1. March winds are blowing, tiny buds are appearing on trees, it won’t be long before Spring is officially here!
For now, let’s look at how Jenny Beck’s gardens grow – rows of vegetables, flowers, blossoming trees – all set against rolling hills, everything lush, green, flourishing.
Jenny hails from West Dorset, England, and has been surrounded by gardens and countryside for most of her life. She initially trained in ceramics, decorating pots with images of the English countryside.
Since she enjoyed decorating more than making pots, while working as a gardener she re-trained in illustration, then worked as a freelance illustrator. In addition to selling prints and cards, she works on community art projects and commissions for house and garden paintings.
Visit her Etsy Shop to harvest onions, pick apples, feed the hens, tend the allotment cabbages, and revel in the bucolic. Nothing finer than an English garden!
What will you be when you grow up — and will your job match your name?
“Three Men in a Tub” by Tim Egan
HAPPY FAMILIES
by Lindsay MacRae
Mr Pill the pharmacist
Mrs Bunn the baker
Master Leak the plumber’s mate
B. Grave the undertaker.
Mr Blast, who in the past
once mended broken hooters
Mr Spider – web designer
Miss Take – in computers.
Ena Hurry makes strung curry
Old MacDonald farms
Mr Cue is in the theatre
Bill Ithole sells arms.
Master Void is unemployed
Reg Card – a referee
When I grow up, I worry what
my name suggests I’ll be.
What kind of job might go with Robb?
I bet you think you know it.
But I’d rather rhyme than turn to crime
So perhaps I’ll be a poet.
~ from How to Avoid Kissing Your Parents in Public (Puffin, 2000)
I first learned about chef, author, restaurateur and food activist Alice Waters back in the mid 90s, when I read her mouthwatering children’s book, Fanny at Chez Panisse (HarperCollins, 1992).
I’d never encountered anything like it before – wonderful restaurant stories + delectable, doable recipes. It totally charmed my socks off, set me on a quest to read as many food-related children’s books as possible, and most importantly, made me think differently about food.
Alice Waters at Chez Panisse.
Thanks to Alice’s dedicated efforts– spanning at least five decades – we’ve become more conscious about what and how we eat. We may be more inclined to choose fresh, healthy foods, as opposed to that which is convenient, processed and mass produced. We’ve also learned that eating with a conscience affects not only our personal well being, but the health of our planet.
In their brand new picture book biography, Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution (Paula Wiseman Books, 2022), Diane Stanley and Jessie Hartland introduce young readers to the culinary visionary who popularized organic foods, local sustainable agriculture, and the slow food and farm-to-table movements. She is often called the Mother of American Food.
“The smell of that buttered toast simply spoke to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cozy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one’s ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender; of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries.” ~ Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows, 1908)
Good morning!
Though most of you probably greet each new day worshipping at the ‘altar of drip coffee maker’, my wake-up appliance of choice is my humble yet decidedly adorable toaster.
Love this clever and well deserved ‘toast to toasters’ by Allan Chochinov. 🙂
“Rosebud” watercolor by Denny Bond (2011)
ODE TO MY TOASTER
by Allan Chochinov
Ode to my toaster, so shiny and clean
You’re the butterknife's foe, you're the bread's trampoline
You're the lightest, the darkest, the coolest and proud
You’re the jack-in-the-box of the countertop crowd.
In the old days you had a side entrance instead
You were far more ornate as a true thoroughbred
But now you're a box with a push-button trick
You're a bit more convenient, but a little too slick.
And if that weren't sufficient to cause you some shame,
There's your bullying arch-rival muscling in on your game
They say big toaster-ovens are "double the tool"
They can brown up a bagel and reheat your gruel.
But don't be discouraged, I still think you're swell
You do do one thing, but you do that thing well
And though fancy new gizmos might stir up a yen, remember
Your name still pops up, every now and again.
~ via Design Observer (2008)
*
I smile whenever I catch a glimpse of my creamy-shiny, chunky but cute Dualit toaster sitting happily on the kitchen counter. I bought it when we moved into our current home 22 years ago, and it has served us well.
I remember thinking at the time that it was a little pricey, but I decided to splurge anyway.
After all, I loved its classic design, and it was hand built in the UK with fully replaceable or repairable parts, meaning I’d never have to buy another toaster ever again. It’s been worth every penny.
Just in case you’re feeling a little low and/or color-starved, here’s some of Jana Glatt’s art to WAKE. YOU. UP!
Colorful, quirky, upbeat and offbeat, Jana’s work is joy personified. Oh, those beady eyes and leetle mustaches! She’s able to convey so much personality with just a few strokes. You can feel the energy and emotion in every picture. Too much fun!
Jama's Alphabet Soup 