Francesca Forrest's Blog, page 99

convenience-store resolutions

(Which, one hopes, aren't resolutions of convenience...)

I went into a convenience store on January 1 to buy a bottle of red wine, and the guys at the counter and I had a round of happy-new-year wishes, and I said something like, "May it be a good one," and then one of the guys said,

"Yeah, my resolution this year is not to settle." Good resolution, I thought (though--because I'm constitutionally unable to keep from putting riders and qualifications on statements like this--I think "settling" i...

mist on the last day of the year

Here is mist, sifted through a screen:



And here is mist, unmediated:



Today, on the other hand, is bright and sunny. The sun makes the snow sparkle and the crow's wings shine:

seriousness and silliness

"Their rapt immersion evokes a familiar resentment in me"
I remember the ninja girl telling me about a scene in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, with everyone in the family in their own corner of the house, deeply engaged in their private pursuits. I remember at the time I felt implicated--she didn't mention it in an accusing way, just in passing--but still: it seemed to me even then something that we, as a family, were prone to.

So now I'm actually reading Fun Home (for book group), and I arrived at...

angel cookies

I only have made a few of these so far--just enough to take to my dad--but I hope to make more.

So... here are the cookies just baked. You can tell some got rolled thinner than others. You can maybe see that some of them have heads tipped up, some down, some with wings out, some with wing close to the body, etc. I also flipped two when I put them on the cookie sheet, which I don't usually do, but might try doing more of, because then they can face in different directions.



Here they are with wh...

What the instinct to apologize might be telling you

There are times when apologizing is absolutely the right thing to do--timewise, it's usually **after** you've done something hurtful or regrettable in some other way. If you find yourself wanting to apologize during the course of doing something--QUICK! STOP AND THINK! Because that instinct may be trying to tell you not to do whatever-it-is.

The thing about apologies after the fact is that it's too late to keep from doing the thing. You may resolve not to do it in the future, but whatever it...

miscellany

Angel
My mother had very elaborate Christmas cookies that she made with us kids: we made the recipe for sand tarts (a flat, roll-out cookie suitable for cookie cutters) from The Joy of Cooking, then iced the with almond-flavored white icing, then painted on them with very fine paint brushes and food coloring. (Some examples.) I have my own cookie cutters, but earlier this year my dad wanted to clear out the old ones we had as kids. I got the angel.



The great thing about cookies made with this...

"Do you have a story of heroism?"

The healing angel has an English assignment he really doesn't like: he has to have someone he knows tell him a story of personal heroism--they have to tell him about something they did that's heroic. It doesn't have to be capital-h heroic; it can be everyday heroism ... the point (if I understand it right) is to think about what heroism is and how it can be present in anyone's life.

We talked about it a while. What sparked in my mind was a world filled with heroes, how everyone surely does hav...

"Tell Them"

This morning I caught Living on Earth , a radio show about the environment. They were talking about the Paris Climate Conference, and their last segment was a poem, "Tell Them," by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, from the Marshall Islands. I was lying in bed--the radio was on in the kitchen, but my attention was pulled: soon I was listening intently. It's a long poem, and I don't think I should put the whole thing here without asking permission (you can read it here), but here are some parts that I espe...

Two encounters

A few days ago I went in to the nearby supermarket. I went to one cashier whom I like--we always chat a little. She's maybe in her thirties? You won't be able to tell from my sketch, though I'm pleased because it does kind of look like her. She has pretty intense cheekbones.

Anyway, it had been a few days since I'd been in, and when she saw me, she smiled and said, "Good to see you! I haven't seen you in a while!"

This made me so very happy.

Which is just to say, little friendships, or whatever...

A cup of chai

I told xjenavivex we should have a cup of chai today. It occurs to me that many of you might like one too. Tea is such a balm! I'm making this tea the way Jaspreet Kindra showed me when she visited. Jaspreet Kindra is one of my real-life heros--she's done world-class reporting... and she makes an excellent cup of chai.


First, peel a small piece of ginger, and then grate it (actually, Jaspreet grinds hers or pounds it, I think--but I have a grater, so that's what I used)


Then crack some cardamo...