Anti-Social Media

Something good, every day.

Dilettante

dil·et·tante
noun

  1. a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.
  2. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
  3. a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.

Most often used as an insult, but what’s wrong with being an amateur? A dabbler? An UNprofessional?

Nothing. Not a damn thing.

Taking my Time

I often think about my relationship to time. I do not like to be too busy. I like to have a lot of freedom and open space in my days. I like to follow my whims. I enjoy just sitting. Thinking or basking in a sunbeam or watching the steam curl up from my cup of coffee or tea. Gazing into the fire, reading a few lines of a book. Trying to form thoughts into words.

I can’t make time, but I can take it. I can make space and then simply be in it.

This is one of the few areas of control I have over my life and I relish having the ability to do so very little with it.

Granola

I’ve been making granola for years now. We love it. Typically with yogurt (plain dairy-free coconut is the best), but sometimes with cashew milk. As a late-nite snack I’ll throw in a handful of chocolate chips.

Time to share the recipe! it’s super easy to make.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups rolled oats (not “quick oats”)
  • 1 ½ cups raw nuts/seeds (pecans, pepitas & sunflower seeds are our usual, but you can use whatever you like)
  • 1 tsp fine-grain sea salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil (or sub olive oil)
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut
  • ⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped (typically cranberries)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
  3. Combine oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and stir to coat.
  4. Pour the granola into parchment lined baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it in an even layer.
  5. Bake until golden, 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. In the last 5 minutes add the coconut to toast.
  6. Remove from oven and stir in dried fruit. Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed, before moving it to a container.
  7. Store the granola in an airtight container.

Full credit goes to Cookie & Kate’s Healthy Granola Recipe

February Television

We watch a lot of tv. Too much? Perhaps.

Two shows we’ve been enjoying lately:

Picard & The World According to Jeff Goldblum.

I typically like the Star Trek shows. Even when they’re not very good, they’re still pretty good. I didn’t even watch much TNG when it was out, other than the occasional random episode, but I would probably enjoy watching Patrick Stewart in anything. My favourite thing about this show is how fallible and human J-L is.

Jeff Goldblum is also a delight. He’s so damn… himself.

Pathfinder

A war cleric, half-elf invoker, gnome paladin and a human rogue walk into a bar, looking for adventure.

We found it! A one-shot dungeon crawl, hosted by a friend who has created this campaign in order to introduce people to Pathfinder (and DMing).

Pathfinder is close enough to fifth edition D&D that we were able to figure it out fairly easily, and our DM was able to see what it would be like to run these characters through an adventure.

The hardest part was playing a character I didn’t create myself, but it ended up being super fun.

Community Food Smart

I was lucky enough to get in on the launch of the Tantramar Community Food Smart Program this month.

It’s a monthly fresh food bulk purchasing group that orders, organizes and distributes produce to members at a reduced rate.

The produce in the photo above only cost me $15, plus a $10 annual fee. Fantastic!