1. Here we go. I have resisted jumping on the blogging bandwagon, but the time has come. The family is getting too far-flung to keep close track of, and that bothers me. Plus, I have these gorgeous children to show off. I need a more effective medium than the occassional email with photo attachments.
It just seems a little narcissistic, presuming that anyone out there would be interested in reading the random inner-workings of kat's brain. But that's silly, because I really enjoy reading OTHER people's blogs, so that's just insecurity talking. And anyways, whether or not anyone else actually reads this is not really the point, now is it? While one purpose of this little experiment is to chronical some of our family happenings, and try and stay better connected with you all, another big part of this is to jot down some of the conversations that go on in my head. Random thoughts. Things that strike me. Just to get them out of the cue. Free up some RAM, if you will. Things that might go in a journal, if I could write as fast as I can type. Or as neatly.
2. This summer I finally took the plung and completed my first solo canning run. Peaches. Lots and lots of peaches. 28 quarts of peaches, 10 pints of jam, 4 pints of peach syrup. The Reese's tree was loaded, and I tried to move fast and beat the gals at mom's work to the produce.
There are so many crazy feelings associated with the whole canning process. I have been the slave labor on so many canning runs, it was a little strange to actually be the one in charge of the pressure canner. Not like it's this complicated piece of machinery, but for some reason the IDEA of all that pressure on bottles of glass brings explosions to mind. I don't know why this feels like such an accomplishment, but it does. Doing jam - big deal. Invert cooked fruit in a jar for 5 minutes and you're done. But actual canning? Now I feel like an actual grown up. I could go live in the mountains like some crazy hermit, and as long as I had a source of propane, I could put up food on my handy dandy CampChef. Not that I'm ready to go for meat yet. I'm not THAT much of a pioneer.
The question all this canning puts into my brain is this: If I can spend 7 hours - over 2 days, mind you - blanching and skinning and cutting and processing peaches, why can't I spend 1 hour or so a day cooking a decent dinner? Lately my first thought when it comes to dinner is either waffles or cold cereal. Cereal is at least fortified with vitamins and minerals. You eat it with dairy. Throw on a banana and you're covering all kinds of important food groups.
So here comes my first plea: What's for dinner? Katie's clearly willing to help. If you don't live close enough to invite me over to eat it, tell me if what you're making worked out and if it's something I should try on my guinea pigs out here!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
rites of passage
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4 comments:
I am honored to have the first ever comment on Dr. Slumlord, the most perfect and hilarious blog name ever. I'm also happy to have led by example - I was going to start more aggressive hinting but glad I didn't have to. Didn't even know you read my blog, SINCE YOU NEVER COMMENT! You will soon learn a blogger lives for the occasional comment, and thus is willing to comment to others.
Those peaches look DELISH! Hazel "doesn't like" peaches because she's never had a real one, the juicy heavenly orbs I used to get in Colorado - the ones here are hard, tart nastiness. How I would love to come over for some canned ones right now...
As for dinner, I pretty much rotate among mac & cheese (oh, yes, from a box), quesadillas, PBJ, grilled cheese, spaghetti, and the very occasional casserole or slow cooker concoction. Here's one of my favorites. I never put in much effort because it's just me and Hazel, and most of the time Hazel doesn't want it anyway, I never know. I am trying to make a concerted effort to include more vegetables, though, a constant failing effort.
Love the blog, you're getting a link on mine - keep it up!
yeah, i need to leave comments. i was trying to keep a 'low blog profile' for fear of being too sucked in - due to my undiagnosed ocd. :) but of COURSE i've been reading. and stealing your book tips. i just ordered the outlander book. and the teaching your baby to read, which when i first saw on your site i thought - are you kidding me? and then i read the first chapter and thought, that actually makes sense! oh yeah, and in the same order is the art for toddlers book. you're influencing me all over the place!!
sounds like further evidence why we should be neighbors. you and i could eat the dinner while katie and hazel poo poo whatever has been made. little girlfriend won't even consider pasta dishes. HELLO! there goes a ton of easy ideas. i should just make pasta and she can eat cold cereal and scrambled eggs her whole life!
I knew you and most other smart people would roll eyes big time at the teach your baby to read book - sounds like a gimmick, I know. But, like you said, you read it and it makes sense. I'm not moving through it very fast, but hope someday I can find out how it's actually done and decide if I want to or if I can do it.
Low blog profile is not an option now that you have your own. So dang, at least pipe in, "hey younce, i ordered this book" or something - I feel like a loser when I only get 1 or 2 comments, like people think I'm dumb. Very insecure.
Since you and Kari are two of my favorite long lost people in the whole world, it was better than Christmas for me to find Kari's and now your blog. Enjoy blogging. I just started myself. Dinner around our house consists of lots of noodles with butter or marinara sauce. If one of my kids didn't like noodles I would never cook again! Quesadillas are a huge second. Funny, I remember my mom making healthy well balanced dinners when we were kids. I wonder if that is just the trick of memory glossing over the reality, or mom knew something I didn't.
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