Loving You - Libations Friday! 20 Nov 2009

From Denny: Sometimes, it’s a good idea to think back on a relationship to see how it began and what makes it work well. There are a lot of opinions about what it takes to have a great marriage as there are different styles of marriage. Somehow, as lately I've been hearing about various friends and work acquaintances divorcing because of life's stresses, it caused me to reflect upon my own relationship.



Loving You

When we first married you nurtured me back to trusting
You held me, comforted me and restored my confidence in others.
You helped me heal deep soul wounds so I could truly live again.

You were patient loving me when you were not a patient man.
You were obvious about loving when you were a shy introspective man.
You supported and encouraged though you had never known abuse.

Over the years we saw changes around us in the world and inside us.
We continued to laugh a lot and often; we kissed daily our morning hello.
When we parted for work, we blew kisses at each other and “I love you too.”



As I strengthened I became your anchor in the storms of Life, returning your Love.
Job loss was greeted as “So, who cares? We will carve out another."
Financial dips of income from one year to the next was met with “We will rebuild.”

When severe illness visited our doorstep we pulled together and survived.
When disappointments harangued us we swept them away with the wind.
No matter what came at us, we pulled together and solved the problem.



Best friends and lovers, wife and husband, we have built a life time.
We have more than memories after decades of partnership and marriage.
We fell in Love at first sight as two old souls who suddenly recognized each other.

We fell in Love, stayed in Love - even through disagreements and misunderstandings.
We live in Love with a deepening relationship worth more than anything we could want.
What we want, we have: loving you…


Denny Lyon
Copyright 19 November 2009
All Rights Reserved


*** Thanks for visiting and come back often! Have a great weekend! :)



Photo Credits

Heart Photo by suchitra prints @ flickr

Wedding Ring Photo by Hammer51012 @ flickr

Bride descending the staircase photo by tostadophoto.com @ flickr

Bridal couple in the ocean photo by millzero @ flickr

Libations Friday! 12 June 2009

Photo by once and future @ flickr

From Denny: With the economy still in the dumps along with our wallets, this video can perk up the coffee lovers. Demoed is the less expensive way to get that coveted coffee experience we no longer can afford on a daily basis like we used to do. There are quite a large variety of coffee makers available for any budget.

Sitting on the table is one of my favorite coffee companies, Gevalia, from Sweden. Every flavor they make is carefully considered, tested and just plain awesome! We are big fans of the French Vanilla flavor when we want a flavor coffee in our house. They carry coffees from various coffee houses in Europe like Café Sperl in Vienna, Austria, a coffee house still remembered with affection. Clearly, this video also demonstrates how there is still a huge market for coffee consumption!

Video: Be Your Own Barrista

“David Gregg from Behindthebuy.com demonstrates to Harry Smith a variety of home baristas so that designer coffee experience doesn't have to burn a hole in your pocket.”


Watch CBS Videos Online

From the Café Moto site comes our coffee drink recipes for this week. Their funny motto over there is “we drink all we can; the rest we sell.” You really need to check out this site!

Most of us love Café Latte. I like the way they describe the process. Find out the practical tips of how good coffee is achieved in the following offerings!



Photo by Joshua Reppeneker @ flickr

ESPRESSO

We'll put this one first as it is the basis of most coffee drinks.

RISTRETTO: "Short pour." Usually 1 ounce for a single and two for a double. The original Italian espresso.

LUNGO: "Long pour." This is the typical American espresso and is 1.25 ounces for a single and 2.5 ounces for a double.

CAFÉ LATTE

Steam 12 to 14oz. milk between 120 F. and 140 F. Prepare a single or double espresso. Pour espresso into cup and then tilt the cup and pour the milk slowly down the side. This lifts some of the espresso to the top of the cup and gives it a swirled, marbleized appearance. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon.

ESPRESSO CON PANNA

Espresso topped with whipped cream.

From Denny: I love the name of this one; sure made me laugh! Also, it’s a great lead-in to my silly poem. Maybe I can claim I was drinking a Hammerhead coffee when I wrote it…?

HAMMERHEAD

An American creation meant to get you wired fast and furious, hence the reference to the shark. Good, strong coffee poured over two shots of fresh espresso. Leave room for cream. Usually ordered by very fast talkers with jittery eyes.

Now for the poetry section, or should I say, silly poetry section:

Do you ever just want to jot down something utterly silly, total nonsense, of not much redeeming cultural value yet somehow it just must be significant? I mean, after all, we are all great writers of soon-to-be historical mention, right? OK, probably not, but it’s fun to dream on…

I talked about anagrams this week. As a writer I do like to play with my words like little kids play with their food (future artists at play). Every now and then I like to play with words in a visual sense where the poem only looks good on paper. Reading it out loud is fine but the auditory loses out for the finer shades of meaning only viewed visually. I like to play with words that sound alike but are not the same subject.



Photo by k0a1a.net @ flickr

Ditties are good for the soul; they help loosen up any emotional rigidity or the results of a bad day. In the following little ditty I played with the sound of the words “I, eye and aye (archaic word for yes).” Creating this little poem was a lot like reading those old vaudeville jokes of “who’s on first?” It’s a short-cut reference, using the sport jargon of baseball, and about the confusion that can happen in a conversation when you don’t know who exactly is being referenced when the speaker uses “him” or “her.”

You could read this poem on a couple of levels, like a philosophy student, or even as a conversation with God or just as silly fun. There is nothing more fun than writing on several levels simultaneously, sort of like playing multi-dimensional chess. The more simply you write, often the more meaning can be packed into it. Also, people can enjoy it on any level.

Life is like that: take a chance, make some choices and live out loud. Choose a word you enjoy, inject a little humor and you are off to the poetry races! Have some fun!



Photo by zedzap @ flickr (such a cool photo!)


Eye I


She eyed me
I eyed Him
He eyed Us

We saw

Eye: aye
Now
You see 2
Who saw whom?

I eye: aye



Denny Lyon
Copyright 13 September 2008
All Rights Reserved

Have a good weekend, everyone! Live out loud!

Libations Friday! 5 June 2009

Frozen expresso yogurt and ginger candied coffee cake recipes - and an original poem thrown in for good measure to start your weekend!

From Denny: Welcome to Libations Friday! This expresso frozen yogurt recipe looked so easy and cooling in the early summer heat. After you read the poem you will laugh a second time as to my choosing this frozen recipe. Some people get “after taste” when they dine; you will get “after chuckle” when you read! :)

Both recipes are quick and easy, perfect for the weekend! The coffee cake answered my question of what to do with all that crystallized candied ginger I buy from time to time during the holiday season – and then wonder what’s next…

Low-fat Expresso Coffee Frozen Yogurt

“Only lightly sweetened, this yogurt is good as is, but perhaps is better with a dash of chocolate syrup over the top. - John Kessler”

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hands on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strong espresso, cooled

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 quart plain yogurt


Instructions:

In a bowl, combine espresso, sugar and yogurt until smooth. Churn in ice cream maker until thick like soft-serve ice cream, about 20 minutes depending on the machine.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 124 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 4 grams protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 4 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 57 milligrams sodium.



Pear Ginger Coffee Cake

From: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Perfect for: Breakfasts, brunches, coffees, meetings, office gatherings.

Make and take: Bake ahead of time, cover pan with foil and serve at room temperature.

Made famous by Maralyn Christoffersen of Atlanta, who got it from the Penzeys’ Spices catalog. "I served it at my book club and everybody wanted the recipe," she said.

Candied ginger adds just a touch of zing to this tender cake.”

Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Serves: 15


Ingredients:

Granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups diced (1/4 to 1/2 inch) and peeled pears

1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (or 1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon)

2 to 4 tablespoons crystallized (candied) ginger, finely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray with cooking spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and dust with granulated sugar, if desired. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, salt and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Alternately add the flour mixture in two parts with the buttermilk, beating a minute or two after each addition.

Fold in the pears. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon sugar and the ginger and sprinkle on top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving; serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
Total time includes 20 minutes of cooling time before serving.

Tip: Although pear goes especially well with candied ginger, you can also substitute apples or berries for the pears. For best flavor, says Christoffersen, use real butter and whole buttermilk.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 209 calories (percent of calories from fat, 29), 3 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 30 milligrams cholesterol, 184 milligrams sodium.

Now on to the poetry portion of Libations Friday!


Bitter Romance in the Garden

A parable about relationships and humor found after a bitter romance.



Moody twilight rolled down the hilly sky

Lush garden welcomed me softly.

The lover looked on in secret;

Seductively, he whispered on the wind.



He escaped my notice;

Perfumed rose breezes distracted.

Pleasant, ending of the day.



Not seen, he brushed lightly my wrist, more;

I turned to see whose touch, no one.

The twilight lay down to sleep deep night.

I retired to my curving bed, wondering,

Who was that secret lover, unseen?



Next day at first light, I awakened.

At once, I knew that bitter lover, his name:

Poison Ivy.

You, cad, you.



Two weeks later, remembering,

Wearing, enduring your caustic kiss.

Decadent baths three times daily,

Soak away your incendiary romance,

Cooling the passion of your

Whispered, burning kiss.



No summer’s friend,

Liar in the garden,

False promising, secret lover,

Nature’s sneaky misfit,

Poison Ivy,

You, cad, you.


Beware that bitter garden romance…



Denny Lyon
Copyright 4 June 2009
All Rights Reserved


Thanks for visiting, everyone! Have a great weekend; keep laughing!

Coffee Photo by once and future @ flickr
Garden Photo by Athena's Pix @ flickr

Twitter and Poetry

From Denny: Now I'm remembering why I quit trying to post in real time... the internet is clogged and have been waiting 30 minutes just to post this little note!

I try to make sure at least one post is up per day by scheduling it in the middle of the night when things are quieter on the internet. That doesn't always work as when I wake up to check if things posted correctly I still have to manually publish some posts on various blogs that didn't go up like they were supposed to. It's more fun to post in real time!

Anyway, on to Twitter. Still learning my way around there as it's like walking into a Marti Gras crowd at the height of the season! :)

I learn a lot every time I log on over there. What makes it easier to keep from getting overwhelmed is to get the free software TweetDeck that is still in beta (a work in progress, creating improvements). If you don't have it; get it as it's free too! You can tweet from your own computer without logging on to the Twitter page, saving time and frustration. Simple and very user friendly.

Also, learned a new tidbit for navigating around there: Go to the Twitter search area and type in the hash mark, #haiku, and up pops all the tweets about or done in haiku poetry! What fun! Give it a try!

Forms of Poetic Expression: Haiku

Photo by morbuto @ flickr


"Three unrhymed lines of poetry, which have five, seven, and five syllables respectively, compose the haiku, a form that usually presents seasonal, natural imagery in a minimalistic but meaningful way.

At the same time that Shakespeare was writing his sonnets and plays, the form we call haiku had begun to take root in Japan. Haiku evolved from the initial verse, or hokku, of longer, linked verse called renga na haikai, which was written jointly by poets at social gatherings or on ceremonious occasions.

One poet would start the verse with a few lines, then another would contribute the next few, and so forth. Renga na haikai written during ceremonies might contain thousands of verses contributed by many different poets in turn.

The hokku, often striking in its imagery, consisted of three phrases; eventually, people began to regard this initial verse as a poetic form in its own right, distinct from renga na haikai. By the nineteenth century, the word “haiku” (a hybrid of hokku and haikai) had come into use.

Traditionally and ideally, a haiku presents a pair of contrasting images, one suggestive of time and place, the other a vivid but fleeting observation. Working together, they evoke mood and emotion. The poet does not comment on the connection but leaves the synthesis of the two images for the reader to perceive. -- Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature."

Fun Little Poetry Site

New Addition to Blog/Site List:

Poetic Creations by Joanne Olivieri of Haiku and Senryu poetry. The little whimsical poems literally dance on the page. Take a look and enjoy!

Photo by marbuto @ flickr