Category: life

Over the holiday I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, while visiting friends. We arrived at the museum in the early afternoon, and quickly realized that we wouldn’t have nearly enough time to explore it in its entirety. So we split up and went our separate ways to explore as we saw fit.

I made it my goal to see everything. Crazy, yes, but not impossible. I knew that I wouldn’t be back for a very long time and I wanted to see as much as possible.

Starting on the top floor, the museum had a focus exhibit on Joan Miró. The name piqued something in my brain and the work there was somewhat familiar but nothing that slowed me down too much.

I proceeded to the next floor down. Here is where I started to slow, realizing what I was surrounded by. The first painting that stopped me in my tracks was The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau. Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Picasso came next. Work by Salvador Dali, Jasper Johns, Gustav Klimt, Robert Delaunay, Meret Oppenheim, Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Nevelson, Eva Hesse, Egon Schiele….

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To my two faithful readers of my blog. I realize that it’s been awhile since we’ve talked. The fault lies entirely on my end. You see, this here site is clearly a work in progress and I forget about it occasionally.

I also realize that that isn’t good business, but there it is. Admitting your problem is the first step to recovery, no?

So I submit to you that you will be hearing from yours truly, much more often than you’re used to. Maybe so much more that you might think I’ve become clingy and needed. Fear not! For that is not the case.

I have made a commitment to myself to see this here project through and I will make it happen. Come Hell or high water. Whichever comes first.

Image by Krypto

Saturday morning, I was running late. Didn’t have time to brew my own coffee, so I stopped into a local 7-Eleven. Me running behind on a Saturday morning with no coffee isn’t unusual and I had been to this particular location on more than one occasion, looking to fill my caffeine needs.

I walked up to the coffee counter and was confronted with voting for my presidential preference by coffee cup. Let me repeat that. All the coffee cups were red or blue and marked either McCain or Obama. I was a little taken aback by this choice. Don’t get me wrong I know who I am voting for and often don’t have trouble expressing my political preferences, but this threw me.

Why had 7-Eleven taken something so simple, so ordinary, so necessary to me functioning in the early morning and turned it into a political statement? I am all for participating in the political process, but voting with coffee cups just seems wrong.

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I often get the urge to bake, but rarely plan on doing it. So I’ll scrounge around in the kitchen to see what I have on hand. It can get kind of interesting if I haven’t been to the store in a while.

I got said urge the other day and wound up with the ingredients to some yummy peanut butter cookies. So I found this recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Form dough into walnut sized balls and place them 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a fork into flour and criss cross each cookie to flatten slightly. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until just lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Knowing that I knit a lot, one of my dear, dear friends bought me a subscription to Creative Knitting Magazine last year for Christmas. Now, don’t get me wrong I love her very, very much, but this magazine has some truly cringe worthy patterns in it.

This month’s issue just showed up at my door and it is no exception. Out of all of the issues that I have received, I have yet to see a pattern and finished product made out of appropriate yarn in non-garish colors and patterns. I reluctantly look closer at the “bones” of said patterns to see if yarn substitutions are even possible, because they desperately need it. Who knew fun fur was still en vogue?

Perhaps one day I will find something to knit out of this sweet and thoughtful gift and my friend will forgive my mocking.