Authors Game Cards

My trip was wonderful. Along the way though, I had found a few things that reminded me of my youth…and was weird, coincidental, or just plain wonderful.

Before my traveling friend and I got to one of our destinations in Concord, Massachusetts, I told her my story about a deck of playing cards that I had when I was little; I was around 9 or 10. The deck of cards was not just playing cards but they included a number of famous authors and the books that each wrote.

After going into the Old North Bridge Visitors Center in Concord, Massachusetts, I wandered around the little gift shop. Lo and behold, I stopped in front of a shelf and there to my utter surprise was that deck of Authors Card Game! It was exactly the same deck that I had as a child. Of course I bought them. Later when we went back to the place where we staying, I opened the box up.

Besides playing cards, one can play a game about the author’s and what books they wrote. The Author’s included were: Mark Twain, David Copperfield, Robert Louise Stevenson, William Shakespeare, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry W. Longfellow, Sir Walter Scott, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Edgar Allan Poe, and only one woman, Louise May Alcott!

When I first had these cards as a little kid, I knew that I wanted to read every book that the author’s wrote. But more importantly, it inspired me to want to be a writer. I also wanted, one day, to be included in the deck of Author’s Cards.

Still hoping J!

Paintings at Vassar

I was looking forward to my trip to Rockport, Massachusetts. My traveling friend is great at planning our itinerary and I always looking forward to seeing and doing everything that is on our list. I always told her that she should be a travel agent because she is great at what she does.

Our first stop was to Vassar College to see the college museum, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. I thought that we would find a small gallery and see a few art pieces from their collection but boy was I in for a shock! Their art collection and art center was top notch!

First let me say, that for some time I have been struggling with religion but when I stood in from of the artist, Francesco de Mura’s delicate and exquisite paintings…something stirred inside of me. The quietness and beauty of his Madonna, with her rosy cheeks, holding her baby, Jesus moved me. I loved de Mura’s use of colors – they were deeper and more striking then his own master and mentor, Francesco Solimena.

Francesco de Mura was an Italian painter during the late-Baroque period. About one third of de Mura’s work was destroyed along with other paintings, sculpture, books, manuscripts, and 200 citizens who took refuge in the Italian Abbey of Monte Cassino. The American bombs were largely responsible for the destruction.

Some of his work that survived was now on loan at the Vassar Museum and I know that the story of what was lost and seeing his paintings left a big impression on me.

Other paintings that were in the museum included the Hudson River Painters (one of my personal favorite groups). I also found paintings by Picasso, O’Keefe, van Kooning, Muro, Hartley and a number of others

If you are ever around Vassar, the museum is free. Stop in and view these glorious painting gems at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center on the campus of Vassar College. I was lucky to have a friend plan our first stop there. This was the first day of my trip and I can’t wait to see what the other days bring!

Play grounds

Thank heavens for play grounds. When I babysit my grandchildren, I usually like to take them to the park to play. They love being outdoors and playing on the slides, swing set, climbing around the play sets, or playing in the sand.

After rubbing sun screen on them, I unleash them to play. It is amazing how quickly the time goes by when we are in the park! They spend a lot of time in the sand with all the trucks, cars, shovels and pails. Then they play on the swings or go down the slides.

If we can’t go to the park – my back yard is where they play. There are a few riding toys on the basketball court. They have access to a swing set or to the riding toys. They also can play in the little plastic play houses or the small slide.

In between they can draw with the chalk or blow bubbles, or collect acorns and pine cones. If they get tired, they can go and lie down on my rope hammock and relax.

Being outside is healthy and fun for both my grandchildren and me. Besides it does make the time go by faster.

Margarita Cupcakes

Fine…I did what I was supposed to do in the Kitchen. The Chef had everything portioned and set out. She asked me to mix the cupcakes and bake them because she had to bring some of the pastries down to the Deli and pick up a food order.

I did what I was told and everything was running smoothly…so I thought. Then I used the correct sized ice cream scooper to drop the cupcake batter into the sprayed cupcake liners. On the first scoop, the spring flew out of the scooper and I was left with the batter. I couldn’t find any of the same sized scoopers, so I did the best that I could. All the cupcakes were supposed to look uniformed. Since one cannot rotate cupcakes or cakes because the batter will fall…I just paid more attention until they were baked. When the cupcakes were done, I pulled them out of the oven, and I didn’t burn them…I bet you thought that I was going to say I burned them? But I didn’t.

The whole time I was worried about what the Chef would say…all that time I was struggling with my own acronym –IBF – and I don’t need to tell you, you can figure it out yourself.

When the Chef came back and saw the cupcakes and the cookies that I had backed she said, “They look great!”

Yay…all’s well in my world!

I Hate Those Damn Commercial Ovens!

I like to do the baking at my daughter’s catering kitchen because it leaves me in a ‘sweet mood.’ But I hate her commercial ovens!

No matter what I do, I have to make sure the oven is set to a lower than normal temperature. If I don’t pay total attention to whatever I’m baking, it burns or gets way too brown for my daughter, the Chef.

I have to rotate the sheet pans, constantly. If I’m baking cookies – I rotate the trays every four minutes, and then freak out if the cookies on the outside look browner then the other cookies. My daughter’s tip is that whenever I think the cookies need to bake one minute more – that’s when I need to pull them out of the oven because they will still bake on the hot sheet tray.

Her other tip – if you smell the cookies while they are in the oven, they are burnt! Great advice but what if you have a stuffed nose?

Like I said – I like to bake but I hate to be the one who burns the cookies, or scones, or whatever else I’m in charge of at the moment.

Yet, I am good at rotating the sheet trays. And the fear of burning and the fear of the Chef  –  keeps me focused and on my toes!