New Music, Onion Soup, Poem published after submitting it a dozen times

Thanks, Aunt Ethel, for this lovely desk. I sent this foto to my kids telling em this is where the deed to my house is kept.

Since it's one of those drizzly days, I wanted to make some hot soup. Onion soup. Had "Chef Dan" paged at the Giant Supermarket. He was pushing a cart filled with food for his evening class, "$20 a head he told me."

He's a big guy, but told me his bro weighs over 400 pounds.

Told me to slowly simmer the onions. Four onions. Other ingredients:  lo-sodium chicken broth, minced garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon and grated nutmeg.

Served it with Havarti cheese. 

It's a hit!

With who?

With me, that's who!

While I cook I listen to this award-winning young adult book about a dystopian world. That, paired with The Shining, in the car, might make for a rather unhappy Ruthie. Let's just say, "I'm well-read."

Worked on my newest painting for several hours. I follow the guidelines of my young art teacher Chris Hall who moved to Atlanta. He paints abstracts. He called me "Miss Matisse," so I have to live up to that monniker. 

 Here's the rose I picked in Mom's neighbor's yard. Aromatic!

 Outlined it in pencil, as he taught us.

Almost complete, but way too plain.

Fini! I'm calling it ROSES FOR FRANKIE about a 45-yo friend of mine who took his own life. Suffered from both mental illness and kronic pain.

Frank was a great artist and I asked his help while I was painting. Didn't do much good. The funeral is tomro in Royersford, PA. His mom asked me if I was going. I paused and then said No, I won't be able to.

Look, if I couldn't see Frank when he was alive, what's the point of seeing him when he's dead. I know, I know. The family. I sent a nice letter on New Directions stationery and a donation to the Brain and Behavior Foundation.

They were shockingly inept when I called up.

Should I report them to founder Constance Lieber? Oh, look, Connie - and her son - just won an award.

I met her years ago at a conference held at University of Pennsylvania. I simply ran up to her, introduced myself, and wished her good luck. I asked some Qs, and she told me her adult child w/schizophrenia was doing fairly well.


Here's Connie and her hubby.

The conference included brilliant scientists from all over the East Coast, including Z Great....

  Francis S Collins, MD, PhD, head of the National Institutes for Health. An atheist, he converted to Catholicism.

Finally got this poem published about my late father.


Here's their lovely masthead.

Wait! I'm not finished yet.

Amazon mistakenly sent Dan two of these books for one of his birthdays.

When I returned it at B and N, I learned their policy when there's no receipt.

Choose $18 worth of merchandise, then and there.

Immediately went into their Music Shop.

Bought:

Bo Diddly

Steely Dan

Muddy Waters

Stravinsky's Firebird and some weepy music by Debussy.

Let's end with a lovely picture


Hmmm. Never knew what Steely Dan looked like.