So...

This morning I woke up thinking that I already do do beautiful things. Eric and I were talking the other day, while we watched the snow fall for hours, about how we both cry at the silliest things. The things that are so beautiful that they're overwhelming and heartaching. Nietzsche, Heidegger, Gadamer, etc., talk about beauty and the artist as possessing this superabundance that never exhausts itself, a constant giving that overwhelms its vessel. The language is more than a little sexual, but I think it's true. Something that cannot be qualifed or quantified and I can't wrap my arms around and sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode into laughter and tears. It's not sentimental or nostalgic, though. It's more than that. The past few weeks have been like that.

I realized the other morning that I'm going to be twenty-five. Yikes. And that I've had my closest friends for ten years now. Yikes, in the most positive way. To spend New Year's with them was the best possible start. Everyone sitting around the kitchen table like they're supposed to. Wine and fist-pounding (the philosophical, not Jersey Shore way) and sewing and bowling. And laughter.



I was in St. Louis and Columbia earlier this week and I didn't manage to take any pictures, but I think it was for the best. When I was Eric, it was so much like (gosh!) five years ago and hanging out in his room, listening to Django and shivering. I was so much more comfortable with myself this time, though, and so much more comfortable with him. I'm happy with the person I've become. Re-membering ftw! The pork belly sliders didn't hurt, either. Rachel and I went to Bread Co. and saw a gaggle of CJ girls and though I feel like only one summer has passed, it's been so much more. More heartache, more beauty. Dinner with Michael and I speak my mind. Dinner at Brasserie filled with beautiful, seemingly unpretentious people, and Michael teases me about saying that I'm homesick for Germany. Bordeaux is apparently the best migraine treatment ever. I can't stop laughing.

I spent today doing beautiful things. It's bitterly, bitterly cold outside. I stayed in and baked and sewed and horsed around with Ken. I don't get to spend as much time with him as I'd like, so I'm glad for this past week. My mom worked from home today and kept me company in the kitchen. When I was kneading the dough, I realized how much more my hands are beginning to look like my mom's. There were more flurries and the light was so pretty. I want to buy some paperwhites as soon as I get to Decatur. Only two days to go. I made these potholders for my mom. My sewing machine is jacked up, so I couldn't use my walking foot. The potholders aren't as tidy as I'd like, but my mom loves them. The house smells wonderful and I can't get enough of the light.


This brooch was Grammy's, my dad's mom. I was tiny when she died, so I never got to know her, but I've been told I bear a lot of resemblance to her. It's the eyebrow. I love this piece and I've been wearing it more frequently. Grammy had good taste.



2010 = Joy. And beauty. And play. Big time.

I want to be doing beautiful things.

2009

It has been an awfully rough week. Lots and lots of schoolwork and big disappointments in the personal life department. Good think I can count on Gadamer and apple tarts to get me through it. And good friends! Just a week and a half to go.

I promise

I haven't forgotten about you, little blog. Things have been pretty hectic. I still sit and daydream in seminar about new projects and fabrics instead of caring very much about Platonic forms. They don't exist, okay? Done. All of my recent projects have been documented on flickr, but maybe some narrative would be nice. Right now I'm writing a paper on the craft as practice resistant to the culture industry, as discussed by Adorno. That counts, right? Okay, back to work. If I don't post more during the semester, then I'm sorry, but I can promise lots of posts over Christmas break. Sarah's Fabrics, here I come!

Vor zwei Jahren

Almost there
Originally uploaded by rolled_trousers

When I was staying with my host family in Waldkirch (gosh!) two years ago, each Sunday my host mother would make Zwetschgenkuchen. Last fall I found a recipe that came close, but it was a little too sweet and more cakey. But then! I found this recipe for Plum Kuchen in Gourmet and was absolute delighted to find out that it called for yeast and Greek yogurt. I know my host mother made hers with Quark, which is sort of like sour cream, sort of like creme fraiche, sort of like yogurt and not readily available in the States. I was super excited to try this recipe out, and I was feeling a little low this morning, so it seemed like a perfect time to give it a shot. And I couldn't be happier. The plums retained some of their texture and the flavor was great. The cake part was very tender and moist and the yogurt really gave it a whole other dimension and just a little bit of tang. The recipe did call for some zest, but I was fresh out of that. I'm not sure how noticeable the difference would have been. The cake was ready around 1pm and it's 10pm now and the cake has been completely eaten. I'm pretty sure Sam ate about half of it and I definitely had my fair share. The recipe says it can be made with any stone fruit, so I think I might try it with apricots. When I was in Trier I would get apricot pastries a lot and I sure wouldn't mind more of those.

Well, David left yesterday morning. It was a pretty great weekend, though. I went to Athens and had a good time visiting with his friends and family. Two of his friends got married. It was a very nice ceremony at the chapel at the Georgia State Botanical Gardens with a small reception afterwards. It was the first time that I got to meet a lot of his frie

nds, which was fun, and it was a fun way to spend the last night together. Before I left, his mom gave me a bunch of tomatoes and peppers from her garden. Tonight I ate the tomatoes with some fresh green beans and just a bit of salt and pepper. Simple and delicious. I think after all the cake I was ready for something on the fresh and salty side.

This evening it rained pretty heavily. After dinner I sat out on the porch to watch the rain and trees and occasional jogger. It made me super, super homesick. My mom and I loved to sit on the porch at our old house, drinking coffee and watching the rain. And since my whole family just got back from a trip to Colorado without me (I was, of course, invited, but I couldn't work it out) and David just left, I was pretty bummed. Actually, this really happens every August. I never want summer to be over and I never feel like I've been able to spend enough time with people and doing things. I am looking forward to the start of the semester, but I'm dragging my feet along the way. I never regret what I'm doing, but I do wish I didn't have to move across the country and/or world sometimes. But! I wouldn't know about things like Zwetschgenkuchen if I didn't, so that's okay, right?

p.s. This did cheer me up:

Yipes!

Holy cow, I'm sitting at my computer and just looked out the window. There is a spider of at least four or five inches in length and two in girth making a window right in front of me. Maybe I'm glad the windows are painted shut? I think I can appreciate it much more if we each stay in our respective spots.