Monday, February 28, 2011

comfort food (toast to winter series)
















ah

give me soups, and
stews

and
macaroni

fill my plate and
soothe my palate

with
comfort


*Last week’s adventure was attending a cooking demonstration at Hyvee (the treat of my friend Jo Ann……thanks Jo Ann :)). We watched the nutritionist prepare healthy comfort foods and then we gobbled them up!! One thing I learned from the demonstration is the advantage of purchasing omega 3 eggs. They cost about 50 cents more a dozen but are filled with lots of good stuff due to the chickens feasting on a diet of flax seed.

Then yesterday I picked up the book The Art of Eating In by Cathy Erway. I’m into chapter three and am enjoying it. She began a blog a couple of years ago to record her experiences around the commitment she made to give up restaurant meals, take out, and fast food for two years. (She lives in New York City so this is no small feat.) It’s a fun read!

Enjoy something tasty today.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

whispered on a cold snowy walk (toast to winter series)























spring will come

plants will be green
and bend to
warming breezes

we will breathe deep of earth's
pungent smell

till
then

i see you there

standing in the bitter
still
of winter

Saturday, February 26, 2011

winter browns (toast to winter series)












once again
i find myself
smitten

by the beautfiul
browns
of winter

Friday, February 25, 2011

unexpected color (toast to winter series)
















it's night time
another storm
is passing through

thus, here i sit

letting icy wind
bend
my heart and mind
to color


 * "Color has taken posession of me; no longer do i have to chase after it. I know that it has a hold on me forever. Color and i are one. I am a painter."            ~Paul Klee

Thursday, February 24, 2011

an etching (toast to winter series)























in winter
there is clarity

cold air cuts
pure
bright
clean


*"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all.
                           ~Stanley Horowitz

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

abstract grass (toast to winter series)
















like sun
on prairie grass
in winter

are you,
my friend
to me

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

bread baking (toast to winter series)
















“Winter is the time for comfort,
for good food and warmth,
for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:
it is the time for home. ”
~Edith Sitwell

*"With bread all sorrows are less"
           ~Sancho Panza speaking to Dapple, in "Don Quixote"
            by Miguel de Cervantes(1547-1616)



Whole Wheat Beer Bread (so simple, so yummy)
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 ½ C whole wheat flour
4 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. salt
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9X5 loaf pan.
2. Combine dry ingredients, then stir in beer. Dough will be stiff.
3. Bake in preheated over 50-60 minutes till toothpick comes out clean.

Monday, February 21, 2011

little bird (toast to winter series)
















oh little bird
lend me
your loveliness


*I especially enjoy bird watching in winter.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

orchid, in february light (toast to winter series)
















kathleen stopped by
yesterday
she brought me
the loveliest
orchid

she didn't know
how many times
i've stopped to look at orchids
on my grocery runs to dillons

all those times of looking
and i'd never bought one

i stand and gaze on it
against the hazy gray
of this february morning

a cultured flower, i think

and like kathleen

rare
in beauty


*Thank you for the lovely orchid Kathleen. I'm pleased to share it's beauty with others this morning. :)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

nice ice (toast to winter series)























"i walk on ice
whenever i can"
she said
"because
ice
is
nice"

*Yesterday I took my sweet nieces Rachel (9) and Shelby (7) on a walk in the woods. Rachel loved walking on ice and Shelby loved walking on logs. And my feisty little grand-dog Koda loved getting wet. Talk about a “true adventure”. I was reminded of the following words by Henry Van Dyke:

So let the way wind up the hill or down,
O’er rough or smooth, the journey will be
Joy:
Still seeking what I sought when but a boy,
New friendship, high adventure, and a crown,
My heart will keep the courage of the quest,
And hope the road’s last turn will be the best.

~Henry Van Dyke

**Last week i forgot to mention my adventure for week # 6. It was a "home-made chocolate cream cheese facial mask". I've never done a home-made facial mask before and smearing something much like brownie mix on my face, lying down for twenty minutes and listening to Songs from the Vineyard was an experience quite unlike any other. :) Week #7 adventure: yesterday's walk.

Friday, February 18, 2011

february extremes (toast to winter series)
















last thursday
we set a low temp record
in kansas

twenty below

yesterday
an exact week later
we set a high temp record

seventy eight

this weekend
will be warm
but
put your scarf on
monday


*Some extremes are bad, some are good, and some just are.
I find the kansas winter extremes exhilarating. :)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

dripping #2 (toast to winter series)
















it's a new day
and the
dr
   ip
      pi
         ng
continues
















* "And all around them, though out of sight there were streams chattering, bubbling, splashing, and (even in the distance) roaring. And his heart gave a great leap (though he hardly knew why) when he realized that the frost was over."  ~C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

**Our "frost" may not be totally over, but today i feel like Edmund. :)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

drippings (toast to winter series)
















it's foggy today
and as i step out onto the deck
to breathe deep of the morning air

i am delighted by the sounds i hear

subtle
soft drippings
from trees, roof, and guttering

sweet murmuring heralds
of spring


*"And Lucy felt that deep shiver of gladness that you only get when you are being solemn and still." 
           ~C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

**I felt like lucy this morning.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

a little winter wonder (toast to winter series)
















look at you
perched on the very top
of almost
nothing!

Monday, February 14, 2011

visions (toast to winter series)























and when all is covered in white
i have visions


*Now they were steadily racing on again. And soon Edmund noticed that the snow which splashed against them as they rushed through it was much wetter than it had been last night....
               ~C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

**Happy Valentines Day! May you be mindful of the love of friends and family today. And if you are in Kansas, enjoy this amazing WARM weather. :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

drift (toast to winter series)
















hard to imagine
that the harsh wind's blow
could fashion the snow
into something like

fresh
sweet
whipping cream

Saturday, February 12, 2011

ironing on a winter's day (toast to winter series)























have you ever heard comfort
in the sound of
steam rising?
or felt it's warmth
in the sleeve
of a shirt


*One of the hidden beauties of winter is the pleasure one can find in simple domesticity.

Friday, February 11, 2011

in the ditch (toast to winter series)
















Winter can mean a lot of slipping, sliding, shoveling, and bundling up. It's the season of colds, flue, short daylight hours and sometimes danger. But how weak would we be if we never had to wade "knee deep"?

Thursday, February 10, 2011

woody at the feeder (toast to winter series)























I love this image.  Something about Woody the morning I snapped this shot reminded me of “me”. J Perhaps because he looked as though he were hanging on for dear life….and I’ve known that feeling a few times. Or maybe, because he was staring at his reflection so intensely as if to say “who in the world are you?” Of course I enjoyed his bright red head and the fact that he was finding sustenance at my feeder. It made me happy to know that he had been given everything he needed to withstand the cold of winter.  And in my heart I said to him, “How wonderful to see you Woody, come again soon!”

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

snow settles on the pasture (toast to winter series)
















and when i looked
out
on the morning snow

i saw
the grasses
golden


*What a beautiful morning it is, after last night's fresh snow; a good day to celebrate beauty. In addition to celebrating beauty today, my husband and i are celebrating something else. Thus, the following addition to this post: :)

Memories~















today is my wedding
anniversary

i dug out this photo
taken on our wedding day
thrity one years ago

a dashing pair
don't you think?

we had a spring in our step
a bit of flair
and an air
for adventure

we "hit" the slopes
on our honeymoon
or should i say
i "hit" and he picked up

















and through the years
he's taught me
a lot more
than skiing

now, nearing sixty
we're slowing down some
on long winter nights
we can have fun
















snuggling in
watching it snow
and just keeping warm
when it's 15 below!


Happy anniversary honey!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

taking time (toast to winter series)
















winter
slows me down
i seem to really see
the things i live with every day
in a way
i don't
in summer


*This is a small glass dish i made a couple of years ago. It strikes me as quite beautiful on this cold and windy winter day.

Monday, February 7, 2011

stillness (toast to winter series)
















oh holy trees of
winter

lift up your branches high

may we hear in your
calm stillness

an angel
passing by



*"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us and we only know them when they are gone."   ~george eliot

Sunday, February 6, 2011

gone down swingin' (toast to winter series)























Bob was never known as a "fair weather" golfer.




*Adventure for week #5: photographing Bob

Saturday, February 5, 2011

february's frozen woods (toast to winter series)












how blessed
am i
to live by the woods
in winter


* "Come when the rains
Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,
While the slant sun of February pours
Into the bowers a flood of light. Approach!
The incrusted surface shall upbear thy steps
And the broad arching portals of the grove
Welcome thy entering."
          - William Cullen Bryant, A Winter Piece

Friday, February 4, 2011

boquet (toast to winter series)
















yesterday
i drove to town
after three days
of being home

roads clear
parking lots full
of mounded snow

into Dillons i went
for cilantro
and salsa

out i came
with carnations
and daisies

all aglow


*The fresh flowers are in Dillons all year round but they are especially beautiful in February.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

in the evergreens (toast to winter series)
















"Standing in the valley
With the mist coming in,
Berries grow on holly bushes.
Robins hide in snow-ridden woods.
If i could stay here, I would."
                   ~Bethan Williams


*I didn't see a robin, but i saw a cardinal tucked in tightly among the evergreens. :)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

february's arrival (a toast to winter #1)
















like a
roaring
rampaging
son of the arctic

february arrived
in a flurry
of white

*I’m one of those “winter” people. I love a snowy day, the excuse to stay home, and the beauty I see in barrenness. Since we are half way through our winter season, I would like to share several images during the month of February that I hope show the hidden beauty of these cold and sometimes harsh months. Hope you enjoy my “toast to winter”.  All the photos will be “Kansas” shots. (There’s no place like home. ) J

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

that january morning (to the east)























january's spell
is
sapphire



*In the words of Emily Dickenson, i saw the sun rise "a ribbon at a time."












*This ends "that january morning" series.