Hand-painted diaries and home-cooked meals
Awesome Library Find o' the Week:
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, 1906: a facsimile reproduction of a naturalist's diary, by Edith Holden. Exactly what it says, it's a hardbound, full-color facsimile of a diary that an Englishwoman kept throughout the year of 1906. The diary is separated by month, and each month starts with a description of the origin of the month's name, dates of note, and little snippets and poems written by other authors about said month. Her actual entries are short, mostly filled with descriptions of the weather, trips she's made, and plants and animals she's seen. But what's really awesome about this book is that it's filled with her beautiful watercolor paintings of local plants (and occasionally birds and small animals). So each month has paintings of whichever flowers are blooming in that month, or whatever local plants have struck her fancy, along with the Latin and common names. It's really awesome to move through the book quickly and watch the color palette change from winter through the seasons and back to winter.
I am inordinately proud of myself for yesterday. Not only did I spend three hours going through bank statements and receipts and balancing a checkbook that stretches all the way back to July (oh dear God, make the numbers STOP O.o), but I took an hour and actually made myself a homemade meal. I've been relying too much on frozen or canned meals on days when Brian is working, or simple things that just require boiling, because I normally can't justify to myself putting effort into a full meal for just one person. Plus, I never think to put the meat out to thaw, and then I'm like, "Well, I'll just boil some pierogies because it'll take too long to defrost a chicken breast." But I really want to learn more recipes and start cooking more interesting meals with less pre-processed stuff. Maybe I should've made that a resolution.
As T-Rex the motivational speaker put it, "Has anyone here ever tried setting goals, and then achieving those goals?"
I really should start putting more effort into my dinnertime meals. I try, and after a while I just get lazy, or wrapped up in other things that, at the moment, seem more important. I have a lot of recipes that I haven't tried yet, but it's a matter of making time to sit down and plan something. It's kind of sucky that basic physical upkeep, when done right, requires so much time and effort. Though--I honestly have to admit, it doesn't take nearly as much time as I think it does. Sometimes all it requires is me remembering to put the chicken out to thaw a few hours before I want to cook it. But I just have to remember how worth it the end result is. There is just something great about eating a full, home-cooked meal.
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, 1906: a facsimile reproduction of a naturalist's diary, by Edith Holden. Exactly what it says, it's a hardbound, full-color facsimile of a diary that an Englishwoman kept throughout the year of 1906. The diary is separated by month, and each month starts with a description of the origin of the month's name, dates of note, and little snippets and poems written by other authors about said month. Her actual entries are short, mostly filled with descriptions of the weather, trips she's made, and plants and animals she's seen. But what's really awesome about this book is that it's filled with her beautiful watercolor paintings of local plants (and occasionally birds and small animals). So each month has paintings of whichever flowers are blooming in that month, or whatever local plants have struck her fancy, along with the Latin and common names. It's really awesome to move through the book quickly and watch the color palette change from winter through the seasons and back to winter.
I am inordinately proud of myself for yesterday. Not only did I spend three hours going through bank statements and receipts and balancing a checkbook that stretches all the way back to July (oh dear God, make the numbers STOP O.o), but I took an hour and actually made myself a homemade meal. I've been relying too much on frozen or canned meals on days when Brian is working, or simple things that just require boiling, because I normally can't justify to myself putting effort into a full meal for just one person. Plus, I never think to put the meat out to thaw, and then I'm like, "Well, I'll just boil some pierogies because it'll take too long to defrost a chicken breast." But I really want to learn more recipes and start cooking more interesting meals with less pre-processed stuff. Maybe I should've made that a resolution.
As T-Rex the motivational speaker put it, "Has anyone here ever tried setting goals, and then achieving those goals?"
I really should start putting more effort into my dinnertime meals. I try, and after a while I just get lazy, or wrapped up in other things that, at the moment, seem more important. I have a lot of recipes that I haven't tried yet, but it's a matter of making time to sit down and plan something. It's kind of sucky that basic physical upkeep, when done right, requires so much time and effort. Though--I honestly have to admit, it doesn't take nearly as much time as I think it does. Sometimes all it requires is me remembering to put the chicken out to thaw a few hours before I want to cook it. But I just have to remember how worth it the end result is. There is just something great about eating a full, home-cooked meal.