Book of the Month: February. Farmer Boy

We're reading the Little House books to our 4-year-old son, and this one has been my favorite so far. We did have to do a bit of explaining when the school teacher whipped the older boys with the bull whip, and about why kids might deceive their parents by covering up a black mark on the wall with a wallpaper scrap. We had to explain, too, why it was so important for the family to work together--the daily chores, the big projects such as planting or harvesting, getting up without complaint in the wee hours of the morning to save the tiny corn stalks from a late freeze. In this story of Almanzo's growing independence, I was reminded that chores and adult work can be something kids look forward to, a privilege instead of drudgery. I've seen a glimpse of this in our house lately as our kids eagerly pull up chairs to the counter to make our homemade bread. (And we've even started calling store-bought bread "boughten bread.")

Overall, we loved the glimpse into the incredibly busy and work-filled life of the Wilder family. That Ma Wilder puts me to shame.

Bread Making

When I was young, my mom taught me to make whole wheat bread. I loved the big sea-foam green ceramic bowl we'd mix it in. I'd wait in the kitchen to have the heel of the loaf warm, straight from the oven.

In my adult life, I've gone through phases of breaking out the Tassajara cookbook recipe and making four hearty loaves at a time. Making the sponge, letting it rise, mixing in oil, salt, and more flour, letting it rise, punching it down, letting it rise, shaping it into loaves, letting it rise, baking it: the project fills a good portion of the day.

Lately, I've been taking the quicker route to homemade bread. A friend passed along this recipe:

Easy French Bread from Ann Grether

Mix 1c. warm water and 1 pkg. yeast. Let stand 5 min.

Mix 4c. flour, 3T. sugar/sweetner, 2t. salt in a bowl. Pour yeast water in. Mix.

Add enough extra water (usually about 1/2 c.) to have the dough hold together. Blend with a spoon until stuck together in one lump.

Let rise until double (30-45 min.)

Punch down.

Divide dough in half, shape into loaves, and place in greased pan or small round casserole.

Let rise.

Bake for 30 min. at 375 degrees.

You can also use the dough for bread braids, dinner rolls, pita pockets, and (with minor adjustments) apple fritters or cinnamon rolls.

I've been using honey as a sweetner and adding it to the yeast water, and I've substituted white whole wheat flour.

Verdict: Amazing.

Book of the Month: January. Born to Run

As a part of my 2010 book list, I thought I'd choose the best book I've read in a month and share it with you here. For January: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall.

First of all, I am not, and have never been, an athlete. But this book made me want to run. Here's the author talking about the book and running (and showing you his cool homemade running sandals).

What the video doesn't communicate is that this book is a Story--an extraordinarily well-written (and well-edited) narrative, with fascinating digressions woven in. He explores the background of the runners in the story, describes what evolutionary biologists can tell us about running and the human body, tells the story of a man who found the last persistence hunters and learned to hunt with them (by running after game until they got worn out or died), explains why Nike is marketing a shoe that attempts to do nothing, and finds to source of the hype for FiveFingers foot-gloves. And with excellent pacing, the main narrative follows his journey to find the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico and the first race between Tarahumara runners and US ultrarunners held in Mexico.

I stayed up way too late way too many nights reading this book. Two thumbs way, way up.

February Resolutions: installment #2

Last year I began February resolutions, mostly because it takes me all of January to figure out what I really want to accomplish in the year ahead. Here's this year's list:

-Fitness/Weight: I've managed to maintain my weight over the last 8 months, and I'd like to keep it that way. I've gotten in some bad eating habits and out of some good exercise habits. I'd like to right that.

-Music: My husband and I have been promising ourselves for too many years that we're going to record an album. We've got the gear, we've got a good list of songs, we've got skills enough. We just need to get over our fears, make some time, and record, record, record. Even if it turns out crappy. I also want to practice the banjo at least a few times a week.

-Degree work: I have a conference paper to present in April, an article-length version of that paper due in December, and I'd like to have three chapters of my dissertation drafted by the holidays. But I'd be happy with two chapter drafts.

-House: I've been on a decluttering mission lately. We celebrated the new year by emptying the last of our moving boxes. I've reorganized closets and cupboards. We're finally buying a portable dishwasher, and we just ordered a new bookshelf for our room. I'm going to follow a friend's plan, and aim to have 10% of our stuff gone by the end of the year. (That includes cleaning out the garage.)

-Reading: I want to keep a list of books I've read this year. I've never kept a list before, though I read constantly. I'm curious to see how many books I read.

-Venturing out: I'm quite cozy here at home, and it takes effort to plan things and get the family out the door, so I often opt for staying in rather than going out. This year, I want to do more--family adventures, nights out with friends, playdates, hikes.

The resolution I need to repeat from last year is attempting to keep from being overcommitted. This may mean quitting some stuff. And I hate to back out of things. I'm pretty big on follow through. But years ago a friend taught me to offer grace to her when she just couldn't follow through, and I hope I can learn better how to offer that grace to myself.

Happy February! And may the progress of betterment begin.

Poor Little Neglected Blog

I noticed today on GoodEnoughWoman's blogroll that it's been seven months since I posted on this here neglected blog. That's a sad, sad state of affairs, though in my defense, I haven't been sitting around downing bon-bons and watching Glee on too many nights.

I'm working on some February Resolutions again this year, so I'll post those soon.

In the meantime, here's my list of bad conversation-starters (and things I'm thinking about nearly constantly):
-How exactly should one go about choosing a kindergarten for one's child?
-What is the balance between responsibility to one's family unit and responsibility to the larger community?
-How does one treat a rash on the bum of a 4.5 year old?
-How can anyone possibly learn to read English? Especially a child? And who regularized spelling in such strange ways anyway?
-How old is too old to start something new?
-Why am I getting a PhD, and how will it benefit me?
-Could you explain to me how to explain the trash compactor scene in Monsters Inc. to my 4.5 year old so he'll understand it? (Sully sees Boo get IN the trash can, but doesn't see her get OUT, so he fears for her life as the giant machine crunches up all the trash. My explanations of situational irony don't seem to have helped.)
-How can I possibly get the black burned-on gunk off of the burners on my gas stove? And how does one clean a non-self-cleaning over without using toxic chemicals? And isn't baking soda the most amazing cleaning product ever?
-Why don't children ever sleep when you want them to?

My first pre-February resolution: post more.

Bi-Annual Report on February Resolutions

I was reminded today that many institutions are coming to the close of the fiscal year, and it seemed like a good time to make an accounting of progress on my 2009 resolutions. Here's the round-up:

Composting--I have the composter, and it has stuff in it. But it's not quite compost. I haven't turned the pile for a couple months. It got a bit out of whack with too many "greens" (mostly kitchen waste, in this case) and not enough "browns" (shredded paper, cardboard, dried grass, etc.). I do need to get back in the groove with it.

Beside the composter, though, we do have 18 square feet of garden with some lovely plants growing. We've already been harvesting herbs and lettuce, and we're eagerly awaiting the carrots, bell peppers, squash, and eggplant. Our trusty neighbor is going to keep it all alive while we're on vacation.

Exercise--I've gotten into a good exercise routine. Three days a week of Fluidity during the kids' naptime, and two to three days a week of walking with the kids. I've even managed to get right back to exercising after trips, and we've been incorporating hiking and walking into family days and dates. The kids and I have also been taking a once-a-week parent-kid dance class, which gives us all a chance to get in some much needed wiggling.

Eating Healthfully--I'm eating healthfully enough to be 15 lbs. lighter than I was in February. (I'm down to the weight I was at the end of my freshman year of college--for the first time since then.) Eating well on upcoming summer vacations will be a challenge, but I feel like I have the tools to choose better eating.

Dissertation work--I did turn in a prospectus draft this month and got a good response from my advisor. I'm finalizing the draft this summer, and I'm starting on a conference paper/chapter. (Side note: I got a paper accepted to a panel, and the panel was accepted to the Renaissance Society of America conference in Venice, Italy, in April 2010. Now I need to add "learn Italian" to my list.) I also managed to find a preschool and get the kids enrolled for fall. With some husband help delivering the kids to preschool, I'll have an additional 8+ hours a week of daytime work starting September 1.

Laughing--We could still laugh more. Must work on this one. :)

Limiting commitments--I'm still not great at limiting commitments. I am starting to feel guilty about saying Yes to things. I haven't added much to my schedule, and I've been more aware of how busy a week our family can handle. And I think it's finally sunk in that I should never, ever schedule anything for Monday mornings.

Other stuff--I haven't pulled out the knitting needles, but I've had the opportunity to do some musical things--writing some songs with my husband, playing with friends, leading the band at church, recording some songs. For my birthday, my husband gave me "recording a kids' album," so we're gathering equipment and getting ready to take some evenings off and lay down some tracks. Our son is also learning to read, and we're taking our time with it. All in all, the 2009 resolutions seem reasonable, helpful, and accomplishable. We still don't have our pictures hung in our new place, and I've still got three boxes left to unpack, but all in good time.

The Pull of Summer

I’m feeling springy! Summer’s just around the corner. I can see my discipline standing up to walk out the door. Other people are grading their last finals. Other people are eagerly awaiting their kids’ last day of school. I am trying to make myself believe that it’s important to read more Shakespeare in what I’m dangerously beginning to think of as my “free time” or “spare time.” I’m even tempted to lift my weeknight TV/movie ban to watch the new season of “So You Think You Can Dance,” but I’m not sure if our converter box will pick up Fox, and I think maybe I’m better off not knowing.

On good days, studying is a lifeline to a world outside of hurrying my son to the potty, changing diapers, preparing five meals/snacks a day, folding laundry, doing dishes, and wondering why the vacuum is still sitting out and the paper scraps and styrofoam crumbs are still on the living room floor. I’ll admit, that outside world is populated with long dead people and people who never existed in the first place, but it’s a world of larger ideas that I’ve traveled in before. It reminds me that this daily world I’m living with isn’t without the big ideas, it’s just harder for me to see them through the cobwebs on the windows.

On bad days, studying keeps me from feeling a connection to the larger culture--I don’t know what happened on Lost, I haven’t watched American Idol in years, I’ve missed the last few hundred great new books, and I get my news from listening to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” while I do dishes. My cocktail conversation, if I ever went to cocktail parties, would be limited to balance bikes and images of motherhood in 430 year old books.

But then my daughter walks up, says “I want some mama milk,” and I melt. I pick up my Shakespeare book and settle in to nurse.