Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
Polly Castor 
My oldest sister recommended this novel to me and it was compelling enough to keep me up way too late, finishing the second half of it in one sitting. I am torn between giving it four stars (because so much bad stuff happens I’d never condone) and five (because it is a plausible, honest, and … Read more
This page represents January 25, 2011 through February 5, 2011. See close-ups of recent entries below. Enjoy!
I’ve had a nice birthday, facilitated by sweet friends and family. My surprises started a week ago Saturday when my husband, who is notably NOT birthday oriented, got a bee in his bonnet that he wanted to do something specifically special for me. Both kids were at Robotics that day and he happily hijacked me … Read more
Despite being dubious of the title and abhorring “forbidden affairs” (i.e. adultery), I ended up liking this movie and give it four stars. It is about a present day American fellow at the British Museum and a young professor at Oxford who are both experts in respective poets and who discover a connection between their … Read more
Okay, ignoring the stupid title, I really liked this book and give it five stars. I renewed it three times from the library – wangling one more than allowable as I was loath to give it up. It is about how and why to get processed foods out of your life and actually enjoy what … Read more
My son has an article in the Christian Science Sentinel magazine that came today (the February 14, 2011 issue, page 21.) As blog readers saw last summer (click here, click here, and click here) my son went on a service trip to Peru. This article describes – quite poignantly to his mother at least – … Read more
How appropriate on a day where it is raining (or is it reigning?) ice out there to post more icicle photographs? Have a happy Groundhog Day everybody…
After breaking records for snow accumulation in January, it’s snowing again now that it’s February too. Everything’s cancelled once more. (The photo above is where our sidewalk meets our driveway; it’s hard to see around to get out on the road!) There are piles of snow higher than our van, and the sidewalk umbrellas have … Read more
Today was our homeschooling group’s annual Creative Arts Fair. As always, there was a wonderful variety of work. My daughter exhibited intricate bead-work – shown above and the first two photos below – along with her felted bag and a stained glass collage of an original poem. Anyway… welcome to this wonderful event, captured (only … Read more
The work on the left above, titled 34th, by Hans Fischer (see here) won First Place in our local Guild’s show. The show is open through February 25, 2011 (see here). It blew everyone else in the show out of the park in my opinion; it is a major home run, a bargain at $7200 … Read more
This is unbelievably good, with a sophisticated hint of blue cheese… And very wholesome too: totally different from the usual tuna casserole recipes, laden with packaged chemical additives. You’ll want this regularly! Baked Tuna Casserole 1 package whole wheat pasta (16 oz) 3 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, diced 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1/4 … Read more
I just finished an audio book not good enough to review here. As kids, we had a phase: “Close, but no banana.” I don’t remember the genesis of that idiom, but it was definitely true about this book. A friend of mine joked with me after seeing Charlie’s Angels that I could see moral lessons … Read more
It’s been too long since I’ve painted. I’ve been busy. But another dump of fresh snow cancelled church last night and I leaped at the chance to paint. Above is a detail of the painting I painted; below you can see the full version. Below that, I also show a shot out my window … Read more
This page represents January 15, 2011 through January 26, 2011. See close-ups of recent entries below. Enjoy!
You gotta love living in the northeast, where we get to hunker down and hibernate for a few months. It makes us appreciate the other seasons so much more! And the privilege of extra reading time under cozy polar fleece blankets is another fringe benefit of the area. So here we are, going nowhere, yet … Read more
This warm, nourishing soup was perfect for lunch today, a day that was all of two degrees when we woke up! And this is not only delicious but very quick and easy to make. It took me all of a half hour from the first chop to the table, and it generates just the … Read more
