Poem for Saturday

The Sword of Arthur
By John Clair Minot

A castle stands in Yorkshire
  (Oh, the hill is fair and green!)
And far beneath it lies a cave
  No living man has seen.

It is the cave enchanted
  (Oh, seek it ere ye die!)
And there King Arthur and his knights
  In dreamless slumber lie.

One time a peasant found it
  (Oh, the years have hurried well!)
It was the day of fate for him,
  And this is what befell:

Upon a couch of crystal
  (Oh, heart be pure and strong!)
He saw the King, and, close beside,
  The armored knights athrong.

And all of them were sleeping
  (Praise God, who sendeth rest!)
The sleep that comes when strife is done
  And ended every quest.

Beside the good King Arthur
  (How high is your desire?)
His sword within its scabbard lay,
  The sword with blade of fire.

Now had the peasant known it
  (Oh, if we all could know!)
He should have drawn that wondrous blade
  Before he turned to go.

If but his hand had touched it
  (The sword still lieth there!)
He would have felt in every vein
  A lofty purpose thrill.

If but his hand had drawn it
  (The sword still lieth there!)
A kingly way he would have walked,
  Wherever he might fare.

But no; he fled affrighted
  (Oh, pitiful the cost!)
And then he knew; but lo! the way
  Into the cave was lost.

He searched forever after
  (All this was long ago!)
But nevermore that crystal cave
  His eager eyes could know.

Pray God ye have the vision
  (Oh, search in every land!)
To seize the sword that Arthur bore
  When it lies at your hand.

--------

We had a disaster in our house with the CD rack. The magnitude was such that I cannot even bear to discuss it. Let's just say that the dining room table will never be the same and neither will several of my books and many CDs. It has completely overshadowed an otherwise nice day during the course of which I had lunch with , took younger son to the orthodontist, stopped back at the mall to get this little cauldron purse which I had left the Halloween store without buying earlier and then regretted it ( said she would take credit responsibility as enabler, for the riding crop too), picked up older son and drove him to his friend's house, and around all this managed to finish a review of "The Empath" that probably does not do justice to how much I love the episode.

Watched Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, was really quite impressed with some aspects of the latter while still pretty cold on both Apollo and Starbuck whom I know are why most people watch the show! Also can't bear Baltar...I don't mean the things the character has done, I mean I'm just bored during most of his scenes. I am a total incontrovertible Laura Roslin fangirl, though. As for The Doctor, it's hard to talk about a multi-parter having seen just the beginning but I love love love Jackie and Pete! And the Cybermen! The Doctor was a little more lighthearted about the fate of himself and the universe; I was surprised he wasn't more traumatized when he thought the TARDIS was dead, and he could be so flip about how easy things were when the Time Lords were around, you could pop between realities, but now they're trapped. Is it just that he won't show too much feeling around Mickey? Since he's the one who said Mickey could come along, that's not very fair. And boy did Mickey call it when he said he had people he wanted to see and anyway it's all about Rose for the Doctor! "I'm just a spare part!" I thought the Doctor was pretty mean saying as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickeys, but he also laughed when he found out Jackie named the dog Rose. Overall, I suppose I would say definitely not one of my favorites but it definitely had its moments.

And after that we watched the Cardinals win the series. Did Detroit peak too early in the post-season or what? Ah well, I have neither great passion nor great animosity toward either team so it's all well and good to me!

: Scary Spice
1. What's your favorite candy: If it's got chocolate I am generally not picky. Sometimes it's plain old gooey milk chocolate, sometimes it's Junior Mints, sometimes it's Aero...
2. What's the best scary movie? Not a big horror fan. Alien terrified me in my youth.
3. Do you like to be alone at home? It certainly doesn't bother me! Depends on whether I want to get stuff done and have quiet time or whether I want to do stuff with my family.
4. Pumpkin pie: eat it or throw it? Eat it! Are you nuts?
5. The most distasteful Halloween costume you can think of: Prince Harry's little Nazi number of a couple of years ago is right up there.

: Feed Me Seymour
1. What was the last thing that you ate? A brownie from son's school chorus bake sale.
2. Who was the last person you shared a meal with? Husband, kids, and cat protesting her starvation under the table.
3. What is your favorite all time dish (recipes welcome)? I have a great many, but this is one of them:

Crepes St. Jacques

Makes 4-5 servings.

1/3 cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb. sea scallops, cut into 1/4" to 1/2" pieces, or equivalent bay scallops and/or shrimp
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups light cream
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese
8-10 cooked crepes (see recipe below)

Entree Crepes:

Makes 12-14 six-inch crepes.

4 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine

Make the crepes by combining all the ingredients except the flour in a bowl and beating together. Gradually add the flour and whisk or beat until a smooth batter is achieved. Drop the batter in a preheated small fry pan or crepe pan; swirl quickly as you pour it into the pan, so it coats the pan with a very thin layer of batter. The crepe will let go of the pan around the edges when it it time to flip it -- don't overcook or they'll burn. Heat the flip side only about 20 seconds. Place on a plate between layers of wax paper until needed.

Combine the white wine, garlic, green onion, mushrooms, bay leaf and scallops in a non-stick saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. While doing this, melt the butter in a large skillet and stir in the flour and salt to make a roux (a caramel-colored mixture). Pour in the cream and cook until a creamy thick sauce is achieved -- stir this constantly. Add the parsley and then the scallop mixture.

Fill each crepe with 3-4 tablespoons of the scallop mixture to cover the center third of each crepe. Fold the other two-thirds of the crepe over the center and sprinkle with the cheese. Place in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

4. If you could eat one thing for an entire year, what would it be? I assume this means I could have one thing along with many other things, rather than it being the only thing for an entire year, because there is NOTHING I would want as my sole food for a year. And I'm assuming this means consequence-free, which means not only I don't have to pay but it would have no calories, so...crab bisque made with fresh bay crabmeat and lots of butter.
5. If you could have dinner with any five people (dead or alive) who would they be? My grandparents and my kids, which is six people but I would really love for them to meet each other and hope I would be allowed an extra person in exchange for not asking for Elizabeth I, Leonardo da Vinci, Jesus Christ, etc.

Saturday is Air & Scare at the Udvar-Hazy Center so we are going to see E.T. and the space shuttle. Whoo!


The windmill at the entrance to a nearby neighborhood.


Color behind the houses and fountain in the same neighborhood.


Fall leaves reflected in an upstairs window...


...and in the hood and windshield of my minivan.


A gratuitous photo of two sleepy pests who woke me at some absurd hour of the morning.