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.

Autumn's Abundant Gifts

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Welcome to the Autumn Edition

of Poetry Friday

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Once again, Autumn unfolds in brilliant color and poetic thought. There are many ah-hah moments to enjoy because Nature understands the need to nurture life.  I am delighted to host this week's Poetry Friday. 

RELAX and REFLECT

There is a nostalgic feeling and a breath of autumn in the air and carried into my home. As you browse through my blog, you will most likely agree with me that:

If you have followed my blog each autumn, you will find Autumn Galleries of Artistic Expressions that I created. Many Poetry Friday authors offered their original image poems and photography to delight gallery guests. I honor all the writers and poets who shared their work integrating the arts, technology, and poetry. You can click on the titles of the underlined galleries. It's my Halloween treat.

2014  -   Finding Fall

2015   -  Autumn's Palette

2016   -  Autumnventure

2017   -  Autumn Ablaize

2020 -  Abundant Autumn

2021   -  Bedecked in Autumn

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Another treat is the debut of Janet Wong's and Sylvia Vardell's book, Clara's Kooky Compendium of Thimblethoughts and Wonderfuzz. Janet and Sylvia have created a unique anthology of poems from a 150 poets. I was delighted to have one of my poems, Would You Like To Bake?, published in this amazing collection. Each set of poems includes an interesting ThimbleThought and a wonder question, WonderFuzz. Students will enjoy the illustrations by Frank Ramspott and the exercise journals. Since I recently received my book, I will review the book soon. Then, I will send it off into the universe of KidLit. You will enjoy getting kooky with Clara. Thank you, Janet and Sylvia, for creating a book that will dazzle students, classroom teachers, and families.

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Poetry Sister October Prompt

Write a poem in which you literally build and/or take apart something for your reader. Focus your attention on constructing or deconstructing your object, taking into account technical terms, instructions, perhaps even the source of your materials.

I created a quick trinet poem sequence about constructing a spooky but fun scavenger walk through my house for my grandgirls. 

Halloween spirit

Floats in.

Boxes of decorations will mesmerize grandgirls.

Scarecrows, costumes, ghosts, create fall magic.

Spirits unleash.

Scenes created.

Spooky ambiance!

Ready for

Halloween party?

Not yet, where's the orange light?

Who'll stack boxes in the garage?

Crazed search.

Weekend hunt

Trickster's treat!

©CVarsalona, revised 2024

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Over the years, it has been a pleasure to present the colors of Autumm through a poetic and artistic lens. Autumn is the time to curl up reading. Enjoy the range of writing from the Poetry Friday community.  Enjoy the range of writing from the Poetry Friday community. Happy Halloween! 

NOTE: I tried out a new company for link-ups but I a glitch occurred. If you left a comment, it might be deleted so please add it again, Click to Enter, again.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

March Musings Day 10: Grandma Love

Phone call comes in awakening me from a deep sleep. 

Our little girl is not feeling well. She has a 102-degree fever. Can you take care of her tomorrow?

Groggily I ask, "What time is it?" After a few more stumbling thoughts, I figure out that it is Monday night at 7:30 pm. I am surprised. Did I really take a three-hour nap? After I check my calendar, I respond to my daughter, "Yes, of course. Bring Aurora here tomorrow morning."

Tuesday morning comes and a very tired two-year-old with a running nose and sad eyes enters the house. She clings to her daddy. There is no doubt that she is ill with a cold. After a few hours, she bounces back, starts talking, and begins her day. 

It's time for a temperature check. Aurora is intrigued by my thermometer. I feel a gentle tug. Clearly, Aurora is determined to take matters into her own hands. 

"No, Gramma. No, Gamma" 

She takes the thermometer and moves it across her forehead. We clap when her temperature breaks. Then, she spends the day relaxing with her toys, learning during puzzle play time, and resting with a very long nap, much like mine was the day before.  

I Can Do It

Am I sick?

I don't know?

I can click.

Grama, let go!

©CV, 2022

After a hearty dinner with the family, Aurora and Sierra get ready to leave with one request. 

Sierra would like a weekend sleepover.

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Over the course of several days, I think back on the experience of having my little grandgirls visit. I begin to compose my first pantoum poem.  My writing friend, Fran Haley, has written several and offered guiding information. You can read her lovely poem, First Time Keeping, here. 

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Sweet Little Miss, 

I sweep you in my arms

Squeezing love from your heart to mine

Each visit we meet.

I sweep you in my arms

Swinging you through the air

Each visit we meet.

Grandma's love is real.

Swinging you through the air,

You  laugh with glee

Grandma's love is real.

Time together is precious.

You laugh with glee,

Squeezing love from your heart to mine.

Time together is precious,

Sweet Little Miss.

©CV, 2022

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Gratitude to Fran Haley for this information:

To write a pantoum, use this line sequence: The pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanszas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first.  (1234 2546 5768 7381)

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Tonight, I write for two writing communities.

Thank you, Poetry Friday, hosted by the dynamic duo, Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. They are sharing their newest book, Things We Eat, a poetry anthology featuring foods poems from A to Z  

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for this daily meeting place to connect with a community of reflective writers.

Walk with Nature

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir

Take a peaceful walk on #NatureNurtues2020 trail with some Poetry Friday poets. Find joy and comfort within this mini-gallery that shares our planet's beauty. Notice hints of dark storms that come our way and discover hope to walk onward.

Find comfort in Georgia Heard's poem that lifts us up with resilience and hope.

Walk with Rebecca Kai Dotlich listening to the trees tell their story.
Do these words breathe life into our stories that hope for positive tomorrows?

With positivity in our hearts, be awakened by birdsong.

Join Janet Wong as she looks for birds.

Spend a quiet afternoon in Georgia with Robyn Hood Black penning her haikus and creating video poems.

"In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence."

-Robert Lynd

Join Christie Wyman as she hears an early morning chirp.

Paint your thoughts with the beauty of spring's greens as seen through Michelle Kogan's eyes.

Live Your Poem, each day In April with Irene Latham.

surrender to
nature's embraceable peace
lean in and learn

Reflect and recharge!
-Carol Varsalona

I hope you are inspired to continue your own nature walk, of course with your mask on.

Travel with me to Christie Wyman's blog as she hosts the Poetry Friday Roundup with an interesting birdsong poem based on one of Thoreau's journal entries. You will find the next line of the Progressive Poem, too.

End-of-Summer Gifts

As days shorten and the air is filled with milder weather, nature holds on to its sweet summer memories.  Even when the leaves twirl with a lazy, cascading rhythm, "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." - Celia Thaxton 

Nature sings its sweet song. 

No goodbyes are uttered as

September enters.

Sweet summer moments

remain forever in

toe-touching shifting sands,

sunlit backyard porches,

and lakeside cottages.

Grateful hearts understand

the passing of the seasons

and do not mourn.

They sing new songs.

©CV, 2019

At the end of summer, my mailman brought another colorful poetry swap gift from Rebecca Herzog. See the colorful poetry card with an original poem from my swap buddy. 

Final Days

Summer meanders lazily

Dipping her toe in the waves

Soaking in the last strong rays of sun

Before exiting the water

And wrapping Autumn's blanket

around her shoulders

©Rebecca Herzog, 2019 

🏖
I am sending the following end-of-summer #digitalinspiration
to all my poetry friends who have been summer gift-givers.
 It will become part of my #EmbraceableSummer Gallery collection.

The above image started as a photo taken by Linda Baie while vacationing with family in Captiva Island. I digitized the original picture and added a poem.

🏖

Yesterday, I received an amazing book from a random drawing at Amy Ludwig Vanderater's Sharing Our Notebook's site. My creative friend, Matt Grundler shared his visual journal there. 

With a grateful heart for my end-of-summer gifts, I am eager to enter the creative zone.

🏖

Now it is time to join the Poetry Friday Party hosted by a wonderful pair of poet friends, Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, publishers of Great Morning! Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud (a must read book for the #BacktoSchool2019 #StartStrong movement).

I am proud to be featured in this book with my poem "Art Class" based on inspiration from Matt Grundler's classroom.

Spring Gifts Spring Forth

A spring-inspired world surrounded me as I drove to the northern edge of Long Island for a professional development workshop yesterday. Signs of springtime were popping all over. Bushes were accentuated by vivid colors and multi-hued florals saluted the sky. The sun shone brightly and the world was gifted with a gorgeous day. Listening to music and feeling the breeze made me rejoice in spring and think about all the poetry gifts I received during the season. 

To all those who brought sunshine to my mailbox or computer screen, I send thoughts of gratitude.

Special feelings of gratitude are being sent to:

-39 Poetry Friday poets who offered their poetry at the Poetry Friday Roundup I hosted

-Irene Latham for her beautiful Live Your Poem poetry card

-Jone MacCulloch who sent me an original photo with a poem poetry postcard

-Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong for co-hosting #WonderChat/#NYEDChat at the beginning of National Poetry Month plus an added bonus: an aromatic gift from Janet (Coffee from Brazil)

I created a blackout poem with the Bean Box sweet smelling label.

-At the end of National Poetry Month, some of my poet friends joined me at #NYEDChat for an exciting fast chat, Inspiring Children to #ThinkPoetry Beyond National Poetry Month. You can find the archived transcript here.

-Have you seen the 2019 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem with its playlist and an original song created by Donna Smith? 

Now, I am ready to join the Poetry Friday Roundup at the wonderful Jama Rattigan's delicious blog,  Jama's Alphabet Soup, An Eclectic Feast of Food, Fiction, Folderol and Chewy Culinary Verse. While you are there, please check out the following from Jama by clicking here. 

There were so many poetic gifts during the past National Poetry Month. 
I hope you enjoyed some of them and continue to #ThinkPoetry.

Playing With Poetry

It's National Poetry Month and I am taking every opportunity to #thinkpoetry. Come and take a peek at what I have been delving into this week. 

The week started off with an amazing combo chat between #WonderChat and #NYED Chat. Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong were our esteemed poets/publishers/co-hosts. Their publicity flyer, questions, and ability to respond to attendees were commendable. I thank not only Sylvia and Janet but our Poetry Friday members who engaged in the chat. I am planning on writing a separate post about this awesome night of committed and passionate voices rising to #thinkpoetry. 

Created by Sylvia Vardell-shown at the comboTwitter chat

When I read about Mary Lee Hahn's plan to spend the month PLAYING WITH POETRY at her blog, A Year of Reading, I decided to dip into my bag of paint chip samples and play along. After all, I had created an activity for teachers to create their own paint chip poetry exercises, so I set out to do the same. I dipped into my bag of samples and chose seven titles.

Splash Of Teal, Solemn Silence, Garden Vista, Cotton Sheets, Clear Sailing, Faded Denim, Winds Breath, were interesting choices for me to play with and create a poem, a Buncee, and a Lumen 5 video.

Garden Vista

Wind's breath

rustling through

faded cotton sheets,

a splash of teal,

clear sailing
solemn
silence.
©CV, 2019

Creating a Buncee, a creation and presentation tool for students and educators is always a fun prospect. I added a background, a clothesline, and my poem to make my the Buncee more visually attractive. 

Next, I created a Lumen 5 video, a fluid approach to blending poetry with media.

Now, after the 2nd poetry chat of the week at #ILAChat, I am off to connect with my Poetry Friday friends at Irene Latham's blog site, where she continues with her own National Poetry Month project, ARTSPEAK: Happy! series. 

Playing with poetry is a delightful experience that allows me to try out different creative moves that are pure fun. Meet me on Instagram, FaceBook, and Twitter to  #playwithpoetryNPM) and #thinkpoetry.  

Renewal

Yesterday, sunshine brought out the best of what early spring offers: a time for renewal. Landscape crews were buzzing around the neighborhood, revving up their engines, preparing the earth for its rebirth. Winter jackets were shed and sweaters placed in cedar closets. Spring cleaning was the topic of morning talk shows. Everyone was readying themselves for a fresh look on life as the last vestiges of winter were disappearing. 

While the earth was busily preparing for a quick changeover of color from monochromatic gray days to brilliant springtime hues, the heart, spiritual center of the body, was also seeking inspiration. As I looked at my seasonal photos, I thought about the transition from winter to spring, realizing that nature understands renewal!

as spring renews its promise

winter's icy breath softens
restoring nature's balance

Hope finds a resting place in spring, the season of rebirth and renewal. 
This year, it coincides with the Lenten season. 
The following verse brings a message of hope.

Renew me by Avalon

Thank you, Irene Latham, for reminding our Spiritual Journey 1st Thursday Community to gather at Dani Burtsfield's blog. I send gratitude to Dani for hosting and posing a question that needs further contemplation:

 "How is the act of renewal making itself manifest in your life presently?"

I have already started sweeping away winter's dust, opening windows, and breathing new life into old routines. With hope in my heart for a spring that restores life and rejuvenates energy, I shall listen and continue to grow in faith. 

During National Poetry Month, voices rise. 

It is my plan to unveil both my Abundant Autumn Gallery and Winter's Embrace Gallery during National Poetry Month. Stay tuned for those vivid displays of nature's enduring majesty. 

This week I wrote poetry daily but due to my second bout of acute sinusitis and professional development commitments, I felt the need to merge my thoughts for two writing communities on this eve of Poetry Friday. 

I am also joining the host of Poetry Friday, Karen Edmisten who is sharing a beautiful poem, Late Echo by John Ashbery, that fits so well with my thoughts tonight. 

"...it is necessary to write about the same old things

In the same way, repeating the same things over and over

For love to continue and be gradually different."

SAVE the DATE for a POETRY TWITTER CHAT
with our Esteemed Poetry Guests, Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
There will be 3 Giveaways.

I will be moderating for #NYEDChat and would love for our poetry friends to chat with us. Stop by and raise your voices to poetry.