In the Spotlight: Quilt Museum

Tomorrow I'm going to be cutting a trail to the opening of the new museum for the International Quilt Study Center here in Lincoln and I am so excited. And...I'm reminded I need to get back to that quilt I started last spring...sometime!

In the Spotlight: Marianne Boruch

One of our latest columns from American Life in Poetry was a piece by my former teacher, Marianne Boruch. What an evocative and almost elusive poem. It was a delight to work on the introduction.

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

The American poet Elizabeth Bishop often wrote of how places—both familiar and foreign—looked, how they seemed. Here Marianne Boruch of Indiana begins her poem in this way, too, in a space familiar to us all but made new—made strange—by close observation.

Hospital

It seems so—
I don't know. It seems
as if the end of the world
has never happened in here.
No smoke, no
dizzy flaring except
those candles you can light
in the chapel for a quarter.
They last maybe an hour
before burning out.
And in this room
where we wait, I see
them pass, the surgical folk—
nurses, doctors, the guy who hangs up
the blood drop—ready for lunch,
their scrubs still starched into wrinkles,
a cheerful green or pale blue,
and the end of a joke, something
about a man who thought he could be—
what? I lose it
in their brief laughter.

Sweet Find: la la laurie

I can't get enough feathers and handmade flowers lately. Even with the coming of crocuses and daffodils, these stunning paper blooms seem just the thing to cure my winter blues. (P.S. Can you find the bunny for Easter?)

Sweet Find: Lauren Alane

Sometimes you find a little something that makes you feel as giddy as a kid again....

Nebraska Poets on Sheldon Painters: Contest Closed

The Sheldon poetry contest is officially closed! With over 250 entries, we're looking forward to a very exciting reading and reception on April 25th. Stay tuned for more details!

(Above painting is Jacob Lawrence's "Paper Boats," egg tempera on hardboard, 1949.)

The BOSS

There's nothing like hearing "Dancing in the Dark" live. If you get a chance to catch Springsteen & the E Street Band this tour, I promise you won't be disappointed. Here in Omaha they played for over two and a half hours straight.

UPDATE: What can't this man do?

Backyard Field Guide: Looking for Green

Preparing for spring, I went seed shopping. I'm loving looking into these different heirloom flowers and plants. So far, there are plans for the following new greens in the works: Abyssinian Gladiolus, Gladiolus 'Atom', Cleome 'Color Fountains', Columbine 'Crimson Star', Garden Heliotrope, Muskmallow 'Alba'. I'm inspired by Vita's white garden--I wonder if we could make it work in miniature! Next stop: dahlias.

UPDATE: The seeds are in their trays! We'll see what comes up....

Find It on Film: The Business of Being Born

I can't imagine my life without documentaries and I highly recommend this one.

Home Is Where the Art Is: Here and Beyond

Save The Mount! Edith Wharton's 'autobiographical' home in Lenox, MA is faced with imminent foreclosure and with it the stunning Italianate gardens. You can help by donating online today.

Into the Kitchen: Black Pepper Scones

Thanks to Kelly's sweet gift, I'm going to make some of these this weekend!

Black Pepper Scones

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste
3/4-1 cup buttermilk
Milk for glazing

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and cheese. Stir in the pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack on the upper-middle level. Grease a heavy baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Gently stir enough buttermilk into the flour mixture to make a soft, sticky dough. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. On a well-floured surface, roll or pat the dough into an 12-x-8-inch rectangle approximately 3/4 inch thick. Try not to handle the dough too much, and don't worry if it looks rough.

Using a large spatula, transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Use a dough scraper to cut the dough into 40 squares, each 1 1/2 inches. Separate the squares slightly on the baking sheet. Brush each square with a little milk. (Or cut circles out of the dough with the rim of a glass or a biscuit cutter and transfer them to the baking sheet.)

Bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are brown on the bottom and very lightly brown on top. Don't overbake. Transfer to cooling racks to cool briefly and then serve as soon as possible. Bacon and eggs are good accompaniments.

Sweet Find: Liberty Fabric

One of these days... One of these days I'm going to find a sewing project suitable for Liberty of London fabric. A shirt? Pillows? Just got to work on the skill set.... (Find the fabrics here and here.) In the meantime, I want my garden this summer to look this lush, tender and active. What plants do you think will do it?

UPDATE: I gave in and bought two yards if this amazing LofL print--what to do, what to do!