Recently my mother organized refreshments to be served after the Children’s Pageant at her church. She put together some beautiful tables featuring cakes, cookies and snacks to be served after the program.
To help the cause, we made mini vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting sprinkled with miniature gingerbreadmen.
After tasting a few samples, we agreed, the cupcakes were the perfect ratio of cake and luscious topping. This recipe is a keeper.
Did a doubletake when we walked past this shop the other day. Is the cat real or part of the display? Yes and yes. As we moved closer for a better look, the feline gave us a friendly wink and settled in for a nap.
Went into Portland the other morning for some last minute shopping. Of course we started our trek at the Pearl Bakery with pastry and coffee. Had a cranberry-apple tart, as well as a couple of our old favorites…a gibassier (French pastry spiced with anise, candied orange peel, and orange flower water) and a Cinnamon Crown. Yum is the word!
We all play our part as we celebrate the holidays. One of Jack’s tasks is attaching lights to the tree. As our official “organizer of the Christmas lights” he makes sense of the tangle of bulbs.
I play assistant to Jack’s vision. Basically, I stand ready to help or be directed.
New twist this year. We set the tree outside. We can easily see it from inside the house and we don’t have to worry about what six dogs can do to a ten foot Christmas tree.
In 1925 audiences weren’t prepared for this visual assault but by today’s standards the repetitive shots and odd angles draw yawns. Students of cinema have been sitting through the Battleship Potempkin and other Sergei Eisenstein works in editing classes for … well for ever. The foundations for visual story telling have their roots in the techniques first used by the Russian filmmaker.
A couple of weeks ago a group of us went to this screening because it was a 35mm print (which is a rare opportunity). For the most part we enjoyed the 85 minutes and even came away appreciating a little “Foundations of montage” lesson. Of course it didn’t hurt that we had dinner at the Pacific Pie Co afterwards. js
Ice crystals blanket everything in sight. The quiet of the woods is broken by excited dog yips and the crunch of paws through icy foliage. It is a perfect winter morning.
The dogs’ favorite watering hole is frozen. It happens every year. The temperature drops and the water freezes in the shallow basin of the boulder in front of the house.
Leaves lay trapped under translucent threads of ice. It looks like some ancient tapestry woven in medieval times.
Pie and beer, perfect companions any time of the day. Recently, we enjoyed some sweet and savory pies at the Pacific Pie Company in Portland. Once started, there was no stopping until every morsel of this Beef & Stout pie had vanished. Miraculously, there was still room for a slice of Chocolate Bourbon Hazelnut pie.
A perfect day for a walk in the woods. Emma and Maggie round the corner, soon to be followed by Doogal, Molly, Charlie and Izzy. Happy beautiful December day!
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