Poetry Monday :: Kitchen

This week's prompt for Poetry Monday is Kitchen taken from the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group.

As Autumn equinox is tonight at 8.19 pm. I feel inclined to write of soups and autumn things and a sad me longing for more sun. Right now the rain is splashing against my window panes, but the sun is just behind the clouds, ready for a "Who? -Not me!"-moment in a short while.

See for yourself how innocent our weather can act. The big puddles and the wet tarmac are giveaways, the trees were still dripping wet (old photo).

As I was right and the weather later did its innocent trick I took a short bike ride to pick something.

Denne uges tema for Poetry Monday er Køkken, taget fra gruppen 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts.

Da efterårsjævndøgn er i aften kl. 20.19, føler jeg mig fristet til at skrive om supper og efterårsting og en trist mig, der længes efter mere sol. Lige nu plasker regnen mod mine vinduer, men solen er lige bag skyerne, Og vejret er helt sikkert klar med sit "Hvem? - Ikke mig!" lige om lidt.
     Se selv, hvor uskyldigt vejret opfører sig her. Men de store vandpytter og den våde asfalt afslører vejret, træerne var stadig drivvåde.
     Jeg havde ret - vejret spillede uskyldig kort efter (gammelt billede), så jeg fandt cyklen frem og plukkede løs.

-- 𐑴  🙐  𐑴  🙖  𐑴 --

Today in my kitchen it's acorn thump season
I beat them and dry them and I have a reason.
For cracked and dried acorn they give off an oil.
I'll press it and clean it and give it a boil
all mixed up with beechnut and olive and rape
And honey and beeswax, and maybe some grape
Then mix it with lard and with lye.

And if you now wonder and ask me: But why?
The answer is simple: Because I do hope
to make me some nice acorn soap

-- 𐑴  🙐  𐑴  🙖  𐑴 --

I dag i mit køkken får agerner slag,
og så bli'r de tørret en nat og en dag
og presset til olie, jeg blander den straks,
med olie fra bognød, oliven og raps.
Det varmer jeg op og jeg tilsætter lud.
Hvad er det, jeg laver, har nogen et bud?
Det kan ikke spises, er ikke en drik
Hvis du gætter SÆBE har du ramt på en prik!

Words for Wednesday :: Sour Notes 2

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In September  River will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Feeling  
Motion  
Unthinkable  
Blowing  
Shopping  
Road trip


I have so many loose ends here. Trying to tie up one of them Sour Notes
Not used: Shopping, Road Trip.

Feeling more than seeing the motion of Thora's hands Susan had no idea how she did it. She was unthinkably fast.
Selma was standing next to the big hazel tree, and Thora did ... something. Then she began humming, then singing. Selma walked the short distance to the hazel tree, and placed her hands against it. Thora also placed her hands against the tree all the while singing her song. A breeze started blowing, making the branches sway gently. Selma began smiling, then she held out her hand and a branch, nay a wand, dropped softly into it

Thora stopped singing and looked at Susan in her hiding place: " I see you, Susan, there's no way you can hide from me."

"I don't want to hide, Susan said truthfully, but what you do seems so - private, secret, Erm. But it's so fascinating." Susan stopped.

Thora turned to Selma: "Now you try casting that heating spell once again."

Selma tentatively swished her new wand through the air. "It feels the same, yet different," Selma said. Then she swished it in the set pattern for the heating spell, and greenish sparks and a small swirl of hot vapour flew from the tip of the new wand, enclosing Selma in its swirls.
"It works. It works!" Selma said happily, I feel as warm as on a summer's day."

"I knew it," Thora said. From now on you should have no trouble with your spellcasting - at least not caused by your wand. And I once again apologise for not discovering earlier what had happened to your wand."

"All is fine," Selma said, a bit shy at having a professor apologise to her. "I am just so happy I was not at fault. When you asked for my wand, I believed that you were going to have me expelled."

"Oh no," Thora said, "I never thought it could be seen that way. But of course, you did not know. Sorry once again. Now let's get rid of the old wand."

Thora broke Selma's old wand in two pieces, which she pushed into the soft earth underneath the hazel tree all the while singing a sad song, which sounded for all the world just like the opposite of the one she sung while singing a wand.

And now you two girls get back to school before tea time. And don't tell anybody a word of what happened here, or I will make you into toads."

"Yes, Thora!" Selma and Susan said in unison and ran back to the Farm.

They never spoke of it, but Susan remembered, and often went down the the trees, visiting her Japanese cherry tree, humming to it, trying to remember Thora's song.

Zip through Autumn ???

The crazy IKEA teabag from yesterday's Poetry Monday originally came from a Zip through Autumn blog post from September 2022.

At that time the A-Z crew thought up an autumnal challenge, a stretched-out A-Z in reverse, that made us go backwards through the alphabet during Autumn.

I found it a great idea, and would have liked them to continue the idea. I do not know if anything will come off it this year. I even asked on the website.

Would any of you be interested in joining this challenge?

Just to show what it was all about, I'll copy paste my old (2022) Challenge post here:

ZIP THROUGH AUTUMN 2022
Now the people behind the A-Z Challenge offers a Challenge in reverse: Z-A during Autumn. A light version of the A-Z Challenge. Let me cite them:

No Masterlist, no forms to fill out, and no special place for links. You might want to share links to your posts using the #AtoZchallenge hashtag, or in the comments of these posts. That's up to you.
Do as much or as little as you like during this reverse alphabet challenge.
Here are some SUGGESTED prompts.
We propose doing two posts a week for this event.

Here's a link and the aforementioned list. 

Sept 21 - 27 ~ Zero excuses, Yearn to
Sept 28 - Oct 4 ~ Xenodochy in blogging, Why blog
Oct 5 - Oct 11 ~  Variety, Unique to my blog
Oct 12 - Oct 18 ~ Ten-year plan, SMART goals
Oct 19 - Oct 25 ~ Recommend, Questions for visitors
Oct 26 - Nov 1 ~ Priorities, Open
Nov 2 - Nov 7 ~ Never blog this, Motivating
Nov 9 - Nov 15 ~ Lesson, Know where I've been
Nov 16 - Nov 22 ~ Joy and Job in blogging, Ideas
Nov 23 - Nov 29 ~ Happy Habits, Goal of your blog for remaining 2022
Nov 30 - Dec 6 ~ Fortitude, Easy tips
Dec 7 - Dec  13~ Dare, Chance
Dec 14 - Dec 20 ~ Balance, Achievements in 2022

Poetry Monday :: Tea Fusing

Today's theme, Tea fusing gave me some trouble. At first I thought it was just an alternative version of infusing, a very peaceful, calming task, but the dictionary did not support this reading. There seems to be more to this fusing business than what meets the eye. Fusing means melting, combining, blending, often using extreme heat.
I can't really see tea doing this.
Now what's the opposite of fusing? Defusing? taking apart? Sundering? splitting up? Nothing tea-ish about this in any case.

As this is the prompt for drawings at the 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group, I went there for help with understanding. There's of course lots of drawings of tea fusing there.
Most depicts tea in  the process of brewing, so this meaning is in there even if the dictionary does not give it.
Some depicts the blending of different types of tea in many ways - more in accordance with the dictionary.
One of them depicts something in the line of what I had imagined. Cups, teapot and tea fused into one solid unit by the power of tea.

I do not know if I can link, but I try: LINK. Maybe you won't see a thing unless you're on FB or even unless you're a member.

I also remembered a cup at church saying: Bread & water can so easily be toast & tea. I liked this very much.

And my own craziness, the IKEA teabag:

And I still missed a poem.

I tried:

Fusing tea can defuse
even a tangled situation.

but rhyming on here made me almost pull my hair.

I looked around, outside darkness was falling, the winds were violent and cold, howling, flinging the drops violently against our windowpanes. I'd felt cold all day, closing the windows and shutting the doors. Autumn at its worst. And the news were depressing ... need I say more.

But my kitchen was warm and cosy, the water about to boil, and soon the Writer would perform his magic, and make hot, soothing tea for all of us. I then remembered the Epulaeryu!

The Epulaeryu poem is about delicious food (The name is, I think, a mixture of Greek and Japanese).
It consists of seven lines and thirty-three syllables.
The form is 7/5/7/5/5/3/1 syllables, and the seventh line ends with an exclamation mark.

When the cold winds are blowing
And troubles are growing.
When the heartaches are hurting
and monsters are lurking.
Put the kettle on,
pour the water.
Tea!

I could even make it rhyme some of the way, which is an optional criterion for an Epulaeryu.

- - - - - -  - Coming Themes  - - - - - - - -

Sep 22 Kitchen
Sep 29 Snuggles
Oct 5 Wood
Oct 12 Life
Oct 19 Train
Oct 26 Make believe occupation

Sunday Selections :: Miscellany and MondegreenSøndagsbilleder :: Blandede bolcher

Vi starter med en fødselsdagssang: ♫♬ I dag er det pavens fødselsdag, Hurra, hurra hurra ...🎜🎝
For  i dag fylder vores nye pave, Leo XIV, rundt, han bliver 70 år gammel.

-- 🎂 --

We begin by singing: ♫♬ Happy birthday to you, happy birthday Pope Leo, happy birthday to you 🎜🎝Because today It is the birthday of our new Pope, he turns 70.

-- ⩹ 💚 ⩺ --

I can't believe that I never, ever spoke of Mondegreens before on my blog. I remember writing about them, sometime long ago. But I can't find a word of what I wrote, so please bear with me if you've heard some of this before - it was back in 2008, so no wonder it's not here after all.

What is a MONDEGREEN?
The term was coined by the American author Sylvia Wright, in a 1954 article in Harper’s Magazine in which she mentioned misinterpreting a Scottish ballad, mishearing the original line:
"They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray and laid him on the green," as,
"They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray and Lady Mondegreen."
She then names such mishearings Mondegreens, after this faithful, but non-existent lady, even maintaining that: "The point about what I shall hereafter call mondegreens, since no one else has thought up a word for them, is that they are better than the original."

I am myself good at making Mondegreens, while I'm not sure they are all better than the original - some are quite absurd really - most of them tells me a bit about myself and my preoccupations. I probably first learned that they had a name in this article. It was an example of a related, but distinct phenomenon, the soramimi, that led me there.

How do you like: "Ghost Writers in Disguise"? I don't really like ghost writers, and then disguised ones - that sounded much worst to my tender ears. But ghost writers are naturally seldom seen out in the open.  Of course the words should have been Ghost Riders in the sky! The rest of the lyrics were quite unclear to me.

-- ⚬ ⩹ 💚 ⩺ ⚬ --

Utroligt nok har jeg aldrig talt om Mondegreens her på bloggen. Der findes vist ikke noget dansk ord for det, andet end det prosaiske fejlhøring - måske "undersættelse" også dækker lidt, selvom undersættelser er med vilje og mondegreens normalt er spontane fejl.

Hvad er så en MONDEGREEN?
     Ordet stammer fra en artikel i Harper's Magazine, hvor den amerikanske forfatter Sylvia Wright fortalte, at hun altid havde misforstået en skotsk ballade og hørt den oprindelige linje:
"They hae slain the Earl o' Moray and laid him on the green" (De har dræbt jarlen af Moray og lagt ham på græsset) som
"They hae slain the Earl o' Moray and Lady Mondegreen" (De har dræbt jarlen af Moray og Lady Mondegreen).
     Hun kalder derefter sådanne misforståelser for mondegreens, opkaldt efter denne trofaste, men ikke-eksisterende dame, og hævder endda, at: "Det vigtige ved det, jeg herefter vil kalde mondegreens, da ingen andre har fundet på et ord for dem, er, at de er bedre end originalen."
     Jeg er selv god til at lave mondegreens, men jeg er ikke sikker på, at de alle er bedre end originalen – nogle er faktisk ret absurde – men de fleste af dem fortæller mig lidt om mig selv og mine bekymringer.
      Jeg lærte sandsynligvis først at de havde et navn i denne artikel. Jeg tror det var noget i kategorien soramimi (der er et beslægtet fænomen), der førte mig til denne artikel, nemlig den tyrkiske sang med en sær dansk "undersættelse" kaldt "Oldemor" (oprindelig "Sen hiç aşık oldun mu?" (Har du nogensinde været forelsket) af Yurtseven Kardeşler (Yurtseven-brødrene)).

Hvad for eksempel med: "Ghost Writers in Disguise" (Forklædte Ghost writers)? Jeg kan ikke rigtig lide ghost writers, og så forklædte ghost writers - det lød meget værre for mine følsomme ører. Men ghost writers kommer naturligvis sjældent frit frem. Selvfølgelig skulle ordene have været "Ghost Riders in the sky!" (Spøgelsesryttere på himmelen). Resten af teksten var ret uklar for mig.

-- ⚬ ⩹ 💚 ⩺ ⚬ --

And now for a photo or two.
I finally found out how to do Italian cast off. The Moebius-thingie is done!

Og så til et billede eller to.
Jeg fattede endelig, hvordan man laver italiensk aflukning - nu uden fejl i opskriften, det hjalp! Så nu er møbius-halsedissen færdig.

I apologize for the strange colours, we have rain and or heavy clouds today, so caught in the lamplight.

Undskyld for de sære farver, der var regn og tunge skyer, så billet her er taget i kunstigt lys.

-- 🎊 --

This photo from some days ago, now with Liquorice-confetti on the loose, show off the real colours.

Dette billede af den endnu ikke færdige Møbiushalsedisse med løsslupne lakridskonfetti rammer farven meget bedre.

We also shucked corn for planting next year. Big Sis, the little Lion and the Gem brought us corn on the cob all the way from Kenya. I hope it'll grow.

-- 🌱 --

Og så pillede vi majs af kolberne for at plante dem næste år. Storesøster, Lille Løve og Ædelstenen havde hjembragt majskolberne helt fra Kenya. Lad os håbe, de gror.

Møbiushalsedissen indeholder som sædvanligt glasbær-lilla.

The Moebius neckwarmer as per usual contains Beauty Berry purple.

Fredagsfrustration Ultraforarbejdede fødevarerFriday Frustration Ultraprocessed Foods

NB: Dette er ikke skrevet for at skyde på eller se ned på veganere/vegetarer. Der findes mange sunde veganske alternativer og mange usunde ikke-veganske.
     Det er skrevet for at fortælle at de store -  og mindre - fødevarefabrikker vil tjene penge på det, vi stopper i munden, også på bekostning af vores sundhed.

-  ✽ -

Lige for øjeblikket er der en overflod af diverse reklamer, sundhedsartikler på nettet og mange andre steder, hvor folk tale om at leve sundere, hvor de dels promoverer kød-og mælkealternativer, dels er meget omhyggelige med at advare mod ultraforarbejdede fødevarer. De to ting synes jeg ikke rigtig passer sammen.
     Jeg gik og kiggede på indholdsfortegnelserne på nogle kødalternativer, og jeg blev faktisk skræmt.

For det der med ultraforarbejdede fødevarer ... det lyder sært, verdensfjernt, industrielt og mystisk. Men det er faktisk let at finde ud af, om de er i det, man står med i hånden. Man skal bare spørge:
KUNNE JEG SELV?
Det er det essentielle - og enkle - spørgsmål, der kan afsløre ultraforarbejdede fødevarer:

Reglen har ligget i mit baghoved længe (læsere, der har hængt på her længe, har hørt meget af det her før, undskyld), men udkrystalliserede sig da 5-ingrediensers-reglen blev promoveret af Anne Tjønneland og hendes kolleger i TV2.
     Det var noget argt sludder og Kunne jeg selv?-reglen opstod som en reaktion på den artikel.
     Jeg  brugte kødboller på frost som eksempel:

Mou økologiske kødboller: Grise- og oksekød (60%), vand, ÆGGEHVIDER, løg, HVEDEMEL, kartoffelmel, rasp (HVEDEMEL, salt, gær), salt, oksefedt, hvid peber. Se det er jo hele 11 ingredienser! Men så spørger jeg: KUNNE JEG SELV?     
     Kunne jeg selv: hakke kødet, røre det med salt, tilsætte vand, æggehvider, løg, mel, rasp (som jeg selv kunne lave), salt, peber og fedt og så koge bollerne i saltvand?
     Ja det kunne jeg godt. Altså er det OK. 

Beyond Meat kødboller, ingredienser: Vand, ærteprotein* (14%), rapsolie, kokosolie, aromaer, røgsmag, risprotein, tørret gær, stabilisator (methylcellulose), kartoffelstivelse, salt, kaliumsalt, krydderier, urter i variabel andel 0,5% (Persille, rosmarin, salvie, basilikum og oregano), æbleekstrakt, hvidløgspulver, majseddike, koncentreret citronsaft, løgpulver, granatæbleekstrakt, emulgator (solsikke-lecithin), farve (rødbederød), maltodextrin, gulerodspulver.
*Ærter er bælgplanter. Personer med alvorlig allergi over for bælgplanter som f.eks. jordnødder skal være forsigtige, når de indfører ærteprotein i deres kost på grund af risiko for allergi over for ærter.    
     Der er rigtig mange - faktisk hele 24 - ingredienser hvoraf Aromaer er på fjerdepladsen, og der er flere, hvor jeg tænker ... hvordan pokker gør jeg.
     Ærteprotein, hvordan får jeg proteinerne ud af ærterne? Ditto med risprotein, og hvad med solsikkelecitin? Eller methylcellulose og kaliumsalt ... (E-461 og E-508 altså).
   KUNNE JEG SELV? Nej. IKKE OK

 ✱ ✻ ✱ ✻ ✱

NOTE: This is not vritten to shoot at, ot disparage any vegans or vegetarians out there. There's lots of healthy ways of being a vegan - and lots of unhealthy ways not to. It's only to show that big business wants to earn money at the expense of our health no matter what.

-  ✽ -

Right now, there is an abundance of vegan/vegetarian dairy and meat alternatives in various advertisements, health articles on the internet and many other places where people talk about living healthier lives. At the same time, they are all very careful to warn against ultra-processed foods. I don't think these two things go very well together. I have been looking at the ingredients lists on some meat alternatives, and I was actually shocked. Ultra-processed foods... it sounds strange, otherworldly and mysterious. But it's actually easy to find out if the food you hold in your hand contains them or not. You just have to ask:
COULD I MAKE THIS MYSELF?
That is the essential – and simple – question that can reveal ultra-processed foods.

This rule has been in the back of my mind for a long time (longtime readers might find this a bit repetitious, sorry), but it crystallised when the 5-ingredient rule was promoted by Anne Tjønneland and her colleagues at TV2. It was utter nonsense, and the Could I do it myself? rule emerged as a reaction to that article.

I used frozen meatballs as an example:
Mou organic meatballs: Pork and beef (60%), water, EGG WHITES, onions, WHEAT FLOUR, potato flour, breadcrumbs (WHEAT FLOUR, salt, yeast), salt, beef fat, white pepper.

That's a total of 11 ingredients! But then I ask: COULD I MAKE IT MYSELF? Could I mince the meat, mix it with salt, add water, egg whites, onions, flour, breadcrumbs (which I could make myself), salt, pepper and fat, and then boil the meatballs in salted water?
Yes, I could. So it's OK.

Beyond Meat meatballs, ingredients: Water, pea protein* (14%), rapeseed oil, coconut oil, flavourings, smoke flavouring, rice protein, dried yeast, stabiliser (methyl cellulose), potato starch, salt, potassium salt, spices, herbs in varying proportions 0.5% (parsley, rosemary, sage, basil and oregano), apple extract, garlic powder, corn vinegar, concentrated lemon juice, onion powder, pomegranate extract, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), colour (beetroot red), maltodextrin, carrot powder.

*Peas are legumes. People with severe allergies to legumes such as peanuts should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet due to the risk of allergy to peas.

There are a lot of ingredients – 24, in fact – with flavourings in fourth place, and ther question Could I make it myself makes me think... how on earth do I do that?
Pea protein, how do I get the protein out of the peas? Ditto with rice protein, and what about sunflower lecithin? Methylcellulose and potassium salt... (E-461 and E-508, that is).
COULD I DO IT MYSELF? No, I could not. NOT OK

Only the Words

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In September  River will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

- - A - - B - - C - - 

This Wednesday's prompts:
Shipwreck
Hook
Unexpected
Buttermilk
White-knuckled
Buggy

I do not want to begin any more wild goose chasin' chapters of Unicorn Farm, so I'm taking it slow, trying to find somewhere where I can cntinue the story, using these words. I need inspiration and ideas.

Poetry Monday :: Big City :: in German and no Cities ~ Updated with more verses

    Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.
     Stikordene kommer fremover fra 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

Dagens stikord er: Storby! Men eftersom jeg vågnede op i morges med et fuldt færdigt tysk digt! i hovedet, er jeg er alvorligt bange for at der ikke kommer et digt på dansk i dag. Nok ikke engang et engelsk.

- A - - B - - C -

Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for health and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

The prompts now come from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

  I have something more to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others via the links, would you please leave a comment.
  Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.

Today's subject is Big City!

- A - - B - - C -

Today is Poetry Monday, the theme is Big City, but as I woke up this morning, a poem in German! was in my head. But why?


Nächtliche Konversation:
A - Ist bald der dunkle Nacht vorbei?
B - Die Uhr zeigt immer noch nur Zwei
    - Leg du dich hin, schlaf ruhig ein
    - Und wacht im Morgensonnenschein.

A - Und was ist's jetzt
B - Dreiviertel sechs
    - bald kommt das Morgengrauen
    - Schließ du bloß deine Augen

A - Jetzt scheint die helle Sonne rein
B  - Jetzt darfst du wach und munter sein
A - Oh weia! ich bin müde du
    - ich mache meine Augen zu.
 




English literal translation:

Nightly Comversation
A - Will this dark night soon have an end?
B - the clock says only two
Lay yourself down and go to sleep
And wake in morning sunshine.

A - Now what's the time?
B - A quarter to six
    - Soon will the morning break
    - now you go back to sleep

A - And now the sun is shining brigth
B - You may get up now, time is right
A - Oh dear, I am so tired now,
    - an hour more will sit just right.


Dansk oversættelse:

Natlig samtale
A- Er den mørke nat snart slut?
B - Klokken er stadig kun to
Læg du dig ned og sov igen
Og vågn i morgensolskinnet.

A - Og nu, hvad er klokken nu?
B - Et kvarter i seks
    - Snart gryer dagens grå min ven
    - så luk du øjenene igen

A - Åh se, nu skinner solne klart
B - Nu står vi op, er det ikke rart?
A - Men jeg er træt, jeg ikke vil.
    - jeg sover lige en time til.

 - - - - - -  - Coming Themes  - - - - - - - -

Sep 15 Tea fusing
Sep 22 Kitchen
Sep 29 Snuggles
Oct 5 Wood
Oct 12 Life
Oct 19 Train
Oct 26 Make believe occupation

Søndagsbilleder ~ Sunday Selection& Colour25

Today I get to use the Beauty Berry colour. I have a few misses, and then a hit ;)

I dag skal jeg så forsøge at finde glasbær-lilla som månedensfarve. Jeg har et par gode forbiere, og forhåbentlig rammer jeg også.

Først en blomst, der pludselig groede på nogle sjove, lange ukrudter, jeg havde ladet stå uden for vores skur. Det er bukketorn, hvor bærrene er de meget sunde goji-bær - jeg troede det var et eller andet eksotisk, altså.
Næsten den rigtige farve.

-- 💜 --

First a flower from a long, straggly weed I let live in front of the shed. It is matrimony vine, which I find a fun name, and the berries are the much touted goji-berries - I thought they were some tropical tree fruits.
Almost the right colour

En lille omvej til i går, hvor jeg demonstrerede plantefarvning. Først de planet, jeg plukkede på en tur i min have samme morgen: Rødbladet hassel, skønhedsøjer, rejnfan - og i kurvens dyb, grønne valnødder.

A small detour to yesterday where I showed how to plant dye. A basket full of dye-plants from my garden: Red hazel, tansy, tickseed and green walnuts (inside the basket)

The yarn I dyed -- det garn, jeg farvede.

Og så en gentagelse: Det garn, der mindede mig om lakridskonfetti. Jeg fandt noget på indkøb forleden. Ligner det ikke? Og så fandt jeg det på nettet: Bedre billede.

And a repeat: The hank of yarn reminding me of a Danish brand of candy. Down below the candy - I'll let you be the judge. And then I found it online: Better picture.

Og til sidst, mit sære møbius-strik. Jeg forsøger at lære italiensk aflukning, men havde skrevet forkert af, så det ser stadig sådan her ud .. og det rammer farven!

And finally my strange moebius knit. I'm trying to teach myself Italian bind off, but as I made a mistake copying the how-to, I've still not gotten any longer that last time ... but it fits the colour!

Fredagsfrustration - betalingsmurFriday Frustration New York Times Mini Games

Som mange af jer nok har opdaget, elsker Uglemor ordgåder, rebusser og al den slags (bare ikke Sudoku)
     I flere år har jeg nu, ikke hver dag, men regelmæssigt, forlystet mig med mini-spillene på New York Times hjemmeside.
     Det startede med Spelling Bee, hvor man kunne komme et stykke ad veje uden at subskribere, så opdagede jeg Wordle, Conneztions, Strands og Tiles.
     De fire har jeg holdt af at løse de seneste tre et halvt år, og jeg brugte endda Wordle til min A-Z Challenge i år. Men nu er det slut. Tiles, The Mini Crossword og Letter Boxed er fra for et par dage siden kun for abonnenter.
     Ja, Wordle, Strands og Connections er stadig gratis, men jeg gider ikke lege med dem længere.
     Jeg sluttede min serie af spil hos New York Times med nogle rigtig fine resultater. Tiles løst med det laveste antal træk nogensinde, nemlig 31, Wordle løst på tre gæt, Strands "perfect" og Connections med kun et forkert gæt.

Det, jeg nok mest kommer til at savne, er WordLit.
Nok engang gør grådighed verden til et lidt mere farveløst og trist sted at være.

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As many of you have probably noticed, MotherOwl loves word puzzles, rebuses and all this (only not Sudoku).

For several years now, I have been entertaining myself -- not every day, but regularly -- with the mini-games on the New York Times website.

It started with Spelling Bee, where you could get a little way without subscribing, then I discovered Wordle, Conneztions, Strands and Tiles.

I have enjoyed solving these four for the past three and a half years, I even based this year's A-Z Challenge on Wordle, but now it's over. Tiles, The Mini Crossword and Letter Boxed are only for subscribers as of a fweek or so ago - for me it was September 1st. I know that Wordle, Strands and Connections are still free to play, but for how long? For me making Tiles pay to play was the last straw.

I ended my series of games at the New York Times with some really good results. Tiles solved with the lowest number of moves ever, 31, Wordle solved in three guesses, Strands ‘perfect’ and Connections with only one wrong guess.

What I will probably miss the most is WordLit.
Once again greed is making the world a bit less fun to live in.

Words for Wednesday UPDATED & IWSG

Oops, I was bleary eyed Wednesday evening. I forgot to press Publish before going to bed. Hopefully it's still Wednesday somewhere ;)

Word for Wednesday is a challenge that was started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable event with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.

The general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories, subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.

In September  River will supply us with prompts.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

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This Wednesday's prompts:
Conviviality
Adoration
Willpower
Mellow
Gentle
Guitar

And writing happened again.

With the burial of some of the magic people: M-L, Kai, Martine, and more at the Unicorn Farm, I have been thinking over the religious aspects of the magic community.
It is obvious, to me at least, that magic and religion has a whole lot in common.

We are never explicitly told so, but there's a magicians' graveyard out there too; we have a small giveaway in Percy's words in the "Kai"-chapter. "The next time you come here ... you'll come to bury Sandra, or one of you younger ones". I have it written down more explicitly in a chapter not online -- confusing, I spent a bit of time searching before I realised.

At Unicorn Farm there was a minuscule church - chapel would be the right word for it. And every day, whether education was going on or not, there was a short time of adoration ending with a blessing every morning, and sometimes also in the evening.

At home Susan often lacked the willpower to go to church, it was early and Dad really did not like her going. Also the services in the big, old cathedral were stuffy, boring and not a bit uplifting. The choir did all the singing and even prayers or answers from the people. It was more like going to the theatre than to church.

Susan did not know what she really wanted from a church, but these short, early morning worshipping, often accompanied be mellow guitar music, short prayers clad in solemn words with set answers from those present and subtle meanings, spoke much more to her heart.

Often gentle Gylfi led the worship, but now and then a priest from a nearby town came, and when he did, Susan felt the blessing almost physically, like some kind of ancient magic.

There was a feeling of conspiracy and conviviality to these early morning gatherings, and many of the apprentices gathered there to start off the day.

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September 3 question - What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, story bible, or creating outlines\beats?

My answer - No I would not. I do not use AI - I only use it for removing the background from photos, that's all!

All my websearches are followed by the switch -ai to not get any AI generated replies.

I tried using AI for synopses, structuring of a text, and I even asked it to write one of my Words for Wednesday stories for me.
I was not satisfied with the AI's story al all. I found it generic, two-dimensional, and sterile. I got no kick whatsoever from reading it ... The AI did even not perform as requested, as it did not use all the Words.

That's one of the problems with AI. Another is that it's a 'people-pleaser' for lack of better words. It does not like to disappoint us. If it does not have an answer, it invents one - in short it tells us a lie, politely of course, but it's still a lie.

Poetry Monday :: Under the Sea

    Mandagsdigtet er en blogleg, som Mimi fra Messymimi's Meanderings og jeg har overtaget - midlertidigt håber vi - fra Diane, der slapper af og rejser verden rundt med sin mand. Vi håber hun er parat til at tage over igen, når hun kommer hjem.
     Stikordene kommer fremover fra 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts. Det er en Facebook-gruppe, der udgiver et stikord til hver dag i året, men bare rolig, stikordene vil stadig være at finde både her og på Mimis blog.

Dagens stikord er: Under havet! Men jeg er alvorligt bange for at jeg ikke når et digt på dansk i dag. Ikke engang det engelske er ordentlig færdig.

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Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings and I have taken over the hosting duties, mostly the supplying of the prompts - only temporarily we hope - while Diane at On the Border is taking a break for health and relaxation, travelling the world with her husband as far as we can tell.
 
We just hope she's going to take back over once she returns home.

The prompts now come from 365 Days of Drawing Prompts and other Arts group. This is a Facebook group with a prompt for each day of the year, but no worries, the prompts will still be here and at Mimi's blog.

  I have something more to ask of you: If you read this and the poetry of others via the links, would you please leave a comment.
  Half - if not more - the fun of these challenges is receiving the responses of others.

Today's subject is Under the Sea!

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Ever since I composed the long poem for Awakening in my head and could remember all of it, I have tried to repeat this feat. It seems to have been a one-off.  I have in any case never succeeded in remembering all of my poem ever since - or indeed before.

Today with Under the Sea, I had an idea in the early morning hours when the dustmen woke me up with their normal noisy ways.

I "wrote" several verses and half-verses, hoping to remember them when it was time to get up. I might have remembered more, had I sat myself down to write as soon as I awoke, but life got in the way. So now I not so proudly present the two first verses and a general outline of the rest interspersed with rhyming pieces:

Under the Sea
Under the sea
that's where well be
We will have fish,
not as a dish,
not on the table,
but in the stable.
That's where they'll be.

And every night
is lit so bright.
A moonfish hung
and starfish strung.
Over the table
hung on a cable
a lampfish-light.

Fun nights with swordfish fights and pufferfish dart, entertainment by clownfish ...

and seahorse races
to secret places

People under the sea, walking their sea-dogs, milking seacows and finding spectacular treasures guarded by lobsters whose bites are worse than their barks ... and factories driven by the sparks
of electric eels. Producing

papers so pink
and midnight ink

from squids and octopuses; to be used by

Poets like me
under the sea.

If time permits and my undersea muse returns, I will be back to add more lines later today.

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Coming up:

Sep 8 Big City
Sep 15 Tea fusing
Sep 22 Kitchen
Sep 29 Snuggles
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