Every Freaking Penny

I think I made a wise investment decision last week - I used $200 from my dwindling ICBC settlement to buy this:



an Italian pizza oven.

There is an element in the lid of the oven, and a pizza stone set into the base. You preheat it for ten minutes while rolling your dough

and adding your toppings

then you use the wooden paddles to lift the pizza onto the stone and close the lid.

FOUR MINUTES LATER it's lunchtime.

Mr HalfSoledBoots thinks - and I'm sure others would agree - that I'm insane for spending two hundred dollars on this but I assure you, it was worth it. Blazing hot, perfectly cooked, the crust crispy and thin, the flavours intense...(and as an added bonus, it uses much less power than the conventional oven, heats hotter, and cooks quicker). I'm going to have fun with this appliance.

There's a pub nearby that sells an insanely good pizza with pesto, chicken breast and feta, and I think I'll try that next, maybe with some artichoke hearts. But I'm interested in other combinations that might not occur to me (as you can see above, I opted for The Usual on my first trial), so if you have a favourite pizza, let me know what it is.

Now You Show Me Yours

On Monday I opened up the mailbox to find this:

It is a beautiful present from my lovely uncles Joe and Dave, who are always so kind to me. They mean me to write, come hell or high water, or children clamouring around me.

To make a good start, I christened this journal with a list of my favourite words. Obviously, this list is a mutable thing - constantly in flux and never fixed.

This particular list was swimming around in my head as I woke up one morning last week: fully formed, as if from the mind of Zeus. I'm afraid I lost half of them by the time I got them written down, but here are those that remained. All are there simply because I like the sound of them...not necessarily what they represent.

-crenellations

-funicular

-trebuchet

-hackneyed

-abstruse

-wonky

-charlatan

-haphazard

-aspidistra

-penumbra

-coronet

Leave your favourite-word list in the comments. Could be favourites for any reason - that you like what they stand for, like how they make you feel, or you just plain think they're euphonic. (Oooh, euphonic! Must add that one.)

Everybody's Doing a Better Job Than I Am.

Today it's my sister who has poked me in the eye and made me cry. She has written such a beautiful post about the strength of women. Here is an excerpt for you.

Whatever it is that your daughter excels in, encourage her. One day, maybe I'll hear your daughter playing the piano at the Chan Center in Vancouver. Maybe she'll perform my hip replacement surgery, 50 years down the road. Maybe I'll totter over to her veterinary clinic with my sick Teacup Poodle. (Okay, maybe not that one.) Perhaps we will watch her dive, or sprint, or win the long jump during the 2020 Olympic Games. Maybe your daughter will grow up and teach my grandchildren grade 7 Socials. Maybe she'll be the one who offers me her seat on the bus.

My hope for my daughters is that whatever they turn out to be -- a dentist, a hairdresser, a tree planter, an obstetrician, a stay-at-home mother -- whatever it is, that they will love what they do, and do it well.

Thanks Gwen.

But the climate is lovely.

I like living here on the Pacific coast. I'm rather fond of the enormous trees, the long stretches of forest between towns, the charming ferry system that is so integrated into our lifestyle.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks, too...you get your giant banana slugs, your prehistorically-sized spiders, and you spend a lot of money on umbrellas and absorbent doormats.

Not to mention the disembodied PARTS that keep WASHING UP ON THE BEACHES.

Up-Freaking-Date

Somebody does WIP it Wednesday....maybe Jo? Anyway, here are some WIPs (WIP = Work in Progress).

The centre of the Cap Shawl is almost complete. The rounds are now 738 stitches long so one round takes a fair bit of time, especially now that I've got these six purl rows to do. Purling doesn't feel any slower to me, but when I look at the clock I can tell it is. It takes me almost half an hour to do a round on this, at the moment.



Lace in progress is pretty boring stuff to look at, which is why I've spared you too many progress shots. There you have it, though: round 170 of 172. Feels like these next 2.5 rounds will take for-freaking-ever. (Aside: thank you Megan for formally introducing me, all those years ago, to the concept of the expletive infixation. It has validated all kinds of linguistic outrage for me. By the way if you have the time, do read that entire article - it's hilarious.)

And as promised I am showing you a picture of Charlotte's stocking. It was kind of a knit-centric week (trying oh, so hard, to get that stupid Cap Shawl done) so I didn't do much......if it sounds like an excuse, it is.

Last week:




This week:




Is it enough, O most enlightened reader? Or does the sun appear dark in your eyes because of my slack-freaking-assedness? I know which one I'd choose.

I'll do better next week, I promise.

Here's the peony, in full blowsy bloom. This is one decadent plant: between its scent, its glorious plumage, its syrupy buds, and its almost instant progress from bloom to decay, it is the Roman Dinner Party of the perennial world.



And that's all we have time for today. Catch you on the flip side, my fan-f*cking-tastic darlings.

Choices

jumbled up all here and there

bits of stuff are everywhere

furrowed brow as fingers do

magic with some glitter glue

push aside the towels and sit

just ten minutes while I knit

buttered scone and cup of tea

children snuggling with me

sometimes there's a bit of mess

but mostly...

mostly happiness

-Copyright 2008, me

It's Messy Tuesday and here is my longsuffering coffee table.

And here is a lovely, lovely post which is perfect for the day on which we look around at the things we Have to do, and decide instead to do the things we Want to do. Kristine is an occasional commenter here at HalfSoled Boots - I met her on Ravelry. She has lovely little baby and a busy life with family, home, work and craft, and she still finds time to blog. This short little post is a verbal snapshot of a warm afternoon with mothers and daughters and potting soil, and a few lines of inspired prose. It's just beautiful, and well worth your time to read. Enjoy.

Plunge Right In

Erudite Mondays at HalfSoled Boots

Volume 4, Number 2

Planet Ocean

Laurent Ballista and Pierre Descamp

I saw the girls reading this (again) the other day, so I thought I'd peer over their shoulders and give you a little glimpse of this amazing book.

As a homeschooling mum I am always on the lookout for interesting resources. I don't really believe in limiting a child by their age level - that is, not giving them a book just because it is above their current comprehension or reading level. Content - that's another matter. I wouldn't hand Charlotte The Catcher in the Rye, for instance, or Dracula.

My kids have been glued to this book ever since it arrived, and they still haven't discovered everything in it. It's not directed to children, so the text is advanced and there is no attempt to make the science easier for young readers. This makes it a good challenge for the kids, and also means they get worn out fairly soon while reading it...there's a lot of information for a young mind to sort through.

The volume is over-sized, as a coffee-table book should be. The photographs are stunning - you can really count on National Geographic, can't you?

The coolest thing about this book are the photo captions. These contain the name of the animal, the location they were photographed, and the actual size. It's amazing to see some intimidating spiny crab with huge jaws, and then to read that the actual size is 5/8".

If you want to be smarter, read this book. Here is the chapter list:

The Ocean - That Great Unknown

The Undersea Prairies

The Polar Oceans

The Undersea Plains

The Undersea Forests

The Undersea Mountains

The Oases of the Open Ocean

The Coral Reefs

The Law of the Strongest

Adapting to Their Environment

The Love Life of Marine Animals

Living Together

The Indispensable Oceans

There is a heavy focus on sustainability in the face of the human population explosion, and the effects of human consumption on the world's ocean ecosystems. It doesn't hit you over the head, though - it shows you the breathtaking photos, tells you about symbiosis, describes the changing chemistry of water. You can't help but reach your own conclusions.

Every so often there is a two-page spread of text entitled "The Expert's Opinion", on such subjects as "Arctic Ecosystems", "Sustainable Fishing: The Great Challenge", "Coral Reefs: A Precious Asset in Peril", or "Tourism and Marine Biodiversity".

If you get a chance to look through this book, take it. It's a beautiful and challenging volume - in a jaded world there is still an entirely different, strange and wonderful planet to discover.

HalfSoledBoots Highly Specialised Book Rating System

Planet Ocean gets

Reread - Constantly

Given to Others - I won't let it out of my house but I push it on everyone who comes here

Bookplate - Yes

3/3