Mysteries of November: The Orange Purse Situation, Stevie Nicks, surprise cupcakes & a look into the future
Have you ever bought something and not had buyer’s remorse, exactly, but more like buyer’s “huh.”
That’s The Orange Purse Situation. I don’t regret it, but I do wonder.
What was I thinking, I ask myself when every few months (or years) I remember the orange purse.
An impulse buy, for sure. A splurge. A moment that, wow, really does reverberate.
And not just for me. For my sister Ellen, too. We have matching orange purses. This is the kind of thing that happens when we’re together. And now we’ve gone pretty far down the strange road of buying-but-not-ever-using-and-yet-keeping-for-years-and-years.
No doubt the orange purse has gone in and out of style. Maybe it now transcends fashion??
I look at it and think “I should donate that.” Then more time goes by.
What’s it all about? Just silliness? Maybe...
Or maybe it’s more like what Charles Wright told me once: of our own poems, we like best the ones we don’t fully understand, the ones that still hold some allure and mystery. Sounds a little like the orange purse, doesn’t it? Or is that more wishful thinking?
What about you? What’s your version of The Orange Purse Situation? That’s a prompt.
I had thought the end was in sight, however.
The Stevie Nicks concert would be the perfect venue for the orange purse! The long wait was over!
Alas, a no bag policy dashed this plan.
But I like to think that Stevie (we can call her that, can’t we?) would get it. Her songs would get it.
About the concert, I hardly know what to say. But maybe this sums it up: I arrived a fan, and left even more of one. And there was a discovery too, a song I had never heard, “I Sing for the Things.” Check it out; see what you think.
Anyway, hi! Happy November! I love this moody month. Month of mystery and surprise. An orange purse kind of month. A Stevie month.
Makes sense, then, that these cupcakes seemed the thing to bake. Almond wedding cake with raspberry filling, or Surprise Cupcakes, as I call them. Would be fun to do a few different flavors for a real surprise. Note: they don’t need to be perfect! Baking is precise, but as for adding the raspberry preserves, just do your best.
Though November seems like a time for memories, and I’ve got plenty of those swirling right now, I find myself wanting to channel this month’s magic and prescience to envision the future.
I have fond memories of making shadow boxes/dioramas in school, and I still make them. More like vision boxes, now, though that term never seems quite right.
My students and I make them, too, to show what we’ve learned and who we’ve been together.
This is my November box, featuring some things I found when “cleaning” the basement: a paper doll I’ve always loved and a bear who looks friendly; a key I remembering playing Nancy Drew with; a page from an SRA book; pinecones because I’m always about pinecones.
What does it all mean? I don’t know yet! But I loved the process.
In keeping with the overall Cake & Poetry mood of “a little of this, a little of that,” here’s a recap of some other bits and pieces of November so far. Maybe something will strike you just the right way.
Reading a mystery, of course: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie. Have your read it? My students in ENGL 318 (Topics in CW: Story) are are doing so, and I’m guessing that for many of them this is their introduction to Agatha Christie. I’m a big fan, not least because she’s so smart about human nature. In that way, she’s reminiscent of Hawthorne (yes, really!). In class we’ll also watch the recent BBC adaptation of the book, and I recommend that as well. Smart and stylish.
Discovering: Three Pines Studio in Cross Village, Michigan. Can’t wait to go there next summer. Already making some Christmas purchases... Better not post about that.
Making: Cranberries!
A pessimist would say that cranberries are just a sugar delivery system, but I am not a pessimist ands I like sugar. Besides, I use less than what the recipe on the bag suggests (1/2-2/3 cup as opposed to 1 cup) and I add all the warming spices: lots of cinnamon, a good amount of cloves (my favorite), a little of nutmeg, ginger, and all-spice. Cranberries are for all fall and winter, not just the holidays. I often eat them as part of Second Breakfast. Plus, with those spices, the house smells delicious.
Planning: summer and fall ‘24 workshops at the Glen Arbor Art Center in Northern Michigan. Exciting! Stay tuned.
And speaking of mysteries... in the garden, I’m digging up the dahlia tubers and (trying my best) to save them for next year. I’m using the paper bag method, which worked ok-ish last year (30-40% of the tubers made it) in the coldest spot in my house (a room under the basement stairs). Dahlias are definitely a process, which I love, and they deserve a longer post, which I will do, but for now: Platinum Blonde.
And of course it’s also time to plant spring bulbs. My plans are a little more modest this time (thanks to the squirrels), but here’s most of what I’ve got. Seems I specialize in daffodils. What do you specialize in? That’s a good, all-purpose question, a question that could take you places.
My favorite sources for bulbs include local nurseries (we have a lot of good ones in the Detroit area) and online sources such as Eden Brothers and Old House Gardens (thanks to my sister Ruth for introducing me to the latter).
Last thoughts: Stevie ended the concert by singing “Landslide,” with pictures of Christine McVie in the background. Afterwards, Stevie said something like “My mom always told me, ‘Stevie, when you’re hurting, you go to the stage to heal,’ and it’s true.” Got me thinking about where I go for healing, and I’ll definitely be asking my students that same question this week. Come to think of it, that’s what my shadowbox is all about, too, isn’t it? The process (there’s that word again!) and the result. What about you? Where do you go?
Thanks for reading. Hope you found something good. Take care and talk soon!