it is their lies that
are most repulsive…
and watching others
grow drunk from this
drooling drivel
makes me want
to heave
if only I had let myself
linger a bit longer, my lips
drinking in every dazzling
inch, for I am haunted by
things I can’t remember
my favorite moments
are the times I
remember to
trust the voice
of my inner child
souls like roots need
seasons of quiet…the
beautiful dark, deep of
the in between
~kat
So, today is Black Friday in the U.S. I try to avoid going out at the crack of dawn with thousands of crazed shoppers who have been known to fight over the ‘last one left’ of the latest, greatest widget of the day. I don’t need anything that dearly.
But that’s where Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day comes in. It is Pennyworth. And it means pretty much what it sounds like it does: ‘as much as can be bought for a penny’. It also a means: ‘a bargain, a small amount’, and my personal favorite, ‘a person’s contribution to a conversation, especially one that is unwelcome’. It originated ‘before the year 1000; Middle English penyworth, Old English penigweorth’.
It’s a pretty basic word. I couldn’t find much about it to write home about, but there was one thing that caught my eye. Did you know that Batman’s Butler, Alfred’s full name is, Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth? I did not. So now we can add this new information to our “Things Every Self-Respecting Nerd Needs to Know” Bucket.
Hope you have a great weekend! Here’s a Haiku.
pennyworth seekers
rise before dawn to mingle
with the early birds
~kat
‘We know their dream; enough To know they dreamed and are dead; ‘ —W.B. Yeats ‘
Familial Lunacy
their memories are like ashes
batty-brained ancestors, insane,
with progeny, who bear the stain
unwittingly, their singed remains
poison surging through red hot veins
manic peaks plunging in crashes
they can’t hide their damaged breeding
twisted helixes flexed in rage
bleeding ink blots on each page
pills and therapy can’t assuage
what is passed down from age to age
maddening, this inner seething
it is a wretched legacy
leering from mirrored reflections
souls trapped in predisposition
despite every well-intentioned
surrender to intervention
crazy is, as it does…crazy
~kat
Today’s quote is from ‘Easter, 1916’ for Jane Dougherty’s ‘A Month With Yeats’ – Day Twenty-Four. The painting above is entitled ‘All Is Vanity” by C. Allan Gilbert. (1892)
‘…your hair was bound and wound
About the stars and moon and sun:’
—W.B. Yeats
Spring’s Awakening
It’s only a matter of time before
the sky’s pristine cerulean darkens,
taunting her with its starry glimmering,
Luna’s empty crescent cup dangling.
Her limbs, once verdant lush, now bristle,
against the sweeping gale of frigid breath,
rendering her naked in the whirlwind,
to face her wintering season alone.
Does she not remember Spring is coming
as it has before, time and time again?
Soon she’ll sense the hopeful aspirations
of bursting buds now dormant ‘neath her skin.
~kat
I had taken a photograph of a tree this morning before I read today’s challenge verse. “Her hair”, the tree’s bare limbs barren against the blue. I thought, even when things are growing dark, even when we think everything is coming to an end, there is always something new waiting in the wings. Even in death.
A poem about my tree then for Jane Dougherty’s Day Twenty-Three of ‘A Month With Yeats’ inspired as well, by Yeats’ poem,‘He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead’.
Also known as Mini Ladylocks, Clothespin Cookies are rich little pastry-style cookies that will make you work for the reward of enjoying them. It took about 24 hours, but it is worth the wait. This recipe yielded about 72 cookies!
I am told that this cookie is a favorite at the infamous cookie tables in northeast Ohio. Here’s the recipe, if you want to give them a try, I found this “authentic” recipe by Tracy McBurney at ‘Just a Pinch Recipe Club’, #justapinchrecipes.
COOKIE INGREDIENTS
4 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 lb oleo (margarine) / My Version: use 1 lb of butter – the cookies will have a lighter flakey pastry-like texture (Look at the photos below to see the difference.)
3 Tbsp sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 pt sour cream
CLOTHESPIN COOKIE FILLING
Marshmallow Cream Version
2 stick oleo softened (I went with real butter for this ingredient)
1 c Crisco
2 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c warmed milk (I actually used just 1 cup)
1 jar(s) marshmallow creme, 8 oz.
Buttercream Version (My Version)
1-1/2 sticks butter – room temperature
3/4 cup shortening
2-1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
1-1/2 pounds (6 Cups) confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk
Powdered Sugar for dusting.
1. For the dough: Cut oleo into flour and sugar mixture. Add egg yolks and sour cream.
2. Mix well. ( I used an electric mixer.)
Add egg yolks and sour cream.
3. Shape into a long roll. Wrap in waxed paper and store in refrigerator overnight. (Don’t skip this part. It’s important!)
4. Take a small portion of the dough at a time and roll out on a floured board, about 1/8 inch in thickness.
5. Cut into strips of an inch wide and about 4 inches long. (I cut the strips a bit longer.)
6. Wrap around a wooden clothespin. (Some people use wooden dowels, but I got a few packages of clothespins at the craft store. I have read accounts where cooks are still using the same clothespins their grandmas used. This makes the recipe extra fun!)
This is the all Margerine version of cookies.
Clothespins made using Butter.
Flaky Butter Texture
7. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for approx. 8 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned and not doughy. Keep your eye on the time, each oven is different. (It took about 14 minutes in my 400 degrees oven. You definitely do want to watch that first batch carefully, as you only want to see a very light browning.)
Then let these babies cool completely.
8. For the filling: In a large mixer, add oleo (or butter), Crisco, sugar, and vanilla.
Cream for 10 minutes.
(Do not skip this part! Set the timer…TEN minutes. It will save you the trouble of having to toss your first batch of frosting because it is a soupy mess…just sayin’ 😉)
…and…we’re still creaming…10 minutes…3-2-1
To that mixture add warm milk and marshmallow creme and whip until sugar dissolves. (You can also add food coloring for a festive flair.)
Chill the filling in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, it makes for easier filling. (Again…don’t skip this step. Perfection takes time…and patience!)
9. With a pastry bag fitted with the appropriate attachment, fill the cookie shell with the filling, (dust with powdered sugar), and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. (I used a cookie/frosting press and it worked great!)
10. For Buttercream Filling: Cream butter, shortening, vanilla and milk until smooth. Slowing add powdered sugar. Follow step 9. (We actually prefer the buttercream over the marshmallow fluff. And…it’s a LOT less work!)
And voila! Picture perfect and oh so yummy!
On a final note…save those clothespins! I soaked them lightly in soapy water, rinsed and dried them in a 200 degree oven for about an hour. This recipe is definitely a keeper. One that should be passed down to your children and grands, along with the precious inheritance of clothespins!
like mercury colliding... 