opting out
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.
I keep seeing comments from people about hating Christmas because of the crowds, the madness, the constant commercials about buying diamonds and cars, all the commercialism. What people need to realize is that it’s only a part of your life if you let it be.
I haven’t been involved in that scene for a long time. I don’t have TV–that’s not a judgement on people who have TV, I just don’t see the point in it since the few shows I watch are available online and once I got divorced I didn’t see any reason to continue paying $90/month for 500 channels I never watched. I get my news online (free) and on the radio (free) in much less annoying formats and everything else I want to see, I can see online for little to no commercial time. So, I miss out on all those annoying holiday commercials. I also either make my gifts or purchase them online (I’m a huge Amazon fan), so I don’t have to deal with stores and shopping malls (which I hate even on normal days). That also affords me the added benefit of missing out on holiday traffic. Avoiding those two things means that the overwhelming and annoying commercialism of Christmas is largely lost on me. I am a marketer’s worst nightmare–someone who doesn’t pay attention and just flat out doesn’t care to.
For me Christmas is about enjoying being with friends and family, and making them and myself happy. It doesn’t mean I don’t make food or bring presents to people, it just means I have found ways to do it while opting out of the commercial insanity. It makes for a much less stressful, less guilt-ridden, more enjoyable and relaxing and peaceful Christmas for everyone. I encourage you to give it a shot if you haven’t already–you might find yourself enjoying Christmas again. :)
done.
Except for one present that doesn’t have to be finished this weekend, I finished the last of my Christmas gifts last night. I stayed up way too late doing it all, but it was worth it.
I have really enjoyed making these – it’s a really nice quick project, especially since fat quarters are already cut for you, and I really like the idea of using different but complementary fabrics as a sort of deconstructed quilt. I’m pleased with the results and now I want to make some for myself! After I got all the various doughs made up tonight and the kitchen cleaned, I pulled out all of the Christmas dishes and glasses and linens in preparation for Christmas brunch, and I realized how much I really enjoy getting to use real cloth napkins. I really need to make myself an everyday set that I can just use on my own. :)
Now I am tucked up in bed with my favorite snuggly furry ones.
She is just sacked out. We had a bit of excitement earlier when a moth got in the house – I saw my sedate fat cat who can barely be bothered to get up and eat RUNNING and JUMPING at this moth. I’ve never seen her jump AT anything–it was quite shocking.
This one has been pouring on the love pretty thick lately. Basically any spare moment she can find she’s asking for cuddles. I’m not complaining, of course.
Christmas project update: nearly there!
Two more projects completed (in addition to some more cloth napkins which I forgot to take pictures of).
A hat for my dad. My first stripes and I’m quite pleased with them. The pattern is Grammy’s hat from Tanis Fiber Arts. Very easy, quick knit and sooo comfy!
My second doll. I really love this one, I think partly because she kind of looks like me. I think it’s the girlfro.
I’m getting better at these, too. I intend to make more, and more little outfits as well. I think I am starting to get the hang of making small clothes. I am still not so much on the shoes, but doll shoes are always the first to get lost anyway. :)
This is exciting because I only have one more set of napkins to make, and those will be done tomorrow night, and then except for one gift that doesn’t have to be done by Christmas, I am DONE!! with Christmas presents. (Then I just have to finish wrapping everything)
After that all I will have left is a ton of baking. I made out another spreadsheet for that tonight and wow, it’s a bit overwhelming. :o But it will all be tasty if I can pull it off. Stay tuned!
my god, it’s full of butter
I wanted to do something for my neighbors for Christmas, something handmade that everyone would enjoy. Well, you’re a dirty red commie if you don’t love cinnamon rolls, so I figured that was a good way to go. The brilliant thing about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is that there’s almost no active work involved in these babies. I just made a huge batch of brioche dough last night (about two minutes of active work), and this morning I made cinnamon rolls with it. It took about 15 minutes to turn a hunk of dough into about a pan and a half of rolls.
(sorry, you only get cameraphone shots today)
I made five pans and since I staggered everything (including baking) the whole process from start to finish took about 2 hours. And while they were baking up I made some maple icing to pour on top (couldn’t stop licking the bowl).
Hello, precious.
I’m new to homemade cinnamon rolls but I’m really happy with the results. I wish I could have tried one out of the middle of the pan, but I’ll get my chance on Saturday because I’m making more for Christmas brunch. :)
A bit of garden update, because I know Dan will care if nobody else does…;)
Finally getting some gorgeous fall color here in Houston, including the Bradford pears in my back yard. They sure are stunning and my yard is now covered in a delightful sprinkling of red and purple leaves.
Unbelievably, the chili plants are all still producing. It’s the week before Christmas…anyone need some hot peppers? ;D
The lettuce is still going strong and the beets are coming up. I have thinned the lettuce and had a couple of tasty baby lettuce salads. Looking forward to the big ones (although it’s rather a lot of lettuce and I may end up giving some away).
Brassicas galore! But no signs of flowering yet, surprisingly.
The bean vines show a little sign of stress from the very light freeze we had, but they’re still going strong and are covered in blossoms. And you can’t see it in this picture because of the sun, but that blossom on the left? The reason it’s all shriveled and falling off is that there is a teeny tiny bean popping out. :D Even if I never got beans from these, though, the blossoms are so beautiful. Like little purple orchids.
So, exciting things are coming my way. I hope they continue to do well! I will be honest here, I take a very hands-off approach to my garden. I’ll go in and clear leaves and weed occasionally, and thin the lettuce, but other than that I’m a bit of a lazy gardener. So it’s pretty exciting when anything grows. :)
January, the month of WIN
I can hardly stand the excitement when I think about all of the excellence happening in January:
New Year’s in London (you can tell what I’m thinking about)
David Lebovitz at Central Market. ….I KNOW.
miscellany
knitty:
Hat for dad in Noro Retro and Noro Silk Garden. The blue is not exaggerated at all, but the charcoal is quite a bit darker in person so the overall effect is darker. This is my first time doing stripes and I’m pretty excited with the results and to be working with different flavors of Noro. I loooooove Noro.
Foodly:
Dried meyer lemon slices from the House of Nizza-Chapman. These took like two days to dry in the dehydrator, but it’ll be worth it when I can pop one in a cold glass of water or tea when it warms up for good.
planty:
My two plants came after a long journey with the USPS.
impatiens auricoma “Jungle Gold”
Here’s a picture of a more mature plant so you can see the flowers. They’re very, erm, vaginal. I’ve wanted this variety for quite a while.
Hosta “Love Pat”
I’ve been pretty excited about Love Pat (that is officially her name) – she doesn’t look like much right now because she’s been dormant, but if you look very closely at the base you can see new growth starting to emerge. Love Pat is described as having intensely blue foliage. You can be sure I’ll be taking pictures of this one.
just testing.
testing out the new wordpress app for windows phone 7.
Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone
we can hardly stand the wait
I made muhjadarrah (sp?) for the first time the other day–it was really simple and delicious. It’s just lentils, rice, S&P, and caramelized onions. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it at first – it is one of those things that tastes a bit odd until the very end when it all comes together.
I have also been experimenting with dough, because I’m going to be making cinnamon rolls for the neighbors and bread for my family’s Christmas. I wanted to try making soft rolls, so I made up a batch of the whole wheat brioche from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (the authors do note that yes, the book says “healthy” and enriched dough is not healthy, but this is a way to incorporate whole grains into our indulgences too!). I tried a very small batch of rolls:
There’s no way to properly illustrate how soft and bready and warm and delicious this was. I am DEFINITELY making these for Christmas. So easy!
And then tonight I had some points left–okay, quite a few points, I ate pretty light today–and decided to make up some mini cinnamon buns in muffin tins.
Very tasty, although I made the glaze quite thin and next time it’d be better if it were thicker. But still warm and delicious.
And now for the more secret stuff. If you’re reading this and you gave birth to me, do NOT go any further lest you spoil Christmas surprises. :) more »
#reverb10
I’ve been sort of watching this going on without participating on a daily basis, but now I feel like answering some questions. Maybe I’ll keep it up on a daily basis, maybe I’ll wait a few days and post a bunch at once again. Who knows.
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
-I am never very good at these “one word” things, but I think this year’s word would have to be “redefine.” Last year was really spent trying to regain my footing after the divorce, but this year there has been a lot of understanding who I am beneath it all and what remains as I continue to throw out the baggage and add better things to my life. As for 2011…I think I’d like some Adventure. In a good way. Try more new things, go more new places (hopefully MOVE, to start!), meet new people, make memories with my current people.
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)
-I think this blog has taken a turn down the path of less words, more pictures, less detail, more overviews. I think part of that was again due to the divorce–for the longest time I really didn’t know WHAT to say…now I have a lot to say but am not sure how much of it is worth reading. I think that’s still being redefined, to be honest. So I guess, maybe I do a lot of second-guessing, and that keeps me from saying more on here.
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)
-Standing in Westminster Abbey, surrounded by ancient wood and stone older than I can properly fathom, breathing the dust of a thousand million live and dead and buried visitors, tracing the lines of a thousand year old chair, standing in front of Handel’s grave, noticing that the thistles on the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots are still purple. It was a completely and utterly overwhelming experience that, more than any other moment, made me feel like a tiny thread in the tapestry of History.
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)
-I think this sense of starting over has done a lot of that for me. The time I’ve spent thinking about possibilities – living somewhere new, creating a space of my own, making my free time my own, realizing the freedoms that come with new starts, paying off debt, new relationships…there’s something really magical about possibilities.
December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)
-I’m still learning to let go. I won’t lie and say I’ve managed to do it all. One thing I have let go of, and it’s been a process but I think has finally come to a head this year (due to having people to talk to about it and finally being able to admit to my family), is this idea that I need to pretend I have a clue whether God exists or not. I really don’t. I have been pretending for so long that I did, and it’s exhausting–especially because I felt like my family and old friends saw me a certain way and I didn’t want to become the topic of family gossip more than I probably already was. But there’s something relieving about being able to admit I just don’t know and knowing that that’s okay, it doesn’t mean I have somehow failed or that my faith isn’t strong enough. It just means I don’t know.
December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)
-oh geez, I’ve made so many things. Officially the last thing I made was pizza. ;) I don’t think that is what this is asking, though, so probably the little cloth bags I made yesterday were the last thing. Next year I really want to make a sweater, after I finish that damn shawl.
December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)
-Community is something I’m sorely lacking in at the moment. I feel like most of my friends have completely forgotten about me by now and by the time I move into the city and am able to do things, it won’t matter one bit to my social life. I have connected a lot more with my neighbors this year than I ever have before (I hate to do this now just as I am about to leave them). They’re a great group of people and it’s been wonderful having them for neighbors.
December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)
-I think what makes me different is that I’m interested in so many different things all at once. I’m not particularly GREAT at any one thing, but I’m pretty good at a lot of things–that frustrates me sometimes, but in the end it’s really a benefit because it means I am always interested in something and always have something new to try. And it’s entertaining for other people because they get to see all these different things I’m working on–I love to share.
December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)
-Hmm. Have I even been to that many parties in 2010? I don’t remember! I told you my social life was suffering. The Halloween party was fun, because Peter was there and that added an interesting (and hilarious) new dimension.
December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)
-I think probably trying to get out of debt and really taking steps to make that happen. Now I’m a few debts down and hammering pretty hard at my most annoying debt (credit card). I’ll have it paid off by next fall, possibly sooner at this rate. It’s a great feeling.
December 11 – 11 Things What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)
-Only 11? wow, let’s see.
1. credit card debt! this one’s definitely going in 2011.
2. weight – I’m still doing Weight Watchers (successfully!) and I am going to beat this year’s weight loss total next year.
3. my wedding dress – I have hung on to it because I have been meaning to use the material for something. I need to cut the thing up and harvest the material so it can stop hanging in my closet.
4. Kipple – when I move I’m not going to have a maid service coming behind me every other week. I need to be better about keeping things picked up.
5. shoes – why do I have as many as I do? I only ever wear like 3 pairs. Somehow my closing cleanings always skip the shoes. they just have collected over the years.
6. fat pants – see #2 ;)
7. spaces without a purpose – too many of my closets and rooms just sort of hold things but don’t really have any sort of direction to them. I’d like to change that.
8. miles on my car – moving will fix that!
9. this bed – because now I want a sleep number bed. :) I don’t know if it’s feasible but after I move it’d be something to save for.
10. my leather jacket – which I’ve been meaning to put up on ebay and just haven’t yet.
11. MY HOUSE!
December 12 – Body Integration This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)
-Walking in London. Easy. So, so much walking and it felt so, so good and so harmonious. And it was all with Peter and that felt just as good.
Christmas food projects!
I had such a neat experience today. After I went to the market, I went over to Dan and Ariana’s house and they generously let me help myself to the unbelievable bounty of their Meyer lemon tree. They are HUGE this year for some reason, and oh so fragrant. I can’t believe the haul I got, and the tree was still covered when I left.
(half-pint jelly jar included for scale)
I’ve gotten through about half of them for Christmas food projects, as well as some other things I had on my list for my cousins. I’ll do something with the rest of the lemons as my body allows (I am having bad luck with muscle strains lately). In the meantime I’m really enjoying the smell!
Here’s today’s haul:
7 preserved lemons
1 lemon juice (for me)
1 lemon syrup (for me – from candying lemon peel, not pictured. The candied lemon peel is going to go into mincemeat for a Christmas pie)
1 lemon, mint and vanilla sugar
4 vanilla sugar
5 herbed salt (rosemary, oregano, basil, and parsley from my garden)
Not pictured: 2 jars of chile vinegar.
I’m pretty beat now so I think tonight’s going to be pizza night. I feel like I have really accomplished a lot today and I hope my cousins enjoy the goodies. :)