Weekending

May 4, 2020 By Carole

Ready for another weekend recap in words and photos? Here we go.

First, I’m here to tell you that while sourdough bread is fantastic right out of the oven, it’s also excellent toasted. Add some peanut butter, honey and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and it’s a delicious spicy treat for breakfast on a Friday.

On Friday afternoon we set out our #WeAreEBStrong signs in front of our house. These signs were designed by my friend Rose and they are being sold for $15 each through our Kiwanis club; all the proceeds are going to the two food pantries in our town. It’s a wonderful thing and I’m proud to be a part of this. And no, we are not Minnesota Vikings fans, it just so happens that our school mascot is a viking.

I started Saturday by joining my friends for meditation and reiki once again. I look forward to this all week long and I go up to my studio because while I’m on Zoom for this, Dale is FaceTiming with Jackie so they can watch Jack Hanna together. I’m explaining to give this photo a point of reference . . . I took it after our meditation practice and it shows not just the view out my window but also the green of the maple tree buds. It’s my favorite green in the whole world, friends.

It was a beautiful day and I spent the afternoon on the deck doing some visible mending on this pair of torn blue jeans. I have to say, I really like how this looks. My stitches are kind of crooked and uneven but I don’t even mind because it’s just cool. And I only stuck myself with that super sharp needle 100 times. Heh.

We were able to have cocktail hour outside and when I looked up I was captivated by the clouds in the sky. That white circle on the left is the moon and the thing that looks like a graduation mortar board is one of our outdoor heaters.

Sunday was another glorious day but my mood did not fit the weather. I haven’t been able to pinpoint it just yet but there’s something about Sundays right now that make me feel blue and out of sorts. I’m working on leaning in to that feeling and figuring out where it’s coming from and why it happens on Sundays. I did shake it off, though, with a little cry, a hug from Dale, a FaceTime with Jackie, and a stroll through my front garden to admire the daffodils.

And that’s my weekend recap. I hope yours was a good one, too.

Eye Candy Friday

May 1, 2020 By Carole

Full disclosure that is not my photo, it’s from Word Swag. And I think it’s a lovely way to welcome the month of May. Do I dare perhaps hope that good changes are coming this month? That I might see my Jackie? That I might gather around a fire with a few people I love? That perhaps I will have a plan for reopening my library?

I don’t know if any of those things will come true but I have hope and I’m holding it close.

Happy Weekend!

Three On Thursday

April 30, 2020 By Carole

There are a lot of people out there these days experimenting with sourdough. And I’m one of them. I like to joke that I was a little bit ahead of the curve since I actually got my starter from Sean on March 7th, a full week before any real shut down and grocery store panic started. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my enthusiasm for sourdough has been enhanced by the fact that so many of my friends are also learning to work with it at the same time. I’m far from an expert but I have found some thoughts to share on sourdough and today I’ve got 3.

Get the book Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson, the man who co-owns Tartine Bakery in San Franciso with Elizabeth Prueitt. This book has a ton, as in way more than you need, of information. It’s just a fabulous reference book on sourdough bread. You might also check out Tartine Bakery’s instragram page because Liz Prueitt has some great videos up there on the process of baking sourdough bread from start to finish.
Get the right tools if you can. You can absolutely make sourdough with things you already have, I bet. But if you can get a well established starter from a friend (mine, as I said, came from Sean and his came from King Arthur Flour [it’s not available at this time, FYI]) that’s going to help. Also helpful? A dough scraper and bench knife, a lame, a kitchen scale, a banneton and a dutch oven. Remember that Le Creuset one I bought a couple of months ago? My timing couldn’t have been better on that. These tools are really well explained on this blog post at Homestead and Chill.
Figure out things to do with your discarded starter. The recipe for the popovers I made is here. And the cracker recipe can be found here. I added Everything Bagel seasoning to mine and that really enhanced the flavor. I know people also make pancakes and waffles and more. I even made crumpets one day! Using your discarded starter will help you feel like you aren’t wasting it because you do have to throw away (or share with someone else) quite a bit.
Finally, a bonus tip from Kim. Name your starter! Kim claims this helps her to remember to feed her starter and, while I don’t know if that’s true, I do think it’s a fun idea. My starter is named Mama Cass because (a) starter is often referred to as a mother and (b) San Francisco is the home of sourdough and I associate The Mamas and the Papas with San Francisco culture.
Actually, I have one more tip to share and it’s probably the most important one. RELAX. It can be really intimidating to read about all of the tools you can use and try to absorb all of the information out there. But you know what? It’s just flour, salt and water. If it doesn’t come out right, try again. Yes, it’s time consuming and frustrating, yes, it can take all freaking day, but it’s always a learning experience and, at the end of the day, it’s just bread. And also, with regards to that all day thing, there are ways to make it fit with your own schedule by slowing down your fermentation in the fridge overnight.

I hope you’ll share your sourdough stories with me whether you have tons of experience or are just starting out.

Please share your post in the link party below, I’d love to have you join in this week!

Unraveling

April 29, 2020 By Carole

Today, an update on what I did with my NightShift shawl.

First I want to say how much I appreciated your feedback on the photo I shared last week. I ultimately decided I needed to rip back to that large yellow section as it wast just too much. Not too much yellow (or mustard, as I prefer to call it) because I love the yellow, but too much all in one spot.

I then consulted with several color experts (Sean . . . Kym . . . and others) and I decided I needed more Malabrigo Rios in colors that would provide more contrast and settled on a skein of Living Coral, a skein of Reflecting Pool, and a second skein of Frank Ochre (told you I loved the mustard). WEBS was out of the colors I needed. Loopy Ewe was as well. Simply Socks Yarn Company had just what I wanted, though.

I ordered on Thursday and had it on Monday which is damn good in these days of delayed and slow shipping.

And now I’m moving forward and loving it again. I learned two things after really studying the project last week and analyzing my feelings about it: one, contrast is key and two, I prefer frequent color changes. Let’s hope I have no more unraveling on this one now that I’ve identified this.

I’m reading Murder On Cape Cod. It’s a cozy mystery and complete fluff but that makes it a great escape. Plus, it’s set on Cape Cod (duh) and even though the town in the story is fiction, the surrounding towns and businesses mentioned are real and that makes it extra fun for me.

I’m joining with Kat this week to talk about knitting and reading. I hope you’re knitting something you love and reading something you find entertaining.

One Little Word: April 2020 Update

April 28, 2020 By Carole

It’s the last Tuesday of the month and that means it’s time to join with Honoré and reflect back on the last four weeks and my journey with my One Little Word.

In case you forgot, my word is open. And I’m sort of struggling with being open right now. It’s mostly, of course, because of the pandemic. Being open sounds so . . . vulnerable. And not vulnerable in a sharing my feelings way but vulnerable like not protecting myself against the virus way. If I look at the word metaphorically, though (and really, that’s sort of the whole point of this One Little Word thing) then I can say I’ve made some progress with being open.

What I’ve really tried to capture this month, and it’s not an easy thing for me, is being open to my feelings. I’m a pretty big believer in acknowledging (and celebrating!) happy feelings but when it comes to the other feelings . . . the feelings I’m having a lot lately . . . the feelings I label as scared, confused, frustrated, uncontrollable . . . well, I’d just as soon avoid those in the same way that I’m avoiding the grocery store these days.

You know that doesn’t work, right? Because when I fail to acknowledge my feelings and emotions they don’t actually go away. Oh no. Instead, they tend to show up in physical ways. I cry. I pick a fight. I overeat. It’s not pretty, it’s not healthy, and it’s just plain not good.

The key, I am learning, is to acknowledge the feelings and lean all the way into them. The crappy feelings go away (not always immediately but always eventually) when I name them and accept them and release them. In other words: the feelings I don’t like go away when I am open to them.

So, in this time of pandemic, I want to acknowledge the fear and uncertainty and disappointment. And in doing so, I open myself up to the lessons I am learning and I vow to allow them to help me grow.