Dinner And A Movie Monday – Big Stone Gap

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Ashlyey Judd, Big Stone Gap, chick flick, Fried Chicken, romantic comedy, Whoopi Goldberg

Big Stone Gap was one of those movies my sister and I love to watch. I guess you could call them chick flicks, but to us, there’s more to it. Movies like this tell the kind of story that makes us laugh and cry…and sometimes all in the same scene.

The story takes place circa the 1970s in a small town in Virginia. Big Stone Gap considers Ave Marie Mulligan a spinster. After all, she’s forty and never been close to considering marriage, even though it’s apparent that childhood friend Jack is in love with her and has been for years. She claims the only thing he loves is his brand new truck.

She’s far too busy running the family pharmacy, being involved in her community, volunteering on the coal mining town’s Emergency Response Team, and directing the town’s annual production of “Trail of the Lonesome Pine”.

When Ave’s mother dies suddenly, she discovers Fred Mulligan is not really her father. Her mother was pregnant with another man’s child when they married. She left Ave’s father behind in Italy, but she never stopped loving him. She even kept his letters. That explains why Fred’s sister doesn’t think she should inherit the pharmacy or the house that’s been in the family for years.

Jack admits to Ave he has always had a crush on the little Italian girl that sat beside him in elementary school, and she realizes she has feelings for him. But when he blurts out they ought to get married, she’s offended.

Ashley Judd plays an independent woman who is a romantic at heart. I admire her passion for life. Whoopi Goldberg’s character is every bit as funny as her character in Ghosts. I love her sarcasm. Jenna Elfman is perfect as her wacky, off-the-wall friend. The movie depicts small-town living as only someone who’s been there can pull off. Great little movie.

Fried Chicken

Nothing says southern small town cooking like fried chicken, does it? There’s an amusing scene involving fried chicken in the movie. Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, John Warner, make a stop in town while on a campaign tour because she wants to try the friend chicken they serve at the diner.

When my family was young and we were on a tight budget, a friend taught me how to cut up a fryer without hacking it into unrecognizable pieces. We each had our favorite pieces. My youngest always ate the legs, my oldest the thighs, and my daughter and I fought over the wishbone.

These days I don’t fry chicken very often, and when I do, I only cook tenders. However, I still use the same recipe. It’s messy, but simple and yummy.

1 lb chicken tenders

1 cup flour

kosher salt and large grain pepper

one or two eggs, whipped

1 cup milk

Salt and pepper the tenders. Coat them with milk, salt and pepper. Dip each tender in a bowl of egg and milk mixture. Return them to the flour mixture one more time and fry in a cast iron skillet using vegetable oil. Cook until golden brown.

Makes the crispiest homemade chicken I’ve ever eaten.

 

 

Guest author: Susan A. Royal – Xander’s Tangled Web

I’m over at Sue Vincent’s place. Stop by for a visit.

Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

Image: Sue Vincent

I write Scifi, Fantasy and Paranormal. Most of my stories are about people who have adventures they never expected. Think Twilight Zone or Amazing stories. Something along those lines.

I love to talk about writing any chance I get, and during the course of the conversation people invariably ask where I get my ideas. It takes an imagination.

You have to have the kind of mind that absorbs details and recognizes their potential. Little bits of information, witty comments, engaging phrases, even someone’s appearance or mannerisms. You take note of them and when you sit down in front of the computer you begin to weave them together into a coherent story. Before long you’ve built an entire scenario around something most people overlook.

My latest book began like this. The company where my son, Hunter, worked had sent him to a little town in the state of…

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Picture me here, writing my next book.

There have been some big changes in my life this past year. Good changes for the most part, but I’ve spent a lot of effort putting them into effect. By the time I sit down in front of the computer, I lack the time or energy to make any kind of progress. My writing has suffered.

It’s time to get back into it, and here’s my plan.

Stay active in a critique group. There’s nothing like interacting with fellow writers. They make me think about what I’ve written. They approach my writing with a fresh perspective. I may not always agree with what they say, but there are times when it leads me to the perfect solution.

Set aside time to write. My schedule has always been flexible and will be even more so shortly. It works best for me to plan to write several evenings a week and a few hours either Saturday or Sunday. The times and days are always subject to change depending on what else is going on in my life. Consistent progress adds up.

Blog on a regular basis. Write articles, do reviews. One of the things I do is Dinner and a Movie Monday bi-monthly. (review a movie and post a recipe). Blog swap with fellow authors. Mix it up. This spring I plan to showcase my friends and families’ talents (they are photographers, musicians, artists…what a creative bunch) and write about my travels.

Enter writing contests. Rising to the challenge to write something within someone else’s guidelines is good practice even when I don’t win.

Always have pencil and paper for notes. Because I won’t remember what I just heard or saw that simply has to be written into my next story.

I’ll think of other things once I get going. And when I do I’ll be glad to share. What’s important is to look until you find out what works for you and run with it. Keep your mind open so the creativity can flow.

Good luck!

A New Normal

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2017, A New Year

Here I am. It’s Sunday morning. After a year filled with life-changing events, it was my intention to spend the first weekend of the new year by putting my resolutions into effect. Getting organized, being productive, and specifically getting back to writing.

I had my to-do list ready. Saturday I planned to clean the closet in the spare bedroom and put away Christmas decorations, along with necessary evils like washing and housework. I wanted to everything looking especially nice because I planned to have a writer friend visit next Saturday. I intended to be very productive so I could spend all of today writing. That was the plan, anyway.

Sometime Friday night the temperature plunged into the ‘teens. This is my first winter here, and I couldn’t sleep for worrying because it’s up on pier and beam. Not that losing sleep made the slightest bit of difference. All the pipes froze anyway. No water for washing, cleaning or flushing. No water for cooking.

Still I tried to be productive and was even able to go down the road to my kids’ house to shower and get water, so it could have been much worse. But it didn’t keep me from getting frustrated. And before long, my energy level dipped along with the temperature. I could barely drag myself from one chore to another. I didn’t care whether I got a thing done. Maybe it was from lack of sleep.

This morning I even considered contacting my friend to postpone our visit . But I didn’t want to do that. This past year writing and things connected with it has taken a back seat to everything else going on in my life. Sometimes it was necessary. Sometimes I just didn’t have the energy to do it. And when I tried, too often I found myself floundering. I’ve been filled with self-doubt and reluctant to take a chance on anything.

Things need to change, and I’m trying, but it’s a slow process. It takes time to find a new normal, and patience is not one of my strong points. But I am stubborn. I won’t let myself give up.

(P.S. My water’s back on! The washer, the dryer and the dishwasher are humming away. I’m at my desk with a hot mug of tea, and I’m about to begin working on my time travel sequel. I know I  won’t get as far as I’d planned, but I’m going to make progress and that’s what counts.)