Possibilities

Quid's new "Tune-In Friday" feature makes me want to share music, too!

Last week I mentioned my recent Jazz kick. Although I normally prefer instrumental Jazz, I've heard enough with vocals lately that I have developed an appreciation for it. Herbie Hancock, of Jazz/Funk fame, put out a collaboration album in 2005 entitled Possibilities, featuring artists such as Paul Simon, Santana, Annie Lennox, Joss Stone, John Mayer and more. It was A Song for You with Christina Aguilera that drew me to the album. Here's a short version that I found on YouTube.

Pork Tenderloin

I love pork tenderloin and this is one of my favorite ways to prepare it. The original recipe, which I clipped from a magazine in 1993, suggests marinating a 12-16 oz. tenderloin about 30 to 60 minutes in the following ingredients before grilling or broiling. I prefer to put it all in a glass loaf pan, cover in foil, and bake about an hour or so at 400F. It comes out very moist and tender and the earlier in the day you put it together, the more flavorful it is.

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley

The Kiss

Earlier this week I mentioned something about our two donkeys to my husband. He looked at me a little strangely and said, "We have three donkeys." I'm obviously a bit out of touch.

Okay. I'll admit that I haven't spent much time at the pasture since "the terrible day". I had to distance myself. Following that, Buster got cranky with his women gone and started abusing the other boys. We found him another home and Jenny's last baby was supposed to go with him. What I failed to remember was that they never came back for the little one. So... we have three donkeys, not two. I need to get down to the pasture when it warms up and take some new pictures.

In the meantime, here's an old picture of Buster which I titled "The Kiss". I entered it in a local art show and would you believe it didn't even get an honorable mention? How could they not love that face!?!

Hope Anita Smith

Hosted by Cara at Ooh...Books!

(Click on image above)

My sister discovered this poet about a year ago and treated me to a copy of her book Mother Poems. All the poems in the collection revolve around a central theme: the death of a parent. Some are written from the viewpoint of a child, others as an adult thinking back on what was or could have been. All are heart-breakingly poignant.

Duped, which my sister featured on her blog last April, is my favorite. The one I've included here runs a close second.

Constructing Trees

Hope Anita Smith

I could feel it coming.

Like wild horses galloping toward water,

I could feel Christmas coming to me.

My mom and I would bring it

up from the basement.

Ornaments, holiday decorations, and

our tree,

lying dead in its coffin,

its epitaph on the lid.

No "R.I.P." here;

instead

"A.R.,"

"Assembly Required."

We grew our tree,

my mother and I,

from the base to the tree topper.

We raised the tall pole, and I held it

with two hands

while my mother wrestled

the green-tipped branches

into the green ring around the base,

and then we worked our way up,

matching the color tips to the ring colors

around the pole:

red, yellow, blue, black, brown, orange, white,

and another color that had long since

disappeared.

If we counted the rings,

our tree was nine years old.

It took some time, making a tree.

Every year, it got a little harder.

The colors became fainter.

But we didn't care.

I marveled that we were doing a thing

only God could do.

We were making a tree.

We dressed it in colored lights, ornaments,

and silver strands of tinsel.

When we were through,

we would stand back and admire it.

And right before our eyes,

like Geppetto's Pinocchio,

it became real.

I build trees all the time now.

Memory trees.

I start at the base,

my earliest memory,

and work my way up.

Hang moments with my mom in my mind.

Some of them real, some imagined.

All of them shining.

Cinema Paradiso

I've been on a pretty intense Jazz kick the past couple of months.

Chris Botti and Yo Yo Ma are two names I wouldn't normally think of putting together. One I associate with Jazz, the other with Classical. However, they do go together and quite nicely at that.

Frog Legs

There is no point to this post other than to share a little bit of "cuteness".

When our dogs stretch out with their legs behind them we say they have "frog legs". Betty did this when her belly itched. She would stretch out then drag herself across the floor in an army crawl.

Here's a photo of Mabel frog legging. She gets in this position quite often so it must just feel good.

Favorite Five - Comedians

I would venture to say everyone loves a good laugh. (If you don't, then something's wrong with you and you need to loosen up!) Here's my attempt to list my favorite comedians. I hope you'll join in and list some of yours, too. It's when I read your comments that I realize how many good ones I've left out!

1. Bill Cosby - Other than the Three Stooges (who I admit I loved as a kid), Cosby is probably the first comedian I had any real exposure to. We had several of his albums at our house when I was growing up and I still think "To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With" is one of the funniest routines I've heard.

2. Johnny Carson - Some people would probably classify Carson as a TV talk show host or entertainer rather than a comedian given that he hosted NBC's Tonight Show for 30 years. However, I saw him do stand-up in Las Vegas back in the 70s and he was every bit the comedian.

3. George Carlin - This guy always made me laugh. I don't know if it was his dark humor (I tend to laugh at inappropriate things) or the fact he never hesitated to poke fun at things other people didn't dare to.

4. Lucille Ball - If I'm flipping through the channels and happen to come across I Love Lucy, I always have to stop and see which one it is. I know I've seen every episode at least once and most of them many times.

5. Carol Burnett - If anyone can live up to Lucille Ball's legacy of physical comedy, it's Carol Burnett. I consider her one of the funniest women ever, especially when teamed up with Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner and Vicki Lawrence.

Runners up: John Candy, Robin Williams, Chevy Chase, Colin Mochrie, Tim Allen, all of the Blue Collar Comedy crew.

John Leax

Hosted by Cara at Ooh...Books!
(click on image above)

One of the fun things about participating in Cara's FreeVerse is getting to revisit poets and poems I've already shared, either here or on my previous blog.

I wrote about John Leax and his Tabloid News collection last April. You can click here to read a little more about both. Tabloid News is a very unusual book. The poems take several readings to appreciate and even then, probably don't appeal to some. I like to think that's the point of this exercise, though... introducing others to poetry they might never have experienced otherwise. Try this one on for size:

Baby Born with Antlers

John Leax

Might we assume that he is a he?
Perhaps not. The antlered whitetail
familiar to our autumn woods
is a buck, but the reindeer doe
is antlered into spring.
There is no absolute in nature
on which to ground our thought.

We may, however, assume the mother bore
her child in pain. Look at those things!
Eight points, a rack for Boone and Crockett.
Let's hope the antlers were soft
and malleable, floating like golden locks
during the passage down the dark canal,
only hardening at the shock of air.
Or perhaps the birth was breech.
Either way, we may assume the child
cried at the slap of birth. There's nothing
new in that, nothing to report. But did
the mother cry? What did she think
when the midwife placed the child,
wet and wriggling, in her arms?
Did she scream, blurt out, "Monster!"
and push the double-natured thing away?

I think not. I think she recognized
her image in its flesh and loved him,
though she'd no warning of how,
when she nursed, she'd have to guard
her eyes from the sudden lifting
of his head. I think, when she first
held him, tenderly exploring his small
body, her hand touched a tiny hoof-
a baby born with antlers
would have, at least, two hooves-
and she thought, almost absently,
that she would purchase him a flute.

All Aboard!

When I was a little girl my dad had a fantastic model train set. Laid out in a U-shape, it covered the equivalent of about three ping-pong tables and included residential, industrial, and business districts. My favorite thing was the haunted house with buttons I could push to make different colors flash in the windows.

I received an e-mail from my cousin featuring a model train set that puts my dad's to shame! I believe things like this bring out the child in all of us. Check it out!

Soup for a Winter day

It's the right time of year for a warm, comforting bowl of soup so I thought I'd rehash a couple of recipes from my old blog. Both are quick, easy, and delicious.

Easy Tortilla Soup

2 (10.5 oz.) cans condensed chicken and rice soup
1 (10.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
8 ounces tortilla chips
4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the soup, tomatoes & chilies and tomato sauce. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Place some tortilla chips in the bottom of an individual bowl and sprinkle cheese over the chips. Pour soup over the chips and cheese. Yield: 2 servings.

This recipe is easy to double or quadruple for more people. It's also easy to tweak with different varieties of cheese, chips, canned tomatoes, or the addition of meat.

Refried Bean Soup

Darlene Brenden of Salem, OR in Simple & Delicious

1 can (16 oz.) spicy fat-free refried beans
1 can (15-1/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup water
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1/4 cup salsa
Tortilla chips

In a large sauce pan, combine the first eight ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Again, this is an easy recipe to change to fit the tastes of your family. It's on the menu at our house tonight. Yum!