Adopt!

Gerard Manley Hopkins

This is too good not to share, friends...I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Read it slowly.

God’s Grandeur

THE WORLD is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

[from Poems, 1918]

welcoming Gladys

Well, it's about time I introduced everyone to my new friend. Meet Gladys, the sassy blue dressform. We've been taking some time lately to get to know each other--check out the lovely corduroy blazer that she helped me finish this weekend.

I must say, she is the quietest roommate I've ever had. She never bothers me with idle, inane remarks. She stays in the spare bedroom for days on end, never eats my food, never has rowdy friends over, and never fails to leave a room as clean as she's found it. On top of that, she lets me stick her full of pins and spin her round and round without a single word of complaint.

In fact, if she were human, I'd be somewhat worried.

the dialectical swing of the universe

First formally introduced to this concept as a sophomore in college...in a class held in the basement of a chapel...at 8:30 in the morning...with a very intelligent, very monotonous lecturer...YAWN...I felt an instant connection, a sympathetic vibration of truth. "Ah!" said I, trying to keep my note-writing legible, "this is Truth." And I still think so.

Throughout recorded history, mankind has swung back and forth, from one extreme to another, like a pendulum. Of course, being a three-dimensional world, this is a three-dimensional pendulum. Every swing and back-swing goes in a slightly different direction--forward, sideways, back a little toward Jupiter. As this was a literature class, I first connected the concept to major literary and societal movements: Enlightenment to Romanticism to the Age of Reason. (Don't question me too closely--much of that knowledge has faded from my conscious brain.)

Once I'd absorbed this concept, and gotten a happy mark on that particular written exam, I waited for the idea to fade away...but it hasn't. Another place to see evidence of this swing can be found in the Old Testament--the book of Judges, for example. Check out those Israelites, yo! They praise and worship God, they fall away from God, disaster strikes and a hero is sent, they come back to God...they fall away from God...they come back to God...tick-tock, tick-tock.

The American political scene: tick-tock, tick-tock.

This could be very depressing but for the relentlessly optimistic idea I hold that each time we swing, each time we hit a new extreme and then run from it, we learn a little something. We're not just repeating history verbatim.

I don't know why I think of this now, except I've just had a moment of self-witness: I personally do this too. From one end to the other, swing swing swing. It sounds depressing, but it's not--if you can recognize that ol' pendulum swing. "If I just ride this out a bit," I say. "I'll balance." Voila!

Well, life and history are not quite that simple. I know. But I hold out for the learning of a little something-something. A little more awareness. A little more balance. And a little less of taking our extreme self-moments so seriously.

Now, if I could only stop my brain of thinking of "swings" and get back to business. But they flood my mind. Dance styles. Fashion. The Middle East. The popularity of espresso. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Ahh. Balance.

happy muffins

Well, ok, so...I know I haven't written in a while. I care, I really do. I'm just quite busy at the moment...

Sigh. No excuse. I know. Well, to placate until opportunity and inspiration collide, here's a fantastic muffin recipe for all to taste and rejoice. It's quite a bit healthier than the rest of the holiday hoopla we've been eating, and hopefully will help us wean ourselves away from the junk. Baby steps...

Banana Carrot Muffins

Combine: 1 ½ c. flour (I use 50/50 wheat/white)
¾ c. sugar*
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Set aside.

Separate: 2 eggs
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.

Beat egg yolks until light and lemon-colored, then mix in
1 tbs. honey
¼ tsp orange peel
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 c. shredded carrot (2 lg.)
½ c. unsweetened applesauce (*regular, is ok; just use less sugar)

Stir in dry ingredients until just moistened, then fold in egg whites.
Sling into muffin cups or greased muffin tins, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Then eat them all.