First, about the title: it comes from the first lines of a poem I wrote a few years back,

“Purple splash of glory on kitchen ceiling —
the day the pressure cooker burst and let rip ruby whorls of pent-up feeling !”

The poem is called Ode to Beets, and it’s a tribute to major moments in my life that featured borsht. (Yes, I’m part Ukrainian and I love chunky homemade soup.) You can find the whole poem in my Poetry section, along with other originals. Even if you’re not a ‘poetry person’, I hope you’ll check it out, and maybe I can change your mind. Some of my poetry has been published, and one comment I keep getting from readers is that my poems are “accessible”— that means ‘easy to understand’ in the world of poetry. I also share a lot of myself in my verse, if you like that sort of thing (and of course you do!) So have a peek, and while you’re at it, mosey around the other sections, too. There’s more: I plan to keep adding lots of interesting bits and articles, following no particular theme — that’s the ‘whimsy’ part. There’ll be something, I hope, for everyone.

I started this blog after featuring some articles called “London, the Letter, and Looking Back” on Henry’s website, Gloriopolis.I know many of you have landed here in search of my next installment, and you’ve come to the right place. The next section of that series is called “Turn, Turn, Turn”. Please don’t start reading it till you’ve finished the London section; it will make a lot more sense if you start at the beginning!

UPDATE: The biggest portion of my blog is now devoted to Hiking in Hebrews, articles that take us through that magnificent book–which I decided to memorize a few years ago. In them, I share thoughts, anecdotes, and insights gleaned as I pondered these verses while committing them to memory. Put on your metaphorical hiking boots and join me!

I hope you’ll stick around, read what looks good, and add your own spicy comments to the soup…

If you “Follow” me, you’ll get a little reminder whenever the next post is up. Thanks for dropping by, and hope to see you often!