twice as nice, or, grin and bear it

~ jama ~ 40 Comments
Thinking of Queen Elizabeth II who died a year ago today.

Happy September and Welcome Back!

After a nice summer break, we’re ready to talk about good books, share beautiful art and poems, rustle up some new recipes, and of course, play with our toys — as we mark 16 years of Alphabet Soup. Special greetings to all the new subscribers who’ve signed up recently. So glad you’re here!

The year has flown by at lightning speed and now that September has arrived, I wish time would. slow. down.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have twice as many months during autumn (truly the best season of the year)? Twice as many crisp, cool days with deep blue skies, twice as much gorgeous seasonal color, twice as many pumpkins, apples, happy trick-or-treaters, and twice as much time to appreciate the small everyday pleasures no one can take away from us despite all the craziness going on in the world.

Hold on to what you can. Take it where you find it. Share it whenever possible.

There’s surprising news about Mr Cornelius, but first, a poem to celebrate the month that heralds more beauty to come.

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“Four Trees” by Egon Schiele (1917).
THE MONTH OF ALL
by Henry Grantland Rice

You may take your winters southward,
You may have your golden Junes,
You may have your summer mountains
Or your eastern fog-swept dunes;
But I’ll take the first red ember,
Where the Painter works his will,
When it’s morning in September,
Or it’s noon-day in September,
Or it’s twilight in September,
And the flame is on the hill.
There is orange down the valley,
There is crimson out the lane;
There’s a fleck of purple tinting
Where the maples meet the rain.
For the glow that I remember,
With an everlasting thrill,
Is a morning in September,
Or a noon-time in September,
Or a twilight in September,
When the flame is on the hill.

(This poem is in the public domain.)

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nine cool things on a tuesday

~ jama ~ 26 Comments
“Autumn Festival” by Heegyum Kim.

1. Happy September!! What better way to anticipate the best season of the year than with Heegyum Kim’s delicious art. The little girl and her animal friends are celebrating fall with pumpkin cupcakes and donuts, apple pie and carrot cake. Yes, please. 🙂

Originally from South Korea, Heegyum is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer currently based in NYC, where she lives with her husband and two corgis, Fry and Mandu.

She studied Communication Design at Pratt Institute and Ewha Women’s Institute in Seoul. After working as a graphic designer in the beauty industry for ten years, she decided to shift her focus to illustration. Her favorite subjects are animals and nature depicted in a whimsical, humorous, and graphic style. She likes to explore shapes and colors to show characters’ unique personalities, and typically works in gouache and colored pencil.

She recently published her first children’s picture book, Un Hiver Chez Bleuet (Michi, 2023). This project actually began during the pandemic, when she shared a drawing of a blue bear on Instagram (she’d always loved the color blue and often made pictures entirely in blue). Her followers loved it so much that she started a Blue the Bear series, which she made into a postcard book.

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you say tomato, I say tomahto (+ a summer blog break)

~ jama ~ 19 Comments

“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.” ~ Laurie Colwin (Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen, 2012)

via Nashville Scene

We have a big love for tomatoes here in the Alphabet Soup kitchen. Wish we still had our own vegetable garden, as there’s nothing like freshly picked homegrown tomatoes for salads and sandwiches. Along with peaches, they represent the best part of summer.

“Still Life-Tomatoes” by Gevorg Sinanyan
SONNET #43, KITCHEN STYLE
by Kim O'Donnel

How do I love thee, tomato? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and might
My palate can reach, when remembering out of sight
Your peak month of August, when you bear fruits of juicy Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most urgent need for a BLT, by sun or moon-light.
I love thee with abandon, as Venus might her Mars or Vulcan.
I love thee purely, as surely as the summer wanes.
I love thee with the passion of my appetite
Above all fruits, and with my childhood's eye of Jersey tomatoes
As if they were falling from the sky.
I love thee with a hunger I seemed to lose
With my lost innocence (and the icky mealy tomatoes of January)! I love thee with the smell,
Unlike no other in the garden, and your vine-ripened sweetness
That bring me smiles, tears, only at this time of year! -- and if the farmers choose,
I shall but love thee better after many bowls of gazpacho.

~ This poem first appeared in the “What’s Cooking/A Mighty Appetite” column in The Washington Post (August 7, 2006).
“Still Life #5: Tomatoes and Basil” by Vitaly Sidorenko

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David Schab: a study in color and contrasts

~ jama ~ 6 Comments

My pulse quickens whenever I see a David Schab painting. I’m enamored of the strong interplay between light and shadow, the patterns, the passion and, of course, his rich, gorgeous colors, which are at the heart of his work.

Though Schab also paints landscapes and portraits, his still lifes are my favorite. I’m fascinated by the selection and arrangement of objects, each of which has a story of its own. Unlike reading a linear narrative, where a plot unfolds gradually and characters are revealed in turn, when you look at a picture you see everything all at once. As your eyes travel from object to object, you consider juxtapositions, make connections, or even begin to create your own story, moment by moment. 

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Gary Bunt: the joy of simple pleasures

~ jama ~ 15 Comments
“Life is But a Dream” by Gary Bunt.

Today, a little sampler of quintessential British charm with paintings + poems by beloved artist Gary Bunt.

You may remember my featuring his work a couple of years ago, when I mentioned that he usually includes a short poem on the back of his paintings. His ‘old man with dog’ pictures have made his work instantly recognizable and highly accessible.

His scenes of country life are comforting and reassuring, just what the doctor ordered in these troubling times. There’s just something so endearing about hearing the little dog’s point of view. 

See if these pictures + short poems — by the sea, on the farm, and in the garden — don’t tug at your heartstrings. All were created in 2021-2022.

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THE SEA WALL

Down by the beach
By the sea wall
Across the sea
The east wind whips
But I don’t care
I am just happy to share
My Master’s fish and chips

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DOGGY PADDLE

I’m having a paddle
With my Master
But it’s hard to concentrate
I’m trying to be good
Like I know that I should
But there are biscuits over
There on that plate
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