It Feels Like Summer, Sort Of

I remember back in 2007 this time of year I fled to Reno (with my two dogs, and former cat Kerouac) to wait out the drama of the Angora Fire at Tahoe. In 2008 it was the quake swarm at Verdi-Mogul that continued on through June. (And yes, Kerouac was on the sensing shakers beat.) The following summer the ups and downs of the recession hit Lake Tahoe. And in the summer of 2010 I was working like a worker bee on The Healing Powers of Honey (Sept. 27, 2011; Kensington Books). And this year I'm penning another Healing Powers book in between distracting chaos around the globe--caused by Mother Nature...

Read: Yes, I forecasted the 7.2 Alaska quake that hit on June 24, two days ago. Flooding at Tahoe didn't pan out as bad as NOAA (and I) thought it would. North Dakota's historical water from snowmelt is another story. And now a nuke plant in Nebraska is another woe. It should feel like summer, a time for beach going and ice cream cones--but for some reason it doesn't feel fun 100%.

In the upcoming issue of Oracle 20-20 magazine I dish out how to read your cat or dog to get a handle on what may or may not be coming your way--good or bad. And today, I sit here amid my cat Zen (from the indoors he's hunting spiders to flys), two Brittanys Simon and Seth, and feel the block as I get ready to go back to the big book. I feel Zen's restless nature. Maybe that Sierra quake will cometh before June ends...

Meanwhile, I'm craving chocolate. Not sure why but it's a feel-good superfood. The shrimp salad that I wrote about for Tahoe Tribune's "What's Cookin' at Callie's Cabin" worked for a while but it's gone. Swimming today outdoors was heaven but it's over. The bottom line: I'm suffering from writer's block and instead of going with it I'm fighting it. Or not. Writing books is so much easier to do in the winter or even fall (my fave season) when it's off season. Perhaps, I'll bake a pie or cake and that may stir the creative juices. Or maybe I'll play with Zen and his new neo light mouse. Here kitty, kitty. Wanna play with the mouse?  I need a chocolate fix ASAP. Oh, oh, oh. ChefShop.com is sending me a special chocolate bar. I have something to look forward to this week.