yum and yuck

Let's start with the yuck, shall we?

One of the first things people will tell you about New Mexico is that we have some weird bugs around here and boy, I'm telling you, that we do!

Check out this thing which we spotted one night in the garden. It was huge, about 4 in (12 cm, my German friends!). Some research in Lewis' library, turned out it was a whipscorpion. While looking extremely gross, it is not poisonous. Good.

Be happy in the yard, but - poisonous or not - please do.not.ever.again.breed around my house!

And do not ever again let your baby sneek around in my kitchen in the morning. Especially not before breakfast! Next time I might just squish it to mush.

This time I had mercy. There you go, little gross guy!

Today I found this cardigan in Lewis' closet. It is very dear to me for several reasons. It was one of the early things that I knitted for him, and it was made from my own handspun yarn. For the very first time I had found prepared roving and this whole world of the wonderful American fiber community with its many resources had just let me peek in for the first time. I believe I even spun this with my first spinning wheel, purchased sometime early 80s, that I had brought with me from Germany after I got married!

While I look at the yarn and the knitted piece and think it looks yummy, there are critters, that feel the same way... They dared to choose this wonderful little cardigan as lunch/dinner/breakfast. Boohoo.

I'm still debating what I should do with it. It is washed. Nuke any leftover bugs in the Antarctica/freezer? Take about a hundred more pictures and toss it? Cut off the buttons as my mom reminded me? Unravel and reuse what's reusable? Not sure yet. For now it is resting on the sofa.

Time for real yum, and don't think about mashed whipscorpions any more, will ya'?!

Inspired by my friend Ulrike I recently made new sourdough and after failing several times (which results in bread with huge airbubbles and just not the right sour flavor) it seems that I finally got it right.

This is every single bit as good as it looks.

It is the reason why Fiona and me can't wait for breakfast these days. She calls it "Mamabread".

Lewis however complains and wants store bought bread. I tell him, that this is as good as it gets: all natural, whole rye, whole wheat, sourdough starter (again rye flour and water and the right kind of bacteria), sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, salt and water, that's all.

I tell him, what makes it truly the best is that it is made with love!

I say, eat it!

Yum.