Penultimate Pea

I've had that phrase running through my head all day, and it's cracking me up. Go ahead, say it out loud and see if you can keep from laughing (emphasis on "pants", preferably with a hint of disgust).

After much internal debate, I decided to scrap the pants that I sewed for my little guy (as well as the shirt that was halfway done). I realized that I just wasn't enjoying the sewing, and looking back over old sculptures I realized the cloth element wasn't totally necessary. I'd rather spend twice as long sculpting and painting the clothes, and they'll probably look better in the end.

So, so long, pants!

Emmett and I took a long walk around the pond this morning, joined only by squirrels rustling through the crackly canopy of not-yet-fallen leaves. I'm thankful for this fall weather—crisp, but not too cold to be outside yet. Emmett's been sleeping since we got back (I actually had to wake him up to eat), which should mean some good uniterrupted time for me to get some creative work done, but instead I've been lazy, reading blogs, looking through old photos.

I'm feeling at a creative impasse, noticing the dichotomy between the spare, earthy style that I admire in others' work and the cartoony style that ends up coming out when I try to do something. I'm not sure lately what direction to take…I want to make work that I love, but am not sure that I know how.

Aaanyway.

My neighbor just left four neat piles of leaves at the perimeter of our property—perhaps a not-so-subtle hint that it's time for us to rake? Which I'd be happy to do, but I've got this warm, sleepy baby to watch over…

So, I've completely neglected my sculpture for the past few days (yeesh, has it really been almost a WEEK since I last posted??). But, I did manage to finish a different project — new pillows! I've been so inspired by some of the patchwork projects I've seen around other craft blogs/etsy, so I decided to make some of my own with the remainder of the Amy Butler fabric from the failed curtains, combined with a few fabric store finds. I've been really loving linen lately, and think it kinda tempers the bright red and pattern, which might otherwise be a bit too much for me. They were pretty quick to make in the end, other than the inevitable interruptions from the babe, and the fiddly-ness of the invisible zippers (which were so worth it). Now I just need a new couch and rug to go with them. Hmm…

I was so preoccupied with my disappointment about the failed curtains that I forgot the good news from Saturday – my print from Jay Ryan came! It's even lovelier in person (the clouds are lined with silver!) I've been trying to make a point of buying art lately…after five years in this house with mostly blank walls, it feels like it's time. And I want Emmett to grow up with art all around. The Jay Ryan print is for Emmett's room (aka the office), as is this print from ashleyg. Now I just need to figure out framing and matting…

I got some really good sculpture work done last night, and the first in this series is getting close to done. I'm just about at the point where I usually give up – sewing the tiny clothes. I thought I might just sculpt and paint the body on this one, but Ryan thought that cloth adds a nice touch and I have to agree (damn). So tonight's been spent making small pants. I really wanted to get them done, but Ryan distracted me with grammar questions, so they might have to wait until tomorrow.

Last night was awesome…homemade barbecue chicken and fries with a cold beer, watching The Office and 30 Rock with Ry, getting some more work done on sculpture:

Tonight I was cranky, was too lazy to cook, and burned the shit out of my arm making curtains that I ended up not even liking.

Emmett woke me up at 6:30 this morning because he had to go to the bathroom. Yup, my three month old woke me up to be taken potty. I awoke to him gently but persistently hitting me, and when I looked over he smiled at me. Sometimes I wish I could just snooze him -- a little pat on the belly and I'd get ten more minutes (and actually, sometimes this does work) -- but I knew there was no going back to sleep, so I took him down to the bathroom, and, sure enough, he took a big poop. Followed by huge smiles of course. Needless to say, EC is going well. I'm continually amazed at how successful we've been, and though I thought it was really weird when I first heard about, I'm at a point now where I can't imagine not doing it. We still miss pees a lot (he just goes so much!), but we catch poops almost every time now, and it's clear that Emmett's really enjoying it.

Of course, the unfortunate thing about being woken up at 6:30 am was that I'd gone to bed after midnight, for the third night in a row. I haven't finished a sculpture since April of '06, so I've been trying to set some small goals to get back into it. Being pregnant was definitely part of not finishing anything in that time -- I didn't do any drawing, knitting, or painting either -- something about all the creating going on inside completely took away any impulse for artsy crafty things. But I think part of it may be that I always do the faces on my sculptures first (definitely the most fun part), and by the time I get around to the hands (also fun, but probably the most difficult) I'm exhausted and don't like the face any more and give up. I've got a whole box full of partly finished sculptures and the likelihood of actually finishing any of those is, well, zero.

So, of course the logical thing to do it start a new one! But this time I'm trying to go about it differently -- my goal was to make five pairs of hands (done, yay!), so at least I'll have that tricky part out of the way. And I may start with the body rather than the head for this one, we'll see. I've got some pretty lofty goals for a new series, but right now I'm just trying to focus on getting little bits done at a time.

(please excuse the blur on the pictures, I really need to get a tripod. And not take pictures in low light.)

I was never much of a breakfast eater (okay, except for the four years that I worked at a cafe and regularly ate one (or two!) bagels for breakfast, in addition to the bowl of cereal that I'd had at home). And I used to hate oatmeal. I could never understand why my sister and brother liked the disgusting, mushy mess. Not Martha turned me on to steel cut oats (Irish Oatmeal) a while back, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I really got into it.

Steel cut oats are chopped (as opposed to instant oats, which are rolled and steamed), so their texture is chewier and they have a nuttier flavor. Unfortunately, they also take longer to cook (about 30 minutes), so I make a big batch once a week and reheat them each morning. It's a bit absurd how much I like breakfast now -- I actually look forward to eating my oats every morning, and even had them for dessert once! Oatmeal is also really healthy (especially for breastfeeding moms), and sooo much cheaper than boxed cereal. The recipe below makes four servings, but I usually double it to last me a whole week.

Irish Oatmeal

1 Tbs butter
a pinch of salt (leave out if your butter is salted)
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
1/4 cup wheat germ (I like it toasted)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
extra water

for serving:
milk
bananas
chopped walnuts
maple syrup

Put the water on to boil. Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high, add the oats and cook, stirring frequently, until toasted and fragrant (maybe three minutes?) When the water has boiled, add it to the pot (be careful, it will bubble up). Turn the heat down so that the mixture is at a simmer, bubbling only around the edges, and cook for about thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wheat germ and flax seed and stir; add more water to make it the desired consistency (I think I add about another cup). Eat immediately, or put in a big ol' container in the fridge to save for later.

Reheating:
Spoon some oatmeal into a bowl (it will be pretty thick) and add milk (maybe 1/4 cup), microwave for two minutes (depending on your microwave, obviously). Stir to mix milk and oatmeal and top with sliced bananas, chopped walnuts, and maple syrup. Yum!

Some other ideas for oatmeal toppings:
dried cranberries with toasted pecans
blueberries and brown sugar with sliced almonds
chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts