PENSIEVE

The easiest, best, sinfully-deliciousest cake in the world

• It might not look like much, but I assure you, do NOT judge this scrumptious, moist, life-altering book (cake) by it's cover (my pictures). 

If you want to win friends and influence others, make this cake.

If you've dreamed of a world at peace, make this cake and give it to international leaders.

If you'd like to check "I ate an entire cake by myself in one sitting" off your bucket list, make this cake.

It's possible I'm exaggerating, but only a little.

My friend Sally introduced me to this cake a few weeks ago, for which I shall be forever indebted.  The biggest shock came when I learned it starts with a boxed mix; the biggest delight was when she shared its secret (it's in the sauce).  If you're ever in need of an easy go-to cake, keep these ingredients on hand.  You'll be everyone's BFF at the next potluck dinner.

Look closely--you can see how moist it is! 

Sally's Sinfully-Delicious White Wine Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix*
• 1 (3-oz) pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup white wine*
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Grease tube or Bundt pan*.  Sprinkle pecans on bottom of pan.  Mix together remaining ingredients and pour evenly in pan.  Bake in a pre-heated 325°oven 1 hour.

Glaze: 

• 1 stick butter (yuck on margarine)
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ white wine

After you put cake in oven, bring butter, sugar and water to a boil for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add wine.  Set glaze aside until cake is done.  Once you remove cake from oven, using a toothpick poke holes in cake while still hot and in the pan.  Pour 2/3 of the glaze over cake.  Let cool before inverting onto a cake plate (15 minutes-ish).  Drizzle remaining glaze over the top. 

MOST IMPORTANT:  Grab a knife.  Slice a piece.  Experience a Tonguegasm of Epic Proportion.  Write me a thank you note.

(You're welcome in advance.)

Baker's notes:

• * Sally used Duncan Hines Deluxe II; I used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow.  I don't think it really matters but I'd choose a reliable brand.
• When I made it, I used Pam spray only; it stuck to the pan a little so next time I will use Crisco and flour (never Pam and flour) to prep the pan.
• I used ⅔ cup water and ⅓ cup wine in the batter; I don't know why I changed it. 
• * Regarding wine choice:  I used a Sauvignon Blanc; I think Sally used a Chardonnay.  I'd never, never, never use a "cooking" wine or White Zinfandel.  Ick. 
  

 

Tootsie rolls & foot balls (but nothing to do with candy or sports)

{PLEASE ~ Chime in and tell me YOUR favorite!!}

I like to take pictures of feet, prehaps because they tell the story of where you are and what you're doing.  I forgot just how many foot photographs I had taken until until I had reason to scan my archives--this week's I Heart Faces theme is FEET.  I haven't participated in a while because I don't take the most original face pictures, but feet?  Feet are one of my favorite things to photograph.

But I'm in a quandry--I can't decide which one to submit!  Will you tell me your favorite and why?  Your vote will help me narrow the field.

The Divine Picking of the Raspberries

When I close my eyes, for seconds we are Thelma and Louise rounding treacherous mountain curves but not running from anything or to anything, just two girls on the go. Sisters.

Truth is, the curves are more beautiful than treacherous, and the only approximation to Thelma and Louise is a convertible, but it's not even teal.  Top down, wind slapping my face, my hair Medusa wild.  I inhale deeply, having learned to sense the extra in the ordinary.  We're on our way to pick up lunch and pick raspberries.  

We remember moments, right?  Glimpses.  Snapshots.  Here then gone, but forever held tightly in clamped fist.

Nobody loves me like my sister, and it is because of that I feel like I've failed my daughter in some way; she has brothers.  Only sisters will completely understand that.

We pass Goats on a Roof.  It's a Southern train wreck and my neck turns to rubber.  She indulges me and stops, because, really?  Goats on a Roof?!  She waits patiently while I take picture after cell phone picture of those goats on a roof.  

Until I'm gorged and we move on to the next feast.  Raspberries.

Why I've never gone berry pickin' is beyond me but she intends to remedy that.  They're $2.00 a pint, the honor system, and something about that blesses my heart.  Restores my faith in man.  Makes me happy I'm Southern.

The bushes look bare so berry pickin' becomes a treasure hunt....like a hidden berry bingo game :).  With familiar green pint basket in hand, we scour each row.  She squeals with every find, sampling first fruits to make sure they're worthy.  "This is a taste of heaven!" or "That one just melted in my mouth!" and for some reason I think Anne of Green Gables, not that I remember her ever picking raspberries.

Guileless and spontaneous, my sister's enthusiasm compels me to look beyond the sweat searing my clothes as second skin, to ignore the knee-high weeds lashing with each step, to brush away the gnats and the flies and the stinging creatures that normally would send me running.  

She bosses.  "Only pick the biggest, juiciest ones."  "If they're too red, they're too ripe."  "Don't you post that picture unless I look skinny in it."  She can't help but tell me what to do, she's been at it since I exited my mother's womb.

"Are you going to write about The Divine Pickin' of the Raspberries?" she asks and I tell her maybe.

Which only sometimes means "Yes."

 

"When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited."

Note: Click to bigify the pictures--
OHMYWORD blog-size does NOT do them justice!

 

"B" is for...

bumbley...

and beautiful...

and busy...

and beady-eyed...

And "b" is for buggy...

and (wanna)bee

Beautiful flowers and bees captured at the spectacular Biltmore Gardens; I'm VERY happy to report no one was stung in the process.  

The princess and the veil: a modern-day fairytale

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy.

His face is all boy when he looks at her--twinkling eyes that belie his age and lips that curl in mischievous affection.  It doesn't matter whether anyone else is in the room; he's laser-focused on his bride.

At 71, he still buys her perfume and lingerie.  And she uses it...for him.

She's steel magnolia, Southern, feminine, strong and beautiful, and she could cook a a feast blindfolded with an arm tied behind her back.  She's coy when asked if he's the only man she's ever kissed; he's confident he is but I'm left with a shred of doubt.

She was the May Queen, after all.

Regardless, there's no question she only has eyes for him.  Over 50 years wed and they still hold hands when they walk.

Their courtship began at 14, six years later they married.  They were practically babies.  

Their family eventually grew four boys strong and many years later I would marry their first born.

* * * * *

For some reason, he decided to travel back in time the other day, a trip to the attic.

When he finally returns to the present, he brings an armload of memories.  Her wedding dress...some other things that spurred recollection.  And her veil.  

I find it on a chest in their den, an accessory that tells a story.

Hairpin still tangled in tulle touches me.  There's a sweetness to this sliver of neglect that stirs questions as to "Why?"  I can't help but silently giggle at the thought of Sarah in a rush to honeymoon.  After six years of dating, I think she was as ready as he was!  

Hand-beaded pearls, delicate lace, fashionable 40s styling--exquisite.  

"Designed by Miss Lillian for Vogue Bridals" leaves me curious who Miss Lillian is?  Was she a Vera Wang of her day?  Should I know who she is?

 

In the Christian tradition, the bridal veil represents modesty and purity; yes, this is perfect.

The netting for her headpiece is long gone.  "I didn't know you could preserve it," she tells me, "but we wouldn't have had the money even if I had known."  It's a lament, but I find her veil more beautiful because of its aging.  Almost 51 years separate the then and the now, and these tatters and touches of time symbolize the years lived in the in-between.  

Age is the price we pay for life...and it's worth it!

Sarah means "princess"--oh, how it suits her.

Her prince would agree.

 

 

 

And they're still living happily ever after.

xo

Dew, poetically speaking

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. 
~ William Shakespeare

Words are things, and a small drop of ink,
falling like dew upon a thought, produces that
which makes thousands, perhaps millions,
think.
~ Lord Byron

 

In the sweetness of friendship
let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things
the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time
like dew on the tip of a leaf.
~ Rabindranath Tagore

 

Why I love my Droid Thunderbolt & picplz

Together, they're magically delicious!

Thief of gold

The pedigree of honey does not concern the bee;
a clover, anytime, to him, is aristocracy. 
~ Emily Dickinson

 

Upon lofty Lookout Mountain, delight and inspiration arrived unexpected, packaged in Springtime ritual.  Assuming a better vantage point--ground level--I'm sure my stance attracted a laugh or two:  balancing on my forearms with my behind in the air.  When I noticed my father-in-law was taking pictures of ME, the photoshoot came to an abrupt end.  

But not before I captured some marvelous images of a very busy bee!

 

Fuzzy, was he, bumble bee...

Working for his queen, you see...

Thief of golden dust, his quest

Frenzied pace, no time for rest.

Instinctive heist, honeyed plunder,

Can't help but watch in childlike wonder.

 

xo

 

 

 

4 Bridges Art Festival Top Ten Reasons NOT to Miss!

If you live in or near Chattanooga, what can I say to persuade you to head out to the 11th Annual 4 Bridges Arts Festival today or tomorrow?  Will pictures do?  The Festival, produced by the Association for Visual Arts (AVA), is hosted at the First Tennessee Pavilion downtown.

Top Ten Reasons You MUST Attend!

1.  The weather forecast for both days is SPECTACULAR!

2.   You will be welcomed with open arms by the 150 artists exhibiting their painting, glasswork, jewelry, textiles, furniture, sculpture and more. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  A signature event for Chattanooga, 4 Bridges Arts Festival has earned earned special recognition in the Art Fair SourceBook as one of the Top 100 Fine Art Fairs for 2011.  The diversity and strenth of talent is astonishing.

 

4.  Seven hundred artists applied; 150 were selected.  You're going to see the best of the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  The artists are eager to talk to you!  Whether or not you're interested or able to purchase, they're grateful for those who express interest in their work.  Last year I was heartened by several artists I met, who were genuinely thrilled when I shared my enthusiasm for their work.  I wish I could have supported them with a purchase; instead I lavished them with praise then and my words now :).

 

6.  You'll discover the beauty and artistic value in places you've never before noticed.

 

7.  Because I have artisan friends who create jewelry, I'm especially glad to see jewelry craftsman included at 4 Bridges.  Interestingly, they were the most likely to decline my request to photograph their work. 

 

8.  Photography.  Oh, my, it is exquisite!  The depth and capture of images inspired me to produce better work, to see with wider eyes.  I really wanted a few of the framed pictures on display!

 

9.  Food and beverages are on sale from local vendors, and their displays?  Artistry for your mouth!

 

10.  It's fun for all!  Live music from local and regional performers; a Kids' Art Creation Area is free and open to children of all ages, offering original art projects from trained art educators.

: : : : : : : :

These are my remembrances from last year's festival, with the 4 Bridges Arts Festival website filling in some details.  Attending is a wonderful way to spend a few hours, support the Scenic City arts community and beyond, and be inspired to create something of beauty yourself.

Your turn:  Got a favorite picture?  Click on any to supersize the image and let me know.  Have you been to the 4 Bridges Arts Festival, or if you're not in Chattanooga, is there a similar venue in your hometown?  Do tell!!

I hope to see you there! 

pierced :: perspective

His bones were broken...

And though it could've been much worse, he had surgery...

  

...felt lousy for a little while, and will have to sit out most of the soccer season.

When it happened and he was hurting bad, I was hurting bad. And right after surgery when he was hurting worse, I was hurting worse.  

But then a painful realization occurred to me:  the unimaginable anguish...how much worse...

  

*

*

*

God must've felt when 
Jesus was crucified.