the proud aunt

October 13, 2010 ~ jama

Pooh plays one of Julia’s pieces.

Tra-la-la, tra-la-la,
Rum-tum-tiddle-um-tum.

Seems my niece Julia might be taking after me in some ways ☺.

She loves to read and write, plays the piano, and is crazy for stuffed animals, especially Pooh. Yeah!

Since she lives in Hawai’i, I don’t get to see her more than once a year or so, and each time I look at her, I get this giddy feeling I’m looking at myself. Okay, she’s cuter.

But . . . I have to admit that when it comes to art, she blows me out of the water.

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fun with fondant: wake up little sushi ☺

October 11, 2010 ~ jama

Happy Columbus Day!

Hope you’ve been having a nice holiday weekend.

Just had to share this two-part video of TLC’s Fabulous Cakes episode featuring boutique bakery, Caked Las Vegas. Owner Carolyn Portuondo, a graduate of Punahou School in Hawai’i, gave up a career in Medicine to follow her passion for baking. Her all-cake sushi boat is simply a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Sit back, relax, sip your favorite beverage, and watch a great cake artist at work:

*This post has been brought to you by Fondant, a sweet, creamy sugar paste used in candies and icings. In the last 10 years, rolled fondant has become wildly popular among pastry chefs in the U.S. because of its versatility, pliability, and ease of dyeing. Think of it as bakers’ playdough. ☺

♥ Special thanks to my half-sister, Sylvia, for sharing the links!

friday feast: happy 70th birthday john lennon!

October 8, 2010December 25, 2017 ~ jama

“My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.” ~ John Lennon (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980)

Tomorrow, to celebrate John Lennon’s 70th birthday, Yoko Ono will once again relight the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland.

Yoko Ono’s official flickr photostream

This “tower of light” is projected from a white stone monument (“wishing well”) with the words, “Imagine Peace,” carved on it in 24 different languages. Fifteen searchlights reflect off prisms to create this lighted column, which is 4000+ m. tall and touches the clouds!

Yoko Ono official/flickr

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wordless wednesday

October 6, 2010 ~ jama

friday feast: two funnies from j. patrick lewis

September 17, 2010January 9, 2018 ~ jama

Happy Poetry Friday!

Today, I’m serving up some light fare to tickle your funny bone, compliments of the one and only J. Patrick Lewis. Did you know he’s the featured poet in the Summer 2010 Bumbershoot Annual? Five of his mathematically themed poems are included (three related to food!). Who could resist such titles as, “Edgar Allan Poe’s Apple Pie,” or “Edward Lear’s Elephant with Hot Dog”?

Hope you enjoy this two course meal. Be sure to check out Pat’s other three poems, as well as the rest of the issue (esp. “Sylvia Plath’s Chicken Crosses the Road”). Fun!

Nick Sherman/flickr

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS’S PIZZA
by J. Patrick Lewis

The 15″ pan pizza
sliced in 3″ squares
was so inviting

I couldn’t resist
eating 19-1/2 pieces.

Forgive me, Florence.
You were hungry, too.
I put the box back
in the refrigerator

Beside the white chickens,
forgetting how little
pizza was left.

ROBERT FROST’S BOXER SHORTS
by J. Patrick Lewis

Whose shorts are these? I wish I knew
Who sent them to me, all brand new —
Five dollars, ninety cents a pair.
They’re not my size. I’m forty-two.

But fourteen pairs? Now who could wear
That many without ten to spare?
If nine are cotton (cotton blend)
And five are silk, then let’s compare:

On each set, how much did he spend?
Arithmetic is just the friend
To multiply, divide or add.
And what’s the total in the end?

These underwear are not half bad
With lions, tigers — stripes and plaid . . .
My jockey shorts are looking sad.
My jockey shorts are looking sad.

~ both poems from Bumbershoot: Issue 6, Summer 2010

And yes, there really are Robert Frost Boxer Shorts available for purchase:

The quote says: “We dance round in a ring and suppose / but the secret sits in the middle and knows.”

Dance over to Wild Rose Reader, where the beautiful and charming Elaine Magliaro is hosting the Roundup. I’m pretty sure she’d appreciate your offering her a square or two of pizza.

Have a good weekend, and TTFN!