Rosferado, Endangered and Destruction

Now that we are nearing the end of our southern hemisphere winter, we can start to look forward to Spring. The shortest day of the year has passed, and now, minute by minute, we see the days getting longer.

I can see you are wondering what Rosferado in my title means. Well, that’s the name I came up with for my Wizard in my chapter books for children – ‘Rosferado – Wizard Extraordinaire’ and ‘Rosferado – Wizard Banished’. I am now writing book three – ‘Rosferado – Wizard Challenged’ which I hope to publish before the year’s end.

As far as ‘Endangered‘ and ‘Destruction‘ -the environment of Earth and the creatures that inhabit it, have always been at the top of my mind. Most of the books I write are about animals, and, just like my Wizard series, the Kathy Adventure books ‘In Search of the Elusive Panda’and ‘Smugglers and Dragons’ feature an animal that is endangered, usually by the unthinking destruction of their habitat.

Humans have been particularly selfish about the Earth and its resources for a long time, and it is nice to see some of the new generation realize that without our planet, we would have no-where, as yet, to survive. I often wonder if the space explorations that are being financed by the rich of the world, are merely to look for another planet to escape to when this planet is of no use anymore.

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However, we are still here, and we still have to survive. Here is a recipe to add flavour to your next stir-fry:-

Tammy’s Sweet and Sour Sauce.

1 cup Pineapple juice (with water)

2 tblspns cornflour

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tblspns soy sauce

2-3 tblspns tomato sauce

1 cup chopped onions

1 ¼ cup of pineapple pieces

2-3 drops of red food colouring (optional)

other chopped vegetables as desired. (carrot, cabbage, broccoli etc.)

Blend cornflour, pineapple juice and vinegar in a saucepan.
Soak onion in red colouring for a few minutes.
Add everything to saucepan except pineapple pieces.
Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Serve with rice. Serves 4.
Veg can be par cooked if desired.

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My little story for today:-

A new beginning.

Nadia spread the blanket over the sand and sat down. It wasn’t long before an inquisitive seagull arrived and regarded her curiously. She didn’t take any notice, and the bird soon flew away, as there was no handout of food from the lady.

The sea was calm and the temperature pleasant. The monotonous sloshing of the waves soon lulled Nadia into a mesmerized stare.

“Hello!” a male voice said, causing Nadia to startle.

She turned and then smiled. It was so nice to see the man. He looked concerned.

“I saw you from my holiday home up there,” he explained, waving his hand in the general direction of the street above. “Are you okay?”

Nadia nodded.

“Just enjoying the peace – even the seagulls are leaving me alone!”

The man laughed.

“They know you have no food!”

“Thank you for checking on me,” Nadia added. “I only arrived this morning and I couldn’t wait to come down here and enjoy the calmness.”

“Yes,” The man agreed. “I love it here, too. By the way, my name is David.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nadia replied. “I’m Nadia.”

“Mind if I join you?” he asked.

Nadia shifted slightly and patted the blanket. “Please do.”

David sat and they both stared out to the ocean for a while. David quietly reached for Nadia’s hand and she shifted just a little closer.

It was going to be hard, but Nadia and David had to do something to revive their marriage, and this get away seemed the perfect answer.

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Besides the tangles of human relationships, and the crisis on our planet, one of the best things we should all strive for, is peace – of both mind and body. violence in any size or shape – in my humble opinion, doesn’t solve anything. I know it isn’t always easy to find, but peace of the soul and of the beauty around you on this planet will only help. The books I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this blog are chapter books for children aged between about 8 and 10. I also write picture books for younger children. They are all priced at AU$18 (plus postage), so if you are interested, please email at maureenlarter@gmail.com for a catalogue and more information. The books below touch upon both peace of mind and the adult fiction tells of the dangers of violence in a relationship. (I write under the pen-name Marguerite Wellbourne for topics that are not for children)