Halloween...

TWO GHOSTS
X
LADIES IN WAITING
X
She sits in a straight backed chair,
slouching like Whistler's Mother.
Head to toe in black, she looks out
of the night window.
I wonder if she's the nurse.
In the ward there are no other children.
I call out, "Can you bring me some water"?
She turns to me and
I can't find her face.
x
She sits on the edge of my bed.
Her etched face is older
than I will ever be.
Unwinding the ashen strands
of pinned back hair,
she lets it float around her shoulders,
then smiles her white grin
as if she were a doll.
x
from: TWO GHOSTS/poems


Don't be afraid, smile, it's all an illusion.....
x
x
http://www.minblu.blogspot.com/

Play Date!

TODAY, A BRAND NEW PLAYGROUND IS OPENING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. ONE BLOCK AWAY, IT COULDN'T GET ANY BETTER. Oh, did I neglect to tell you the name of this playground? Sephora!! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sephora, it's a cosmetics emporium, one great place to sample, potchky around, dab a little here, smear a little there. Zip up that wrinkle, uplift that sag. Yes, lip plumpers, batting eyes, a pat of rouge, ingredients you can't pronounce to help you return to the days of dewy innocence.
x
I have informed friends and family that if I seem to have disappeared, they will find me in Sephora, dipping into collagen, or Shea butter, maybe a re-newing pat of hyaluronic acid. Is it time for blue eyeshadow yet...only kidding! What do you expect from someone who was born with a mascara wand in her hand? I always knew that wands lead to magic! That doesn't necessarily make me shallow.
x
First hundred customers win a prize...hmmm....
x
x
x
Recommended Film:
CACHE (HIDDEN)
4 Stars
2005/ French language
Director: Michael Haneke
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil
Mystery/ Thriller
A wealthy couple start receiving daily video tapes of themselves and phone calls that threaten to disrupt their lives. Trying to find who is stalking them leads to secrets from the past. Fascinating and unconventional. Best Director's Award at Cannes.

CHOCLAT SIN..#2

AS PROMISED, IT'S WEDNESDAY, CHOCOLATE INDULGENCE DAY. This is pretty simple..and if it's not, so what? It happens to be low in fat, but you can fatten it up if you wish.
x
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUDDING
x
Custard Layer:
x
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
1 cup + 2 tbls. evaporated fat- free milk
1 1/2 ounces semisweet baking chocolate
cooking spray
x
Cake Layer:
x
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup egg substitue (or 2 eggs)
1/4 cup applesauce (or 1/4 cup butter)
Fat free whipped topping or whipped cream
x
Preheat oven to 325 deg./ CUSTARD: Combine sugar, egg, stirring well with whisk. Heat milk, do not boil. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stir until chocolate melts. Add hot milk mix to sugar mix, stir with whisk.xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
POUR mixture evenly into 6 (4 oz.) ramekins or custard cups, coated with cooking spray. Place in baking pan, add hot water to pan to depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325 for 30 min., or until set. Remove and cool in pan for 30 min, then remove from pan and drain water.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CAKE LAYER: Place chocolate in small glass bowl. Microwave at high for 2 minutes or till almost melted. Set aside. Beat sugar and egg with a mixer until well blended . Add chocolate and applesauce(or butter) beat until well blended. Pour evenly over the custard layer. Place cups in baking pan. Add hot water to 1 inch. Bake at 325 for 20 min. Remove from pan. Let cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped topping or cream.
ENJOY!

Metta

METTA PRAYER/ PRAYER OF LOVINGKINDNESS
X
May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.
x
x
Metta Lovingkindness is the opposite of ill will.


www.minblu.blogspot.com

Rushing...

I KNOW

X

Now I know what dying is like.

A stream of air caressed my lips

rushing towards eternity.

x

Fingers stretched out

as white as tile

to balance

as I float an inch above the rest

and turn to ask,

where am I going?

x

Am I still here?

I drop back down to earth,

my knees most prayerful

before I stretch out to rest.

I look in the mirror. Still standing.

Undone, done. So ends the world.

x

And hit...return.

c copyright/ all rights reserved

x

x

http://www.minblu.blogspot.com/

Tasty Little Dip...

HERE'S A BIT OF HUMMUS WITH A TWIST. JUST AN ADDITION (CURRY) TO MAKE IT ZIPPIER! I myself will be doing some snacking this evening. This may not seem like baseball food, but it's what I intend to feast on as I watch,(from home), what I hope will be the clincher for the New York Yankees to take the pennant. But it's supposed to really rain with a vengeance tonight, doesn't look it now, all sunny and deceptive. So maybe the weather folks will be wrong. I look forward to that possibility. Anyway, I'll be eating little snick-snacks, and perhaps drinking some champagne, no matter what. Nothing wrong with that!

x

CURRIED HUMMUS

X

1 15 OZ. can chick peas/garbanzos, drained

1 clove minced garlic

1 small dried red pepper, crumbled, or sprinkling of red pepper flakes

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsps. curry powder

6 tbls. olive oil

salt and ground pepper

x

Place chick peas, garlic, pepper flakes, lemon juice, in food processor and blend. Add oil in a slow stream to contents until all is blended smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

x

Serve with pita crisps or crudities. Also makes a great sandwich when spread in pita pockets.

Add grilled or fresh vegetables.

x

Adapted from Epicurean Magazine.

Monday's Child.

THE NAME OF THIS POEM IS SELDOM REMEMBERED. IT IS:

X

MONDAY'S CHILD

x

Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child born on the Sabbath day is bonny and blithe and good each day.

x

x

Just a reminder that you might like to take a look at my other Blog, Minny Blue.

http://www.minblu.blogspot.com/

CHOCLAT SIN..#1

I WAS BORN ON A WEDNESDAY, AND HEARD AT A VERY EARLY AGE THAT WEDNESDAY'S CHILD IS FULL OF WOE. I've tried to dispel this image by acting as if I were Saturday's child instead. And for my own gratification, I've gone overboard in the matter of chocolate. Reliable , never failing chocolate. I have rewarded myself for having been born on a Wednesday in the best way I know.
x
I intend to devote Wednesdays to chocolate recipes, and I'll call these posts "Choclat Sin". I hope you try and enjoy the recipes I post!
x
Chocolate Bread Pudding
x
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 /2 cup sugar
6 tbls. butter or margarine
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbls. vanilla extract
1 loaf white bread, crusts trimmed
pinch of salt
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 pint heavy cream, whipped
x
Whisk the milk, eggs, salt and sugar in saucepan. Add butter and 1 cup chocolate chips and heat over low heat, stirring till chocolate melts. Stir in vanilla. Cut the bread into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Lightly coat 13 x 9 in. baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Place bread in dish and pour sauce over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or more, until all is absorbed. Heat oven to 325 deg. F. Remove plastic, sprinkle remaining chocolate chips and chopped pecans on top and bake for 45-50 min. or until set. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream. Serves 8.

Fawlty Towers

I JUST ORDERED A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR MYSELF. HOW ELSE TO BE SURE? Because this morning the most perfect choice popped up: FAWLTY TOWERS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION. All 12 episodes, from the first(1975) to the last (1979). Why does it seem like so many more? Could be my viewing habits: all reruns, all the time. But not frequently enough. Now that is about to change. I'm laughing already.

x

Basil Fawlty, played by the incomparable John Cleese is the proprietor of a rather run down hotel, Fawlty Towers, in Torquay. Cleese and Connie Booth, who plays Polly Sherman, co-wrote the show. Polly is a waitress, but her diverse activities show her to be the voice of sanity amidst the usual chaos at the hotel. Fawlty is usually at or over the boiling point. If he can blow his top, he always takes the opportunity to do so. With everyone, except the guests, who are subject to his obsequious insincerity.

x

Sybil Fawlty, ( Prunella Scales), is Basil's wife, usually overdressed with amazingly anti-gravitational hair. She's the reality check for Fawlty Towers, the brains that allows it to run at all. Basil has referred to her, because of her laugh, as " you rancorous, coiffured old sow". But never to her face.

x

And the beloved Manuel, (kisses to Andrew Sachs), as the always confused waiter from Barcelona. He hasn't really got a nodding acquaintance with the English language, poor soul answers each statement with que? what? Verbally and physically abused by Basil, he manages to always remain cheerful and enthusiastic for the next blow. Why is this funny? I'm not a sadist. Honestly. Slapstick of the highest or lowest order. No description by me can do this justice.

x

In a list of the 100 greatest British Television Programs in 2000, Fawlty Towers came in first. Merry Christmas to me!

Private Views.

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL INVITATION TO A PRIVATE VIEWING FOR FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM for the "Kandinsky" exhibit. I really do like when a chunk of time and space are allotted to members to avoid the "crowds". But this time is set aside for Sunday morning, Oct. 18, from 9-10 AM. Just enough time to glide down the famous ramp.
x
Now, I'm really not lazy, but this feels as if it might be just a tad too early to sort my "cultured" brain out. The truth is, I pass the Guggenheim every day on my morning walk. So stopping by is as simple as rolling out of bed. But the invitation is forcing me to pay attention. We'll see.
x
I am the luckiest person, having the great good fortune to live between the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum. A childhood dream and a promise to myself when I was about 11 years old, to live as close to the MMA as possible, is just about the only goal absolutely fulfilled. And totally grateful about that! So the fact is that I can drop in on the Kandinsky exhibit anytime. But it would be nice to have a "quiet walk through".


Vasily Kandinsky/ Composition IV
x
Without a doubt, I will take in a viewing of the over 150 works on paper and paintings of Vasily Kandinsky. He was one of the 20th Century's most influential and visionary artists whose themes explored landscapes, apocalyptic imagery, and religious subjects.
x
Not to be missed. I hope it doesn't rain.

Very Hot Chocolate

I AM SO IN NEED OF COMFORT TODAY. THE WIND IS DRIVING A VERY GREY RAIN against the window pane and even Milo seems to be shrugging his shoulders, asking, what is this, wasn't it just early autumn? Weren't the leaves showing off in multi- colored hues? But an hour ago they were flying across my face, sticking to my umbrella. Why is it suddenly winter..a very real 41 degrees..can't it wait another month? And that guy on TV just said possible snow. Impossible!
x
I will resist with the last ounce of my hot chocolate. I will take myself to a new level of pleasure. The only love I need now is a chocolate lovers kind. I'm immersing myself in the most intense, velvety depths I can reach. Want to come along?
x
Recipe for 1 for Premium Mocha:
x
4 level Tbsp. dark chocolate chips
1-2 oz. espresso
6 oz. of milk
x
Add 4 Tbsp. of the chocolate and 6 oz. milk to pitcher and heat gently till steamy hot. Stir and add espresso, pour into a beautiful cup (important). Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with ground chocolate or cocoa powder. If you wish, you can leave out the espresso. And make more than 1 serving. And cover the pitcher to keep it hot. Biscotti is really good with this.
x
Mmmmm.

Thank You, Willow!

This is me at the end of the night...Do I look plastered? I think not, despite what Count Ruprecht's been blabbing about! Crikies! Can't a girl have some fun? Party girl that I am, I'm still raring to go!
x
A MILLION THANKS AND AIR KISSES TO WILLOW FOR THE PARTY OF THE YEAR..So much PIZZAZZ , so much glamour, music, yummo food,
champagne..endless imagination..WOW...wouldn't have missed it for anything...and here are a few photos of the exceptional event.

A sip of the hair of the dog? Don't believe the fuddy duddy rumors you've heard ..remember, Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder! Just doing my bit to keep the planet green!

There was a line for the powder room, but everyone was so gracious and polite, waiting their turn. An opportunity to make new friends!

The Count snapped this picture of me as I rouged my lips. We were off to announce our engagement! I know that many hearts will be broken now that the Count is out of circulation!! And a couple of fellas may still have eyes for me! But carousing days are over...

Count Ruprecht finishing the sumptuous 10 course meal that was served on gold embossed china in the Versailles Suite. Here he is inviting Willow to join us on a cruise to the Bahamas aboard the royal yacht, the Triton. Say yes, Willow, oh please say yes!! After all, it's not every day that one gets the opportunity to travel with such an entourage! And don't be upset by the eyepatch Rupy is wearing..somehow he walked into his Mother.

Willow's Ball !

AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M HAVING A HECK OF A TIME TEARING MYSELF AWAY FROM MY DASHING BEAU, COUNT RUPRECHT von BRAUNSHWEIGER. AS A MATTER OF FACT WE INTEND TO ANNOUNCE OUR ENGAGEMENT AT YOUR SPLENDID BALL, WILLOW! You can catch a glimpse of the beautiful gown that Hubert ran up for me just this morning. A little off -the- shoulder number, pale blue to match Ruprecht's eyes. And heaps of flowers as our usual backdrop. But trust me..we'll be at the party in a New York minute!
x
x
We are so pleased to announce that the Count's mother will be among the guests we will be bringing to the ball. As you know, we(am I jumping the gun?) royals always travel with an entourage. I so adore Lady Danvers, she has a wicked sense of humor which I'm sure will tickle your fancy!
x
x
CHAMPAGNE FOR ALL! I've got armloads of the bubbly stacked up in the limo... Silly Ruprecht just loves to sip champagne from my Jimmy Choo's..sometimes he can't tell that I'm wearing sandals!

Another fun guest coming along will be Ruprecht's twin brother, Count Valmont von Braunshweiger, seen here relaxing. Sometimes they try to fool me, but I can tell the difference..Count Val always wears silk stockings! He is a bit of a roue', might just sweep you off your feet..don't say I didn't warn you!!

x

My side of the family. We are so close, with great affection for each other! Whenever I turn around, there they are! They are the traveling Ballet Russe de Smirnoff and will joyfully entertain you and your guests with a condensed version of Swan Lake. What a treat! Donations accepted.

WILLOW! TO A GREAT HOSTESS!! I toast you and thank you for the splendid Ball you are giving.. you are indeed to the Manor born! What a swell party it is!!

In Love...

IN LOVE WITH BEAUTY
X
Beauty makes a fool of us all
it halts the breath's flow
in a seizure of desire
and that fatal allure
x
It halts the breath's flow
I swoon from so much splendor
and that fatal allure
love and longing find me again....
x
x
From "Two Ghosts", poems
c copyright/ all rights reserved
x
x
ASLEEP
X
Don't wake.
Let me stare at you as you dream...
the bedroom
dark blue at dawn,
the sun still hiding
below the polestar.....

Another Epiphany.

BEST OF ALL
x
How many epiphanies
do I have to stumble through,
proclaim with certainty that this is it?
x
I knew each one to be the truth,
bearing such radiance,
x
being, after all
the absolute revelation
that sparkles with blinding points of light,
passed along from God to perfect soul.
x
I always keep the faith
from daybreak
till end of day
when folly tiptoes in and shakes my serenity
x
and I tend to let drift
downstream
the perfect wisdom
that brought a contented beam to my lips
for at least seventeen hours.
x
Today is such a day...
I really walked a glowing path,
uncertainties are finally shed,
I hold a rose whose heart is known,
and best of all,
twenty-two hours have past.
x
x
c copyright/ all rights reserved

Milo and St.Francis..

EACH OCTOBER, INCLUDING THIS YEAR ON OCT. 4, 2009, thousands of people flock to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in NYC, with a huge array of animals. Pets of all descriptions, birds, rabbits, lizards, cats, dogs, this year even a camel, parade through the Church to be blessed during a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi. Four thousand lined up to enter this spectacle, which has become the largest animal blessing in the world.

Wanting to make things easier for myself, I decided to take advantage of this Episcopal tradition at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, which is so much more convenient to me, being across from the park, just a couple of blocks away from where I live. So I thought how special it would be to pack Milo into his snug carrier, and tote him off for some blessings. I sort of forgot that I would have to battle all nine of his lives to convince him that being zipped up in a claustrophobic chamber was a good idea.

There are docile pets who sweetly cuddle in the arms of loved ones. Under the best of conditions Milo isn't one of them. Not only did this scaredy cat not make it to the church on time, he reminded me what having claws is all about! What was I thinking? Maybe camels can make it to church, but an independent cat? Let it be known that St. Francis, gentle soul and hovering spirit, when summoned by a trembling supplicant (me, not Milo), laid calming hands on both of us. I am grateful to be rid of unreasonable desires, and Milo, happy enough to cough up a hair ball in peace.