from Nora Ephron--I Remember Nothing is pure joy.

​

​Started 1/6                      Second Read Finished on 1/11
I’m still reading Harry Potter to help my bat story along, but I’m ready for a new book, and I wanted something different, something fun. I looked at 4 other titles, then picked this one. I wasn’t sure it was right. Then I read a page or two and knew I had the right one.

I’ve read it twice before and loved it both times. If you don’t know Nora Ephron, check out her movies . . . like When Harry Met Sally or You’ve Got Mail. They’re wonderful, and so is this book! Nora has a one-of-a-kind voice!

Amazon’s Description:
With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself.

Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age. Utterly courageous, uproariously funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious, irresistible treat of a book, full of truths, laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages.

​

Started 1/2                                                            Finished 1/6
I’m 84% of the way through Warrior Queen . . . And it’s better than I expected. Book 3 ended with Devon sucked into the Void, and I figured that Book 4 would be all about finding and bringing him home. What I didn’t know, or forgot, was how Kali did it.

Book 4 will take you to a new world. The world of the gods, the good ones . . . and evil ones too. The author took all the bread crumbs she strung through the other three books and used them to tell this final story . . . like Enlil’s hundredth rani, Inanna’s journey into the Void, Jaya, and more. I don’t think I’ve read this one before because I think I’d remember it . . . it’s that well written.

I pick my books by author, and I’ll take a look at Emily’s, along with my other favorite authors. It’ll be a while. I have book 1 of Harry Potter to read. Then I’ll skip to another magical book, and it takes place in the Smokies. I have the where for the story, but I need to figure out a problem for my bats to solve. I’m hoping Story Magic will point me down the right path. Fingers crossed!
​
Amazon’s Description:
In the final volume of The Hundredth Queen Series, Kalinda will risk everything to save the man she loves.

Kalinda has brought peace to the Tarachand Empire, at least for now. Bhutas no longer need to hide their gifts. The last of the rebels have been banished. And Prince Ashwin is set to take over as rajah.

But for Kalinda, this all came at a great loss. Her childhood home. Her best friend. The love of her life.

Deven is still trapped in the Void, although he is able to find his way to Kalinda each night. He has been lucky so far—mortals are not meant to last in the Void for long, and Deven has lasted longer than most. But when he doesn’t visit her one night, Kalinda knows that his luck has run out.
​
She will do whatever it takes to save the man she loves, even if it means convincing a god to guide her through the Void. Freeing a mortal from the Void is nearly impossible, but Kalinda has never let those odds stop her before…

Part 3 – What’s New in 2022?  – 
​Growing these ideas into picture, chapter, or middle grade stories.

1. The Bat Idea – In 2011 it was an easy chapter book, 5 chapters long. I pulled it out in 2021, updated the first 4 chapters, and now I’m revising #5. The next step – to pivot and turn it into a middle grade novel.

2. The Baby Idea – I did a picture book version last year, and in 2020, but something’s missing. I have a few ideas I want to try out on paper, and with my critique partners.

3. The Frog Idea – I have a picture book/ chapter book version of this idea. The one I return to depends on the agent’s answer. If it’s a yes, it’s the picture book. If it’s a no, I’ll pull the chapter book up again and work to self-publish it.
​
If I get stuck in those ideas, there are others sitting in my computer, waiting to be developed. 

4. Ideas to Try – Could a private Facebook group or an account with Teachers Pay Teachers help both of us? Here’s to finding that answer in 2022!

                           ​This is a screenshot of this year’s Word Power, 2022.  

​Part 2 – Keep Us Going:  When I put my first poster together, I had 3 things to keep going. They’re still here at the top of my poster, and they’re still the foundation for my writing.

The 12 x 12 Writers Group – It’s where I go for writing classes, where I can search for things from agents to mentor books, and where I can find people like me. I’ve been a member since 2018,

Rindabeach.com – It’s my home online. It’s where I write 5 out of 7 nights. I’m either writing my blog each night or a book review. On my 2 nights off, I’m either putting up an ad or a video. It’s the best place to go to meet me as a person, and as a writer. It’s been my home online since November of 2016,

The Writing Magic Membership Group – It’s my writing home where I have friends, critique partners, and mentors. They’ve helped me publish 3 books and complete the agent challenge. They help me, and I help them. Home!

 Marketing – This is how I build my brand, to introduce myself to people like you. It’s the reason I started rindabeach.com. I’ve written over 380 posts and 280 book reviews so far, and I’m still writing both each week. You can find them on Pinterest, or you can email and ask for content. I love to write! I love to answer questions!

I started doing videos of my blog posts so that you can meet me onscreen. I’m up to 32 this week. You can find them on (3) Rinda Beach | Facebook, or you can email and ask me. I love finding content for you!

The Agent Challenge – It’s finished! Now I’m waiting for the answer. I’ll either sign on the dotted line, or I’ll keep looking for that agent. I didn’t realize till last week, that the answer I get will determine the kind of writing I’ll do.

With an agent, I’ll need to focus on national stories with a wide appeal. I’ll probably leave self-publishing behind. Without one, I’ll look for niche markets and regional stories that I can self-publish. Whichever way this goes, I’ll keep writing. I’ve become a writer over the last 14 years, and that’s what I need to do . . . for me . . . and for readers too.
​
Tomorrow – Some new ideas for 2022!

My Word Power posters started back in 2018. That’s the 1st year I started doing the Twelve Days of Christmas class with Julie Hedlund from 12x12 fame. I joined 12x12 in January of 2019. This is my 4th year with both programs. I have learned so much about me as a writer, and as a person since then. I’m grateful to Julie, and to her programs.

​                                                                                Part 1 – Word Power Past:

These screenshots came from Pinterest. They’re like class yearbooks from The Twelve Days of Christmas program.

If you’d like to take a look at Julie’s class, click on the link for 2018. It will show you day by day, how to look back at last year, and how to look ahead to the new one. Give it a little twist, and it can work for you and your job. The other 2 links are for the classes I took in 2019 and 2020. The goals are for the new year.
​
                     Class 2018 – http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/the-twelve-days-of-the-new-year
                     Class 2019 – http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/january-20th-2020    (2020 goals)
       Class 2020 – http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/use-your-word-power-rinda-beach    (2021 goals)

​

                          This is a screenshot of this year’s Word Power, 2022. 

​                                                          Part 2 – Keep Us Going: 
When I put my first poster together, I had 3 things to keep going. They’re still here at the top of my poster, and they’re still the foundation for my writing.

​The 12 x 12 Writers Group – It’s where I go for writing classes, where I can search for things from agents to mentor books, and where I can find people like me. I’ve been a member since 2018,

​Marketing – This is how I build my brand, to introduce myself to people like you. It’s the reason I started rindabeach.com. I’ve written over 380 posts and 280 book reviews so far, and I’m still writing both each week. You can find them on Pinterest, or you can email and ask for content. I love to write! I love to answer questions!

I started doing videos of my blog posts so that you can meet me onscreen. I’m up to 32 this week. You can find them on (3) Rinda Beach | Facebook, or you can email and ask me. I love finding content for you!

The Agent Challenge – It’s finished! Now I’m waiting for the answer. I’ll either sign on the dotted line, or I’ll keep looking for that agent. I didn’t realize till last week, that the answer I get will determine the kind of writing I’ll do.

With an agent, I’ll need to focus on national stories with a wide appeal. I’ll probably leave self-publishing behind. Without one, I’ll look for niche markets and regional stories that I can self-publish. Whichever way this goes, I’ll keep writing. I’ve become a writer over the last 14 years, and that’s what I need to do . . . for me . . . and for readers too.
​
​

Part 3 – What’s New in 2022?  – 
​Growing these ideas into picture, chapter, or middle grade stories.

1. The Bat Idea – In 2011 it was an easy chapter book, 5 chapters long. I pulled it out in 2021, updated the first 4 chapters, and now I’m revising #5. The next step – to pivot and turn it into a middle grade novel.

2. The Baby Idea – I did a picture book version last year, and in 2020, but something’s missing. I have a few ideas I want to try out on paper, and with my critique partners.

3. The Frog Idea – I have a picture book/ chapter book version of this idea. The one I return to depends on the agent’s answer. If it’s a yes, it’s the picture book. If it’s a no, I’ll pull the chapter book up again and work to self-publish it.
​
If I get stuck in those ideas, there are others sitting in my computer, waiting to be developed. ​

4. Ideas to Try – Could a private Facebook group or an account with Teachers Pay Teachers help both of us? Here’s to finding that answer in 2022!

​Food comes from all over the world. I picked three classic dishes for this post. Can you guess where they came from?

Part 1 – Swedish Meatballs
​
Where did they come from?
Sweden looks like the logical answer, but is it?

Italy       Sweden       Turkey     Norway

Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

                                                                              And the answer is . . .  Turkey!

I know! I missed it too. In 2018 Sweden’s official Twitter account said that “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century.” That always confuses me. Early 18th century – that really means the early 1700’s, when America was still a British colony.

The meatballs came from Turkish ‘kofte.’ You start with ground beef, lamb, chicken or pork. Mix in some onions and a few spices, and you have kofte. But the Swedes needed a little more flavor – so they added gravy! Everything’s better with gravy!
​
King Charles didn’t stop with those meatballs. He brought home Turkish stuffed cabbages and coffee too. Now coffee’s so popular that Sweden is one of the top coffee-drinking countries in the world. 

This is how the Swedes eat their meatballs – with mashed potatoes, brown sauce, lingonberry jam, and pickled cucumbers, AKA pickles.
​

​​Coleslaw
Where did it come from?
Italy     Holland      Turkey    Germany
Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

​                                                                                And the answer is . . .  Holland!

Coleslaw came from Holland, AKA the Netherlands. It’s two Dutch words, combined. Kool is cabbage, and sla is their abbreviation for salade.

Dutch settlers brought cabbage to New Amsterdam in the 1600’s. It didn’t exist in the New World so the Dutch started growing cabbages along the Hudson River. When they made coleslaw, they drenched it in melted butter and vinegar. Later the British took over the city. They renamed it New York, but they kept the Dutch coleslaw.
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Coleslaw was on the table in Ancient Rome. They soaked it in vinegar before they ate it. As their Empire spread, so did their cabbage salad, to places like Germany, where they decided to add sour cream to some of their cabbage recipes. 
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​Coleslaw is part of restaurant platters from sea to shining sea, but with a small change in the recipe that came from Richard Hellman. He owned a deli in New York, and he bottled mayonnaise.  Would you believe his company is still making it for you today?        
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This question came from one of my trivia sites, but I forgot to copy the address. They got the idea for this question from . . . www.wikipedia.org   

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​Sponge cake is dry, but you soak this one in Kirschwasser or kirsch. That’s a special kind of brandy bottled only in the Black Forest. Don’t put any other kind in your cake if you’re in Germany or the European Union. It’s been against the law since 2013. Use cherry juice if you want it without alcohol, but whatever you do, don’t call it Black Forest Cake in Europe.

PS – if you want to make Black Forest cake, go to the link for Britannica. It has a video and text with the directions included.
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Sources:  Britannica                                                     Black Forest gateau - Wikipedia                                                 
https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer/where-did-black-forest-cake-originate/YZKS6XCprcEU2Kxs

​Do you trust your eyes to tell the truth? This post is about perception, and what your eyes tell your brain. Real or illusion – good luck deciding which you see!
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Part 1 – A Little Magic, Please! This story really happened. Sorry, no pictures, but don’t worry! I’ve got words.

Meet Siegfried and Roy! Back in the 1990s they had the biggest show in Las Vegas. My husband and I saw them a year or two before the accident that ended their careers.
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We lucked into front row seats. We were thrilled, and a little terrified. We kept looking at the tracks onstage and wondering how close the lions and tigers could get to us. 

​I watched the lights and mirrors, then turned my eyes back to the elephant. It was gone! How could that HUGE animal disappear so quickly?

My husband the engineer had the answer. He watched them walk the elephant offstage. He ignored those lights and mirrors, and he watched it leave.

It was a sleight of hand trick, but the real magic is in your perception, in how you see the world. Me, I followed the magician and his tricks. I’d like to think that I see the magic in something, the potential of what it could be.

My husband is logical, and he can stay focused, but he misses out on the magic. How about you? What do you perceive – magic or logic?
​ Source: Siegfried & Roy - Wikipedia

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​Part 2 – What Do You See? – It depends on how you perceive the world. If you’re like me, I always see the white space first. If your eye went to the black area instead, you saw something else. So, what did you see?

I saw the vase first, that white space. But if I know something else is there, then I’ll look at the black. That’s when I finally found those two silhouettes. 

Gestalt psychologists say we perceive individual sensor information, like the white/black shapes, as one big whole. For me, that means I see the vase. Wikipedia didn’t explain what that means, but I bet my eye doctor could. They always ask me what color is dominant when I get my eyes checked. Now I wonder whether the important thing is whether the line’s horizontal or vertical, and not so much its color. 
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​What do you see when you look at my necklace? There are two possibilities, depending on whether you see empty space in the circle, or the line? Can you guess what I saw?

Yep, the white space, and the jack-o-lantern. At first I couldn’t figure out why anyone would put a pumpkin in the middle of a cross. Then someone told me what it’s supposed to be.

Do you see the other shape? I don’t unless I focus on the line down the middle of the circle. Did you see it first, or after I told you where to look? The line makes a dove, which makes better sense on a cross.
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If you know Matthew 3:16, you know why. If not, here’s the NIV version of that verse . . . As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. Now, do you see the dove?

​It’s funny . . . when I turn it sideways, like this, I see the dove first. It makes me feel better as a Christian, now that I know it’s my perception that makes me see that darn pumpkin.

When the cross is vertical, I see the space, that jack-o-lantern. When it’s horizontal, I see the line, and that dove. What a relief!

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It depends on who’s answering. 70% of the people who voted on buzzfeed.com a few years ago said white and gold. The other 30% said blue and black. How could people like me get this wrong? Everyone knows the difference between blue and white, even preschoolers!
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It’s a matter of perception. My source said cover the dress so you see only white, then you’ll get the real color – BLUE! It must be one of those things eye doctors understand.

Sources: Posted originally by wiked on Tumblr  
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Color Illusions and Color Blind Tests (brainden.com)

​How about this one? It’s called a simultaneous contrast illusion, but which rectangle doesn’t change at all? The big one, or the one that’s long and narrow? One of them is really changing slowly from dark to light gray. The other one remains the same color. Which one is it?!

If you guessed the long narrow one, you’re RIGHT! The big rectangle starts out dark on the left, and gradually fades to the right. But the long narrow one – READY – it’s the same color all the way across. I’ll repeat . . . The whole narrow rectangle IS THE SAME COLOR! What’s the difference? It’s how you perceive the background around it.

​It makes sense when you know a little about combining colors. My nail lady and I love to do an accent nail. Some colors show up against the background. Some don’t. It depends on how close they are on the color spectrum. I have silver nails now, like the right side of that big rectangle. Patricia put white snowflakes on it. White shows up on silver! Why? Because the colors are different enough, but if we’ve used colors that are too similar, like pink and purple, they might fade together.

Source: Optical illusion - Wikipedia
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Picture Source: By Dodek - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1529278
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​And the finale . . . Sorry, this shirt isn’t an illusion. It represents a tie-dye yellow and gray one I almost bought. What stopped me? Whenever I looked at it, I saw maize and blue, Michigan colors, AKA that state up north. I absolutely couldn’t buy it!

Guess what! I wasn’t the only one who saw maize and blue. My friends at Casa Chic told me that a lot of people refused to buy this shirt for the same reason. Sometimes perception really is in the eye of the beholder!