Amma's blog: "I Am"

By: Amma "I made this recipe up two days before Christmas. It seemed like a good time to make sure that even if a child thought they were on the naughty list, they still would know they deserved the love and caring of an adult; and a healthy cookie to munch on and leave some for Santa, too."

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 11 to 13 minutes

Servings 12

Original Recipe Yield 4 dozen

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

1.5 cups raisins

4 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1 cup of softened butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees -

Combine oatmeal, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda

Add eggs

Add butter mix until eggs and butter are combined

add bananas

add raisins

Mix until bananas are smooshed and the raisins are equally dispersed through out the dough.

Drop by spoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet Cook for 11 to 13 minutes, or until light golden.

P.S. - any left over raisins can be sprinkled on your front porch and you can excitedly call the children over and say - "LOOK! REINDEER POOP!!" They will be amazed...

These are a list of the items underneath my Christmas tree. But first let me tell you about my Christmas tree: it is a family heirloom. Made by my Aunt in the 1960's, gifted to my Grandfather from her in time, and given into my safe keeping by my Grandmother just this year. 

I have very little money. It has been a difficult year and I shall not open the book of counted sorrows, because I prefer the book of Bountiful Blessings. Within those pages will be found the list of presents that are for me.

1. Two rolls of toilet paper upon which edible mushrooms were grown by my son in his botany class.

2. Two mysterious packages bought from the children's store at the church by my youngest daughter (people donate used items and the children can shop and pick out delights for their parents for a few cents.)

3. Two Christmas balls, one shiny red and one shiny green (mine is the green one) that my husband and I received as a gift from a lovely wedding we attended a few weeks ago. They are still in their boxes, and I will act surprised when I open them.

4. Two yellow packages that may contain a total of four pedometers, free from Blue Cross Blue Shield as they attempt to promote a lessening of insurance costs by advocating for a healthy lifestyle - of which walking is part. 10,000 steps per day.

That is under my heirloom ceramic hand painted Christmas tree (complete with a music box that plays "Silent Night"). Though much of my family will be gone out of town for the holiday, I have my oldest son to share some time with, and my oldest daughter, and my grand daughter. It is for her that I read an excerpt from Chapter 19 of the book "Little House On The Prairie" by Laura Ingalls WIlder. I have owned that book since I was a little girl, carrying it from place to place - never forgetting the description of the excitement of a child at Christmas, no matter how humble the gifts.

" Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "

I have written a lot in the annals of the Fubar Blog sector. I wrote it for me. Days pass and the things and moments and emotions that are so powerful pass too. "This too, shall pass" - is a phrase I am often told regarding hardships, sorrow, fear, doubt, pain and all the other things I might feel inclined to rant about, to shake a fist at, to stomp into the dusty road of my life. But it also holds true for those moments of laughter and pure joy that I swear I will never forget, but sometimes I might - sometimes I do. So I write it down for future review. I will print it out for my children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren and great great grandchildren to read.

On December 4th, 2006 I wrote about a symphony. It was a metaphor for the magical moment of watching my grandson, Harper Wayne Gibson be born into the world. It was flowing with the energy of my daughter, Fae, laboring to bring her son into the world. Today is my grandson's third birthday. I have no address to send him a present, I have no wiggly giggly boy to hug and kiss. I have no magic beans to plant to grow and reach into a realm unknown.

So am I poor? No. Because tonight I will dream and I will find my grandson.  The train whistle from the movie - Polar Express - was one of the sounds he heard, he lived right next to the train that rang out so loud - I CAN DO IT! I will just follow the sound waves into a place where we can feel each other.

AND WHY DO WE GIVE - BECAUSE CHILDREN NEED TO LIVE.

Songwriter: Chris Cornell

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled,

But it's on the table

The fire is cooking

And they're farming babies

While slaves are working

Blood is on the table

And the mouths are choking

But I'm growing hungry

I don't mind stealing bread

From the mouths of decadence

But I can't feed on the powerless

When my cup's already overfilled

But it's on the table

The fires cooking

And they're farming babies

While the slaves are all working

And it's on the table

The mouths are choking

But I'm growing hungry

I'm going hungry

Jason Castro, Jason Lambert - so close, but no cigar. Good thing I don't smoke, nor have I garnered an internship with Bill Clinton. -- I do have to apologize to the store clerk that I was whistling to and asking "DON'T YOU WANT TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN????!!!!" - when he very nicely asked if I was trying to tell him he was taking too long to wait on me. He did not get the reference immediately so I told him it was a song by Jason Lambert - Let's Fall In Love Again.

--

Turns out that Jason Lambert was stuck in my head because he is a UFC fighter and I was busy thinking about the fight between Tito and Forest that I did not get to see, due to the fact that ... well, why put myself in a bad mood. We will ignore why I could not stay at home and watch the fight.

Anyway - I think whistling could help any UFC fighter with their training, and Jason Castro probably has to fight off a lot of girls... Whatever Works!

The ARTS:

"O Brother, Where Art Thou" - 

(A 2000 adventure film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey.)

Pete: Well hell, it ain't square one! Ain't nobody gonna pick up three filthy, unshaved hitch-hikers, and one of them a know-it-all that can't keep his trap shut.

Everett: Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don't intend to dignify with comment. However, I would like to address your attitude of hopeless negativism--consider the lilies of the goddamn field...or hell, look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope!

[Pause]

Delmar: Yeah, look at me.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Goethe (German writer, philosopher, humanitarian, poet, artist, theologian, science seeker - a man who was a fan of taking in the ideologies of the whole world.)  

"Science and Art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish barriers of nationality."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is just as I suspected, as I have found, as I always knew: for the world to come together we all must take time to think about science, embrace the arts, and see how there is no wall that can stand against the pleasure all find in exploring these realms.

So take some time to draw, write, and present the secrets of your creative mind. Astound your family and friends with logic. Amaze yourself with some faith and belief in the gifts that flow from Divinity.

and baby, blow me...

a kiss before you leave me...

blow me...

a kiss goodbye...

- and make the HONEY I'M HOME!!! kiss even better...

(the Art of Silliness is not to be pooh poohed!) Mmmm...honey 

Captain Jack Sparrow's father's advice:

"It's not about living forever, Jackie. It's about living forever with yourself."

Once upon a time a very famously naughty and hard rocking man  - Keith Richards - came to my town. He played a game with this listening audience - he asked for women to call the radio station and see who could turn him on...

I squirmed in my chair at work - not from lusty anticipation of the pleasing of the man via vicarious and voyeuristic audio slavery to the women that would call in and take the challenge. No, it was more a sense of how bored that man must be with all the flesh flung as his head. Years and years and years and years of it. 

One woman called and said she would pull his zipper down with her teeth. He sort of liked that. Another called and she stammered and hemmed and hawed, and not a hummmmm appeared, er.... was heard. He took pity on her and noted, "You are a good girl, aren't you..." she shamefully admitted it and he told her it was okay. 

And as I have made my way through life as a woman, a mother, a lover, a wife, a fool, a heroine, a bitch, a wayward child, and far too many other states of beeing to name, I have felt the sting of judgement from others. This generally did not end up well for anybody, since I have a deep desire to please, and when it appears I cannot I also have a tendency to Tear The Roof Off the Sucker, when I am in a funk of displeasure with myself at not pleasing all the people all of the time.

For the sake of everyone involved I now keep in mind that my behavior needs to be something I can live with, from myself - and I have the bar set high, but I am always willing to add stairs and continue to improve. And I will be heard...