a delicious life

66 square feet - a delicious life - one woman, one terrace, 92 recipes by Marie Viljoen

The act of cooking has satisfied the hedonist in me; it is an act that gives 
me pleasure. But it also provided direction, occupation, and a sense of achievement when my life has been unhappy, method when structure has been needed. It has been a practical form of escapism, masking my tendency to withdraw. It has consummated celebrations in happy times and has always been a reward to look forward to at the end of a day. Cooking now is less about following recipes than about imagination, memory, desire, and inspiration; the latter often grows on the terrace outside, on the roof above my head, or is brought back from the day's market or foraging trip. 
In one dish I try to create a small pocket of perfection, an unassailable space in time when giving and taking pleasure in the present is the only goal. Even if it's just melted cheese on toast.

from the introduction of 66 Square Feet - a delicious life - one woman, one terrace, 92 recipes by Marie Viljoen

A delicious life & a delightful book. Our Marie's book arrived yesterday, I say our Marie because I know many of you that stop by 29 Black Street regularly also visit the (former) Brooklyn address (now Harlem tres exciting) of her long time blog 66 Square Feet. A blog about gardening, a 66 ft square terrace, foraging, nature, life, love, food & one incredible cad cat (Estorbo who has his own hilarious blog & facebook page).

I have been visiting Marie's, Storbie's & Beence's Vince's blogs for as long as I can remember. Like many of the blogs we come to love with a passion we're never quite sure how we ended up visiting them that very first time but we do remember that feeling of kinship, inspiration & delight that has kept us returning day after day after day ... year after year.

Vince, Estorbo & Marie from a Martha Stewart magazine article on bloggers who garden with passion

The writing is beautiful, funny & warm and if you've been reading her blog it's just more, another big fat yummy slice of Marie's unique, delightful & humorous take on life, gardening & food. Many of the gorgeous photos, spreads and cityscapes are taken by Vincent (her husband) a spectacular photographer, the rest mainly food & flora by Marie herself. I knew when I added it to my Indigo/Chapter's wish list ages ago, pre-publication, I would like this book but when it arrived yesterday ... oh my it was pure instantaneous love. The physical book itself is beautiful - it's the perfect size & heft, a well designed layout & concept (a month by month memoir style with a complete menu and cocktail for each month), smooth, luscious paper & gorgeous images.

I love this book. I just want to carry it around hugging it I feel so proud &  so very thrilled for Marie. I feel like we're old friends, she, Estorbo & I,  like often happens when you fall hard for a blogger. I'm relishing in this amazing success. Plus they've just moved 12 miles north to Harlem and to a way bigger terrace - I visit her blog now each day with a kind of crazed, new enthusiasm & anticipation of what's to come next, a new neighbourhood, new stories, new recipes, a new huge terrace, new shops ... I'm gushing I know but this book really is gush worthy ;-)

& Estorbo's blog (her big, black Dominican cad cat) with the very tick, very difficult to understand accent completely cracks me up and makes me snort loudly at my desk I love him as if he were my own cad cat - if you love cads cats and you know I sure do !! be sure to visit Storbie. Thank you Marie !

a gorgeous kitchen ranunculus & daffodil bouquet photo from the inside cover off 66 Square Feet by Marie

a little obsessed with

A little obsessed with ... an amazing cat - Oliver, petite bouquets & this tiny corner of our home

and oh my xoxoxo k.d singin' Neil Young

yikes !

the gasp inducing, oh my how beautiful ! collage works of Valerie Roybal

I've been looking for my self. My creative self.

I've pretty much given up looking for the other assorted selfs that occupy space in my head. I've decided to let them run free, roam about, it's completely exhausting constantly trying to keep them under control or to try and be dictating to them who or what they should or shouldn't be. When honestly I don't know. Sigh. A good portion of the time I don't even care anymore, ahhhh la luxury, it seems, of age, of wisdom, of experience and of age - did I mention age ?

I am, however, looking for my creative self. Looking High & low, East & West, North & South (or I would be looking in those directions if I had any sense of direction at all). I do still troll the lands of wonder (les internet) daily, through and around the amazing plethora of mostly women creatives who blog, who craft, who paint, who collage, who draw, who run their own little cottage industries out of their homes, who are all following the same path, dreaming the same dream as me and I am stunned daily but the talent ... by the inspiration that I find. At times the awe I feel almost makes me want to throw in my own personal creative towel but thankfully never quite and mostly because it feels too late ... I'm committed to this path I'm on, for now anyway, in many ways it's like I am starting again at the beginning ... a little late-ish in life.

I recently asked my self what is the difference between Art & Design ? A fairly weighty query but then weighty queries and me - we're pretty tight. I decided that they both were about communication Design (especially graphic design) communicating a message for an audience that you may have no affinity with, in fact the message itself may mean nothing to you. A designer uses their tools of inspiration, composition, colour, typography, illustration, photography and/or not to communicate the message reasonable clearly and also hopefully in a memorable appealing way. Artists are also communicating a message, perhaps more personal, and often less tangible message, but this time, I think the desire would be to have much greater affinity with the audience. I can feel my head beginning to throb at this point in the pondering (slight dramatic exaggeration), this is where the answers become fuzzy - what do I have to say ? what do I wish to communicate ? and how on earth would I like to say it ? to express it ???

So much inspires me. So much creative work I come across, like the gorgeous collages I've posted today, make the little voice in my head say Oh darn why didn't I think of that? Why didn't I do work like that ? And once again I remind myself that the answers to these rather large in weight, and annoying like gnats, questions & thoughts will not be found by pondering - ever but rather by doing ... by making ... by letting those other little selfs out the door Shoo! Scram! out ya go ? Beat it! Have fun! Stay out of Trouble please and be back for supper and ...
by playing, lots more playing, not sure why that feels so scary ?

Yikes.

one mississippi, two ...

animal portraits by Katherine Dunn page 125 of her new book ...

Best friend, personal coach, shrink, designer gal (etc, etc...) MLou gave me a Chapters gift card :-) among a treasure trove Christmas stocking filled with most excellent gifts* and this is the loot I ordered online. The most amazing soap, Lucia soft & creamy because of shea butter, knock you over beautiful scents and les stunning packaging with beautiful typography and Katherine Dunn's excellent (coil bound and lies flat - sigh) new book Creative Illustration Workshop.

* also included Karma (totally addictive patchouli/orange blend) body cream & shampoo bar,
faux red leather day planner for obsessive, note taking, idea recording, sketches and planning extraordinaire, Ganong chocolate covered marshmallow santa clauses ...

today

one mississippi, two mississippi ...

breathe in v-e-r-y slowly ... and out v-e-r-y slowly

one mississippi, two mississippi ...

breathe in v-e-r-y slowly ... and out v-e-r-y slowly

repeat hourly or as necessary

If you can't say anything good ... uh huh, you know the drill ... ;-)

more things

More things that I love ...

My sister, Sandra, made this collection of pottery kitchen things. It's funny how she just decided on a bit of whim to take a weekend pottery course. She had absolutely no previous experience with clay, glazes or spinning wheels and yet she managed to whip up a bunch of items, things that were useful, that she wanted for her own kitchen and based on her memories of some much loved pottery pieces made years ago by our grandmother Flo (an amazing and very creative woman).

Thankfully I was the recipient of this lovely little collection one recent Christmas or birthday (I can't remember). Cream, sugar and coffee mug and a small brown bowl avec spout. I love how simple and straightforward they are. They belong in my collection of ... things that I love.

Lemon, orange and patchouli bubbles this morning. Frugal girl adds drop of essential oils (available at any health or natural foods store) to reasonably cheap (or should I say inexpensive) bubble bath - an attempt to recreate a reasonable facsimile of favourite, kinda pricey, bath stuff from Lush.

la list du jour

• clean out (vacuum, dust, etc...) teal coloured '97 Ford Escort dog wagon
• houseclean (desperate areas only) -'cause company's a comin' tomorrow. eek !
• clean out sun porch (readying it for piles and piles of neat rows of firewood)
• walk at the beach awhile this afternoon with Miss D & Baby Duke
• ponder and prepare food for tomorrow's chain saw wielding garden elves (???)
• prepare crab apples for jelly making .... finally
• research and brainstorm a bit for a new project from customer No Uno (another unique and amazing baby collection - pas de pressure) thumbnails due Tuesday.
• press collected (yesterday) autumn leaves between sheets of wax paper, because ... I want to

that's enough.

things

favourite thing #1

I bought this big hard cover book in a bargain bin nearly 20 years ago. A sound purchase. A book I still love. I love the care and attention, all the fine detail and washy colours of these painted fish. Pre photography natural history paintings.

I've decided to document some of my favourite things. Those things in life that continually make you smile and make you feel happy, that bring comfort or joy, things that you're glad to have around you. Some of mine are very sensible and practical, some whimsical or unusual, and others are just simple everyday things part of daily rituals (my favorite fat coffee mug or a steaming hot face cloth that magically always seems to cure all).

Akin I think to being grateful, in these times when thankfully purchasing new things is not always fiscally responsible (in my case anyway) - and really, don't we already have more than enough things ? I know I do - and the bigger questions lurk can I really afford that, and do I really need it ? Kill joy. I do still have my weak moments, just this week for example I spent far too much time attempting to rationalize a $110.00 (with shipping) purchase of personal care (mostly bath) stuff from my favourite smelly good things shop - Lush. Frugal girl did win out in the end but it was a bit of a battle for a time. I think it is the silver lining to this financial crisis - our wake up call. It's important to look around and appreciate the things that we already have that mean a lot or serve a purpose in our life and weeding them out from, and finally saying goodbye to, all the many things that don't. Discerning the difference between want and need. Simplifying. Embracing less & reveling in small.

I wonder what some of your favourite things or rituals are ?