The Find of the Month... March 2001, that is

I was in Little Rock, Arkansas last week for business. On one our free afternoons, my colleague and I took an unguided tour around town in our rental car. On our drive, we passed by an intriguing little thrift shop adjacent to a small church, so we made a quick turn and stopped in to have a look.

This was not the most incredible thrift shop, as thrift shops go, but it did have a nice selection of old magazines for 75 cents a piece. Since we were facing a lovely series of flights to get home (Little Rock to Dallas to Los Angeles to Santa Barbara), I went ahead a bought a few.

Aside from the adverts in the March 1996 "Martha Stewart Living," my favorite bit of my reading was the "Find of the Month" in the March 2001 copy of "Living." The find that month was silver pot saucers as indoor plant stands. Here is what "Martha" had to say:

Despite their attractiveness, houseplants aren't always welcome in the living room; they're a but earthy and they tend to spill their drinks. But dressed up with silver saucers, even plain clay pots will look at home on any tabletop--without leaving rings or traces of soil.

I had been using old or broken pottery as spill-catchers for my indoor plants, but I thought Martha's idea was much more elegant and sophisticated, so today I went to the thrift shop at lunch and scored a few silver pot saucers of my own. Below are a few photos of my finds (sorry about the poor quality--these were taken on my phone...):

The Dancing Bread Maker

What could possibly go wrong on a morning when there is hot, fresh bread to wake up to? Well, for one, you could climb out of your warm bread, follow the scent of just-finished-cooking bread into the kitchen, and then find the bread maker upside-down on the kitchen floor! Strange, I know, but this is how my Monday morning began.

I received a bread maker from my parents this past Christmas and I really love it. It is the perfect solution to the problem of "I would love to make a habit of baking my own bread, but I work a billion hours a day and am never home and awake long enough to accomplish the task!" That is, until it falls on the floor.

How it happened: I placed the bread maker on our kitchen table, which has the most convenient outlet location (my house is old, so outlet placement is not quite ideal for our energy-hungry age). I put the bread maker on a timer so that it would be finished at 7:30am--just in time for bread, butter and coffee before heading to the office--and then I went to bed. In the middle of the night I heard the rumblings of the bread maker, but counted them normal rumblings, so I put in a pair of ear plugs and went back to sleep. Swaddled in my nest of covers and silence, I missed what happened between then and my shocking discovery at 7:35 the following morning.

Upon rising, I found the bread maker sitting upside-down, beside the kitchen table, still plugged in and chugging along. The bread inside was partially cooked, but appeared to have made it through the rising and kneading process entirely before falling to its demise. In my state of awe and wonderment I did what anyone else would do in this situation: I pulled the "par-baked" bread out of the bread maker, re-shaped it on a cookie tray, consulted my 1964 edition of "The Joy of Cooking", stuck the bread into the oven at 375, and called into work to let them know I would be late due to a bread emergency.

Sadly, my attempts to revive the patient ended poorly, and what remains of the bread now sits in my refrigerator and will soon become bread pudding.

To end this story on a high note, I will tell you all that I made a second attempt at the oatmeal-honey-wheat bread on Monday night, and this morning was awakened by a freshly baked and still-on-the-counter loaf to have with my coffee.

If you know any good bread pudding recipes, please pass them along! I am preferably looking for a chocolate or cinnamon (or both) bread pudding.

The Cobalt Flute: Part The First

I have decided to start a new blog dedicated to the things that we do outside of the office. As I push into my mid-to-late-twenties, I find that more and more of my life is becoming defined by what I do inside of my office: clients, watercooler chat, career advancement, new project opportunities, and so forth. My work is fun and all, but sometimes the hustle and bustle cause me to think less often about the bits of life that excite me the most--painting and crafting, cooking, being outdoors, reading old documents, gazing at art, gardening, and caring about my community (to name a few).

I have also begun to miss writing for pleasure (functional specifications don't count!), and taking the time to reflect on the lovely things I've mentioned above. Thus, I have decided to start this new blog and dedicate it to everything wonderful, colorful, and saturated with life.

I hope you enjoy reading, and look forward to hearing your stories, feedback on projects and suggestions of how to live a charmed life.