 |
| Another beautiful Brooklyn sunset |
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
God Winks Around the Way
 |
| Love is in the Air |
A few years back, I designed a book cover for the work of spiritually-based motivational speaker SQuire Rushnell, who wrote about the power of coincidence in everyday life. Basically, he proposes that there are no random occurrences. If we remain ever attuned to our surroundings, we hone our innate ability to make connections instantaneously when we see them. If we use this principle in our immediate environs, it broadens out to our town,
then our country, and then the world, ever outward.
One can see it as a consciousness-raising exercise on developing awareness; seeing signs around us and interpreting them. The problem is, it can come off as a bit simplistic and childish, creating the wrong impression, confusing everything with deep, intrinsic meaning, like a psychic gone paranoid schizophrenic. Some things are what they are, simply beautiful. Identify that first, appreciate it, and then we'll tackle the tough stuff, like the meaning of life. If you're the kind of person who flips to the back of a book, the answer is love.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Around Town
 |
| Sunset over The New Jersey Turnpike |
 |
| Towers by The Turnpike |
 |
| Weehawken, New Jersey |
 |
| Rush Hour |
 |
| Entrance to The Lincoln Tunnel |
 |
| Leaving New Jersey |
Monday, April 9, 2012
Consuela Wins Again
Like any New Yorker, I have my favorite pizza joint (Smiling Pizza in Park Slope, Brooklyn on 7th Avenue), and they are reliable. I love my neighborhood place; they make great pies and there's always a good vibe when you go there. They are actual Italians from Italy, not a t.v. show like The Jersey Shore. But, on one dark and stormy night, something went horribly awry. The conditions were stressful for any delivery person, and that fateful night, my paisan language skills went right out the car window. I had five achingly excruciating back-and-forth phone calls between the pizza place and the driver, explaining over and over the differences between a number street and a number avenue. It did not go well.
At one point, I was sitting in the stairwell looking at the front door of the building, like any hard-up college freshman, thinking "What happened?" Minutes before, I had the last painful exchange with my head against the wall drawing numbers with my finger onto it, desperate to communicate with the driver. When he finally showed up, all was forgiven. He looked like a drowned puppy, so I tipped him heavy. Consuela The Overlord wins again.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Cooking with (No) Gas
 |
| Chocolate-dipped banana slice |
 |
| Ready for the freezer and my tummy |
But I did use a microwave. I had half a package of German Baker's milk chocolate leftover from a batch of Jiffy mix that I had added finely slivered squares to, making them into banana and chocolate muffins. Hmm, what to do? Then I thought about dipped banana pieces I saw in a Trader Joe's. Why not? I melted the chocolate in the nuke with a few spritzes of nonstick cooking spray, and it was surprisingly easy to work with when it melted. The chocolate-dipped banana pieces are in the freezer right now for eating later. Et volià! I created a new seasonal tradition, today after church, with these homemade treats for Easter. Cool!
Happy Easter!
I woke up to Peeps dancing The Funky Chicken!
Good morning friends, and welcome to this day:)
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Peeled Snacks
 |
| Apple to the core! |
The first time I found Peeled Organics Fruit Picks, I was in Whole Foods on my lunch break, looking for a low calorie snack. I tried the dried cherries and ever since then, I've been hooked. When I see them in a store, I buy them. Naturally, they are made right here in our happy 'hood of Brooklyn, yo. Have at it!
p.s.-Those are sugar-free jelly beans in the background for anime movie time later today. Yahooooo!
The Cadbury Bunny
Like Charlie Brown Christmas specials, nothing heralds the Easter season like Cadbury Bunny commercials. It's still the cutest thing ever, years after the original ads aired. A holiday classic that, like most GenX marketing devices, has never actually implanted me with the desire to buy their chocolates—too sweet for me. I did buy the bunny-imitating-a-chicken toy once for my mom, but it's battery died a looonnng time ago. Well, played Cadbury...not.
At Home
 |
| Prepping (and peeping) for Easter! |
Even the toys in my home are getting ready for Easter Sunday.
The peeps are especially active and excited....stay tuned!
Cooking with (No) Gas
 |
| Fried egg with salad |
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Greatest Hits
Globe Trekker has some of the coolest music ever made for T.V. It's one of those opening themes that immediately gets you pumped up for armchair travel. There's the awesome Native Trekker creating a circle around him that morphs into a spinning globe lit from within—a great sequence that encapsulates the change in perspective that composes the mindset of those who travel well. Ian is my favorite!
You must absorb the best lessons from your culture first, placing yourself firmly within your immediate surroundings with your feet flat on the ground, so that when you do extend yourself outward, you bring home with you wherever you go, never losing who you are because you carry it with you. The seasoned Trekker has simply set aside some time to explore and discover the world. It's the great Aboriginal concept of a "Walkabout", and it is a crucial piece of development for any one who is learning to spread their wings to fly. It's the nature of A Quest, that mythic transformation from a child (still afraid of the dark) to a young adult ready to see the world. Let's go!
Each program's theme is tailored to that episode, taking native instrumental elements and weaving it into the overall background music. As we progress towards a World Culture, reaching for that shared, shining Star Trek vision, we will never lose our local selves as we step forward into a united future. We are this world. See you out and about, be it here or there, near or far. Happy travels!
The Holy Fonz
Catholics catch a lot of flack for the wackier elements of their faith, ones that I cherish for that very reason: there's walking on water, turning water into wine at a wedding (Who wouldn't want that? It certainly is cheaper than the HUGE tab that comes with an open bar. Especially at Irish-Catholic events.), getting beamed up into space, er, "Heaven" after death—you know, all that fun, cool stuff.
We laugh about it, (and sometimes cry, too), because religion is a human thing, and like any institution, people can either make it great or really effin' bad. This season is kind of a big deal; there's the build up with Mardi Gras, Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and then Easter. It's the time period leading up to Jesus' crucifixion: The Betrayal, (for a few scheckels...eww), His arrest and capture, imprisonment and torture, public trial and condemnation by the mob, humiliation on the way to the site, and then Jesus was nailed to a cross with the other criminals and mocked while He died. It was way harsh.
So when I get a chance to have fun with the some of the more liturgical and dogmatic aspects to Christian ceremonies, it's a good time for me. No doubt, there are many disturbed and robotic people who just want something to belong to, and Seth McFarlane is there to mock them, as is fitting given their "Sheeple" mindset. No one does it better than a Catholic schoolboy ;)
Here's a link to The Father, The Son, and The Holy Fonz, in its' entirety. NSFW!! Enjoy.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
At Home
 |
| Spring Cleaning |
Every year I switch out clothes and curtains as the season changes. This year, I realized that my light sheers for warm weather had gone the way of The Dodo....extinct, that is. Hmm. Oh yeah! I had totally thrown them out after many years of faithful service. A college housemate from art school made them for me—they were that old.
Cooking with Gas
 |
| Rocky Mountain Toast |
Back in college, one of my friends introduced me to something he called "Rocky Mountain Toast", which totally delighted me because it was new to me (Thanks, Weeg!). He also took the time to show me the contents of the house freezer and explain their budget shopping strategy, skills that I still rely on, in times of financial duress. The key to a broke-ass breakfast done right is this list right here: a dozen eggs cheap, a discount loaf of white bread, bargain tub of butter or margarine, and a huge container of frozen hash browns. It was to be had in our little podunk upstate college mountain town for around $6.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Magic Garden
Spring has sprung, and this seasons' fresh, floral goodness reminds me of a favorite t.v. show from childhood called The Magic Garden. Let's listen to one of the cheeriest good-bye songs ever, because the gals know some kids get teary-eyed during "bye bye" time.
Kids also get the "giggles", which is one of the happiest sounds in our species—a child's laughter. The "Chuckle Patch" has a bunch of adorable daisies that serve as stand-ins for the kiddies in the audience. Kids love silly jokes, the sillier the better. Mad Libs anyone?
Naturally, this awesomeness was brought to you by an educator from Brooklyn College, from the coolest city on the planet, Boogie-Up Brooklyn. Told you we rocked, and now you have even more proof. The squirrel "Sherlock" is bi-lingual, Spanish and English, of course. He's probably Puerto Rican! Hey, that's how we roll here in this lovely cultural quilt that is New York.
But I know Brooklyn squirrels are exceptional. Here's the friendly, curious fellow who lived under the living room air conditioner with his one-pawed friend, whooping it up. I remember hearing their loud ruckus for the first time, because I thought it was an injured pigeon trapped inside the apartment. Once the A/C went kaput and I had it removed he left, back to tree living I suppose. I named him "Chuckie". Before relocating to new digs, he tried to get inside every time I left a window screen open. 
For those of you not from our wonderful world, please explore the links below, to discover one of the greatest children's programs ever.
Have a shiny day!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Binky the Space Cat
 |
| Binky and TeddyBear |
Last year I attended a book fair here in New York. There's lots of networking, fake smiles, shaking hands, and free promotional stuff that comes with the price of admission. I have no idea who this cartoon character is (sorry, author!), but as I soon as I saw the fantastically outlined die cut shape, I had to have it. I'm a savvy aficionado, so this piece telegraphed "Love" to me with a capital "L". Nice! Such intricate work and craft. The publishing game is all about catching the eye based on a readers' particular set of interests, and I was ripe for the picking. I've been "pet poor" since the loss of my precious Bear Cub, (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/search?q=Ted).
Awkward as this item was in my give-away bag, I held onto it during a long day of pounding the pavement, carting it via subway back to Brooklyn. Since that fateful day, Binky the Space Cat has lived in my apartment, making a home for itself in the living room, comfortably settling in. I love my make-believe pet, especially since he doesn't even look like a cat. What is Binky? Who cares! I love his astronaut ways, his get-up-and-go, and the way the t.v.'s cable cord looks like a lifeline into space. Thanks, Binks. You rule.
Cooking with (No) Gas
 |
| Olive oil, garlic, and parsley: a perfect dip for bread |
An olive oil dip made to go with a piece of crusty bread: Extra Virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh Italian parsley, chopped garlic (from two cloves), a sprinkle of thyme, oregano and basil, with a dash of garlic powder. So good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
