SUMMER STORM

Lightning tears the sky in twain

Waves of white come crashing down

With fleeing forms in silver gown

As thunder bursts its blackened chain

Through the grass the waters drain

Their fingers gleam in lightning’s glow

They whisper as they sink below

Ghosts are riding on the rain.

--L.D.

(We all know who LD is, don't we? Sorry LD, couldn't resist posting this poem. The imagery is just too, too good, particularly after our latest thunderstorm.)

Christmas Chocolate Bonbons

We got some excellent chocolate on a grand discount-- 2 kilos for about 8 dollars. So I decided to try me ol' hand at making chocolate bonbons. 

Flatly refused to look up the tricks on Google; much better to figure it

out all by myself and make my own mistakes.

 My bain-marie arrangement. Two unrelated pots that just happened to fit more or less snugly into each other.

 I'll be honest. I originally started out with the intention of making chocolate leaves, not bonbons. Made about 30 leaves, but it was exceedingly tedious work. That's when I noticed the empty ice-cube tray...

 Smart me. Dig my rum-raisin-and-almond ice-cube bonbons.

 The finished batch. First of many.

 I tried coating nuts and raisins by dipping them in the chocolate, but the result was less than satisfactory all around. Visually, I mean, because they actually tasted smashing.
But dipping too many rum-soaked raisins caused the chocolate to "seize" (which means that it gets tough and grainy), so I tossed in the rest of the raisins in one go, added plenty of shredded coconut, and when the mixture was slightly cooled, rolled it into cookie-sized balls, which I then smashed flat, and wrapped in silver foil. They looked pretty vile, but tasted divine.

A few of my best leaves. My poor husband was completely baffled as to how I got chocolate to look just like a wrinkled leaf. He actually couldn't figure it out until I showed him how, har har.
 (Score for Praise)

Speaking of which, it's extremely simple to make chocolate leaves. Gather a variety of tough, well-veined leaves, always ensuring that they are not of a poisonous variety. Wash them with cold water and allow to dry thoroughly.

 Melt your chocolate over a double-boiler, and with an artist's paintbrush, gently brush the vein-side of a leaf with a layer of chocolate. Refrigerate, or lay aside until completely cool. Repeat, until desired thickness is achieved. The secret is to do the second/third layer quickly, so that the hot chocolate does not melt the cooled layer beneath. 

When the last layer is completely cooled, gently remove the leaf. Preferably, keep leaves refrigerated. Makes awesome decoration on cakes, cream muffins, etc. 

More pictures of my latest batch, including attempts at creamy-nut-butter filling, mint filling and stuffed cherry-rum fillings, to follow.

Dragon Blanket

My latest biggish piece, 1.20 by 1.05 m. A baby blanket for a darling little newborn Chinese girl. Took me about five weeks to complete. Exclusive blanket design created by French Tailor Designs, adapted from 'Dragon', a blackwork piece by Laura Martin. Flowers designed by Gini Lykins. 

 Close-up of Dragon

Flower details. Pink alternating with pale yellow every third flower.

Floppy on Electricity

"Electricity takes time to download, mom, -- just like the iPad and flashlights, we have to plug it in and wait until tomorrow for the electricity inside to work again."

-- Floppy, age 5, explaining to mom why the flashlight wasn't working.

Grammarian Reflections

Recently, while composing a short piece, I found myself stumbling over the usage of the word 'different'. Is something different than, or different from whatever I wish to compare it to? I embarrassed myself by opening Google and looking it up -- it is embarrassing to have to submit one's ignorance to the suggestion of rank amateurs, or, as the Urban Dictionary might term, 'wannabes'.
Thankfully, those inner-storage parts of my recalcitrant -- stubborn, slow and grumblesome -- brain managed to catch up with my faltering intellect, and reminded me of an excellent touchstone, which I hereby commend to the attention of my readers.
When in doubt, trace the word to its root or source.
Different.
The source-word (for our current purpose) is differ, which is used to specify that the [two] subjects in question cannot compare, due to their unalike features. Something differs in nature or kind from something else. It differs, therefore it is different. (The accent really ought to be placed more firmly upon the second syllable, rather than allowing it to be slurred into 'diff'rent', which conveys little of the original meaning of the word to the modern, if somewhat less-tutored, understanding.)
The suffix '-ent' appended to the word does not actually modify its original grammarial usage; thereby, in stating that something differs from something else, we may safely vouch that it is indeed different from the other it.

Four Month Hiatus

Such a long time ... Laura has come and gone, Daniel has turned 30 -- and our beloved Boris ran away, after being run over by a car. I have been actively searching for him since August 25, and hope of finding him grows slimmer every day. Are you in Heaven, poor lost wounded pup? If so, I'm glad. I like to think of you in Heaven. Somehow it helps relieve the empty feeling of loss -- I would rather think of you there, than think of you fending for yourself, lost in a cold, cruel slum street, far away from your family who loves you. I can only say, thank God it wasn't one of the children. Even so, the pain of losing a pet in so tragic and dramatic a manner is not an easy thing to get over. Somehow, it took losing Boris completely to make us all realize how very much we loved him. Love you, Boris!

I walked a mile with Pleasure
She chatted all the way
And left me none the wiser
For all she had to say

I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she
But oh! the things I learned that day,
When sorrow walked with me.
                                   --R. B. Hamilton

Amazon Woohoo!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Steampunk Holmes is now on Amazon!
Available in both Kindle and paperback formats, and shortly as an audiobook. (Sniff)
Link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Holmes-Legacy-Nautilus-Martin/dp/1780922469/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338424131&sr=8-1