Rhythm and Ritual

There is a necessary rhythm to the day when you work from home. A general frame on which you rely to keep from going completely insane. And the rhythm is usually grounded in ritual. Waking, eating, playing, working, house-working, baking, inside time, outside time, naptime, craft time. All these things have a place within the day and if you get the balance right you really can do most of them well. But when the balance is off...well, let's just say there are days when I swear if I look in the mirror I'll see Medusa staring back at me with snake-hair standing on end, lips parted in a horrified scream and eyes wild like a cornered animal.

Yes. That's the look. I've been avoiding mirrors for a good couple of months now.

The trouble is, I have no idea what has thrown my rhythm into such disarray. Everything is difficult, everything is a fight, everything takes so much more time and effort than it should. And here I sit feeling as if nothing is being done well. Boo-hoo. I do wonder if the planets are doing some weird dance up in the dark beyond causing my aura to spin westward. Um, yeah. Or maybe it is just the winds of change kicking up dust. When you feel like you're banging your head against a wall, take a step back and look for the door.

Unlike Alice, I'm trying to take my very good advice. So I'm baking bread again--a ritual that ground to a halt when we hit 90-degrees-F in May (just a taste of the neverending summer this year).

The little bear and I are going on a daily learning adventure (he correctly identified two wild and edible plants on our last walk).

And my dear husband is renovating our third bedroom into a proper office space (as it had been taken over by the cats and was pretty much a useless space depite the desk, computer and bookshelves contained within).

Yes, I do think autumn has brought more than just the scent of leaves and crackling fires on the breeze. It is anticipation. Something is coming.....

Vampire Weekend

Happy Birthday my little blue-eyed monster....

Inspiration for the cake and recipe from Amanda over at I Am Baker.

Elves -v- Gnomes

"What is the difference between an elf and a gnome anyway," I questioned.

"Mommy, gnomes have tall pointy hats and elves have short pointy hats."

Pause.

"If you see an elf, you should run for it."

"Why is that, honey?"

"Because if you can catch him and put him in a fish tank (without water) and put in a little TV and a chair, that's good luck, you know."

"Oh. That's good to know. I'll be sure to remember that."

Sir Brussel Sprout

Sir Brussel Sprout bids you welcome to his humble yet tasty kingdom...

The winds have changed and we're well into fall. Finally. This did seem like the year of endless summer. Fine title for a catchy tune, but apple cider runs in my veins and crisp campfire nights in my heart. And it's time to put the garden to sleep.

We, obviousy, planted waaaay too many peppers this year as we have two full-to-the-brim bushel baskets of anchos, green bells, black bells, Italian longs, and habaneros. This after eating them fairly constantly throughout the season.

And our UGO (unidentified growing object) squash has not only survived year two, but thrived. A vining beauty appeared quite suddenly out of the compost pile last year and charmed us with its luciously sweet and buttery flesh. Since we were unable to determine it's lineage (other than the obvious fact it hales from hearty stock) we saved the seeds. We'll be planting it in our garden every year.

Now if only I could find Sir Brussel Sprout. I'm sure I left him around here somewhere...