Sunday, June 25, 2006

My Three Loves: Books, Baking, and Knitting

First a cell phone, now a blog...One small step for Emma; one giant leap for Emma-kind. After much deliberation, much encouragement from friends, and a great deal of soul-searching, I think I'm ready to join the 21st century.

Welcome to My Three Loves. This is a forum in which to share my on-going love-affair with books, baking, and knitting. My love for these guys is boundless. We've been through a lot. *sniff* Books, most of all, have really seen me through some tough times. Even now, in moments of stress and strife, there are certain Comfort Books that I will reach for as soon as I walk in the door. You know the ones--the first books you chose yourself and read on your own. The ones that never disappoint. The ones that you've read so many times, they're as much a part of you as any other memory. "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. "Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. Others that I'm not quite ready to admit I still love and read on a regular basis. (Maybe I'll be ready for a confession in another few posts. We'll see how it goes.)

I knit scarves for about 7 years before I realized that were other things that could be crafted with needles and yarn. Like blankets. I love yarn. I love the way it feels in my hands. I love all the colors. I love walking into a yarn store and seeing all the cubby holes of yarn. All the skeins just waiting to be picked up and touched and made into something. I love how popular knitting has become in the recent years. I love seeing all the crazy things that people decide need to be made of yarn. (Knitted uterus=case in point. I'll post pictures soon.)

And baking. Credit for this one goes to my dad. Both of my parents always baked and cooked while I was growing up, but it was only recently that my dad really got into baking bread. A few years ago, his end of our phone conversations became increasingly peppered with such mysterious words as "yeast," "poolish," and "baking stones." I became curious. What was this "bread"? This...this..."hearth loaf" that was making my dad all bubbly and fluttery? I made Dad promise to show me how to bake a genuine hearth loaf during my next visit. What I thought would be an hour or two of Quality Father/Daughter Time turned into, well, a lot more than I anticipated. Since that fateful day, I have practiced a lot, memorized the appropriate vocabulary, and spent many more hours talking the talk with my father. I have even developed a signature loaf (she holds her nose in the air and sighs daintily)--the Mighty Sourdough. Secrets to this and other baking treasures to follow in upcoming posts.

What's next for Miss Emma? Most definitely a digital camera.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Testing comment leaving techniques...

Anonymous said...

And she's off!!! Emma, your pursuits are such an inspiration that you KNOW I'll be checking in. I hope you'll also share how your garden is growing!!

Joel said...

Emma! Way to go with the blog! You got me sucked right into blogomania.

Perhaps we'll someday see a book about knitting loaves of bread on the shelves of our favorite local bookstores. All thanks to this charming little blog of yours.