Vicki Lane Mysteries
Words and pictures from the author of And the Crows Took Their Eyes as well as the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries . . .
Friday, April 4, 2025
Thursday, April 3, 2025
A Moral Moment
Dear Sen./Rep. _______,
I'm guessing you didn't pay any attention to the marathon speech Cory Booker gave, so I'd like to give you a Cliff Notes version of it.
Quoting Heather Cox Richardson (whose Letters from an American it would do you good to read):
" Booker called out the Trump administration’s violations of the Constitution and detailed the ways in which the administration is hurting Americans. Farmers have lost government contracts, putting them in a financial crisis. Cuts to environmental protections that protect clean air and water are affecting Americans’ health. Housing is unaffordable, and the administration is making things worse. Cuts to education and medical research and national security breaches have made Americans less safe. The regime accidentally deported a legal resident because of “administrative error” and now says it cannot get him back.
"“These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such,” he said. “This is our moral moment. This is when the most precious ideas of our country are being tested…. Where does the Constitution live, on paper or in our hearts?”
So many things to address. Could YOU begin by being outraged that, through an administrative error, a legal resident has been sent to a foreign prison and the administration that sent him there isn't trying to get him back?
Let this be YOUR moral moment. Or is the word "moral" on the ever-expanding list of words proscribed by this immoral regime?
Your sincerely outraged constituent
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Dancing Woman by Elaine Neil Orr
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Thankful for Rain
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Tuscan Chicken
We had leftovers with this amount. A bonus!
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Mirepoix ( 2 c chopped celery, 2 c. chopped carrots, 4 c. chopped onions)
2-3 tsp. fresh rosemary
1/2 cup mixed olives plus 1/4 cup olive brine (the original recipe specified Castelvetrano olives but not having those, I used some fancy mixed olives we'd been given for Christmas.)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
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Preheat oven to 425 F. Pat thighs dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in large casserole with lid. Add thighs (in batches, if necessary) and saute till browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook other side 2 minutes then remove to plate. (Chicken will finish cooking in the oven.)
Now add the mirepoix mix to the casserole and cook over high heat 3-5 minutes, stirring till browned. Add rosemary, stir, and then add the olive brine, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Cook about 1 min., till liquid has evaporated. Stir in cherry tomatoes and olives, and salt and pepper as desired.
Off heat, arrange the chicken, browned side up, in the casserole, along with any juices. Cover and put in oven for about 15 min..
Friday, March 28, 2025
From THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron
"There'll always be sock puppets, thinking they're messiahs, and there'll always be money men behind them."
Thursday, March 27, 2025
I Scream, You Scream . . .
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
But Her E-mails!
