January 2, 2012

No Longer Mine

I wrote this when I was 14 and dug it up again today. I thought you might enjoy the musings of my younger self.

No longer mine

10.08

What does it mean to say I love you?

Explosive. Swelled heart and love begins to open up the seams that held it closed; that held the sleeping treasure… now conscious and alive. Uncontainable yet caught within the small confines of my heart. It is irrepressible, begging to be let out, but still in my feeble hands.

Humbled. I am not enough. I lost a piece of me that only you can find. These words are more powerful than me … ‘I love you’. Supremacy surrendered, I am yours.

Reserved. You own a piece inside my heart. Prime real estate surrounded by caution tape. The deal signed. Preserved for one. Unmarred by footsteps in the ground. Your sign is carved in stone. Can’t be unwritten. The mark is there forever for better or worse.

Suicide. My identity no longer who I am, but tangled up with you; a whole new creature. Do two deaths make life… abundantly? Yet from winter’s decay, spring flowers bloom and grow.

Promise. A debt of adoration, a commitment made to keep day in, day out. Sunrise to Sunset. Rainbow or Raincloud. Will thirsty come and find the well cracked and dry? But storms will pass and leave world crisp and new. Let not the promise fail, instead be cleansed.

Infinity. No termination in this life. And when death anew is at our doors, the end is the beginning. The death is life again.

January 6, 2012

Favorite line from this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTFZyl7hfBw
Warning: there is some profanity, but it is hilarious.

Definitely the Glasses, part 1

You'll of course remember the last journal entry I posted, a watercolor sketch of a girl in glasses.



Well, I have to confess--I have a fetish with those glasses. I've been trying to save people the discomfort of seeing me in my own ridiculous lensless frames, but if ever I find a legitimate pair of nonprescription glasses, you'll be seeing me in them, rest assured!

I now have a running collection of images and media featuring this "accessory," if you will, and I will be sharing them with you in phases as they come.



I can't trace this eclectic collection back to its original source, but I found it through this blog: http://gatherlove.tumblr.com/post/17220690837/giu-cy-oldschool-babe



Gap Model: http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=76889&vid=1&pid=871057
The most remarkable thing about this picture, is that the model (I think) looks exactly like me! How many pictures of strangers make you double take, thinking "is that me??"



Love the lace and boots in this outfit from Bonlook: http://lookbook.nu/look/2163117-On-the-Rooftop



Finally, for today, is this instagram from Sucre Diaries! http://sucrediaries.blogspot.com/2012/02/sucres-first-show.html
Sucre is the music child of Stacy King of Eisley, her husband Darren King of MuteMath, and Jeremy Larson an independent musician and producer. This photo was taken of her with a fan (wearing the glasses!) at their very first live show in LA.

Let me know if you happen to have favorite images of clear lens glasses.
-Shiloh

November 23, 2011

January 14, 2012

On the 13th of January, I hosted a dance in our barn. It was a delightful and magical night full of new friends, old friends, dancing, singing, and laughing. Must do it again!

Janurary 1, 2012

My thoughts on the first of the year:

January 25, 2012

It's my birthday, I can {*insert} if I want to!

*Cry
*Wear Stilettos
*Eat Cheesecake
*Buy Clothes
*Laugh
*Imagine
*Get a Diamond ring
*Sing at the top of my lungs

November 21, 2011

"Part of how I keep track of time is how many rows of knitting I've done since the last time I counted."

November 11, 2011

First page of a new book.

Hello!

Hello, blog world. I can feel things stirring in me, and I know there is a future presence for me somewhere on the web, maybe here, maybe somewhere new. But in the meantime, I have decided to share my real life blog with you, bit by bit. I DO journal, and I treat my journal as an open book. Thus, I will begin posting scans or photos of my journal pages in lieu of posting traditionally.
Stay tuned!

The girl becomes a woman~

"The doll is one of the most imperious necessities, and at the same time one of the most charming instincts of female childhood.

To care for, to clothe, to adorn, to dress, to undress, to dress over again, to teach, to scold a little, to rock, to cuddle, to put to sleep, to imagine that something is somebody--all the future of woman is there.

via: http://www.kellehampton.com/2011/04/firsts.html

Even while musing and prattling, while making little wardrobes and little baby-clothes, while sewing little dresses, little bodices, and little jackets, the child becomes a little girl, the little girl becomes a big girl, the big girl becomes a woman.
The first baby takes the place of the last doll.
A little girl without a doll is almost as unfortunate and quite as impossible as a woman without children."
-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Blueberry Pie

A generous family from our debate club hosted a party on their property this past week. Their business is growing berries, and some friends and I were lucky enough to pick and take home a load of beautiful, crisp blueberries.
I made a blueberry pie today, and since I have not posted in oh so long (having an invalid for a camera is not very inspiring) I decided to post the recipe even before I tried a piece!
The crust is whole wheat. The recipes used are found below.


{Pieces}

Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Adapted from Cheeky Kitchen's poptart crust recipe.
http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2010/07/perfect-whole-wheat-pie-crust-homemade-pop-tarts.html

1 1/2 C whole wheat
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold, cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk

In food processor (or large bowl), stir together flours, sugar, and salt. If using a processor, add butter and pulse to form a course meal; or, cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to).. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use (at least a 1/2 hour or up to a few days).

Note: This recipe makes enough dough for the bottom crust of a 9 in. round pie pan. I made a separate additional batch about 2/3 of this size for my lattice crust.

{Helper}

Blueberry Pie Filling

2 pints blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tb Lemon Juice
3 Tb Cornstarch

Combine and let ingredients meld.

{Pie}

Assembling Pie

Take chilled dough for bottom crust from the fridge and lay on a spacious work surface covered with a large piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll out dough to approximately 1/4 in. thick. The dough should be roughly circular with a 10-12 in. diameter. Remember, it must cover the bottom of the pan and reach up all sides.
When dough is rolled, invert your 9 in. pie pan in the center of your dough. At this point, you may want someone to help flip the crust. One person grab the edges of the wax paper/plastic wrap and begin to lift it up. Another set of hands sandwich the pie pan and crust and quickly flip the pan and set it on the work space. Once flipped, peel off the wax paper/plastic wrap and gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of pan.

NOTE: This can be done with one set of hands. I have done it. The best way to do so is to be sure you have enough margin on your wax paper/plastic wrap to fold it over your inverted pan. This way, you can both lift the pan and slip a hand underneath.

Pour blueberry filling into the crust.

If doing a lattice crust, roll out second ball of dough as the first. Slice into 1/2 in.-1 in. strips. Lay every other strip across pie, and weave the remaining strips through them the opposite direction. (For video instructions, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jv8BGw31Cg)

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 for 35 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Enjoy!

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

I have been quite the absentee of late, but I know the only way I will get back into posting is to
BEGIN!
Therefore, I am sharing with you what little I can at the moment. Yesterday a familyt friend brought over a bag full of steamed artichokes which he had scored at his local farmers market. The seller offered him nearly her whole stock free for his chickens since they were beginning to look too old to sell. Always adventerous and resourceful, our friend decided instead to use the abundance of hearts for a new adventure:
Marinated Artichoke Hearts.
He was generous enough to share his bounty with us, and the following is the beautiful result of our efforts.


(iphone photo)

Patterns in the Mundane

Creativity is a lifestyle. Like many exercises, it tends to get lost in the mundane. Nevertheless, there are times when pleasing patterns manifest themselves in the most unexpected places, and those are moments of true inspiration.

Happy Valentines Day!

By far my favorite thing about Valentines Day is the photos people take.
This adorable photo of little Breckyn found here:
http://www.auburnsoulphotography.com/?p=1716

<3

When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina.

When I see pictures like this, I long for the chance to be a ballerina. I know it's a hard life, but it is disciplined and beautiful. I miss dancing.





So Beautiful.

Micro Valentines

Some good family friends hosted a little valentine-card-making-get-together at their house. I never get around to making valentines unless it is so conveniently arranged. I have decided to call these micro valentines.



For the square ones, I used a scrapbooking punch that was about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.



The lollipops didn't fit on a square, so I gave them their own shape.



Making itty bitty valentines is so fast and they seem to evolve on their own! These felt like they just made themselves.



My little sisters made their own valentines as well, and Bethany gave this one to me.
Aw.
Sparkle is Love.
Family is Love.



1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Happy Valentines Week!

A Touch of Spring

As winter starts to lift its face and wave its flag,
And put a touch of spring into each brightened step--
As fairies spread a soft green blanket over all
Earth displays the warmth that she, till now, has kept.

The melodies suppressed by winter’s gloomy face
Are beckoned out to sing and dance with sunny rays,
And as the birds are singing to the waking world,
The children dance along with each rejoicing day.



How do colors intertwine and blossom here?
What art replaces winter as it melts away?
What magic brings such miracles that now appear?
Is Earth the canvas of the Artist painting over grey?

The Great Magician orchestrates each tiny change.
His breath, the breeze that dances with your hair
His ornaments, the stars that decorate the skies
His hands unwrap each bud to bring us flowers fair.



I feel the change in nature’s countenance
A permeating joy has seeped through one and all
I cannot help but feel it as I venture out
And join in praise with nature to it’s one and all.



I wrote and posted this poem in Spring of 2008. This is a repost with new pictures. CA has been beautiful and balmy this week, so I deemed it an appropriate ode to the imminent change of seasons.

Chocolate Fountain Cake

This was my birthday cake this year. It was in some ways an accident; but haven't you heard of accidents that turn out simply fabulous? This was one of them.



It began with the recipe for chocolate cake linked below. It is a large recipe. This fact dawned on me slowly as I mixed everything together. (TIP: Always read a recipe carefully, all the way through, so as not to suffer such dawning revelations.) I had assumed this recipe would make two 9-inch cake rounds, but as I poured that beautiful chocolate concoction into my two 9-inch cake pans, there was an obvious excess of batter.



One Bowl Chocolate Cake
(Martha Stewart, found here)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

When I accepted the fact that my batter would not fit in two nine inch cake pans, I rummaged around in the cabinet to find a third. The only pan I found was an 8-inch pan, which I used despite the discrepancy in size. My sisters and I decided that it would not be the end of the world; we would simply put the small round on top.

Thus, my revised instructions:

Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, AND one 8-inch (2 inches deep); dust with cocoa.
Sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a mixer. Combine well. Mixing on a medium speed, add eggs, buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Divide batter between pans. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Turn out from pans. Transfer, face-up, to wire racks. Let cool completely.



The second accident was my "frosting." I scanned a few chocolate frosting recipes, and told myself I'd just improvise--how wrong can you go with chocolate frosting?

Telling myself I was just making minor changes on this recipe, I combined the following ingredients in a small saucepan:
Aprox. 1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
Aprox. 4 1/2 Hersheys chocolate bars
Aprox. 2 cups whole milk
Aprox. 1 cup half & half

Ok. When you have that many approximations, chances are you have no idea what you are doing. That was the case with me, deny it though I may.
As I stirred this chocolaty brew, it became clear that it would never have the privilege of being called frosting; it would remain a humble chocolate syrup.
However, there was nothing to be done, except hold my course and be content with the consequences. And so I did.

My mother assembled the cake while I was busy with something else, and when I saw the cake myself it was nothing like I would have expected. But could this cake have been a more beautiful accident?

Assemble layers, pouring chocolate over each layer before stacking, and being sure to place the small round on top. Cover with the remaining chocolate syrup.

It will forever be remembered as the Chocolate Fountain Cake, with a pool of chocolate reflecting each candle flame, and rivers of syrup running down the tiered layers of moist cake.