InkCharmed~

Joy

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:02:39 -0700

You know my thankfulness lists? I want to add joyful lists to that. And here will be my first.

The joys in this moment of mine are as follows:

The breezes coming from the open doorways flanking my table (I'm at an adorable coffeehouse)
The texture and character of the art in this corner right in front of me
The peaceful friendliness of this place, of the people who work here and are lounging here- I can learn from them
The peace I feel with my recently tumultuous thoughts right now
The cool richness of my soy latte
The delight in finding my potentially perfect tattoos

my corner today at The Library Coffeehouse

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Thankfulness List.

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:51:25 -0700

I like to do these lists, and I haven't done one for a long time.

Things I'm thankful for:
~I'm developing healthy eating habits that will probably keep me disease free.
~I'm starting to play tennis more, and the feel of moving my body around so actively is so fun!!
~I just bought the game Cranium, and it's going to be so fun to play....
~BBC murder mystery DVDs are like atmosphere in a bottle, and since I love atmosphere, and since I have some, this is a good thing for me. (I'm watching one right now.)
~I learned how to plant a squash plant this week.
~The sun felt nice on my heavily sun-blocked skin today, and it will again tomorrow.

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Is this something beautiful? Kind of!

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:24:48 -0700

So last night, after feeling pretty comfortable with the simple chain stitch, I decided to try the next step, crocheting into that first chain. I had been planning on just waiting till someone else could try and teach me, but instead I busted out my Stitch'n'Bitch Happy Hookers book, and attempted to translate the instructions into skill. (I am usually really, really, really bad at this.) And it was hard, I wasn't getting it, I shelved the yarn, then decided to try a little more. And I came up with this! I'm not sure if this is what it's supposed to look like, but it might be, and that was enough for me for the night. :) And the best part is, I was able to struggle up to this point without any silly outbursts of frustration. I kept it calm. :)

The first impossible stitch.

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The birthing of a serious Renee Glass. Or Robin Glass. (Those are my pen names. :))

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:24:45 -0700

So after a good hour of surfing the internet, doing some productive things and some not so productive, I am settling down to a good two hours of writing.

I've realized a couple things.

First, I have more discipline than I thought I did. I have no reason to not immerse myself in a daily writing habit.

Second, I want to be a novelist MUCH more than a freelance writer. I want to tell stories, or share personal stories in essays (which falls into a part of freelancing, true). So it's time to focus 95% of my writing energy on my novel. I have about 40,000 words, about a third through. This is with an uber-inconsistent writing schedule. If I could develop a true daily writing habit that lasted more than a week or two.... I would have this draft busted out in a matter of months. I could have the draft before the wedding even.

I was waiting till after the wedding to really concentrate on a routine, a schedule. But why wait? With my writing, it's time right now for a serious commitment.

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This and that.

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:24:53 -0700

Hmm, what have I been up to and what inky goodness have I been involved in? Certainly none of my own. I've been slacking on my writing for weeks. I'm still waiting for the magical development of that all elusive regular routine... routine is all I need to get that book finished. And I believe I'll get it going soon. I've made some pretty radical changes lately requiring what would be perceived as some hard-core discipline, so I know I can get myself in the set routine that I need, eventually. I think I'll get on top of that after the wedding.

While I've been falling short on my own writing, I've been consuming plenty of the the writing of others! Hmm, right now I'm reading Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan, which is a cute YA fantasy. I started a Nora Roberts because I was craving the old-school comfort that I associate with that type of romance, but then lost steam and couldn't finish it. Still reading Dreams from my Father for book group..... I guess I've read a couple of health/diet books, like Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, but aside from mentioning if you're interested in being thin and avoiding cancer, heart disease, diabetes you should read this (or something by Dean Ornish), there's not really much to discuss. :)

So I guess this post is heavy in rambling, and light on content. I'm feeling lazy.
And now I'm going to go read something else.

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Lemon bar recipe

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:00:46 -0700

(from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

Ingredients- crust
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated, nondairy butter, at room temperature (I like EarthBalance)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Ingredients- filling
1/2 cup silken tofu (soft or firm, I used soft)
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest from 2 lemons (the more the better, I think! I zest every last bit off of those lemons. :))
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Confectioners' sugar, sifted (I didn't bother to sift anything)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 C or gas mark 4). Grease an 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) baking pan with canola oil or a cooking spray and sprinkle with just a light dusting of all purpose flour.

To make the crust, in the bowl of your electric stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, and beat until the dough just comes together. Press into the bottom of your prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

To make the filling, in a food processor or blender (oops, just realized I just used my hand mixer!), add the tofu and blend until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and blend until nice and smooth. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the filling over the baked shortbread crust and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

To serve, cut into squares or bars and dust with the sifted confectioners' sugar. Wait until you're just about to serve the bars before you sprinkle them with the confectioners' sugar. Otherwise, it will soak into the bars and you'll miss out on that pretty presentation. (I just do it after they've cooled a bit, and I add enough that it stays on there! :)) I think these are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (I tend to bake at like midnight a lot, so I always eat them the next day, and they're great that way! :))

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Return of the lemon bars

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:25:36 -0700

So I tried out my first recipe from my new cookbook, The Joy of Vegan Baking, and it was my trusty lemon bars. I'm excited to say they were a total success, and every bit as delish as my old non-vegan lemon bars. My sister even liked them better.

Lemon bars, vegan of course.

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Life Behind Bars

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:41:49 -0700

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A few thoughts, voices to consider if you have never before...Love, Robin

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:14:44 -0700

"Government officials now know what the most healthful diet is, and yet will not recommend it." -Erik Marcus

The China Project is called by The New York Times "the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease." Director Dr. T. Colin Campbell, professor of nutrition and biomedical science at Cornell University summarized the findings: "The China Project's primary finding is that the Chinese who eat the least fat and animal products [this includes diary!] have substantially lower rates of cancer, heart attack, and several other chronic degenerative diseases."

"The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another, even the lowliest creature; to do so is to renounce our manhood and shoulder a guilt which nothing justifies." -Albert Schweitzer

"If man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is injury to animals." -Leo Tolstoy

"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body." -Mohandas Gandhi

"People get offended by animal rights campaigns. It's ludicrous." -Richard Gere

"Compassion is the foundation of everything positive, everything good. If you carry the power of compassion to the marketplace and the dinner table, you can make your life really count." -Rue McClanahan

"If man is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practice kindness toward animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." -Immanuel Kant

"I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals." -Henry David Thoreau

"It is the fate of every truth to be an object of ridicule when it is first acclaimed. It was once considered foolish to suppose that black men were really human beings and ought to be treated as such. What was once foolish has now become a recognized truth. Today it is considered as exaggeration to proclaim constant respect for every form of life as being the serious demand of a rational ethic. But the time is coming when people will be amazed that the human race existed so long before it recognized that thoughtless injury to life is incompatible with real ethics. Ethics is in its unqualified form extended responsibility to everything that has life." -Albert Schweitzer

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." -Albert Einstein

xoxo

www.vegan.com

www.farmsanctuary.org

Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating by Erik Marcus

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In regards to the charm of ink...

nobody@vox.com(inkcharmed) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:13:04 -0700

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but um, books are sort of my favorite thing. Oh, ok, I guess there's love and family and humanity, and all sorts of other pretty major deals... but I'm not gonna lie, they've got to work hard to compare with the bound paper I can stack on my bookshelves.

So in honor of this love, this obsession, I'm going to start posting about all the books I read.

Maybe I'll even make a book schedule? Any ideas on books I should read and include?

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