Friday Five: Word Associations

Songbird, who blogs at Reflectionary, just got back from a most excellent vacation. Today, as host of RevGalBlogPals Friday Five, she foldly remembers five words from that vacation and invites us to play "Word Association"!  Great idea!  Here are those words, with the first word that came to my mind: 

1) Airport - adventure

2) Baseball - Rangers

3) Art - children

4) Chocolate - heaven

5) Grill - party

Bonus: Tell us a story that comes to mind based on one of the word pairs.

ART - CHILDREN:  In my family of origin, there was not much emphasis on art.  We were all about the academics (dad was a high school principal, mom an English teacher) and I graduated from college as a science major, to become a med tech not a pastor, and thinking of "art" as an exotic thing for people who are not like me.

And then there were children!  I was blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home mom of three.  A most excellent thing about these children were that they were very responsive to play of all kinds.  Because it seemed like a fun thing to do, I kept an abundance of art supplies in the house, and on any given day, we were playing with play dough or finger painting or decorating the patio with sidewalk chalk.  My role was mostly the boundary-setter, encourager / art appreciator and cleaner-upper leader.

One day, I found the older two (at about ages 6 and 5) underneath the dining room table, painting the underside, Sistine Chapel style, with two bottles of White-Out liquid paper and the little brushes that come with it.

They are all grown up now, and all three are uniquely gifted artists and art savvy beyond what I ever could have imagined.  All are gifted writers.  All are culturally literate beyond my leading.  One is a beautiful dancer and draws; one is a writer by vocation (and does things that combine math and art!); and one has a great blog, crochets, and creates in the kitchen. 

I still keep art supplies handy, for any children who happen along and also for me.  Sometimes a girl just needs to get out the crayons or the water colors and have some fun!

Back to School Book Week: Cookbooks

My first cookbook

Eren at This Vintage Chica cooked up Back to School Book Week and today is Cookbook Day.

I share with you my very first cookbook.  I still have this 1957 edition of Betty Crocker's Cook Book for Boys and Girls that I must've received on some birthday in the early 60's.  My favorite recipe was the Whiz Cinnamon Rolls ("sweet and spicy and so pretty") and I made them every chance I got.  Thus began my love of cinnamon rolls and the joy of cooking as a young child.

I have an odd memory about those cinnamon rolls.  One Saturday, we went over to my dad's parents' house for breakfast.  There must have been a special reason, because Saturday was not a day that we ever went over there, and never for breakfast.  Sensing it was a special day, I got up extra early to make my cinnamon rolls to take along.  I distinctly remember my dad apologizing for the cinnamon rolls, and I remember my grandmother being totally delighted with them!

This is a small picture of a great big generational change that happened during those years.  For my parents' generation, there were wonderful new choices of new, packaged, ready-made things -- like cinnamon rolls -- that were more uniform and predictable and certainly easier than my modest home-baked offering.  For my grandparents' generation, nothing was pre-packaged, not even the Bisquick that was the main ingredient of my "from scratch" cinnamon rolls.

A New Lullaby, For Children of Any Age

I have been looking for a new lullaby or two.  Thanks to Witch Mom for introducing me to this beautiful song! I can't imagine ever outgrowing being nurtured and loved by hearing this song sung to me:

This is Roy Bailey singing "Everything Possible"
Words and music by Fred Small, who pastors a Unitarian Universalist church


 Everything Possible

We've cleared off the table, leftovers saved
Washed the dishes and put them away
I've told you a story and tucked you in tight
At the end of your knockabout day

As the moon sets her sails to carry you to sleep
Over the midnight sea
I will sing you a song no one sang to me
May it keep you good company 

Chorus:
Well, you can be anybody you want to be
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know that I will love you still 
You can live by yourself
You can gather friends around
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds 
Will be the love you leave behind when you're done

There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time

Some women love women
Some men love men
Some raise children, some never do
You can dream all the days never reaching the end of everything  possible for you.

Don't be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They'll give the same back to you 
(chorus, repeating last two lines for the finish)