Happy Birthday, Nana

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
This grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

For God has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

John Newton, Olney Hymns, 1779

I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living. — Anaïs Nin

Ce Que Mon iPhone Voit (What My iPhone Sees)

Picture from my favorite childhood book "Gwendolyn the Miracle Hen"

Me and some guy who looks like Bradley Cooper (...so they say)

Anemones outside of our house (not to be confused with sea anemones, where Nemo lives...ok, ok, kid, don't hurt yourself)

Currants and blueberries with yogurt

Insane grilled smoked shrimp from Barbuzzo

Paper flower window display at Anthropologie Rittenhouse Square

 

P.S. - does anyone know if the "i" in iPhone stands for intelligent? As in an intelligent (smart) phone? Let's add that to the Question Book of Life which has been an ongoing writing project in the back corner of my mind since roughly the time that I was like, eh, conceived. Also in there, is hair actually dry under water?  I plan to present my Question Book of Life to whomever maybe standing there at the pearly gates when I flutter in (Dumbledore? Morgan Freeman? Yoda?) and saying, sweetly, "So if I can't get in there right away, do you mind if I work with someone on these questions as a research project in the meantime? I'm really good with excel."

And then I think to myself, maybe there are some things in life we are not supposed to know in this time period; because the mystery is somehow humbling and humanizing and grounding.

Impose ta Chance

Impose ta chance, serre ton bonheur et va vers ton risque. A te regarder, ils s'habitueront.

- René Char, Les Matinaux (1950)

Translation by Elizabeth Bard:

Impose your chance, hold tight to your happiness and go toward your risk.

Looking your way, they'll follow.

Banana Cupcakes

This past weekend at the shore, we had some visitors at our family house. Serendipitously, we also had three bananas in freckled, brown pajamas lying on the counter awaiting their eventual transmutation into what would become some kind of sweet treat for my brother's two friends. I contemplated. Heard Jack Johnson in my head. Remembered fondly a taste from several months ago. I began to page through a wilted, well-worn copy of the Joy of Cooking, unmasked from a catch-all junk drawer stocked with odds and ends my Nana used to collect along with rubberbands, hairpins, takeout menus, a ball of fisherman's string, mini water-guns (you never know...) When I landed on the Banana Cake recipe I knew I had found a winner, which I decided to turn into cupcakes once I realized we didn't have the right cake pans.

The closest recipe I could find online that was similar to the one I used is this one. I used butter (not margarine), 2% Greek yogurt, and added chocolate chips and walnuts to some of the cupcakes. I also had to adjust the cooking time slightly since I think cupcakes bake much faster. The recipe for the cake called for 30 minutes but I took them out after 20. They were a bit tougher and chewier than I would have liked so I would suggest taking them out sooner if you plan on making them.

Everyone seemed pretty pleased with the outcome. Even the bananas. I think they'd be happy to know that their time on earth was not in vain; in fact, they were able to reproduce a lovely batch of a dozen and a half babies.

Visual Language With Your Hands

 

 

I had some dreams...

...they were clouds in my sunglasses (next to my coffee)

Pop-pop making his Colombian brew from DiBruno's

(his gift from Mariana)

Tie-dye hibiscus saying hi

Steph and I

Roasted sweet potatoes and grilled summer squash wedges

A view of the bay from the marsh trees