Small things

Sometimes the world seems to hold too much sorrow for our hearts to comprehend. Where do we start when the bad things seem so very big? The only answer I can come up with is: start with the small things.

I am thinking of Haiti and also of so many other things the world throws at us. I read SouleMama's post today, and it dawned on me that putting one foot in front of the other is how things will get done.

There are many things you can do from where you are right now. Here are some ideas.

And all I can give you today is this poem about a tiny thing, which helps me to believe that my own actions aren't so small after all.

At night, quietly

A worm in the moonlight

Digs into a chestnut.

--Matsuo Basho

Fabric Swoon

For Christmas, K gave me some colorful fabrics from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks collection. I'd had my eye on them for quite some time and may have sent him an email way back in August requesting this bundle.

Even though I knew all of this loveliness was in the house for months, I waited patiently until Christmas. This was a big step for me, as my usual style is to sniff out presents right away and talk the giver into handing over the goods early. I know, not very in the spirit of Christmas. I'm working on it, though.

But now, Christmas is over and I have these beautiful fabrics to play with! Oh, they make me smile every time I look at them. I think I'm going to make a throw in the style of SouleMama's. I'd like to try a quilted throw, but since I've never quilted anything, I'm a bit nervous about trying it with a fabric I'm so in love with.

Do any of you quilters out there have tips for someone new to quilting? Books or websites you'd recommend? I'd love the help!

This Weekend in Food and Drink

Sencha and daifuku

I recently unpacked the teapot I used most often in Japan, and since then I've been drinking green tea almost every day. I've grown to love the slightly bitter taste of green tea, and it feels like a special treat each time I use this teapot.

 K and I went to the Asian grocery store this weekend to stock up on sauces and things, and right by the register was a box of daifuku. I couldn't resist getting one, and now I wish I'd bought more! It tasted so sweet, so chewy, and so much like the daifuku I used to pick up at the convenience store in Japan.

If you live in Kentucky or southern  Indiana, then you are in for a real treat! You've got to try the Bluegrass Brewing Company's Nut Brown Ale, which you can find in liquor stores and some grocery stores in this area. It tastes rich and toasty and is perfect for drinking next to the fire on cold, snowy nights.

And you know, if you are nestled by the fire and drinking a brown beer, you might find this is the perfect setting for story-telling. Might I recommend reading aloud from a famous old book?

Then Evangeline lighted the brazen lamp on the table,

Filled, till it overflowed, the pewter tankard with home-brewed

Nut-brown ale, that was famed for its strength in the village of

Grand-Pre...

--from Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I read this poem for the first time last fall, and I found that it really lends itself to being read aloud. I was pleasantly surprised by the suspense of the story and the captivating imagery.

On Saturday, we needed something to accompany our dinner of leftover pasta and salad. Lucky for us, I stumbled across this quick and easy breadstick recipe. You can prepare the breadsticks in the time it takes for the oven to pre-heat. This is a picture of me brushing the dough with butter sans brush. Buttery fingertips work just as well!

We also made these whole wheat waffles and ate them with homemade lemon curd. They weren't as light as our regular waffles, but still were pretty good.

And though I didn't get any good pictures of it, we made a Mug of Cake, which I think is one of the funniest-sounding desserts around. It only takes 5 minutes to make, including 3 minutes in the microwave. Plus, I was pretty impressed that my microwave can make a cake! It wasn't the best cake I've ever had, but it was pretty good for a quick chocolate fix and the entertainment value. I think this would be a great treat to make with kids.

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What are you eating these days? We're turning to comfort foods like soup and warm breads to get us through these cold winter nights. I'd love to hear what you've been cooking!

Snowy Day

Tonight I am tired. The snow and bone-chilling cold are taking their toll, and I want nothing more than to curl up with a mug of hot chocolate and a book. Actually I don't know if I even have the energy for that.  A snooze under mounds of quilts might be just the thing for me.

The photo above shows the best part of my day. I spent the morning reading in the library, alternating between stuff for class and Farm City by Novella Carpenter. I've been on the waiting list at the public library for Farm City for months, but yesterday I saw it sitting on a shelf in the university library. I scooped it up and, oh my, it's such an enthralling memoir about urban farming. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for this kind of book--for some reason I just love reading about food and farming. But, Novella Carpenter writes about her experiences squat-gardening in Oakland in such a captivating way that I'd recommend this book even to people who aren't enamored with food writing. I have a feeling I'll be sneak-reading this book lots in the next few days.

I'm also working on another crocheted hat--one with bobbles! It looks so strange and pretty. I've accidentally gone slightly off pattern, but instead of starting over, I keep thinking I can just fudge my way through. Crochet is a fairly forgiving craft, so we'll see if I can fake my way.

  

This was the view from my crafting/reading perch today. Doesn't everything look so lovely? White, crisp, and cold...

Here's the same statue up close, taken in the blue of twilight.* It's a beautiful piece of art, but I seriously wanted to give this lady a sweater today. I did see a man, a real live person, walking around campus in a t-shirt and shorts. Brr...it makes me cold just thinking about it.

I hope you are staying warm and keeping your spirits up during this cold snap.**

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*For some reason, thinking of the blue twilight tonight reminded me of a short story I once read. In it, Angela Carter described this dark light as the "crepuscular gloaming." It's a beautiful, rich description that has stuck with me ever since.

**More word nerdiness--I like saying cold snap because it brings back a rush of winter memories from childhood--the cold snap of icicles as my mittened hands broke them from low eaves and the crunch of snow beneath my boots. Very satisfying sounds.

The Back to School Hat

Making good on my "crochet more hats" resolution, here's my first finished crochet project of 2010. I completed it just in time to wear on my first day back to school. New classes and new faces always make me a bit nervous, but I think having this new comfy hat will make me feel more at ease.

This hat is really fantastic--it has a good shape and a cool raised design. The pattern is fairly easy, though I made some careless mistakes at first and found myself pulling out many rows. You can find the pattern on ravelry or here if you'd like to try it out for yourself. The original pattern calls for making a brim, but I decided not to make a brim for this one because the other hat I wear on a regular basis is brimmed. I wanted something a little different.

A note for crocheters: This hat was my first attempt at fpdc. I've seen patterns that included fpdc before and was really intimidated by it, but it's actually so easy! It's basically just crocheting on top of a previous stitch. So if you've never tried fpdc before, I'd recommend giving it a go. This hat has simple lines, but you can use fpdc to make cables and other interesting designs.

Holiday...Celebrate...

 

The holiday continues! I thought classes started back today, but they actually start tomorrow, so I have one more day of vacation. What a happy mistake!

I wanted to show you the additions my father-in-law made for our nativity set. We got a camel and a donkey for Christmas this year. I love them!

K promptly named them. This is Levon, named after the Elton John song.

And the donkey's name is LD, which K says stands for Larry David (we've been watching a lot of Curb Your Enthusiasm lately), but I maintain it stands for Little Donkey. Either way, LD is the cutest wooden donkey I've ever seen.

 Thanks for all of your hard work, David! We love our new pets.

2010 to-do list

An old photo, but that determined look is what I'm going for.

Crafting:
Sew an item of clothing (skirt or dress!)
Create a tutorial
Design my own crochet pattern
Crochet more hats
Give knitting another go
Make a quilt

Food:

Make homemade baguettes

Make mayonnaise

Eat more local foods

Switch to local milk

Try cooking Indian and Thai food at home

Health:
Walk more, ride less
Incorporate yoga into my daily routine to become more flexible. I'm starting to feel like an old lady.

Go hiking (I've never been to Red River Gorge and I'd love to go hiking there in 2010)

Friends:

Get together more with friends

Keep in touch with people--write, email, or call

See my long-lost friend Christine

Miscellaneous:

Light more candles
Pick more flowers
Watch less TV

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There's a lot I want to accomplish in 2010. I might add on to this list periodically throughout the year.

What do you want to do in 2010?