Color Change

I'm leaving this:

For this:

And this:

Ah, blue hills and green valleys. Two adults, two kids and a giant slobbery dog hitting the road, through five states to a new state of mind, hopefully relaxed. No school, no work, no schedules, no worries! (no internet either, egads!) But.

I love a road trip! I already have the scenic rest stops picked, a friend to see on the way and nothing but quiet for the Thanksgiving week. I will take time to be very, very thankful.

And I will try not to eat too much Kentucky Derby Pie! Warm. With ice cream. Sorry.

 Kentucky Derby Pie

Ingredients
1 single Pie Crust

3 eggs; slightly beaten

3/4 c light corn syrup

3 tb sugar

3 tb butter; softened

3 tb Brown Sugar - Lantic

1 ts vanilla

1/8 ts salt

1/2 c chopped pecans; finely chopped

1/3 c bourbon

6 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 c pecan halves


Instructions

Prepare Pastry for single-crust pie. On a lightly floured surface,

roll dough to a 12-inch circle. Line a 9 inch pie plate with pasty.

Trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge; fold under extra pastry and flute edge.

Do not prick pastry. For filling, in a large mixing bowl combine eggs,

corn syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and salt;

mix well. Stir in chopped pecans and bourbon. Pat chocolate peices

lightly onto bottom of pastry shell. Pour filling atop chocolate

pieces. Arrange pecan halves atop filling. Bake in a 350 oven about 1

hour or till a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. (Cover

edges of pie loosely with foil the last 30 minutes to prevent

overbrowning.)

((I'm way too lazy for that last step, I just let it get crunchy and give the crust to the dog!))

Gray Day

Gray Day...Everything is gray.

I watch. But nothing moves today.

- Dr. Seuss  My Many Colored Days

And Yet...

Take time to stop and smell the catmint.

Click any photo to enlarge - the green bee face is amazing close up.

All photos surprisingly taken today, November 14, in my yard.

The bees are loving these late blooming catmint.

Noel is enjoying the sunshine and the show.

Me too.

Veteran's Day

PBS POV is airing a documentary tonight in honor of Veteran's Day.

The Way We Get By

If you have a tv, the time or the inclination, you should watch it.

The trailer leaves me in pieces:





For several years I coordinated a used book sale with our elementary school. One of the charities we gave extra books to was Operation Paperback, started ten years ago by a military wife whose husband asked her to send books to him overseas. It is an amazing charity, as rewarding as any I've ever supported. It is very personal and challenging to find specific requests and send them directly to servicemen and women, and even more humbling to receive the emails and letters of thanks, to really understand what a book can mean to someone living in a war zone. Some read to escape and destress on their downtime, others want textbooks to help plan for a life when they return home, while others collect children's books to start local libraries in needy communities. A thing of beauty.

Anyway, Operation Paperback is promoting this very touching documentary about elderly troop greeters in Bangor Maine.

It is very sobering to remember how long we have been at war and how far off peace can seem sometimes.



Hope you have a safe and peaceful Veteran's Day!

My Me Day

I took a me day and rode the train into Chicago.

It was cold and crisp, dark in the canyons of the skyscrapers,

but lovely, eye candy everywhere I looked.

I walked east, to the lakefront, where the sun was warm,
the sky blue, the city whitewashed in light.

I visited the Art Institute's new Modern Wing.

I took in a tour, a few seminars and a had few hours to wander.

And ponder.

So much of the art is born of deep love and deep loss.

Much of it mystified me until I read the artist's notes.

These are some of the things that moved me.

Visually, I enjoyed looking at them.

Intellectually, I loved learning what they represent and why.

I will tell you about this one, as best I can remember.

The wedding dress is a vessel, waiting to be filled with love, empty and unattainable to same sex couples. The wallpaper is shocking: calm colors and peaceful sleeping scene contrast the brutal image of a lynching. The kitty litter represents the medium to absorb the shit that is wrong in our society.

I was almost moved to tears three times.

I laughed out loud twice, not the artist's intention.

I stopped in my tracks and stared, more times than I can recount.

Mesmerized.

I saw Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Warhol and so much more.

And.

I saw the city from some new vantage points,

I think the city itself is art.

I took too many pictures, of course.

It was a good day to be me.

I feel more centered.

I have pretty pictures in my head

and on my blog.

I can go back any time I want to.

So can you, just click the Art Institute link.

Take some you time, explore the museum panoramas by clicking the rosettes, or click the upper right AIC icon to see more brain candy.

Enjoy.

Aaaahhhhhhooooooooooo!!!

Funny, I've been toying with my latest moon photos, trying to figure out which to post, and I see I'm not the only one out at night with a camera howling at the full moon rising.

In the summer, I run in the grass with arms out, dancing and twirling with my giant shadow. It's magical, and I can't not sing Moonshadow by Cat Stevens.

I didn't run around this November moon, just stood very still, in awe, snapping the various clouds blowing past and wondering what the heck makes some pictures turn out and others not. I feel camera inept, but caught a few. The halo is my favorite. Looks downright nebulous. Happy November full moon, fellow lunatics!

Sunday Sunset

I've been taking too many pictures of the sunset for four years now. I could tell you about when it started, but that's another story.

This week I snapped 150 digital shots of one sunset, and I realize I probably need a support group as desperately as I need a new digital camera. But.

In my photo taking frenzy, I captured these moments to share.

What's important to know at this point, is I hadn't seen the sun for days.

Days.

Maybe weeks, I can't remember.

My bitching about the weather is legendary, just like the weather here.

October rained 22 days, maybe more. Lost count.

Less than 34% of the available sunshine shone.

On the 30th,

I saw sun through the window and ran outside.

Saw the clouds and thought, this is gonna be good.

Ran for the camera.

It was very, very good.

All this, plus a few honking geese and a screeching hawk.

No wonder I was mesmerized.

Boo!