Publishers, Junk for Cash. Madagascar.

The angio I had the other day has left me totally lethargic and in a very “can’t be bothered” mood. I was looking for a picture which showed how I felt, but I came up with the one above which I thought was funny. I haven’t really been following the blogs I normally read with enthusiasm, I certainly haven’t been doing much otherwise, I have not even been very interested in the food I ate despite having strawberries and cream two nights running. I don’t think I will be bowling today either, it is a little too soon for the access point and its seal to take the stress. Yeah I know, I ‘m wingeing.

That said, I finally caught up with Glenda Larke’s latest blog and I cannot believe that an author who has already published 10 wonderful books cannot find a publisher for her latest works. See her blog at Tropic Temper, this page. What is the matter with these publishers, I can’t understand why they haven’t yet accepted her latest work. I have read a lot about self-publishing lately, maybe Glenda too will have to go down this road although I hope it won’t be necessary. Right now, I am waiting with bated breath for the last novel in her Watergiver’s Trilogy it is due in August and I and many others are biting our fingernails waiting for the finish of this wonderful story. Stormlord’s Exile, I have had it on pre-order from Amazon.com for a while now to be sure I don’t have to wait too long. This is the cover from the US and English publishers, as usual, I consider the Australian cover is a much better job.

They had a segment on GMA today about clearing out junk drawers and making money by selling stuff on eBay or Craig’s list. One of the items they were selling were old VHS tapes. I tried that with old Disney movies and didn’t get one enquiry. You can also sell old cell phones and chargers, CDs you haven’t played for 4 years or more and the list goes on. I guess I should make more effort to sell some of the things we have. We have dozens of CDs we have only played once and are never likely to play again – from the days when you could buy 12 and pay for 1. No electronic gadgets though, they seemed to fetch the most money.

This is an excerpt from a newsletter I get from World Wildlife Fund.

615 Species Discovered in Madagascar

Madame Berthe's mouse lemur © Louise Jaspar/WWF Madagascar

Split from the African continent over 160 million years ago, Madagascar developed its own distinct ecosystems and extraordinary wildlife. Most of its reptiles, plants and land mammals exist naturally nowhere else on Earth. From 1999 to 2010, 615 new species were discovered in this island country, reinforcing Madagascar’s standing as one of the Earth’s richest tropical habitats. View the photo gallery of these recently discovered species and find out why it's critical to protect the country's ecosystems.

I find this kind of thing absolutely fascinating, particularly as one tends to believe that we have found all the species there are already. I reported once before on incredible discoveries in another part of the world.

Here is a pretty simple recipe which I picked up from Recipe du Jour. I always love beans of any kind and they are so very good for you.

Mother's White Beans

3/4 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped carrot 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced 1/3 cup (2 oz.) coarsely chopped cooked ham 2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth 2 cans (15 oz. each) white beans (small whites or cannellini) Chopped parsley

In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart pan, combine onion, carrot, garlic, cooked ham, and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium heat until the carrot is soft to bite, about 10 minutes. Stir in beans and simmer, covered, over low heat until beans are hot, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings

Have a great day