WARTS!

Last week Jonathan and I explored Selby Avenue in St. Paul. We drank hot chocolate and espresso mochas at Nina's Coffee Cafe and then followed a set of stairs that led down to Common Good Books. While Jonathan walked around the store I sat down in a comfy chair in the children's book section and leafed through some picture books. And that's when I found this really funny and adorable book that I would highly recommend to anyone. It's called Miss Brooks Loves Books (And I Don't) by Barbara Bottner and illustrated by Michael Emberley. I found the illustrations endearing and immediately fell in love with the main character. Read it and enjoy the warts!!!

A New Zone

So, amongst all the the thoughts that fill a person's mind when moving into a new place and trying to start a new life lurks a very insistent voice in my head that really wants me to go outside and garden. I have the space to do it and the go-ahead from the landlord, but I can't bring myself to go out there and just dig. I keep telling myself that there are more important things to do right now and that I'm on a really tight budget and that gardening is not a priority. I'm trying really hard to ignore the voice, but I know there's a plot of land out there covered in weeds just wanting me to fill it up with lovely perennials.

*sigh*

I know that soon I'll be able to go out there and enjoy the dirt. Until then I can plot and plan and come up with all sorts of landscape ideas. I'm excited because I am in an entirely new gardening zone and I really want to add native plants to my own little garden.

However, until I have my new garden up and growing, here's a picture that I took before we left. It's some lady's mantle that I'd planted in my former garden. Enjoy the day!

Minnesota Or Bust

If you're interested in knowing more about our adventure in Minnesota, Jonathan and I created a new blog specifically geared toward that exact topic. Right now, we're calling it Minnesota or Bust. Just follow the link and you'll get there. We'll both be contributing to it, so enjoy. Oh, and I will still be posting to the popsquabble too. I have lots of ideas in my head for fun, artsy projects...I just need to finish unpacking.

Moving On

My husband and I moved on to...Minnesota.

It all started the last week of April, when Jonathan picked me up from my parents and told me he'd been downsized.

Shock. Anger. Sadness. Fear.

There were a lot of emotions. And then the questions. What should we do? Should we stay or leave? If we leave, how will we do it? Is it better to stay? What about our families?

After much thought and research we decided to move. We had talked about moving for years. But it's difficult to leave a steady job in a rough economy, so we stayed.

But suddenly we didn't have the "steady job" to stop us. We knew that if we wanted to pull up stakes and seek out something new...the time was now.

Thanks to help from friends and family, we packed up our stuff and headed west, landing ourselves in the Twin Cities.

We've been feeling everything from exuberant glee to heartbreaking sorrow.

We miss our friends and family very, very much. We are also excited about a new adventure.

So, here's to a new chapter in our lives...

Change In The Winds

There are many things afoot.

Major changes.

Holding on and letting go.

I will explain more later, but for now I'm just breathing in between the busy moments.

Morning Attempt

This morning I attempted to make the Parisian Macarons.

And...


they're flat and bumpy.

The almonds are an issue. I have to grind them finer. Much finer. Only, I'm not sure how. The cuisinart didn't do it and the mortar and pestle didn't do it. The closest I could get was with the coffee grinder. So, I might try and do it again with that or go to the local bake shop and see what they recommend.

I think I over-cooked them too. I left them in the oven for the recommended time, but every oven is different.

I did make lovely stiff peaks of egg whites that I dyed green. But the green didn't seem to make it through the oven experience. More food coloring? I don't know.

They're definitely a delicate pastry, but I will not give up! I will prevail!!!

An Inspiring Perspective

I'm used to seeing the world a certain way. My perspective. I think it's something everyone does most of the time. It's easier and doesn't require any extra attention. I see the world as I see it. Plain and simple.

I feel stuck sometimes. Stuck in my writing. Stuck in my art. Stuck in my daily patterns. That's when I say I need inspiration. I.N.S.P.I.R.A.T.I.O.N. And I sit back in my chair and think about exotic places and distant lands I could visit and, thus, replenish myself. Life, unfortunately, doesn't always allow for the much needed travel. But I still need inspiration.

I started thinking about inspiration and realized that a big part of it is really just about changing perspective. Traveling makes it easy. You're instantly thrust into a new culture with vistas you've never seen and flavors you've never tasted. If you immerse yourself in it, you'll probably emerge renewed.

Since I can't travel as much as I'd like, I've decided to try a change of perspective on the home front. Like looking at something or someone I see every day from a new angle. Even trying a new recipe (like Parisian Macaroons) or simply taking a different path to the grocery store. The change isn't quite as sudden as dropping down on a distant tropical island, but it counteracts the discouragement I feel when stagnancy sets in.

So, here's to making new discoveries in everyday life.