31 October 2011

Waiting

I've been waiting and waiting.

Peering through the blinds.

Drumming my fingers on the kitchen table.

Waiting.

Wishing.

Wondering.

When will it get here?  When will Autumn arrive?  I'm starting to feel a bit like Charlie Brown, ever anticipating the illusive Great Pumpkin.  We're well into October and sweater season has failed to show.  I've been stood up!  Where is Fall?!  Where are leggings and scarves and cups of hot apple cider? Where are misty mornings and crisp, cuddly evenings?
_________________________________________________

Resigned to take matters into my own hands, I attempt to coax the harvest season out of hiding.


A visit to a well-known pumpkin farm seemed to be a grand idea. Alas, I saw farm equipment and decorative gourds aplenty - but no true Autumn.  I abandoned my scarf and peeled off my sweater in a sign of protest.  It must have been near 80 degrees! In October! 


I did, however, enjoy the bounty of colors, the cornfields, the delightful aroma of hay...


I got the feeling that Fall was really trying to greet me.  But I needed more convincing.



I made the above sweet treats for my co-workers (idea via pinterest) to put me in the holiday mood.


And this yummy caramel apple dip is next on my to-do list.  To keep or give away, I'm not sure yet.  But I'm starting to get that cozy warm Autumn feeling...


Ahhh...Eureka! I think I've finally found it!  October 31st and Fall has just arrived in my glass - in the form of an apple cider margarita!  Now this...sip sip sip...was worth waiting for!

Warm holiday and harvest wishes,



Apple Cider Margarita:
1 ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce gold tequila
5-6 ounces sweet apple cider
orange segments and apple slices
cinnamon + cane sugar + coarse sugar for glass rimming
Add a few spoonfuls of cane sugar, coarse sugar and cinnamon to a plate. Run an orange segment around the edge of the glass, then press into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat the rim. Add a few orange slices in the bottom of the glass, fill with ice, then add the Grand Marnier, tequila and apple cider and stir to mix. Enjoy!

01 October 2011

Every Day Grateful


In my everlasting quest to practice the notion of positive thinking, I have developed a lovely morning ritual.  Before I get out of bed, sometimes even before the alarm goes off, the coffee begins to brew downstairs, or Molly Kittenclaws begins to wail for her breakfast (those often happen simultaneously), I pull the soft covers up to my chin, inhale deeply the scent of daybreak and lavender linen spray, and begin to enumerate my mental list. 

"What will be good about today?" 

I challenge myself to name at least three things -  three positive things about THIS day, three things to look forward to or be grateful for in advance.  Three things that will motivate me to greet the day with optimism. 

Yesterday was Friday and the list was easy:

1) It's Friday.
2) It's payday.
3) It's a minimum day for the students, which means I will have the afternoon to get some papers graded.
4) It's finally cool enough for me to wear my stylish new boots to work.
5) I just had new tires put on my car so I know my commute will be safer.

This morning the list was simple as well:

1) It's Saturday!
2) My sister is coming to visit.
3) The house is already clean.

Granted, the Monday lists are usually a little bit more difficult to formulate, but the process of thinking - from the moment I wake up - of good things, certainly helps to frame my days in a more positive light.  By the time my feet hit the carpet, I have already chosen to be optimistic. And when I take the time to notice, there really IS something good in every day.

Many smiles,



22 September 2011

The Sunflower Library


For all my bibliophilic blogging friends...here's a peek at what I'm reading this month (with book jacket descriptions):

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she's a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet.  For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother's house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night...Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis--and two parts fairy godmother.  With Della Lee's tough love, Josey's narrow existence quickly expands.  She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them--and who has a close connection to Josey's long-time crush.  Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons.

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio 

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.  Nearly a decade later, the tide has turned on Emily's good fortune.  So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea.  Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life. 

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew

On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen year old Jubie Wtts leaves Charlotee, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation.  Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her mother, and the family's black maid, Mary Luther.  For as long as Jubie can remember, Mary has been there-- cooking, cleaning, compensating for her father's rages and her mother's benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally.  Bright and curious, Jubie takes note of th anti-integration signs they pass and of the racial tension that builds as they journey further south.  But she could never have predicted the shocking turn their trip will take.  Now, in the wake of tragedy, Jubie must confront her parents' failings and limitations, decide where her own convictions lie, and make the tumultuous leap to independence.

Happy Reading!

18 September 2011

The More Things Change...


The bell rings at precisely 12:10. 

A swarm of bodies fills the once empty hallways.

The metallic maws of lockers open and close, resounding definitively over the sea of voices.

Nearly 1,400 people scurry to cafeteria lines, cliques, and club meetings.

It is high school.  It is lunch time.

I trudge wearily, weaving my way across campus, swimming upstream against a tide of teenage hormones and sophomoric drama, to the faculty lunchroom.  Tucked away behind the bustling cafeteria, accessible only to those with a key (i.e. adults), it is a quiet oasis in an otherwise riotous terrain.



I sigh and then smile as I heat up my lunch.  I wait for the curious phenomenon that will undoubtedly occur- the social dance of adults as we gather to take our midday sustenance.

My colleagues file in: some pensively, some exhausted, some eager to vent or relay the more interesting episodes from their morning classes.  I take a seat and watch, as I have done for the last seven years, as the others do the same - armed with lunch bags and water bottles, papers and books.

I observe, amused, as we arrange ourselves by gender - men at one table, women at another - and prepare to eat.  The segregation fascinates, but does not surprise, me.  Much like our adolescent students in the adjacent quad, we are creatures of habit, subconsciously more comfortable in our homogeneous factions than we are in a coed group.  The same-sex assemblage somehow feels natural and the happy chatter from each table confirms my blossoming theory - that we will are still and will always be, in high school.

I shrug my shoulders and convivially turn to the women at my table, anxious to hear the latest tidbit from Sabrina's first period Spanish I course before the bell rings and we must shuffle off again to class.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 
 

Today's Gratitude List:
  • Time, finally, to blog (Oh, how I have missed it!)
  • Three new books to read
  • Another Back-To-School night under my belt
  • Sunshine streaming through the windows this morning (Molly Kittenclaws is also grateful for this)

27 August 2011

Carving Out Saturday

It's been a crazy whirlwind of a week.  The first week of school always is.  New schedules, new students, new responsibilities.  Change is inevitable - you learn to go with the flow in this profession. 

The "flow" this week meant no air conditioner in the classrooms, not enough desks for the ever-increasing class sizes, 150 new faces to memorize, my first meeting as Department Chair, and two physical therapy appointments.

But it also meant happy reunions with colleagues and former students, a renewed sense of purpose, sparkly new school supplies, and the thrill of being in an academic environment once again.  When it comes right down to it, I really do love my job.

That being said, I wholeheartedly recognize the need for "me" time.  My sanity would not survive without it.  And even though this week was just one week, the first in long line of school weeks, I feel compelled to carve out this Saturday and claim it just for myself.  I will not be grading summer assignments, planning curriculum, or checking my email.  I will not formalize agendas or ponder the department budget.  I will not concern myself with class rosters, seating charts, or syllabi.  I will not be a Pavlovian minion to the ringing of bells.

This Saturday is mine and I deserve it.  I will read blogs, peruse magazines, and drink my coffee slowly- savoring each drop the way it was meant to be savored. I will eat when I am hungry and sleep when I am tired.  I will wear comfortable shoes, if I wear any at all.  Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry...and when Monday rolls around again, I will greet her warmly, ready for another whirlwind and another fabulous week.
 
Smiles,


Today's Gratitude List:
  • temperate weather (my thoughts go out to folks on the U.S. East Coast)
  • conversations with my sister
  • dreamy morning fog rolling in from the shore
  • an agenda-less day


 

21 August 2011

Lately I Love...

Taking a moment to ponder small wonders and treasurable trinkets.  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Origami book marks (set of 5) from Crate and Barrel
Little Bird message board from Sundance
Round Market Umbrella from Pottery Barn
Poet Journal from Anthropologie
Sticky Notes from Olive Manna
Metal and glass taper holders from Pier 1 Imorts
Love and Lavender wreath from Red Envelope
Wine cork charm necklace from Uncorked via Etsy
Bookmark from Paper Boat Press
Bliss,
 
 

Today's Gratitude List
  • last day of summer vacation
  • time well spent
  • artichokes

18 August 2011

Carpe Diem: Day Trip

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Sometimes it is enough merely to go

Yesterday, we went.  And it was lovely.  Carpe diem, my friends.

Cannery Row, Monterey, CA
The day began shrouded in mist. The Monterey fog was soothing, enveloping us in dewy softness as we strolled along Cannery Row.

Big Sur, CA

After a brief stop in Carmel, we headed south on Highway 1 towards Big Sur.  The scenery is breathtaking, to say the least.  We pulled off the road several times for photo opportunities and watched as the mist chased us down the coast.

Animal Friends

Nature abounds along the cental coast.  We tried desperately to get a snapshot of the California Condor but the giant gliding beauties were always just out of range.


Of course, no trip to Big Sur would be complete without a stop at Nepenthe for a glass of wine and some fabulous snacks.  This restaurant-with-a-view has been a favorite for many years.  We lounged on the back patio, soaking up the gentle rays of sun, before heading home.

The return trip was just as inspiring. We pulled into our driveway listening to Hey Jude just as the light was fading.  Such a beautiful day, such seizable moments.  I'll be sure to remember this during the humdrum schedule of winter.

Many smiles,

 
 

Today's Gratitude List:
  • the ease of online shopping
  • one more quiet morning
  • the scent of brewing coffee
  • a cat curled at my feet

17 August 2011

The Summer Stack


I know what you read this summer (insert scary music here)!  Okay, not really.  But here's a look at what I read over the course of my 10-week holiday from work.  If you'd like more information on a novel, just click on the title!
note: I like to throw in a couple of YA novels as well, just to keep up to date with what my students are reading

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks   

·         The narrator, Bethia Mayfield, is growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other.   ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen      

·         It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Summer of theBear by Bella Pollen

·         In 1980 Germany, under Cold War tension, a mole is suspected in the British Embassy. When the clever diplomat Nicky Fleming dies suddenly and suspiciously, it’s convenient to brand him the traitor. But was his death an accident, murder, or suicide? As the government digs into Nicky’s history, his wife, Letty, relocates with her three children to a remote Scottish island hoping to salvage their family. But the isolated shores of her childhood retreat only intensify their distance, and it is Letty’s brilliant and peculiar youngest child, Jamie, who alone holds on to the one thing he’s sure of: his father has promised to return and he was a man who never broke a promise.Exploring the island, Jamie and his teenaged sisters discover that a domesticated brown bear has been marooned on shore, hiding somewhere among the seaside caves. Jamie feels that the bear may have a strange connection to his father, and as he seeks the truth, his father’s story surfaces unexpected ways. 
      ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Dark and HollowPlaces by Carrie Ryan (#3 in series) 

·         There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com
 

·         A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Iron King by Julie Kagawa  

·         Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.   ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Elegance of theHedgehog by Muriel Barberry (2nd time reading – because it’s just that good!)

·         In an elegant Parisian apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families, Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.

Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com



·         After Pia’s grandmother dies in a freak accident, the neighbors in her little German hometown of Bad Münstereifel glance at Pia with wary eyes. But then something else captures the community’s attention: the vanishing of Katharina Linden. Katharina was last seen at a parade, dressed as Snow White. Then, like a character in a Grimm’s fairy tale, she disappeared. Ten-year-old Pia and her only friend, the unpopular StinkStefan, suspect that Katharina has been spirited away by the supernatural. Their investigation is inspired by such local legends as that of Unshockable Hans, visited by witches in the form of cats, or of the knight whose son is doomed to hunt forever. Then another girl vanishes, and Pia is plunged into a new and unnerving place, one far away from fairy tales—and perilously close to adulthood.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak  

·         Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?   ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


A Visit from theGood Squad by Jennifer Egan 

·         Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley   

·         In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeed in landing the exiled James Steward in Scotland to reclaim his throne.  Now Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel.  Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.  But when she discovers her novel is far more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth – the ultimate betrayal - that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her…  ~overview from book jacket


The Postmistress by Sarah Black   

·         In 1940, Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Massachusetts. Iris knows more about the townspeople than she will ever say, and believes her job is to deliver secrets. Yet one day she does the unthinkable: slips a letter into her pocket, reads it, and doesn't deliver it.

Meanwhile, Frankie Bard broadcasts from overseas with Edward R. Murrow. Her dispatches beg listeners to pay heed as the Nazis bomb London nightly. Most of the townspeople of Franklin think the war can't touch them. But both Iris and Frankie know better.   ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com


Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen 

·         The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys - except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.

When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy - if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom - or with each other.  ~overview from www.barnesandnoble.com

 Happy Reading!

 
 
Today's Gratitude List
  • the printed word
  • day trips along the coast
  • bananas in my cereal
  • crafty Pinterest ideas
 
 

16 August 2011

Back to School


The agenda has been written.
The copies have been collated.
The pencils have been sharpened.
The paper has been stacked.

The desks shine.
The floors sparkle.
The white board looks
like new-fallen snow.


I am READY.
Ready to teach.
Ready to learn.
Ready to greet 150 new souls.
Ready to embark on the voyage
of another school  year.

Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire. ~William Butler Yeats





Today's Gratitude List:
  • physical therapy (for the wicked shoulder) 
  • a full pantry (I love groceries!)
  • delightful distractions (in the form of Molly Kittenclaws)
  • lavender hydrosol (from BodyTime in Berkeley)
  • yellow bulletin board paper (my classroom looks so darn cheery!)



08 August 2011

Treasure Hunting : Mosaic Monday

A box without hinges, key, or lid
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
- J.R.R. Tolkien

click to enlarge

Browsing through antique stores is a bit like treasure hunting.  It's the only time I ever truly "window shop" because the outcomes of my perusal are always unpredictable.  Some days I leave empty handed and others I discover a plethora of marvels.

Recently, I wandered into the veritable trove of riches that is Wisteria Antiques and Gardens.  The photos I managed to capture (when not otherwise drooling over every precious thing) do not do justice to the charm of this establishment.

Armed only with my iPhone camera and a child-like enthusiasm, I spent a heavenly amount of time meandering through the vintage property. Yet, it was not enough.  I must return. There are still wonders to behold and spoils to unearth - other treasures for other days.

In the meantime, I'm participating in Mosaic Monday at Little Red House. Do stop by for some visual treats!

Happy hunting,
 
Today's Gratitude List:
  • Strong coffee
  • August mornings
  • Lavender sachets

07 August 2011

Doors

Sometimes you just need to go through a door. 

I lighted upon this multifaceted phrase in a novel from my summer stack.  How stunning that a simple sentence could contain such profound wisdom. I read it many times over, pondering its significance, its relevance to the thresholds I have crossed in the metaphorical "house" of my life.

Sometimes you just need to go through a door. 

Doorways embrace both entrance and egress, a forward movement, a change. They require a leap of faith and a desire to venture beyond the place in which we are standing.

Sometimes you just need to go through a door. 

What are you waiting for?



Blissful journeys,


 Today's Gratitude List:
  • a new door: taking on the role of English Department Chair this school year :)
  • fresh cucumbers from my father's garden
  • green tea ginger ale
  • pretty paper

"Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door." 
-Emily Dickinson


*Image from Better Homes and Gardens

03 August 2011

Things I'm loving...

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~Celia Thaxter

As the end of summer quickly approaches (Alas - it is August already!) my cerebral energy has been rerouted and refocused on preparations for the new school year.  The long and leisurely days of July have been reluctantly replaced by the frenzied dance of curriculum development and departmental chores.

With so much work to be done, what better time for a gratitude break? Anything to eek out a few more moments in the carefree spirit of summer (feel free to chastise my innate ability to procrastinate - I am truly great at it).

Without further ado, here is what I'm loving this week:

Mary Lake Thompson, Ltd. - unique home goods, hand-made and gorgeous!

Beautiful kitchen towels with my favorite theme: wine!
Hand-made natural soaps
I love giving these to house guests - a nice way to welcome friends!
These personalized napkins were designed by Mary herself for my friend's wedding. 
The bride had a lot of input and Mary was masterful with her artistry!

Other things I'm head-over-heels for...
Pomona Body Lotion - in an assortment of scents. Available at Cost Plus World Market.
These trial-size bottles are perfect for traveling!
Loose-leaf tea from Alchemology: the Shango Banana Spice is my favorite!

"My Cure for Everything" pillbox from Crate and Barrel -
such a pretty place to keep the ibuprofen. :)
And last but not least, this decorative pillow from Pier 1 Imports -
the colors match my bedroom perfectly! 
Hope you're finding pleasure in the simple things as well. 
Warm wishes,

29 July 2011

A Darling Dessert


"The poet and the baker are brothers in the essential task of nourishing the world." 
-from Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende

When both verse and inspiration escape me, I find solace in the kitchen. 
No, I'm not about to confess a dark  and deleterious encounter with emotional binge eating.  I'm referring to, rather, the meditative act of cooking.  For what is food if not the very manifestation of creative endeavor?

Part + part = whole. 

The whole provides sustenance, stimulates the very energy of being, acts as attendant to the senses and caregiver to body and soul. The recipe, then, becomes poetry. I gather my inspiration with every ingredient, knead lyrics into the pastry like flecks of exotic spice.

It is ART in her most savory attire.


I was born with my mouth open...
entering this juicy world
of peaches and lemons and ripe sun...
this world where dinner is in the breath
of the subtle desert,
in the spices of the distant sea
which late at night drift over sleep

-from "Eating the World" by James Tipton


What gets your creative juices flowing?

Bon appetite,
 
 

Today's Gratitude List:
  • berry and ricotta tartlette recipe from Pilli Pilli
  • wind-chimes and hummingbird feeders
  • a very productive meeting for work (yes, teachers do actually work on things during the summer)



  
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