Consuming Fiber

It's been sometime since I've written a blog and other things have consumed my time.  I have now been playing the harp for a couple of months.  I really enjoy it; it comes naturally to me.  I took up knitting again.  

I taught myself how to knit in 2002 after hurting my back and being forced to lie around on the couch for a week.  The only thing I ever really knit was scarves.  I was inspired to start knitting again recently.  I decided that I needed to expand my horizons and first knit a baby hat on double pointed needles (DPNs).

Feeling confident, I then moved onto a baby surprise sweater.  I was also encouraged by a Knitting Instructor at Tempe Yarn & Fiber to try my hands at this pattern.  I am so pleased at how this turned out.  

It's a pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman.  Shay took this great picture of my finished sweater. The glass buttons that I used for the sweater made me so happy.  The buttons were made by a local artist in town, Greenbean Glass and Stone.

I've had a lot of fun knitting.  Got to have a knitting circle at my house with a few of the girls.  Got to hang out with some regulars at Tempe Yarn & Fiber.  Trying some new things out.  Went to a "Knit In" at Scottsdale's Knit Happens.

I also joined an online social knitting networking group called Ravelry.  I've found ravelry to be a great resource for patterns, yarns & people. 

This summer, I am taking a spinning class, a sock class, more harp lessons and started college after a more than decade-long hiatus.  It's going to be a busy summer.  Plenty to keep me occupied.  

Maybe I'll fit in a few blogs.

Scattered

I am feeling really scattered and all over the place.  I took a few days off from work in order to clean the house and get things accomplished.  What's happened is that I began the process and once I got involved felt overwhelmed because there is SO MUCH that needs to get done and I have barely scratched the surface.  

Wednesday, I spent most of the day cleaning our bedroom.  I love our bedroom; it is decorated so beautifully and the colors are so soothing.  Our bedroom wasn't too bad off, but I did laundry in conjunction with the cleaning and I have a lot of laundry.  I'm not done yet.  I have too much clothing.  I can go a month or more without doing any laundry.  I could probably go a few months and never wear the same thing twice.  I would really love to get rid of all of the clothing and only hang onto a few things, but a lot of the pieces have memories woven into them.  Take for example a black & pink dress I have - I bought the dress 4-5 years ago.  It's super cute and sexy.  I wore it several times.  I bought a pink/black sweater to wear with it, but that was so badly stained, I had to get rid of it.  The dress is reminiscent of a pin-up or goth type dress.  I don't know were the hell I would wear it again.  I wore it to the theater and my brother/sister-in-law's wedding.  So for now, it sits.  Another example is Gwynne's suit.  I've been meaning to give it back to her for so long.  I borrowed it for something, it didn't fit - I've never worn it.  She doesn't need it (since she works in pj bottoms & tank tops) and has probably forgotten it's here.  So it sits... I just need to get rid of so much stuff and don't know where to begin.  I have a LOT more cleaning to do.  I don't see how it is all going to get done.  

Wednesday night, Rick and I went to see A Raisin in the Sun produced by Arizona Theatre Company.   It was a very good production, with superb acting.  Rick and I each had different take-aways.  I identified with the male characters in the production, recognizing that men have dreams and that sometimes they have difficulty following them because they are expected to "be" men and serve their duty to their household as the primary bread winner.  Rick identified more with the female characters and saw how the male character was initially acting selfishly due to his resentment of not being able to follow his dream.  Of course, the show goes beyond this.  It also has a lot to do with segregation, african american education/intellect, prejudice, class, etc.  It is based upon a true story, which I don't think either of us knew.  

Yesterday, I mostly spent the day out running errands.  Today, I am going to get a facial and then it's off to a hair appt.  I need to return a rental car and pick up Ben's car from the shop.  

I really just feel scattered.  It's obvious in this blog, you can read, plainly, my lack of focus.  I can't believe how much needs to get done in my life...

"Table for One"

So Ben is out of town this week conducting an audit at a client in Globe.  He said it snowed today there and I can't imagine that he's only a couple of hours away and experiencing that kind of weather!!!

I have found myself alone this evening.  It's the "dawn" of a few vacation days.  I've taken some time off of work to clean my house (which is in desperate need) and prepare for a weekend of debauchery with Monica.  

I wasn't sure what to do with myself this evening.  I stopped off at ZIA on my home from work and picked up a few CDs.  Since my brand new interest in the harp, I've been interested in purchasing a couple of Joanna Newsom CDs.  We are also going to be seeing Les Miserables at Phoenix Theatre soon and I lost my complete recording of the show years ago so I wanted to get another copy.  

First, I listened to the highlights from Les Miz... I was surprised that they didn't have the complete recording.  I realized I was somewhat glad that they didn't.  I don't know if I could have sat through 3 hours of it.  I'm not sure what was so mesmerizing about this show when I was 14.  I mean, the music is good, but it's not Sondheim.  So, I sang for about an hour straight.  My voice is not as good as it was when I was 14.  It's different. It sounds lower, more raspy and it's harder to be on pitch.  Maybe too many years of cigarettes.  I quit over a year ago and I still hear the effects.  I'm glad no one was around for my embarrassing display.  It took me back to a time when I closed my bedroom door and belted my lungs out at my parent's house.  The experience was comforting and Schmooey (my cat) sat with me; listening, looking, purring and enjoying.  

I've been listening to Joanna Newsom for the last couple of hours and zoning out.  I've checked out a couple of different harp performances on youtube and I'm so excited!  I guess I didn't initially realize that playing the harp could mean more than a couple of classical crescendos and celtic doodles.  I've listened to Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and musical theatre, all realized through the harp!  I'm encouraged that it's even possible to play jazz on the harp!  

Now, the boys are here for a little band practice, Rockband that is!

A Different Musical Direction

I recognize that I mostly blog about food and little else.  I hope that if you are reading my blog, you won't mind that I am going to take a different direction with this particular one.  After all, my blog is called the "Life and Times of Jodels" and not "The Road to Rawsomeness".

On Saturday, I went to the symphony with Rick, Cris, Danen and Ben.  I hadn't been to they symphony in so long.  It was a pleasure to be able to go.  The program was a bit unconventional and it didn't feel like the pieces went together, Bach's Piano Concerto and a couple of Stravinsky pieces.  Stravinsky's grandson was in the audience.  I had a few take-aways that were worth noting.  One of my take-aways was that if you close your eyes and absorb all of the rustling about in symphony hall (people opening wrappers, talking, moving in their seat, etc.), the music almost starts to sound like a vinyl LP.  I thought that was pretty cool.  My other take-away, and the point of this blog, is that playing the harp is something I want to do.  

I think I have considered playing the harp before, but I was never in a position to do so.  I remembered someone saying that pianists have a much easier time learning how to play the harp than most.  I did some research yesterday and found out a bit more about the instrument.  I found a teacher in town who also rents harps.  I've emailed her and already received a response back.  I'm hoping to get together with her at some point and figure out where to start.  Apparently there are several different harps, but for the purpose of this blog - let's say there are 2, a pedal harp (the type used in symphonies) and a lever harp.  It turns out that most beginners learn how to play on a lever harp.  It's great that I can rent a harp before making a commitment to purchase one since lever harps range in price from $2,000-$4,000 and pedal harps range from $15,000 to $60,000.  I'm pretty excited about my new interest.  We'll see how it goes. 

I did more reading up on facts and one factoid is that unlike most instruments that don't sound great when a beginner is learning (read violin), the harp always sounds great.  

Who knows?  Maybe in a couple of years, I'll be ready to play "for hire" at weddings.  

Buy Local!

Thanks to our friends, Pat and Roberta, we pick up CSA groceries every Saturday from Unlimited Coffee.  It was one of the best wedding gifts we got and we think of them every week.  It's a joy to go pick up the bag and find out what it's in it.

Today, Ben made steamed kale and cooked beets- both from our grab bag.  I didn't try either, since they were cooked, but I always enjoy the carrots.  They don't even need to be peeled, they are so good!  

It's great to support local farming.  We love that we are cutting down on the gas that it takes to deliver the groceries.  We are also composting, which is another great way to recycle.  The City of Phoenix offers a compost bin for $5- you can't beat that!

A picture of the compost bin:

Yay!

Gone Nuts!

Every now and then, I get really excited about a raw food.  I've discovered a few raw foods that are already prepared and I can buy them right off the shelves.  It not only makes my life easier, but it makes me feel more normal.  I don't have to spend time washing the blender and the food processor 5 times in the course of an hour.  

One of my latest discoveries is Gone Nuts! by Living Intentions. I was so excited by the garlic and rosemary nuts, I bought, that I had to email them to let them know how freakin' happy their nuts made me.  I also emailed Whole Foods to tell them how excited I was to go to the grocery store last night and see MORE raw food than usual.  

Yay for Gone Nuts!  Yay for Whole Foods!  

Eat your "Oaties"

I'm concluding breakfast and wanted to get in a quick blog before I get ready for work.

On a regular basis I eat a breakfast cereal that I've dubbed "Oaties", like Wheaties, only different. The recipe comes from Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy book. The "Oaties" consist of rolled oats, sunflower seeds, crushed almonds, raisins and agave nectar. Sometimes, I slice a banana and put it over the cereal; you could also use strawberries or another type of berry. Then, I pour almond milk over the cereal. The recipe for almond milk comes from her book, but it is uber easy. Soaked almonds (1.5 c), soaked dates (3), 2.5c of H2O. Then, you run the mixture through a blender to liquefy and a sprout bag to strain it. I had to learn this the hard way; I was using cheesecloth and it was a big mess.

This morning I opened up a milk-free capsule of acidophilus and put it into my cereal. I am starting to become interested in the benefits of probiotics.

Well, it's off to get ready for work.