Putting up with Impatience

Christy Truitt "I don't think I'm getting any more patient. But I'm learning to tolerate my impatience better.”

What a great quote! As various events have happened this past week, I have needed to be reminded to tolerate my impatience with myself, with others, and with life in general. Below is the post where Christy Truitt's comment first appeared.

Putting Up with Impatience Posted by Rachael Gardner at Tuesday, September 29, 2009
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/

A couple weeks ago I was having dinner with a group of novelists (who also happened to be my clients). We were talking about the terrible waiting that's always involved in publishing. At every step of the journey, whether you're agented or not, published or not, there seems to be a huge need for patience. The waiting sometimes gets unbearable.

We bemoaned the difficulty of developing patience. Is it even possible, or just wishful thinking?

Then my sweet friend Christy Truitt spoke up. "I don't think I'm getting any more patient. But I'm learning to tolerate my impatience better.”

Wow! What a cool insight, and a terrific goal: To be able to exist in a state of impatience, and be okay with it.

To be waiting, and longing, and frustrated that it's taking so long (whatever it is) and still be okay, still have a measure of peace.

To me, that seems like a more realistic goal for writers, and possibly a healthier one. After all, we don't want to completely lose the impatience, because it's part of what drives us. It creates a tension inside us, and as we strive to calm the tension, we're working towards our goals. You could even say that the impatience keeps the fire lit beneath us.

What would it mean for you, to stop trying to be more patient, and instead tolerate your impatience better?

Taking it one step further, how can you use your impatience and actually benefit from it?

Thanks, Christy, for the great thought!

Lacy-Edged Corn Pancakes

Many people are starting to get hit hard by the declining economy. It's a time for tightening our belts and seeking ways to save money. In a time of affluence, we take the easy route toward meals by eating out and picking up fast food. One way to simplify our spending on food for the family is to look back at how people managed who didn't have much cash flow. Below is a simple recipe from the 1800s that cost less than fifty cents a serving.

I keep powdered buttermilk in the frig for such recipes. Buttermilk gives a slight tang or zip to the recipe without adding a buttermilk taste. I also keep cornmeal in an airtight container in the freezer. A two-pound bag of cornmeal will last for some time if properly contained.

After you try the recipe, let me know how you liked it.

Lacy-Edged Corn Pancakes

1 cup white cornmeal,
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda,
mix an egg with
1 1/4 cup buttermilk.

Place tablespoon of bacon fat or lard in hot skillet. Let the shortening smoke a little before placing into it a tablespoon of batter, dropped at a distance of six inches. Dropping batter at a distance into hot shortening is essential.

Serve with syrup made by bringing to boil over a low heat:
1 cup dark-brown sugar,
1/4 cup water,
tablespoon butter or bacon fat.

Pickled Eggs

Pickled eggs are essentially peeled hard-boiled eggs that have been preserved in a solution of vinegar, salt and a selection of spices. They can be kept for several weeks or even months in a sealed jar and do not have to be stored in the refrigerator. Because it was difficult to keep eggs fresh without refrigeration, pickled eggs were a delicacy while on the trail.

There are many variations for making pickled eggs. One of my favorites is to add beets as this leaves the eggs a lovely pink color.

1-cup tarragon vinegar

1-cup water

2 Tbs sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp celery seed

1 clove garlic,

minced

2 bay leaves

12 shelled hard-boiled eggs

Combine all ingredients in saucepan, except eggs. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Cool. Pour over eggs in a crock or jar. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 days before eating.

Opening into a New Window

Hope your week is going well. Mine is progressing with me learning a little something. That is always good. I usually finish my day having discovered more that I don’t know.

I am constantly trying to decrease my techno-ignorance. Part of that is learning more how to put this blog together.

This week I learned how to make a link open in a new window. Not a big thing, but having puzzled over it for months, it is satisfying to learn the secret. And as usual, it is so simple, if, you know how.

So here is how to get a link to open in a new browser window. target=”_blank” attribute to your link tag, like so:

a href=http://ajhawke.blogspot.com/2009/01/j-hawke.html target=”_blank”>About A J Hawke (Please note that the beginning and the ending indicators are not where they should be because I couldn't get it to show currectly. Another techno-glich.

This will give you this link:

About A J Hawke

Click on the link. The browser will open a new window with my About A J Hawke page in it. Remember to close the window when you are finished. You will be back to your home page. Use the close option rather the exit option, because the exit option may close your browser entirely.

So there you have it. Wasn’t that fun?

A J

AJHawke.blogspot.com

Jane Kirkpatrick, an author worth reading

One of my favorite historical fiction authors is Jane Kirkpatrick. I enjoy reading interviews with her to get insights into her writing world. Joyce Hart, Jane Kirkpatrick's agent at Hartline Literary Agency, posted a good one.

I checked at my local library to see which books they had on the shelves by Jane Kirkpatrick. They didn't have any. WHAT! This is unacceptable! As a writer, I want good writing and stories available through the public library.

I marched over to the reference desk where you leave book purchase requests and handed the librarian a complete list of Jane's books. They now have ordered several and I’ll receive notification when they are available for check out.

At my local library, patrons can pick out a book and place it on the shelves next to the line for checkout for all to see and check out. Jane's books will soon start appearing there. My local library reached the one-millionth item checked out in July. We are heading toward a two million-item checkout year by December 2009.

So check out Jane Kirkpatrick's books, purchase them, and then ask your public library to purchase them.

Have a blessed day in the Lord,
A J