Afternoon at home

Do you remember this post, where I said that we are good-hearted people who sometimes use our things in unusual ways? Well, we are still those people.
This is Sylvan's work of the warm afternoon, with no coat on: multi-season outdoor equipment, tied together with dad's special rope, and later, the addition of two life vests.

Another one bites the dust.

Inside, I was busy breaking the Garlic Press, not in an unusual way, just pressing garlic. It's our second broken one this year, probably a combo of over-use and (in this particular case) shoddy design. Any ideas for a rock solid one that can stand the test of active cooks who use garlic frequently? And yes, I know I could mince it with a sharp knife, but I don't like to.

Raw kale salad with apples and walnuts and vinaigrette,
inspired by this post.

This kale, brilliantly dazzling in the late afternoon light, is ready to accompany Kate's poached eggs on toast to Hollywood to make their fortunes.

More sourdough bread, more eggs.
The remains of a shared clementine between two friends.

P.S. If you need a laugh, as I did tonight after the third straight night of doing bedtime alone, please read this post.

Art, Sewing, Bread, Library

They have a French name, but I call them mini-daffodils,
obviously mugging for the camera.
They come from my sweet library director.

Art at the Library: Artist Journal Mini-Course
We had the first workshop today at the Rockport Public Library and I am happy to tell you it was a total success.
We had fun. We had all slots filled. We spoke about memoirs, journals, and creating personal narratives. We had books on display from our collection that reflected these themes, for adults and kids. We were packed into the plasticized children's room, USING PAINT. In the Library. With lots of Books, Carpet, etc. And it was just terrific. Amazing art playtime was had by all. Also: we were lucky enough to be the recipient of a Rudman Family Grant from the Maine Community Foundation, to help with underwriting the cost of supplies, a stipend for Robinsunne, and purchasing an instructional video with some of these awesome techniques we are playing with.
Today it was paint, spray bottle, scrunched up paper towels and newspaper, and flexible modeling paste (think spackle but when it dries it doesn't crack), to make these interesting multi-textured bases for our pages. More embellishments to come!

Swap--CHOO update
Peggy and I have been getting some great PR for our Swap! We are featured on the Swapdex as well as on One Crafty Place. This last blog has some great ideas for Easter/Spring crafts you should definitely check out (OK, even if it's actually FALL for you southern hemisphere gals). And amidst our arting at the library today, Carol showed me her wonderful trick with the thimble that she told us about in the comments section of the Swap--CHOO post; it made the whole process very smooth. I really did have to see it to get it, but perhaps this is because I am not naturally facile with the thimble. There is still time to join the swap, just leave a comment with your email address on the original Swap--CHOO post.

Kitchen news
This becomes THIS:
Remember Annie's no-knead sourdough post I was telling you about? In addition to sending along the starter, there was also a complete dinner for my family. That EVERYONE. ACTUALLY. ATE. And even LIKED (yes, even the fussy among us). Chicken paprikash, Israeli Couscous, and Sourdough bread. And it was just about the best gift I have had in a long time, given at exactly the right moment. Again, thank you, friend.

So I tried the recipe for the bread. Totally easy. The only thing you have to consider is the time frame, but I technically could throw together the dough in the morning, let it rise all day and make loaves when I get home in the afternoon, to eat with/for dinner. Let me just also reiterate: No kneading required. And again, she is giving away starters to any interested parties; leave a comment on the blog.
Here is the result:

The aroma was amazing.

I also lack the right size and number of Dutch ovens to bake the loaves in. But I winged (wung?) it, with a covered casserole dish, and a glass bowl with a glass pot lid on top. At any rate, here is the result, and it was truly incredible. It was also kind of magic that the sourdough starter, a wild yeast from some 100 year-old organism, made this! It really worked!