Monthly Archives: September 2024

Sep30

golden carpet.

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my favorite tree, the ginkgo. especially beautiful in autumn

—

Mikiko Noji (Japan, b.1978-)

At the Bottom of the Tree, 2023

ink and color on paper

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“and all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves…”

-virginia woolf, to the lighthouse

 

Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, and also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta. It is found in fossils dating back 270-million years. Native to China, the ginkgo tree is widely cultivated, and was cultivated early in human history. Ginkgo trees have beautiful green leaves that turn a luminous gold-yellow in fall. And on one day, after the hard frost, the ginkgo drops its leaves to the ground leaving a gorgeous carpet of color below.

Sep29

the monk of mokha.

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celebrate national coffee day with a your favorite cup of coffee and this wonderful book

it’s the incredible but true story of a young man, Mokhtar Alkhanshali,

a beverage, a history, a mix of cultures, and pure perseverance

the unlikely and winding journey he took

from here to there and back again

 keeps you wondering

will his dream come alive?

with a refusal to give up

a survival instinct

and lots of thinking on this feet

you’ll follow along

with this poignant, suspenseful, moving, and often funny story

as Mokhtar struggles to keep his balance

and not abandon his people

both near and far.

written by award-winning author, Dave Eggers

you can’t help but cheer him on

and you might even learn something along the way.

 

Mokhtar Alkhanshali and company

 

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“Al-Shadhili became known as the Monk of Mokha, and Mokha became the primary point of departure for all the coffee grown in Yemen and destined for faraway markets.”

-dave eggers, the monk of mokha

 

 

 

 

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credits: Dave Eggers, 2018, NYT bestseller, Knopf Publishing

Sep28

tag!

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not me, nor my moose playmate, but i was caught equally unaware

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have you ever played a game of tag and you didn’t even know you were in it?

this happened to me recently when a couple of bloggers/friends tagged me

inviting me to play a game of blogger tag and to then pass it on.

oh my, i didn’t have my glasses on! i should have looked behind me! now i see, i’m it!

i’m all in now, and i’ll start by answering a few questions:

how did you come up with your blog name? (beth kennedy – ididnthavemyglasseson.com)

it was something that my daughters have said to me, about me  –  that things in my life have happened or have not happened because i didn’t have my glasses on. so many possibilities. (good name for a future book?)

if your blog was a person (fictional or real), who would it be?,

my blog is a bit all over the place, but it’s always me. maybe pippi longstocking?  no stranger to counterculture, pippi can be seen around the world in tattoos, celebrity photographs, works of graffiti and on catwalks as a symbol of female strength, resilience, kindness, fairness and acceptance. while i’m not famous like pippi, and my dad was not a pirate like hers, i love that she had her own way of seeing and living in the world, and i try to embody all that she symbolizes.

what helps you create new content if you feel like you need some inspiration?

mostly just from being out in the world, with my eyes wide open and with glasses on. there are endless people, places, things, conversations, thoughts, and circumstances out there, and also right inside of me. i read lots of articles, especially the tiny almost forgotten ones, love the real newspaper and books and magazines. i’m drawn to the often-overlooked, the unusual, the details and nuances of life, and learn so many new things every day from endless sources. living is an inspiration in itself, and i’m still so excited when i wake up in the morning to see what each day will hold, just like when i was a little girl.

is there anyone you would like to collaborate with?

i am a huge fan of collaboration and enjoy working and creating ike that. everyone has a different perspective, experience, and has something to bring to the table. before i changed careers and became a teacher, i worked in the advertising world, and i’ve always loved to brainstorm, bounce ideas off of each other, and be open to all ideas. the world is so interesting because of the fact that we are all unique. together we can make each other even better.

is there anything more you wish you had or would like to learn as a blogger?

yes! everything in the world of blogging has been mostly trial and error for me, heavy on the error, but somehow i’m doing it. i happened into blogging kind of  by accident, through a series of circumstances, and i have never looked back.

tech is an important part of blogging, and it seems to be my nemesis. while we continue to be at odds, tech and i are polite with each other most of the time. i learn a ton from other bloggers, how to do things, what not to do, and i’ve learned so many things along the way, especially that the connections made through blogging are what make it all a worthwhile enterprise. i have no financial motive in blogging, just a creative outlet for me, where i really enjoy the give and take of the readers and writers.

“i think one of the most beautiful gifts to self is: saying ‘i don’t know how, but I’m going to find a way for us to get through this.’-helen marie

do you have a specific style of blogging?

my blog is a jumble of lower case letters, (i love how they look on a page, they seem more poetic to me), stories, poems, quotes, photos, movies, news, nature, children, family and friends and pets, emotions, places, food, and everything else, all rolled into one. you never know what it will be. i often don’t even always know what it will be when i begin writing it and putting it together. i’m a bit of a minimalist, so they’re often quite short, but i love mixing things together that are generally not seen in one place. a collage of life. in the last number of years, i’ve tended to blog every day, and i like the rhythm of that.

here is how a blogger friend described it in response to one of my posts:

‘The Peanut Car looks like something that I would see passing by in a Parade. I expect the clowns (at least 50) to jump out any moment. In fact I always think of your blog as an entry in a Parade. Each different, yet in the same style. Not too long. Not too short. I’m always looking forward to the next float. ” (thanks, ladysighs)

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now that i’ve finished the first part of the challenge,

the next part is to pick a few fellow bloggers/friends to play and to pass it on, so here goes:

(no worries for non-participation, there is always an option for a 3-day long marathon game of monopoly with people who each have their own set of rules, and my feelings won’t be hurt at all.)

so – tag, you’re it! and i hope you play:

Mark at: https://markbialczak.com

Joy at:  https://joyful2beeblogs.com

Roy at:  https://reelroyreviews.com

 this game of tag is a not so scary after all. 

 

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‘blogger because badass isn’t an official job title’

-author unknown

 

 

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image credits google.com

Sep27

goodbye, dolly!

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while i am a fan of pop-up street art

 so unique and free-spirited

 i took a pass on this item

might be a perfect match for someone else. 

(i almost glanced over my shoulder to see if it was following me.)

—

‘where there is no imagination, there is no horror.’

-arthur conan doyle

Sep26

rock on.

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this is not me, but if i had a rock room it might be me.

i love finding rocks

especially heart-shaped rocks

 

i am always looking for them no matter where i am

 

 when i find one 

 

voila! – it’s magic

 

i only keep the very special ones. 

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‘rocks are records of events that took place at the time they formed.

they are books. they have a different vocabulary,

a different alphabet, but you learn how to read them.’

-john mcphee, american writer and pulitzer prize winner

 

Sep25

the nature of friendship.

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such a lovely and delicate web was there to greet us 

a welcoming art installation created by a spider

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‘the bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.’

-william blake, poet

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  blake suggests that as birds create and live in nests, and spiders create and live in webs, so humans create and live in friendships. it suggests friendship is as complex, natural, and beautiful as the first two.

 

 

 

 

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photo credit: thank you, cws

 

Sep24

be nice. (the world is a small town.) -austin kleon

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townies and visitors

listen to the powerful sounds of u’neek

at the end of summer sol festival

in the charming small town of pentwater

where we were visiting friends

realizing just how small it was

when we kept crossing paths with people

who we’d seen or met in other places

doing other jobs or in different circumstances.

chad was the fill-in musician between sets and bands

also the bartender at the ‘yacht club’

also the second place trivia night champion in town.

next we saw the guy who was the host

at the cafe across the street where we had lunch

now a paying customer at the festival pub.

then we ran into the artist who was also a caretaker for his parents and his dog

who we encountered on the beach an hour before

now sharing stories with my friend and dog-bonding.

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if i lived there and had multiple roles, i would like to work one day a week at the magical toy store as a storyteller, work one afternoon a week selling ice cream at the beach, be known as the pretty good crossword puzzle champion in town, and sit on a bench in the park watching the town go by and writing my homespun recipe column for the local paper, like how to make my baked potatoes.

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‘one of the important things about being a small-town reporter is knowing what not to put in the paper.’

-terry pratchett

Sep23

boundless.

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sss

enter this charming store

 like walking into a dream

towers, and dragons, and costumes, and animals, and castles, and art, and toys, and books, and puppets

surrounded by enchanting hand-painted murals

 a circle where story tellings and puppet shows and theater play are shared

 imaginations are encouraged and play flows freely.

‘the world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.’

-jean-jacques roussseau

Sep22

not every lake.

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fa

on the first day of fall with friends 

lake michigan

—

‘not every lake dreams to be an ocean.’

-memet murat ildan

Sep21

waffle frolic.

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‘why can’t i just eat my waffle?’

– barack obama

 

Early Americans held waffle-eating parties called “waffle frolics.”

Brunch has an understandable hold on Americans — after all, who can pass up the opportunity to enjoy a delicious smattering of sweet and savory plates (alongside good company, of course)? Apparently, Americans of the past couldn’t say no either, gathering to share food and fun at so-called “waffle frolics.” These waffle-eating get-togethers were most popular during the colonial era, eventually petering out by the mid-20th century. At their peak, they were elaborate, multi-course meals that showcased freshly ironed waffles as the  main course.

Little is recorded about the particulars of early waffle frolics, but one description, by William Livingstone, a 21-year-old Yale student who recounted his party experience in a 1744 letter, describes the soiree as a lavish affair. “After a few games, a magnificent supper appeared in grand order and decorum,” he wrote. “But for my own part I was not a little grieved that so luxurious a feast should come under the name of a wafel-frolic, because if this be the case I must expect but a few wafel-frolics for the future.”

Waffles have been widely eaten throughout Europe since the Middle Ages, sold by street vendors and often consumed on religious holidays. Eventually, they made their way to the American colonies alongside the Pilgrims, and it was in the New World where they were paired with maple syrup for the first time. Culinary lore sometimes suggests it was founding father Thomas Jefferson who ignited the waffle frolic craze in the 1790s upon his return from France, after he arrived with four  waffle irons in his luggage. As president, Jefferson reportedly served the treat to Meriwether Lewis at the White House prior to the Lewis and Clark expedition.

‘a wafffle is like a pancake with a syrup trap.’

-mitch hedberg

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Waffles cooked and served every minute at Waffle House restaurants -145

Weight (in pounds) of the world’s largest waffle, created in the Netherlands in 2013 – 110

 

 

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image and source credits: interesting facts, waffle house, babycenter.com, king arthur baking