Burnt Toast

Elderland

superelder — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:58:21 +0000

Please visit me (and us!) at my other blog Elderland.

xo.

curtain call

superelder — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:56:03 +0000

I’ve been thinking. This blog, Burnt Toast, is fun. And I’ve enjoyed sharing random tidbits, wants, loves, rants, etc with the very small audience that has hung around in the past couple months. Now, I think it’s time for a hiatus. Perhaps indefinitely. I know I haven’t given it much time, but the more pregnant I become the more I realize that keeping up with two blogs is not exactly realistic; also, I’ve been seriously considering everything I do in life with the thought in mind that soon much of my time will be devoted to my daughter, which I am super thrilled about. More time for family and baby means less time for superficial things and much of what I post here is superficial. Fun and silly and at times entertaining, but fairly low on the priority totem pole. I do love blogging and plan to whole-heartedly keep at it, but that plan includes just one blog. And when it came down to which blog more encompassed what I’d like to be doing with my time, Elderland won out, mostly because I love sharing with our family and friends what exactly it is that we Elders do and where we go and what we love. That said, I didn’t want to completely dissolve the Burnt Toast vibe and so commences the great merger: I’ll no longer be posting at Burnt Toast, but instead will post everything to Elderland (a few relevant posts have been transfered). The former mixed perspective of Elderland (third person combined with we) will be replaced with first person of Burnt Toast i.e. posts will be written by me from my perspective. This means that while Elderland will remain a blog about the lives of us NC Elders, there will occasionally be posts about stuff that I have to say that may not have much to do with Pete (oh yes, bleeding narcissism, me me me). It’s all experimental. I never do know how things will go, but I do know (or at least believe) that the merger combined with the elimination of froofy posting like OMG shoes and wow my hair sucks and lookit this awesome outfit, is a best laid plan for where I’m headed – motherhood! Maybe I can turn Elderland into something even better than both blogs ever were alone. Regardless, I like to write about us and I will continue to do so as long as I’m able.

Ciao.

hehe

superelder — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:52:59 +0000

www.xkcd.com

granola love

superelder — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:30:48 +0000

After the bread success, I decided the next attempt would be granola, which in truth is much easier to make than bread, so it’s rather strange that I chose that as a follow up, but hey, that’s just how it went down. I broke open the first of two 5 lb bags of oats recently acquired at Costco, googled up a quick recipe, and Pete and I got our crunch on. Shortly after shoving our faces with hotdogs and french fries. Grass-fed organic beef hot dogs of course. Organic hotdogs. That must be an oxymoron. Like maternity skinny jeans. But oxymorons exist or else there wouldn’t be a word for them, eh? French fries are one of my many vices. Salt in general, which is pretty much what french fries taste like. Hot dogs are something I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole until around the age of 25 when I discovered that many foods I had avoided all my life were actually fantastically delicious. Like peanut butter. Which I now consume at a rate that is surely meant to make up for the first 25 years of abstinence. So, on Monday night we ate bad and baked good.

We used this recipe from The Amateur Gourmet (minus the hazelnuts, with extra almonds, and minus the dried cherries). It was stupidly simple and took very little time, and hopefully, though I haven’t confirmed this, it was less expensive than buying pre-packaged granola at the grocery store. Even if not, it was surely better for us and without a doubt better for the world (less packaging!). It was also rather delicious, though I found myself picking the raisins out. Not a fan. Pete likes them. So we did half good. Next time, perhaps a dark chocolate concoction. Yum.

voila!

over the weekend

superelder — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:09:07 +0000

I went to running club for 3 cold miles followed by a delicious soy latte at Mebane Espress.

I made bread! Inspired by good friends and with the help of their Bread Bible, and it was loaftastic.

We had some of our Mebane pals over for Curried Split Pea Soup.

I went to Costco to stock up on important bulk goods like 10 lbs of oats and 2 lb of hummus.

We spent Sunday working in the Mebane Community Garden to prepare for Spring (so close!). Pictures coming soon to Elderland.

We had some of our fave neighbors over for post garden day grub – Meyer’s Lemony Broccoli and Chickpea Rigatoni.

We talked to our little lovely in my belly and Pete told her a story about our life.

bread love

superelder — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:03:14 +0000

I love bread. Doesn’t everyone? Clearly, or else “doctors” wouldn’t have felt compelled to create diets centered around avoiding it. Foods only become the enemy when too many people love them. Ever hear of the No Lima Bean diet? Of course not. Nobody likes lima beans. And anyone that says they do is lying to sound healthy or non-conformist or achieve some other hip foodie status – yeahhhh, lima beans are so in, man. Bread on the other hand…I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone that doesn’t like bread, at least some form of bread, and generally many many breads. Sure we all have our favorites and some folks are more bread batty than others, but a person that is simply grossed out by all things flour and yeast? Hrpmh. My good buddy Kevin B., the inspiration for my bread making adventure, says “bread is one of life’s simple pleasures.” And it truly is. The most delicious loaf can be crafted from just a few basic ingredients – flour, yeast, water, salt, honey. And yet you can create an entirely new experience with just one additional ingredient or tweak in the making process. There’s an unfathomable feast of bread fodder out there, books and blogs galore, and I can’t wait to explore more…

I took the first step this weekend. We’ve been privileged to live just a block away from one badass bread buff and for some time now have aspired to emulate his doughy deftness. It took a little time to take the plunge, but Saturday just felt like the day and with some super generous lending by Mrs. Bread Buff – The Bread Bible, yeast, and bread flour – I was on my way. I’m not going to lie, I was less than sure of myself and rather intimidated. I don’t do well with failure. If I was going to make bread, it better damn well be good. My past baking blunders didn’t help my staggering confidence, but my determination overcame my doubt and I went for it. A simple hearth loaf was suggested and agreed upon as an excellent (and likely safe) starting point. From start to finish it took about 6 hours, with much of that time spent waiting for rise, but in the end the bread was bangin’ and I couldn’t help but beam as Pete mmm mmm mmm’d over every little bite. What an amazing amount of joy and fulfillment I felt from this success. My only sadness was not having enough time Sunday to do it all over again. This could very well become an every weekend affair and as I get better at the basics, I would delight in trying my hand at something wild like sourdough! Oh, behave.

Snappies:

lumpy dough pre-rise

second rise...t-minus 30 min to oven time

BAM!

oh and…

superelder — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:26:29 +0000

I know I already tweeted it. And I’m supposed to be keeping the coveting under control. But the last post was visually void. And when I saw these today I fell in love. Because they bring me to spring and are bashfully blue and mostly just Vans which is enough said.

need supply co.

busy and a diddy

superelder — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:13:37 +0000

My oh my today was busy. I was barely at the office – morning coffee meeting with the bossman, quick trip to storage to review shelving units, baby doc appointment – so every moment there was maxed out with work galore. It has actually been quite some time since I’ve hit the stress wall and though I didn’t quite make it to impact today, I was definitely accelerating in that direction. It felt kind of good. Maybe I should spend more time away from my desk. Note to self, get up and get out. At least once a day. This could be beneficial mentally and physically. Sitting all day is the pits and leads to unsightly leg veins, possibly even serious clots. And though I do necessitate hourly trips to the loo these days, I think an actual break including some time walking around outside is a splendid idea. I say this. A lot. And then I don’t do it. It’s just plum hard to step away when I’m in a groove unless forced by actual appointments and meetings. I should schedule lunch dates, but they would have to be lunch dates for which I brought my own food because any spending on eating out is clearly not conducive to our recent goals to get the food budget in check. It would also help if it wasn’t fucking winter anymore. GET OUT! Bring me spring and warmth and outdoor dining that doesn’t command a coat and a hat and lead to cussing and snot. Did you know that pregnant women, mostly in their second trimester, produce more snot? Sweat too. Delightful!

The day started off dandy. Apparently last night, while on the phone with our buddy (and soon to be neighbor!) Tim, Pete had a convo about the best ways to commute from Mebane to Carrboro. One route discussed was Mebane Oaks to 54, and Pete advised avoiding this due to the likelihood of getting stuck behind fellow drivers that are clearly not planning to arrive anytime before lunch. After a few wise cracks about my speedy habits there was a funny about doing 45 on 54 to which Tim exclaimed “that should be a song!” And so he made one. Last night. Wrote and recorded. And it talks about me. Which just made my morning and cracked me up.

Unfortunately I refuse to pay the $20 to be able to add music to my wordpress blog and though I’m sure there’s some way to do it elsewhere on the web, I’m also too lazy to figure it out. So for now lyrics, tadah! And if you really really wanted to hear it, you could just email me and ask. sar.elder at gmail dot com.

“45 on 54″

Wake up in the morning about a quarter past seven.

Time to fire up the Civic and head out of Mebane.

Downtown Carrboro’s where I gotta be.

Peddlin’ photographs in the art gallery.

Now you think I might be used to this daily trek,

But everday I drive it has me screamin what the heck.

I’m bound to get stuck behind somebody else.

And those artsy photographs ain’t gonna sell theyselfs.

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Gotta find a different route to go, or I might never arrive.

Well this little Honda Civic better get me there,

‘Cause it’s the only car I got to drive.

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Made it all the way down Mebane-Oaks,

Managed to avoid all the slow pokes.

Feelin’ pretty good – about halfway there.

Gonna make it on time with a little bit to spare.

But as soon as 54 gets a taste of my wheels,

There’s the blue-haired lady in an Oldsmobile

Driving 10 under, maybe scared of the radar.

Maybe took a cue from Sammy Hagar.

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Gotta find a different route to go, or I might never arrive.

That little old lady better move out the way,

I guess she just forgot how to drive.

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Buckhorn, Arthur Minnus, Orange Grove Roads,

Orange county’s got a thousand different ways to go.

Dairyland, Dodson’s Cross, and old Union Grove,

54′s the biggest, how come it’s so slow?!

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Gotta find a different route to go, or I might never arrive.

That big ol’ tractor better move out the way,

How’d he get off the farm, and why?

Well I’m drivin’ 45 on 54 in a 55.

Tim’s band! The Monument Club! Check them out. If you’re local, go to a show. Hugs.

what NOT to get

superelder — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:54:33 +0000

More on the don’t want front…today I found this blog post on the blog Simple Mom. I’m experiencing a magnetic pull to anything with simple in the title. Throw in the cute little baby chucks in the blog header and a post about stuff you DON’T need, and I’m a fan for life. A couple of the items had already been laughed off when seen on various registry guides (a wipe warmer? really? your baby’s little booty is going to be just fine with wipes of room temperature), but there were definitely some reassurances that I needed i.e. forgo the diaper pail. It’s amazing the range of feedback you’ll get when asking other recent mom’s about this little device and this one little mention on the don’t need list was enough to push me over to that side of the fence.

I also found this amazing maternity series with weekly photos and now of course am completely sucked in wanting to read every post. Not to mention my obsession with Cole’s fantastically fit arms. She’s one hot preggo! Their daughter was born in July 2009, so she’ll be one right about the time our little lovely enters the world. I must admit, as much as I try to be content with who I am and what I have, I often get quite envious of others, and the photo shoots, American Apparel wardrobe and bangin’ body of this woman are not helping.

PS Is Burnt Toast slowly morphing into a mom blog? Am I barely half way to birth and already obsessing way too much about every little baby thing? Perhaps.

over the weekend

superelder — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:03:07 +0000

We baked these delicious chocolate cookies from Cannelle et Vanille.

I finally found felting wool at a local yarn shop and am one step closer to making a necklace.

I visited my plot at the community garden and found my garlic growing!

I finished my book club book – Dry by Augusten Burroughs – weeks before book club.

We took Penny for a spin and met some goats.

We took a hard look at our spending on food and set some new goals.

We spent oodles of time outdoors on a suprisingly springy sunday (temps in the 60′s!) including a six mile run for me and nine miles for Pete.