On My Mind Mondays: Even Keel -turns into - Feel Me, Read Me, Watch Me, Eat Me,

So I started this on Monday, and voila!  it's Friday.  Makes it almost sound like I made Friday come magically rather than chronologically.

I've been working on getting back to my regular life, with its routines and rituals, for the past week.  February was quite challenging as I was away or traveling fourteen out of the 28 days of the month.  Sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time (part of the macro versus micro discussion), and I did have fun, but it does take a bit to get back to everyday life afterwards.  One morning I was curious why I had so much free time while my coffee was brewing, and then I remembered that I usually put away the clean dishes while I'm making my coffee.  A few weeks away, and I forget what I'm supposed to do.

After a weekend off, and at home, we're both starting to get back into our groove.  But I'm trying to take it slowly; I have the tendency to jump head-first into things, which can lead to premature burn-out.  I'm in it for the long haul now.

Meanwhile, fast forward to Friday...

So the ladyfriend calls me into the living room to see something this morning, and what I get to see is the terribly talented and super cute Erik Karlsson winking at someone on the ice. It also gave me the opportunity to learn how to record, via Quicktime, something on my computer.   The video is a little jumpy, but you do get to see the wink.

I often wish he'd come to the Rangers.  That would be a dream come true!

He's Swedish, but it reminds me of this cool Kickstarter campaign I was directed to by Viking Biking:

I'm totally into the rain skirt, something I'd thought of trying to make myself before.  I like the designs she has.  I love that the poncho was originally designed for stylish Muslim women who wear burkas.  The three-person rain poncho is pretty funny; a sense of humour is always good.

One of the things I'm interested in learning is natural dyeing, being an original RIT dye kind of gal (oh, the options it afforded you, and so easy!), but this article from Hand/Eye demonstrates that just because a dye isn't "natural" doesn't mean it's not sustainable or environmentally friendly.  The dye pots remind me of the vinegar mother Sean Brock (on The Mind of a Chef) talked about dating back to his grandmother (and possibly further).  I really like the idea of a perpetual pot of dye, or a generations-old vinegar mother (or kombucha scoby or sourdough starter, for that matter).

I recently finished The Third Plate by Dan Barber and was introduced to Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills.   He's working on bringing back heritage grains, particularly those essential to the Carolina Rice Kitchen.  I'm hoping to get a few friends together to place an order (shipping is costly because the grains are refrigerated) soon; I'll report back on my progress and hopefully the grains themselves.

Okay, if I try to start another subject, I'll never get this post up.  Sure, there's more going on, but I'll save that for another post.

Have an awesome weekend!

On My Mind Mondays: In the Midst of the Holidays

Our Christmas celebrations were great.  There seemed to be a dearth of anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed/underprepared.  Our cats have even decided (after a few discouraging sprays with the water bottle) to leave the tree alone although Mulberry has been after all and any baked goods:  German gingerbread cookies, fruitcake, fortune cookies, etc.  I think he's doing me a small service by requiring that I dispense of the mauled carbohydrates. 

1. Food and fermentation:  I got Sandor Katz's The Art of Fermentation for Christmas, and I'm reading Dan Barber's The Third Plate.  Yesterday (a glorious day for so many reasons), I started some kefir (some of which I drank today) and some kombucha.  Yep!  I'm getting cultured!  I find that these two books really work with the whole wabi-sabi philosophy (also got Leonard Koren's Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, & Philosophers for Christmas).  It's good reading for a new year.
2. The new year and a plan:  Despite my desire to continue the bliss of yesterday (reading, cooking, crafting, sigh), I did some schoolwork today, which just reminds me that the luxury of time that I'm experiencing right now is about to come to an end.  But I'm looking for balance (again...always) and am going to work on a new framework/schedule for the coming year.  This time, however, I plan to have both a weekly guide as well as a yearly guide.  I want to think about some of the ways I can spread my work out throughout the year, and when I say "work" in this context, I mean both writing and creating.  I have a lot of ideas, and I think that with a more global view of the year, I might be able to find the time to engage in more of my activities.  
3. Crafting:  I managed to do quite a bit over the last year, thanks to my PiC and our year-long challenge (which I hope to give a year-end review of here soon), and just the other day, I went to the studio and whipped up a wrap-around skirt from Chic and Simple Sewing.  I also received this excellent pattern with money for fabric for my birthday from my mother-in-common-law, and I hope to make that soon.  But wait, there's more!  I've also joined the 15 in 2015 hat challenge from Stash and Burn. I made two hats in December (allowable for the challenge) and am ready for another one.  All this is to say,  I'm hoping to continue my hardcore crafting over the year.  There's lots to make!
4. Cycling:  Of course!  I'm back on my bike now - yay!  My knee is much improved, and I'm going to test it out at shinny (pick-up hockey for my American friends) on Friday.  It hasn't been very cold, but it's supposed to drop down tonight, and I have the feeling that'll be the end of our mild spell.  As soon as the snow comes, I'm putting the studded tires on.  I also got some great cycling gear for the holidays (which I'll save for another post).  Whoo-hoo!
5. Blogging:  Sure, I haven't kept up with my Friday posts on what I've read, eaten, seen, and what-not on the internet, but the intention is still there.  I hope to continue with regular posts throughout the week and will, yes, schedule them in my weekly framework.
6.  The finessing:  My newly renovated office is giving me such pleasure (yes, another post with lots of images) that my curating and organizing impulses are bleeding into other areas - even my computer desktop.  One area that I've started to work on is the fridge.  I'm dumping items that we don't use (or didn't buy in some cases) as well as engaging in my personal project of using the last inch of jam in numerous jam jar.  There's just enough to top a few jars of homemade yogurt.