one of my favorite times of the year

Autumn

Such a favorite of mine,
but why?
The colors so vivid,
but last only a little while.
Smells of apples and pumpkins and cinnamon...

only to make way for turkey and cranberry,
at least here in the USA.
Then to peppermint and gingerbread.
Is it me or do i always talk about food
and flavors
and smells,
as if they are all there is.
Well maybe they are a big part of it.
Halloween today.
All hallows eve,
a celebration of those who have gone before,
it is a good one to celebrate!
There is a stimulation coming to paint again,
but also so much to do!
I hope thing allow me to so my heart that way again!

lessons learned or not

How many times have we been stripped of that we deem important,
only to find that what we thought was important, was not?
How many times do we hold on, thinking we can not go any further,
and then the further comes and it not so bad?
I know many who are brought to this place
and then the choices must be made.
Do we become angry and bitter and cynical?
Or do we embrace that something new has come into our lives and be thankful?
i know i have been there and i count my self fortunate in that i became thankful,
but many did not...
Stories i have been taught,
of a man swallowed by a big fish because he would not do what he was asked
o scolded by the donkey he was riding
and there are many more.
I think i have been any one of those people,
in my heart,
but things change and sometimes we actually learn.
Friends go through things that i call similar,
but of course they are different because we are all individuals,
responding to different things.
I must remember my lessons
and pray that those going through similar things,
find the answers they run from,
as i did.
and find peace,
as i did.
and find that being thankful is sometimes the greatest lesson of all.

cold days

The temperature has dropped
and i am surprised at the change in my mood.
From a point of going forward with purpose,
to being muddled and listless.
Yes this is what i struggle with every year.
Winter is not the fun, short lived thing it was in Houston;
it is long, drawn out and grey.
The struggles i have with vision and my life,
just wait and it is not really that cold yet,
just down to freezing.
the garden must be cleared for there are many good things to have there,
peppers, leeks and tomatoes.
How do i describe this?  not well at all.

Inspiration and motivation

I have had to grapple with the differences in these to concepts and emotions as of late.
A bit of an idea comes into my head and it begins to grow and form,
but i am struggling with the emotion of putting it together into a work.
This is happening with many areas of my life;
painting is one, though i think something is coming some.
Cooking something so outside the box for a chili contest is another.
The ideas are there, formed and solid, but i can not get motivated and put the ideas into action.
It is a struggle.
How do you bridge this gap?

those things

Those things that block us,

you know them well,

intimately even.

Fear they are, hiding so deep,

we no longer know they are there,

controlling,

blocking,

hurting us.

Everyone else sees it,

taking over our life,

but we wonder why.

Why doesn't something happen/

Why am i the way i am?

The "whys" we ask are a great barometer of the presence of that fear.

It is us that stops us.

Then,
every so often,
some one or two come into the life and bring the joy and happiness
that have been missing in your life because of the paralysis we have.
They have not taken away the fear,
but rather brought to you the joy that the fear blocked.
Oh, the fear is still there,
but the consequences are gone
and life continues.

opportunity

I have been blogging for some 5 years now and have many blogger friends who have on occasion been given the opportunity to test a product and report on it.
Last week i had my opportunity, contacted by a fellow blogger and person beginning a small business, Carissa Algeri-Gulyas.
She actually contacted me through facebook and i will be posting this there also.

So what i received:
4 packages of Thinscottis.
These are very thin biscottis in a toasted almonds and a dark chocolate almond flavors.  Both came in a traditional and gluten free variety.

The recipe is one of the owner/bakers old Russian family recipe, so you can call them a Russian Biscotti.

They are interested in expanding their distribution and would also look for investors

they are made locally by hand in a commercial kitchen in CT.

I got to try these 4 varieties, but they have more.

Now what they did not know;
i have significant involvement in the food industry as a chemist (33+ years at the Health Department and worked with the FDA, yes you heard correctly AND some additional years as a food chemist at a local large bread bakery).

I proceeded with this tasting as a normal organoleptic test, getting 2 other people to help me.
One has been active in local restaurants for over 5 years as a consultant, manager and GM.

His one statement let me know the product was good:
"I'd put them i n one of the creamy desserts for texture and flavor.  They are so light, it is incredible."

The other person is a long time Italian home baker and while they wanted to not compare it to the traditional Italian biscotti, it was hard for them not to, but they also said that these were almost like a potato chip of biscotti and like the traditional Toasted Almond flavor the best.  This person liked that the biscotti did NOT have to be dunked in coffee to enjoy, but liked it best along side their coffee.

I will say that i was addicted and liked the traditional Toasted almond also the best, but would look forward to seeing this on the shelves or in restaurants in a dessert.

More information can be found at the website thinscotti.com.  Contact them, this is a fun product!

we forget

We forget,
that this life is fragile,
that things change,
we get broken
and hurt
and mangled.
The tiniest things can kill us,
we are hurt by large objects.
Our skin is very thin
and yet we continue on
forgetting how fragile we are,
how truly weak we are.
we forget.