Category Archives: Thought of the Day

Helena Bonham Carter 5.26.13 Thought of the Day

“I should get a few ribs taken out, because I’ll be in a corset for the rest of my life.” —Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter at the press conference o...

Helena Bonham Carter at the press conference of “Toast”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Helena Bonham Carter was born on this day in London, England in 1966. She is 47 years old.

She is youngest of three children born to Elena and Raymond Bonham Carter. Her mother is a psychotherapist, her father was a banker. She went to South Hampstead High School  and Westminster School.  Although not formally trained as an actress Bonham Carter had plenty of gumption and talent. When she won second place in a national poetry writing competition she used the money she won to put her head shot in a casting directory. She started to get commercials and made a few television dramas.

Her first feature film was in 1985 with A Room with a View in which she played Lucy Honeychurch. The following year she nabbed the title role as Lady Jane Grey in Lady Jane. Period drama seemed in her blood and she was quickly dubbed the “Corset Queen” for her roles like:

  • Ophelia in Hamlet,
  • Caroline Abbott in Where Angels Fear to Tread,
  • Helen Schiegel in Howards End,
  • Elizabeth in Frankenstein,
  • Olivia in Twelfth Night and
  • Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove.

But she could bring the drama (nd occasionally  a darkly comic sensibility) to more modern roles too, as she did in Fight Club, Live from Baghdad, and Terminator Salvation.

After 2001, when she played Ari, a sympathetic ape in Planet of the Apes, she seemed to take on a new type of typecasting and this beautiful actress was suddenly thrust into the role of the haggard witch…which is what she played in Big Fish and the Harry Potter. She also did  creepy variations on that genre with her roles as:

  • Mrs. Lovett in Sweeny Todd,
  • Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables
  • Miss Havisham in Great Expectations and
  • the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.

Then she did a perfectly lovely, warm and very funny turn as the Queen Mom in the wonderful The King’s Speech. She earned an Academy Award nomination for the role.

Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter filming T...

Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter filming The King’s Speech at Queen Street Mill Textile Museum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Upcoming for films for Bonham Carter include:

  • The Lone Ranger
  • The Young and Prodigious Spivet and
  • Burton & Taylor (She plays Taylor to Dominic West’s Burton for the BBC biopic that promises to out act the Lifetime / Lindsay Lohan movie on the famous pair, Liz and Dick.)

Secondary Character Saturday: Sean Bean:Eddard “Ned” Stark

Alas today is the final Saturday in a month full of Sean Bean. Sorry ladies.

Click here to read about his work as Odysseus, Boromir, and as Ian Howe.

Winter Is Coming

Winter Is Coming (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WHO: Eddark Stark

Bran’s father sat solemnly on his horse, long brown hair stirring in the wind. His closely trimmed beard was shot with white, making him look older than his thirty-five years. He had a grim cast to his grey eyes this day, and he seemed not at all the man who would sit before the fire in the evening and talk softly of the age of heroes and the children of the forest. He had taken off Father’s face, Bran thought and donned the face of Lord Stark of Winterfell. [A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, Bantam Books, New York, New York]

Dust slipcase and title page of George R.r. Martin's A Game of Thrones.

Dust slipcase and title page of George R.r. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

FROM: Game of Thrones

BY: George R. R. Martin

RELEASED: The book was released in 1996. The HBO mini series premiered in 2011

Game of Thrones (soundtrack)

Game of Thrones (soundtrack) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PROS: Ned Stark is a stand up guy. He loves his family deeply and would do anything for them. He’s a strong leader and has a highly defined set of morals. He is honorable and honest. He is a loyal friend. “Stoic, duty-bound and honorable, Ned Stark embodied the values of the north.” [HBO Game of Thrones viewer’s Guide]

Direwolf illustration from the book. Teh Direwolf is the symbol for House Stark.

Direwolf illustration from the book. Teh Direwolf is the symbol for House Stark.

CONS: He is too much of a stickler for the rules to get along in the political cest pool of Kings Landing. He is cold and unbending to those who don’t know him. He holds a grudge.

QUOTE: “Winter is coming

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Forced with the choice between honor and truth (and death) or saving his daughters and lying (thus condemning himself to a life in the Night Watch) he goes breaks his very moral code for the sake of the girls. Oh, that every one in Kings Landing were as honorable.

Direwolf illustration from the HBO miniseries

Direwolf illustration from the HBO miniseries

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Lord Stark is both the strongest and most gullible character in the book. He’s an incredible role model for his family, but sadly, not every one is playing by his rules. So I guess Ned’s least shining moments happen when he assumes that other characters will act as nobly as he has acted toward them. Most notably when he tells Cersie that he knows none of her children are legitimate.

So his most shining moment and least shining moment result in the same thing… when asked what madness lead him to tell the queen that he’d unearthed the truth about Prince Joffrey’s birth, honorable Ned Stark replies “The madness of mercy. That she might save her children.” Oh, Ned, will you never learn?

End paper from A Game of Thrones showing a map of the North. The Starks live in Winterfell which is about center on the map.

End paper from A Game of Thrones showing a map of the North. The Starks live in Winterfell which is about center on the map.

This may just be Sean Bean’s most noble role to date. And he wears every minute of stress and responsiblity of leadership  on his weathered face. The range of interactions from how he treats his family to how he deals with the small council is a joy to watch. I  have other problems with the production (as usual with HBO there’s too much graphic…well everything) but I have no problem with the honorable Ned Stark… or the man who plays him.


“The Handels” A Saga

Again this week I’m doing a bit of creative writing with the help of Viewfromtheside’s writing prompt blog. This week’s prompt was “Handles.” I took it in a kind of odd direction. I hope you lie it…

Portrait of Georg Friedrich Händel Deutsch: Ge...

Portrait of Georg Friedrich Händel Deutsch: Georg Friedrich Händel (1733) Español: Georg Friedrich Händel en 1733 Français : Georg Friedrich Haendel en 1733 Nederlands: Georg Friedrich Händel Polski: G. F. Händel w 1733 roku Русский: Георг Фридрих Гендель (1733) Svenska: Georg Friedrich Händel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

[Communiqué #2)

25 April, 2012

Dear Sirs,

I thank you for your very kind inquiry and your interest in my family. It is certainly gratifying to know that after so many years the Handel name has not been lost to the dusty pages of history.

I find your proposal intriguing to say the least. A major motion picture biography on my esteemed uncle would certainly prove both educational and entertaining for your audience. And, as you say, it would have a top rate sound track “built in”.

Indeed my uncle had a long and interesting life, and although he was notoriously private in nature he had many friends. His travels though out the continent and his intimate connections with nobility will no doubt titillate your viewing audience.

Yes, I am sure we can come to a most beneficial agreement as to your researching our family archives and as my uncle’s executress I can guarantee your access to many of his personal effects.

I am most anxious for this project to proceed to the next level, but for the integrity of the Handel name I must insist on having some over sight on the script and production. I have no doubt that you will want this film to be as biographically accurate as possible, and, as this is my most sincere wish, I’m sure we will have a most fruitful enterprise.

Yours most sincerely,

Johanna Fridericia Floerken

Westminister, London

————————————————–

[Communiqué #3)

Date: 5.14.12

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Johanna,

So glad to have you on board with our little project. I’ll have our legal department write-up a contract and if all goes well we’ll get some researchers over to your side of the pond next month.

Yours,

Laurie

PS This is going to be a great movie!

————————————————–

[Communiqué #53)

Date: 8.6.12

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Johanna,

Some really exciting news on the project…

We’ve got our first star lined up. Are you sitting down? Daniel Craig has agreed to play George Frideric Handel! And Anthony Hopkins has agreed to play the King.

The latest draft is attached.

What’s your availability next week? I need to set up some time to scout for locations.

Yours,

Laurie

————————————————–

[Communiqué #78)

Date: 10.24.12

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Johanna,

I think you are really going to love this… We’ve reworked the concept to be cable network friendly. We’re in negotiations with Showtime and HBO right now and are feeling really good about it. This way we can expand the script to a multi episode format. We are thinking 6 or 8 part miniseries. That’s wonderful, isn’t it?

Yours,

Laurie

————————————————–

[Communiqué #103)

Date: 11.30.12

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Johanna,

And we have a network! Hello HALLMARK!

I think you’ll find that Hallmark does a wonderful job bringing a really human side out of every story. We didn’t want all the sex and violence that the HBO and Showtime folks were demanding anyway.  This is going to be great.

Yours,

Laurie

————————————————–

[Communiqué #158)

Date: 1.15.13

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Johanna,

Well, every production has its ups and downs, and I’m afraid the change from major release to miniseries has meant a change in schedule that didn’t work for our line up of stars. Mr. Craig and Mr. Hopkins have had to step away from the project. But I am 100% positive we’ll find some one just as dynamic.

— Laurie

PS You can stop looking for possible locations too. We’ll be filming at the studio here in Hollywood. It’s a cost thing.

————————————————–

[Communiqué #78)

Date: 4.13.13

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

Johanna,

Well we found our Young Handel… None other than Mr. Justin Bieber. The Biebs is looking to expand his acting cred and “The Handels” is just the right project for him. He’s all about the music.

Things are really looking up.

–Laurie

PS Lester is no longer Exec Producer on the project. (Not like he was doing any of the work, right?)

————————————————–

[Communiqué #109)

Date: 4.22.13

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: Laurie Donlevi-Jones
Project Manager
“The Handels”
Hollywood, California, USA

Johanna,

I’m really excited about our the new stars we’ve lines up for the roles of adult Handel and the King… Eddy Murphy and Dick Van Dyke. I know the casting is a little edgy, but I think you’ll agree it is just perfect.

— Laurie

———————————————

[Communiqué #126)

Date: 5.23.13

To: Johanna Fridericia Floerken
Westminster, London, England

From: The Law Office of Ward, Huggins and Huggins

RE: “The Handels”

CC: Lester Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.; Laurie Donlevi-Jones, Amazing Productings, LLC.

Dear Mrs. Fridericia Floerken,

Please be advised that the project known as “The Handels” as been put on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time…

————————————————


Pieter Neefs the Younger 5.22.13 Thought of the Day

Interior of a Cathedral

Interior of a Cathedral (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pieter Neefs, the Younger was born on this day in Antwerp, Belgium,  in 1620. Today is the  393rd anniversary of his birth.

Pieter  was one of five children born to Pieter Neefs the Elder and Maria Lauterbeens Neef.  Along with his brother, Ludovicus, he learned to paint from his father,  an established architectural painter. By 1640, when Pieter the Younger was 20 years old, he was working with his father and brother full-time, although he’d never gone through formal training or been registered at the guild hall.

Interior of a Church

Interior of a Church (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The subject of most of the Neefs paintings was the interiors of the great churches of Antwerp. The grand interiors of a church allowed the Neefs to explore both perspective and light in their detailed paintings.

Their most frequent subject was the interior of Antwerp Cathedral; the details of sculpture, altars and paintings vary in accuracy, and sometimes the subject seems to be very freely interpreted. The Neefs also liked to depict the effects of artificial illumination in crypt-like spaces (in the manner of Hendrick van Steenwijck the younger). [Sphinx Fine Art . com]

The artist worked together, often on the same subject, so it is sometimes difficult to tell where one Pieter’s work ends and the next Pieter’s work begins.

English: Interior of a Gothic Church

English: Interior of a Gothic Church (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But Pieter Neefs the Younger’s work makes …

a more reserved impression; their colouring is smoother, and they are not as dark in the shadows, while their drawing is sharper. Solely working as architectural painters, they had the figures added to the finished works by colleagues. [Dorotheum.com]

He died some time after 1675.

Interior of a Gothic Church

Interior of a Gothic Church (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Bernie Taupin 5.22.13 Thought of the Day

English: Bernie Taupin attending the premiere ...

English: Bernie Taupin attending the premiere of The Union at the Tribeca Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Don’t let the sun go down on me.” — Bernie Taupin

Bernard John Taupin was born on this day in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England in 1950. He is 63 years old.

Bernie was the middle son born to Robert and Daphne Taupin. His father was a farmer and stock man, his mother a nanny. He has an older brother, Tony. Little brother Christopher (aka Kit) came along 11 years after Bernie was born.

Bernie credits his mother and paternal grandfather for instilling him with an appreciation for literature, nature, history, music and poetry. Although Bernie didn’t have much interest in traditional education, he demonstrated an uncommon flair for writing.  [Bernie Taupin Biography]

At 15 he dropped out of school  and spent two years hopping from one dead-end job to the next in rural England. Then, in 1967, he saw an ad in New Musical Express. Liberty Records was looking for talent. He answered the ad. So did Reginald Kenneth Dwight (aka Elton John). The two joined forces to become one of the best song writing teams in the history of rock and roll.

Publicity photo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Publicity photo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With a musical partnership that has lasted longer than many marriages the John and Taupin have released 356 songs (more than “Lennon/McCartney and Jagger/Richards combined” [Elton John.com]  According to John Taupin makes it easy…

…He’s a very cinematic writer. I get a piece of paper [from him] and it has as story on it. Then I sit down at the keyboard and hope and pray that something is going to come out. Because the story that he’s telling affects what I’m hearing. [Ibid]

Although Taupin wrote with other musicians (Alice Cooper, Melissa Manchester and Heart to name a few) it was the songs he forged with Elton John that became the sound track to a post Beatles generation.

Their first hit was  1970’s Your Song. 

[OK I’m going to stop writing for a while and just let you listen to some of the best of Bernie and Elton… feel free to sing along and play air guitar/piano or drums as you wish]

Here’s Tiny Dancer

and Benny and Jets 

and Yellow Brick Road

and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting

and Philadelphia Freedom

and Sad Songs (Say So Much)

and Daniel

and Sun Go Down On Me

Bernie lives with his family on a working ranch in southern California where he breeds and trains cutting horses, hosts his own radio show, Bernie Taupin’s American Roots Radio, on Sirius/ XM Channel 30, and pursues a successful career as a painter. This year, “Beyond Words: An Exhibition Of Contemporary & Extraordinary Artworks By Famed Lyricist & Artist Bernie Taupin” has been touring select art galleries across America. [Elton John.com]


Albrecht Dürer 5.21.13 Thought of the Day

“What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things.” — Albrecht Dürer.

Self-portrait, 1498. Museo del Prado, Madrid. ...

Self-portrait, 1498. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Oil on wood panel, 52 cm x 41 cm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Albrecht Dürer was born on this day in Nuremberg, Germany in 1471. Today is the 542nd anniversary of his birth.

Dürer  was the third child born to Albrecht and Barbara Dürer. Although the family name “Dürer” means door maker, his father was actually a successful goldsmith. It was from his father that young Albrecht learned to work with gold and to draw. His talent for art led him to an apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut at 15 and then to travel throughout Europe to study with various artist.

Durer self-portrait at the age of thirteen. , ...

Durer self-portrait at the age of thirteen. , Albertina. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dürer’s skill set grew to include woodcuts, water colors, print making, drafting, and oil painting.

 Dürer revolutionized printmaking, elevating it to the level of an independent art form. He expanded its tonal and dramatic range, and provided the imagery with a new conceptual foundation. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art]

He came back to Nuremberg in 1495 and opened his own workshop. He did three woodcut series, Passion, Apocalypse and Life of the Virgin  in the next few years. His work included both sacred and secular subjects.

…Such as the so-called Master Engravings featuring Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513; 43.106.2), Saint Jerome in His Study (1514), and Melancholia I (1514; 43.106.1), which were intended more for connoisseurs and collectors than for popular devotion. Their technical virtuosity, intellectual scope, and psychological depth were unmatched by earlier printed work. [Ibid]

Dürer’s time abroad, especially in Italy, influenced his ascetic chiefly in the areas of persepective, proportion and human anatomy. He wrote the Four Books on Human Proportion.

c. 1490-1493

c. 1490-1493 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1512  the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian 1 became Dürer’s patron.

What Dürer was angling for was a lifetime imperial pension, and he got one, though at the price of taking on hackwork. Along with other court artists, he was ordered to design an array of ceremonial stage props to enhance the emperor’s status visually. Most of this stuff — chariots, arches, froufrou armor — was just shiny, expensive junk, and a waste of creative energy. [NYTimes.com]

That didn’t stop him from pursuing Maximilian’s successor, Charles V., as his next patron. About this time he also became interested in the teachings of Martin Luther.

Late in his life he painted his final masterpiece,  two large panels for the Nuremberg town hall, The Four Apostles. In one panel St. John is in the foreground with St. Peter in the background, in the second panel St. Paul takes the foreground with St. Mark in the background.

The Four Apostles

The Four Apostles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Four Apostles

The Four Apostles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He died in 1528 at the age of 56.

Dürer's Rhinoceros, a fanciful 'armoured' depi...

Dürer’s Rhinoceros, a fanciful ‘armoured’ depiction. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Summer fun with Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

The BSF's Summer with Shakespeare: Performance Workshops take place  July 29 - Aug 16.

The BSF’s Summer with Shakespeare: Performance Workshops take place July 29 – Aug 16.

If you:

  • live near Baltimore, Maryland,
  • are kid about to start 3rd to 12th grade,
  • and you like Shakespeare

… boy do I have a deal for you!

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is offering three, one week long workshops that will allow kids to experience what it might be like to travel back in time to the 1600s and be a part of the fun and excitement of Shakespeare’s acting company–The King’s Men. The BSF’s  “Summer with Shakespeare:Performance Workshops” will help students develop acting skills, make friends, build confidence, and develop an appreciation and understanding of Shakespeare’s work.

The campers will:

  • Work one-on-one with professional actors and educators
  • Learn and practice the same acting techniques Baltimore Shakespeare Factory uses in its productions
  • Study Shakespeare’s poetic language in ways that make it easy to understand, and learn how to use to enrich performance
  • Bring some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters to life!

“Shakespeare is a wonderful platform to get the kids active and engaged in group activity that stretches their imaginations as well as their ability to interpret complex language.  And it is a ton of fun!” says Wendy Meetze, Director of Education for the BSF.

This is the second year for the camp in Baltimore City (the camp is held in the Meadow at Evergreen House on Charles). The group, which began in Carroll County, hosted a similar camp starting in 2006 and have taught over 500 students. That Carroll County camp is still going strong on the campus of Century High School.

Students come in all shapes, sizes and from various backgrounds and skill levels. “Kids who are interested in theatre are especially attracted to the workshops” says Meetze, but “we truly believe there is no “typical” Shakespearean student or audience member. Shakespeare wrote for EVERYONE in his time, from peasants to princes.”

The camp will offer a small group setting with lots of one on one coaching. As a non-musical theatre performance camp the focus is squarely on the script, something that sets this camp apart from other performing arts camps in the area. “While the outcome is a production, the curriculum is a healthy mix of various skills needed to make that production a reality,” said Meetze. The campers perform their production prior to the professional company’s Friday performance. “We find the kids learn so much more by comparing and contrasting their version to a full production. There have certainly been occasions where our professional actors have discovered something new during the student’s performance!”

For more information on the camp, including a link to register  CLICK HERE.

Summer clipping

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory  is dedicated to bringing the works of William Shakespeare to life for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. In Shakespeare’s time (1564-1616), the theater was accessible to everyone, and The Factory prides itself on continuing that tradition by presenting professional quality work at affordable prices.

This year, the group, which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, will present Hamlet and Mid Summer Night’s Dream this summer in the Meadow at Evergreen House on Charles Street and at other locals around town.  Click HERE for Hamlet’s schedule. Click HERE for Mid Summer’s Schedule.

Factory productions bring Shakespeare’s works to life in a way that is accessible to modern audiences without compromising the cornerstone of their artistic and literary merit—Shakespeare’s original language. The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is built on a love of language, and productions are designed to not only help audiences understand Shakespeare’s words, but to love them, too.

This year the BSF launched it’s “4 free, 4 ever!” campaign which hopes to raise $750,000 by April , 2016–the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s Death> This will allow the group to present its shows at no cost to the public the following season.

Play on 4 free


Muffin Monday: Rhubarb Delight Muffins

Rhubarb Delight Muffins

IMG_4969

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C. Brown Sugar

IMG_4936

  • 3/4 C. Demerara Sugar  (You could just use 1 1/4 Brown Sugar if you don’t have the Demerara Sugar)

IMG_4937

  • 1/2 C. Vegetable oil

IMG_4907

  • 1 Egg

IMG_4939

  • 2 1/2 C. Flour

IMG_4908

  • 2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt

IMG_4946

  • 1 C. Milk

IMG_4906

  • 2 tsp. Vanilla

IMG_4540

  • 1 1/2 C. Rhubarb (finely diced)

IMG_4941

Topping Mixture:

  • 1/4 c White Chocolate Chips
  • 1/2 Almonds
  • 1/2 C. Sugar
  • 2 T. Butter

IMG_4954

Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Put muffin pants into the muffin tin and spray lightly.

2. Mix the first four ingredients together (the Sugars, Oil and Egg)

IMG_4940

3. Add Flour,Baking Soda and Salt  all at once.

IMG_4947

4. Combine Milk and Vanilla in a measuring cup.

5. Add Milk to the batter and stir until completely mixed.

6. Fold in the diced Rhubarb.

IMG_4952

7. Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups. (This recipe made 12 large muffins.) Set aside and make the Topping.

8. In the measuring cup you used for the milk and vanilla melt the butter.

9. Grind the Almonds in a blender or nut mill.

10. Combine the Nuts, Sugar and ground Almonds together in the measuring cup. Add the White Chocolate Chips.

IMG_4958

11. Spoon the topping onto the muffins, dividing evenly.

IMG_4960

This is what one of the muffins looks like pre-baked

12. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Using the toothpick test to determine if they are done.

IMG_4965

13. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring muffins to a cool surface. Let cool for an additional 5 to 10 minutes before you enjoy.

IMG_4971

Sorry these muffins aren’t very healthy. I’m going to try to make them again with out so much sugar. But every spring the god’s give us rhubarb and you’ve got to do something with it, right?  Your house will smell amazing while these little darlings are baking. And the will power you show by not munching on them the second they come out of the oven will off set the will power you don’t show by  indulging in their sweet wonderfulness (maybe twice.)

These are simply fantastic muffins and would make a great dessert.

They are awesome on their own, but if you want the ultimate treat you could add one to a bowl of black cherry ice cream and just go straight to heaven.

IMG_4973

Serving suggestion.

 

 

 


Just saying … this is post 401.

400

Yea, so… 400 posts, 34,854views, 594 comments and 234 followers on Word Press (plus a bunch more on Facebook).

I’m coming up on my 1st anniversary (May 25th) as a blogger and I’m really pleased that I haven’t skipped a single day!

I’m considering some changes — my initial goal of “just write something every day” has been achieved, and I’d like to focus more on my creative writing. So I’ll probably only do a Thought of the Day bioBLOG when I find some one really interesting who is having a birthday. But, I am enjoying the recipe blog posts (you seem to like them too, I get my best responses on Muffin Mondays) and Secondary Character Saturdays…  so I’ll keep those up.

What do you think?

Has the experiment been a success?

What was your favorite bioBLOG? (I think mine was Queen Min of Korea, but I really enjoyed all the bios where I learned about some one new.)

Your feed back is really important to me and I can’t thank my readers, followers and  commenters enough. Thank you  x  infinity guys!

 

Cheers,

Rita (who loves to write)