Walking is everything

Returning to myself

Dear Reader,

When I was a teenager, if my parents told me that I had to walk somewhere I would have been shocked, and perhaps even affronted. Of course, I was infinitely more lazy than I am now, but still, the idea of walking where I had to go was not something that interested me at all. Fast forward many years later, and now, I walk just about everywhere. And, I love it.

My family and I live in an urban setting, so walking has just always been the way to go. Even when my kids (who are teenagers now), were younger, we would walk near and far. Their friends live several blocks away, so they still walk all the time and (mostly)don't complain about it.

For me, walking is where I get lost in my thoughts and I dream up ideas. It's great for working out problems, relaxing, cooling off if you're angry or frustrated, or just simply unplugging, listening to the birds, and noticing the world around you. After all, isn't noticing a big part of the creative process? I think it is.

The freedom of stepping out of your house and knowing that your legs can take you where you want to go is so liberating. You don't have to worry about traffic, road rage, or bad drivers, because you can blissfully relax. It's nice to shut down and not worry. Of course, I have worked out some worrisome things on my walks, and cried at times in the process. But, I firmly believe that my walks have helped me go through the process.

I start each morning walking my dog as early as possible, especially in the summer. He's a furry muppet, so he can't take a walk in the heat of the day. It's so quiet and beautiful early in the morning, and often there aren't even very many cars, if any. I don't know about you, but I'm not much of a morning person, so I prefer quiet. I don't like media of any kind in the morning, or even talking for that matter.

Lately on my walks, I've been thinking about my mobile boutique. I can't wait to find a vehicle and get started on this journey. Other than my family and friends, my subscribers on this platform are the only ones who know about this. Thanks so much to those of you who offered kinds words and encouragement. That means so much to me.

This week at a glance

• I submitted two pieces of art for consideration for an upcoming show.

  

  

• I met with the lovely folks who own Urban Arts House

• I added a comments option to the newsletter located at the bottom of the page.
• I finished the rough draft for my first grant proposal which I will submit this week. I still need to polish it up a bit, but it's almost finished.
• We cleaned out a lot of junk in the house so my husband can work on some renovations.
• I listed some charm bracelets in my online store
• I dropped off a bunch of books at various free little libraries.
• I ate ice cream and/or popsicles almost everyday.
• I went hiking.
• My husband found a brand new portable steamer at the thrift store. I have a really big one, so this was an awesome find. This will work great in the mobile boutique of course.
• I made bagels.

Bagel Recipe

• 4 C warm water
• 4 T honey (or barley malt syrup)
• 4 t salt
• 4 t yeast
• 8-10 C flour

Dissolve yeast with water and honey. When yeast has bloomed add salt and flour and knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl and cover. Let dough rise about one hour or until doubled in size. Once dough has risen, bring a large pot of water to boil and add 2 T of honey. Flour your work surface and your hands, because the dough may be a bit sticky. Punch your dough down, break it into even pieces to make bagels. I prefer to use a bench knife for this process. If you want to make sure each bagel is exactly the same size, you could get fancy and use a scale. This recipe should make about 24 bagels. Form each piece into a ball, poke a hole in it, and spin it around carefully to widen a bit, but not too much. Place on your floured surface (making sure that they don't touch each other) until you move on to the next step.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Once the water in the pot has boiled, carefully drop bagels into the water (you can put several in at a time, but not too much). Cook for about a minute on each side. They should puff up a bit when you do this. While this is happening oil baking sheets for your bagels. You'll need at least two. Carefully drain the bagels as best you can before placing them on the baking sheets. Before baking you can add things to your bagels if you don't want them to be plain.

add-ons

• sesame seeds
• dehydrated onions and/or garlic
• poppy seeds
• coarse sea salt (use sparingly)
• caraway seeds

These are just some examples. The sky's the limit. Get creative with it.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. At the halfway point I always switch the trays on the racks and spin them so they cook evenly. They should be golden brown. If in doubt, do the test that you do for bread and tap them on the bottom. If they sound hollow then they're done.

I discovered a version of this recipe on a blog many years ago and changed things around a lot. I've made these bagels with the new and improved recipe many times, and they always come out just right. Since they freeze very well, I usually keep some of them out and freeze the rest in plastic bags. Get yourself some cream cheese and enjoy.

Thanks for being here. I hope you have a great week.

xo,

Christa

Links

Email: wildchildfibers@gmail.com
Website: https://www.wildchildfibers.com

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