The Visitor Returns

My friend and neighbor Doug sent on these amazing pictures he took of a redtail hawk on the roof of my car. I see hawks in the trees around my house all the time but had no idea that they would come so close.



I love this shot that Doug got of the visitor taking off. I'm so grateful he stopped, documented this beauty and shared it with me.



It reminds me of a similar breathtaking burst into flight I witnessed on my one-year anniversary in my home that I wrote about then.

The Visitor
September 16, 2006

A hawk landed on the fence in my back yard. I was crouched over in the craft room spraying acrylic on felt bluebirds and I saw her land out of the corner of my eye. I didn't have my glasses on because I had just gotten out of the shower but I ran quickly quietly to grab them and peered out the back door. There she was, perched calmly on the fence, surveying the area. I could make out each dark stripe on her white breast; the yellow of her talons was far brighter than I would have guessed. I started to cry a little, moved that she would stop here for a minute, thinking how many years it had been since a large bird had been so near me. This first year on my house has been more about cardinals: their cheeky calls, their mating, their bold confidence building a nest outside my bedroom window, despite the cat nearby. The bird today was strong, solitary, majestic. She hung out for moment, taking everything in, then ducked down, stretched her wings, and took off in flight. Her tail was bright red; when I went to check out the spot where she had just been, I found a single black and white feather.

Dr. Joseph Lowery

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.

Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: Say amen --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)

Scrumptious Strawberry Sesame Cookies

I am in love with this new recipe for Strawberry Sesame cookies I tried yesterday!

Sweet and savory, this variation on the traditional jam thumbprint cookie is surprisingly good and super easy to make. I started with the recipe for Apricot Sesame Cookies on Allrecipies.com and varied it up so I could make it with what I had already in the house and not have to go to the store. Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Scrumptious Strawberry Sesame Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Toasted Sesame Seeds
Strawberry Jam

DIRECTIONS
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in extract. Combine the flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.

2. Roll into 1-in. balls, then roll in sesame seeds. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Fill with jam. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Free Margarita's at Grant Park's new Tin Lizzy Cantina!

Last night, the ladies of the Flaccidity "Book Club" made our way to try out the newest addition to Grant Park's Memorial Corridor, the Tin Lizzy Cantina. We were excited to have a new Mexican restaurant right in our neighborhood (1.8 miles from my doorstep)- it's been exhausting trekking all the way (all 2.5 miles) to East Atlanta's plethora of Mexican restaurant choices.

How can you not love a place named Tin Lizzy? After all, it is phonetically spelled the way my beloved Irish relatives pronounce the name of the legendary hard rock band Thin Lizzy. Fantastic.

But another reason you can't help but love it: the margaritas are flowing, and no one is charging - for now anyway. When I got there, Kristi and Carrie had been waiting for about 10 minutes already, with promises that the wait would be about 20 minutes. Not so much- we waited about an hour for table. We didn't mind so much though because the very friendly waitstaff would deliver directly to us fresh drinks every time they noticed we were empty-handed. Which in this group of lush ladies is often. Very smart business practice, kids. Without those margs we definitely would have headed down the block to Six Feet Under's new location.

Tin Lizzy's ambiance is lively, bustling, and loud with fun mainstream rock n' roll. As you may have gathered based on our wait time, it was slam crowded which is great for them in their first week open.

When we finally sat at our table, the manager came over to check on us and offer up whatever he could to make us happy. When I heckled him about being drunk with power, he responded that he was merely drunk with hospitality. Well played, sir. He brought us over yet another whole pitcher of strong margaritas on the house.

The food was fine- their "best-selling" fried fish taco was good but didn't hold a candle to El Myr's delicious grilled tilapia taco or Taqueria del Sol's fish taco with the incredible lemon sauce. The best thing we had was the fresh homemade guacamole. And I did appreciate that you could get your tacos on whole wheat tortillas at no extra charge.

And our bill for 5 of us eating and drinking with gluttony: $47.86. Not bad at all. And not a single alcohol charge.

All in all, Tin Lizzy's Cantina is a certainly a welcome addition to our Grant Park neighborhood. Even if I did wake up with a start at 5am with a mild headache and Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine running through my brain. Prior to that I had slept a beautiful tequila-blessed slumber.

Roses for Mom

16"x20", Acrylic, Gloss Media and Beads on canvas. Made with love for Christmas for my Mother who cultivates blossoms better than anyone and surrounds herself with their beauty.

Have a Looky at my Christmas Cookies

I had a super Christmassy weekend- it was so fun accomplishing several items on my December To-Do list! The weekend started with seeing David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries at the Horizon Theater. I laughed so hard- it's a great and fun show and the Atlanta cast is marvelous. I also made my winter-themed playlist.

The best part though was being invited to bake a million, okay a dozen, different kinds of Christmas cookies with my dear friend Sandy. It was a perfectly Christmassy Saturday in her and Jack's beautiful home. As we baked cookies, Jack and his daughter Katy put up their Christmas tree in the living room. Our soundtrack was the holiday albums of the divas: Dolly Parton, Better Midler and Diana Krall. It isn't Christmas until you hear Dolly sing "We Three Kings" I tell you!

We made Gingerbread men and women, my favorite being the three-eyed Alien Gingerman in the corner:


We made Jack's favorite macaroons and delicious wedding cookies (referred to as "Nut Balls" on Sandy's mom's recipe cards):


We made several kinds of nutty cookies, including these hazelnut cookies dipped in chocolate:



I laughed so hard the whole time I was decorating these Mafiosa Snowmen- one is Robert De Niro and the other is Joe Viterelli (a.k.a. Jelly from Analyze This):


But my favorite cookies of all are the Ginger Rosemary cookies:


Sweet and savory at once, and they smell like rosemary heaven. Enjoy the recipe- my Christmas Cookie gift to you!

Ginger Rosemary cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Crush rosemary with a mortar and pestal or a bowl and the back end of a knife. YOu don't need to grind the rosemary, just break it into smaller pieces.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, rosemary and cloves. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the 1 cup of sugar; beat until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses; beat well. Stir dry mixture into egg mixture.

Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (1 heaping tablespoon of dough each). Place about two tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Roll balls in the sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart; add sugar to the bowl as needed.

Bake in a 350-degree oven about 10 minutes or until light brown but still puffed. (Do not overbake.) Let stand on cookie sheets for 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 24 cookies.

Prison Origami

One of may favorite things about the holidays is the variety of homemade Christmas greetings I receive from people in Georgia prisons. Some of the time, I don't even know the person sending them. It is extremely special to me that men with so little who don't know me but know my work make and send paper tidings with messages of gratitude. Today I got a great haul- a sweet little crayoned card, an origami reindeer and a paper tree:

The best part is the tree - so not to be crushed in the mail - came wrapped in a Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcake package from the prison commissary:


These simple gestures mean so much to me, and remind me why we do this and who we do it for.