another NYICFF favorite

Wooden Pirate with a Flesh Leg

This is one of our favorite shorts from the NY International Children's Film Festival....  More great shorts for kids can be seen at http://gkids.tv/watchOnline.cfm

Eye Spy...

We went to the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum today. It was interesting, if mildly pornographic in that oddly cute Japanese style. The kids enjoyed the smiling flowers and skulls with flower eyes. Lunch afterward at Le Gamin with some friends and ate outdoors beneath an ominous thundercloud that has yet to release its rain on us. The rest of the day is to be spent cleaning winter's sticks and waste from our back garden and potting pansies and chives and other bright things.

blooms opening

but more rain in the forecast!  no poems today.  just the underdog song over and over with a cool little boy.  his new name is Snugglelove Jumpyhigh (with apologies to Russell Hoban and his character Auntie Bundlejoy Cosysweet).  bon weekend.

taking care of the tykes...

photo credit; amy mcnamara

Can't write? Bake.

English Toffee Cookies

1 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 T vanilla
2 ½ c all purpose flour, sifted
½ t salt
1 t baking soda
½ t cream of tartar
1 package Heath Toffee pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar and add to batter in 4 parts, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in toffee pieces.

Form dough into walnut-sized balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11 minutes. Cookies will be chewy if not over-baked.

another april poem

when one thing is lost


the blue hyacinths
on the desk a marching band

clatter and clash
of cymbal & brass

insist I unclench my jaw
& follow another sense,

one less likely
to lead to the collapsing

chambers of my heart
& its petty pantry

stocked with sighs
and sorrows

dinner

Cream of Broccoli Soup for Maeve

¼ c butter
5-6 large shallots, sliced
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 t thyme
4 c chicken broth (add more if needed)
1 ½ lb broccoli florets, and some stem
¼ c cream or half and half
handfull flour

In a large saucepan, heat butter until melted. Add shallots and garlic and cook over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and cook until fragrant.

Stir in handfull flour until incorporated. Add chicken broth and broccoli. Season with salt and petter. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 5-10 minutes.

Puree soup. Add more butter to taste and cream. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

today's poem

I am an object always in transition


and I am told
I learn everything the hard way

near the harbor a magestic ship thrust its bow
skyward then sank

a fare-thee-well to the coming
might-have-beens

the queen had given it her name
and it was china laden

and rich in other promise-
making vessels

I don’t heed rules
often enough, I guess

I make all kinds of mistakes
in my mind

I fell in love
and try to stay there

a harbor seal suns lazy
where the ship was


4/4/08

my computer died. it was very sad.

But my week without it was a chance to explore the web on Doug's laptop and think about how I might more easily post pictures for you guys to see. Also, Kath challenged me to write a poem a day for April, no matter how bad they were, just to get me working again. So far it's a poem every other day and I may post them here, just to have a place to put them until my laptop is returned to me.

The title of this blog covers four things I hold in high regard.