Blessed Beyond Measure

 

It's nearing Thanksgiving and our community is having its first Friendsgiving event. I decided my offering would be seasonal cookies from the heart of my kitchen. My son is my assistant. As I search for recipes, I remember baking with my Nonnie as a little girl. Memories of her rolling dough on her large breadboard come to mind. For many years of her life, my mother would make holiday cookies with me, using the Susan Branch cookbooks or recipes she found. One year my aunt passed down Italian cookie recipes from my Nonnie who did not read, write, or speak English. I laugh now reading that all of those recipes used lard, a staple during the war years.

 

Like my grandmother and mother, I enjoy being creative while baking. Above is a new group of pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies I made this morning with a pumpkin that was previously roasted. To get the right taste I added various spices. Tomorrow I will add a dark chocolate frosting.

"Baking is the poetry of the kitchen."

Jean -Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I was delighted to find this quote this morning. Baking is not only an art but a tradition in my family. It is a way to express creativity, emotion, and feelings as does poetry. 

Baking Memories

Memories float through my kitchen today

as sweet smells waft through the air.

Nonnie's large breadboard sits in the corner

reminding me of loving hands

that kneaded the dough to create

delectable cookies and honey dolls.

I pause to offer my son finger licks

of the leftovers in the bowl,

an after-baking tradition.

The art of baking has become

a blessing beyond measure.

draft, ©CVarsalona, 2024

August 2021

SPECIAL NOTE:

I am passionate about baking. I love the art of baking so much that I wrote a children's poem, "Would You Like To Bake?', that was published in "Clara's Kooky Compendium of ThimbleThoughts and WonderFuzz". This fabulous book was recently published by the amazing duo, Sylvia Vardel and Janet Wong, high-spirited and talented poets, authors, and editors. Frank Ramspott illustrated the book with clever designs and artwork to delight children. This is a book that you will want in your classroom and school libraries.  Stay tuned for my full review of the book. 

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This is my Tuesday's Slice of Life that I send to Two Writing Teachers,

a meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

Quiet Reflection

As seasons pass from one to another, my writing life grows in its daily practice of observing ordinary, life-living moments. Why I ask do I seek to weave golden threads of thought into delicately-formed patterns? Is it to adorn even the grayest of days or find peace in the simplest of acts?

And so I write
in the stillness of quiet corners,

in the midst of sublime joy 

and chaotic discord.

I journey onward,
a traveler and observer
seeking inspiration,

finding quiet spaces where

wonder spreads its wings,

like a butterfly fluttering in the wind. 

Nurtured by curiosity, 

I reflect upon nature's patience
and persistence in its
seasonal interplay with life.

I pause to dream, ponder, and imagine
words taking root to find their purpose
in a hurried world that forgets
beauty exists in both
the ordinary and the sublime.
©CVarsalona, 2019

As I eagerly mull over the prospect of engaging in a month of writing for the 12th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, I feel each new day of writing deepens my practice and allows me to explore my writing life from different perspectives. Join me as I try out new moves, revisit past techniques, and capture other's thoughts to broaden mine. 

Thank goes out to Leigh Anne Eck for calling together a community of writers to make writing plans for 2019 under the hashtag #letwwrite2019. Today, I wanted to start the journey with a quiet reflection written when the only sounds I hear are the murmurings of the house.

Thanks is also offered to Two Writing Teachers its weekly Slice of Life Tuesday.

 

Rainy Day Magic

I learned these past few days that rainy days though dreary, in reality, can be magical when you are with your grandbaby. 

Grandmother love is unique.

It wipes away raindrops;

Warms a chilly day.

Leads me to bookstops

And filters sky's gray.
©CV, 2019

Listen to a piece of rainy day music here.

On this rainy winter day, I am at peace as my grandbaby lays asleep in the next room. Tomorrow I travel back to Long Island but tonight, I am joining Two Writing Teachers for the Slice of Life.