Heather Hawk

In speaking with people about my new anthology, it came to my attention that not everyone knows what flash fiction is.

     Many people are familiar with a six-word story (Yes, that can be a full story) I won't quote it here, but it is about unworn baby shoes that were never worn.

     We all felt it, the joy of a new baby, and then its death. We felt the parent's pain. We knew what happened. Although place was not mentioned, the setting could have been anywhere in the world. A universal story.

     That is the essence of flash fiction. Maximum impact without being verbose and repetitive like AI.

2026. A new year is here and you may have made a resolution to alter your diet or to have the scale reflect a different number. My December blog listed 11 ideas for changing habits, thoughts, and reducing calories.
  For February's Love Month, I'd like to add a few more helpful maneuvers.
  Now I won't lie. There is more to my methods than just diet. At one time I was a perpetual motion machine. My husband prefers stationary motion. He weighs over twice as much as I do, yet on most days I devour more food than he does. Naturally, I burn more calories. Motion helps!
Through our thoughts and habitual attitudes we influence the condition of our physical bodies. Here is a partial quote from Edgar Cayce's reading 93-1:
"…All building and replenishing for a physical body is from within, and must be constructed by the mind of the entity; for MIND is the BUILDER…"
  Here are some physical ways we can reduce calories:
How to eat out in a restaurant without breaking your diet and digestion: Rethink the purpose of eating out. Make the restaurant about the journey, not the food.
With friends? Concentrate on the conversation. Talk, talk, talk. And less food will get into your gullet. Bring a take-out container to reduce any obligation to eat everything on the plate.
Eating alone? Bring a book, or analyze each bite and flavor. Pretend you are there to critique the restaurant. Quietly conversing with an audio book may bring other diners into the conversation!
You may have heard advice like - stay out of the refrigerator/pantry. To lessen temptation it may be better to stay out of the unlit kitchen/dining area and put a sign on the doors. "Closed."
If at any time you feel addicted to food or have a compulsion to eat, try to determine what is missing from your day or life. Turn that addiction into a positive route. Is there a desire to chew something? Try gum. That has not worked well for me in the past, but what has worked is talking. A constant movement of my mouth will suffice. Or perhaps a love-making session will satisfy!
Keep the house temperature lower. It is better for your heart too. And lastly:
This has to do with intermittent fasting. A small study published in Gastroenterology found that time-restricted eating resulted in not only weight reduction, but also suggested a reduction in inflammation for overweight people with Crohn's disease. Intermittent fasting is a huge contributor to why I can eat as much as someone twice my size and can still remain slender. The method is to not eat after dinner, nor before breakfast. In other words have a minimum eight hour window each day when no food is eaten. I strive for a 10 to 12-hour break.
Here are more ideas for food substitutions:

Have a craving for something sweet? Or are you just tired? Or you eat any snack food because you are tired and need a pick up. Try a healthy simple baked potato. Or have ready a bowl of tiny colorful potatoes ready for snacking. Finnish potatoes are small, slender, dark purple, and more flavorful than a russet. Potatoes are loaded with carbohydrates for the energy boost you are craving. If a topping is desired, try melted cheese or plain yogurt.
  I love vanilla ice cream milkshakes, but alas, for health reasons, I can no longer drink them. There are fruit combinations that taste just as good. A banana shake to the rescue. Add milk, yogurt, and vanilla powder then blend away!  
  For different flavors try oat, almond or cashew milk blended with blueberries, peaches and of course the banana as the thickener.
  Experiment with non-dairy cheeses. The selection is limited. My health-food store carries a cheddar made from oats. It doesn't melt well, but at almost a third less in calories and fat, it is worth it. I am on the lookout for cashew and soy cheeses. There is a pizza parlor in New York that offers a nondairy mozzarella.
  Does a warm drink or a cold drink fill your stomach? The jury is out on that one, but I feel that something warm usually fills me up.

  Travel tips: Whether you are traveling by car, train, plane or boat, a bag of home-made mixed nuts/dried fruit is a great snack.
  Depending upon your hydration requirements, you might prefer apple and/or carrot slices. Seedless grapes are a neat and juicy snack.

  These ideas I practice may not work for you or be to your taste. This list is my own. If you are working with a dietitian, seek their advice on adjusting your diet.

                                                     Additonal happenings from The Spy That Wasn't

The cottage appeared vacant. Not abandoned. Just not occupied during the time of my minute observation. In a homogenous neighborhood of 1940's one-story wooden framed homes, it was like any other house and didn't stand out.

Just to be considerate and cautious I rang the door bell and waited an appropriate time. No answer, no sounds. I pounded on the door and rang the bell again. After a minute or so, there still was no answer and no sounds from within.

The front curtains were drawn and were still. All indications revealed the house was unoccupied. Or perhaps, as had occurred at other houses, the residents were enjoying the back yard on this sunny day or were in the back of the house.

The side and back yards were open and I easily strode to a waist height window that had no window covering drawn. Great! An opportunity. Being curious, I peeked inside as was my usual habit. To my surprise and wide opened eyes, I quickly retreated after having seen a young man, no more than three-feet from the window, in his tiny, white skivvies just sitting up from what may have been a heavy nap in the afternoon.

Did he see me? I doubted that as he was looking downwards to the floor as he sat up. I returned to the front door and rang again. But he didn't answer.

Ah well. Another typical day and now chuckling, I contiued on my way having experienced yet another unexpected situation.

Who can resist a Buffet of Bliss? You don't have to throw away your skinny diet to enjoy scrumptious holiday meals. Here are ideas to keep your physique in check without omitting that second or third dessert.

• Mind over matter – Think positive thoughts. Sometimes anger and frustration (negative feelings) can interfere with digestion.
• Think positively – Change thoughts of losing weight to the desire to obtain a better figure and look like a model. Positive thought Yah!
• Mind over matter - Substitute yogurt plain or vanilla only, as a substitute for ice cream. (It does work)
• Eat slowly and chew everything. Sometimes it takes me so long to eat that I have to reheat the plate. It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to realize satiation. When we eat faster, we tend to eat more
• Substitute plain yogurt for sour cream - Oui and Siggis are only two of the thicker yogurts, or use a Greek-style which is very creamy
• Use cornstarch or mashed potato or mashed beans or pureed vegetables as a thickener in soup replacing flour
• Bake your own bread. Commercial store bread is high in calories, sugar and possibly some unwanted additives
• Use less sugar in baking. I go for half the amount called for and/or substitute apple, pineapple or other sweet juice as a sweetener
• Reduce the amount of butter/oil used in sautéing by adding water or other liquid
• Reduce the amount of butter/oil in baked desserts by adding more liquids like yogurt
• Cut a glass of milk or non-dairy milk or juice with water.

The Dining chapter in Running With Knives revealed how I love to eat. I have used the above ideas to keep weight down and enjoy food more often. I hope that you are inspired to alter and experiment on traditional recipes. Enjoy your extra appetizers and sweet indulgences. When you are the chef, ingredients are within your control. A rare few super tasters will detect the difference.
And yes, I am going to bake extra Heather's Chocolate Cake and eat two large slices and not feel full nor guilty. It is made with olive oil, yogurt and utilizes some of the ideas listed above.

Enjoy! and Happy Holidays!

These ideas that I practice may not work for you or be to your taste. This list is my own. If you are working with a dietitian, seek their advice on adjusting your diet.

More than life - it was stuff and lots of it. What can go wrong and right happened. Following are only a few occurrences:
Coordinating contractors for repairs and installations. The 25-year-old refrigerator Tricked us up and had to be replaced. Boo!

We had a new fence installed. Treat!

While driving, an unseen obstacle cracked the windshield and had to be replaced Boo!

Out of state relatives stayed with us for a week. Treat!

A new formatter for my upcoming book on flash fiction, can't seem to get it right. Boo!

One of my stories was selected for "The Day that Changed Everything" published by Brightspring Books. Treat! Here is your link for updates on a December anticipated release: https://memoirmentors.com/anthology Treat!

We worked hard on downsizing and reorganizing. Is that a Trick or a Treat? I'm not sure, but we missed Halloween and most of the autumn colors of October. However, lost items have now been found.

We hope life calms for an enjoyable Thanksgiving! 

Our desert in Arizona is full of surprises. The husband of an acquaintance relayed this incident:

Willy heard the doorbell chime an hour after breakfast. Bummed out, as he had just reclined in a pillowed barcolounger to watch the 11 o'clock news. And being the laid-back, do as little as possible, pot-bellied kind of retiree, he was in his pajama boxer briefs. He hurried to the closet, picked up the trousers that lay in the laundry pile, and slid them on.

At the second doorbell chime, and knocking on the door, he picked up his step and hurried to open the door.

Two suited elderly ladies introduced themselves, "Hello, I'm Jan and this is Cynthia, we are from the church of Latter Day Saints."

At that moment Willy's hand slowly moved to his inner thigh as he felt a tickle that had to be scratched.

"We have some new literature that we'd like to share with you and if there are any concerns or troubles, we can praa..."

The itch on Willy's thigh was in motion, and he began to shake his leg.
To no avail, the tickling climbed higher and was nearing his jewels. He grabbed his crotch and jumped around.

The ladies eyes practically bulged out of their sockets, as they tripped over each other to run away while screeching at the top of their lungs.

The pants came off as Willy shook his legs outside the entry and a four-inch scorpion scurried away.

One sunny afternoon, on a typical work day - I say typical because even on drizzly northwest days, the sun emerged or the rain paused when I exited a car to measure a house - I had just completed measuring an open framed house located at the end of a dead-end street in a rural area. The construction workers were not on-site. This was a good opportunity to visit the portable throne out in the front yard.
As I was finishing up, the sounds of a large truck came closer and stopped very close by...
"Oh, I better hurry. Glad they're back, I have questions for the construction workers."
Upon my opening the door, a worker stood with his arm stretched towards the loo's door, and he jumped backwards. Startled, with his mouth agape, he uttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in there. I was just going to load the bucket for cleaning."
Whew. Glad I'm fast. So relieved I was, not going to be swimming in a cesspool by end of day. A past snorkeling experience came close enough to that.
And so, I finished my typical day with yet another out-of-the-ordinary and unexpected incident.

Barbecue season is upon us and, of course, we are ready. The propane tank is full, the smoker is on the deck, and we have just ground two pounds of sirloin to grill. Four pounds of firm line-caught salmon will be prepped this evening for smoking tomorrow.
As told in my story "For a Date, Eat it Raw" I prefer well cooked-meat; however, over the years I developed a taste for raw oysters, sushi and smoked salmon.
Smoking fish-to eat, that is, not to draw on it like a rolled smoke-is an art. As with most food preparation, we wing it, feel it, and may taste it throughout the process.
Here are some ideas for smoking fish:
We first start with line-caught King or Chinook salmon in similar uniform thicknesses.
Cut into similar sizes.
Soak in a brine of salt and sugar. We have found that using a ratio of 75 percent sugar and 25 percent sea-salt results in the best flavor, which is favored by most tasters. Sometimes we switch to a 50/50 ratio.
Place fish into a loosely covered dish and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
The following day, uncover the fish. Rinse to remove the salt-sugar mixture and pat dry. Use brown or white sugar.
Then season it with a mixture of paprika, garlic and onion powders, and pepper. Match spices to your taste.
Let it dry a bit to form a pellicle-a dry film that forms like a thin crust. This step may take a couple or more hours depending upon humidity.
When the pellicle is dry, shiny, and a bit tacky to the touch, it is time for the smoker.
Moisten the cherry or oak chips. Smoke for an hour or two until it reaches the consistency and dryness that you prefer.
Enjoy with capers, creamed cheese, or alone.

A great resource for detailed methodology is the Fulton Fish Market in New York.

The saying is - "April showers bring May flowers." That may be true in certain parts of the country but not in the Northwest where the slogan is "May's rains bring June blooms."

Temperature lows are only high enough to plant starts and seeds outdoors beginning in June.  A fairly consistent temperature of fifty degrees and higher is needed for planting seeds and putting out tomato plants.
With this in mind, forget chili peppers which will need greenhouse conditions without any slimy voracious slugs.

In my New York life, I never thought much about the weather. It was what it was, and we dressed appropriately for the conditions. Hot and humid in the summer brought out colorful, light-weight cottons. During snow and freezing temperatures, fur boots, long coats, hats, and gloves were donned. During occasional rains, an umbrella was always utilized. This is not the case in the Northwest. The Northwest is home to outdoor enthusiasts. Dang the weather! Dang a change of clothing! Open sandals, t-shirts, and shorts are the adornment of the born-and-raised crowd. Keeping to neutral colors of beige and brown, one never worries about color coordination. For a change, there may be a splash of green. Emerald green that is, to show ones woodsy nature. The outdoor temperature cannot be estimated by looking out of your window to the pedestrians below, as this 'uniform' is worn year-round. And since the rainfall or mist is typically light, an umbrella is for sissies.

A neutral color is also the vogue in Arizona. I brought a lot of lightweight whites for the hot weather. A mistake. This is what occurred. The whites turned a sandy light tan. The blowing sand embeds into the fabric. Washing does not help because in many water districts an extremely high mineral and sand content gets past the reverse osmosis systems. For me, I found light tans and straw-colored clothing is best. However, local desert rats wear black. Black leggings are the year-round staple for many women, regardless of temperatures that exceed 100 degrees. Men wear jeans or shorts.

My preference is to use phenology to determine when to plant and what to wear. When traveling to other countries, I wear similar garb to the locals, and it is hard to identify me as an outsider. But on the West coast I stand out as a tourist.

Many people might answer that they were connected to email, on the cloud, or cooking. Frustrating, isn't it?
There were opposing views on "Age of Electronics" but many readers could relate to my problems with computers and modern appliances. Others were not convinced by emperical evidence that my personal electromagnetic waves have an effect on most electronics.
I agree that not all breakdowns and glitches are due to my body's chemistry, and I certainly did not cause the last major power outage. Other humongous problems lurk behind that video screen. To name a few conduits: electricity, weather, atmospheric pressures, brown-outs, internet service providers, modems, and vandalism.
The idea that your data should be filed 'on the cloud' is beyond hopeless. Email? Mostly non-existent when the internet is down. Previously, on older systems, emails were available and could be viewed on your computer. Work could still get done, however, on the new cloud system, that is no longer viable.
Today's latest 982MB update has caused major problems for me. Substantially slower response on a one year old machine, unable to control settings without being on 'The Cloud', automatically synced my files, etc. There will be more problems found and more wasted time figuring this out, as the day goes on.
Buying a new appliance or gadget? Paper manuals are not provided. When setting up or troubleshooting a malfunction, cross your fingers that the internet is alive so you can download and print the manual.
Many areas of the country experience power outages, poor connections, brown-outs, and rotating power outages all too often. What happens when "The Cloud" dissipates?
To the rescue! A hidden, fading, yellowed paper appears. My back-up insurance for information.
In Grays Harbor County, there were a total of 230 outages recorded for the year 2023, and 50,293 interruptions of power. All of which amounted to 193,991 customer hours.
According to Tara Energy-one of the electrical providers in Texas-in 2020, 1.33 billion hours of power outages affected the United States, with California having the highest number of interruptions.
The high numbers are mind-blowing and extensive. Bloom Energy's web-site has an interactive map of historical outages in California.
Be prepared for the next outage. Here are a few items to consider having on hand:

• candles and matches
• land-line phone
• gas-powered stove
• propane barbecue
• pencil, pen, and lots of paper!