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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Tea for Today - Gingerbread by @AdagioTeas #myadagio


The holidays are past, but I’m evoking Christmas with today’s tea, Gingerbread by Adagio.com.

From the website:

Premium black tea from Sri Lanka flavored with sweet gingerbread. Both Gingerbread men and women agree: this unique tea is the perfect addition to any house (gingerbread or regular). A comforting old-world treat, delicious in any season. Warm and cozy, perfect sweetened or not.

Black Tea | High caffeine | Steep at 212° for 3 minutes.


The smell reminded me of Starbucks gingerbread lattes, so I had my husband steam some milk for me and I used a generous dollop of that with this tea.


The tea flavor was stronger than the gingerbread flavor, so this tasted more like a creamy, slightly spicy cup of milk tea than a dessert drink. It was delicious with one of my sugar-glazed treacle buns.

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