"to make an end is to make a beginning..."

"For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice..."

 and so we start anew.

bippity boppity boo

 it's been a while,

hasn't it?

my days have been full.

no, fulfilling.

i've been witnessing

a little princess in the making.

on her 12th birthday

In a Wonderland they lie, 

Dreaming as the days go by, 

Dreaming as the summers die: 

Ever drifting down the stream- 

Lingering in the golden gleam- 

Life, what is it but a dream?

~Lewis Carroll

i remember that age well-

or rather, i remember it fondly:

of lazy days and long bike rides down shaded avenues,

my black hair trailing like flags in the wind and

sweet smelling peonies lingered behind.

many moments as i silently watch her,

i think to myself how familiar this all seems,

as if i had flipped back to the early pages of my book

to read the preface again.

but i pinch myself gingerly:  

while she seeks beauty as i do, and finds joy in many of mine,

she is not me.

not as quixotic nor meek nor scattered... 

she is everything that i named her for.

expressive, emotive, emphatic.

she is everything aria.

"hydrangeas," photographed by aria

all photos were taken at the charming tiny boxwood cafe in houston where aria had her birthday luncheon.

note to self no. 04

perfect:

  from latin per-‘through, completely’ + facere ‘do.’

perfect is

  not flawless;

not ideal;

not superlative;

not exact;

not absolute;

not without equal.

 

perfect 

is simply 
seeing something through...

end notes ~ ebb and flow

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an
end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

~T.S. Eliot~

i have come to love mondays--

just as i have begun to find a peculiar comfort
in the the rhythm of a hot iron 

back and forth

back and forth

paving the way for smoothness. 

just as i now look forward to the opening of a new week,

ushering in not only a new beginning,
 but a rhyme and a rhythm
usually absent from my blessed, messy weekends.

and for this past mother's day weekend,
for their grandmas,

the children and i made these figgy cardamon bread loafs: 

sweetness and warmth and comfort 

with a pinch of mischief--

all the stuff of that grandmas are made of...

in the bowl of a stand mixer, 

stir together 1 cup of warm milk (110 degrees F) with 

2 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast and 

1/3 cup sugar.  

allow the mixture to sit for ten minutes.

in another bowl, 

whisk together 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and 1 tsp. cardamon.

add the dry ingredients and 2 large eggs to the yeast mixture.  

using the dough hook, knead the dough on medium-low speed until it starts to look shaggy.  

while continuing to knead, add 6 tbsp. unsalted butter (room-temperature and cut into chunks).  

knead until the dough is fairly smooth, 

about 10 minutes.  

dump the dough onto a floured work surface and flatten into a disk.  

scatter 1 1/2 cups quartered dried figs over the dough and gather it into a ball.  

knead the dough gently to incorporate the figs.  

gather the dough into a ball, transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and 

let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled, 

about 1 hour.

 

line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

on a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.  

roll each piece into a rope about 16 inches long.  

with the ropes laying next to each other, pinch the top ends together and proceed to braid the ropes, tucking the ends underneath the braid.  

place on the prepared pan, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and let rise until puffy, 

about 45 minutes.

position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. 

in a small bowl, beat 1 egg with a little water.  

brush the dough gently with the egg wash and 

sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.

bake until golden brown, 

about 35 minutes.  

cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

 recipe from home baked comfort