Category Archives: imagination

fairy bread and magic tea.

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on may day

it was fairy tea party day in our classroom

we had dragons, and fairies, and trolls, and  elves,

and everything you can imagine

two of the special party treats

are magic tea and fairy bread.

the magic tea tastes like apple

and changes colors with each new pot poured

and the fairy bread is a sprinkled wonder

what an amazing day we had.

Fairy bread -A rainbow of flavor that harks back to childhood.

(story and recipe)

This mainstay of children’s birthday parties in Australia and New Zealand has but three ingredients: white bread, butter or margarine, and hundreds-and-thousands, which are better known as “sprinkles” in many parts of the world.

To make fairy bread, dump a layer of sprinkles onto a large plate or other flat surface. Take a buttered slice of white bread and place it, buttered side down, onto the sprinkles. Press gently to ensure sprinkles adhere to the butter. Then lift it up, cut the bread diagonally into four triangles, and you have a colorful and child-compatible snack.

Fairy bread can be served with crusts on or off depending on personal preference. Note, however, that the crust provides a handy, butter-and-sprinkle-free spot for your fingers to grip the bread.

The identity of the first person to firmly press sprinkles into white bread is lost to history, but fairy bread was made as far back as at least the 1920s. Unlike simple foods such as toast and cupcakes, though, fairy bread has resisted the modern trend to artisanal-ize. When a food writer suggested using a different kind of sprinkles and “a nice cultured butter,” Australians took a strong, pre-emptive stance against fancier versions of fairy bread.

“That’s the beauty of Fairy Bread,” the editor of a U.K. food section writes of fairy bread’s egalitarian appeal. “Regardless of how much soft focus lighting or Pinterest-friendly table dressing you throw at it, you can’t escape the fact that it’s a piece of soggy bread loaded with strands of refined sugar, designed to be eaten by someone who hasn’t yet mastered chewing with their mouth closed. It’s simple, it’s nostalgic, and the combo of processed carbs, butter, and E numbers is a match made in minimal-effort heaven.”

Need to Know Fairy bread is rarely served in restaurants or cafes. So if you can’t score an invitation to an Australian child’s birthday party, making it yourself is your best bet.

even one of our knight’s dogs dressed up for the big day

 

“those who don’t believe in magic will never feel it.”

-roald dahl

 

 

 

 

Recipe source credit:Gastro Obscura 

the whole world gets bigger.

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“oh how I love to read, she thought. ihe whole world gets bigger.”

— Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet The Spy (1964)

i always was interested in detectives and spies, and books were a way for me to feel a part of it.

without any real danger, but just enough suspense…

on international book day

pixie dust.

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‘We proudly support the local fairy community with cinema and live performances!

Our fairy door is located at the front entrance of our theater.’

(from the beautiful michigan theater)

the fairies have officially moved into the theater at last

(though most likely there long before anyone noticed them)


“trust the pixie dust.”

-author unknown

move-in ready!

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this looks like my kind of place!

i have such fond memories of childhood forts-

blanket forts

pillow forts

under the table forts

box forts

tree forts

garage forts

lower bunkbed forts

underground cave forts

behind the couch forts

secret forts

forts with passwords

anything/anywhere/anytime

we could find to makeover into a fort,

we did.

are you ‘pro-fort?’

is yes, what kind of forts did you enjoy?

 

“forte is french for fort.”

*buddy wakefield,  

*american poet, three-time world champion spoken word artist, and the most toured performance poet in history

 

 

 

 

image credit: facebook, ty to b. miller

canvas.

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a front door, a message, and a yard, in support of ukraine and the pollinators

one of the reasons i love walking so much

is for the surprises waiting to be discovered along the way

when walking through the neighborhood

i travel with eyes wide open

people are so creatively expressive

flower pot art

a snake in the grass

smiling and made of latex, upon closer inspection

a front yard mini vineyard

a tiny village

“this world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

-henry david thoreau

superheroes.

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a rare sighting

of the superheroes

holding a secret summit meeting

 sharing brave case stories, making plans, and at the ready to help their classmates.

shhhhh…

“you are not too small. no one is ever too small to offer help.”
― emlyn ehand, honey the hero

fantastical.

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one of the best parts of spending my days teaching

is hearing all the fantastical tales

that spring from the kinder

with their open eyes and open hearts. 

 

image credit: nicolette sowder, wilderchild

unicorn license.

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These images released by the Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control and posted via Instagram, shows a created a unicorn license tag, right, and a plush toy unicorn, after a young girl requested permission to have a unicorn in her backyard, if she could find one. Animal Care and Control Department officials said this week that they granted the unusual permit to Madeline, whose last name was redacted. (Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control via AP)

A girl named Madeline, with a vivid imagination and remarkable awareness of how bureaucracy can dash dreams, got her wish when she asked Los Angeles animal control authorities for a license to own a unicorn — if she’s able to find one.

The first-of-its-kind permit came with strings attached, however: The mythical creature must be provided ample exposure to sunlight, moonbeams and rainbows and have its horn polished at least once a month with a soft cloth.

Director Marcia Mayeda of the county Department of Animal Care and Control sent the girl a heart-shaped, rose-colored metal tag with “Permanent Unicorn License” emblazoned on it, along with a white fuzzy unicorn doll with pink ears, purple hooves and a silver horn.

The department’s response came after the girl wrote it a brief letter last month: “Dear LA County, I would like your approval if I can have a unicorn in my backyard if I can find one.”

Mayeda commended the girl for her “sense of responsible pet ownership to seek permission in advance” and for thoughtfully considering “the requirements of providing a loving home to animals.”

Its five conditions for unicorn ownership also require that any sparkles or glitter sprinkled on the animal be nontoxic and biodegradable, and that it be fed watermelon at least once a week.

“reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.”

-C. S. Lewis

 

credits: los angeles county animal care and control, AP