in case you were wondering

The title of my blog is the title of one of my favourite Robert Frost poems, After Apple-picking. It appears in his collection North of Boston. I don't read it very often, because it makes me feel a particular kind of sadness. I wanted to remember that feeling the other day though, and so I read it. Poetry is a portal to both parallel worlds and the past. I love that.

Lexi.x

MY long two-pointed ladder’s sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still,
And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.
But I was well
Upon my way to sleep before it fell,
And I could tell
What form my dreaming was about to take.
Magnified apples appear and disappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.
And I keep hearing from the cellar bin
The rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
For I have had too much
Of apple-picking: I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it’s like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.

chocolate orange polenta cookies @ Honest Cooking

Hello there! Today my recipe for Chocolate Orange Polenta Cookies is up over at Honest Cooking.

I gotta say, they're pretty yummy.

Lexi.x

link love

It's Sunday night and I just felt like I should write. But I haven't cooked anything. In fact, I've slipped into that place where you just kinda eat toast for every meal and your stomach lets you do it and you drink lots of tea. I've been unwell as well as busy this week, so I guess that's okay.

It's a cold, wet night but I'm feeling that Sunday evening optimism for the week ahead that pops up sometimes. I think it is at least partly because this is attached to my head:

A lovely friend bought me a vintage bonnet-style hair dryer last week, as I've just recently had my hair cut into a proper 1940s/1950s style. I think this hot air-filled hat is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me since I met Quincy. Not only because it dries my pin curl set while I watch the news or knit or edit my goddamnmofoofathesis, but because it warms my brain up real good, too, and makes me feel all sort of awesome and relaxed. Like how I imagine Quincy feels when she's grilling her paws under the column heater on the rug.

So I thought I'd share some excellent things I've read/cooked/seen/wanted recently. Spread the love, etc.


1. Tavi Gevinson's TED talk pretty much made my week. Watch it and send it to all the young women (especially teenagers!) that you know.

2. Lovely Miss Mimi who writes 1972: The Retro Weight Watchers Experiment is holding a retro Weight Watchers potluck, and guess who's bringing main dishes?! That's right, yours truly - along with my gelatin-molding pal Emily over at Dinner is Served 1972. You know my friends are just dying to be chosen to come eat the results with me. Stay tuned!

3. I discovered this blog and read it all afternoon while I was stuck in bed. It's a really great resource for wallet-friendly recipe ideas - but it also really got me thinking about food prices in Australia. Have a look and see what you think. Or just skip straight to this chocolate mug cake. Doesn't that look awesome?1? It almost makes me wish I had a microwave.

4. Shoes at Kate Spade. I die.

5. Twin Peaks-themed fabrics at Spoonflower. Let's Rock.

6. I love Bon Appetit's Friday afternoon cocktail series, The Happy Hour. This week, it's vodka, lime, mint, blueberries and St-Germain - that gorgeous elderflower liqueur - in a Blueberry Smash. Totally bookmarked for summer.

7. I've started running again. I'll explain why soon, but I came across Team Bangs on the Run's site this week and totally gobbled it all up. Start with the team mannifesto, check out how hot they all are and sign up for the newsletter for great tips.

8. I love links. I can't help it. I had my first hot dog from Snag Stand this week and I really, really enjoyed it. They had a vegetarian chorizo hot dog on the menu. I wanted that, also.

9. My kingdom for a horse. Or, to be able to write like this. I read this over an otherwise miserable lunch and it took my breath away.

10. Some people believe procrastination is a good and productive thing. I am one of them. LOOK WHAT I FOUND.

Lexi.x