Home Ec Day

We thought today would be like most Saturdays - pickup Ultimate in the morning, a quick stop at the farmers market, and the afternoon spent working at Mishka's.

Somehow, the light drizzle kept the frisbee players away, so we got to the farmers market before all the good tomatoes had been taken.  We bought seven pounds of tomatoes, some cilantro, a hefty spaghetti squash, and three ripe persimmons.

We got home before noon and went straight to our market day bible, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.  The mustard greens from last week went into a spicy soy sauce soup, and the tomatoes went into pico de gallo. 

We decided to forego Mishka's since it was raining harder than before.  I worked a few hours and then pushed my computer aside to make way for a machine that hasn't seen the light of day since we arrived in Davis: Mom's sewing machine.  Mom was planning on making a log cabin quilt a few years ago, the summer that Margaret and I made our first quilts.  She had purchased and cut all the fabric, but my sister and I monopolized the sewing machine that summer, and Mom never got started on hers.  This summer, she took me up on my offer to piece the top for her.  Today, I finally started! 

Here's my progress so far.  My camera didn't capture the colors exactly, but this is the basic idea:



Log cabins are tedious patterns - each block has a lot of seams.  But they're not difficult, and it feels good to do work that's so different from my paid work.  My eyes assess colors, my fingers manipulate textiles, and my ears listen to the sewing machine the way I listen to my car when driving - the sounds can tell you a lot about how things are going.  Virtual worlds are great, but it feels good to have something tangible to show for your efforts at the end of the day.

I finished these blocks just before dinnertime.  I brought out Bittman again for a batch of black bean soup, which we served with a spinach and pea leaf salad.  Scott and I declared our love for the lesser greens (loosely defined as any leafy green that is not iceberg or romaine lettuce).

Now, back at my computer, I have another little home ec. project to my right - a potted herb garden.  The rosemary is dying (not enough sun?), but the mint, basil, sage and lavender are coming along nicely.