Warmth

As the frigid temperatures return to the Northeast, we all need to do things to warm our bodies and souls. I have returned to my seasonal work for the university and am focused and busy for hours each day at my desk, while the girls are at school. Periodically, Freddy will pounce up and pester me mercilessly, impeding my typing, playing with the mouse (How appropriate!), and pacing in front of the computer screens. I finally placed his cat bed in the corner beneath the heat of the light.

Eventually, he settles in and allows the warmth to lull him to sleep. He cat naps. I return to work.

 

This particularly cold winter made me realize that we all need to do a few small but special things to care for ourselves as winter wears on. Perhaps, light a special candle as the day begins to dim. Or, enjoy an afternoon tea or hot chocolate with a small treat gifted over the holidays. Make a fire in the fireplace and keep it blazing all day and into the evening. Watch a favorite movie under a down comforter. Dance to Pandora as you complete a chore or cook dinner. Prepare a large pot of soup and homemade bread. No matter how small the act, the goal is to do something out of the ordinary or extra special that warms the spirit.

Last summer, our family went to France and Belgium for a week. I was thrilled to be showing the girls Paris, when my younger daughter got sick the very first day with a nasty intestinal bug. It continued the entire trip and an additional two weeks upon our return home. It was the sickest she had ever been. I love to eat my way through Europe, and my daughter's hopes for crepes each day were dashed. Crepes always intimidated me. Last week, I decided it was high time I try making crepes myself as a treat for her and a means to warm my soul.

 

In line with my endless pursuit of adding more vegetables and fruit to our diet, I prepared zucchini crepes. They were easy to prepare and turned out fantastic.

They were thin. delicate, and golden. We ate them with powdered sugar, pear applesauce, and a bit of whipped cream.

I believe the pan, a French crepe pan from de Buyer, was a large reason for the success. And a cake spatula worked exceptionally well for turning.

You can learn how to make crepes, too. And, I highly recommend the recipe below for a taste of Paris or a bit of winter warmth or simply to try a new experiment in the kitchen this winter.

Zucchini Crepes

½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1¼ cups milk

2 eggs

¾ tsp table salt

½ cup grated zucchini

Combine all ingredients with a tabletop or hand-held blender. Rest batter in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Yield: 10 8-inch crepes

Epilogue: I realize after writing this post that there are a number of foods that intimidate me such that I avoid preparing them. This winter seems like the perfect time to tackle a few of these holdouts. Given how much I enjoy working in the kitchen, a challenge or two is just what I need to stoke the fire. To be continued....

Quiet

Winter is the Best Time 
David Budbill

Winter is the best time

to find out who you are.

Quiet, contemplation time,

away from the rushing world,

cold time, dark time, holed-up

pulled-in time and space

to see that inner landscape,

that place hidden and within.

Suddenly, life quieted this week. Finally. The weather passed. The girls returned to school. My husband, the professor, was traveling for research, and I sat at my desk to work. Inside, the house slumbered, too. No interruptions or crises or revelations or questions. No radio. No phone calls. No bundling up in all the gear to head out only to return an hour later and unwrap each layer once again. The cat curled up on the bed in the next room, sighing deeply now and again. I could hear the clock ticking, the knock of the radiator. Only my mind seemed to be grappling with a cacophony of thoughts.

Outside, the world was hushed, too, as is only possible in winter when light snows muffle all sound. As the day wore on and the temperatures rose, I could hear the occasional crow passing overhead as well as the steady dripping of water from the large icicles hanging from the eves by the front door. Several times, I was startled from the confines of my mind as a patch of compacted snow slid down the peaks of our steep roof, clicking on each dark slate tile before crashing over the edge to the ground below.

Later, I went to get the mail at the end of the drive and the stream had come to life. The foot of snow was melting rapidly as the precipitation had turned to rain. Drops gathered into rivulets that met in gullies and streams and creeks, all heeding gravity's call to head down the heights, down the gorges, down into the lake below. The commotion was startling, exciting, joyful. Even when the world seems to be frozen and immobile, even uncaring and unfeeling, nature can spring to life for a day with just the smallest of hopes reawakened before temperatures fall below freezing again. 

Quiet returns. Still, my thoughts flow and the words come together to convey my truths. Gratitude knows no season, never changes its message nor begs to be heard, yet remains in the stillness.

Dormant

Welcome, dear reader!

College towns lie dormant in January. Students are on break, reducing the population as well as the hustle and bustle significantly. In nature, things appear frozen at the surface in winter but activity does continue several feet down where animals hibernate and insects survive below the frost line. Likewise on campus, things are happening just not at their usual pace or as evident to the casual visitor.

I also have been absent with little activity evident on my blog posts. However, I have been working behind the scenes with bold plans for 2014 which are being unveiled here. I am moving from Typepad to Blogger, for starters. I will be able to consolidate some things as well as simplify blogging.

I also wanted to give A Measured Word a bit of an update both in format and content to provide more flexibility as I write and create. I do believe the "academic" focus is authentically me and original in the blogosphere as well. I know many of you agree that college towns and university communities are wonderful places to live. I would love your feedback as I streamline what I am doing over the next few weeks.

Finally, winter has slowed life down considerably after the holidays here. Snowstorms and wind chills and school closings mean movies and hot chocolate and family time but little computer time. Here is what it has looked like right outside the kitchen doors of NOLD:

I sure was glad I filled the bird feeders last week as the winds and snow battered our area. Dangerous wind chills arrive tonight; school is closed again tomorrow. Sigh. I am sure this will call for some work in the kitchen. More to come soon....

Note: Many of the does in our neighborhood wear deer tags in their ears as part of a sterilization study being conducted in our village by the university. This is the latest attempt to control an ever burgeoning deer population many communities now face.