shining egg

the pause

have you read amanda's thoughts on this space in between holidays?  she pretty much sums up my thinking on this moment in time.  

i've fallen in love with the lazy tempo of our days, with being together, with the rhythm of life in the absence of places to be and things to do.  it's been tonic for the soul of our family, these past ten days or so.  

on wednesday morning we leave for a few days at the beach in north carolina - where it will surely be cold; but where we will be at the ocean, which is tonic for my own soul.  i'm looking forward to the sound of the waves and the feel of the sand between my ice cold toes.  and to time spent with friends, to board games, and good food and drink.  and to welcoming the new year, and all of the possibility that brings.

i'll be back here next week, with news about a project i've been cooking up with molly.  in the meantime, i'm wishing you peace in your heart and joy in your soul, and that you have a glass of something bubbly (my children prefer this) to raise when the clock strikes midnight somewhere.

about hanukkah

my friend molly asked me to share some information about hanukkah.  so i did.  

the first candle

happy hanukkah!

t-minus 2 days

and i'm getting there.  today was the last day of school before winter vacation.  i spent the day trying to get my ducks in a row - for hanukkah, for gifts, for plans - everything for the next two weeks.  of course it's not all done, but once 230 came, i was able to exhale and begin to ease into the chaos that will be our life from now until january 5.

 

during my mid-day frenzy, i actually bought one hanukkah present, and consulted with my brother on several others.  i lined up a few holiday activities (we'll be making these.  and these.  and going to see this.), made plans with some friends to light our candles together.  and ate a good bit of the dough i had made for baking cookies this weekend.

this afternoon we got started on our hanukkah activities.  my grandmother had asked us to make her some cards she could send to family and friends.  hanukkah isn't like christmas with the cards, not at all.  but she wanted some, so we made some.  and it was so much fun.  

first, i had b. and l. each draw a small hanukkah picture on plain white paper.  i drew boxes on the paper to give them the approximate size i was looking for.  (l.'s was much bigger than the box i drew for her, but we loved it so much that we figured out how to make it work.)  we transferred the drawings onto some of these,and carved them into stamps with one of these.  i've been carving rubber stamps for a while now, and enjoying it immensely - the stamps are such a quick fix, they're perfect for a small design, for a whim.  and they were perfect for this project. 

but then, just because it's winter vacation and i was starting to feel all festive, i broke out martha's glitter and let the kids go to town.  and the cards look fantastic!  we even stamped the envelopes.  and we're going to add my grandmother's return address to the envelopes too, before we deliver them to her tomorrow.  just to make them as user-friendly as possible.  

i'm so pleased with this little project.  fun, quick, a little something for everyone.  and we've done something kind for someone else in the process.  (can you tell this made me happy?)  now, i'm trying to figure out what else i can stamp with these hanukkah stamps that i love so much.  and thinking i might have to make one of my own.

t-minus 3 days and counting

hanukkah starts sunday evening at sundown.  my kids winter vacation starts tomorrow at 230 in the afternoon.  and i have not done one single thing to get ready for this holiday season, save for taking out the box of supplies and listening to this song over and over.  that, and making peppermint bark and sugar cookies - neither of which has a blessed thing to do with hanukkah.  it's just that martha suggested, over on flickr, that my holiday spirit might return if i eat some holiday cookies.  i'm testing her theory.

really, though, i think my lack of seasonal enthusiasm has more to do with having had an extraordinary holiday season last year - full of meaning and celebration and joy.  and, too, that the world doesn't feel very festive to me right now.  i'm overly aware of how my children need nothing (they practically can't even think of things they want), of how i need nothing, of how desperately i don't want to spend money on things that are not needed when there are so many who need so much.  so i'm struggling with the spirit a bit.  and i'm alright with that.

on sunday the holiday will begin.  there will be candles and latkes.  there might be small gifts.  there will be family and love and joy at our table.  and it will be good.  

in the meantime, i'm planning to be back in this space before then with a few little things to share.  but first, those cookies.

i've been painting myself here and there

i painted this self portrait a few weeks ago.  i wasn't sure about it then, but it's grown on me.

today i painted this tiny little one, which i think pretty much captures my mood at the moment.

reasons to love winter

we had a little dusting of snow here on saturday night.  the kind of snow that's still covering the grass and the roof on sunday morning, but the driveway and the roads are clear.  the sweet, delicate kind of snow; perfect for an early december evening.

i've been watching martha's reasons to love winter pool and waiting, waiting, waiting to find my own image to add to the group.  there it was, this afternoon, on the back porch in the bitter cold and wind; a bit of snow left on the railing.  

in the meantime, i've found plenty of reasons to love winter that are not photographable.  a few to share:

* getting lost for far too long over here.  (found via simply photo.)

* early morning walks in the kind of cold air that leaves my lungs feeling clear for hours afterward.

* i can't get enough of photos of frost and ice.

* knowing that the days will begin to get longer again in two short weeks.

* hot cocoa made with soy milk.

* breaking out the hanukkah box and enjoying the goodies inside.

* feeling grateful to be cozy and warm inside my home on these coldest of days.

* watching beautiful trees pop up around the neighborhood.

* the smells of cinnamon and evergreen as i walk into and out of the market.

and there is so much more.  looking around for these little reasons really does help me to remember that i do love winter.  i hope you're enjoying the season too.  and that you're warm, wherever you are.

(ps. in case you're interested, my painting portfolio is now on flickr.)

muffin madness*

this post was supposed to happen on monday.  then it would have been muffin madness monday.  no matter.  prepare yourselves, i'm going to go on about muffins for a bit.

last week i made five batches of muffins.  yes, five.  they really are the perfect breakfast/snack/pop-it-in-the-lunchbox/standing-around-the-kitchen-preparing-thanksgiving-dinner food.

on monday, it was the multigrain muffins from this cookbook - a major favorite, and our go-to-muffin recipe.  those were gone by wednesday.  then, on tuesday, after reading about heather's pumpkin muffins (and with a can of organic pumpkin in the cabinet for just such an emergency) i had to make those.  you might remember that i mentioned them here last week?  they were moist and light and absolutely delicious.  and after i professed my undying love for them...i went and made a different pumpkin recipe on thursday morning.

because as much as the parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and great-aunts and cousins loved those muffins, the taste of the molasses was too strong for the kids.  this is entirely my fault - you see, i only had blackstrap molasses in the cabinet (alicia, that would explain why your muffins were so much lighter in color than mine), and the flavor of the blackstrap definitely overpowered the pumpkin.  delicious, but sophisticated.  for a mature palate.  and gone by wednesday at bedtime.

 

but thursday morning, wanting to make muffins that the whole family would love, i used this recipe.  and oh. my. goodness.  they were delicious.  also light and moist.  pumpkin-y.  and gone by thursday afternoon.  (there were a lot of us in the house last week.  ok?)

on sunday, we were invited to brunch with friends, and i took the pumpkin muffins.  24 of them.  i modified the recipe slightly, and this is going to be my go-to recipe for pumpkin muffins (for mixed-age gatherings) for now.  until i get some good old molasses and try heather's recipe again.  in the meantime, we're out of muffins, so i'd better get busy around here.

pumpkin muffins

adapted from smitten kitchen

preheat the oven to 350

fill a muffin tin with paper liners (i use unbleached)

in a medium bowl, whisk together:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (use regular whole wheat flour if you don't have the pastry flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

in a separate bowl, mix together:

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup oil (i use safflower)

1 can solid pack pumpkin

add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until blended

fill the muffin cups to almost full

then, in a small bowl, mix:

1 tblsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the muffins

bake for 25 minutes

cool on a wire rack

and devour

*thanks to leslie for the title of this post.