Procrastination

It’s not like me to put things off, but when I do, I usually do it in a big way. Currently I’m putting off packing the bag for the hospital even though I’ve had a few nights in a row of contractions (they stop before anything exciting happens). I’ve probably been thinking about it for a month. Why haven’t I done it? Who knows?

Today, my procrastination took me to the bookstore first thing in the morning where I read the newest book by my favorite food writer from cover to cover (not really about food and not her best work…Garlic and Sapphires is definitely my favorite).  While I was there I discovered just how many titles look interesting in the area of food writing.  After I finished reading I grabbed lunch and went on a hunt for a new pepper grinder because mine bit the dust–or rather it was turning my pepper into dust until it stopped working entirely.  I found a great mill, but I will try to find it less expensively online.  As I was walking, I stopped at this wonderful paper store where I found this fun paper:

I haven’t decided if I want to cut this up and frame the individual fruits (that would be a lot at 16!) or to just frame it as a poster.  At home now, I’ve probably played more Rocket Mania than is proper and I’m reading Beyond the Great Wall, which is by two of my most favorite cookbook authors of all time.  Nathan got it for me for my birthday, but I haven’t officially sat down to plow my way through it with a pot or two of tea and a mind for travel.

All of this so I avoid packing my bag…perhaps I’m avoiding it because that will be the moment when I must accept that this whole labor thing is going to happen.  I feel remarkably at peace about it, but I think there’s part of me that’s hanging on to the state of denial.  I printed out the spreadsheet I made that lists everything I need.  I’m going to do it today.  Really.  I think I’ll vacuum first.

Moving on…

Tomorrow is my last day as a teacher for a very long time.  This is a weird weird thing for me.  I’ve taught for 7 years now at the same little school.  I’ve seen 2 groups of 6th graders now from day 1 of first grade.  My classroom has been the backdrop for some terrible horrible no good very bad days as well as a place where amazing and joyful, sometimes even healing things have happened.  My kids went from not being able to sing hardly at all to having classrooms full of singing leaders who compose just amazing things and make musical decisions during their music-making.   I went from being someone who was very fluent in my own instrument but scared of my own shadow into becoming someone who really understands the PROCESS of teaching and is comfortable and shockingly funny in front of my students.  Each year I’ve set the bar higher and my students have risen to it–and exceeded it when I’ve gotten out of their way long enough to give them space to do so.  I’ve always told my 6th graders every year in a cheeky way that is not atypical of me that I will miss most of them.  Now, with little exception I think I will miss the vast majority of all of them. 

I will miss the social awkwardness of 6th graders, the complete inhibition of 5th graders, the way that 4th graders really dig into work, ALL of the song material of 3rd grade, the beautiful, bell-like qualities in 2nd graders’ voices, and the hugs, quirkiness, joy, and general sweetness of 1st graders. 

I know what I am gaining in staying home to raise this little one is well worth the sacrifice, but I know that this change will not be without sadness for me.  I’ve worked hard to learn to love my students.  The Lord has changed my heart towards many of them and for that I am truly grateful.  I hope I’ve taught them something in return.  I know they will miss me too.  At any rate, they ARE excited for me and this is what they are looking forward to (this BTW is very eloquently expressed by a 2nd grader):

Because I love teal

I meant to post this a week ago before I got smacked down with a horrible icky stomach virus that thankfully I am over.

I finally made a diaper bag for myself from my pattern. I’m wondering if people would be interested in buying a pdf version of the pattern… The outer fabric is from Anna Maria Horner’s Good Folks line (I’m so amazed by how beautiful this line is). The lining fabric is Polly Goes to Paris which is a Henry Glass fabric that I got from fabricsupplies (go order something from them…they are wonderful people–you can read about them at True Up here).

I made the gusset on the outer bag from a thrifted teal wool blazer I bought ages ago for fabric. I also pirated the pockets from the blazer, relined them and sewed one on the inside and outside of the bag to hold my cell phone and random small things. I added a couple of button closures for the pockets just for kicks.  The strap is super wide to distribute the weight well and it’s long enough to be worn hands-free so you can carry baby and all of baby’s gear.  There are 6 inside pockets and a lanyard ring to hold keys so that they don’t get lost in the black hole of pursedom. 

Speaking of baby gear: it is 2 weeks until the due date…we’ll see where baby decides to come plus or minus that.  I’m ready now–gearwise and mentally.

7

I’m rather glad I wrote this a couple of days ago.  We went to all our baby classes this weekend and my brain is pretty shot, but I’m glad to have something to post (perhaps I should follow my own advice in #2 below).  Having been tagged by Lauranie, one of the wonderful ladies at Sew Mama Sew, here are 7 things I love in no particular order of importance.

1. My family–I love my husband and how he loves me and this little baby who has yet to make an appearance (can I count down the days from a month yet?). He’s going to be an awesome Dad…but I knew that and that’s one reason I married him. I also have wonderful, loving, supportive, unselfish, wise parents who each sport a cheeky sense of humor. I am really blessed. I love my bro and my sister-in-law and my sweet niece and nephew. Being an auntie is the best.
2. Tea–when life chucks a whole lot of lemons your way, have a cup of tea. You’ll feel better. Really.
3. Cooking–during no thing except prayer is my mind clearer and more at rest than while cooking.  Cooking with other people and teaching others how to cook–that’s even better.  That’s how I spent my birthday last weekend.  We had our two sets of engaged friends over and I had led a strudel workshop.  I made dinner too–what, work on your birthday?  My friend’s fiancee took pictures which are on his blog.  Cooking is not work at its best for me–it puts me at ease. 
4. Music–there’s always some in my head playing. Opera, polka, jazz, hymns, even jingles from commercials I saw when I was a kid–it’s all in my head giving color to the day.
5. A good cozy place in a library and a big fat cookbook–when you have music playing in your head all the time, sometimes you need a quiet place to turn your head off.
6. Sewing–it feeds my love of color and textures and helps let my creativity flow when I can’t cook or listen to/play music. It’s also slowly redeeming my experience in 9th grade geometry with a teacher who really didn’t know how to teach that which she loved so much.
7. Travel–it’d probably freak my Mom out to know that I like taking long walks alone while traveling (often seeking out tea or food), but I appreciate the way that travel makes you go beyond where you are and see things from a different perspective. In those moments, you find out a lot about yourself and about people in general.

Additionally, I will tag Ann and Susie.

I will not apologize

The title needs an explanation.  But first, here is my kitchen print in its new home.  The owl clock, which I received for my birthday is from Decoy Lab.  I love how the fabric makes the owl pop…makes those owly eyes even more buggy.

The title refers to this quote from the late, the wonderful, the rather witty Julia Child:  “You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.’”

Today’s luncheon adventures made me think about this quote.  I have not been able to cook regularly since I’ve been pregnant.  Food has been often repellent to me, a lot more things make me feel sick, and I’m completely wiped out physically and mentally after teaching.  This has been a great point of sadness for me because I get so much joy out of cooking.  I also often have apologized to my more than understanding husband about what feels like a failure on my part.  Silly perhaps, but I don’t think I’m along among women who feel inadequate from time to time.  Feelings aside and feeling physically good today, I decided I’m going to make lunch…really make lunch.  What follows requires a bit of background…

A couple of years ago, I stopped using teflon pans after an incident that involved toasting chiles in what turned out to be a superheated teflon pan…the combo of the teflon fumes and the chile gas that resulted was a noxious, painful situation that certainly would have killed any canaries in the vicinity had there been any.  Since then, I’ve not really missed my non-stick pans with one exception…for making Tortilla Espagnola–Spanish Omelet.  It involves cooking potatoes in oil until they are soft and a little brown and then mixing them into eggs.  You pour the whole contents back into your pan and cook until the bottom of the tortilla is set.  Then you flip it and slide it back into the pan and cook the bottom side.  This is not an easy operation without some non-stick help. 

But Spainards have been making this dish since the dawn of time–or at least a long time before teflon, so what to use?  Thankfully, Nathan bought me a paella pan on a business trip a couple of years ago.  This pan is lightweight and very capable of holding seasoning much like a cast iron skillet (which is unfortunately too heavy for the flipping process).  So this morning, I went about seasoning it.  It looked pretty good and black by the time that I finished, so I proceeded.

Tortilla Espagnola–adapted from My Kitchen in Spain by Janet Mendel–serves 4 for a light meal or 2 if you’re like me and don’t particularly feel like sharing at the moment

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/8″ thick

1/2 cup olive oil (okay, it’s a lot of oil, but trust me, you want all of it)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika–sweet or hot

1/4 onion, chopped in small dice

6 eggs

Warm the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat.  Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. 

  Things are going well so far.

Add 1/2 tsp of the salt, the onion and paprika.  Continue to cook the potatoes until they are tender throughout and if you like as I do, have some brown crispy edges to them.  Scrape the bottom of the pan really well with a wooden spatula to release any potato particles. 

Beat the eggs with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt in a large mixing bowl.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and mix with the eggs.  The remaining oil in the pan should coat the bottom of your pan.  If it doesn’t, add a little more.  Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and cook until the edges are set–about 5 minutes.  Shake the pan as you do this to avoid sticking.  If you’re a little hesitant, run a long spatula under the omelet before you do the next bit.

Take an inverted pizza pan or cookie sheet and flip the tortilla out onto it so that the cooked side is up.  Slide the tortilla back into the pan and cook until the bottom is also set.  If you’re lucky, you will have quite a pretty omelet.  But it’s okay if, like me today, your omelet looks like this:

  The truth is is that all the love you put into letting those potatoes cook all that long time will still shine through in the final flavor of what now looks like a pile of hash.  If your tortilla also looks like a pile of hash, remember Julia and don’t apologize.  Plunk it down on a plate under some parsley and your family will still enjoy it.  You can work on your flipping technique later (or season your pan better).

As for me, I ate like 1/2 of the thing for lunch.  It was delicious.

Did you lose your silverware?

Because I found it, and I painted it green.

 

This is my new block print for my kitchen.  I’ve been inspired by all of the jiffy spoony and forky prints that I’ve seen lately, so I thought I’d do my own interpretation.  This is the first time I’ve printed on already printed fabric–I just used a simple cotton quilting print with a very understated design.  I like the results.  It adds a little bit more depth than printing on plain fabric.  I carved two stamps out of Speedball Speedy Cut white blocks.  This stuff carves wonderfully, but you really need to mount the stamps on a thin piece of wood for durability.

The rings in between each group of fork/spoon/knife were inspired by those old hanging baskets people used to keep fruit in in their kitchens.  I always liked the chains on them.  I stamped them in 2 greens slightly different than the utensils and added a contrasting earthy orange.  I did not press as evenly or hard as I did on the utensils because I wanted the rings to be in the background. 

Because this is going in the kitchen, after I heat-set it (I used acrylic paint mixed with textile medium), I coated it with iron-on vinyl.  I’ve never worked with the stuff before, but I thought it would be a good solution to a real problem (i.e. weird food particles getting on the walls).