Coming Home from School

 

Father of Our Country . . .

                                         

P

When the colonies broke from England to form a country free of a monarchy, it was up to George Washington, as the first president to set the tone for the new republic.

He rejected the suggestion that he be addressed as Your Highness or Your Excellency and strove to maintain the dignity of the office while rejecting the trappings of kingship.

He also set the precedent of a two-term presidency, turning down the almost certain possibility of a third term.

And this is the man the Current Occupant wants to memorialize with a colossal statue, (gilded, no doubt) while using his AI engendered likeness in nauseating videos in which the two are shown as buddies.

What, I wonder, would George W. think of DJT, the con-man and grifter who has dragged our country's reputation into the mud, alienating allies while sucking up to autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong Un?

Evensong

 

Why Did the Chicken . . .

 Why a chicken in the picture I was meaning to paint of the Rose Pink I showed you recently?

Well, it's like this. I'd done a light pencil sketch of the flowers on a good piece of watercolor paper and set it aside. A few days later, I saw a great picture of a chicken in our recent Farm Bureau magazine and immediately cut it out and traced its outline (I have no shame) onto . . . a good piece of watercolor paper.

And when I looked closer, I saw it was the same paper I'd drawn the flowers on. 

It's been my experience that pencil lines rarely erase completely. So, what the hell, I thought. The flower and the biddy can share the page.

The flower in real life is simple and one flat shade of pink. Though the flower's in front, the chicken and her attitude dominate the picture.

An interesting experiment.

Remembering . . .

. . . that awful day . . . and all that followed . . .

the selfless actions of many, the feeling of a nation coming together in mourning and resolve . . .

and then . . . the Islamophobia acted out by a few and, alas, seized on by some politicians for their own selfish ends. 

 A sad legacy on this day of solemn remembrance.

 

Hints of Fall

The golden haze . . .

The goldenrod . . .

The shades come up and the dining room is once again a pleasant place to be.

I love this dreamy time of year and the slow tarnishing of the mountain greenery.

 

Dear Sirs

When will you call the madman in the Oval Office to account, rather than sitting by as he takes a wrecking ball to our government, our armed forces, our national monuments, our environment, our voting system, our economy, and our national prestige?

His many tweets and AI fantasies reveal a mind that is deeply disturbed and in no way fit to be POTUS--indeed, beyond being an embarrassment to the USA, he is a growing danger to the world.

It should be obvious to the meanest intelligence that DJT needs to be removed from office at once, before he can bring his nuclear dreams to fruition.

Will yours be the legacy of an enabler and co-conspirator? Or will you stand on the side of reason and true (not AI) patriotism?

I'd love to hear your answer.

 

This Is Just to Say

This is just to say

I have eaten 

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which 

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

William Carlos Williams

 

Mushroom Galette

This received an enthusiastic two thumbs up from John. It's nice because you can prepare pastry and filling in the morning, if you want, then assemble it all an hour before supper time.

 

MUSHROOM GALETTE

Crust:

1 1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

1/4 c yoghurt of sour cream

1-2 TB water or liquid from yoghurt

Put flour, salt, and butter into food processor and process till mixture is like cornmeal and butter pea-sized. Add yoghurt and liquid. Process briefly till it forms a ball. Put dough on floured piece of parchment paper and press into a flat disk. Fold paper around it and refrigerate several hours.

Prepare filling. Note, it must be thoroughly cooled before put ito the uncooked pastry.

Mushrooms-1-1.5 pounds. Portabello, cremini, shitake or a combination thereof. Sliced

1 TB. Olive oil

1 TB. butter

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 -4 cloves garlic, chopped

Thyme--fresh or dry

Rosemary-- "

1/2 c. dry sherry (or Marsala)

Blue cheese crumbles (don't over do it--a few TB should be plenty)

Salt and Pepper

Egg Wash (I beaten egg)

Prepare the filling

Saute the sliced mushrooms in the olive oil till they shrink a bit and begin to brown. (about 5 min.)

Add the butter and the chopped onion, thyme, and rosemary.Cook about 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook another minute.

Deglaze the pan with the sherry, scraping up any brown bits and cook till pan is almost dry.

Transfer mushroom mixture to a sheet pan to cool. When it has cooled (45 min?)to room temperature, prepare your pastry.

Preheat oven to 400.

Take dough from fridge and roll out on the parchment paper it was wrapped in.  Make a rough circle of about 12 inches. Put the paper and dough on a baking sheet and sprinkle the blue cheese in the center, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Now pile the mushroom mixture on top of the blue cheese. Fold the edges of the pastry over the mushroom, leaving the center open. Brush the pastry with the egg wash then bake till golden--about 45 min.

Let cool while you make a nice green salad with vinaigrette to accompany it.

                                       

              

A Most Welcome Cooling Rain

Saturday was stifling hot--and then it rained.

Oh, the joy!

Bailey is less enthusiastic-- she barks at the thunder. Meanwhile Jenny goes to ground in the pantry.

Fifteen or twenty minutes and it was over. But the suffocating heat had gone and we rejoiced, turning the fans that had been blowing hot air out to bring the beautiful rain-scented cool air in.

Simple pleasures!

 

What?

RIP Wendell Berry and Gloria Steinem

Two more lights gone out. Wendell Berry's books and poetry have been a constant for me, not surprising considering that we chose a rural life.

Gloria Steinem's legacy has been important for all women--especially so now that women's rights are under attack with some far right voices even suggesting that they shouldn't have the vote.

Fight on! But listen to WB's words, the ending of one of his poems. (Go HERE to read the whole poem.)

. . . The partition thins between this world and the world to come,
or the next or the other world.


On the other side of the partition
the dead are living.


As one grows older some of the dead grow
more alive, more essentially themselves.


One loves them more.


As the next world grows more distinct, 

this one becomes, not more
vague, but more strange.

 

Days Like This . . .

Hot as it's been, I find myself thinking of snow . . .

Lovely, cool snow.

I wonder if we'll have any this year? These photos are from 2012, I think. We had very little last year.