The First of October

Fall is officially here. I officially needed a jacket to run over to the grocery this morning and there was officially apple cider and pumpkins displayed at the front of said grocery. It is a beautiful time of year in more than the aesthetic sense. People are getting ready for winter. It's in the air, it's in the step of the fellow grocery shopper, it's in the bright eyes and smiles. Winter is coming and that gives everyone something to prepare for. It's a curious thing how purpose, even simple, common ones, give everyone life.

As for myself, I've started contemplating Christmas presents and even begun to work on a few. I'm making the effort of homemade gifts this year. I'm not sure if every gift will be homemade (in fact, I highly doubt it. Some people have no interest in receiving homemade gifts which rather defeats the purpose), but I do want all the ones that should be to be homemade.

I'm also pretty please that I've got enough of this housekeeping thing under my belt that it allows me to prepare for the holiday season fairly easily. Mom and I are planning and Autumn Party (which is at her house so it really has nothing to do with how I keep my own, but it does let me have the time and peace to plan). I'm really hoping my sister-in-law and I get the chance to make Christmas candy together but either way, homemade Christmas candy shall be had. (Can you tell I've been reading British writers the last couple of days? I think it's seeping into my thinking and therefore my writing.) I'm really excited to have people over for dinner parties, too. Not very many people, just six or so at a time. I prefer only having the number of people I can personally appreciate at dinner parties. I find that way we can really talk and come to understand each other, where as with large groups everyone is just putting on their public face. If I wanted to interact with peoples public faces I would join them at a public party, not invite them into my home.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

It is the first of October. Dustin and I have finally reached a point in Columbus where we have established community. Community in a city is very exciting to me. I hadn't been entirely convinced it existed when we moved here. Indeed, in some places in this city, it doesn't. People merely function beside one another. But there are pocket of community. It's different in a small town where people are constantly aware of everyone else's business whether you want them to be or not. In a city, you have to thrust your business before everyone else if you want anyone to care. Some will still not care. But there are the few that will and it is with them that you can draw close and create a semblance of that small town feeling. You just have to work a little harder at it. It must be intentional because it will not exist on accident, but it is not impossible.

So I am excited to share this season with our community because fall is so much about drawing close and preparing for the winter when you must keep warm, both in the body and in the heart. I am excited to share their traditions and rituals that help them mark life and observe the sacred. I think winter is an amazing back drop to our holiday seasons. It is in the midst of the world's death that men celebrate life. Granted, men celebrate in spring as well, but not with the same ferocity.

I am excited to share that ferocity with others.

I'm alive, promise!

Hello.

Long time no see. Actually, that's not true. I do visit my own blog every other day or so to look at all my 'Blogs of Note'. I just don't always publish my own updates. Sneaky, I know. But, I find myself in need of some mental organization, which comes best when I am writing.

Right now I feel like I have a million projects going on so I should list them out:

Cat cross stitch (1/3 completed)
'For Emily' written book (70 pages completed)
'Gifted' comic (5 pages completed)
learning how to keep house beyond cooking and cleaning which includes:
learning about nutrition and applying it in tasty manners
learning to decorate
learning to be economical in my purchases (something I am not good at AT ALL)
baking bread for others
...

Hm, that's not a million. In fact, now that it's written out, it looks fairly manageable. Although, it does amuse me that I wrote them out in the exact opposite order that I would choose to pursue them. C'est la vie. I suppose that shows that I think the most about what I least want to do which probably added to the 'I have a million things to do' feeling. FYI, that doesn't mean I don't want to write and draw, it just means it's low on my wish list.

Alright then. Today is Monday, which means it's laundry and grocery day. I think I shall work on 'For Emily' today. See if I can't knock out five pages or so. Maybe the long break will have jolted my creativity. I think I'll work on the cats as well, I'm hoping to finish them in time for Christmas.

New Toy 2

This is Kyle, also a potential character. I love my Wacom :)

P.S. That's a flame over his hand... not a fox tail. Some skills are still in progress.

New Toy

I recently purchased a Wacom Bamboo Tablet. I love this thing. Below is the first presentable image I have created. She is called Rosaline and is a character in the comic I may or may not create in the more or less near future. The story is really choppy but has a complete story arch in bullet point draft (which is farther than most of my stories have ever gotten... okay, that's farther than any of my stories have gotten). I'm excited to see how the quality of my work improves.

Bread and... butter!

So. Butter is possibly the easiest thing I have ever made. Pour cream in to bowl. Beat. Don't eat the whipped cream. Wait until the butter separates from the butter milk (you can't miss it, the butter sticks to the beaters and suddenly there's white liquid in the bottom of the bowl), about 20 minutes. Strain buttermilk. Kneed butter in bowl of cold water to get all the butter milk out. The buttermilk will make the butter go rancid and the cold water keeps it from melting all over your hands. Salt if desired. Eat. Yum. $4.50 for the quart of cream produces $3 worth of butter + however much 2 cups of buttermilk costs. I am so making my own from now on.

New Blog of Note

While searching for a new bread recipe, I stumbled across The Simple Dollar.

I found it simply delightful. Written by Trent Hamm, the blog gives straightforward investment advice in layman's terms. Trent also gives tips on how to save and spend wisely and ways to DYI (such as the bread recipe). So far I am very impressed with how he explains the uses of money and treats the questions of his readers. The articles often strays from the bottom line and into the moral use of money. A perspective this Bachelor of Business Administration appreciates.

Baking Day

I love baking day. The apartment smells amazing and I, of course, have to taste test everything!

It seems we never have snack food in the house but both Dustin and I often just want something small. Today was the day to fix that. After my revelation that one didn't actually have to buy pre-made truffles, I began to wonder what I buy off the shelf because I assume I can't make it as well, or even at all, at home.

I decided on a cracker. Who doesn't love crackers? You can put tons of yummy things on top or just eat them plain. Originally, I wanted to make a saltine or club type cracker. In the end, I settled on a Graham cracker. Now, I hate Graham crackers. Maybe it's from all those years working in a nursery. It seems Graham crackers are the toddler snack of choice. But the blog where I found the recipe claimed these homemade Graham crackers were much better than the store-bought ones. That they would be more nutritional, flavorful and not crumble over every surface in sight. I have to say, it was right. These crackers are amazing. I had three and felt like I'd eaten a full meal. It was a strange sensation, but a good one. I will definitely be making them again.

I also made two loaves of Challah, which is usually what happens on a baking day, and a batch of very yummy and surprisingly healthy Apple Muffins. I have a lot of whole wheat flour sitting in the freezer and really wanted to use it up in something that wouldn't have that whole-wheaty texture/taste. You know the one. The one that tells you you're eating something healthy and that's really the only reason you're eating it. These turned out really well. They're definitely a breakfast food, not a dessert, but really good. The only change I made in the recipe was to cut the apple into chunks instead of shredding it. Chunks give the muffin more texture and keeps it moist longer.

I was going to make a batch of chewy granola bars but, alas, I didn't have nearly enough rolled oats for the recipe I wanted to use. Next week!