Monthly Archives: April 2012

Feeding the fever

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Saturday was dreary, cold, and blustery. More like a gloomy day in early March than a nearly May Saturday. Monkey Man, Gorilla Girl, and I  were feverish for sunshine, warmth, and spring. Since the sun remained hidden for most of … Continue reading →

Posted in bread, family, food, ice cream, spring | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“A Prayer for Rain” by Lisel Mueller

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Let it come down: these thicknesses of air have long enough walled love away from love; stillness has hardened until words despair of their high leaps and kisses shut themselves back into wishing. Crippled lovers lie against a weather which … Continue reading →

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Riffing on a classic: navarin [boeuf] printanier

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I’m usually inclined to follow Dorie’s recipes exactly, especially until I feel comfortable with the result.  This week, though, I had several reasons for making some signficant changes. Dorie Greenspan‘s navarin printanier sounded worth a try, but I have never … Continue reading →

Posted in art, family, family meals, food | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

Life in the middle

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

You might be tempted to think that this post will be about surviving one’s middle age, but at the moment, life in the middle is all about the woes of middle school.  This year, I have grown to be quite … Continue reading →

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Building nests: nighttime comfort and belonging

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Monkey Man and Gorilla Girl have, for the last several months, even for the last couple of years, been traveling in the middle of the night from their beds to ours. We have developed several theories about why they insist … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, children, family, motherhood, night time rituals | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The accidental friends: unexpected gifts of adoption

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

One of the coincidences of being an adoptive parent is that almost automatically, you have a bond with other adoptive parents. Most of us have many stories to tell about the whys and hows of our choice to build families … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, children, community, connection, family, friendship | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Hazard Faces a Sunday in the Decline by William Meredith

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We need the ceremony of one another,     meals served, more love,     more handling of one another with love, less     casting out of those who are not     of our own household.     ‘This turkey is either not … Continue reading →

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Coconut friands: the mystery of the Vietnam tea cake solved

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Thanks to Dorie, this week’s  coconut friands — otherwise known as  tea cakes –solved a mystery. The recipe was so simple that I whipped up not one, but two batches (one for a baby shower at my husband’s school). This … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Why we must stop for death, dear Emily

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

My students are working on Civil War projects, and obviously, the subject of death has been part of the discussion.  The Civil War is ancient history to them, and even to me, Matthew Brady’s intense images of the dead on … Continue reading →

Posted in death, experience, family, loss, memory, motherhood, photography, rituals | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Spring in a cake: lemon loaf style

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Baking with Julia’s Lemon Loaf Cake, as everyone noted, was simplicity itself.  However, no one mentioned how hard it would be to find cake flour, nor did the simple list of ingredients include a reminder NOT to forget to add … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, spring | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments