The Life and Times of the Plume — Page 227

Tromping About

November 22, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

[the pupsicle]

It’s been snowing here. I keep meaning to go out to my studio and do a bit of cleaning and organizing before I get to work on Monday but every time I look out the windows I find myself perfectly pleased with making pots of tea and reading books under quilts in the living room. There’s just something about the first snow of winter that feels like gently drifting doves descending on my heart. I’m calm. I’m content. I like putting things in the oven and building delicious soups on the stove top.

Today we made a pot of elk chili, a thermos of tea and headed into some higher country to do a bit of tromping about in the weather. There’s nothing so great as the burning chill of winter rose in the cheeks, tumbly fingers fumbling in the cold and the steady fall of winter hush in the round. I hope you had a restful sabbath. It’s pumpkin soup for dinner here and perhaps a bit of reading before my eyes close to night. Stay cozy, wherever you are.

Plume

Filed Under: idaho, mink creek, pocatello, weather, winter

Two Weeks In Rapid Review

November 21, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

It’s home again home again jiggity jigg!

Here’s a quick review for you!

I spent two weeks in Long Beach taking workshops at Studio DeLucca

with the magnanimous Khobe (mother to the world). Her teaching studio hosted a pair of peeps from NC Black, a tool company from North Carolina.

Days were spent like this.

And it was lovely.

Of course, there was more of this:

And then November 15 rolled around and I spent the day with a dear friend before having her drop me off at the airport to fly home. Little did I know, RW was planning this:

[you’ll probably need to turn this up, he’s slight of voice in this video]

Which resulted in this:

[As you can see, I was very confused…]
NOTE: I do apologize for how high pitched my voice is in this video. I was shouting/squealing to be heard over the sound of my truck. Apparently, I sound like a hyperventilating chipmunk which I am mortified about but RW has demanded that this video be shown so put in your ear plugs and try to enjoy it…oh…hang on…RW has now told me that he feels like he sounds just as horrible and dorky as I do in this video. I guess that settles it. We’re the captains of Dorkville. Love us or leave us.

So now you know that RW is the king of surprises! I mean it. I was so confused and bewildered even after he told me that the truck I had been riding in all day was MY truck. Wowee. That man can plan a surprise!

We hopped in our new truck and detoured South to San Diego where we played with our dear friends for a few days:

We delighted in their dainty little barn house.

We ate some sushi, met their puppies for the first time (one of their dogs is actually a niece to Farley), romped about on the dog beach in San Diego, ate some Thai food, stayed over night at our sister’s home in San Diego and then made the long trek home in our little, big, growly, silver chariot. I slid over on the bench seat, up front, and snuggled my mister all the way across California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho. It was a perfect detour.

Now. Let me tell you about my new truck.

I love it.

You’re probably scratching your head since at the moment most individuals seem to be downsizing their vehicles to save on gas and emissions and oil wars and the like…we went bigger and have been planning to go bigger for a couple of years now. Our new rig gets the same gas mileage as our Tacoma on the highway and it is capable of hauling, pulling or dragging absolutely anything we throw at it which will be very handy when we put a cab-over-camper on it this spring and even handier when I get a horse or two that need to be towed around from time to time in a trailer. It’s ten gazillion times more comfortable to ride in than our little Tacoma and the dogs can sit up front in the cab in bad weather. I’m smitten. Smitten as a kitten. If you put a stethoscope to my heart you’ll hear it say vroom vroom.

All this is to say, it’s very good to be home!

I missed my wardrobe, my yard, my mountains, my boofie woofies and meow paroww, my chickie babies, my studio space and man-oh-man.

I’m through with traveling for a while. Just simply and completely spent. I’ll not be going anywhere for a while and there’s so much to do in these days before Christmas! I’m looking forward to this holiday season with all my heart. I hope you are too!
I hope you were well, whilst I was away.
I missed you to smithereenies, dear pudding pops!

Plume

Filed Under: travel, traveling, trip

All Is Not Lost

November 20, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

Today I’m here to inform you of the fact that if you have been forced into the confines of a gluten free diet in this lifetime, you can still have waffles!

[sorghum waffles wearing maple berry smooch syrup with sides of elk breakfast sausage and nectarine slices]

How To:

2 eggs (separated)

1/4 cup canola oil (or whatever oil you prefer)

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cup milk

1 3/4 cup sorghum cornstarch mix (2/3 + 1/2 cup sorghum flour AND 1/3 + 1/4 cup cornstarch premix this in a separate bowl and then measure out the amount needed for this recipe…sorry to confustigate you…if you find yourself feeling confustigated…which isn’t a real word by the way)

4 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 tsp xanthan gum

Beat egg yolks, stirk in milk and oil. Add flour, sugar, baking power and salt. Stir until all lumps are gone. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into batter. Pour into your waffle iron, cook and eat.

Just to set the record straight, RW is the Waffle King and makes fresh waffles from scratch most days of the week. Yes. I agree. He is a magical fluffy baby centaur man!

Now, if you’re in the tropics, you won’t comprehend what I’m talking about when I make this next statement but let me tell you, waffles were the perfect thing for breakfast today as it’s been snowing nonstop and a winter wonderland always seems cozier when there are waffles on the kitchen table! What’s your favorite cold weather breakfast?

I hope it’s lovely where you are!

I’ll be back in a while with a post all about my recent time away!

Stay tuned.

Plume

PS The maple berry smooch syrup came to me by way of a friend who resides in my home town in Canada. It’s made of maple syrup and Saskatoon Berries (also known as Service Berries) My dear friend Michele is ALSO the gal who won the golden ticket giveaway! She’s an amazingly generous woman and actually gave the necklace to her best friend who lives in Tucson. Can you believe it? Thanks for the Saskatoon sauce, Ms Michele, it made us smack our lips like a pack of wild things.

Filed Under: recipe, recipes

Service Announcement

November 16, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

Dear One and Feathered All:

I have experienced a change in travel plans and am taking a slight, Southerly detour on my way home. My estimated time of arrival in Idaho should be November 20(ish).

Fear not, besides the extremely strange looking and rather painful blotch I acquired by way of bee sting a few days ago, all is very well.

See you soon!

Plume

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Shore Birds

November 13, 2010 by The Noisy Plume

Pepper in the sand

slight seasoning for the senses

a small fire for the tongue.

_______________________________

I had a glum sort of day yesterday. Remembrance Day is always a somber day in Canada. Whenever it rolls around, all I can do is dwell on the image of young men in trenches in WWI and WWII…and now…young men in trenches still…all over the world. It weighs on me, November 11, every single year. I’m sorry if you found my last post depressing. Every time Remembrance Day rolls around I find myself in so serious a mood, I walk around with easily wetted eyes and the feel of the heartache and weight of war stinging in my breast. My gloom was further compounded by feelings of homesickness — the missingitude (not a real word…but in case you’re wondering, it’s a splice between magnitude and missing) of my home, my man, my friends, my pets, my mountains. Sigh oh sigh! Traveling is the best and worst of times!

______________________________________________

Today, you know, I had a fabulous day.

I spent a few hours in my engraving workshop this morning followed by a delightful lunch with friends. I said good bye to one of my dearest friends as she continues her journey through Southern California and then I went walking for a few hours, on the sea shore, with a woman who is quickly earning my respect and love. She’s like my other, other mother. You know the kind! The kind of girl you just want to hang on to, a mother to all, a lady always, a staunch gal who really knows how to get her mind across. What a chickadee. What a chickadee.

We just strolled and strolled by the feathered fingertips of the ocean this afternoon; scooping up sea shells, running from the reach of the waves. At some point I wound up telling the entire story of Robert and I, I cried a bit (I always do, in the telling of that story, it’s too miraculous not to…I’m too thankful for him, not to…).

And then I took a photo for a pair of Canadians on the beach and they said, eh, and it felt great to be with my own kind for a moment. I filled my pockets with beach things. I daydreamed about making mobiles when I arrive home, like I did so long ago, in New Zealand.*** I bought a few tubes of lipstick over at Sephora, sipped a tasty tea latte and laughed out loud so many times.

I hope your day was just as wonderful.

And if it wasn’t, I hope you see shore birds tomorrow, or a tidy flock of starling, and

feel the spice of their witty landlubbing rapport with the sand and sun.

I hope they lift your heart up, like a thousand sprays of gentle pepper

and carry your soul closer to the warmth of the sun.

I hope each feather

they leave for you

there on the beach,

close to the weeping fingers of the surf,

serves to remind you of the fact that

your wings are wide.

It won’t be long now,

Plume

***The first gift I ever bestowed upon RW was a seashell and driftwood mobile I crafted out of beach combed components I collected at Raglan, New Zealand. He hung it outside his dorm room at the school we attended in that lovely country. In return, he gave me a magical copy of Joseph Conrad’s Typhoon and Youth. He watercolor painted a ocean scene on the cover, wrote me a long letter on the initial title pages and then gift wrapped it in corn husks and put it in my mailbox. What a romantic first gift exchange. We were so beautiful. We’re still beautiful. I love him so.

Filed Under: california, ocean