Anne Lamott said many memorable things Sunday in Charlotte’s Christ Episcopal Church on a golden gingko-leaved fall afternoon. What I heard (meaning remember ) is that she didn’t want to be a model of “victimized superiority” (I know some of those dreary people), that she’s fairly certain among the things Jesus frequently says to her is “Have you eaten?” and that waiting for inspiration is a way of saying you don’t plan to get any writing done today.
Her new work is Stitches (2013) and like Help Thanks Wow (2012) it is a pithy sermon deserving of repetition. Again and again.
What I need to hear again and again is “Butt in seat,” pretty much the sum total of her advice about writing which applies to anything and everything. Getting off FaceBook. Eating right. Going to bed (although in that case, it would be Butt in bed). Getting started. Just doing it (not necessarily in Nike). Being friendly to Stoic the Vast.
I did something last week I swore I would never do again, and that was get a steroid shot — this time in one of my hips. After a week I can sleep without the pain in that hip waking me up, but it’s still sore and stiff. I can only think (oh, yes, again!) that it’s my excess weight making me one of those people I (also) swore I’d never be — an old broad who takes forever going up and down the stairs because she needs to lose a few stone.
My nose is to the grindstone and not my plate. For lunch-supper (lupper?) today I’m having a salmon patty, balsamic-roasted carrots and a baby NC sweet potato. Lots of beta-carotene and the salmon patties don’t taste like those things you slip into your mittens in cold weather to crack open for instant heat — they actually taste like salmon! Stoic found the recipe on the Chicken of the Sea packet.
Simple salmon cakes
1/3 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup minced bell pepper
1 medium egg
1 pouch (5 ounces) skinless, boneless pink salmon
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs or stuffing mix, DIVIDED
Combine onions, mayo, lemon juice, garlic powder, cayenne, bell pepper and seasoned salt in bowl. Stir in salmon and 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Form mixture into 4 balls. Roll balls in remaining 3/4 cup crumbs and flatten into cakes 1/2 inch thick. Melt butter and fry cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel before serving and they’ll be
crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
youcanteaticecreamintheshower 
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