Big Books and Mega Memory: The Stuff of Lifelong Learning

December 17, 2009 By 1 Comment

“Absent”? “Irreverent”? “Indifferent”?

Found it!

So that’s what they mean!

We hope to inspire lifelong learning with plenty of resources on hand like maps and dictionaries to help our kids figure things out.

But that’s not the only way. We also encourage lifelong learning by modeling it ourselves, demonstrating an interest in ideas, critical thinking, reading, and memorization.

This January, consider participating in Mega Memory Month. It’s a chance to stretch your mind by challenging your memory.

And it will show your kids that memory work isn’t just for history exams and Sunday School drills.

It will show them that memorization is a gift we give ourselves.

Join me and other lifelong learners in January 2010:

Mega Memory Month Returns January 2010!

Imperfect but hopefully charming photos of a lifelong learner exploring the dictionary by Ann Kroeker © 2009

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Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: children, family, lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, parenting, self-discovery, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing, taking risks Tagged With: , ,

The Gift of the Magi

December 15, 2009 By 3 Comments

I’ve been facilitating a literature class focusing on American literature.

This week I asked the class to read “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry because of its Christmas theme.

I thought you’d enjoy reading it, as well, and wanted to provide you with convenient resources to do so—it’s not long!

Read it online here or here (pick your favorite font!).

Or if you’re in the mood to be read to, you can listen to “The Gift of the Magi” read aloud:

  • Listen to the recording in MP3 format HERE.
  • Same recording; alternative format HERE.

After you read it, be sure to watch this charming vintage movie adaptation (available via YouTube):

Part 1 (about 10 minutes)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rpDP0ciGj8&feature=PlayList&p=81B9DD54F5380A38&index=0]

Part 2 (about 9 minutes)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chhBDjcnUko&feature=PlayList&p=81B9DD54F5380A38&index=1]

Part 3 (about 3 minutes)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbveS6avZC0&feature=PlayList&p=81B9DD54F5380A38&index=2]

Image by Brian C. “Frozen in Time.” 29 May 2003. Stock.xchng. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. <http://www.sxc.hu/photo/24094>

Get ready … Mega Memory Month returns January 2010!

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Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: books, creativity, lifelong learning, mind, reading, Recently Read, simplicity, writer, writers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Food on Fridays: Clementine Celebration

December 10, 2009 By 11 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply photograph your shopping list weighted down with an apple and call it a day. Publish. Link up. Believe me, as you will see below, if your post depicts, discusses or debates food in any way, it’ll do just fine as an addition to Food on Fridays.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Kristen (gingerbread with lemon sauce)

2. Hoosier Homemade( Christmas Cookies~ Day 10)

3. Yvonne@ Stone Gable ( Spicy Grown-Up Gingerbread Men

4. K @ Prudent and Practical {Christmas Dog Treats}

5. April@ The 21st Century Housewife Christmas Squares

6. Tara @ Feels like home (cajun style beans & rice)

 7. Kitchen Stewardship (What happened to my ghee?)

8. Sara (caramel chomeur)

9. Newlyweds (Friendship Casserole)

10. Twirland Taste- Deep Dish, Deep South Pecan Pie

11. My Heart My Home (Wassail)

12. Amber: Healthier Cheeseburger Soup

 13. Melodie (Chocolate, Pecan, Cranberry Clusters, Cocoa Mix and Sundae Sauce)

14. Jane Anne (Make- with- the- Kids Turkey)

15. Carla (Pot Pourri Starter)

16. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping( Mary Engelbreit’s ‘ Tis the Season Cook Book)

17. Leftovers On Purpose (Quick Bread)

18. Chocolate Cherry Granola with the Chefs

Food on Fridays with Ann

I love clementines.

That is all.

Clementine photos by Ann Kroeker © 2009.

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Get ready … Mega Memory Month returns January 2010!
It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: creativity, Food, Food on Fridays, simplicity Tagged With: , , ,

The $10 Challenge and Goodwill Toward Men

December 9, 2009 By 2 Comments

Christmas Change and the $10 Challenge have had me thinking differently about the way I live out the Advent season.

People are recording stories at Christmas Change and at the $10 Challenge headquarters about how they felt led to give.

One $10 story involved negotiating with a young rock salesman raising some cash to buy his mom a Christmas gift, while another told of a failed attempt at paying for Starbucks coffees anonymously (she paid for the coffees, but her secret identity was revealed by an enthusiastic, well-meaning barista).

In any case, the $10 Challenge encourages us to step out of our shopping mode and pay attention to the people around us.

Is there someone who could use a little good will from his fellow man?

I took the $10 Challenge.

And then I wrote about it at High Calling Blogs:

I fell asleep thinking about the $10 Challenge. I was sinking into that near-sleep zone when one word popped into my head: “Goodwill.”

So the next day I drove over to Goodwill with two of my kids. We pulled in behind an older, scraped-up Jeep SUV. The SUV pulled into a handicap-accessible spot in front of the door. The driver wore jeans, work boots, a faded jean jacket, and had a red, white and blue bandana tied around his longish hair. A woman about my age helped an elderly lady settle into a wheelchair.

I don’t know if they needed $10 or not, but I went ahead and bought a $10 Goodwill gift certificate (yes, Goodwill has gift certificates). After we finished shopping, the kids and I sat in the car for a few minutes while I wondered out loud if I should anonymously leave the certificate with those people or give it to a friend of mine who works at an inner-city grade school. She buys uniforms and coats at Goodwill for some of the neediest students.

“I like that idea,” my teenage daughter affirmed.

Read more at High Calling Blogs….

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Get ready … Mega Memory Month returns January 2010!

Filed Under: change, family, high calling blogs, self-discovery, simplicity, taking risks Tagged With: , ,

Arriving January 2010: The Return of Mega Memory Month

December 7, 2009 By 9 Comments

Mega Memory Month Returns January 2010!

As you wrap gifts and place them with anticipation under the tree, would you wrap up one more item?

Because there’s a gift I’d like you to give yourself:

the gift of memorizing something meaningful … something mega.

When we commit something to memory—passages of Scripture, poetry, famous speeches, hymns—we give ourselves a gift … a gift that keeps on giving, because whatever we commit to memory is internalized and accessible to revisit, ponder and share.

As someone who has placed her faith in Christ and turns to Scripture as her source of truth, I aim to make Scripture memory work a priority. I have enjoyed including poetry in my Mega Memory Month selections during previous MMM challenges, but this time my focus is exclusively Scripture.

Will you join me in January?

Memorizing something is a mega-powerful way to start out the new year.

  1. Pray about your selection.
  2. Type up and print out the passage you plan to memorize (consider using card stock for durability as you tote it around with you for a month).
  3. Wrap it up and place it under the tree with your name on it.

On Christmas Day, when you open it, celebrate the joy of the Word made flesh by committing to take to heart His words of truth.

psalm 121

Selection from Ann's July 2009 MMM

On January 1st, I’ll create a January 2010 Mega Memory Month carnival headquarters.

For an entire month, we’ll all work on our passages together and report back each week on our progress (Mondays).

At the end of the month, we’ll celebrate together whatever we managed to take in.

You won’t be alone.

I hope many will join the Mega Memory Month challenge in January, but you will have me along for the ride, at the very least.

I’m not an expert at memorizing, but I’ll be working hard.

And I’ll do my best to encourage you along the way.

• For starters, click HERE for my mega collection of memorization tips and techniques.

• Also, visit Holy Experience for more inspiration and practical suggestions for memorizing Scripture.

Our minds (and hearts!) can hold more than we think they can.

Photo showing some of my well-used, crumpled July 2009 Mega Memory Month work.

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM, taking risks, Uncategorized

Food on Fridays: Favorite Fondue

December 3, 2009 By 7 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply tell us how many dozen cookies you agreed to donate to the neighborhood cookie exchange or reveal how many bags of flour you have in the pantry for Christmas baking projects.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Hoosier Homemade( Christmas Cookies~ Day 4)

2. Kristen (s’ mores bars)

3. Butter Yum – Pure Pumpkin Cheesecake

4. Butter Yum – Death by Chocolate Cake

5. Leftovers On Purpose (Apple Stuffing)

6. My Heart My Home (Holiday Pretzels)

7. Newlyweds (Cranberry Caramelized Onion Cheese Spread)

8. Twirland Taste- Roll Around

9. Dining With Debbie( Lobel’s Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya)

 10. April@ The 21st Century Housewife

11. Alea @ Premeditated Leftovers Easy Triple Chocolate Cake)

12. K @ Prudent and Practical {WORLD’S Easiest Guacamole}

13. Stretch Mark Mama (Cappuccino Flats)

14. Tara @ Feels like home (double choc pecan cookies)

15. Heather @ Just Doing My Best (Hospitality Dish)

16. Carla (Gingerbread Men)

17. Sonshine( crockpot roast & veggies)

18. Robin Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake

 19. Geri@ heartnsoulcooking (lorange- cranberry bread)

20. Geri@ heartnsoulcooking (raspberry royal bars)

21. Breastfeeding Moms Unite! (Lentil Burgers and Rosemary Baked Fries)

22. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping( The Cookie Cookbook)

23. SUGARPLUM( LULAS RECHEADAS- STUFFED CALAMARI)

24. Sara (cinnamon sugar muffins)

25. Suzie Lind

26. Trish Southard

Food on Fridays with Ann

Some of you may have caught on Twitter (@annkroeker) or Facebook the fondue recipe I used from this site:

Extraordinary (and Simple) Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

16 ounces dark, sweet or semi-sweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1 1/2 cups light cream (I used half-and-half)

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Break chocolate squares into smaller pieces and drop them into the fondue pot. (Or just toss in the chocolate chips)

2. Add cream (which will prevent the chocolate from going lumpy) and stir gently but constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

3. Add vanilla extract and stir.

4. Use a fondue fork to spear the fruit, then dip it in the chocolate. Enjoy!

We dipped pears, bananas, and apples, and a few sticky old marshmallows we found in the back of the cabinet.

I had everything on hand.

It was ready in minutes.

We ate too much.

But it was good.

(p.s. It reheats well)

Gather some friends and family for a battle-of-the-fondue-recipes night:

Try Extraordinary (and Simple) Chocolate Fondue next to…

  • Stretch Mark Mama’s Fudgy Chocolate Fondue!
  • Do you have a favorite fondue? Leave yours in the comments and I’ll update this list with your recipe link when possible.

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Filed Under: creativity, Food, Food on Fridays, simplicity, Slow Movement, slowing Tagged With: , ,

Something to Ask Ourselves

December 2, 2009 By 15 Comments

peace ornament

Last night I attended a book club.

Their December selection was Not So Fast, and the group invited me to join them for discussion!

It was a lot of fun to be with such a vibrant, intelligent, and gracious group of ladies.

I’ve hoped that Not So Fast will prompt many such discussions among groups, friends and families, as people analyze whether or not their pace of life is healthy and sustainable over the long haul. I love hearing readers wonder out loud if their choices really reflect their values, their goals, and their concept or definition of “success.”

If your book club or women’s group ever chooses to read Not So Fast together, I’d be happy to join you. It’s fun to hang out in person, but if you’re far from Indiana, I’m game to join your discussion via Skype.

Before the meeting I had dinner with three of the group members. One of them proposed that we pose a question to the group. Unfortunately, we talked about so many things that we didn’t get around to asking the question.

It’s simple, though, and a good one. I thought I’d pose it to you:

This Christmas, as schedules grow more hectic and shopping threatens to consume …

What do you want to be sure not to miss?

Peace ornament a gift from the group. Photo by Ann Kroeker.

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: family, home, self-discovery, simplicity, slowing Tagged With: , , , ,

Food on Fridays: 3 Thanksgiving Tips

November 27, 2009 By 6 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish or post and link to a picture of your pies.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Hoosier Homemade( Sugar Cookies)

2. Kristen (Thanksgiving Dinner)

3. Newlyweds (Macaroon Pudding)

4. Sarah@ Beautyinthemundane( easy bruschetta)

 5. Kari @ Eating Simply – Butternut Squash Soup

6. Jen @ Scraps and Snippets (pumpkin bars, egg cups, china cabinet)

7. Twirland Taste- KATHY BATES

8. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping( Ahhhh- I’ve Been ” Black Friday Shopping”!

 9. Andrea@ Hopeannfaith’s Emotional Well

10. Carla (Thanksgiving Notes)

Food on Fridays with Ann

Thanksgiving is over and our fridge is packed with leftovers.

So I decided to share some leftovers here, as well, adapting an old Thanksgiving post from the archives:

I learned a handy potato tip from a Belgian cook named Jacqueline.

My mother-in-law asked Jacqueline how she prepared for big gatherings. What did she do in advance?

Jacqueline lifted the cover of a clean white bucket to reveal a mound of peeled potatoes covered in water.

“What’s this?” I asked my mother-in-law in English. The meal wasn’t until the next day, but the potatoes were already peeled.

“The potatoes,” my mother-in-law replied.

“I see that, but…” I hesitated, not wanting to seem like I was doubting her friend’s kitchen know-how, “I thought potatoes go brown if you don’t cook them right after peeling.”

“I thought so, too,” my mother-in-law admitted, “but Jacqueline says that as long as they’re completely covered with water, they’re fine!”

Tip #1

Get Some Dirty Work Out of the Way: Submerge Peeled Potatoes

Instead of peeling potatoes at the last minute while the turkey is being carved, I follow Jacqueline’s example and peel them as early as the day before, though this year I peeled them in the morning. Then I just cover them in water and top with a lid, all ready to go.

Tip #2

Don’t Mash the Potatoes–Blend!

Instead of mashing by hand, smashing for several wrist-wrenching minutes, simply plug in the hand mixer and whirr away. So fast. So simple. Such smooth, lump-free potatoes.

And if you really feel crazy and daring (maybe not on Thanksgiving, but some other time), you can also cook sweet potatoes or carrots and blend them together with the potatoes.

Tip #3

Ann’s All-Time Favorite Pumpkin Pie

My mom made the pumpkin pies this year, but when it’s my turn, I have a favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

I’ve experimented with several recipes. Most of them have been, well, “meh.”

My all-time favorite?

Stokely’s:

PUMPKIN PIE (STOKELY’S BACK-OF-CAN)

1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 C brown sugar

1 T flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1/4 t ground cloves

1 9-inch unbaked homemade pie crust.

Preheat oven to 450. Blend all ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 20 mins.

Reduce temperature to 350. Bake 35 minutes more or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on rack.

I cover the crust-edges with strips of aluminum foil formed into curves and balanced along the rim of the pie pan. They stay there almost the entire baking time. For the last 10-15 minutes I take off the foil and let the crust get a little brown. Otherwise it almost burns.

p.s. For those who saw my Thanksgiving Preview, I chose not to use the white tablecloth. Instead, I opted for two very long coordinating cloths on our two long tables. They’re golden. I thought you should know, as I felt sort of hypocritical folding up the white one and tucking it back into the storage cabinet.

My mom assures me that we will, however, have pea salad; and for that, I’m truly grateful.

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Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays, home, simplicity Tagged With: , , , ,

Practice Gratitude This Week (and Year 'Round)

November 23, 2009 By 2 Comments
sand thank you

"Giving Thanks" photo by Gisela Giardino

Thankfulness.

Gratitude.

This is the week to think about it, talk about it, and best of all, practice it.

But if we limit our gratitude to only one week or one day a year, we’ll miss out on many benefits that are associated with the regular practice of gratitude. I find that I need to not only list the things I’m grateful for but also take time to say “thank You” to our heavenly Father, Whom I believe is the source of all good and perfect gifts.

For a little inspiration, check out the quotes that Diane Eble gathered at her website: “Multiple Benefits of Gratitude.”

And then visit some of the sites that have inspired bloggers all over the ‘Net to list the things for which they are grateful.

One Thousand Gifts

Ann Voskamp launched One Thousand Gifts several years ago and now hosts a regular Gratitude Community.

holy experience

In this post, Ann V. describes how the process of regularly giving thanks has changed her.

It is happening to me as John Milton wrote: “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”

Everyday epiphanies everywhere, indeed: gifts….Grace.

“… the smell of the florist’s… the sound of kernels of corn streaming, tinkling…. leaves floating in puddles…” Just writing them down as they happen.

Yet my list is different than another’s for a reason: God has made me uniquely me. The Gift List is about gratitude… but it is more. It is about what defines me and my own personal identity. Reflecting on The Thousand Gifts List… “…cracking open a new book… pushing children on the swing…. old men looking at cards in the stationery aisle…” I am thankful for the things on it, yes, but I am also thankful that He has given the gift of me; that God made me who I am and I am one who sees and experiences the world in a way uniquely her own. The Thousand Gifts list is about the gifts Abba gives this child every day… and, ultimately, about the very gift of self, life as I know it.

George MacDonald wrote, “No gift unrecognized as coming from God is at its own best…when in all gifts we find Him, then in Him we shall find all things.”

It is the season of lists. Care to begin a list of a Thousand Gifts? You’ll find Him in all things—the very best gift of all.

Inspired, I actually began my own list back in 2007.

Then apparently I stopped (publicly). But I intend to pick it up again this week and continue the practice.

Thankful Thursday

Still dating back to 2007 posts in that era, I did manage to think of a few things to be grateful for, which I cited with “Thankful,” though I didn’t count them as part of the thousand. Instead, I tagged another carnival, Thankful Thursday. The hosts encourage participants to jump in any time and not feel obligated to post every week:

Why be thankful on Thursdays? We tend to just give thanks on Thanksgiving; why not share your blessings on a weekly basis with us? You don’t have to participate every week; do it as often as you can. The road of life is hard, let us count our blessings as we travel this road…

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name”

~ Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

Friday Felicities

Friday Felicities was a gratitude carnival launched by Nattie Rose, who passed away in 2007. Natalie Rose blogged at “Nattie Writes!” (her Daddy continues). In May 2007, she was still blogging with gratitude even after being diagnosed with the cancer that quickly took her from us in June of that year.

Natalie Rose’s persistent gratitude inspired Becky Perry of Joyful Mother of Boys to continue Friday Felicities.

“What are felicities, you ask?” Becky asks rhetorically. “Why they are things that make you happy!”

And anything that makes a person happy is something to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving Celebration

If you visit High Calling Blogs this week, you can read about L.L. Barkat’s “5 Pies and a Lulav” and then join in our week-long Thanksgiving Celebration:

Would you like to share a Thanksgiving reflection or tradition? Drop your post link here in our comment box and place our special Thanksgiving Celebration badge in your post so others can see what we’re up to. We look forward to your offerings.

thanksgiving celebration

Image by: Gisela Giardino. “Giving Thanks,” 23 Nov. 2006. Flickr. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/gi/304120801/> (All sizes of this photo are available for download under a Creative Commons license.)

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Visit NotSoFastBook.com to learn more about Ann’s new book.

Filed Under: blog, blogging, change, One Thousand Gifts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Food on Fridays: When the Frost is on the Punkin

November 19, 2009 By 4 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can simply tell us if you’re hosting Thanksgiving—link to your post quickly and then by all means, return to your shopping and cleaning!

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Please note: I return when possible during the day and update this post by hand to include a list of the links provided via Mr. Linky. If I can’t get to the computer to do so, you may access them all by clicking on the Mister Linky logo.

Food on Fridays Participants

1. Kristen (2 pumpkin pie options)

2. Hannah @ Mulberry Spot (sweet potato salad)

3. Hoosier Homemade( Gifts of Good Taste)

4. K @ Prudent and Practical {Olive Chip Dip}

5. Tara @ Feels like home (holiday treats)

6. Family Balance Sheet (Butternut Squash and Cranberry Muffins)

 7. Amy @ Amy Loves It! (Pecan Pie Recipe)

8. The Prudent Homemaker (Potato Soup)

9. Newlyweds (Chicken Fried Steak and gravy)

10. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping( Kids’ Cookbook Goes Step- By- Step)

11. Marcia@ Frugalhomekeeping( BHG’s All- Time Favorite Pies Cookbook)

12. Sara (Tgiving side dishes)

 13. Geri@ heartnsoulcooking (lemon pecan cookies)

14. Geri@ heartnsoulcooking (lpumpkin ice cream torte w/gingersnap crust)

15. The Packet Queen (Shepherd’s Pie)

16. Pamm @ Leftovers On Purpose (Pie Plate Pizza)

17. My Heart My Home (Pecan Pie)

Food on Fridays with Ann

I insist that to participate in Food on Fridays, you can link to posts that aren’t obviously about food; your content can be subtle. In the introductory paragraph (see above), it says that “any post remotely related to food is welcome.”

So this is a chance for me to demonstrate how to jump in with barely applicable content.

The kids and I went to the orchard recently to pick apples.

We hunted for a “Potimarron” in a bin of squash, but only saw these:

There were pumpkins, of course—lots of them.

When the kids spotted them, one of them exclaimed, “The frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!”

You see, many mornings, I read a poem aloud to the kids.

A week or so ago, the poem I selected was “When the Frost is on the Punkin” by Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley.

As you know, I’m trying to respect copyrights. To do so, I have to be cautious about posting poems and songs. Therefore, instead of typing out the poem in this post, I encourage you to click the title above or here to read the poem. It’s charming.

And if you have a few minutes, I found a YouTube video of a cigar-smoking country gentleman named Ken Rislev reciting the poem by heart.

Before Mr. Rislev begins, he explains that he memorized the poem to please his father. If you have 4 minutes 45 seconds, you can listen to the whole thing, including his personal story that provides context for the recitation.

But if you only have time to hear the poem, move the counter forward to 1:45 and enjoy Mr. Rislev’s presentation of “The Frost is on the Punkin,” in a voice perfectly suited to deliver Riley’s humble, rustic dialect.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEY9iYQ-Ves]

Bonus: Recipes from Ann that use Punkin

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Filed Under: creativity, Food, Food on Fridays, lifelong learning, memorization Tagged With: , , , , , ,