Gabriella Hewitt

I can’t believe December is here already. The new year is just around the corner. I visited my friend’s place last night and her house is already decorated. Christmas tree is up and Christmas decorations are all over the place. Of course, even here in Japan, the Christams stuff got put up in the stores as soon as Halloween was finished, though it never carries quite the same feel as it does in the U.S.

So, today is going to be a big cleaning day to try to get the house straightened 1) before dh returns from his business trip to Houston and LA tomorrow and 2) in order to have space to put up our Christmas tree. I honestly used to try to wait since ds#1’s birthday is in December. I didn’t want the Christmas prep to take away from his sense of celebration. But he’s there with his brother’s wanting the tree and decorations up, so…

How about the rest of you? When do you start getting those decorations up?

Well, the Thanksgiving holidays are over. How were yours? You want to share, don’t you? Sure you do. To get it started let me tell you about mine. Since it would be a Battle of the Turkey to try to stuff some 8lb bird in my four pound oven, I gave up on that aspect of the celebration. But this year I decided to try for the first time to make a pumpkin pie.

Know that old adage too many cooks…you get the idea. I had three male wannabe pastry chef helpers. “I wanna do it.” “He stirred too long.” “Can I do that?” and leaving whatever he was measuring half done. Ds#2 and ds#3 (that’s darling son, for those who don’t know) gagged at the sight of the pumpkin, though they were quite happy to beat it into shape. Unfortunately, there was too much filling to fit in the Japanese pie pan, so the extra filling got baked as pudding.

That night, ds#2 and ds#3 decided they didn’t need to eat any and went to bed. Ds#1 had some of the pudding and said it was okay. Darling hubby (otherwise known as dh and the darling is certainly suspect, and you’ll see why) came home. He saw the pudding and said, I want some. Took a bite and practically spit it out. “Yuk. Tastes like medicine.” Ds#1 decides that the pumpkin taste is too strong and doesn’t want anymore. About an hour later, after ds#1 has gone to bed. DH tells me he needs to eat kimchee! Kimchee! That’s spicy Korean pickled cabbage. He needs to eat it to kill the taste of pumpkin. Visions of pie in face come to mind.

Day 2: I go to serve the pie. “Who wants some?” Yeah, you get the picture. Ds#1 bravely says he’ll have a sliver. So, I have this whole pie in front of me. Dh asks if I’m sure I didn’t make a mistake. “No, pumpkin pie tastes like this,” I say. “It tastes like medicine,” he says. “Are you sure you read the recipe right? I’ll buy you Japanese pumpkin pie so you can see how a really good pumpkin pie tastes.” I’m wondering if I can squeeze an adult male into that itty bitty oven.

Day 3: “You have to eat the pie,” dh says in the morning, after he wakes up. “I had some for breakfast,” I reply. “You sure?” he says. “Doesn’t look like you had much.” The Italian in me gives him the evil eye. Need to take more lessons from my mom. She really has it down.

Day 4: Ds#1 finally had a bit more, saving me from eating the whole damn pie myself. I like pumpkin pie–one slice, maybe two. But not the whole damn thing!

Next year, if I feel brave enough, maybe I’ll make pumpkin spice bread. But I think I’ll take the full year to think about it.

Here’s hoping your holidays were good ones. And for my Canadian and other international visitors, hope you had a good weekend!

I love the e-publishing world! Continually growing and expanding. Now Amazon has got in on the act and has put out an e-reader device called Kindle!

Go and check it out. The Holidays are right around the corner. You might want to put it on your list;) Then go and get a copy of Dark Waters.

As you all sit down to the holiday with family and friends I wish you all the best. Enjoy the laughter, the conversation and the mouth-watering food. May the day live up to all it should be for each of you.

I have a post up at Samhain’s weblog, called Hanging on to the Holidays, which is my take of this day. Drop by if you have time.

I really get a kick out of these blog things. There’s something very nostalgic about the word hippie. Reminds me of bell bottom pants, the Mod Squad, and “groovy man.” Check out my name. I think it’s pretty cool. So what’s yours?

Your Hippie Chick Name Is:

Psyche

I grew up in a small town in NY. We had the house with the huge backyard. Snowball fights in winter, skating on the pond, treks through the snow. In summer it was swimming in the lake or river, playing in the woods and walking the half mile to my best friend’s house. It was space galore.

As an adult I’ve spent most of my life overseas and most of them in apartments. Some Japanese apartments can be really small. The first place I lived, (pre marriage) was about the size of my dorm room with a kitchen attached. When I moved closer to Tokyo years later, the room got smaller and the kitchen was little more than an entryway with only one burner to cook. I paid $900 /mo rent for that. When we got married I moved up to a 2DK. Two stands for two rooms, d for dining room and k for kitchen. IOW, there was no living room. We watched TV at the dining table.

We moved to London and had this huge flat with three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a huge kitchen with American appliance and a counter that I didn’t have to bend low over, a large dining room and a comfortable living room. I was in heaven. Then the owner decided to sell and the only flat we found in the same area for a rent we could afford was about a third of the size. It was back to being cramped.

Then we moved back to Japan. And our family expanded from two to three–all boys. The place actually seemed spacious compared to the second London flat and there appeared to be enough room for the boys to play.

Funny, thing about boys, they grow and grow. I’m sure the apartment isn’t shrinking, but it sure feels that way. It’s worse when we come back from the US. We arrive back home and as soon as we walk in the door it’s like shrink wrap. I swear the walls are closing in on us.

I can’t tell the boys to stop growing. I can’t tell dh we have to move to some place bigger. Well, I could, but…;-) So I guess the only option is for me to go on a diet. If I lose weight maybe the house will seem bigger. What do you think?

Well, I’ve gotten the first round of edits in. They really weren’t too bad at all. In fact, the editor thanked me for turning in such a clean manuscript in the first place. I try. No word on the release date. I’m bouncing in my chair in anticipation. When will it be?

Meanwhile, I’m trying to flesh out the story line of the second book in this trilogy: Tears of the Nile. Expect magic, dark secrets and a lot of passion.

Every part of a book is tough, but the beginning always seems particularly hard. I find that if I can’t get the beginning right, I can’t move forward. I end up revising it again and again until it clicks. Anyone else have that problem?

Hope all of you are having a nice weekend.

I’m excited to announce that my paranormal romantic suspense novella Heart of the Nile will be digitally released by Cobblestone Press for their Shifters line. This is the first of a trilogy that blends the modern world with ancient Egyptian mythology. Read the short blurb below to get a taste of this new series:

Heart of the Nile

Kat, Stealer of Memories, has brought the wrath of Ra down upon her. She has risked her status among the pride by freeing her mortal enemy, an Anubian dog named Nikos, Keeper of Secrets.
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He has promised her the Heart of Bast, if in return she gives him what he wants. Only what Nikos wants, Kat may not be able to give. They have 48 hours to find the HEART OF THE NILE or die.

Can a cat trust a dog?

I got a four cup rating for a review of my book, Dark Waters from Coffee Time Romance . You can read the full review here. Overall, I’m pleased with it. I look forward to seeing what other reviewers have to say.