Schemes Along the Scenic Route
Savoring a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, have you ever wondered if you could bake those cookie dough bits? Well, in 2004 I was nudged by the nutty idea, and I finally had to try it and yep--they actually turn into tiny, crisp cookies!
As the kids and I marveled at the silly success, we gobbled them in one gulp, feeling like giants.
{In contrast, the year before, my middle school son and I used to enjoy the "bake at home" 800-pound Gorilla cookies! Do they still exist in the freezer section, or have they become as mythical as Bigfoot? }
Thinking outside the box, like the time I was seven and tried baking a pan of brownies inside our big, hot, upright stereo console, the words "I wonder" have taken me down offshoot avenues I may never have stumbled. Hey, inventors would never get a thingamajig to work if they kept their ideas hidden under a hat, right? So let out your schemes; the crazier, the better!
In the early 70s, the stereo furniture brownies failed, but around the same age, my imagination soared. Since we lived in an apartment near a busy Connecticut street, we weren't allowed out much, so one winter day, I had a sure-proof plan that would have us making snow angels in no time.
"Let's throw our toys outside," I coaxed my younger brother. "Then Mom will make us go get them."
So, weee.. the playthings went flying from the second story window! It was brilliant and would've worked if Mom hadn't caught on and went to fetch them herself!
Creativity blooms out of boredom and limitations, {among other ways}, and around this time, I also made up characters for my brother and I to act out.
There was Karen, a superior girl who had things I wished I had, like a pair of coveted white sandals. "Karen" would clomp around the apartment with a square blue block stuck to her bare heels. Then there were Big Cat and Little Cat Hernandez, brothers I think, and a girl named Denise,
First grade, in the middle of my schoolwork, I'd often stop and stare into space. My fluffy brain must've begun development way back then, but I don't remember what drifted my attention away. Mom had to meet with my teacher because of this daydreaming dilemma. Maybe my stare off into space was thinking how best to solve my work sheets, wishing I was someplace else, or craving those sandals I so wanted!
We had early bedtimes so being tucked in at 7 pm, especially in the light of summer, it was hard to fall asleep right away. One night or early morning, I saw an object down the hall. The more I squinted and tried to figure out what it was, the more a shape appeared. And the more my mind became convinced it was a real mouse in a toy car! I even tried calling it. "Here, Mousie, Mousie." But it wouldn't zoom toward me. Finally, I got up to use the bathroom, and inspected up close. Turns out it was just a sneaker.
Early on, my imagination kept me delusional and entertained. haha. No wonder I became a writer.
I've had some half-baked ideas, perceptions, and committed off-the-wall antics thanks to an inquisitive mind! If you've read the eclectic array of blog posts here or any of my books, you're probably not surprised.
One way to enjoy life is looking at the world through wonderful, wonky lenses. And I don't just mean my purple, lace-scalloped eyeglasses I can't read a thing without!
My abstract mind also sees animation in mundane objects. Hearts, crosses, and funny faces appear. Do you see them too?
I'm amused by the expressions on back of cars, faucet handles on sinks, and in the grocery store while selecting potatoes, I realized I was holding one that resembled a cartoon character with bugged "eyes" on each side and an indented half smile.
The other day I poured honey into my tea and before I stirred it, the foam mingled, creating a stylish women's face winking with long white hair. Other times the foam looks like a ghost.
And at the risk for an invitation to the funny farm, one night from a certain angle, my bathmat shag was brushed in such a way, I saw Jesus with his long hair and facial fuzz. He seemed to be holding a cup and saucer and staring at it in surprise. Perhaps he saw a ghost in his teacup too.
As the kids and I marveled at the silly success, we gobbled them in one gulp, feeling like giants.
{In contrast, the year before, my middle school son and I used to enjoy the "bake at home" 800-pound Gorilla cookies! Do they still exist in the freezer section, or have they become as mythical as Bigfoot? }
Thinking outside the box, like the time I was seven and tried baking a pan of brownies inside our big, hot, upright stereo console, the words "I wonder" have taken me down offshoot avenues I may never have stumbled. Hey, inventors would never get a thingamajig to work if they kept their ideas hidden under a hat, right? So let out your schemes; the crazier, the better!
In the early 70s, the stereo furniture brownies failed, but around the same age, my imagination soared. Since we lived in an apartment near a busy Connecticut street, we weren't allowed out much, so one winter day, I had a sure-proof plan that would have us making snow angels in no time.
"Let's throw our toys outside," I coaxed my younger brother. "Then Mom will make us go get them."
So, weee.. the playthings went flying from the second story window! It was brilliant and would've worked if Mom hadn't caught on and went to fetch them herself!
Creativity blooms out of boredom and limitations, {among other ways}, and around this time, I also made up characters for my brother and I to act out.
There was Karen, a superior girl who had things I wished I had, like a pair of coveted white sandals. "Karen" would clomp around the apartment with a square blue block stuck to her bare heels. Then there were Big Cat and Little Cat Hernandez, brothers I think, and a girl named Denise,
First grade, in the middle of my schoolwork, I'd often stop and stare into space. My fluffy brain must've begun development way back then, but I don't remember what drifted my attention away. Mom had to meet with my teacher because of this daydreaming dilemma. Maybe my stare off into space was thinking how best to solve my work sheets, wishing I was someplace else, or craving those sandals I so wanted!
We had early bedtimes so being tucked in at 7 pm, especially in the light of summer, it was hard to fall asleep right away. One night or early morning, I saw an object down the hall. The more I squinted and tried to figure out what it was, the more a shape appeared. And the more my mind became convinced it was a real mouse in a toy car! I even tried calling it. "Here, Mousie, Mousie." But it wouldn't zoom toward me. Finally, I got up to use the bathroom, and inspected up close. Turns out it was just a sneaker.
Early on, my imagination kept me delusional and entertained. haha. No wonder I became a writer.
I've had some half-baked ideas, perceptions, and committed off-the-wall antics thanks to an inquisitive mind! If you've read the eclectic array of blog posts here or any of my books, you're probably not surprised.
One way to enjoy life is looking at the world through wonderful, wonky lenses. And I don't just mean my purple, lace-scalloped eyeglasses I can't read a thing without!
My abstract mind also sees animation in mundane objects. Hearts, crosses, and funny faces appear. Do you see them too?
I'm amused by the expressions on back of cars, faucet handles on sinks, and in the grocery store while selecting potatoes, I realized I was holding one that resembled a cartoon character with bugged "eyes" on each side and an indented half smile.
The other day I poured honey into my tea and before I stirred it, the foam mingled, creating a stylish women's face winking with long white hair. Other times the foam looks like a ghost.
And at the risk for an invitation to the funny farm, one night from a certain angle, my bathmat shag was brushed in such a way, I saw Jesus with his long hair and facial fuzz. He seemed to be holding a cup and saucer and staring at it in surprise. Perhaps he saw a ghost in his teacup too.
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