Celebrate, Food

When Pigs Fly and a Blogging Break

64 Comments

On Saturday, Dee, Clif, and I piled into our EV and headed south to Kittery, the banana belt of Maine, as we like to call it. The occasion? Dee’s birthday. Shannon and Mike, who live in Massachusetts, joined us for a meal at a restaurant called When Pigs Fly. Pizza baked in a wood-fired oven is one of their specialties, and Dee is a pizza hound extraordinaire.

But first we had appetizers and drinks: a pumpkin martini for Dee, a beer for Clif, and iced tea for me. (Shannon and Mike were stuck in traffic and joined us later. Ah, Boston!) The fries and the pretzel sticks were mighty tasty.

When Shannon and Mike joined us, we had a nice little feast.

Pizza for the birthday girl and Clif,

soup and sandwiches for Shannon and Mike,

and tangy sweet and sour tofu for me. It was so good that I could have some right now.

Was there room for dessert? Yes, Indeed. The birthday girl and Shannon had ice cream, and Clif had a brownie sundae. However, I only had eyes for one thing —an order of cannoli that Mike and I shared.

The cannoli were everything they should be: crisp and sweet but not too sweet. Mike and I agreed that a soggy cannoli is a crime against nature and should not be allowed.

I had been to When Pigs Fly before and knew how crowded it could get. When Clif, Dee, and I arrived at 11:30, there were plenty of seats. By the time we left around 2:00, not only was the place packed, but there was also a waiting line.

So off we went to Starbucks for tea, coffee, and presents. None of us are huge Starbucks fans, but it was nearby, and we don’t know the area all that well.

That might change. The Kittery/York/Kennebunk area is a good halfway point for us to meet, and we plan on getting together once a month or so, even when there isn’t a birthday to celebrate.

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It is time for another blogging break.

I have finished writing my children’s novel, Darcy Dansereau, a slice-of-life fantasy set in Waterville, Maine, in the 1970s. Some readers might recall The Dog Angel, a short story I wrote a few Christmases ago and shared online for free. In The Dog Angel, Darcy and her mother, Janine, were kicked out of their apartment because Janine had hurt herself while cleaning houses and couldn’t pay the rent. Help comes to them from an unexpected source that changes Darcy’s and Janine’s lives.

In Darcy Dansereau, I have expanded The Dog Angel to a longer story, where Darcy not only encounters more magic but must also deal with the prejudice that comes from being poor and belonging to a second-class ethnic group.

The story is written. Now it is time for editing — picky, time-consuming work that takes all of my little brain cells. Hence the need for a break.

I’m not sure how long the break will be, but I think it will be at least a month, perhaps a little longer.

I’ll catch you all on the flip side!

 

 

 

64 thoughts on “When Pigs Fly and a Blogging Break”

  6. What a terrific idea to get together once a month. I wish we could do that with our kids. Wishing you a productive and happy break, Laurie.

  8. Happy blogging break, Laurie — I know you’ll make it a productive one! What a lovely birthday gathering — the food looks super, and the company I’m sure was congenial. You’re blessed to have a halfway meeting point that everyone enjoys!

  15. The food looks amazing … and yes, there is always room for dessert.

    Good luck with the editing of The Dog Angel. Yep, from my own experience it is tough. It is surprising how much you miss. I Beta read a crime novel recently which was edited with a fine toothcomb and I still found errors.

    See you in a month or so.

  17. May imagination easily come to the fore during the work break and make for happy work days . . . oh, am still smiling about pigs flying and inviting plates where it did :)!

  22. Editing is a finicky business – especially of your own writing, so I wish you the peace and quiet that is needed to get it done. Enjoy your blogging break too.

  25. happy Birthday Dee! Another excellent celebration for you all. Good luck with the editing.

  26. When Pigs Fly ❤️❤️❤️ the humour in that! The food looks so good. That pizza! and the tofu … yum yum

    Congratulations on the upcoming book. May it be a productive time getting it sorted!

  27. Hope the editing goes well. If you’ve reached that stage the end is (almost!) in sight.

    Monthly visits to When Pigs Fly sounds wonderful. Good company and good food. Enjoy!

    1. Many thanks! On another subject…thanks to you my family has signed up for Letterboxd. Now we will have a place to keep track of the many movies we watch.

  29. Laurie, it’s nice to hear you’ve expanded your story into a novel. It’s also a good time for young people to learn about differences and prejudicial behavior. Best of luck editing.

    I’m glad you had a good time at When Pigs Fly. I would have chosen the same dish as you. Yummy.

    See you when you’re back.

  30. The food looks great. Good luck with editing.
    Here in house my husband is dealing with the last bits of proofreading, uploading the source codes, plus taking care of me 😊. Springer will soon publish his book.

  31. I hope your break gives you all the brain cells you need to complete this wonderful (if un-fun) piece of the publishing puzzle! Happy November!

    1. WordPress can be flighty at times. I did get a previous comment about how you liked When Pigs Fly. Who know why your comment was rejected? Certainly wasn’t on my end. Anyway, sorry about the rejection.

  33. Hmmm, perhaps it was too long? I just popped over to say I’d recently been to the When Pigs Fly bakery, and now that I’ve seen this post I’d like to return and try the restaurant. Enjoy your blogging break.

  34. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #464 – Thistles and Kiwis

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