Friday Links:

1. Quinoa and Spelt Flour Muffins. I think this recipe was written specifically for me.


2. Prayers for Angie. I wondered why she hadn't blogged all week, and here is why. My heart goes out to you.


3. Illustration Friday. My favourite topic today. Hmmm...


4. The Next Book I Really Need To Buy (since the last one I said that about came in the mail just yesterday).


Happy Weekend to you.

1 year ago today.

1 year ago today I wrote this post on my old blog. I just looked it up because I had forgotten about that wheat-free pizza crust that I used to make. I love that I have a blog and wrote that down.

updates:

1. I got a new camera this fall and the "green line problem" is gone, gone, gone!

Here's the picture from that post:

I still love that 50mm lens and use it almost exclusively.

2. "R" is now 2 and a force to be reconed with. She still passes out occasionally, and I don't don't think I will ever get used to it.

And here's the pizza crust recipe:

Simple Pizza Crust
Approx: 1 1/2 cups spelt or other flour.
1 cup milk.
a little salt a little baking soda.
1 Tbsp oil.
mix until it forms a dough. pat onto baking pan. Top with a little olive oil, Italian spices, an garlic powder.
Bake at 350 until cooked.
Top with pizza toppings and bake again until cheeze is gloriously melty. Yes, melty is a word.

And here's an action shot:

Filed under yum. And a good birthday it was.

Homemade chilli pdr.

Homemade chilli pdr. from Alabama Chanin.
3 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon cumin (I love cumin so always add an extra shake or two)
3 teaspoons cayenne (best picked and dried from the garden and ground just before using)
3 teaspoons dried oregano
Optional: 1 tablespoon garlic powder – I prefer to use fresh cloves and eliminate the garlic powder. I add the fresh cloves during cooking (see below).
(followed by a delicious looking recipe for chilli)

It's bugged me for a long time that I didn't have a recipe for chilli powder. It seems like one of those things that I should be able to make myself, along with taco seasoning and italian seasoning (which I do have recipes for). So I had to grab this one when I saw it this morning.
Incidentally, you should all go on over to Alabama Chanin's blog - it's stunning and makes me want to run out and sew something right now. I tried to advance-purchase a copy of her new book but the form didn't like my shipping address, so I'll wait until it actually comes out in stores in a couple of weeks.

keeping it real...

It’s been a tough week on the homefront this week. Our weekend disintegrated in front of our eyes and all I could do was watch. Our only goal on Saturday was a simple project to make 18 valentines for dd’s kindergarten class. The project was simple, I swear. But the day was a flop. Completely. It just split open at the seams and came apart all over itself. A big gooey mess of a day. I don’t have a plan for valentines day at kindergarten now, but we’ll have to come up with something (by Friday).
Update: this post was written yesterday. Last night we got busy on the invitations. I made them. DD wrote the names of her classmates in them. We omitted the glitter and fun decorating parts of the plan. For now. What's important here: that she have valentines for her class, not that she make them herself. I'd love to live a fairytale life where everything works out spectacularly and according to plan, but what fun would that be? right? RIGHT?! Now, anyone have tips for getting permanent marker off of wooden diningroom table tops?


And I was testing out a theory that I can’t eat spelt anymore – or maybe it is potatoes… I’m not sure. Either is not something I’m looking forward to. Anyone with food intolerances knows what the process of figuring this out means, and that it is no fun.

I could have cried this morning, talking to a very nice lady at the specialist’s office. They had finally gotten back to me to say that they had no idea who I was and that they hadn’t received the referral from dd’s pediatrician. That pediatrician had sent it on August 11th – 6 months ago – and told me that it would take a long time to get in so I didn’t follow up right away. Big mistake.
And then she continued to tell me that usually they follow up within a week. A week. I felt sick to my stomach. We could have been in to see the specialist in (gulp) September. Yes, September.
Edited to Add: This wouldn't be so bad if it were the first time it had happened, but the first time we were referred to a specialist we were referred to the wrong kind of doctor who then refused to return my calls.... Yes, it sometimes takes me a couple tries to learn a lesson...

But on to the positives (you have to end with the positives):
1. we have a specialist appointment for DD1 and it sounds like the right kind of doctor. (ie. If anyone (in the medical system) can help, it should be this guy.) We’re finally getting somewhere with this.
2. I have Friday off and big plans to spend it in kindergarten. And then supper out with good friends and family.
3. lots of fun weekend plans including a 1 yr old birthday party and a whole day to spend with my sister.

By the end of the week.

OK, folks, remember this from way back in October?

Well, I am so happy to say that it's finished!

I am so excited about texture, can you tell?

And this is the shot that only blog readers get to see. I left the back raw because I felt that's what it needed. She feels a little shaken up by the world. (Don't worry, the stitches won't come out! She's sturdy.)

I imagine her hanging in a quiet corner inspiring contemplation. A reading corner perhaps, or in a spot where you usually rush by to tell you to pause for a moment and be mindful.


Here's her listing in my little shop.

As Promised...

I promised Angie I'd post pictures of the treasuries instead of just links so here are screen shots of the last two. The first one was pretty silly, and oops, it looks like my screen shot has the alternates as well...

And this second one is really about feeling connected with the earth. Which I realized I'd been missing about winter. It's interesting how many comments I got about this from people who love winter. I'm not saying I hate the winter, I just miss digging in the dirt.

And if anyone's still with me, I managed to snare one more treasury today. It's here. Pure Luck. I got back to my desk at lunchtime and the treasury opened. This never happens. Yes, I am an addict. Curating treasuries is an exercise in seeing, matching up colors and textures, themes and ideas. It appeals to the arty gene in me.