Christmas baguette

French baguetteImage via Wikipedia
        Very early this Christmas morning, pajamas tucked away, hidden under coat and stuffed into boots, I wandered around , looking for a boulangerie, in the small town of Chartres where I ive.  I didn't have to, and never usually do on Christmas morning, but somehow, once you know the shops are closed, that's the time you really need something. I knew most boulangeries are closed on Christmas morning, but still wanted to go out and breathe the fresh, crisp white air. I slipped into the boulangerie at the corner of the Town Hall. It was just behind the stables they had set up in the open, with the life-sized crêche.  Last night the place was teeming with activity.  Not the rush you find in cities where people are so intent on buying gifts at the last minute that it becomes almost a push and shove experience.  Here in smaller French towns, though there are lights, decorations and trees, everything seems to be done in a peaceful spirit, more or less.  The "Marché de Noël" still has the simple country feeling that the whole family can enjoy at a leisurely pace. Christmas Eve night is an opportunity for a last stroll before the midnight feast, greeting others and looking at the animals brought from farms nearby to create the scene of the baby Jesus in a stall. No white-washed or decorative stables. No dry-cleaned cows or blow-dried, manicured sheep. Instead there were real donkeys and cows with their dung dotted around. There was wreaking straw and other grimy animals a-bleating! Why, even this morning, the stench of the animals, now home and sheltered I trust, still hung thick in the sharp winter air.  
"Joyeux Noël!" I piped, along with the old door chimes that jangled as I entered the warm boulangerie. "Vous avez un air aussi bon que votre pain, aujourd'hui!" ("You look as good as your bread this morning!) I winked at the ruddy-cheeked boulanger who roared with laughter. I was sniffing the tantalizing aroma of fresh bread, between cold drafts of air and hot steam of oven. My eyes roamed the shelves  with its rows of natural loaves, seed, raisin, fig or nut breads. Huge mounds made with buckwheat, einkorn, spelt, emmer, kamut, long baguettes or shorter pudgy squares with crispy, pointy tips (usually broken off and eaten before you arrive back home). The baker picked a short slim baguette with dark, pointy tips. A five-grain cereal bread. " Un pain comme vous pour vous" (bread like you for you) he said, bowing gallantly. His bald head glistened. I clutched my gift and loved it even more, for his hands, warm from his oven had grasped the bread and laid it in mine, with a twinkle in his eyes. French bakers have taught me a new meaning for " the laying on of hands." as far as bread is concerned. It comes wrapped in the loving, intimate touch of the artisan's hand, far superior alternative for the cold, wrapped bread kept for weeks on a lonely supermarket shelf. For those who prefer this sanitary option, there's more bacteria on your lips than on the bread you eat, handled by the baker's hands! So  I have heard.
"Joyeux Noël!" he said.
"Merci bien Monsieur, et bonne journée!" and I turned to leave. It was  crusty and warm, as bread should be. I broke it. The holes yawned wide.  And I laughed. Far cry it was from processed bread you can roll up into a ball and use in a sling to stone a poor cow to death. I laughed again, as I looked up at the sloping rooftops , glistening with crystals of ice like jewels in the early morning sun, now glowing orange as sunset.  Underfoot, the thin ice crunched like toast. Staring up at a rooftop window with a chimney from which fine, lazy smoke curled, I saw one woman, still in nightwear , gazing out from behind half opened shutters. She stared with a wistful gaze down the road.  Then suddenly, she turned and saw me looking up at her . On an impulse, I grinned and waved my baguette. It made her laugh.
Now the cathedral bells were ringing, insistent,  and with a kind of hollow echo. The narrow deserted street came suddenly alive as busy heels cracked against the cobble stones.  A finely dressed family  hurried towards the cathedral steps. Later they would again sit around a table, laden with rich Christmas fare left over from last night's celebration.
This day, some homeless old man will also find his meal, perhaps, from the ample scraps off someone's Christmas table, or maybe he'll clutch a loaf of fresh sweet-smelling bread, a Christmas gift from the baker.
What a fine day, this day! 
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Cats!

Jambo looks up from a playful session with his...Image via Wikipedia

Cats! cats!
They lay on their sides,
they lay on their backs;
they spend fewer hours standing
than lying flat.

When life is a drag
and I hate where I'm at,
how I'd love to curl up
And sleep like a cat!
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ON A FATHER'S DEATH

It came to claim him
and he knew
the blood-shot heat
of pain
that seared his chest
no words
no clutch at life
just a passage into oblivion
a passage out of hell.

Year 2010 Vacation bible school project "From prison to palace"


Two weeks or so of hard work creating and setting up Joseph's palace, mummies, sphynges, a prison. The hieroglyphics and the sun atop palace were the easiest. The sphynges challenged me. The prison walls frustrated me (ran out of pastels and I had to paint the rest) But the kids love everything!



His hands - our hearts


Every Saturday mid-morning, we are out there in the parking lot of Suggs and Kelly Law Firm under our canopies, tables set for the midday service of a hot meal, dessert and a bag of snacks to go. We serve cold drinks in summer and hot coffee in winter, and for every change of season, there is a chance for the homeless to change out their wardrobe. Not only does CJ(founder) receive an abundance of donations in food kind, but tons of clothes, shoes, accessories and toiletries come in. His back-yard garage is full, and he likes to set up an extra table in the parking lot, laden with shirts and trousers, coats and other garments, sorted out according to size. In case one lucky person obtains a job interview and needs to look dressed up, he can likely pick out something suitable from the lot. You'd be surprised at the great

Kit-Kat Krave



Krispy Kat
Krunchy Kat
Kit-kat junkie
Kandy Krush
Kandy rush
after lunch
Krumble
....krunch-krunch

We only remember the good

This early on a Sunday morning, I am sitting at the desk, writing a short mémoire or personal remembrance of my Aunt who passed away 2 weeks ago, to be read at the funeral service.

It turns out to be a beautiful recollection of her goodness to us as kids. I can picture listeners nodding and maybe smiling as they identify with the feelings I express, and maybe there will be a titter or two at the pictures I painted. They will all agree, I am sure, that there was something almost "saintly" about my Aunty.

I think of the eulogies I have heard at funerals and I wonder: Do people only choose to remember the good after someone dies or do they really only see goodness and perfection when they look back, their minds totally eclipsing any negative memories of the past?

Tell me what you think or what has been your own experience.

Some healthy vegan substitutes

Cream and eggs are two frequently used ingredients in the making of desserts, especially ice cream. Vegans prefer to substitute with a more healthy non-dairy choice. Depending on the brand product used, the type of effect desired and the job to be done by the cream or eggs, in some cases the outcome is very near the original, and one can hardly tell the difference.

VEGAN HEAVY CREAM SUBSTITUTE
To make vegan heavy cream substitute you will need:

1/2 block of silken tofu (extra firm)
1/2 cup of plain soy milk.
Blend until thick and creamy and perfectly smooth.

HOME-MADE EGG SUBSTITUTES
Vegan egg replacements are not hard to find. However there are a number of ways you can create your own substitutes from ingredients found in your own kitchen.
To substitute for one egg, try one of the following:
Two tablespoons of cornstarch
Two tablespoons of arrowroot flour
Two tablespoons of potato starch
One heaping tablespoon of soy powder plus two tablespoons of water
One tablespoon of soy milk powder plus one tablespoon of cornstarch, and two tablespoons of water
One tablespoon milled flax seed and three tablespoons of water
One tablespoon chickpeas and one tablespoon of water
One medium banana or half of a large banana, mashed
Two ounces of mashed soft tofu and one tablespoon of water
Two ounces of mashed potatoes and one tablespoon of water
Two ounces mashed beans and one tablespoon of water
1/4 cup applesauce or other pureed fruit
One teaspoon soy flour plus one tablespoon water

Shepherd

At the
point of departure,
up from your knees,
you left me


and you,
I found,
far distance away,
a-stray,
caught in a thicket,
bleating,
my one
lost
sheep

Papier-mâché recipe and building Egypt

We worked last night until late o'clock, laying the ground work for the transformation of the school gym into Egypt, our choice this year for VBS. Last year it was Rome and it came off successfully. Most of all, we had a blast. (See photos at this link
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30217&id=1317527766&l=7e09ad7c80

Can't think how two people can built pyramids, gardens, a palace, sphinxes (sphynges), a prison and Joseph's throne in a week or two, but it has to be done. Last year we proved that Rome could be built in three weeks, but I don't really know the time frame for Egypt. The further along we got last night, the happier Sue became... and the more doubtful was I! By signing-off time, I had singed my fingers making papier-mâché paste, dyed some of my hair green, splashed yellow paint over my jeans and sprinkled my face and arms with glitter. But Sue assured me it was all good.

Here's my recipe for the best papier-mâché:

Combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups cold water in a bowl.
Add this mixture to a saucepan of 2 cups boiling water and bring it to a boil again.
Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Let it cool; it will thicken as it cools. Once it does, it's ready to use.