Review/Revise

I was horrified to find that my last blog post was nearly one year ago. How could this have happened?! I’d made a pact with myself…I had goals! And the winter challenge of making bread from each country? Out the window. After this recognition stabbed me straight through the heart, I regained my composure and did what I always do when I need to think. I grabbed the leashes and took the dogs for a nice long walk along the river.

The first thing I had to do was cut myself a little bit of slack. Okay, so I dropped the ball. It certainly is not the first time, and it likely won’t be the last. I reviewed the past year in my head, the things I actually did accomplish, and found myself nodding, talking out loud to the dogs, the fish in the river, the birds swooping low over the water. Yes, I’d had some goals…however, a few other things cut into the line in front of those goals. Kind of like the impatient customer at the grocery store (which did not go well for him, btw, he was heckled into a sheepish, accelerated exit by others in the line) when the line was backed up into the canned goods aisle.

I am not going to list those “others” that took over my year, stepping so impolitely in front of my initial list, but I can say that they are things I am proud of. Things that sit deeply in my soul. Some things that were inevitable. And all is well.

Getting that part over with, I recognized that it is time to make some decisions. A bit of a “review/revise” as I reflect on the past, plan for the future, and balance those with being present in the now. The process has been nothing short of illuminating.

Do I focus on biking or running? Will I try to learn French or Spanish? In my enthusiasm for all this beautiful life has to offer, I can have a tendency to double book myself on a regular basis. Many of the questions I pondered were easy to determine, but I stopped in my tracks as this particular probe entered my mind:

Am I a baker who loves to write or a writer who loves to bake?

Because I do love both, but there is only so much time in the day. Ficticious scents wafted past along the banks of the river…the smell of salted caramel dripping over a freshly baked ginger cake, the richness of fudge filling the kitchen. I closed my eyes and breathed them in. The images were interrupted by my characters, demanding the spotlight in front of me and fanning the sugary smells away from my nose. My beloved Lucy Rose who sits in her restaurant waiting to become a private investigator, if I would only put my pen to paper again. The elven family from Wisconsin, splayed throughout the land of Toblanhawke and waiting to be reunited in my podcast. My poor, neglected blog, waiting for me to find time to be present in the moment once more.

And so it was decided. I will certainly keep baking, but I am going to step away from my past insistence that I post only my own creations, my own recipes. Instead, I am going to tap into the resources already out there and direct my readers to those brilliant bakers and cooks who have put their hard work into incredibly amazing resources that should be utilized, shared, and lauded.

To begin with, I need to lead you to Sally’s Baking Addiction for her fabulous tutorial on making French macarons (pictured above). I am thrilled to share these with you…they are finicky little things but well worth the effort.

I am even more thrilled to let you know that the macarons are chilling in the refrigerator, the floor and counters are free of pink batter, the Scullery has closed for the day, and Lucy Rose is heading into a new chapter to move the novel along…she is hoping to be in print by mid-winter. I am pretty sure she won’t let me rest until that happens.