Monday, October 28, 2013

Fix Yourself Soup

This is not going to be one of those whiny, "I'm a mom and no one cares if I'm sick so I have to take care of myself," posts.  It's not true and is true all at the same time but the whining part is neither productive or any sort of release so I reject it.

Does no one care?  Absolutely untrue.  My kids definitely care and they are being super nice and helpful.  But, what I think moms really mean when they say these sorts of things is that life must go on.  The world can't stop every time a mom comes down with the crud.  The kids can't stop, their busy lives don't stop, it all has to keep on keeping on and the sicko mom starts to feel like a real arse just for getting sick.  Nevermind she's been housed with sick teens for 2 weeks fighting it off after having an allergic reaction to the flu shot that she got trying to do the right thing so that no one got sick this season.

So, there's caring and then there's the reality that life continues to be busy even when all you can manage is rolling over and finding the tissue box before disaster strikes.  I maybe whined on Saturday.  I felt like warmed over canned carp on moldy rye on Sunday.  By this morning, I was plenty irriated that I'm not getting better and decided to take this on.  After seeing me for 10 minutes, the doc declared me sicker than sick, scribbled some magic words on paper to get me drugs, and sent me on my germy way.  I'll take those but I'm taking it a step further and living on my 'fix yourself'' soup.  It's all I'll eat for 2 days and it almost always does the trick.  Want to make your own?
You'll need:
4 cups homemade chicken broth
1 cup red wine
2 cups water
1 cup each chopped shitake and portabella mushrooms
8 green onions, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 inch of ginger root, grated fine
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 package tofu
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage and cauliflower per serving
kimchee
cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the broth, water, wine mushrooms, garlic, scallions, ginger, tofu, soy sauce and cayenne to a boil, turn down to simmer.  Simmer 15 mins while shaving the cabbage and cauliflower.  Put these raw veggies in the bottom of a bowl.  Spoon hot soup over it.  Add a large scoop of kimchee on top and eat while steaming hot. 


This is just the thing I need to get myself back in the carding studio so I can make up some more yummy batts for the NEFF next weekend!  You'll find lots of yummy EKF batts in the 'Art for Your Feet' booth.

This yummy you see here is my Starry Starry Night batt.  I know I've said about a hundred times on this and the blogs that came before this one that this particular painting was instrumental in my becoming an artist.  So, you know, the batt recipe is extra special to me.  That's why it's all about luxury with a 50/50 merino silk base and lots of spice.  I may have stolen a few for myself.

I'll spin those tonight while my soup and the doctor's magic words start their work.  Then, I'm back at the whirlwind that is the busy lives of everyone in our house. No rest for the wicked:)

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Totally Rhinebecked...

And the meaning of that is as versatile and vague as it sounds:)

It's taken me two days to get unpacked and corral my family members of the two and four-legged persuasion, whip everything back into shape, and start to resume a normal schedule again.   In this way, being totally Rhinebecked is to be so thoroughly exhausted from the excitement of it all and days on the road that I actually count getting dressed as an item on my 'to-do' list.  Yes, seriously.  Also, while I'm confessing to my lameness, I had maple cotton candy for breakfast yesterday, partly because it wouldn't have lasted another day and partly because I was too lazy to soft boil an egg.  Yeah.

What kind of stimulation would be required to produce such a thorough level of exhaustion?  It is all encompassing.  I mean this so truly that I cannot explain without sighing out loud repeatedly.  Start here, with simply the most gorgeous sunny weekend:
To that, add a constant aroma of every temptation you can imagine - coffee, apples, fair food (which I discovered only smells good if you take them in indivually.  If you're walking past cider donuts, deep fried pickles and artichokes at the same time, your senses get overwhelmed a little and you may swoon a bit) and wool.  Yes, there is a lot of wool smell both on and off the wool givers.  You could hyperventilate with all the wool huffing you'll do and not even care.  I mean, breathing?  It's slightly overrated.  Lastly, add the opportunity to bump into so many of your friends and acquaintances all in one day and mostly spontaneously.  It's like you are visiting a knitter/spinner's Disneyland that is stocked with friends old, new, and yet to be made.  I don't want to name names - and there would be so many that I fear I would muck it up in trying but to all of you who shared a hug, a laugh, a bit of knitting, a friendly punch in the arm as I walked by (you know who you are), thanks!  It was awesome to get to see so many of you at one place.  And, for those of you that I didn't get a chance to see - :( - next year!!!!

Driving back to Maine, I realized I hadn't even plugged in my usual audiobook or music for the ride.  I just sat in the car thinking about the last few days and smiling. My GPS startled me when she finally spoke up, it was so quiet in there.  Totally Rhinebecked.

Then there's the weeks leading up to Rhinebeck, where so many of you found my batts in the Tsarina of Tsocks' Art for Your Feet  booth - thank you for that!  I carded, dyed, carded, came up with new ideas on the fly, carded, labeled, carded for weeks leading up to the show and even though I was exhausted, you made me feel so good and so grateful when you turned out in numbers sharing the batt love and saying such kind things about my work.  Thank you seems too simple to cover it but it is all I can come up with in my Totally Rhinebecked state.  Thank you, seriously.  You'll find more EKF batts at the booth at the Art For Your Feet booth at the Big E in a little over a week.


I came, I shopped, I ate so many sinful things that I should just start sleepwalking on the treadmill.  I somehow acquired a pig puppet and made silly and tasteless jokes with it all weekend. I rekindled my love of popcorn and all things maple.  Between the wine tastings in the food booths and a stop in New Hampshire on the way home, I've overstocked the wine collection.  That's okay, that just means I need to have friends come up for dinner more often.  Now, I have a roast in the oven, a list of new batt ideas to execute RIGHT NAOW and I'm back to the carder and spinning wheel. 

When I have the guts to confront laundry, and I've properly washed the sweater I wore in the sun and sweat in atrociously, I'll be back with notes on my finished Rhinebeck sweater - literally finished on the way to Rhinebeck because stress is my motivator :p  Just look at the face I came home to.  This is a 'while you were away I threw a fit, ate your ottoman, and tore up the handspun skeins stored inside of it but you still love me, right?'  Yeah.  Totally Rhinebecked!