Poetry Jam: Ways to Celebrate

I've been checking out poetry resources and like this list of 30 ways to celebrate from the Academy of American Poets.  At the kids' request, I'm going to include poems in their lunches instead of jokes this month (which is good because I'm running out of riddles), both published ones and homemade ones.  They particularly like the acrostics based on their names.

I also want to try:

• Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 26, which gives me time to choose a good one
• Read a book of poetry--I'm reading Garrison Keillor's Good Poems
• Memorize a poem--I know very few (Silverstein's "Sister for Sale," Burns's "Red, Red Rose," and I used to know Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 and EBB's "How Do I Love Thee?"  My dad knows three--"Luck" by W.W. Gibson, a rhyme about pelicans, and the into to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) and would like to add another, but which one?
• Play "Exquisite Corpse," which is a group poetry-writing effort with an established sentence structure.  Or the kids and I will just write poetry together using some other structures.
• Take a poem to lunch (I'll be putting one in the kids' lunchboxes and read some during my own lunch)
• Put a poem in a letter.
• Start a commonplace book, a personal anthology of favorite poems or quotes--my blog is a digital version of this, at least for this month.
• Integrate poetry and technology--I downloaded the app for Android from the Poetry Foundation.

What are you doing to celebrate poetry month?

Spring Break: Theologically Speaking

On Saturday, we attended a new members' class at church.  As UUs already, we didn't so much need the history of the denomination, but we did greatly appreciate information about the history of our new church and its current activities.  We also enjoyed spending time with our outgoing minister.

After brief introductions all around outlining our spiritual biographies, the minister led us in a fascinating activity on the theological spectrum.  She set up three chairs spaced widely and said we could choose any spot on the continuum except the middle.  And then she asked labeled the points, one after another, as we reshuffled ourselves as we saw fit:

1. On one end, you believe in God, as you define it, and feel it as a force in your life; on the other, you believe there is no overriding force in the universe.
2. On one end, you find prayer a waste of time, particularly because there is no way to pray to; on the other, you find prayer, however you define it, a useful, reflective, meditative practice.
3. On one end, you believe that some aspect of yourself exists after the death of your physical body; on the other,  you believe that when you die, the only thing left of you is others' memories and the effects of your actions.
4. On one end, you believe there is not outside calling and that any such belief is psychological in origin; on the other, you believe in a calling above and beyond your own mind.
5. On one end, evil exists in the world as a separate entity; on the other, any evil in the world is the result of human action and choice.

 I was surprised to find myself on either side of the middle for every question but the one about evil, for which I was way over on the human basis for evil (i.e. not the devil).  I am increasingly  comfortable with concepts of the divine as an force in the world, the importance of prayer, and the existence of our energies after our physical deaths.  I wasn't so sure about a divine calling, hearing that as closer to predestination than I usually believe, but believe that people do have passions that drive them.

How far has that moved on the continuum of belief for me!  Mama was more spiritual, more believing than I was for every question, except evil, which she agreed was human.  But that doesn't surprise me or her, as she has always been more spiritual than I was (though the minister, good UU/Buddhist that she is, still balked when Mama explained that she believed that the Christian God existed but that she chose not to pay any attention to him, preferring others like Gupathai, her ancestral spirit, good polytheist that she is!  The minister was also interested in the good karma of moving bugs along the wheel of reincarnation and how parents are beholden to their children from previous lives.  Though, the minister did talk about reincarnation not as memorable lives such as "I was Napoleon," but as the transference of energy). 

Where do you stand?

-=-=-=-=-=-=

We ate this at brunch during class, a wonderful rich food for discussing theology and the like:

Paula Deen's French Toast Casserole

1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)

8 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash salt

Praline Topping, recipe follows

Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Poetry Jam: Gateway Drug

Our minister called poetry a gateway drug to mindfulness, gratitude, and even prayer during our membership class on Saturday.  True, in its way, I think:  I took both a poetry and a prayer online class last year!

So, here's another "ordinary day miracle" poem I've read recently, in the wonderful collection Good Poems (ed. Garrison Keillor):

Welcome Morning
 
There is joy 
in all: 
in the hair I brush each morning, 
in the Cannon towel, newly washed, 
that I rub my body with each morning, 
in the chapel of eggs I cook 
each morning, 
in the outcry from the kettle 
that heats my coffee 
each morning, 
in the spoon and the chair 
that cry "hello there, Anne" 
each morning, 
in the godhead of the table 
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon 
each morning.
 
All this is God, 
right here in my pea-green house 
each morning 
and I mean, 
though often forget, 
to give thanks, 
to faint down by the kitchen table 
in a prayer of rejoicing 
as the holy birds at the kitchen window 
peck into their marriage of seeds.
 
So while I think of it, 
let me paint a thank-you on my palm 
for this God, this laughter of the morning, 
lest it go unspoken.
 
The Joy that isn't shared, I've heard, 
dies young.
 
~ Anne Sexton ~

Welcome, Little Ones!

There are two new baby red-tail hawks at NYU!!   I liked watching Pip some last year and was sad when his mother died this fall.  But now his father, Pale Male, has a new mate, Rosie, and there are new eyases.  Check them out at the NYTimes's Hawk Cam.

Spring Break: All But Forgotten

With a post still in the works regarding our church membership class on Saturday and nothing much to tell from Sunday, I include some tidbits from the week that I forgot to include in my other posts:

• Gommie and Pop arrived with cascarones, or confetti eggs, in hand.  Sis and Bud loved cracking these over everyone's head, showering people and the driveway with brilliant confetti and egg shell bits.  
• On Easter, as Bud lay asleep upstairs, Sis, Pop, Gommie, and I re-hid Easter eggs for each other.  Sis "kicked it up a notch," to borrow the phrase I used that morning, and hid them in bushes and batches of pachysandra.  When it was my turn, I was tricky:  I hid one under Pop's hat, on his head!  They were confused at my hot-cold warnings and then laughed at the joke.
• Besides basketball, Pop also played baseball with the kiddos, who will only hit pitched balls not those on a tee.  Which makes playing baseball that much more of a challenge.  Still they hit it more than you'd think and then run around the yard while we all chase the ball.
• When Gommie had to entertain the kids while Pop took me to PT, she came up with dozens of things to do with just paper and pencil:  hangman, tic tac toe, Memory, basketball and golf (using the pool noodles) with the trash can, and I forget what else.  I suggested origami and paper airplanes, too.  Way to go, Gommie!  
• Gommie and the kids spent some time singing this visit, namely the 19 or so verses of "There's a Hole in the Bucket."  Kinda like "99 Bottles of Beer!"
• The Cat and the Garter Snake:  walking up to Bloodroot with the kids on Friday, we saw that two of the resident fluffy cats were playing with a harmless garter snake, lazing next to it, watching it, batting it occasionally.  The kids and even Mama were fascinated--what was going to happen?  did cats eat snakes?  I've seen cats kill and sometimes eat all manner of things (bird, baby squirrel, fish, lizards, mice, vole) . . . and don't really like snakes, even little friendly ones.  But that snake wouldn't be long for this world as it slithered hurriedly away.  The cat took two steps and just sat down in front of it.  I guess we were all getting ready to have our lunch.
• Ma and Gong brought a baseball thingamajiggy over on Saturday--it pitches balls to young players.  And Bud managed on several occasions to knock a pitch over the garage roof!

Poetry Jam: Joetry Pam

For SQUIRT (sustained quiet uninterrupted reading time--they liked the acronym of the otherwise unwieldly phrase), Bud started Shel Silverstein's mixed up poetry in Runny Babbit.  While he and Sis had been perplexed by many of the poems of Where the Sidewalk Ends because they took Silverstein took literally--was Sylvia Stout really covered by garbage?  How did Peggy Ann Mackay break her leg and have chicken pox and still go out to play?  How can you sell your crying, spying sister?--Bud loved the wordplay of Runny Babbit, just as he loves Pig Latin and Ferb Latin and such.  We heard him gigging way after lights out.

Civil War Swazu

Gommie and Pop called this morning from the road (or, more specifically, their hotel).  They are having quite the road trip and have seen, not in order, many historic battlefields and sites:

• Gettysburg (they liked a Parisian Bistro there!)
• Harrisburg, specifically the Museum of Civil War (Gommie's favorite, I think)
• Spotsylvania
• Antietam
• Wilderness Campaign
• Chancellorsville
• Fredericksburg
• Harper's Ferry
• Richmond, specifically the Museum of Confederacy

It sounds like they're having a wonderful time, soaking in the atmosphere and random historic tidbits more than actual specific infantry maneuvers and battle timelines.  They also stopped by the Appalachian Trails headquarters and met people hiking the entire thing.

Maybe that will be their next trip!

Flu, Two

Sis officially has the flu.

And I feel increasingly under the weather. 

Cancelling activities left and right.

Happy Easter!

May it be a beautiful one for my orthodox Christian friends!

Right Now

Sis has fever.  We think it's probably the flu, though a week after Bud seems delayed.

Spring Vacation: Staycation

Thursday and Friday were specifically dedicated to our family's spring break "staycation" since we couldn't, in good conscience, drag a recovering-from-the-flu child out of town.  So, instead we have

• indulged in a huge pancake breakfast at our favorite breakfast place, which I delighted in after my own almost two-year hiatus
• built new and old Lego sets (Sis has the Friends beauty parlor and Bud and Mama are putting the medieval castle back together again)
• danced in a brief rain shower, while trying to spot a rainbow
• watched a red-tail hawk in a nearby tree ("hawkspotting")
• watched lots of new-to-us "Phineas and Ferb" episodes, including the three-part rollercoaster arc (the original first episode, the time traveling Quantum Bugaloo, and the "Rollercoaster, The Musical.")
• visited the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport (the kids had fun but, frankly, it was awful--very poor didactics when they existed at all because they didn't give kids the info they needed to appreciate the topic at hand or answer their poorly-worded, not-open-ended questions; dirty and broken exhibits (piles of used paper, broken pens, missing stars for constellations, and numerous broken electronics); mediocre aesthetics--poorly designed and hung didactic panels in various fonts on small sheets of paper, chipped paint, dirt; lack of basic instructions or clearly intuitive procedures for hands-on activities.  All around CRAP.  The only good parts were the hands-on activities in the "My House, Your House" exhibition, with the build-your-own cabin, walk-in Mongolian ger, and the Fiji fire pit.)
• eaten lunch at Bloodroot--peanut and mustard greens soup, tofu salad with sesame oil dressing, grilled Swiss cheese, Bloodroot "burger," cheese omelet, oatmeal bread, chocolate devastation cake, brown rice pudding, and lemon-lavender posset in a china cup.  MMMMMMmmmm!  The posset might be the best dessert I've ever had there, better than the pumpkin or blueberry tofu mousses or the cranberry kissel (tied, perhaps, with brandied fruit over ice cream!).  Sis thought so, too.  But, otherwise, the kids didn't like it at all.  Which has me considering a vegetarian month here at home to break the must-have-meat/not natural foods habit.
• gardened, after a trip to the garden store--Sis got red, orange, yellow, and purple pansies plus some trailing verbena with red flowers.  We also have some sweet basil and new pink phlox for the rock wall (since the old phlox is creeping into crevices beautifully).  We spent time outside planting and watering all of these.
• played a new game called Yoome, which requires not only the game but also an iPad app.  It's hard to explain but it's basically a get-to-know-you game with dualistic (is that a word?) questions (ketchup or mustard?  winter or summer?) that one player answers secretly and the others try to guess; best guesser wins.
• read more poetry before bed, including the perfect spring poem for today:

"Maytime Magic" by Mabel Watts 

A little seed

For me to sow...

A little earth

To make it grow...

A little hole, 

A little pat...

A little wish, 

And that's that.

A little sun,

A little shower...

A little while,

And then--a flower!

Poetry Jam: Sources

Not being very poetry literate, I'm following my verse-loving minister's advice to read widely so I can learn whom and what I like.  I've been perusing Garrison Keillor's wonderfully diverse Good Poems (there are two other collections in that series--on hard times and American places) and have found two new online sources for poems:

• Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac, which I believe is heard every morning on NPR and from which were drawn the selections for his Good Poems collection.  There is a poem and other literary notes everyday, with today and years previous archived here.
•  Poetry 180:  a poem a day for American high school students, selected by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins in conjunction with the Library of Congress.

Poetry Jam: A Common Thread

I've come across these today, finding a message of daily, ordinary miracles:

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.  Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.  Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.  Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return." --Mary Jean Iron, quoted from A Grateful Heart -=-=-=-=-=-

"Otherwise"


I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.

--Jane Kenyon
from Otherwise, 1996
Graywolf Press, St. Paul, Minn.
Copyright 1996 by the Estate of Jane Kenyon.
All rights reserved.


-=-=-=-=-=-

“The Orange"


At lunchtime I bought a huge orange—
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I got a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It's new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over. 
I love you. I'm glad I exist.



by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns (Faber & Faber).


(N.B.  Funny how being a mom of twins effects things.  I read this last poem as about motherhood, with Robert and Dave young twins--eating a quarter of an orange--and the mom thrilled to have time to shop or walk in the park--"new" after those hard early days.  She finished her to do list and likes her spouse (which you don't always when you're sleep deprived) and is glad to be alive!  I made it all up but it works for me.)

Poetry Jam: Recommendations

Corresponding with our minister today, I got a recommendation to peruse Garrison Keillor's Good Poems, which apparently contains numerous poems by a variety of poets, including some of her favorites.  Two of these--Jane Hirshfeld and W.S. Merwin--were also included in PBS's documentary, "Buddha."  I look forward to reading through the book.  


She also suggested some Billy Collins for the kids and sent along this from 18th-century poet/author Christopher Smart, on his cat Jeoffry:

For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships inhis way.For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegantquickness.For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.  For he is of the tribe of Tiger.For he purrs in thankfulness when God tells him he's a good Cat.For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking inthe spirit.For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.  For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.

Lines from "Jubilate Agno, Fragment B [For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry]" by Christopher Smart.  (See whole 74 lines on his cat  here.)

We also emailed about the Bible, which I have never really read.  The kids, specifically Sis, have been asking about Moses, Joseph, and Jesus and I know what I've seen in Cecil B. Demille, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and medieval and renaissance art.  I think it might be time for me to read through some of it.  And since it's poetry month, I think I'll start with the Pslams.  Or since Passover just took place, and it is the custom of Ashkenazi Jews to read the Song of Solomon (text) in the middle of Passover, perhaps I'll read that (Sephardic Jews apparently read it every Friday.)

Spring Break: All Good

Despite the fact that it was Gommie and Pop's departure day today, we are doing pretty well.

Bud is doing much better.  He hasn't had a fever in more than 36 hours and he is only somewhat congested; thankfully, the severe headache is gone.  But he is still tiring easily.

Still, we managed to have a full day.  Sis and Bud played Ninjago Legos until Gommie and Pop arrived around 9.  They had kindly offered to help us get new clip-on reading lamps for the kids' beds and brought them this morning, heading back to the store for zip ties and a power strip.  I'm not sure what Gommie was doing with the kids while I helped Pop out (or, really, just watched and kept the cats out of trouble, no small feat that.)

Later in the morning, they played Angry Birds and some kind of kids' picture sudoku.  Then we went outside to shoot hoops and paint "splatter pictures" (yes, it's as messy and fun as it sounds, a little Jackson Pollock in the front yard).  We also got distracted with some yard work--moving some dead plants, cleaning around and pruning the butterfly bush, and removing a big, wild heather plant from its place near the front step and putting some pots for herbs or flowers there.  Sis especially loved helping out with the gardening, waving her shears around, "What can I trim?"

Soon, though, we hugged goodbye.  Pop and Gommie are headed to various historical sites, while we ate a deli lunch and watched almost the entire first season of "Phineas and Ferb," focusing on the episodes we hadn't seen.  I even managed to fold the much-neglected loads of clothes.

Now, with a ham in the oven for dinner (along with cornbread and probably greens and mac and cheese and black eyed peas for me), I am holing up for a bit upstairs while the kids play Angry Birds and air hockey on the iPad.  Mama will work late--last night she was home around 10:30--and so we're pacing ourselves here on what is always the hardest part of these otherwise wonderful visits.

Right Now

And they're off....Gommie and Pop have left on the second leg of their swazu.

We'be wiped our tears and are going to have a deli picnic with Phineas and Ferb.

Spring Break: Getting Better

With Bud fever free and feeling better, we did a bit more today.  He built Legos with Sis til Gommie and Pop showed up around 10.  Then we had fun Skyping with Aunt Banana, Uncle Soccer, and Cousin Hungry--seeing her toys, hearing her call Gommie "Gaga" (Pop calls Gommie "Lady Gaga"), singing the little duck song (though she never said "cack, cack" for us), and then telling them about our Easter, horseback riding, and swimming.

We had "herbachi" for lunch (Pop even shared sushi with Bud) and later the kids went swimming, thereby crossing two more items off their G&P to-do list.  We actually did quite a few of them, amazing all things-considered--swimming, basketball, "Goose Poop" park, bird sanctuary, dyeing Easter eggs, kung fu, chalk/driveway paint, and meals at the hamburger place, chicken and dumplings, brunch, and "herbachi."  Only the sleepover really remained at the top of the list.  Next time.

We came home and bummed around until a dinner of Gommie's chicken and dumplings.

They're asleep now, Gommie and Pop headed back to the hotel to pack to leave tomorrow, Mama Hungry is working late, and I'm catching up on Monday's "Smash" and then tonight's "Glee."

Poetry Jam: Jammin' Again

While this post is belated, we have been celebrating National Poetry month again this year.  We are back to reading our favorite poet, Jack Prelutsky, he of Awful Ogre.  This time we started with his collection, My Parents Think I'm Sleeping, a book recommended by their teacher.

We have all the poetry collections we used last year--The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Arnold Lobel), A Child's Book of Poems (Gyo Fujikawa), The 20th-Century Children's Poetry Treasury (edited by Jack Prelutsky), Classic Poems to Read Aloud, The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry, Robert Louis Stevenson's A Children's Garden of Verses,  lots of Shel Silverstein, and others.  Mama also found a copy of a book of folk poems, or lyrics to songs, mostly new to us.  And I look forward to finding some new poets for them.

And for me.  I'm going to read some poetry for myself as well.  I might find a book by Jane Hirshfeld, who was featured in my favorite PBS documentary "Buddha" or read more Adrienne Rich.  I might also ask our current minister, who loves poetry.

Spring Break: Not All Bad

Sure, influenza isn't great and it is greatly affecting the week, but the news from today isn't all dire.  First, Gommie and Pop had their flu shots (and the doc thinks Bud's strain was probably covered in the vaccine) and also probably have some natural immunities because of their ages (the ped said that people born before 1950 even have some swine flu resistance!).  I had my flu shot, too.  Not sure about Mama, though I'm afraid she didn't.  Sis didn't and so we will be watching her for up to 72 hours after Bud is fever-free, which is awhile yet. So, yeah, we cancelled our overnight trip and other things, but we got some Legos and an art kit to distract us all.

But before all that, we were doing pretty well.  Bud woke up happy and low fever, after 12 hours asleep.  He and Sis played SW figures, Legos, and Squinkies, specifically building Lego houses for the little critters.

Then Sis and I made delicious sourdough biscuits (coincidentally, on the day that KAF posted their new sourdough post.)  She mixed, rolled out dough, and cut biscuits, which she likes best warm with honey.

Midday, while Pop played with a seemingly improving Bud (at the pool--hope the chlorine is strong!  And I think at the beach.  Then for ice cream.  He seemed better earlier today.  And was definitely better today than yesterday), Gommie drove Sis and I to our Daisy horseback riding field trip.  Horseback riding is a common, casual hobby up here, like soccer and ballet are elsewhere.  There are lots of stables in the state and many people ride occasionally or even more regularly; girls down the street took lessons for a few years. (It's not rodeo but equestrian-type events and riding, I think.)  In fact, my co-leaders had both taken lessons and ridden competitively for this very stable 25-ish years ago!  People always think I know horses--that Texas stereotype (and I do have cousins who are experienced horsewomen who have been in rodeos)--but it's just not true.  I sat on my cousin Wendy's horse (without a saddle, with a few others, with me on the very back, as I recall) for a minute or so one Family Christmas and immediately begged to get down.  That's been it. No Black Beauty/horse-crazy phase for me.

At first, I thought Sis was similarly hesitant when she refused to help groom the horses beforehand.  But she got right up on a tall bay (that's dark brown for us non-horse people) named "Cow" (or something like that), helmet firmly in place, and rode him around the ring a dozen or so times, holding the reins in her left hand, kicking him to speed up, shouting "ho" and pulling to stop, pulling left or right to turn, and even trotting quickly.  Of course, there was a stable hand nearby the whole time, one for each mounted girl (a few at a time), but a few times she was ostensibly all on her own.  Except these retired racehorses were so docile and used to lessons that they pretty much went where they were supposed to go.  I think she's caught the horse fever now and was begging to have her birthday party at the stables, to take lessons, to ride again soon.

It was definitely a high point of the day, especially in contrast to the low points.  That, and pizza for dinner!

Right Now

Bud has flu, officially (they even filled out a state report!). We are in self-imposed quarantine, canceling activities through Friday. Lots of disappointment. And hope that the rest of us don't get it.

Spring Break: Easter Surprises

Our first Easter surprise was Sis's complete inability to sleep for sheer excitement that the Easter Bunny was coming.  Though she was in bed as usual, she was awake by 11 and then didn't fall back asleep until after 2 a.m.  At some point, she and Bud were talking so loudly about the bunny that they woke us up!


And then at 5 a.m., Bud came into our room with 103F temperature.  "I don't want to be sick on the holiday," he lamented tearfully.  He never really went back to sleep, joining an awake Sis at 6 to talk about the bunny again.


We started the holiday a little before 7, with Gommie and Pop who had arrived early.  Bud felt well enough to search for eggs.  He and Sis tore through the house finding dozens of plastic eggs filled with coins, chocolate, and Squinkies (these tiny plastic creatures).  They then headed to the porch, where their previously-empty baskets were now filled with chocolate, books, pajamas, t-shirts from G&P's trip, some personalized journals and sticker, and a few toys (SW, Bakugan, Ninjago).  On to outside Easter nests!  Candy, candy, candy.  And a missing egg.  I spotted the missing egg down the street, in pieces.  A critter, most likely a raccoon, had clawed the metallic plastic egg open and pulled out the chocolates, leaving the egg but eating the candy, wrapping and all!


It took the kids awhile to find all of the dyed eggs.  The Easter Bunny took it up a notch, hiding them in new and more difficult places.  Up high in trees, under bushes and buckets, in sandbox and fort, on coiled hose and rearview mirror, in addition to the usual flower pots, mailbox, gutters, and in front of yard art. Interestingly, the natural dyes quickly faded in the sunlight, reverting almost to white.


We snacked on Bacon Cheese Bites, Spinach Bites, and Deviled Eggs until we eventually had brunch:  scrambled eggs, two kinds of bacon, White Gull Inn Cherry-Stuffed French Toast, punch, orange juice, and coffee.


Since then, there have been naps, a new Yoga Game we got for Gommie, building Lego houses for the Squinkies, watching a little tv, and a few short wanderings outside (down the street and to the park).


No church and no evening sleepover (with swimming, "herbachi," and sleeping bags at the hotel), so not the day we had planned, but, all things considered, a happy Easter.


And there will be time for those things before Gommie and Pop leave.


Happy Easter!


-=-=-=-=-=-


Bacon Cheese Bites

1/2 stick melted butter

1-5 oz. jar Kraft Old English Cheese Spread or any potted cheddar cheese (like Wis Pride)

1 can real bacon bits

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 package 6 English Muffins

Mix together first four ingredients. Split muffin and spread on mixture. Quarter each half. Freeze. When ready to serve broil 5 minutes.

Gommie Hungry

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mommy Goose's Spinach Bites

2 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed

4 eggs

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 c. Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing mix

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. dried thyme

1/4 t. black pepper

10 T melted butter (1 stick + 2 T)

Squeeze water out of spinach through a colander until just about dry. Beat the eggs in a bowl, then dump rest of ingredients in and mix. Cover bowl and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat oven to 350. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and bake on lightly greased cookie sheet until browned and cripsy, 30-35 minutes.

YUM!

Mommy Goose

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Gommie's Deviled Eggs

4 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon powdered dry mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 drops bottled liquid hot pepper sauce or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/8 teaspoon paprika
salt and white pepper to taste
pickles, onions (optional)

Cut eggs lengthwise and gently remove yolks. Mash yolks with a fork, but do not pack. Add mayonnaise, dry mustard, Worcestershire, pepper sauce, paprika, salt, and white pepper. Also, add finely chopped pickles and onions, if desirable. Garnish with paprika, pimiento strips, or sliced olives.

Gommie Hungry

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Christmas Punch

1 (48-ounce) bottle cranberry juice drink
1 (48-ounce) can pineapple juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 (2-liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled

1. Stir together first 4 ingredients until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill 8 hours.
2. Stir in ginger ale just before serving.

Makes 6 1/2 quarts.

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White Gull Inn Cherry-Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf egg bread, unsliced
1 8-ounce packages cheese cream, room temperature
2 cups tart Montmorency cherries, drained, divided (NOT pie filling)
3 eggs
2 cups milk
cinnamon, for garnish
powdered sugar, for garnish
maple syrup, for garnish

Trim ends from loaf and cut bread into six 1 1/2 inch thick slices. Make a cut three-quarters down the middle of each slice. Bread will appear to have to separate slices, but will be joined together at the bottom. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and one cup of the cherries. Spread approximately 1/6 cup of the mixture into the pocket of each slice of bread. Gently press slices together, evenly distributing filling.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Dip stuffed slices into egg mixture and coat all sides. Place immediately on a lightly oiled, heated griddle and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, turning to cook second side.

Remove cooked slices from griddle and place on a cutting board. Gently make a diagonal cut through each slice, forming two triangles. Arrange two triangles on individual plates. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining cherries. Serve with maple syrup and butter.

White Gull Inn

Spring Break: A Colorful Day

Saturday started early, with a surprise visit from the Easter Penguin:

The Easter Penguin visits the night before Easter eve, bringing small treats.  And also wet footprints!

Then we got ready:

Making "Easter-bread" houses,

making natural dyes with turmeric, blueberries, and beets,

dyeing eggs,

mixing the dyes to create new colors,

and building Easter Nests, which is a tradition from Gommie's side of the family and my childhood.  There are rarely enough flowers and grasses in CT at Easter but we managed.  And it was wonderful to share this tradition with the kiddos.  We filled the nests with some of our dyed eggs, as well as carrots for the bunny.

Spring Break: First Full Day

We always hit the ground running with Gommie and Pop and today was no exception.

7:30 a.m. Kids wake up and play downstairs alone until we wake up
8:30 a.m. We wake up and watch new "Ninjago" with the kids (oh, no, the Great Devourer!)
9:00 a.m. We eat breakfast and talk about the day.
10:00 a.m. G&P arrive after their own breakfast and we start the day together, squeezing in a little basketball.
11:00 a.m.  Explore local bird sanctuary with new binoculars from G&P.  Nuthatch, chickadee, hawks, crane . . . and turtles!
12:30 p.m. lunch at a very crowded Shake Shack (a la restaurateur Danny Meyer)--"Shack-cago" hot dogs, fried portabello mushroom burgers with cheese, hamburgers, crinkle fries, cheese fries, lemonade, "Arnold Palmer, "concreations" with vanilla custard and apple pie, a "purple cow" (vanilla custard and grape soda), root beer float, vanilla custard with strawberry puree and marshmallow cream, and chocolate with chunks and caramel.  YUM!
1:45 p.m.  G&P take kids swimming--"slide for life" on 2-story slide (only Pop, cos kids aren't tall enough--he made a huge splash!).
3:00 p.m.  Mama Hungry and I head to WF for Easter menu--we're doing that cherry-stuffed French toast!
4:30 p.m. G&P take kids to kung fu class
5:15 p.m. Mama and I start making dinner, including matzo ball soup to honor the first night of Passover
6:00 p.m.Dinner--Sis liked broth; Bud liked matzo balls.  Mama also made lard nar, but over rice instead of noodles.  Pop liked hot chili sauce; Gommie liked the vinegar
7:30 p.m. Kids bathed and in bed; G&P back at hotel.
8:00 p.m. Mama and I clean up (though G&P did most of it), boil 2 dozen eggs for dyeing tomorrow, and head to bed . . . .

Those are just the big things!  And that wasn't everything on their list.  Good thing we have several more days.

Right Now

Right Now

Watching turtles....

Spring Break: Beginnings

Gommie and Pop's visits always begin with an excited rush of activities and today was no exception.  The only difference is that they arrived when I was home alone, with the kids at school, which gave us some time for leisurely greetings.

Well, 30 minutes anyway, because we fetched lunch and ate it in the car on the way to a special sports afternoon at school. When we appeared unexpectedly in the doorway, Sis was clearly excited and soon nudged Bud nearby to notice who was here.  The class was fixing to go outside so we weren't interrupting much.  Gommie had a chance to see their desks while Pop talked educational politics with the student teacher.

The entire first grade went outside together for relays and games.  And they were game illiterate.  They didn't know the basics of relays--when it was your turn, how to tag, when to stop--because sometimes the person wouldn't take off at all or the person would take off before the other got there, nobody tagged anybody, and the team kept going again even after everyone ran.  But we still cheered them on, laughing the whole time.  The coordinator announced "Red Rover" and I couldn't believe they were going to play that game, with kids slamming into each other to break a line, or even playing with 100 kids who don't all know each other.  But it was a different game, no "Red Rover, Red Rover, let Jamie come over," something like the game "toothpaste," but here the "it" person called out a category and tried to tag those whom it described before they got across the field; those tagged were all "it" now, too.  And it kept going.  Especially because many of the kids didn't join the "it" group when they were tagged, the "it" kids would only tag one person and then stop or not realize who was not "it" and therefore not tag anyone (or even focus on one person to chase ignoring dozens within reach!); and then there were the kids who wouldn't run regardless of the category, like "first grade," until directly instructed.  It was chaos.  But everyone was delighted.  Even the simple "Red Light, Green Light" caused confusion--whole lines advanced at once instead of one at a time, along with the usual not listening and just going; the coordinator gave up on "yellow" really quickly.  I can see that we might need to have outdoor game day in Girl Scouts just to bring these kids up to speed!

We left school after the games, about 45 minutes early (excluding their usual bus time), and the usual "let's do this" chorus began.  Bud had the basketballs out before I even put my purse down.  He and Pop played for quite awhile--layups, hook shots, off the backboard, "round the world."  Bud loved having a committed playmate.  Sis and Gommie emptied the car--Sis wanted to see the old toys of mine they'd brought, especially the Luke and Leia "Barbie" dolls.  I'm not sure she was very impressed, but I remember wonderful summer hours playing with those dolls with my friend Tania, even getting Luke caught in a tree and calling him "Luke Treewalker" ever afterwards.  Sis was soon riding her bike up and down the street, switching over to scooters in the cul de sac with Bud, who took a break from basketball.

They came in for Peach Smoothies, their new favorite treat, which they happily shared with Gommie and Pop.  Then sticker books were brought out while they debated going to "Goose Poop" Park.  My folks were troopers, giving in to the grandkids' request, and headed over there for an hour or so.  And when they got back, we hung out for a bit before they went for burgers (I had to go to PT).

By the time I got back, the kids were in bed and the grandparents had opened the wine.  We sat around chatting about their stops at the Hermitage, Biltmore, and Monticello and possible stops at various Civil War battlefields on the way home.  Or Acadia National Park.  Or both!  Mama Hungry loves to discuss the Civil War and has been to many of the battlefields; between her and Pop I imagine they've seen most of the major ones.  They were particularly talking about Lee and Traveler today, also the possession of the Cumberland Gap.  And we always mention our relative who supposedly fired the first shot at Vicksburg (my dad's mother's grandfather, so my great-great, a Methodist minister, I believe; her dad, Bampa, wrote an essay entitled "The Littlest Rebel."  he was married to Bam-ma, who was from Franklin, TN.  Got it?).  I liked chatting, something we don't often get to do on these visits, especially the recent injury-laden ones.  They also weren't as tired by the travel or time change as they are when they do a marathon early, long flight/cab/train day.

They were off, Gettysburg books in hand, around 9:15 p.m., needing their sleep because we'll be busy again tomorrow and for several days to come.  Especially because they've invited the kids for a sleepover at the hotel!

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Peach Smoothie


1 bag frozen peaches, slightly defrosted in microwave (esp. if you don't have high-powered equipment)
1/4-1/2 cup milk, or more (cow, soy, even coconut works; I imagine yogurt would work, too, for really thick ones)--Miss D makes hers with orange juice and no milk
1/4 cup honey (or more to taste)

Mix in your blender or food processor until desired consistency.  Sometimes we like it chunky like ice cream or liquid like a smoothie; just adjust milk amounts.  It will refreeze but isn't as tasty later.  Enjoy!

Mommy Hungry

Right Now

Gommie and Pop are here!

Spring Break: Easter Grocery Shopping

For us, the holidays begin today.  Gommie and Pop arrive and school gets out for spring break.

I'm working on my menu so I can enter the ingredients in GroceryIQ (our favorite shopping app) in case Mama Hungry can go shopping at some point.  My menu is divided into two parts, first and second breakfasts, just like the Hobbits!  The first breakfast will take place after early-morning egg hunting but before church and includes quick and easy foods. We can also nibble on first breakfast while preparing second.  Second breakfast, or brunch, will take place after church around midday.

So far, I'm thinking:

First Breakfast
Miss B's spinach bites
Gommie's deviled eggs
Gommie's cheese-bacon bites (at Sis's request)
something from Marion Cunningham's Breakfast Book?

Second Breakfast
eggs (scrambled?  sherried?  quiche?)
bacon
ham steak?
hash browns
grits?
fruit salad
green salad?
poundcake (or blueberry crumble French toast? or cherry French toast of the White Gull Inn?)
sugar cookies (a la Sis)
punch

And then, knowing what the kids will ask, what's for dinner???

Our Book Club

Yesterday afternoon, we held the first official meeting of the Hungry Family Book Club.  Mama was in absentia, but Sis, Bud, and I spread blankets out in the grass and read in the sunshine for more than half an hour.  While Sis munched Cheerios!  I wouldn't say it was quiet, as Bud kept giving us updates on his book, but otherwise there were only birds and windchimes, the sweet smell of hyacinths on the cool breeze.

That night, Mama and I had our own book club meeting, spending literally hours entering and scanning, rating and sorting, titles on Goodreads.  I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to do this--we talked about books we'd read together a long time ago (Patience and Sarah, Bar Stories, Little Women--Mama and I had a long-distance book club the first year we were together, each choosing titles to share with the other), books we'd bought together (lots of Gettysburg titles), audiobooks she shared with me (Remarkable Creatures, Lady and the Unicorn), titles we liked (Caleb's Crossing) and didn't (March, me more than her).  It was even better than date night at the bookstore.  And free!  I've sent invitations to a few people to join us on this website--join us if you'd like by looking up Mommy Hungry.

Happy Reading!  And recording!

Day 8: Scranton

While not as picturesque as their other stops, Scranton is at least close!  Tomorrow Gommie and Pop will cross out of PA, into (just barely or not at all) NJ and NY, and finally into Connecticut.  Sometime tomorrow afternoon they'll be here, depending on departure time, traffic, and rest stops.

Yay!

Good Reads

More than once in the last few days, people with young elementary school kids in their lives have asked me for book ideas, for what Bud and Sis like.  It gave me the chance to think, to list even, the books we've explored and those we hope to read soon.  We rely predominantly on suggestions from our local public and school librarians as well as friends and the wonderful Chinaberry catalog.  Also, the lists (and here) of Jim Trelease, in both his fantastic Read-Aloud Handbook and companion website, are invaluable and include older, out of print, and less well-known titles, as well as all the classics.  The list also levels the books, give suggestions for similar books, and has advisories for advanced listeners or tough subject matter.

I like listing the books we've read, not only because I can share it but also so I remember.  Recently, I've been thinking on my favorite childhood books, remembering weekly visits to the school library.  By far, my favorite choices were from the Childhood of Famous American series, the name of which I'd forgotten until recently.  I did remember, however, years of reading biographies of women--Juliette Low, Abigail Adams, Mary Todd Lincoln, Pocahontas, Louisa May Alcott, and so many others (always women, though)--with their block-colored illustrations and long lists of biographies in the front and back cover. I've only just rediscovered the series through a fortuitous on-line purchase of an early edition Juliette Low, Girl Scout by Helen Boyd Higgins.  This is the book I got caught reading in math class after library one day, complete with illustrations and bio lists.  It's fantastic!  Other books that struck me, that I'm remembering these days, are the history of the Armenian genocide, The Road from Home, by David Kherdian, and a story whose title remains in my mind even if the plot doesn't, The Underside of the Leaf.  Of course, I also loved Little Women, the Little House books, The Borrowers (which we're reading together now), Gone with the Wind, Encyclopedia Brown, Choose Your Own Adventure books, all of Judy Blume, much of Beverly Cleary, Shel Silverstein, and others I'll recall in re-reading them with the kids.


There are some books noticeably absent from our list:  Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, the Big Nate series, and others.  A mom at the book fair at school yesterday teased me that we need to come down off of Harry Potter and read about snot!  I told her we just must not be a funny family.  (In our defense, we like Stink and Junie B. Jones!  And mine you, not everybody does--see this NYTimes's piece.)  I'm not against any of those choices, but the kids won't choose them--they could have had any or all of the above at the fair yesterday but opted for a Star Wars graphic novel, several Flat Stanleys, a simple version of The Dolphin Tail, a book on penguins, and Phineas and Ferb (yes, yes, lots of pop culture tie-ins, but there weren't many plain novels).

I'd love to see your lists--on your blog or in the comments (or a link to your post in the comments!)--to know what you enjoyed, what your children enjoyed.  And yes, Shelley, I'll eventually set up an actual Good Reads account!


Note:  * denotes favorites; list in no particular order or exhaustive of everything we've read--no assigned school titles were included; sorry I'm too lazy to link or even include authors.


Books They've Heard (read by us or on audiobook)
*Magic Tree House series
Magic School Bus series
The Borrowers 
Junie B. Jones series
Judy Moody series
*Stink series
*The Water Horse
*The Candymakers
Ramona
Little House on the Prairie
Fantastic Mr. Fox
*Pippi Longstocking
Ivy and Bean series
Rip-Roaring Russell
*The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Boxcar Children series
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me
Dominic
Mary Poppins
101 Dalmatians
Sarah, Plain and Tall
The Penderwicks (one of the few we just gave up on, just too slow)
A to Z Mysteries series
The Stories Julian Tells
Wind in the Willows (another we gave up on for being too slow)
Secrets of Droon series
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (I quit reading this aloud, finding its stereotypes offensive)
The Reluctant Dragon
Chocolate Fever
*How to Eat Fried Worms
My Father's Dragon
Stuart Little (we finished it, but they really disliked it)





Books They've Read On Their Own

*Harry Potter books 1 & 2
*Nate the Great series
*Cam Jansen series
*Flat Stanley series (one of Sis's current favorites)
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

*How to Train Your Dragon series (Bud's current favorite)
*Dragon Slayers Academy series
*Charlotte's Web
*Mr. Popper's Penguins
Thea Stilton series (Sis gave up on these)
Geronimo Stilton series
Disney Fairies series (another of Sis's current favorites)
Unicorn Secret series
Dr. Seuss
*Elephant and Piggie series (it's best for K or early readers but an all-time favorite)


Books on Our List to Read or Listen to Soon (next 12-18 months or so)
Catwings series
The Dollshop Downstairs
Tumtum & Nutmeg
Sable
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Bless this Mouse
Matilda
James and the Giant Peach
Redwall series
Narnia series
The Littles
Minnie and Sophie
Lafcadio
The Iron Giant
Owls in the Family
Herbie Jones
Soup
The Stray
Because of Winn-Dixie
Stone Fox
Tales of Desperaux
Homer Price
Ida Early Comes over the Mountain
The Indian in the Cupboard
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle
The Secret Garden
Anne of Green Gables
Tales from the Homeplace
books by E. Nesbit
Norse mythology

Spring is Bustin' Out All Over!

Quiet Corner

We have long had a designated "quiet corner" in our living room.  No, that's not code for the so-called "naughty chair" or timeout spot.  It's just a spot where the kids can go to be alone but nearby.  Maybe we should call it the "I need to be not-near you right now" corner.

Anyway, the corner has some new accessories:  our glitter meditation jar, a Japanese rin gong, and a framed print of the Four Limitless Qualities, all on a table brought from Thailand by Ma and Gong.  While the glitter jar has been used repeatedly, the gong is our new go-to for calming down.  It was christened, so to speak, on Thursday when Sis won a raffle at math night, choosing a Sudoku-like game, and Bud didn't.  She was ecstatic; he was upset.  I'd just gotten the bowl in the mail, at Mama's request, and we all sat around striking with the padded hammer, listening until we couldn't hear the clear ring anymore.  Then we'd do it again.  And again.  Soon, all the angry and upset thoughts settled in Bud's mind just like glitter in the jar.

Now, with the table, we can all reach the gong or jar anytime we need a little peace or quiet.

All of us.

The Next Journey

I'm starting therapeutic or restorative Pilates to strengthen myself (in addition to twice weekly PT still), going to my first one-on-one appointment yesterday.  The woman (coach?  teacher?  I'm not sure what she would be) was supportive, gentle, encouraging, slow, personable (we talked kids and partners; yep, she's "family").  I practiced simple things--standing, lifting my leg, even just breathing.  But it was so much work that I'm still achy today.  And I've got a long way to go, even though I've come so far, but I'm sure it's what I need to do next.

Day 7: Heading North

When I talked to Gommie an hour or so ago, she wasn't sure where there were--far eastern Tennessee, North Carolina, or Virginia.  But she knew they were heading this way, to be here in about 48 hours.  We're very excited here!

A "Texas" Goodbye

When I wave goodbye to the kids in the morning, I do it with an "I Love You" sign.

One day, I mentioned that and the kids were confused.  "I thought that was Hook 'Em, Horns, Mom," said Sis.  "You know, a Texas goodbye!"

'Night

Busy day with Mama today, as she took the day off for various reasons.  But we were done by bus time and got a few good hours in playing basketball and soccer with the kiddos outside.

More tomorrow, or probably on Wednesday, as tomorrow is out-of-the-house busy for me again.

Day 5: Asheville

from PhotoPop and Gommie

Gommie and Pop are enjoying the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the opulence of the famed Biltmore Estate (really?  Pop liked the house tour?)

She seems to have gotten the hang of her smartphone!

Right Now

The first April showers....

April Fools

Our cats have had kittens.

It snowed last night.

There's a penguin in the pond nearby.

Merry Christmas!

Sis and Bud are loving April Fool's Day today.  Practically everything they've said has been a joke of some kind.  They got even more ideas from a man at church whose mom loved the holiday--sugar in the salt shaker, pant legs sewn shut, short sheets!   Even the choir got into the act, singing "Old MacDonald" operatically!  

It might become one of Sis and Bud's favorite holidays!

I'll have to get an earlier start next year if I'm going to keep up.

Easter Begins

We've started our Easter festivities, with the unboxing of our Easter decorations and supplies this morning.  Sis loves to pull out the dozen or so stuffed bunnies with which to decorate the house.  And there's more than enough baskets for everyone.  We used two of the indestructible plastic ones to go to an egg hunt organized by our school's PTA (though, why a public school organization is hosting an activity based on a Christian holiday--when they avoid all mention of the others--is beyond me; still, because our new church doesn't do a big egg hunt, we wanted to go.)  While we were there, my LDS friend mentioned "Resurrection Eggs" with which she and her youngsters study their nightly Bible verses geared towards Easter.  I had never heard of them but a quick Google tells me they are quite the thing in certain circles, with a goody in each egg tied to a part of the Biblical story (you can make your own.)   Huh.  Kinda like Advent calendars, I guess.  As I explained to the mom when she asked if we celebrated, we do more of a celebration of spring and the bunny, even if we'd gone into the Passion a lot yesterday at the Cloisters.

We're also making our plans for the rest of our celebrations--possible Easter menu and any new additions; experimenting with natural dyes as well as the commercial Paas ones; making Easter Bunny houses with gingerbread kits; and all of our activities with Gommie and Pop, who plan to be here before Good Friday.  More as it happens . . . .

Time Travel

The Cloisters from the Western Terrace

The Cuxa Cloister

The Rabbit in the Unicorn Tapestries

The Unicorn in Captivity

(all of the above taken without flash by my phone; every time I take a picture, I remember the ad, "If it rings, it's not a camera.  I'll see if Mama will upload her pics from her fancy camera!)


Yesterday we traveled through time and space via The Cloisters, the medieval art branch of the Met, in northern Manhattan.  Mama and I hadn't been in years, the kids never, but we were drawn by the exhibition of the famed Lewis Chessmen.

Better known as the inspiration of the set Ron and Harry play in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Sis and Bud had a great time admiring the intricate walrus ivory pieces, with their unique details.  The kids even drew their favorite pieces.  We learned a lot about chess, from its origins in 6th-century India where elephants were main pieces--these later became bishops when the game moved into Western Europe; how Rooks/Castles replaced Warders, and the subset Beserkers, who are often show biting their shields; how rules change--the King used to be able to move 4 squares in his opening and the Queen could initially jump other pieces; how ivory chess pieces were made in Trondheim, Norway, in the 11-12th centuries and moved West through trade to Scotland, where this horde was found in the early 19th-century--the man who first dug them up thought they were elves!

The kids continued to draw throughout the museum, with Mama's guidance in forming shapes and sketching--a wall painting of a lion, an archway, a crucifix, and stained glass windows, enjoying how much the whole place felt like a medieval castle.  We even went outside in the damp fog to take in the view of the Hudson from the Western Terrace.  We could enjoy the "ramparts" of the museum but could only barely see the outline of the massive George Washington Bridge (GWB).  The other outdoor spaces--the two cloisters filled with plants--were closed for the winter, but I still enjoyed sitting in the Cuxa Cloister, with the scent of potted hyacinths and rosemary, plus citrus and olive trees.

Bud was bothered by the tomb effigies, even after we explained that the skeletons were long gone.  He just couldn't appreciate the chain mail and shields while thinking of them as tombs. We did notice, however, that most of the sepulchres had dogs at the feet of the departed; one elaborate tomb also sat on lions and a sheep, with a bunny nearby.  We also marveled at the extensive damage to one sculpture's face due to touching over time--dark, shiny, and lacking detailed compared to the face of the sculpture out of reach.

Sis liked the Unicorn Tapestries (and here), particularly because of the rabbit in one of them.  We listened to a visiting art history prof give an awful, incoherent, and incorrect explanation of the tapestries to his class of bored college students; when he left, I told the kids all the other interpretations of the works of art.  "Bad" or lazy or simplistic art history--especially because in this case he provided a rigid religious interpretation, ignoring the two tapestries that didn't fit (which scholars believe belong to a secular metaphor of the unicorn as lover), and then discounting a question by a student about other unicorn tapestries, which he'd never heard of (in Cluny!  See the novel The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracey Chevalier)--drives me nuts (like DaVinci Code).  They especially liked the unicorn's horn (actually a narwhal tusk) on view.  We also spent some time admiring The Merode Altarpiece, with Mama and I plumbing the depths of Art 101 for all the symbolism in the detailed piece.  Sis liked the baby Jesus flying to Mary on the mini-cross!  We also examined more than one Lamentation and Pieta, giving us a chance to review the Easter story with the kids.

But that's next weekend!