j and b amidst the magic at the hands-on museum
Sep4
science is magic that works. – kurt vonnegut
j and b amidst the magic at the hands-on museum
Tag Archives: life
Sep2
a small town is a place where there’s no place to go where you shouldn’t. – burt bacharach
spent a slow, sunny afternoon
in the pretty little town of
st. clair, michigan
right on the river
reading and writing
watching people and ships
come and go.
and in the
friendly coffee shop
right across from the water
run by sue
where i sat near
a retired teacher
meeting her former student
who long ago was
a 3-year old
in her class
for the first time
after many years
with photo albums
and stories
and catching up on life
and finally she got tired
and said it was time to go
and
they hugged
going their separate ways
with a promise to meet once again
before so long.
and the high school girls
gathering around a table
excited and nervous
about the coming school year
chatting and giggling
sharing stories
someone’s little sister
sat on her lap
having her hair braided
looking at her comic book
welcome
as part of the group
and learning from these girls
dreaming about what it will be like one day
to be a high school girl
and giggle and fret with your friends.
and the old man
who held the door
offering to buy a ‘drink’ for two older lady friends
who were awaiting his arrival
regaling them with tales
of his days in europe
reliving them
or perhaps living them for the first time
with his retelling.
and the young boys on the river
determined to enjoy the last days of summer
jumping in without fear and with squeals of laughter.
—–
the nice part about living in a small town
is that when you don’t know what you’re doing,
someone else does
– immanuel kant
Aug29
go north. and then go more north. and just a bit more north yet.
heading to the great white north
speeding on a train
with
one group of friends
one piñata head
one group of others waiting for us there
and bringing heaps of american spirit to go around.
“the cool thing about being famous is traveling. i have always wanted to travel across seas, like to canada and stuff.”
– britney spears
—
image credits: googleimages
Aug26
nuts.
recently
i’ve found myself
in an
ongoing battle of the wits
with the squirrels
who come to play in my yard
and who
have recently
kicked
their games of
mischief
and
merry-making
up a notch
rearranging the candles
messing up the table
eating buds from
the bright green gardenia plant
just as it’s about to bloom
tearing down and making off
with the tiny flags
and
leaving nothing but
a trail of snacks behind
i picture them holding secret meetings
inside the knothole
of the big tree out front
assigning jobs
creating new strategies
giggling
chattering
in their native squirrel language
discussing
how to
step up their game
and
i am
losing the battle
but
next
i’m
going to
try to make friends with them
or
go undercover.
—
‘right now, we’re just trying to
beat the squirrels to the pine nuts.’
– arlene ward
—-
image credits: squirrelpicnic.com, rabbitwhiskers.com, littlenummies.net, those darn squirrels
Aug24
one hot mess.
made a big pot
of bubbling hot
french onion soup
ladled it into little bowls
topped it with
buttered french bread slices
gruyere cheese
broiled it until it was just so
fully enjoyed it
though i knew
my big pan
was going to be tough to clean
after caramelizing the onions
and
cooking it for
such a very long time
to create a rich flavor
so
after our meal
and
emptying out
the rest of the soup
i remembered
an old kitchen trick
reheat the pan
on low
with a little
water and dish soap
to unstick the brown bits
making for an easier cleanup
and
went off to work
on an art project
in the other room
music playing
windows open
nice breeze on a hot night
a familiar scent filled the air
wondered why the neighbors
were grilling out so late at night
took a break from the art
to get a drink of water
realized the
‘grilling’
was going on right in my own kitchen
apparently
i’d forgotten about
my clever cleanup trick
that was fully in process
the water had cooked down long ago
the pan was almost on fire
inside was black and crackling
i quickly turned off the heat
grabbed the pan
with hot pads
put it into my sink
too hot to add any water
let it cool down overnight
in the morning
finally decided to
tackle the scrubbing job
now made so much harder
with the ultra char-grilled pan
went to pull it out of the sink
it seemed a bit stuck
wrestled with it a bit
finally used all of
my upper body muscle power
snapped it out of there
flipped it over to see why
it was sticking
and
voila!
it had been so hot
that it had melted right to my sink
and when i yanked it out
it took some of the ceramic with it
now
i need
a new pan
and
a new sink
but
damn, that soup was good.
—
“the only real stumbling block is fear of failure.
in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
― julia child
Aug23
i’m not confused. i’m just well mixed. – robert frost
so excited!
we put the food together quickly
packed a picnic
headed out to the arboretum
our sanctuary
right in the heart of the city
on a perfect late summer night
to see live opera
performed by
university music students
found a parking space
how lucky!
hauled out our gear
hiked in a mile
worth it!
found the amphitheater
saw an open space for a great place to sit
our luck just kept getting better!
didn’t hear any music
wondered if we were too early
didn’t see any signs of a musical set-up
didn’t see any people around
walked on a bit
listened
to see if perhaps
the music was
in another location in the park
i even said,
(a bit indignantly and dismayed),
“the paper said it was on the 23rd at 5:00!”
at that
mg turned his head
looked at me
and
it was then that i knew
something was wrong
he calmly mentioned
that it was actually
still the 22nd at the moment
we were a bit early
24 hours early
but at least we had great seats.
—
Aug22
space is the breath of art. – frank lloyd wright
local skater boy
drives around
with his polar bear way up top
just like the north pole
i see him all over town
and
it makes everyone
who crosses paths with him
smile and turn or cheer or shake their heads
no one fails to react in some way
good or bad
isn’t that what the best art is meant to do?
—
the entertainment is in the presentation.
– john mctiernan
Aug17
roller coaster math.
what do you think, little f,
should we have another baby one day ?
no.
why not?
because of the roller coaster.
what?
the roller coaster.
why?
because then you’d have 3
and someone would always
have to sit alone.
yes, i see now.
—
life is a roller coaster; you can either scream every time you hit a bump
or you can throw your hands up in the air and enjoy!
– author unknown
—
image credit: the coaster critic.com
Aug8
a barn, guns, fireworks, and long hours. what could possibly go wrong?
“there are no bad ideas Lemon, only great ideas that go horribly wrong.”
– Jack to Liz on ’30 Rock’
Aug7
i’ve found you’ve got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light. – john coltrane
‘it’s called a record player and it plays records that
go ’round and ’round and the music comes out,’
says one little grandie
to another
when proudly showing off
his new home in america
and
all of the treasures
both old and new
that can be found inside.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 