Anyone else have trouble with dry, rough feet? I’m not sure why mine are so awful. In the winter I wear socks all the time, and in the summer I usually wear shoes or flip-flops. But my feet are rough year round. My husband has similar habits and his feet are soft and silky. What gives? Is this a female-only problem? 

Before the wedding, my mother came over, ordered me to sit, and gave me a foot treatment:

She literally shaved my feet, burning through multiple razors and only cutting me twice.

Anyway, the best foot treatment thus far is: Vaseline! Before going to bed, I rub a lima bean-sized glob of vaseline into my problem ares — the sides of my feet, especially the heel — and then put on a pair of socks. In the morning, my feet feel pleasantly plump and hydrated. There’s still poke-y rough skin (my mom just bought me this but I haven’t tried it yet) but over time, my feet get noticeably softer. In the morning, I remove the socks and save them for the next night — I usually get several wears out of a single pair. 

Of course, the biggest problem is remembering to apply the vaseline in the first place, but when I do, it makes all the difference. 

***

This (old) clip of Moira Rose, I mean Catherine O’Hara, receiving her Canadian Screen Award made my day.

Right now I’m watching the show — for the third time? the fifth? — with my younger son. Ew, David.

***

I know it’s only January, but I have a feeling this is gonna be my favorite book of 2022:

I hesitated to read it — a sexual assult victim’s story doesn’t sound like the most uplifting material for the dead of winter — but I decided hers was a perspective I needed to spend time with. In the beginning, I avoided reading it right before bed because I worried it would give me bad dreams, but once I got through the initial trauma (which did not give me secondary trauma, thankfully) and into the story, I’d read late (for me) into the night. It’s a page-turner, for sure, but minus any sensationalism and with a hefty dose of maturity, perspective, integrity, and grace. Reading, I found myself being jolted repeatedly as I realized the myriad ways in which our misogynistic and patriarchal society has distorted my view of sexual harrassment and abuse. Highly, highly, highly recommend, for men and women alike. It’s so good I purchased a copy so the rest of the family can cycle through it — right now, it’s my husband’s turn.

***

For months, I’ve been after my husband (in a mostly vague way) to make my kitchen a little more user friendly. You know, hooks and stuff. And I wanted a stainless steel shelf to go on the wall behind the stove because I was sick of the little jar of toothpicks inching forward and then crashing to the stove top below. That area had dead space and it could be soooo usable, I thought. 

And then a few weeks back, he hauled in a strip of stainless steel that he’d gleaned from a job and BOOM. I had my shelf.

It’s even better than I imagined. Nothing wobbles or moves, and it’s deeper than the top edge of the stove so it can hold bigger things.

And it was free!

***

Pro-tip for better cold-weather cardio: underdress.

On this particular morning, my easy little walk turned into a mad dash for survival.

***

Last weekend we watched Summer of Soul (Hulu) for our family movie. I thought it might be a little dry, but no.

A number of times I noticed I was leaning forward in my seat, getting as close to the screen as possible so I could study every little aspect and catch all the words. And it was exciting to hear familiar songs and be like, “Oh! That’s who sings that song.” 

***

Now that my book is written (only the first full draft, y’all — calm down), I’m ready to plunge into the mind-boggling swirl that is Structural Revisions. Google Docs is great, and it’d been what I’ve used up until now, but I’ve found that once a doc gets yay big, it becomes unwieldy and I start feeling claustrophobic.

Enter Scrivener.

None of my close writer advisors (i.e. my brother, aka my personal Tech Support Service) use it or even know much about it, so I knew I was going out on a limb when I downloaded the app (there’s a thirty-day free trial) and transferred everything over. I have spent the last two weeks* watching YouTube tutorials and teaching myself how to import from google docs, format, make an outline, and use the various tools. (*I’ve done other things, too.) 

I’m incredibly proud of myself — I didn’t cry once — and I freaking LOVE the platform. (I’m buying it: 50-dollar one-time purchase feels like a steal and I can’t imagine writing without it now.) By forcing me to organize and restructure the book, I’m gaining some new, much-needed perspective and clarity. And the best part? I no longer feel like I’m drowning in a word tsunami, yay!

***

And finally, this. 

Simply because it made me happy. 

***

Have a great weekend, friends. And those of you up north in blizzard world (hello, daughter), stay warm! xo

This same time, years previous: the quotidian (1.27.20), omeletty egg bake, crispy pan pizzas, keep everlastingly at it, Friday evening fun, Gretchen’s green chili.

My slippers are dying. The top of one slipper is separating from the base and the soles of both are bottoming out (ha). But winter is almost over and, reluctant to spend money, I thought I might be able to push through until the fall. Hoping to keep it together — literally — I placed an order for Gorilla tape. 

And then it occurred to me: winter slippers might be on sale; now might actually be the better, more frugal, time to buy them. However, a quick L.L.Bean search revealed that no, prices weren’t slashed (yet). So this morning my husband taped them back together.

Only one slipper needed to be fixed but, once taped, it felt so much better — it gripped my foot with renewed vigor and silenced my annoying shuffle-walk — that I had him tape the other one to match. 

Problem is, I’m beginning to detect a little stickiness when walking on the kitchen tile and I HATE the feeling of sticky floors. 

So I’ve come full circle: I still need to buy slippers, and now. I assumed I’d spring for another pair of L.L. Beans, but then I read that some people really liked wool slippers. Now that I have (and love) a pair of wool Merinos, I’m considering the splurge. I especially like that wool slippers look like shoes; I think they’d help me feel a little less lounge-y, a little more put-together. (I’m partial to these.)

I’m getting ready to start researching, but thought I’d check in with you first (and maybe save myself some time): Do you have a favorite pair of slippers to recommend? 

My slipper requirements include:
*Durable soles, so I can wear them inside and outside.
*Warm, but not so much that I overheat.
*Long-lasting: with any luck, I’ll be wearing them daily, for years.
*Lightweight (the ones I currently have are a little too clunky).
*Slip-on, but not clogs, so: closed heel, I guess?
*Fur is okay, but I’d rather not look like I’m wearing small mammals on my feet. 

My toes thank you in advance!

This same time, years previous: launching, vindication, through my lens: a wedding, the quotidian (1.27.14), and then we moved into a barn, thoughts.

Here’s a little secret (that’s not really a secret): if you find yourself with excess dairy — think: buttermilk, whey, cultured cream cheese-that-was-supposed-to-be-butter, kefir, yogurt, clabber — make pancakes. And if you have crazy-nuts piles of ricotta? All the better! (I typed “batter” — touché, fingertips.)

These days I’ve been banging out panny-cakes on the regular, thanks to the heaps of dairy clogging up the fridge. Also, it helps that it’s brr-cold: we’re all moving a little slower in the mornings, and I’m there to make them since I don’t go running when it dips into the low 20s. Farmer Boy pancakes are my kids’ favorite, but I’ve switched to ricotta pancakes because, well, that’s what I’ve got. (Used to be, ricotta was an expensive treat; now it’s a by-product that I have to work to use up.) Plus, ricotta pancakes are fast to make, nutritious, high-protein, and versatile, the pancake version of kitchen-sink veggie soup. 

First time I served ricotta pancakes, my younger daughter got all upset because there were little bits of ricotta speckling the pancakes, oh horrors. (Never mind that the pancakes were light and fluffy and didn’t taste at all like ricotta.) Next time I made pancakes — Farmer Boy this time — and she asked what kind they were, I said I wasn’t going to tell her because she’d just pitch a fit and I was tired of hearing about it: I made pancakes so eat the damn pancakes, end of story. So she took a pancake and grumpily began eating.

“How are they?” I asked.

“They’re not as good as your regular ones,” she said. “Farmer Boy’s better.” 

“Ha! These are Farmer Boy pancakes!” And I danced a happy (to her: irritating) told-you-so jig.

And this, my friends, is why I don’t kowtow to picky eaters. 

(I did, however, make one change in order to make the pancakes less offensive, so I guess I am a leedle bit accommodating: I’ve taken to whirling the ricotta in the blender along with the eggs, milk, and fat prior to combining the wets with the dry. This way, no one has any idea there’s ricotta in the batter but the pancakes still have their signature lofty-lightness. AREN’T I SNEAKY.)

I’ve been making these pancakes so regularly that I taped the recipe to the inside of the spice cupboard. They are endlessly adaptable. For part or all of the flour, sub in some whole grain flours like einkorn, whole wheat, cornmeal, chickpea, barley, or rye. In place of some or all of the milk, use a mix of other dairy such as whey, yogurt, kefir, buttermilk. For the fat, use leftover bacon grease, melted butter, coconut oil, sour cream, olive oil, whatever. Or, you can switch into dessert mode and add lemon zest and juice, plus a splash of vanilla. Sky’s the limit!

One more thing. When you go to mix up the batter, double or quadruple the dry ingredients, weigh the total amount in grams, divide by the number of recipes you made, and portion it out accordingly. Next time you want pancakes, there’s your mix. You’re welcome.

Ricotta Pancakes
Adapted from Cooking Classy.

To watch: Making Ricotta Pancakes on YouTube.

¾ cup ricotta
1 cup milk 
3 eggs
1 tablespoon fat
1½ cup flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Whirl the wet ingredients in a blender until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and stir to combine, taking care not to overmix. Fry on a greased skillet and serve with butter and syrup. A single recipe makes eight large pancakes.

This same time, years previous: how we homeschool: Milva, Samin’s soy-braised beef short ribs, what kind of stove should we buy?, the quotidian (1.26.15), first day of classes, housekeeping, five things, movie night.