location: environment:home sweet flea infestation: I itch for you

a tale of two torrents

location: environment: home quiet; wet calm
 metrinome of leaking eaves on window
 ceased for a time, noted by the stillness.
 water is turned off and the tree's can exhale,
a fog thick as smoke, makes the cloud forest breathe.
watch for when the wind picks up
changes directions and howls
 tap tap tap drop drips on the roof
both yesterday and today, got caught in the rain
caught stuffing whatever is left of summer in pockets
backpacks bustled full with basil and green tomatoes
hopes of tomorrow show a rosy ripening
no where to go but-relent & get wet-
 when the tempo swings up with a beat down
hair slicked on necks and faces
vision blurred
 by rivutlets or streams
running down hill
refuge comes after a meandering of puddles
that can only be fully realized while compltely soaked
to be dry barely a memory just minutes prior
once engulfed we all know, ya ain't got nothing to loose
so we dance down the street like ducks quaking
giggles and cuddles dried by body heat
taking a nap
just because you can 

EDIBLE GLITTER

location: environment:
EDIBLE GLITTER


1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of food coloring *

* You can buy organic Food Coloring

baking sheet

350 degrees 5- 10 mins

basement suburbs

location: environment: basement suburbs
Coloring Eggs with Natural Dyes Bluish-Gray: Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water, bring to room temperature, and remove blueberries. Blue: Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. ...vinegar. Let cool to room temperature and remove cabbage with a slotted spoon. Jade Green: Peel the skin from 6 red onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar. Faint Green-Yellow: Peel the skin from 6 yellow apples. Simmer in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer 4 oz. chopped fennel tops in 1-1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Orange: Take the skin of 6 yellow onions and simmer in 2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 3 tsp. white vinegar. Faint Red-Orange: Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Rich yellow: Simmer 4 oz. chopped carrot tops in 1-1/2 cups water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Mustard-yellow: Stir 2 tsp. turmeric into 1 cup boiling water; add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Various shades: Steep 4 bags of chamomile or green tea in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes. Pale yellow: Chop 4 oz. goldenrod and simmer in 2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Faint yellow: Simmer the peels of 6 oranges in 1-1/2 cups water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. vinegar. Brown-Gold: Simmer 2 Tbsp. dill seed in 1 cup water for 15 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Brown: Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup strong coffee. Faint pink: Chop 4 oz. amaranth flowers and simmer in 2 cups water; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Simmer the skins from 6 avocados in 1-1/2 cup water for 20 minutes; strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar. Mix 1 cup pickled beet juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Dark pink: Cut 1 medium beet into chunks and add to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. vinegar and let cool to room temperature; remove beets. Lavender: Mix 1 cup grape juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Red: Try various combinations of: Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Canned Cherries with Juice Pomegranate Juice Raspberries Orange: Try various combinations of: Yellow Onion Skins (boiled) Carrots (boiled) Paprika Chili Powder Yellow: Try various combinations of: Chamomile Tea Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled) Celery Seed (boiled) Ground Cumin (boiled) Ground Turmeric (boiled) Green Tea Carrot Tops (boiled) Green: Try various combinations of: Spinach Leaves (boiled) Fresh Basil (boiled) Blue: Try various combinations of: Canned Blueberries Large Amount of Purple Grape Juice Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled) Violet Blue: Try various combinations of: Violet Flowers (no lemon juice) Red Onion Skins (boiled) Red Wine Hibiscus Tea Lavender: Try various combinations of: Small Amount of Purple Grape Juice Violet Flowers + 2 tsp Lemon Juice Red Zinger Tea bags (Celestial Seasoning brand) Supplies ■ About one dozen whitish eggs (depending on how many you want to dye—be sure to include extra for experimentation purposes!) ■ Dye ingredients (see above) ■ Large, nonaluminum pan for boiling ingredients and eggs ■ Wax crayons and rubber bands & stickers (for optional designs prior to dyeing) ■ 2 tablespoons white vinegar per quart of water ■ Rubber gloves to avoid having Easter egg-colored hands! ■ Slotted spoon for handling the eggs in hot water ■ Strainer ■ Egg carton(s) for drying ■ Recycled paper towels or cloth towels ■ Vegetable oil (optional) Generalized Instructions: Method 1— Hot Place eggs in a single layer in a large, nonaluminum pan. Add the dyeing ingredient of your choice—it’s best not to mix until you are comfortable with experimenting. Cover the eggs and other dyeing “agent(s)” with one inch of water. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar per quart to help the color adhere to the egg, and bring to a boil. Next, simmer for 20–30 minutes or until the desired shade is achieved. If you cook the eggs longer than 15 minutes, they will become rather tough. Method 2 — Cold The cold method is the same as the hot method with the following exception. Once ingredients have simmered 20–30 minutes (depending on desired shade), lift or strain the ingredients out of the water and allow the water to cool to room temperature though you may wish to try keeping the ingredients in the colored water to give the egg more texture as the dye will become concentrated in areas where the vegetable touches the egg. Submerge the eggs until the desired color is achieved. You may keep the eggs in the solution overnight as long as it is refrigerated.The longer the egg stays in the dye, hot or cold, the deeper the hue will be. Using vinegar will also help the color deepen. (If time is short, you can use fresh and frozen berries as “paints,” too—simply crush the berries against dry, boiled eggs!) Once satisfied with your creation, place the eggs in an egg carton to dry. If you like, rub vegetable or mineral oil onto the dried egg to create an attractive sheen. Sources: Better Homes and Gardens http://www.bhg.com/ http://ecocrazymom.com/natural-easter-egg-dye/ Photo by EcoCrazyMom ~ KatharineSee More

Homemade English Muffins 2 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp. quick rising yeast 1 tsp salt 2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing 2 TBSP cornmeal Pour 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water into a bowl, sprinkle over the yeast, and leave for five minutes to dissolve, stirring once. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well and pour in the yeast mixture and melted butter. Gradually stir in the flour to form a soft, pliable dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Shape it into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until dough is doubled in size. Lay a kitchen towel on a cookie sheet and scatter with most of the cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead briefly and divide into 10 balls. Place the balls on the towel and press them into flattish rounds. Sprinkle with the rest of the cornmeal and cover with another kitchen towel. Leave to prove {rise} for 20-30 minutes. Heat a large, lidded frying pan and cook the muffins in batches. With heat turned to medium low place several muffins in pan, cover with lid, and cook very gently for 10-12 minutes or until they puff and the undersides are a golden brown. Turn over and cook for another 3-4 minutes (with the lid on) until golden underneath. Cool on a wire rack.

in between spin cycles

location:environment: home: to think i missed my chance to document something important happening just so i could really be there my foggy nightmares of indigestion clicking and curious silences shifting focus dreaming goals all but clear vague buffet dinners miraculously made sit still warm on the table place mats cover any stray crumb loaves of bread sliced sideways buzzing motorboats underfoot circling the eternal sandwich

bees

location:couch, christmas tree lights and the sound of rain melting the snow. environment:midnite- midmorning solitude313am * Bees perform a valuable service for the flowers from which they steal. morality is certainly worth losing sleep to ponder. more and more i seem to get carried away in these old fashioned moral bottlenecks that i used to leave me cold. instead of mellow me out age has seemed to make me more high strung and anxious. Nowadays i worry like my mother, about things that are highly unlikey, you know like floods and mass murder. since these things do happen i suppose it might make sense to systmaticaly play out worse case scenerios and give your reaction time a booster, but i tend toward the thinking that to constantly think some specific outcome is to call it into being or even shall i go so far as to say to pray for it. that is where the moral side taking comes into the equation...i am left drawing straws at what i honestly know to be true in my heart of heart or what i have been been told.