Mother's Day

Last year, I took some Wilton courses and my mom was so overjoyed with the cake hat I made her except she doesn't like fondant.

Therefore for mother's day this year, I was determined to make another cake hat but with her favorite icing - Royal icing.

Then it came to me that building a cake hat is much like writing a story. It takes planning then actually executing the plan. Part of the planning is gathering all the ingredients when making a cake. Much like the ingredients, there could be details to research. Another part of the planning is checking the oven. Is there one? Is it working? What is its capacity?
Similarly when writing, is there computer or pencil and paper?
Then the fun begins. Saturday - I baked 2-6" cakes for top of hat and 1-12" cake for flap of hat. Then I decided to use light layer of Royal icing on cakes after soaking layers with rum.

Monday - I made wired leaves and buds I also made more Royal Icing and gave the tiers another layer of icing.

Tuesday - I stopped at Michaels and bought a larger cake board base and gum paste. I smoothed out icing as best as possible. Royal Icing can be a royal pain at times. Then I placed bamboo in bottom layer to support tier. I couldn't figure how to do ribbon with Royal so I made ribbon with fondant and added to base of both layers.

Ah, ribbon on the edge of the hat!

Then I made bow and left to dry.

Final task of the evening was to develop the buds to roses.

Wednesday, I used some of that Isomalt technique that I learnt at SoFlo for the top of the hat

Friday, I wrapped and assembled the flowers and leaves. Then Saturday, I put it all together. I had visualized one of those fancy derby hats. What do you think? How close to a hat is it? Also, when you write do you start with one concept and when you add all the parts, the outcome is surprising?

I should know better

 I should know better...
Than to leave the fan on and go to sleep. It's more than a couple days later and I still haven't gotten rid off the phlegm.
So it's time to write and I go sit in front of the TV. Yup. That's right. I turn on the TV and let the screen hypnotize me. Zilch. Zero. No word count last night.

I should know better and no sense in beating myself up. I will have to do better. Until next week when I have a sample of my WIP (work in progress) to share, here's a poem:

Thanks Meryl

Thanks Meryl, now I have aliens on the mind! You got me with your lines, especially your words that told me that crabs were the indigenous while we (humans) are the aliens. I hope you read it tonight!

Yes, tonight or evening, I will hosting at Cinema Paradiso. One of the things I like about poetry readings is that it pushes me to want to bring something new. My new thing this year is PoMoSco (Poetry Month Scout) which has been very challenging. Considering my experience with found poetry (none), PoMoSco has definitely been an experience. I have to thank the Facebook posts for elaborating on some of the challenges when I felt stuck. One of them in addition to reading Meryl’s poem left me wondering.

For most of the PoMoSco challenges, I need a source text so I have read quite a few articles to determine which to use for  a source text and of course, I come across some interesting articles such as “Found!First Earth-Size Planet That Could Support Life.” Here we are looking through NASA’s Kepler space telescope wondering about the habitability of this earthlike planet and naming the earthlike planet while the natives may already have a name for their planet and have known about earth but been avoiding the earthlings!

With all that in mind, when I approached “substitute texter” challenge, I couldn't get aliens off my mind so "bees" became "people" and "scientists" became "aliens" (there were more substitutions). So see all the poems from various poets at http://www.pomosco.com/
Mine are at http://www.pomosco.com/profile/suzzettedawes/

Maybe I'll read some of the fruits of the challenges tonight. Why don't you stop by?

Back Burner

The found poetry challenge definitely has me writing more. I've never done found poetry prior to this month so I'm using prompts from strange places.  It's a mixed bag of feelings: overwhelm, joy, frustration and relief.
Overwhelm - prior to April, I notice some people already posted that they did prep work or started on the badges. I got worried. I couldn't start prior to April 1st and it was overwhelming me.
Joy - I was happy when I saw some other people post that they were waiting for April to start anything. Confidence that it was possible to start and do the project in April.
Frustration - to complete the task within a day with the other things that go on during the day
Relief - when I could throw something up on the site.

I wish I had more time to read what other people wrote and comment on it. Sometimes, I try to read some right after I post. This found poetry challenge fulfills one of my goals which is to write more.

My other goal is to complete some writings that I've already started. With all the new poetry that I am writing, my other writing has been placed on the back burner. Funny, these new prompts have ideas stewing that will help those other writings. Therefore, my new goal starting next month is to finish each of the four projects on the back burner this year by completing one a month. I'm defining "complete" as "finishing the first draft". I plan to finish writing the first draft then just put it down until I complete the other first drafts. Rewrites are still on the horizon though!

So do you make new goals as the year progresses?

If each challenge is an intersection, what direction will you take?

Poetry Contest

Let’s commemorate poetry month with a poetry contest about film at Cinema Paradiso.

Watch a film at Cinema Paradiso – Hollywood or Lauderdale – during the month of April.

Write a poem about it, any style, but single spaced, 12 point font in ARIAL, on  8.5” x 11” piece of paper.

Include:             Your Name

                        Email Address

                        Title of the Film

Submission:      April 30 Deadline

Email entry:       SuzzetteThePoet@gmail.com

Winner will be notified by email and announced in eblast.  Prizes can be picked up May 23 during the monthly Poetry Reading at Cinema Paradiso – Lauderdale.

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Example of a poem about film:

Jeunet

I'm missing MicMacs or was it, Mac Mic?

I remember going to FIAF on 60th in NYC

He was so approachable and real

After watching Amelie, it was hard to believe

That same guy wrote and directed Delicatessen:

Butcher shop serving and surviving

Take over or run out by large corp

Merging to become bigger corp

Layoffs with unemployed people

Needing to eat.

I'm hungry and could eat

A burger not a Big Mac

But it is 1:47 pm and it started at noon

So I missed the showing of Mac Mic or was it, MicMacs.

Name: Suzzette Dawes

Email: suzzettethepoet@gmail.com

Film: MicMacs on 4/4/15 shown at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale

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Another example of film influencing poem:

The Mother (from the movie “On the Road”)

I saw her sitting in the next room, worried

While he packed to join his friends in Denver

And kept wondering the thoughts, her thoughts:

Denver, the land of the despicable but debonair DEAN

Where his good friend Carlo headed out before him

A place so north and west and much farther in the fifties

From the comfort of their home in New York City

And the memories of his father.

I imagined her crying, looking through the window, hopeful

That her son would come home safe.

Sal worked the fields in strange places

Slept in a camp with a makeshift bed

Missing the comfort of his mother’s cooking

His father would’ve been proud of his calloused hands

Laboring in the field each day to get enough pay

To head back home to the warmth of his mother and the New York City Apartment.

 I saw her sitting in the car, perplexed

Why does he have these people as friends?

Her fears were not confounded and I agree:

Poor Sal was left alone, in Mexico, with a fever

By Dean who must get back to his life.

The movie didn’t show how Sal got back home

But I felt proud, like his mother would,

When he resisted Dean’s lure and went instead

To the concert with his real friends.

a poem from Seventieth Avenue, Copyrighted 2015 Suzzette Dawes

 poem used as another example of poem about film as On  The Road was shown in 2013.

for more examples of poems about film go to http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/238914)

What Have I Done?

What have I done?
How many times have you said that? I was saying it on the third day of the challenge. I was also saying that I don't want to be a quitter but I am not liking this. I really hate it. I really hate all those people  who started early and posted their achievements and happiness with the outcomes. I was feeling alone until I saw that some people waited for April to do a poem a day. So I stuck it out.

Or it would be my pageantry background needing another hooray. Or my much younger self needing to be a Brownie, Girl Guide or Scout and  finally earning that badge.

Let's be real! I've been entering poetry contests and not even getting much needed feedback. So being accepted as a poetry month scout made me feel proud although I hadn't the foggiest idea about found poetry.

Come day 3 in after the white-out challenge when the white out tape was controlling me and not vice versa, defeat is telling me to quit but I threw up my post although it looked sloppy and not very poetic. After calming down, I started looking at other posts and realized that this could be a learning experience.

So I wanted the challenge and the feel of someone judging that I am worthy of a badge, I'm glad I'm sticking to it to learn something new.

So here's a poem from my latest poetry book where I see poetry in road signs and monuments (share your opinion below):

Kindle edition is available at
http://www.amazon.com/Seventieth-Avenue-Suzzette-Dawes-ebook/dp/B00UY38SCK/

http://www.amazon.com/Seventieth-Avenue-Suzzette-Dawes/dp/1507693621/

Headaches

It's a huge headache - the more money you have, the more hassles. I find money very uncomfortable. - Upamanyu Chatterjee
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/headache.html#BCPWBPZf1ZoqMuqY.99

Somehow, I believe the opposite that the more money I have, the less hassles; therefore, the less headaches. Yesterday, I gave myself a headache as I didn't eat anything all morning and waited until 2 pm. Also, the sun was hot and I still haven't fixed the A/C. Then my head was throbbing. I drank hot tea and hot broth until I could burp out my headache pain. That lessened it somewhat but I had to take a nap after taking some sinus medicine. When I awoke, it was 9 pm and my evening plans were caput! 

It would have been perfect as I was already off and it was the last Friday of the month. I could have driven to the grove for some poetry. If only I had money to fix the A/C in my car then maybe I wouldn't have had a headache and needed that nap. So, money would have alleviated one of my problems.

I don't have a poem called "Only if..." so I will leave you with instead:

Giveaway alert!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Seventieth Avenue

by Suzzette Dawes

Giveaway ends May 28, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win