blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah.

I know the cat blogging is a bit cheap.  I've been having a bit of trouble deciding what to talk about these days, and Miss Kitty is always a charming distraction.

I was IMing with a friend this weekend who said he found me far more provocative in person than on the blog and I think its true that I guard myself here.  I know people who blog and put their whole selves out there in a way I admire but cannot do any more.  I know others have struggled with the same thing - we want to be authentic, but we also want to keep our private parts private.  What to say, how to say it - when does the naval gazing cross a line? 

There are others still who are bolder in e-print, maybe more how they wish they were than who they are.   I find it interesting the ways that self-presentation is related to self knowledge or perception.   I don't have any very complete thoughts about it, mind you, but I do find all the styles of this thing kind of compelling.   I like to try and figure people out. 

Life is pretty good though - Christmas was difficult and wonderful the way that family is difficult and wonderful, and I'm knee deep in boys right now, and trying to work hard and notice more about my friends - not just notice, but act on the noticing.    I'm thinking about doing some more housecleaning with yarn and tools - not because I regret my stash in any way - no regrets might as well be tattooed on my ass, I feel so strongly about the benefits of learning from experience - but because I feel crowded in my space.  I need a bit of psychic room.  Which starts with physical room.

I might be giving up high heels - I wore pointy toed, thin heeled boots to NYC Friday night and it was Monday before my feet stopped aching.  Admittedly it was an idiotic choice.  But the bones of my feet seem to be the fastest aging part of me and I think they might be done with it.  Anyone have a size 12 foot and a higher pain threshold than I?

I ate a Thai chicken curry that about dry cleaned the inside of my head.  It was fantastic - the way in which my taste and tolerance for flavors and heat have changed in the last year or two is a joy and a revelation.  Jury is still out on habaneros though.

The finishing continues:

It really turned out rather nicely - this yarn is so hot that it'll make your feet sweat in anything without holes, so crochet is a good choice.  I fought with the cat for possession all weekend - she won:

but it heads out to its new home this week.  I have two balls left over, so maybe a cat mat.  Someday.   

I never realized that knit blogging would help me me kick start my cooking again.  I can do fancier cooking when I want, but for my daily bread I like simple, vegetable heavy and tasty.  Anne posted this unrecipe last week for something that fit the bill. 

I would show you the whole thing, but even though I made it twice, this last piece was the only bit that lasted long enough to be documented.  Isn't it pretty?

Savory pastry crust learned from Nigella Lawson, frozen organic spinach, Israeli feta, ripe cherry tomatoes (somewhat miraculously ripe actually. Not just ripe for January.  RIPE.), olive oil, salt and pepper.  3 or 4 large shallots and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped and sauteed until softening, add a handful of pine nuts, cook a bit more.

Turn off heat, put in the spinach (squeezed as dry as possible), cheese, tomatoes cut in half, mix it together, salt and pepper, put it in the pie shell with a bit of feta and olive oil drizzled on top.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. 

The garlic did that thing where it cooked to a mild, softly solid bite (see coarse chop) which I love.  And Israeli feta is my favorite because its got a soft rather than hard crumble, as well as a great flavor.  But this is brilliant because you could add or change almost anything in it and with would still be good.

I ate the leftover filling for breakfast the next day.  I'm maybe going to make it again tonight.

Comments

[Jessica]

Wow. I think I know what my next real cooked meal is going to be if I can find a pie crust quick. Looks yummy!

Knee deep in boys?!

[Jocelyn]

Alas that I have just eaten dinner, because now I want to cook *that*. (I wanted to cook it when Anne posted about it, too, but I am nothing if not distractable when it comes to food, so I still haven't gotten around to it.)

[Lizbon]

I know a good tattoo shop, honey. I'm just sayin'.

[fibergal]

I agree with Gina's comments about privacy. It is a strange thing though that if we are going through an especially trying time for medical or emotional reasons that those are the very things we may hide most from the blog. Our fears or sadness, our very inner private selves are often not on display. A lot of people put that out there and we feel for them and don't even know them. And even though friends may be the majority of our audience, we still hide that away instead of getting their support. Frustration is ok, fear is not, pain is not. How odd we all are.

[claudia]

Blogging is performance art. That is all.

[lanea]

Hmmm, that looks like some good pie. I have lovely memories of an affair with goat cheese gallettes I had in college.

I find I censored myself a bit too much when I realized my M-I-L (who is awesome, but still, you know, motherly) read the blog. And then I remembered that she's known Scott's buddies since they were all kids. So, really, cussing occasionally won't make her stop liking me. It's still hard though, remembering that people are really reading this stuff and that they'll realize I'm so very human.

[anne]

hahaha, oh the pie is SO good. . . i'm glad you liked it.
i had to chuckle at the beginning part of your post; i have realized recently that i am outwardly much more tongue-tied, shy, and even boring in person than i am on my blog, even though i posses the same sense of humor and love of fun. and i wonder if readers who meet me in person are ever disappointed at my quietness. the inner me is a lot more like the blogger me, and once i get comfortable in a group, the shy person fades away, but it usually takes a little time . . . i'm kinda slow that way.

[seizuresalad]

I usually speak in the generic on my blog about any people-difficulties, unless I've put my thoughts out there to the person already. I don't think it would be fair for a friend or my partner to discover I'm struggling or having difficulty with something related to them by reading about it on my blog. I'm also conscious of wanting the writing to be compelling so I err on the side of caution more often than not.

Yummy looking tart, you have managed to remind me about both feta and pine nuts these last few weeks!

[Kath]

Oh lordy, giving up on those pointy heels is ever so worth it. I did that ten years ago and am grateful every day. I mean, when I was in my early 20's I could dance all night or run six blocks to catch a bus in heels and never feel it. But that does change! There are ten jillion attractive, stylish, comfortable flat shoes, from boots to dressy flats, on the market, in the entire range of prices. And for just those few times when I really want the extra height/presence/whatever I have one pair of very solid, chunky heels, with square toes (I can wiggle 'em in there!) to see me through.

[elisa]

Sigh...I've been thinking a lot about what constitutes honesty on my blog. I've always been a people-pleaser, and oftentimes I think I let people off the hook on the blog - sugarcoating things that maybe shouldn't be sugarcoated. I'm trying to do less of it, though, and the question I ask myself before I push the publish button is: How would I feel if the person I am writing about read this? If the answer is that I'd feel just fine, I publish. If not, I re-think the post.

It's all still a work in progress though...

[Jackie]

Thank you! Now I think I might actually MAKE dinner tonight instead of ordering out (again).

[k]

Wait a minute. Knee deep in boys?

[k]

2-3 packages of spinach? This is fresh, I'm assuming.
There are too many people in real life that know about my blog, so I really don't say a lot of things. Bigfoot is history, so I can say a lot more now. some of it will involve profanity, I suspect.

[Dr. Steph]

I just ate lunch and that made me hungry. My cooking is just this side of "I would be better off eating a futuristic meal pill". Tonight, Old El Paso tacos (by special request of Emma). Beef Stew and BBQ hunk o'beef also on menu. So very very boring.

I might try your pie this weekend to emulate Thai Chicken curry experience at home.

[Kelley]

I have a very good friend that we spend hours looking for size 12 shoes for her, where on earth do you find good shoes in that size?

[Gina]

I know exactly what you mean. It's not that you intend to hide information, but there some things that ought not pull up your blog when someone's searching the internet. I think you do well in not crossing the line of being too personal but just personal and general enough to make us all do a bit of thinking and self-reflection/introspection.