Thursday Theme=Kitchen

Coffee Messiah challenged us with theme Thursday. This week's theme is the kitchen. I don't have pictures of soups, muffins, cookies or cakes. So, I have selected a poem that conveys the importance of the kitchen.


In the Kitchen
Lori L. Moore

Love, was understood, in
the kitchen. Where

bread and cakes and pies
and everyday thoughts filled

the air and senses. Common
Sense was taught, in

the kitchen. More through action,
than words. Grandma’s

ways were revered in the kitchen.
From a touch of this, to a dash

of that, to a “good girl would
never.” Love, was understood,

in the kitchen. Passed down,
one recipe at a time.

Children and Snow

Yesterday my two youngest grandchildren were here to visit with their mother. The boys are 6 and 3 years old. They brought their saucer sleds to try out the hills their mother and her siblings had used when they were children. To our dismay they went sledding in places my children had never sled, like down the front slope. They had the time of their lives. Then they followed that up by climbing up the back hill and onto some of the large rocks. From that vantage point the youngest one felt he was king of the world. It was so much fun and refreshing to see how much fun with abandonment children can have.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

While I was in Texas I went to the movies with DeboHobo to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'm not to sure how long the movie is, but I would guess over ninety minutes. The whole time the movie was exciting and it kept my interest. The outstanding thing for me about this movie is the makeup for the aged Brad Pitt. To my surprise in the credits I saw the movie was based on a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Because I am an avid reader, I went to my local library and checked out Six Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Included in those tales is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The short story is twenty-three pages long. Well, I read the tale last night and all I can say is the screenwriter definitely used a writer's license. We all know most movies are not the same as the original story, and some come fairly close, but this was quite a leap from the book.

The bottom line is both the movie and the short story are interesting and I would recommend both. The order you choose to partake is up to you, but for this one I would say movie first and than the short story.

Secrets

I have just finished reading Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I thought it was a good read, because you wanted to know the outcome. The one thing I found at fault with the novel was the fact that it went on and on as to whether the knowledge that the baby daughter had not died at birth would be disclosed to her mother and brother. Than all of a sudden the novel winds up with them being informed.

The strong message seen in this novel is the price of secrets. Secrets not only hurt the one who is keeping the secret, but they also hurt the ones they are trying to protect.

Whose Personality Do You Have?

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Joan!

You are a Joan -- "I need to succeed"

Joans are energetic, optimistic, self-assured, and goal oriented.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Leave me alone when I am doing my work.


• * Give me honest, but not unduly critical or judgmental, feedback.


• * Help me keep my environment harmonious and peaceful.


• * Don't burden me with negative emotions.


• * Tell me you like being around me.


• * Tell me when you're proud of me or my accomplishments.

What I Like About Being a Joan

• * being optimistic, friendly, and upbeat


• * providing well for my family


• * being able to recover quickly from setbacks and to charge ahead to the next challenge


• * staying informed, knowing what's going on


• * being competent and able to get things to work efficiently


• * being able to motivate people

What's Hard About Being a Joan

• * having to put up with inefficiency and incompetence


• * the fear on not being -- or of not being seen as -- successful


• * comparing myself to people who do things better


• * struggling to hang on to my success


• * putting on facades in order to impress people


• * always being "on." It's exhausting.

Joans as Children Often

• * work hard to receive appreciation for their accomplishments


• * are well liked by other children and by adults


• * are among the most capable and responsible children in their class or school


• * are active in school government and clubs or are quietly busy working on their own projects

Joans as Parents

• * are consistent, dependable, and loyal


• * struggle between wanting to spend time with their children and wanting to get more work done


• * expect their children to be responsible and organized

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Robert Frost

I have always loved the poetry of Robert Frost. I don't know why, maybe its because he was a New Englander the same as I. These two poems: Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening and Road Not Taken are my most favorite of his writings.

The first poem was introduced to me when I was in high school and has stuck with me ever since. It's one of the poems I had to memorize that I still remember. And I relate to it everytime it snows and I see the woods where I live filling up with falling snow.

The second poem relates to how I have always lived my life with no apologies or regrets. And again I was introduced to it while I was in high school.

STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.



Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Snow, Good Book and a Cup of Tea

We didn't get the amount of snow that had been forecast, but we did get about four inches of dry fluffy snow. As the fine snow was falling everything was quiet and still until a couple of people decided to ride up and down the road on their snowmobiles, but that didn't last that long. It made for a lovely evening to curl up under a throw with a good book(The Memory Keepers Daughter) and large cup of vanilla hazelnut tea in the livingroom while candles were burning in the fireplace.

From time to time during and after the snowstorm I took pictures mostly of the angel sitting on a bench in one of my many flower gardens.

Today after the snowstorm we had the bluest sunny skies. The temperature was in the low 30s perfect for outdoor activities. The plowman came early, so I only had in front of the garage door and the front walkway to shovel.

Cold and Sunny Day

Today it was cold, but sunny with a beautiful blue sky. So I bundled up, walked down the driveway to pickup the mail and took a short walk. Taking along the camera I was able to capture several sites: babbling brook, lichen covered rock coated with ice, bittersweet berries and the long driveway home. Tomorrow we are expecting eight to ten inches of snow. YEAH!

Icy Day

Last night we had a little snow followed by freezing rain. It has been raining all day coating everything with ice. Here are some pictures I was able to take in the area surrounding my house.

A View of the Green

First Congregational Church on the Green






Yesterday our temperature was in a comfortable 40 degree range. I had some errands to run downtown and that gave me an opportunity to take a couple of pictures of our quaint downtown. I didn't photograph the usual pictures of our bandstand or of the military tank that are on the South Green. Instead I opted for the First Congregatioal Church and the christmas decorated lamplights on the North Green. As you can see we still have some snow on the ground.

Currently it is snowing than it will be followed with freezing rain. I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, so I can just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Home Again

Well I arrived back in CT on Saturday. Spent the night at my youngest daughter's house. Now I'm at home in my own living room, listening to Christmas music and enjoying the few decorations I had put up before going off to Texas for three weeks. After all Christmas is not over until January 7th. I believe the 12th day of Christmas is January 6th also known as the Three Kings Day.

It is cold today in the low 30s. The sun is shining brightly. There is snow on the ground. The plowman had been here while I was away. Now I need to find out how many times he had to come while I was away to find out how much my wallet has been emptied. But, I was able to drive up my driveway(250 feet up the side of a hill) when I arrived here at the house and that is all that really matters.

Time to go back to relaxing.

New Year 2009

New Year's Eve was spent with Debo Hobo, my son and daughter-in-law. We made the rounds of different establishments in Shops at Legacy. We had a reveling good time. When we got home we had bowls of Green Split Peas Soup I had made with the left over Christmas ham.

Than, for New Year's day I was recruited to make Lasagna(two pans) and Garlic Bread. I had the expert help of Debo Hobo as my sous chef. She loves to chop and dice in the kitchen. It must have been good because they ate just about all of it.

Well tomorrow I fly back to CT after being here in TX for three weeks. Back to reality for me; cold, snow, ice, and freezing rain.