NaBloPoMo – Beverly Army Williams

NaBloPoMo: Craft Friday

Smattering in progress in Starcroft Tide

November is a pretty great month in my world. I get to celebrate my sister’s birthday. The semester is on the slide to winter break (and students who slacked in October suddenly wake up and try harder). Thanksgiving brings one of my favorite celebrations of the year.

And then.

And then: Craft Friday. A few years back, I declared my rebellion against Black Friday. Instead of shopping, you’ll now find me crafting on the day after Thanksgiving. Want to join in? Over the next two weeks I’ll be sharing resources and ideas. Be sure to tell me about your Craft Friday plans!

Looking for inspiration? Check out my Craft Friday Pinterest board (and ask to join if you want to add to it!).

So, spill. You in?

NaBloPoMo: Breakfast

When I was in my early 30s I found out I had borderline high cholesterol. It was a wake up call to get more deliberate about my health, and I paid attention. I lost about 35 pounds and changed my eating habits. One habit stuck with me for about 16 years…almost every day I ate the same cereal breakfast.

I like routines, especially routines that make mornings easier. So when I started the Whole Life Challenge and saw that cereal was non-compliant, I freaked a little. I’ll be honest. I sort of depend on eating that same breakfast every day. It frees me to think about other things when I’m freshly awake.

A friend suggested I replace it with compliant oatmeal, which I scoffed at, having always found myself hungry not long after eating oatmeal. But then I caved. I bought a tin of steel cut oats.

And I was hooked. Reader, I ~~married him~~ have a new breakfast! Here’s how I make it– and it’s nearly as easy as pouring a bowl of cereal! The key thing: I make it in the crock pot–4.5 cups of water to 1 cup of steel cut oats. I put it on high for two hours (at about 9 p.m.), and then turn it down to warm for the rest of the night. This makes four servings, so I only have to do it twice a week.

To make it seem like a real treat, I chop up an apple and sauté in a little coconut oil (good fat, yo) with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves over it. I add a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds (zinc, yo) to my bowl, pour on the oatmeal, top it with warm apple, drizzle on a little cashew milk.

And that is my new breakfast routine. Okay, your turn: what’s your go-to healthy breakfast?

P.S. I now refill the lovely McCann tin with steel cut oats bought at less than half the price at my health food store!

NaBloPoMo: Veggies!

Yesterday was the first pick up for my fall / winter CSA share. A long-time local pal turned me on to this CSA last year, and in the few weeks since my summer CSA ended, I’ve been moping around waiting for it to start.

We’ve improved our cold storage for squash and root veggies since losing a bit of produce last winter. We’re going to need more storage at this rate, though! How do you handle cold storage?

One of my favorite things about CSAs, no matter what season? Sharing the produce with my dear MIL and having her say, “that carrot (or tomato or onion or peach) tasted like a real carrot (or tomato or onion or peach).” I just love sharing the pleasure of locally, organically grown veggies with her!

P.S. Ignore the fact that I forgot to post yesterday!

NaBloPoMo: Yoga

Earlier today I did my 676th consecutive yoga practice. Way back at the end of 2015, I decided to get back into having a home practice as I had in the late 90s, early 2000s. At first, when I didn’t want to get on the mat, I’d say to myself, “today’s not the day I’m going to break my streak.” It worked, I guess. Now it’s pretty rare for me to drag myself to the mat; it’s usually a part of my daily routine I anticipate.

Not every practice is a long one. On days when I’m really crunched, I may do a 20 minute practice and remind myself that it is the habit of getting on the mat that matters to me. If I can get on the mat, no matter the amount of time, I will feel better.

I can’t imagine anyone interested in yoga hasn’t heard of Yoga with Adriene or the Find What Feels Good kula…but just in case you haven’t, go on and take a look. Adriene does an excellent job guiding with her voice so you don’t feel glued to the videos, and her explanations of poses are super.

Let me know what long-time practices you have going on!

Soulard

Another Soulard shot. My garden is going gangbusters with tomatoes, and I'm keeping a careful watch on the eggplant. I'm hoping the summer squash flowers will lead to some bounty on the giant plants that have taken over most of the front yard.

We planted late this year, which means we're a bit behind on gathering produce. I'm gearing up to plant my fall crops, though, and next year, the garden is going in much earlier!

How does your garden grow?

Tongue Tied 6/28

This is the tail end of a roughly eight-minute speed painting performance by my very talented (if I do say so myself) nephew. Neal and I had a blast at his high school's talent show, and he was one of the biggest hits there. This kid leaves me tongue tied.

Okay, contestants, tell me what awesome thing is a kid in your life doing that amazes you?

Mutts Part 2, in which I am Awake 4/28

Sh*t. Even worse than knitting while drinking* is blogging while dozing. Thanks for coming back to read today. Seriously. I expected to go onto bloglines and see that my little list of subscribers had all run for the hills. Then I would have been so, so sad. And disappointed in myself.

Let me try again with my musings about being a mutt. Based on family trees done by various dedicated relatives, I know that my French relatives came to America (it wasn't the U.S. yet), then moved up to Canada, where…and this is seems like a story waiting for me to write…they were part of the Acadian movement south where they became Cajuns. Oh, wait. Maybe that story has already been written. Back north they came, and my maternal grandfather was the eventual result. Wait. I'm the result. Wait. We all are in my family.

Not all of my family came here so long ago. My maternal grandmother's father traveled here from a little town in Scotland. When I was a girl, one of his relatives (shame on me for not remembering the relationship; I'll have to ask my mom) used to visit now and again. My oldest sister was penpals with a cousin of some sort for a while. Years back, my aunt visited some of the family, and she was moved by how generous they were with their hospitality. My mom and I both hope to see the seat of our Scottish roots some day.

It's pretty neat to see a place from which your family came, isn't it? Even though I wasn't in the right parts of the country, I was thrilled to spend some time in France and England and Ireland, and especially Nova Scotia where those Acadians once resided. It's pretty neat, too, to consider the personality traits that are often attributed to a nationality emerge in my family. I grew up hearing my mom chide me not to be a "stubborn bull-headed German like your father" (ahem), and the "thriftiness" so often associated with the Scots rages in my mom…I confess to having a bit of it in me, too.

For a long time, I was envious of anyone who had parents who had come here from another country. So much family in a different, exciting location! How neat! Other languages! Better food! Different music! I may not have that, but I do have an abundance of cultures that I can explore as I look closely at my genetic identity.

Today's question for my intrepid contestants: if like me you are a mutt, do you identify more with one aspect of your heritage than others? Have you visited any of your places of origin? Not a mutt? What connects you the most to your cultural heritage?

*may result in knitting in the round backwards. Not a pretty sight!

Ties to the Kitchen 2/28

I made this apron for a swap last year, and since the light was terrible for taking a picture of the apron I actually use, I dug into my archives. The one pictured is made from a vintage pillowcase to which I added a nice long tie so it could be sassily knotted however the recipient wanted.

When I was a girl, I often helped my mom or my oldest sister bake. I could fix soup from a can, cereal, and scrambled eggs. I think that encompasses the level of culinary skill I had until I married and moved out of my parents' home at 21. Things didn't improve much, especially as my ex-husband is practically a genius in the kitchen. Still, I added a few more recipes to my repertoire. Always, though, I loved to bake: cakes, bread, cookies…all of it.

I lost ten pounds the first week F. and I were separated. Most of that was the shock of being asked for a divorce leading to a total loss of appetite. Part of that, though, was I didn't really know what to fix for myself, on my own. Over time, and through the kindness of girlfriends, I gathered some new recipes and learned to like being in the kitchen. There is a real pleasure in cooking for one's self, and one's self alone.

I cook for two now. It's a challenge sometimes as I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian and Neal loves meat of all kind. He's gotten used to eating vegetarian most nights, and once or twice a week when he wants a steak or salmon or whatever, we fix our meals independently. I confess, the smell of a chicken that has been dressed with gobs of lemon, salt, and pepper makes me consider eating poultry, but I resist. I don't want it, really.

I declared 2009 the year of the kitchen for me. The big renovation project ate up a lot of the time I would have liked to have had for canning and cooking, so I've extended the year of the kitchen to 2010. I received two Julia Child cookbooks for Christmas, which should help me along on my journey to develop my culinary skills. One of the books is Baking with Julia, and I've been drooling over pictures and recipes a lot.

No matter how much I learn to love cooking, it is the baking that ties me to my childhood and my young adulthood. It is baking that makes me quiet, brings me peace.

How about you? What hausfrau activity links you to your past and gives you joy?

Thanks for playing the comment game. I'm thinking the glamorous prize might be woven. Does that appeal?

NaBloPoMo 1/28 and a Contest if You Read it All

Karen talked about doing this, so of course, I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm not trying to squirm out of anything by selecting the shortest month of the year to post every day for a month. Really, I'm not.

The NaBloPoMo website offers a theme for each month, and February's theme is Ties. Provocative, right? I'm going to see if I can connect my daily posts to the theme, and I have ideas for a few special days this month. It's those regular, run-of-the-mill days that may present the real challenge.

As my long-time readers know, I started blogging in August, 2005, right after I returned to New Mexico for my second year of graduate school. I was quickly hooked. I enjoy interacting with other bloggers, and I love getting comments and developing friendships through the blog. It isn't only the new relationships that keep me tied to blogging; it means so much to me to stay in touch with friends who live far away. Sure, there are letters, e-mails, and phone calls, but there's something really fun about knowing that if I post a picture of a recent knit, a culinary adventure, or a new color in my hair, my posse will see it. It's almost like I'm back in Albuquerque showing up at the Flying Star (oh, I want Red Stuff. And a Buddha Bowl. One of those ginger cookies, too) to show Scout (look! calendars are back! Hurrah!) and Mona (soon as she gives the word, I'll have an exciting link for her) what I'm up to, or calling Dana five times in one day to tell her what I'm doing that. Very. Minute.

So, yeah. Blogging. It ties me to my peeps. How about you? If you blog, why is it important to you? Don't have a blog? Tell me how you stay connected.

The contest part? How about this: I'll post some questions every day in February. Whoever leaves the most comments (one per day maximum) during my NaBloPoMo project will win a glamorous prize, which I'll show you as soon as I figure it out!!

One last thing before I publish this. I'm not getting all the comments in my e-mail box, so thank you to everyone who commented on the last post…and I'm sorry I haven't responded yet. I'll get it figured out!

Tag: NaBloPoMo