so the very first blog post i ever did was of a photo of my great grand mother's tea cup and saucer set she gave me. the writing was based on the idea of passing something on through generations to come. so as i start this new blog it is fitting that it relates to my grandmother, my great grandmother's daughter. so recently i moved out of my house and have a friend/tenet lined up (we will address if the friend component is a good idea later) who without my control or direction was given a set of keys to my house (this will also be addressed later) prior to my final removal of the little odds and ends. so long of the short is, this soon to be tenant who has apparently taken over my old house threw out a blanket that my grandmother made for me. i was devastated. literally. as i still had a task at hand, moving the last few items out. i will never forget the last couple car loads from what was my home for almost ten years. i was crying the whole time i was unloading my odds and ends. once the last load was done i went to one of the places i often find myself when down: borders.
so here i am wandering around borders in search of julia child's books. yes, i had just watched the movie julie & julia and was in love with both women immediately. the inspirational story of both women. the heartbreaking connection that was never made. you know that is what really bothered me about the movie. the young julie in her element, in her culture and within the movement of her generation creates a blog. where her blog was actually a very respectful and present day version of what julia lived on some level; and julia does not find it in good taste. it is ironic when you think about it; two different generations' views of taste and respectfulness. i guess i liked the story of two women finding themselves through the cards they are dealt. anyway my point being that i have always wanted to learn more about cooking and also to create a writing blog. so here i am at borders with quieted tears, drinking my coffee deciding to make today the day. escaping from my melancholy mood and reading through the beautiful receipes. beef bolognese. there it is; wouldn't you know it. i had no idea what it was until i read the list of ingredients, and really wanted to make this, stick to your ribs kind of meal. so i left borders with my new cookbook in tote and headed off to westborn market with a new shopping list. i photographed the receipe in my iphone for my list.
the meal was fantastic. it was really good. i know what you are thinking. yes i do. no, the receipe was not julia child's beef bolognese. i didn't end up buying her cookbook. don't get me wrong i will, holding out for the twofer set. what i found was a book that had the perfect balance of pictures and recipes. pictures help me, i am a visual person. barefoot contessa: how easy was that? i am in love with this book and this woman - ina garten. so in my most dismal day in recent memory i am feeling good and happy about something i created. i mean i actually used whipping cream and made a sauce from scratch. i enjoy cooking and know my way around a kitchen; but i am more like sandra lee and use a half homemade approach. well today is the day.
this brings me to now. the tea cup. the lost blanket. patterns and washcloths. the cooking and writing goal. having a legacy is an important thing. it can be anything. a recipe, a pattern, a collection, even a laugh that fills a room, love that has no conditions, or living in the best possible light, always no matter what. this is what i want my legacy to be: a collection of all these things. something that passes through me, that is bigger than me, to future generations. family is one of those things that breaks your heart a million times over and encourages you a million times over. i don't know why this is, it just is - since the dawn of time i bet.
i don't know about your past generations, but mine goes something like this: amazing woman, bitter woman, amazing and bitter woman, me. i am not calling myself amazing, but would like to think the chain is starting over with me and changing. you know that saying of break the cycle. well i would like to break the cycle and that day is today. so this is my attempt to start a living legacy that morphs and grows. a mish mash of things that i value and have an interest for. so i created lemon sugar as a kind of alter ego to my photography blog. this is my mish mash of all things. so lemon sugar is like the right side of my brain and amy gillespie photography is like the left side of my brain.
so as i mentioned this new passion of mine - cooking, photographing it and writing about it and life in general; is an outlet or escape. have you ever noticed how somethings can mirror life? the challenges and your reaction? so if the water boils over and the sauce needs to stirred and temp lowered, does it create a melt down or create a rhythm? sometimes i find that at the point of boil over i realize the test of character and smile while finding my rhythm. don't get me wrong , sometimes i see the boiling over and think the world is crumbling. clearly as i was crying while moving things from two houses, driving, loading and unloading....you get the picture. a hot sobbing mess for a couple of hours. honestly i don't want to see the boil over and have a melt down. i want to see the boil over and have a rhythm.
so how do you make something from nothing? how do you bridge gaps of generations through a common bond if there isn't one? you know, i don't even have kids and this is the stuff i think about. what from great grandma, grandma, my mother and i is there in common? how do you create something from nothing? well i am looking at it as a quilt. separately there might not be any similarities but together its the big picture that makes sense. just like anything that is well built is built from layers.
i'm going to pause here and address the parentheses from before. so the friend/tenant thing. i have a gift for compartmentalising, however the whole world seems to have a real problem with it, i have found over the years. which leads directly to the keys given without my direction. meaning i did not ok it, suggest it, consider it, encourage it... you get the picture. i will just say when will men realize that their version of 'help' translates to complicated, tangled mess of a disaster? if someone could please explain this to me - i am all ears. so the short is, i was helped and will leave it at that.
so this generational thing. i am at a point in my life where i am happy for the first time in a long time with what i am doing, where i am going and how i am doing it. i feel like i have found myself again. like i was lost in rush hour traffic for a few years and i am finally driving on the open freeway; the only car on the road. but i can't help but think about the women before me or the ones that may come after me. i want to remember the ones from the past in a good light and inspire the ones of the future. so my layering project begins through my living legacy idea.
families used to pass things on either written or spoken. being the visual person i am, mine of course will include photos. So the visual mish mash will walk you through inspired things: great grandma's tea cup, grandma's photo (replacing the lost blanket) collection i put together and hung on the wall in my dining room, my photo collection, of the red door project, adjacent to grandma's collection, mom's patterns and washcloths, and finally the visual delight of the food - the first dish that started it all.
so here i am wandering around borders in search of julia child's books. yes, i had just watched the movie julie & julia and was in love with both women immediately. the inspirational story of both women. the heartbreaking connection that was never made. you know that is what really bothered me about the movie. the young julie in her element, in her culture and within the movement of her generation creates a blog. where her blog was actually a very respectful and present day version of what julia lived on some level; and julia does not find it in good taste. it is ironic when you think about it; two different generations' views of taste and respectfulness. i guess i liked the story of two women finding themselves through the cards they are dealt. anyway my point being that i have always wanted to learn more about cooking and also to create a writing blog. so here i am at borders with quieted tears, drinking my coffee deciding to make today the day. escaping from my melancholy mood and reading through the beautiful receipes. beef bolognese. there it is; wouldn't you know it. i had no idea what it was until i read the list of ingredients, and really wanted to make this, stick to your ribs kind of meal. so i left borders with my new cookbook in tote and headed off to westborn market with a new shopping list. i photographed the receipe in my iphone for my list.
the meal was fantastic. it was really good. i know what you are thinking. yes i do. no, the receipe was not julia child's beef bolognese. i didn't end up buying her cookbook. don't get me wrong i will, holding out for the twofer set. what i found was a book that had the perfect balance of pictures and recipes. pictures help me, i am a visual person. barefoot contessa: how easy was that? i am in love with this book and this woman - ina garten. so in my most dismal day in recent memory i am feeling good and happy about something i created. i mean i actually used whipping cream and made a sauce from scratch. i enjoy cooking and know my way around a kitchen; but i am more like sandra lee and use a half homemade approach. well today is the day.
this brings me to now. the tea cup. the lost blanket. patterns and washcloths. the cooking and writing goal. having a legacy is an important thing. it can be anything. a recipe, a pattern, a collection, even a laugh that fills a room, love that has no conditions, or living in the best possible light, always no matter what. this is what i want my legacy to be: a collection of all these things. something that passes through me, that is bigger than me, to future generations. family is one of those things that breaks your heart a million times over and encourages you a million times over. i don't know why this is, it just is - since the dawn of time i bet.
i don't know about your past generations, but mine goes something like this: amazing woman, bitter woman, amazing and bitter woman, me. i am not calling myself amazing, but would like to think the chain is starting over with me and changing. you know that saying of break the cycle. well i would like to break the cycle and that day is today. so this is my attempt to start a living legacy that morphs and grows. a mish mash of things that i value and have an interest for. so i created lemon sugar as a kind of alter ego to my photography blog. this is my mish mash of all things. so lemon sugar is like the right side of my brain and amy gillespie photography is like the left side of my brain.
so as i mentioned this new passion of mine - cooking, photographing it and writing about it and life in general; is an outlet or escape. have you ever noticed how somethings can mirror life? the challenges and your reaction? so if the water boils over and the sauce needs to stirred and temp lowered, does it create a melt down or create a rhythm? sometimes i find that at the point of boil over i realize the test of character and smile while finding my rhythm. don't get me wrong , sometimes i see the boiling over and think the world is crumbling. clearly as i was crying while moving things from two houses, driving, loading and unloading....you get the picture. a hot sobbing mess for a couple of hours. honestly i don't want to see the boil over and have a melt down. i want to see the boil over and have a rhythm.
so how do you make something from nothing? how do you bridge gaps of generations through a common bond if there isn't one? you know, i don't even have kids and this is the stuff i think about. what from great grandma, grandma, my mother and i is there in common? how do you create something from nothing? well i am looking at it as a quilt. separately there might not be any similarities but together its the big picture that makes sense. just like anything that is well built is built from layers.
i'm going to pause here and address the parentheses from before. so the friend/tenant thing. i have a gift for compartmentalising, however the whole world seems to have a real problem with it, i have found over the years. which leads directly to the keys given without my direction. meaning i did not ok it, suggest it, consider it, encourage it... you get the picture. i will just say when will men realize that their version of 'help' translates to complicated, tangled mess of a disaster? if someone could please explain this to me - i am all ears. so the short is, i was helped and will leave it at that.
so this generational thing. i am at a point in my life where i am happy for the first time in a long time with what i am doing, where i am going and how i am doing it. i feel like i have found myself again. like i was lost in rush hour traffic for a few years and i am finally driving on the open freeway; the only car on the road. but i can't help but think about the women before me or the ones that may come after me. i want to remember the ones from the past in a good light and inspire the ones of the future. so my layering project begins through my living legacy idea.
families used to pass things on either written or spoken. being the visual person i am, mine of course will include photos. So the visual mish mash will walk you through inspired things: great grandma's tea cup, grandma's photo (replacing the lost blanket) collection i put together and hung on the wall in my dining room, my photo collection, of the red door project, adjacent to grandma's collection, mom's patterns and washcloths, and finally the visual delight of the food - the first dish that started it all.
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