4th of July

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

This song has come to mind quite often over the past 10 days, especially on July 4th. Hubby and I left home on June 25th, dropped our Catahoula puppy off at the boarding place (or should I say dog resort! http://www.lonestardogranch.com), and headed across the plains of West Texas on a research trip. We did two research trips last year–one to the Blue Ridge Parkway to do research for a book I’ve been working on and the Smoky Mountains to do research for another–and the other to New York, Maine, and Boston for a children’s book I have planned.

This year we’re doing research for the sequel to Superstition and for a possible photo book. We’ve been to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Superstition mountains in Arizona, made a quick stop in Los Angeles to see the boys, and headed up the 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). We drove all the way to Seattle (more Superstition research), and back down to Yosemite. For the next week we’ll be camping out, taking pictures, and writing.

On my bucket list is to visit every state in this beautiful country of ours. I’ve now been from Seattle, WA to Naples, Florida and from San Diego CA to Maine. I’ve seen at least part of 39 states, including Hawaii. I’m hoping to complete that list next year with a visit to Alaska and the remaining 1o states. I have an idea for a series with each book set in a different state. It’s an ambitious project, but one I hope I can do someday.

Do you have a bucket list? What’s the number one thing on it?

Festive 4th of July Macaroni Salad

by Jill James

My mom was a superb cook. Unfortunately, I did not inherit this gene, along with not getting the gardening one either. LOL But this salad is simple enough that even my heroine of Dangerous Shift, Lt. Nikki Hill could pull it together. Nikki is my favorite heroine of my books so far. She can bat her baby blue eyes, then slam the perp face-down on the car, and whip those cuffs onto him. All in one slick move. But, as her sister Katie says, don’t let Nikki cook unless you are willing to have the kitchen go up in flames. Since this is me too, even I can manage this salad.

4 cups small salad macaroni
2 carrots, shredded
3 stalks of celery, diced medium fine
1/2 yellow onion, diced fine
3 tablespoons mayonnaise to start, add as needed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, for taste
Optional toppings of paprika and poppy seeds for color.

Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain and rinse to cool. Place in bowl add other ingredients and toppings. Stir and serve
Makes enough for 10-12 people.