Sara + h

questioning

I've been questioning whether to continue blogging.  You may have noticed that I'm rarely around this corner of the Internets anymore.  It's not that I have nothing to say.  I have plenty to say.  Or ideas of things to say.  I have quite engaging conversations in my head.  I am, however, lacking in the motivation and follow through arena (a perennial issue with me).  There seems to be something about that Typepad "Compose New Post: Sara + h" screen that stops me cold every time I resolve (or try to, anyway) to glue my ass to a chair and type.  Perhaps a stronger glue?  I've no notion of what that would be but obviously a stronger glue than my weak will is necessary.

Flickr is the exception.  At the beginning of the year I resolved to take a picture everyday of 2008.  I've thus far been successful.  Less so in selecting and adding pictures to my 366 set but damn if I haven't taken a picture every stinking day.  Usually multiple pictures.  And on those days when only a single picture has been taken, still, the shutter was opened and something was recorded.  Even if I haven't liked the results, it's been done.  The exercise has been as much about willpower and perseverance as it has about becoming a more practiced photographer.  More so, even.  Words come more easily over there too.   It appears to be a less intimidating canvas for me to fill.

So, I'm questioning and, as yet, undecided.  At some point I'll come to a decision and do what I'm going to do.  I'm not there yet though.  I'll let you (if there are any yous still with me) know when I do.

inspired toast

Let's forget for a moment that I never write anymore.  That I've barely knit a stitch or sewed a seam since before the holidays.  That I rarely leave comments for others and rarer still, respond to my own.  That it was over a week ago that Alison wrote that mine was a blog that made her day and I've yet to thank her or record my own list of happy making blogs.  Let's just let all that go, shall we?

Instead, let's think about toast.  French toast.  Do the mere words not make your stomach growl and the corners of your mouth go up a tick?  No?  Well, if that's the case, just look at the pretty pictures.  The rest of us will think about French toast while you're doing that.

I made French toast for dinner last night and for those who are interested, here's how.  Before I divulge my French toast secrets let me just say that this is a by-the-seat-of-your-pants sort of recipe.  I have few exact measurements to provide you with, and those that I do have are hardly written in stone and can be taken with a grain of salt.  I assure you that your French toast will be tasty, exact measurements or no.  It's difficult to screw-up French toast.

You will need:

-5-6 large eggs
-2 cups of milk or 1/2 & 1/2 or some combination of the two (that would be something like 500 ml for the rest of the world)
-grated zest and juice of one orange
-1 tsp/5 ml vanilla extract
-a healthy amount of freshly grated nutmeg
-a pinch of salt (to bring out the sweetness, as my Grammy would say)

and, lastly, if you have any

-a healthy gulg [or two] of Grand Marnier/Cognac/rum/or booze of your choosing

Preheat your oven to something in the neighborhood of 350°F/175°C and while it's warming, place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.

Brioche, challah, or any slightly sweet and/or egg-y bread works well for this.  If you don't mind your French toast having a bit of chew to it, a crusty baguette will work too.  In a pinch, you can use a good quality store bought sandwich bread.  Any loaf that you can slice yourself is a better option though.

Cut the bread into 3/4 inch/2 cm thick slices.  In a 9"x 13" baking dish, arrange the slices so that they're overlapping and fill the dish.  Last night I used about 10 slices or 3/4 of a loaf of bread and I cut each slice in half to make everything fit together nicely.  Once everything is situated in the dish, pour the egg mixture over the bread.  All of it.  Yes, there's a lot but let everything sit for 5 to 10 minutes and the bread will soak all the goodness up (think bread pudding minus the sugar).  You may want to move the dish around a bit or gently flip the bread slices over to make sure that everything is evenly sodden.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or, if you're out of aluminum foil like I was last night, a cookie sheet) then place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the custard is set, removing the foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. 

No frying pans.  No spatulas.  Easy as, well, French toast (which, if you ask me, is considerably easier than pie).

Serve with butter, maple syrup, and orange confit if you've got any.  ...Enjoy...  And know that the absolute best thing about French toast for dinner is the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

what's the frequency, kenneth?

This new year and I are not in sync.  Despite the resumption of school for Lola & Astrid and the return to routine that comes with it, I'm feeling at loose ends.  I've been wandering through my days with little purpose other than to do the things that absolutely must be done and to take at least one picture.  That's it.  Slightly unfulfilling, to say the least.  Also boring and somewhat crazy making.

Excuse me while I find my bearings.  I know they're around her somewhere.

farmers' market

Before moving here, we'd belonged to CSAs every growing season for about six years running.  Having arrived in St. Paul in mid-May and having to deal with the fall out of a cross country move while six months pregnant, finding a CSA that first summer wasn't high on the list of priorities.

The second summer we were here it ranked higher on the list and when asked to split a share with some neighbors up the street, we said yes.  We were disappointed though.  Both the quality of the produce and the experience of belonging weren't anything like what we'd come to expect.  Picking up in a fellow member's garage as opposed to actually going to the farm just wasn't the same.  The next year we didn't rejoin.  We made due with nearby grocery stores, both conventional and otherwise.  Until the end of this summer.  In August we made the commitment to weekly visits to the farmers' market in downtown St. Paul.

Lola and Astrid will tell you that the best part of market days is the donuts.  I like the donuts too but what I like even more are the vibrant colors (especially at this time of year) and the variety of fresh, local farm products available for sale, handing our money straight to the producers of those products, and the sense of community I get just walking around the busy, well patronized market.

More pictures here.

doings

::losing::

...teeth.  Lola "lost" that tooth, the one at the rakish angle, just hours after this was taken.  Lost being in quotations because it was helped along.  There's only so much dangling by a thread a parent can take.  About ten days is the limit, I think.

::photographing::

...rainbows (this one was truly magnificent even though the photograph isn't)

and living room furniture made beautiful by a little afternoon sunlight.

::frying::

...falafel.  Or rather, waiting for Dan to come home and fry falafel.  He's our resident "fry daddy."  Give him a stove, a pot of oil, and a thermometer and he's good to go.

::sporting::

...a kitty hat.  It may have been in the mid-eighties last Saturday and Sunday, but it isn't anymore.  I was delighted to pull out the hat bin and rediscover this Goodwill find.  I purchased it new, with the tag still on it for $1.  A great deal for a handknit (in Peru by a cooperative of women) hat made of 100% alpaca.  I may try and reverse engineer a pattern.  It shouldn't be to hard.  Famous last words.  And in case you were wondering what Astrid is saying here, she's mid meoooooow.

::sewing::

...aprons.  This being the third in recent weeks.  It's a holiday gift for my sister-in-law.   I'm pretty certain she'll like it seeing as she bought me the printed seersucker fabric I used for it.  I know you can't tell from the photograph but it is a printed seersucker that I used as the contrasting fabric.

::plotting::

...my next non-holiday related gift.  Perhaps an apron.  You didn't think I was done with the aprons did you?

::listening::

...to Band of Horses courtesy of NPR.  I do so love NPR.

birthday feet

In honor of Feet Week

Lola's now six (as of Tuesday) and she's got the boots to prove it.  A little bit biker chick, a little bit cowgirl.  She's ready to stomp.  Watch your toes.

putting it out there

Sometimes asking is the best way to get what you want.  With that in mind, I'm just putting it out there in the universe that I'd really like for my Uptown Boot Socks to bid up to $50 so that I can pass along at least that much to Eireann's mom.  There, I said it.  Now I'll just sit back and see if anyone out there is listening.  Even if nobody is I'm still quite pleased that this lovely lady heard the call to bid on my socks at all.

socks for a cause

Bidding is now open (see below for details and how to bid).  This auction will run concurrently with One in Ten from August 19th-August 24th and the socks will be shipped to the winning bidder on August 29th.  All proceeds from this auction will be forwarded to Eireann to go toward her mother's medical expenses.

**To place a bid, leave a comment to this post.  Please include a valid email address and a bid amount. In place of your name you may simply put your initials or "bidder."  A web address is not necessary.  Comments left to this post that are not directly related to bidding will be deleted.**

Pattern :: Uptown Boot Socks by Jennifer Appleby from Favorite Socks, altered so that the socks mirror one another
Size :: women's 8-8 1/2 US/39 European -or- 9 3/4 in/24.8 cm heel to toe and 8.5 in/21.6 cm ball of foot, unstretched
Yarn :: Trekking XXL, colorway no. 105
Fiber content :: 75% wool, 25% nylon
Starting bid :: $30
End time :: August 24-07, 06:00 CDT (GMT -5)
Shipping costs :: FREE
Ships to :: Worldwide
Payment method :: Paypal (Funded or direct transfer only.  I cannot accept credit card payments.)

Bid early.  Bid often.

late, as usual

When I first read about One in Ten, the auction of handmade things to help pay a portion of Eireann's mother's medical bills, I immediately wanted to donate something, immediately thought of socks, and immediately was afraid to commit to something I might not be able to finish.  My little fear of commitment kept me from contacting Eireann but I continued to hold the thought in the back of my mind.

When we left for vacation several weeks ago, I only had the toe of one sock (that I've yet to show you) left to knit and no clear idea for my next knitting project.  I threw a ball of hemp in my bag thinking that I might finally sit down and write up the pattern for this.  I also threw in a ball of sock yarn and the copy of Favorite Socks my mother-in-law had given me for my birthday.

I cast on for socks.  I finished the first one in two days (vacation knitting is such a luxury) but stalled a bit on the second (distracted by the very same vacation).  Even so, I'd gotten past the gusset before we left for home.

With the end it sight, I contacted Eireann to see if she was still accepting donations.  I should have foreseen that once word of the auction spread, she'd be flooded with offers and have to start saying no to stave off becoming overwhelmed.   I'm nearly always late to join and consequently nearly always miss my opportunity.  It's a lesson I've yet to learn.

In true lemonade-from-lemons fashion, I'm going to try and auction off these socks here and then forward the money to Eireann.  I'm still working out how to make an auction work in this format but I'll come up with something in the next several days.  If you're interested in socks and supporting a good cause visit here on the 19th.  If you're interested in the cause but not the socks, the One in Ten auction goes live on the same date.

1 + 1

1 year + 1 day ago, I posted here for the first time.  The next several weeks will be all about birthdays no. 3 and no. 6  but this no. 1 seemed at least worth a mention.

Happy birthday, Sara + H.  Hears to seeing where the next year takes us.  So much can happen in 12 months and a day.  ;)