Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Leaping over Lent!

February 2016 is a leap year.

Children's Book/Work-in-Progress

Instead of leaping over the file of unpublished manuscripts cluttering my office space I decided that since I now have an in-house illustrator I would attempt to publish one of them.

All creative writers have their muse and mine happens to be milk chocolate candy accompanied by a cup of coffee.  

Consequently what I would really like to leap over is Lent. This year in support of my vegetarian daughter I gave up meat along with chocolate candy for Lent.

My Lenten sacrifice has nothing to do with religion. If it did I wouldn’t be posting it on this blog.  My own personal belief is that posting your pay it forward good deeds and self-sacrifices all over social media does not impress Heaven.  It only annoys us heathens.

I’m giving up meat and chocolate candy to impress myself and annoy other people by proving that I can!  It could also mean dropping a few pounds due to healthier eating habits-unless you’re me. Read on….

Since I would be spending some of Lent at my parent’s home in Florida, I knew better than to classify fish or seafood as a meat. Giving up meat was sin enough as far as they were concerned. I grew up on a Protestant farm and the cows that still reside there are not being groomed for the petting zoo. Their future is in fast food, if you know what I mean.
Solomon's Happy Hill Farm Cattle

Watching the cows graze did nothing to diminish my resolve to go without meat. Also it helped that the Florida Panhandle where I’m from has some of the best southern fried seafood you’ll ever eat. This trip I went to David's Catfish House

Doing without meat is not so bad when you have fried seafood as an option.  It has been rather unfortunate for my husband (who did not give up meat) and has been cheated out of his ritual BBQ pork meals that his wife no longer feels obliged serve.  

It’s not the meat, but the chocolate covered Valentine’s and now Easter candies on every store shelf I shop that’s really teaching me the meaning of Lenten sacrifice.  

I was afraid it would be after Easter and a dozen or so of those Cadbury bunny eggs before my creative abilities would flow ever again. Luckily I found a bakery the next town over from my hometown here in Tennessee!  

It’ll take a few more trips to decide, but I think the cream horns may be even more productive and muse worthy than a Hershey bar.   I’ll let you know….

Simply Sweet Bakery