Staying Home and Making Bread

When I was in graduate school, I told someone once that if the whole academic career thing didn't work out, I would like to just stay home and make bread.  And while I am not saying the academic career hasn't worked out--it has just taken a different route--I am currently staying home and making bread (Strawberry Banana Bread, to be specific).  And I am sewing.  And planting a garden.  And watching a sweet baby grow each day.  My house is filled with trays of seedlings, fabric scraps, and stacks of burp cloths.  While this new life has its challenges, I am reveling in the activities that I love, but haven't previously been able to tackle as passionately as I would like.  

And, lucky, blessed girl that I am, I still get to pursue that academic life as well.  I know that the role of adjunct is absolutely fraught in the academic community, but I am thankful for the flexibility that it provides.  I I am lucky to have a husband with whom I have planned our budget and expenses to allow me to work like this.  I am lucky to have a department chair willing to work my schedule around Jordan's.  I'll be teaching online this summer, and then going back for a main campus class in August.

In the meantime, I am happy to have grading disappear from my to-do list.  I have a new planner/notebook that I am loving and have spent way too much time making customized planner pages and meal-planning/grocery shopping lists.

Friends coming for dinner tonight.  Homemade pizza and apple crisp on the menu.

Waiting for Spring

The weather lately is enough to drive anyone crazy.  Saturday was gorgeous--low 70s and sunny.  We worked in the yard (more on that in a bit) and generally enjoyed ourselves.  Yesterday, it was snowing (again)!  It didn't lay, but the rain, sleet, snow mess was rather depressing and made the doctor's appointment/ grocery store run fairly miserable--I don't like being wet and cold and I certainly don't like for the little fellow to be wet and cold!

He has been getting so big!  He is holding his head up more and more and reaching during tummy time.  We have begun to let him sleep unswaddled, and when I go in to him in the morning, he smiles (his smile is just like Jordan's--minus the teeth!) and puts his hand on my arm, and I am left a melted puddle in the floor.  When he yawns sometimes he lets it out as a little yodeling coo.  And he sings.  I kid you not.

So, the work in the yard.  We are re-doing the flower bed in the front yard.  It is an oblong island with a lamp post on one end and a bird house on the other.  When we moved in, it contained a crepe myrtle (which we moved a while back), zebra grass, lavender, Mexican heather, blackeyed susans, daisies, Chinese fringe flower, a yellow bell, an azalea, a butterfly bush, a rose, and a camellia.  And it was a mess.  So, we spent Saturday removing most everything--sickly shrubs and weeds were rooted up.  We still have a bit more extracting to do, but in the end, there will only be the Mexican heather (which is thriving--I think it like the sandy soil), the butterfly bush, and the camellia.  Then, we will replant with lavender, peonies, blackeyed susans, cone flower, and irises.  Pretty, pretty.

I am particularly keen to have this bed looking nice because it is what people see when they drive up, but, more importantly, it is what we see when we look out.  I chose flowers in the hopes that our little population of birds will appreciate them.  We have a whole community of cardinals and blue jays (who like hanging out in the Bradford pears), house sparrows (who have taken over the bird house), and house finches (who foolishly try to build nests on our porch each spring--really, we don't mind it, but they knock the nests down themselves when they fly off).  The sparrows are feisty little things--I have seen them defend the bird house against intrusive starlings and squirrels twice their size.  By the way, I found a neat website that helps with bird identification here: What Bird.

Easter is coming, and I am preparing my Easter dress.  Which won't actually be a dress because they are too difficult to nurse in.  I decided to wear a skirt this year, but couldn't find anything I liked when I went shopping--an excellent excuse to break out the sewing machine, and a skirt is so easy.  I am not even really using a pattern--I found so many good tutorials on Pinterest, and some lovely fabric on sale at Joanne's (I couldn't choose one, so it looks like I am making at least three skirts!).

The wrap pictured above is Avocado Egg Salad.  I know that this will disgust most people--Jordan couldn't believe I ate it, but I thought it was delicious.  I found the recipe from Never Homemaker on Pinterest as well.  It is tasty.  And seems right for spring.

Preparing

Spring is coming.  I am feeling a bit ironic as I write this, since I am sitting in front of a window watching the snow falling.  I live in a place where snow is rare and exciting, and I wouldn't have it any other way (on both counts).  But, still, it will be warm before we know it, flowers will bloom, and my students will decide it is tanks-and-shorts-weather.  There are things I like about each season, but I think most people really look forward to spring each year.

I have already been out in the yard, working.  This is our first year of owning "a bit of earth" as Mary says in The Secret Garden.  When we lived in our apartment, I longed for a yard.  Last weekend, I raked out flower beds and set out bulbs.  Yesterday, we took advantage of the warmer weather and completed some epic tasks: transplanting a crepe myrtle, a dogwood tree, and a small magnolia, as well as pruning all the crepe myrtles.  It was very hard, messy labor, but I loved it.  And, even though all our work is being currently covered over with a blanket of snow, I know that beneath the soil, the plants are getting ready.

Spring is a time of preparation.  For Christians, we prepare to celebrate Easter.  Although many of us, especially in Protestant churches, don't give the days before Easter as much thought as we do about the weeks leading up to Christmas, I certainly think that this is a perfect time for reflection.  This year, I am working through an Easter devotional recently published by my friend Kirsten, called Consider the Cross: Devotions for Lent.  It contains 40 days of devotions that reflect on the last week of Jesus's life before the crucifixion.  What I appreciate about the book is that although it is not a heavy, exegetical study, it is a serious reflection that asks some really intriguing questions.  The goal, as a Christian, is to always know Christ better, and this allows for such an intimate look at this point in His life.  I will be doing a more in-depth review later on, but right now, if you are interested in adding an Easter devotional to your day, you should certainly check this out.

Lent is an interesting word, by the way.  If you are Baptist, like me, you might view the word with a bit of suspicion.  Growing up, my only exposure to the concept was hearing Methodist friends discussing what they were "giving up" for Lent.  At a conference last year, a fellow panelist offered me the cookie that came with our box lunches, explaining he had given them up as a Lenten vow.  "Sure, thanks," I said, "I'm Baptist, we eat our cookies all year."

The word lent comes from an Old English word for spring (actually from a word that means "lengthen"--as the days get longer in spring.)  The word was adopted in the Middle Ages by the church to indicate this period of preparation during which many people fasted, prayed, and reflected on the Cross.  While I am not planning on giving up cookies this year, I do think that observing a period of reflection is a good idea, no matter what denomination you are from.

Help Me Guess What's Growing in My Yard!

It's time to play "Help Me Guess What's Growing in My Yard!"  Since we moved into our new house in August, we haven't had a lot of time to pay much attention to the yard.  The previous owners were fond of plants (though not necessarily of landscaping or design), and the property is covered with a variety of plants, particularly shrubs and ornamental trees.  Jordan's dad identified a few things for us, but others remain a mystery.  So, I am looking for help--do you recognize any of these?

Seeds of the Recession

According to John Laumer at Tree Hugger seed sales are up 19% in 2009. Clearly, this is largely due to economic issues: money is tight and people are concerned and looking for ways to save some money. And, certainly the food prices that rocketed last summer in the wake of soaring gas prices are still on consumers' minds. Although fears surrounding the recession are not good, the fact that many people are turning to traditional food sources is great. And they are growing real food - as far as I know, there are no seeds for Doritoes and Twinkies. Chemical free tomatoes and peppers are being grown on people's patios, and some people I know are digging up their lawns.

I was offered a few rows in a friend's garden, but after some thought and planning, I have had to decline. Although I would much prefer land and gardening on a larger scale, my time budget is going to confine me to some container gardening. So far, I am feeling a bit stressed because I have nothing planted yet, but I am planning on getting started soon. I am planning on growing lettuce, tomatoes, squash, and some potatoes, and maybe some peppers - things that we eat a lot of. I'm also planning on some herbs to accompany my poor mistreated oregano and lavender and maybe some flowers, just for fun. I grew zinnias at the end of last summer, and enjoyed them.

So, I want to hear about it. Has the economy prompted you to consider some home gardening? Are you digging up the yard? Buying containers? What are you tips and tricks for growing your own on a limited budget?