the Homely Home Part 3: it’s alive December 12, 2012

Long ago, when time was slow(er) and lavish in my life, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen.

It was here that I think the Seed of Crafty was actually planted.

At an early age, I learned to cook, and at 10, I would come home from school and make dinner for a family of 6.

Cooking has a lot in common with crafting. There’s processes to learn, ingredients to combine, steps to take that lead, hopefully, to a happy plate.

I’ve always enjoyed it and much later, my friends told me they loved to watch me in the kitchen because there was nothing wasted in my efforts: fast and furious, they say, and ready to sample the goods. Methinks this was because when I was a cooking child, I wanted to play and the sooner the chores were done, the sooner the fun could resume (and what “kid” doesn’t love to lick the spoong!).

Now, much later on the timeline, I seem to have come full circle, or at least back to where taking one’s time can actually add to the goodness of the result.

And, even though the kitchen in this house is very small and can’t even fit a complete table, it can still work it.

In fact, it feels very cozy to make things here then take them into the dining room to eat.

In my many travels, it seems like the dining room in most of the homes I’ve been in is more of a Special Event Area of some sort that only gets enlisted a handful of times during the year.

In this house, there’s nowhere else to go! (Although I do enjoy sitting at the twee table on the stool with a cup of warm of some kind.

But something was missing with my coffee or tea and another craft from my past has resumed.

When I was a young woman, twenty-ish or so, I loved to bake.

Most favorite thing on the menu: Bread.

And here adventure (or folly) begins…

To boldly go: Sourdough starter a cookin’ in its jar.

I think it has about 2 days more to go/grow – off to find a recipe!

If you’ve got one, please share!!