Good Morning thanks for joining me for Tea! I have a little treat today.
But let's talk about Tea first and look at some beautiful cups . . .
I don't have a pretty Tea Pot but my whistling Tea Kettle does the job.
And this the Tea I have in my cup today. I learned alot reading this post. Oolong Tea helps Bone Density and your Heart. And lots more.
Today I am sipping Oolong Tea and chatting with my friend Author Debra Parmley . . .
Debra writes swoony Romances and lives in a Motor Home! How cool is that? A home on wheels to travel the country writing and promoting books. And meeting in readers!
Let's Chat with Debra
Hello and Welcome back to the blog!
Hello, and thank you for having me back!
I know our readers are as fascinated as I am about your traveling lifestyle. Can you share with us how it came about?
Happy to! We had been talking about selling everything in Memphis and moving somewhere and we'd also talked about buying a motorhome, so when everything in the country shut down, I said, this is a good time to go. If we have to stay home, why not do it in a motorhome? A rolling house that we can move down the road when and where we want to be. It took time to downsize our house, our rental house, and his business in the same place we had lived for twenty-three years. But by November 2020 we had sold everything and moved into our motorhome to live on the road.
How do you handle holidays on the road?
It varies. For the Fourth of July this year we were in Cody, Wyoming which has the biggest Fourth of July celebration I have ever been two. Parades on the 3rd and 4th and rodeos every night. A big fireworks evening on the 4th. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the fourth. I would love to go back.
We just had our first Halloween in an RV park in Florida but didn't have any trick or treaters. I had decorations up inside the motorhome and we watched movies.
This Thanksgiving we will travel to see family.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we'll be in the motorhome but the week before we will be in Savannah, GA with our kids and grandkids celebrating together.
What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving?
Mashed potatoes and gravy are my favorites at any holiday meal. And I am a pie kind of woman. So I have baked many pies over the years.
What is your favorite holiday?
I love the costumes and seeing the children play make-believe.
Will you have a Christmas tree in your Motor Home?
Last year we had a small one and it fell over every time we moved down the road. One of the ornaments broke. So I think we will skip the tree this year and enjoy poinsettias instead.
I am really excited to try your Chili recipe and the fabulous sounding pie too. Can you share with us the history behind the recipes?
Growing up in Springfield, Ohio I was accustomed to eating Skyline Chili which is a Cincinnati style of chili. My husband and I love it, so I tried to recreate the recipe. Trial and error brought me to the final one I'm giving to you. Everyone who has tried it says it is very close.
The pie is one my maternal grandmother used to bake and I loved helping her in the kitchen. She passed when I was nine so it is a miracle that I know how to bake this pie. I can remember tasting the apples with her, and watching her put the ingredients into her hand. This much cinnamon, this much flour, etc. I had to learn to make this pie as an adult guessing the amounts so it could be written down for my children and grandchildren.
I expect the Chili might be easy to manage on On The Road. But what about pie? Do you bake when you travel?
Yes, the Chilli is easy to manage on the road. I have a convection/microwave oven combo which I love and which allows me to bake many of our family favorites, such as apple pie.
I am a foodie and love to cook. I imagine buying food might be a challenge.
Yes, food can be a challenge. The grocery store in particular. First, you much find one and it may be a store you have never heard of. So the great hunt begins. The grocery store you have never heard of may not carry that one item you really need or want for a recipe. So you learn to adapt and either make something else or try a substitute. It's not so much an issue with old-fashioned American-style recipes, but with modern recipes or ethnic ones which require specific items, you may not find it anywhere. If there's something you cannot live without, I suggest stocking up on it before you get on the road.
Assuming you've been working/writing while on On The Road what/where is the most magical place to write you have found in your travels?
Though being outside in beautiful nature does inspire me. It's more a taking in of everything around me and then being able to go there in my head when writing later. I always write on my laptop, usually inside the RV.
Do you dine out while traveling? What is the most Romantic place you've discovered?
Yes, we do dine out when traveling and have tried new foods for us (huckleberry milkshakes, prickly pear bbq chicken are examples and you may hear about the foods we find if you read and follow my travel/RV living blog, Beautiful Day Traveler) and have eaten in some great historical places. The most romantic place for me on our go west trip was the picnic we had in Yellowstone National Park.
I always enjoy chatting with my author friends but I know you are busy! Maybe eating a few leftovers!
I've enjoyed our chat too!
I am ready for more mashed potatoes and for pie!
Before I go can you give us a sneak peek into your plans for the New Year?
My event plans for 2022 so far include going to BOBASE in Jacksonville, FL in April and going back to Wild Deadwood Reads in Deadwood, SD in June. We will fit more RV travels around those two events.
Thank you so much for having me here today and wishing you and your family and all our readers a Beautiful and Peaceful Thanksgiving and Holiday season!
I hope you'll stop at Debra's website to get the current book news.
And visit her travel blog too!
