Philosophy of Beauty

I just finished reading a fabulous book that I can't help but share with you. It was a random find: Shaune and I had gone to the local bookstore for a "date," where we get a special coffee and wander around for a few hours, enjoying the books and magazines. I hadn't planned on buying anything, but this book caught my eye:

What a weird title! And an eye catching cover! And it was only just recently (2006) translated from French. It's a novel, but even more than that, it's a discussion of philosophy. Each of the two narrators is looking for worth and beauty in their worlds, and they craft essays describing the good they've found (or the lack of it).

Each chapter is only 3, maybe 4 pages, but it draws you in so deeply. Here's a teaser from the section on grammar:

I don't like Achille Grand-Fernet but in this case I agreed with him when
he asked this question. I feel it was long overdue. Moreover, when a literature
teacher uses a split infinitive like that, I'm really schocked. It's like
someone sweeping the floor and forgetting the dust bunnies. "What's the point of
grammar?" asked Achille. "You ought to know by now," replied Madame
Never-mind-that-I-am-paid-to-teach-you. "Well, I don't," replied Achille,
sincerely for once, "no one ever bothered to explain it to us." Nadame Fine let
out a long sigh, of the "do I really have to put up with such stupid questions"
variety, and said, "The point is to make us speak and write well."

I thought I would have a heart attack there and then. I have never heard
anything so grossly inept...

Personally I think grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or
read, or write, you can tell if you've said or read or written a fine sentence.
Upi cam recpgmoze a well turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are
applying the ruses of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the
beauty of language....

And on the way home I thought: pity the poor in spirit who know neither the
enchantment nor the beauty of language.

Yum. Check it out the next time you need some brain food. I guarentee you won't be bored :)

And all will be well

I'm so grateful to you for praying for me during my testing on Monday. Although I brutally failed my first glucose screening, the second one came back "perfectly normal." I've dodged the diabetic bullet for now, but it has scared me into looking over my diet more carefully. Baby Girl doesn't really like food (lol), just snacks and junk. A hot meal just isn't appealing, so I've blended up a healthy trail mix with nuts and dried fruit. Anything's better than poptarts :)

Countdown has started! Only 11 weeks to go!

The Scope of the Project

My husband and I are hard-core do-it-yourselfers. We bought an 80 year old house with 80 year old house issues. We're too poor and/or too cheap to hire anyone to do work for us, so every project turns into quite the adventure. Our bathroom sink has been leaking, so since Shaune was off on Friday for Lincoln's Birthday, he decided to take care of it. Half an hour, hour tops, to turn off the water and put some plumber's tape in the valve.

On the other side of the weekend, the bathroom sink has been replumbed entirely. New valves, new pipes, even a new vanity and new sink -- and new power tools! What started so small turned into an epic project when the valve handle snapped off in Shaune's hand as he went to turn the water off. It spiraled from there.

It's just the way my brain works, but in this chaos I saw something so comforting I just had to share with you. Isn't it wonderful -- God already knows the scope of the project before he begins. He knows everything it will take to sanctify us before we're even born! He isn't surprised when he reaches the corroded valve in our hearts that won't let us turn off the flow of sin. He isn't shocked when our perfect-looking facade cracks down the middle, revealing our spiritual ugliness. He doesn't complain when the project that was supposed to be minutes turns into days -- he already had an accurate timeline. And nothing he finds in us will cause him to step back, gasp, and comment, "Maybe I got in over my head on this one!"

I'm glad to be God's project. I'm glad he's the master, who can evaluate my heart for what it REALLY is, and not just what I'd like it to be. I don't have to understand because I'm not in control. He is... and He is more than capable.

Happy Baby-Brain Land

I have gotten nothing accomplished for weeks. Literally, nothing... past daydreaming at least. But I FINALLY got my sewing machine out of the garage (doesn't mean it's set up yet). I also decided on the quilt for Baby Blueberry: I'm going to do a triple irish chain with animals appliqued/embroidered in the "blank" squares. Fulfills my needs for a complicated project, plus my recent bizzare cravings for hand-work. Should be lovely -- I ordered the pattern today and am dragging Shaune to the fabric store on Saturday to pick out cottons.

Oh, and if you don't mind, would you send some prayers my way? Although Baby Girl is doing just fine, I've had some bloodwork for myself come back abnormal. She's sapping my system. My iron's really low and my blood sugar is out of balance. I have to go in for further testing on the 21st. I'm making some changes to my diet now and praying that everything comes out ok after the tests. This "growing new life" thing takes a lot out of you!

Snowpocolapse Soup

When outside looks like this:


Leaving behind this:



And this:


What's a girl to do but make something warm and comforting like this?

Black bean soup in whole wheat bread bowls. yummm.... Perfect for a cold night of getting snowed in. The bread bowls are no-knead bread taken from this recipe here (with some alterations). I've been making up batches of this about every 2-3 days. We don't eat a whole lot of bread here, unless this is lying around. The recipe is kind of small so if you're feeding more than a handful of people, double it.

The black bean soup is a family favorite. My mom found it, my sister perfected it, and I make it all the time :) It's spicy -- really! -- so be careful! Add extra corn or cheese to cool it down. Cheddar or Mexican Blend is wonderful.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Cooking spray
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
45 oz. canned black beans, undrained (=3 15 oz. cans) (I use a randomly approximate amount of beans cooked from dry, plus enough of the cooking liquid to just cover)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
14 ½ oz fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth (or 2 cubes bullion with 14oz water)
10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
11 oz can yellow corn, drained

Coat bottom of a large stockpot with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft but not brown, about five minutes.

Place one can of beans in blender; add sautéed onion mixture, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Cover and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour mixture back into stockpot.

Place second can of beans and broth in blender and puree until smooth; add to stockpot.

Stir third can of beans (do not puree first), tomatoes w/ green chilies, and corn into stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Yields about 6 servings.

OPTIONAL (and time saving): Instead of blending stuff before cooking, use an immersion / Stick Blender once you've added everything but the corn. It was the best $10 kitchen tool I ever bought for things like smooth soup and sauces. I use it enough that it's earned a place in my kitchen right next to the stove instead of in some obscure cabinet throughout the house (like the ice cream maker).

24 Weeks

Whoa! Where'd this come from!?



Can't deny that baby anymore! She's growing strong and kicking a ton. I think she's also falling into a schedule: I definately feel her have busy times (10:30pm, every single night) and calmer times (thankfully, while I'm at work). Every now and again there will be a little appendage-shaped bulge push out on my belly for just a few seconds. It's pretty cool :) I'm still feeling pretty great, but my energy is starting to drop off. By the time I get home from work, I have to take a nap before I can get started on the evening life (dinner, chores, etc).

We love you, Baby Girl! Keep on growing!

Idle Hands Love to Knirt

Do you remember that old saying, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop"? I'm not sure about the theological implications of that, but I do know that I'm happiest when my hands are busy.

Lately, I've spent a lot of evenings with my feet up. It's the product of a busy life plus being 23 weeks pregnant. Lots of feet-up time means lots of movie-watching time (gotta love my Austen classics, yum). That also means, lots of knitting time! Guess who benefits? BLUEBERRY!

I know, I know, she's a girl... but blue is really my favorite color and she IS our Blueberry... and I found this cone of varigated blue cotton on sale for reaaaaallly cheap at one of those big box stores. So, lo and behold, a bounty of beautiful blue (and white) baby goodies. The white is 100% cotton, too :)

This blanket kept growing. I guess it's something to do with the elasticity of the cotton, or the fact that I knit straight garter stitch on 8s, but it seems much larger than when I started. 3 strips of garter knit, sewn together, then decorated with a crocheted border. Simple and wonderful -- hours of car time during the holidays. It WAS going to be 5! strips, but Shaune made me stop :) It's got a lovely feel to it. I think I'm addicted to cotton :)

I still had a ton of blue left so I made a little hat and some shoes. The shoes, you can't see it, but they have a row of eyelets just below the top edge. I'm going to get some pretty white ribbon to do an ankle lace, kinda like ballet slippers. Can you picture it? The hat's all ruffly at the bottom edge. I LOVE this pattern and am probably going to make about a hundred more -- little cotton hats will be perfect for summer (if she'll keep them on, of course).

There's STILL blue left (but it is wearing down), so I think I'm going to make a little dress next. At least the bodice of one... I might do a cotton eyelet skirt. I have some in my stash that would look charming gathered on to a knit bodice.

Oh my... this little girl is going to have more stuff than she can feasibly wear before she outgrows it. She's not going to be spoiled... no, not at all... ;-)

Pink!

Since my whole house -- in fact, my whole world -- is in the process of turning pink, I figured my blog should play along, too. :)

Enjoy! I promise it'll be temporary :)

I Need your Help: Diapering

Dear Ladies, I need to tap your fountain of wisdom. We've decided to pursue cloth diapering with Little One and I have no idea what I actually need. Oh, I've spent weeks looking at different websites, offering more and more complicated (and expensive) cloth diapering soluntions. I can tell you one method (I'm pretty sure) we're NOT doing: I don't think I want to buy 20+ all-in-ones at more than $20 a piece. I'm leaning towards contoured diapers inside covers. Of course, I've never done this, so I could be wrong...

Here's where I need your help:

1. Did you cloth diaper? If so, what kind did you use?
2. Did you like doing it that way?
3. How many diapers do you REALLY need? I don't want to be stuck doing laundry EVERY day, but every other or every third is totally reasonable.
4. Any other advice you can offer a first-timer?

HELP! My mom asked me to pull together a registry, and I definately want to get the diapers on there if I can. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

News!

I have news for you, cleverly displayed in this photograph my husband played with:

We got to go in and see her yesterday morning. She's strong and active, with loooong legs and arms. And a big ole fluffy baby bum! We're at 15oz -- almost a pound! -- and 10 inches long. I'm so excited :)

Did I mention, she's active? Like.. seriously. She's hardly ever still! During the sonogram, she was literally turning summersaults and backflips. The tech shook my belly to try to get her to turn certain ways, but she wouldn't stay that way long enough to get any photos. It was actually really funny. The best part (for me at least) is that the tech wasn't able to finish her "checklist" because of Baby's wiggliness. That means that I get another sono next month :) I'm certainly not complaining, because they scheduled the sono during the wait time for my glucose tolerance test (boo, not looking forward to THAT part of the visit). While my blood sugar rockets around, I'll get to watch my baby more.

Blessings to you, too, this wonderful New Year! 2011 is already shaping up to be a life-changing year!