The Tree’s Communion

 

winter in our garden, originally uploaded by state_of_mind13.

When I awoke this morning I felt my skin was tight and colder than usual. Sniffing I could tell the late Autumn air had a crisp but wet flavor and my arms felt heavier than when I had gone to sleep.

Wide awake now, I looked across the garden to see the brilliant white snow blanketing the branches of my closest neighbor. Then I examined my own branches to find I had been thusly adorned.

A smile crept up my wooden body and a hint of cedar rose up to entwine the snow filled air. There was a small bite of wind surrounding us so I reached my limbs to touch my neighboring tree. We were comforted that we were to share another winter and the touch of our boughs was a communion of love.

The Romance Of Our World

 

  

Santiago Calatrava’s new bridge for Venice, originally uploaded by FrizzText.

Ah Venice! What an incredible reminder that our world needs us to continue seeing the rapturous beauty all around our globe. Being close to our everyday surroundings can close and sometimes clog our minds. We can stop being appreciative.  It can lead us in shutting down our creative forces to feel weighed down by every day existence. Hum drum.

Just look at this outstanding photograph of Venice, Italy.  Dwell on it for a few moments to imagine you are really there.  You can be. It’s easy to experience instantaneous transportation. When we read a thoroughly exciting book, are we not drawn right into the story to become engrossed? It is the creative whimsy of an author or photographer to entice you into absorbing your surroundings, whether it is within a picture or by their written words.

The beauty of of it all is their compelling nature to describe and a writer’s job is to convey their interpretative qualities, by painting a vision with nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

I have been writing since I was eleven years old. My brother Charley, is ninety-three months my senior (7.75 years, for those of you who couldn’t break it down fast enough) and at the age of almost eighteen, he had joined the Army. Our parents were beside themselves since there was an ongoing war and they didn’t want their only son to be involved. Later on he did get stationed overseas, but that is a story he does not speak about.  

They asked me to write a letter to him because he had gone to basic training in the deep south, in Georgia, far away from our close knit family. Wanting to please them I decided to write him a poem. As you can imagine it was quite a juvenile attempt … but it really touched their hearts. I can recall them including the notebook lined paper with my No. 2 penciled lettering, in the envelope with their letter.

A few days later, Charley phoned us and he thanks me for my thoughtful words. I beamed with pride and placed the copy I made in my treasure box. It is filled with girlish trinkets and letters. Recently, I ran across the poem when I was looking for another special item. It made me smile at my rounded handwriting and stilted prose.

The main point I am making is that because there is so much going on every day, in and around us, remember to search out the abundant beauty that is free. Look about you. Notice the person next to you and find something unique and flattering about them. Look in the mirror to find your goodness. Search in books and magazines and the Internet to find different places to enhance your mood.

By lifting your sight to see this beauty you can hold dear the romance of the world.

Tiny Tarts & Fridays

 

Lemon Curd and Fruit Tarts, originally uploaded by Theresa111.

Whenever I think of some of my favorite things to prepare, tiny tarts always come to mind. Truly they are so varied there have been books written in their honor. These are two I personally made using sweet dough, pastry cream, lemon curd and fresh strawberries. Topped off with apricot glaze and meringue which was torched on top. They were so good!

To me … taste is everything. What good does it do to purchase a beautifully sculpted dessert only to be disappointed when you taste it? Flavor, fresh ingredients, but most important, is the way a cook interprets a recipe. I could go into an array of cooking terms, but this is not the focus of my post.

Simply put, it all comes down to the cook who prepares your food. Either they’ve ‘got it’ or they don’t.

Since yesterday was Thanksgiving and a very lovely one for me and my family, I get to focus on this special time of the year whereby the whole winter season becomes a place filled with goodies and treats. Black Friday’s have never been a shopping day of mine. I always wait to shop until two weeks before Christmas. For me, today signifies the day when I begin to think of the traditional recipes I might choose from and all of the recipe books I will pour over, in order to determine which I will prepare for family and friends.

This is such a special time of the year plus it is my favorite. During the next few weeks I will dwell on the subject of food. It is one closest to my heart and the beauty we can express when inventing a new menu or trying a new recipe is a fun way to share the holidays.

Fridays have always been my favorite day of the week as it heralds in the weekend. Many work 40 hours a week. But have you considered that from 5PM on Friday until 9AM on Monday, there are 64 hours to enjoy? Yes. The weekends are in fact longer than the work week.

Well … if you are ready to enjoy the weekend, please feel free to roam my site and look back over the last 19 months of posts. There are some excellent recipes I have included for you to try.

CORNUCOPIA Thanksgiving

CORNUCOPIA Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by fantartsy JJ.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Dear Jim

Happy Birthday To You!

When it comes to remembering very special times in our lives there are some that are cherished more than others.  I have such unique friends and luckily, over the years we have shared so many occasions.  Hours that I would never trade.  Our words of friendship, encouragement, understanding, happiness, gentleness and love has helped form the individuals we have become.  Our influence on the other was like an indelible fingerprint which was absorbed into our personalities.  A persons character is formed in ways such as these.

That summer was filled with music and lit candles.  Basic food groups … hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and mac ‘n cheese were part of our everyday surroundings.  Oh yes, Kool-Aid, too.  Deep philosophical conversations where each of us was expected to voice our opinions, blended with the smell of chlorine, wet bathing suits and summer nights.  It was a time when all of a sudden your words became meaningful and you were no longer considered a child.  A time when you stepped into womanhood to delight in new roads to choose.  This is the time I would never change.

Driving over to Lake Barcroft late at night to sit or lie on the sand talking, until it was time to go home.  I can close my eyes to once again feel the sand on my feet and the grains in-between my toes, so poignant are these memories.

In my mind, in the recesses thereof is a place I like to think of as a treasure chest.  I go there to replay those moments so precious to me or to remember the exact way I felt about times shared or lessons learned.  It is a special private place that no one else can intrude upon and a safe haven for needed escapes.

So today is a celebration for one of my dearest friends to share yet another good time together.  Cheers and Many Happy Returns.

When Winning Is Everything!

 

There’s a lizard in my gizzard, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.

As soon as I saw this photograph, I wondered how someone just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. For one thing is certain, this is not a photo shoot and the subjects are holding a pose. No. Indeed this looks to be the real thing.

I love animals, birds, lizards, frogs and geckos. I happen to have a mad crush on the GEICO Gecko. I know go figure. Understanding the bird is doing what comes naturally I can obviously see the lizards point of view. Whew!

My best hope is that the lizard bit the roof of the birds mouth, thus causing the bird to open it’s beak even wider in order to squawk a loud protest. This gave the little lizard time to leap to freedom.

Even in this I look for the good outcome. I hope my version is the one that was the truth. I cannot help but root for the little guy.

Watch This!

Cool Awards And New Friends

Aha!  I did it … I did it!  I got the award to become a .jpeg from a .png .  Haven’t the faintest what this means but I understand enough to get by.

My new friend Holly lives west from me in the Washington Metro area.  We have some things in common and as always it is so wonderful to meet new friends at our premiere social blogging network, BlogCatalog.com .

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to be awarded this pretty Lemonade Award.  Although I do not sell lemonade I always enjoy using lemons in drinks and recipes such as; lemon curd or squeezing fresh lemon juice over succulent shrimp or fish dishes.  Lemons are so versatile and tasty.  Their rind can be shaved into a zest or it can be peeled from the lemon to be boiled in with a simple syrup; one part water to one part sugar.  Toss in a few other spices, liquors (rum, grand marnier, whisky) and fruits to this mixture and you have the makings for a delicious combination, which can be dabbed onto layers of cake before icing them.  Savarin is gently boiled in the mixture and once the circle of baked savarin has absorbed the liquid, fresh fruit and creme fraische are adorned.

Yes, lemons can be used in pies, tarts, tortes, puddings, curds, and a whole array of food dishes.  I love the scent, the bright color, the firmness of the fruit and its protective qualities.  If you recall, in the olden days lemons were eaten to help prevent scurvy, while crossing the ocean.  Lemons can also help clean a small wound and be included in our shampoos, soaps, cologne, air fresheners and our household cleaners.  One of my favorites is lemon scented Lysol wipes.

When they grow on the tree, they are actually green and can easily be mistaken for limes.  I also love this fruit.  All of the citruses are so good for us and they include vitamins along with other valuable nutrients.

So to be given the Lemonade Stand Award is such an honor.  I shall pass it along to ten of my favorites:

Why-Paisley

Daisy The Curly Cat

A Nice Place In The Sun

New York Portraits

Identity Check

Rosehaven Cottage

Twisted Sister

Rock Stories

This Time – This Space

Thrift Shop Romantic

It was hard to only be allowed to choose ten but here are my choices.  If any one felt left out … don’t because there will be more awards to share and I’ll be sure to include your web log site.  Please visit my esteemed colleague blogger friends because they are all talented writers with much to share.  Congratulations!

Thank you Holly for this thoughtful award.  Happy Thanksgiving Holidays!