Right now Lillia is working on finding her place in the world, drawing prolifically, enjoying The Lord of the Rings, and pining for winter snow.
Right now Lillia is working on finding her place in the world, drawing prolifically, enjoying The Lord of the Rings, and pining for winter snow.
Right now Zane is working on a couple of molars, interacting with new little friends at playgroup, doing a lot of cooking, and perfecting his sister’s name — it’s not easy for a baby to say a name with so many L’s!
From “The Land of Nod” by Robert Louis Stevenson:
From Breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do–
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.
“Learning to fall asleep.” I know that’s a weird title for this post, but it’s not about me. It’s about my daughter, Lillia. She’s nine years old and, up until a few days ago, she couldn’t put herself to sleep. Every night I would lay down with her until she fell asleep. As a mama that didn’t really bother me. I love to snuggle with my kids.
Lillia listening to an audiobook of The Hobbit.
However, lately I noticed that it was taking longer and longer for her to fall asleep, and by the time I got out of her bed it was almost 10 o’clock. And, then I still had to put the baby to bed! Between homeschooling and full-time mothering, I don’t get much time to myself. Okay, I get no time to myself. But, neither does my poor husband, who works full-time and then fathers full-time when he gets home. I know it’s hard for him, and with Lillia taking so long to fall asleep it was pushing his “alone time” out. He was staying up later than he wanted to during the week, and then he was tired in the morning.
I knew that Lillia would have to learn to fall asleep…by herself. And, you know what? It’s working! For the past four nights she has fallen asleep by herself. The first three nights were really hard, but we have come to a compromise where I read to her (which I always do anyway) and then I stay in her bed with her for 10 minutes. I scratch her back, get her settled, but then I leave before she falls asleep. Now she is in bed by 9:00, which allows Damian to have down time (a.k.a. sanity) without having to stay up until midnight.
Small victories.
This recipe is one of my favorites and it is a soul-warming treat during the cold winter months. The truth is that you really can’t go wrong with anything from the Post-Punk Kitchen. Isa Chandra Moskowitz has a charming personality (even in her writing) and I’m a huge fan of her cookbooks. This recipe comes from Vegan With A Vengeance. Most of the time and effort involved in this recipe happens during the prep stage. Lots of carrot-peeling and chopping! But, sometimes it’s nice to have a mindless, repetitive task to do. Another favorite cookbook author of mine, Edward Espe Brown (of The Tassajara Cookbook) relates some sage advice he once heard from Zen master Suzuki Roshi regarding carrots. He writes,
[Suzuki Roshi said,] ‘When you wash the rice, wash the rice; when you cut the carrots, cut the carrots; and when you stir the soup, stir the soup.’…I tried in a simple, direct, awkward way to be present, to see the rice with my eyes, to feel the rice with my hands, to have awareness in the movement of my arms…Anyone can do this kind of work. Whole worlds come alive.
3 lbs carrots, peeled and diced into small pieces (1/2″ or less)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil of some sort
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable broth, or vegetable bouillon dissolved in 3 cups water
1 can coconut milk (13 oz)
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
Cook carrots and onions in the oil, covered, until mostly softened. Add the spices and garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add coconut milk and briefly bring to a low boil. Turn off heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Next, purée about half of the soup—I like to blend it with an immersion blender in a large measuring cup—then add the blended portion back to the pot. You can also blend the whole amount to make it a true bisque (rather than something closer to a chowder), whatever your preference. Stir in the maple syrup (if using) just before serving.
From “January” by Betty Adcock:
Wind hisses and one shadow
sways where a window’s lampglow
has added something. The rest
is dark and light together tolled
against the boundary-riven
houses. Against our lives,
the stunning wholeness of the world.
January is about: darkness and light; shadows and sun; keeping the cold outside and the inside warm; and, lots and lots of books.
