Kitchen Chat – Page 34 – Rebekah Lyn Books

A “Go” Bag Isn’t Just for Conspiracy Theorists

There are lots of survival shows on TV these days, and many of the people on them probably look crazy,

Do they have a go bag? — Wonder if they have a “go” bag?

with their plans for getting out of town fast in the event of a variety of disasters. I’ve learned from these shows though that a “go bag” isn’t just for conspiracy theorists. Living in Florida, I deal with torrential downpours, tornados, hurricanes, wild fires, and highways shut down due to major wrecks. In 1997, I was working the night shift and wasn’t able to get home because all routes were closed due to wild fires. Fortunately, I was working for a hotel at the time and was able to get a room for the night. We wore uniforms so I didn’t have to worry about fresh clothes, but sitting up that night, watching the news coverage of the fires burning, inching closer to homes and threatening to keep the roads closed for days, I vowed that I would never make my commute without at least an overnight bag from then on.

Building my go bag has taken years. It started with a basic change of clothes and a blanket, in case my car broke down somewhere. After a particularly good session working with my technical guru

Musician and Photographer — Mike Thomas My Technical Guru

on the video trailer for Summer Storms, I was too tired to make the drive home and had to be back in to work in only five hours any way, so I crashed in a hotel with my trusty go bag. When I got in the room, though, I found out my bag wasn’t as trusty as I thought. The pants I had didn’t match my dress shoes, I didn’t have any toiletries, contact lens case or solution, not even a hair brush. Fortunately the hotel gift shop was still open and I was able to buy the few things not provided complimentary. When I got home the next night, I made a list of the things I needed to add to my bag.

Now, I feel confident that my bag will get me through just about any spontaneous situation, well, except an invitation to a formal event. I haven’t figured out how to cram an evening gown in the bag. I guess I’ll have to depend on my fairy godmother for that.

Every girl needs a fairy godmothr — Just in Case!

Exercising My Green Thumb

I’ve never had a green thumb but over the past couple of years I developed a real yearning to garden. If you’ve been following Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen you will know that last year I planted a couple of tomatoes and an assortment of herbs. Both did pretty well, although I did loose my Basil and Lemon Verbena.

Dad's Winter Project 2012 — Dad’s Winter Project 2012

Over the winter, my dad and I put in a lovely patio and storage shed, which I have accented with a Plumeria tree, some Batchelor’s Button, Amaryllis, a Gardenia bush, and a couple of flowering plants my mom brings down from North Carolina every winter, then leaves with me. I have tomatoes again, this year I did one Heirloom and one Roma plant, I also added green beans, a zucchini and a squash plant. My real pride and joy right now, though, is my lemon tree. I’m having some challenges with my Gardenia bush and a few concerns arose with me lemon tree this week, but it’s all a learning process and I am enjoying it. I try to spend at least a few minutes each night on the patio when I get home from work. I love seeing what’s new in the garden, smelling all of the relaxing scents. Tonight it is pouring down rain and I know that tomorrow, new growth will delight me when I get my time on the patio.

Using a plant stand to maximize space

I love sitting out here

Using a plant stand to maximize space

I love sitting out here

A few weeks ago while trimming the chives, I discovered a bird had built a nest inside of the chives. It held four tiny eggs. Today they hatched!

I have some exciting news! Summer Storms will be on sale June 6-9 for only 99 eents. You can read about it and watch the video trailer here

I would love to hear your stories about gardening, especially if you have any tips. I am new at this!

Welcome to Rebekah Lyn Books

Welcome to Rebekah Lyn Books! I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this site up and running. I have to give a big shout out to Lynn who did all of the really hard stuff that is way over my head and to my publicist, Onisha Ellis, for filling in all the blanks. Without these two fantastic women this site would never have made it out of my imagination.

Now that we are all here, let me tell you a little about our mission with Rebekah Lyn Books. While my name is on the masthead, I am a mere cog in the wheel that makes this run. DiVoran Lites is my friend, mentor, and fellow author. She’s known me all of my life, and as too often happens we fell out of touch over the years. Our paths crossed once again when I was getting serious about writing and we decided to work together, encouraging and critiquing each other. Her friendship has been an absolute blessing to me and I am honored to have her under the umbrella of Rebekah Lyn Books.

DiVoran and I both write Christian fiction and have a heart to tell clean stories that can entertain and inspire, but we often approach this from different angles. I prefer to write stories that are a bit edgier, involving murder and mahem, while DiVoran’s stories are more relaxed, “come and sit awhile” tales. When I want something that will help me unwind from all the tension I am writing, a chapter or two from DiVoran is just the thing.

In the future I hope to work with other writers and would love to offer devotionals in addition to our fiction books. This website is the first step in fulfilling that goal. I hope you will take a tour of what we have to offer and share us with your friends. DiVoran and I each have a page where we will be posting our activities, book progress and anything else that comes to our minds. Feel free to stop by and join the conversation. If you have any questions or suggestions please use the contact us link. We love feedback and look forward to hearing from you.