#onionlayers

This scalloped potato recipe makes a side dish that's great for any event because it's creamy and cheesy. It's a hearty dish that goes well with any main course because it has layers of thinly sliced potatoes, onions, and homemade cheese sauce.

Ingredients: 4 large potatoes, thinly sliced. 1 onion, thinly sliced. 4 tablespoons butter. 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour. 2 cups milk. 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. 1/4 teaspoon paprika.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350F 175C. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Layer half of the sliced potatoes and onions in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of the shredded cheese. Pour half of the milk mixture over the cheese. Repeat layering with remaining potatoes, onions, cheese, and milk mixture. Sprinkle paprika on top. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and top is golden brown.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 90 minutes

Winter is HERE!

Well there is no hiding from it now, is there? I can’t live in denial that we were going to have an awesome fall until April.

I haven’t been posting lately because I’ve been sick. I am feeling much better now! And now there is snow ...

We got snow here in Sault Ste. Marie two days ago and it was last night that I went on a baking spree. I realized after doing the laundry and cleaning as well as baking that I was nesting ... getting ready for winter and not wanting to leave my house until spring. Unfortuately that is not an option and since I live here in Northern Ontario .... I need to reset this inner clock of mine. Switch gears and prepare for winter because it’s not going anywhere!

I have my christmas tree up and one set of lights on it ... still looking for the rest of my Christmas decorations. I know I put them in a safe place.

Nanowrimo is here I can destract myself with that for the next two weeks, then Christmas and Bon Soo then Winter break! Well now I am starting to feel a little better about this weather ... the only thing better would be if it was spring!

Keep a look out for Book Two coming soon! “Maddox Files: Blurred Lines” and Novella Two coming soon! “Dice Maddox: The Mad Hatter”

Have an awesome week!

R. J. Davies

Monday and Friday Posts ....

Get to know this author has been a regular post on Monday and Friday.

Today is Tuesday.

Why didn’t I post on Monday?

I’ve been hit with another book idea it started Sunday night and just spilled into Monday. If you are an author you will kow what I mean. If you are not an author, well let me see if I can describe it for you.

Getting a new book idea can come in softly like when you were a kid and your mother reminded you gently about four or five times to pick up your socks or it can come at you like someone turned a radio on and sure it’s an awesome song but it’s a little too loud and you can’t shut it off.

Dragan Corvat started off with a few gentle hints then by Sunday evening it was like the loud radio. I am currently working on two book series right now. “Maddox Files” and “Dice Maddox”.  So when he came to me with the gentle hints I was like nope, sorry buddy I can’t doit. Go find another author. Ususally the characters will go away and find someone else. Dragan Corvat said nope I want you to write my story. So I grabbed a fresh notebook and we settled that I could note evertyhing for now , finish my current project and then work on his.

It’s Tuesday ... I am still taking notes ... it sounds really good ... very science fiction, no romance and there are some really scary scenes.

So we will see where this week leads me.

Have an awesome week!

R. J. Davies

Peeling back another onion layer of this author.

Love Is Not In My Deck

There are some things in life that are just not in the deck of cards for you. Not everyone is going to win the lottery, find that amazing lover, or live happily ever after. Love, finding love, having a fantastic love story to tell my grandchildren, having my cup overflow with love for me by someone who really sees me. These are things that are just not in the cards for me.

Did some soul searching and realized that all the boys and men I have dated no one has really seen me for me. I use to think I was above average intelligence and have come to realize I am border average intelligence wager on the lower end of the grand scale. I have or had this notion that my standards of morals and principles just in general are not the same as everyone else. I have high standards for myself and for those who I care about.

When you do something wrong once and you know it’s wrong but you still go ahead and do it. I get it … there’s the thrill ... the excitement. And when you do it again and possibly again, that is not necessarily a choice but perhaps a character trait or flaw depending on the action.

I am in the midst of getting a divorce but in Canada, you need to be separated for a year before you can apply for the divorce, or at least that is what I have been told by a couple of people. What I have realized is that after doing some more soul searching and realized that I could be in fact paying for spousal support to a man that had cheated on me, not once but at least twice. In all fairness to him, this has happened over ten years ago and he is not the same person. Neither am I. Yet, in the last two years, since his older son moved in. It was like living in a war zone because my stepson wanted to have his father to himself. I have done a lot of things for those who I have loved and still love. Call me weak, call me stupid, or call me gullible. At the end of the day, I was there and stayed. I realized today I was lying to myself, I do have another regret that I hadn’t asked for a divorce sooner. I should have asked for one ten years ago. He has never done this to anyone else and chances are he will never cheat on anyone else. It was just me. So, why was it just me? That is something I will have to figure out. It wasn’t all bad, we had some amazing years together and I have a beautiful son from this relationship.

I had thought I would date but now I think I am going to focus my efforts and energy into my writing and my 12-year-old son.  Dating is not in the card for this girl. Not anytime soon or even in the foreseeable future.

Have a great week! Happy Monday!

R. J. Davies

Peeling back another onion layer of this author.

Are we alone in this universe?

The answers being yes or no are equally unnerving.

I don’t think we are alone. This is my opinion. I don’t have to see to believe.

There are claims that there are 5 different alien species walking among us.  5? I have also heard stories of 80 different alien species have visited, Earth at some point or are still here.

Just because you don’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Dark matter, black holes, and the dark side of the moon … I have never been to the other side of this planet but I know it’s there.  I know that the Earth is round and we are living on this little tiny rock that spins wildly around a giant ball of fire.

If aliens are not real … that means in this whole entire galaxy and more importantly this vast universe … we are alone … Let that sink in for a minute. There is no one but us floating in space, we are merely a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things.  Our existence won’t even be a memory for anyone.

If aliens are real and they have visited Earth it is just a matter of time before we have the staged “First Encounters” “First Contact” and to me it would make perfect sense to send in a crew to investigate and observe before you make that initial move of befriending them.

Now also consider, scientists have observed wild life in their environments. When you observe something you are entering their environment and are changing them and their environment, just by observing them. So, if we are, being visited by aliens we are influence by their presence even on a microscopic level. Even if they do not interact with us but are merely observing us … crop circles, ufos, etc.

It would be foolish to ignore some of the evidence that our ancestors or people who have walked on this Earth before us. They had knowledge of our solar system, they had knowledge that goes beyond our planet, if they were so primitive and we are so advance; there are a few questions that pop into my head. How did they acquire this knowledge? Are we in fact descendents of aliens?

I absolutely love the “What if …” factors that can come out of this conversation.

 Have an awesome weekend!

 R. J. Davies

Peeling back another onion layer of this author.

Who doesn’t love babies?

I have heard that an author is not complete unless she/he has a cat. I don’t have a cat. My son has a cat called spikey. He loves his kitty daddy to bits! Me? Not so much so, he will bite me, get under my feet and when I am home alone he will wander around the house meowing “hello” as if I wasn’t here. Every once in a while he’ll grace me with that look of distain. Spikey and I are not friends but we are family.

We like to take trips every so often and we go out. My son thought his cat was lonely and decided we needed a playmate for him. I took the stance that he was a cat, they like solitude, they don’t need playmates.  His dad heard his pleas and thought yes we should have another one and the new kitten would be his cat. So, I said fine. One more I said, as long as it’s a boy kitten since Spikey is not fixed. My husband and two boys did not want to get Spikey fixed they thought it was too cruel. He is a house cat and only got out on us once! So I conceded. We got another cute little boy cat. Or so we thought he was a boy cat. As it turns out our little boy cat was a female cat. She got pregnant. Now they see that there is a need to have your pets fixed and it’s not mean. At least they are on the same page as me! A little late but something I can work with.

However, now we are plagued with a new issue. My husband and I have separated. He doesn’t want the female cat. I now am the proud owner of one female baby momma.  She gave birth last night to four beautiful kittens.

My son is so excited he wants to keep them all. If we keep just one … the cats are going to out number the humans in our new household. My calling them fur worms has not dampened his request. I have him talked down to maybe two. I know we will be keeping at least one if not two. They are adorable. But doing the math, my son is going on 12. Spikey is three years old, Orin is one and now two new kittens. Six years from now my son is going to be looking at post-secondary school, here or away. I will be a proud mom, single and saddled with four cats. I’ll be the crazy cat lady and I’ll never have sex again! Who would want to date a crazy cat lady and on the other side of that coin what crazy cat lady is going to want to date a man who is interested in dating the crazy cat lady?

I chuckle at the thought. He is really working me over here too. I was even called a baby thief because I want to find good homes for those cute little fur worms.

I still have a few weeks to decide.

Have an awesome weekend!

R. J. Davies