New Ideas

This blog has taken some turns since I first started out. It began as a way to keep track of my knitting projects. Then Ravelry came into existence, which is a fabulous site and pretty much did away with the need to track my projects on this blog. So that left blogging about my family and some ranting about the environment.

Well I started a new blog, which is called TheNewGreenBlog. It gives ideas about living a simpler, greener life in the city. Please stop by and let me know what you think. It's in the early stages, so I'm still tweaking the design part.

Ice Skating

We decided to spend the day after Christmas at the local ice skating rink. This was the first time Lindsay used single-blade skates. She got used to balancing on them while we walked to the rink. It's amazing how much better her coordination has gotten since last year. While she didn't really want to let go of our hands completely, she did a few times. And she did well. So laps were skated, hot cocoa was drunk and a good time was had by all.

My Little Ballerina

On thursday, Lindsay had her first ballet recital. The whole thing was so sweet, it made your teeth hurt. Little girls in pink, bunchy tights with tutus tucked into the waistband, squirmy girls at quiet moments, super-earnest girls trying to do the Tea Dance from the Nutcracker, Lindsay running over to give me a hug in the middle of the performance, etc. I mean, aren't we just programmed as parents to eat this stuff up??? I sure am.

What made me the most proud of my little girl was, when receiving a bouquet of flowers from us, Lindsay asking if she could divide the bouquet up between all of the girls in her class. I was about to explode with pride.

Thanksgiving Dinner

This is Lindsay's account of Thanksgiving. I think it's a pretty good one. I mean, who doesn't like dessert best? We had gingerbread cake with whipped cream that I made and we had brownies and ginger molasses cookies that Graham's father made.

Thanksgiving Travel

For Thanksgiving we drove up to Neil's parent's house. You can see us all in our minivan in Lindsay's drawing. It was a nice visit with good food, early morning babysitting by nana and papa, and a small hike. We decided to go back Saturday to give ourselves a day to re-group. It was a good thing as Neil's back went out and he was in excruciating pain all day yesterday.

Here's my illustration of the drive home.

Say Cheese

Whenever I travel I like to explore not only the various towns, but also the food. I find it fascinating to wander through village markets and check out the new tastes and smells. My dad lives in Provence, which is home to some of the most delicious food in the world. In any tiny town that has a market day, you will find the loveliest local cheeses, produce and charcutrie.

These gorgeous veggies were in his local supermarket in Lorgues.



Every time I visit my dad, I love to sample the cheese. Last time I came I barely fit into my pants by the end of the trip. I find my father's illness stressful, so who could deny oneself a little comfort in the way of tangy, stinky or creamy cheese? My sister came along on this trip and is as eager as I am to taste as many different kinds of cheese as I am.

Here is a sampling of cheeses we bought today.


The plate on the left:
The bright orange cheese is a mimolette extra vieille. The extra vielle means that it was aged an extra long amount of time. 18 months in this case. I think this cheese was the hardest for us to describe. It looks like a cheddar, but doesn't taste like one at all. It was a hard cheese, but wasn't crumbly or hard. I said elastic and Lisa said waxy. Neither description sounds particularly appealing though. Here's a more professional description. The next photo is a close-up of the rind of this cheese.
The creamy white cheese is a Tomme de chevre, which is a goat cheese. It was the most creamy decadent cheese we bought. And when I say creamy, it wasn't bland. Absolutely delicious! I searched for a good description from the pros on this cheese and didn't find any that resembled this little circle of heaven.

The plate on the right:
The large cheese on the bottom is a brie according to my stepmother. It is a perfectly good cheese. Seems a little sweeter and milder than bries I've had in the states.
The cheese to the left and above is a Ecorce de sapin, which is a triple cream cheese from the Franch-Comté region. It is wrapped in spruce bark, which imparts a subtle piney flavor to it. Sounds weird, but is delicious!
The cheese on the top is a Saint-Félicien Moulé å la louche. It's a stinky cow's milk cheese. It is very soft and drips off your knife when you bring it up to your bread. Yum.

My friend just sent me the funniest quote about the French and cheese:
"France is a country that understands…the range of smells that makes life interesting includes some rather severe ones…When they smell [Soumantrain, a particularly pungent cheese], Americans think 'Good God!' The Japanese think, 'I must now commit suicide.' The French think 'Where's the bread?'" - Luca Turin



Oh, and did I mention that they have zillions of olives here. Growing in my dad's yard, in fields, and on random trees along the street. Don't try and eat one from the tree unless you want your mouth to be stuck in a permanent pucker. It's a joke the locals play on olive-loving tourists. These guys need to be cured or pressed to be edible.

Cautiously Optimistic

I am so hopeful listening to various reports that Obama will win the election. I keep thinking about the world series a bunch of years ago when the Yankees were losing to the Red Sox. At a certain point the Red Sox started to paint their field (the game was at Yankee stadium) with the words World Champions. They lost. Oops. I can wait to do my victory dance.