So we’re still unpacking from our move. We’ve made huge progress, but as it turns out, we have lots of stuff. One thing you might not know about me:  even though I’m a control freak (of the freakiest variety), I don’t enjoy working alone. If someone would just sit with me while I worked, I would get stuff done a lot faster. Because of this, shall we say, “work style,” I take frequent breaks.

And by “frequent breaks,” I mean that I work for fifteen minutes and sit around for 30 or 45. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth. This is particularly prevalent when I’m working on LOOOOONG tasks, such as figuring out where to put a house full of stuff.

The good thing about having a less-than-favorite job to do is that you get to think of creative ways to put it off. For me:

PIE-CRASTINATION–the process of making pie instead of doing the other tedious/difficult task at hand.

That’s what I did this afternoon when I whipped up a Spinach, Cheddar, and Bacon Quiche.

Here’s what I did:

I lined a glass pie plate with a 9 inch crust. Then I preheated the oven to 375 degrees. I’m just assuming it’s really 375 degrees, because it’s a new (to me) oven, and I haven’t figured it all out yet.

Next, I placed cheddar cheese slices (because that’s what I had and need to use up before our vacation this weekend) and sautéed spinach and onion in the pie crust.

Sidebar: I used spinach from our awesome farm share with Oxen Hill Farm. I was hoping for some success after today’s KALE FAIL at lunchtime. I attempted some Kale Chips that ended up tasting like salty, burnt, fall leaves from the yard.

I solicited advice on the internet, so I’m hoping the next batch will be more like actual food…

Anyway, next I added some slices of tomato and some crumbled bacon. Because bacon makes everything just a little more awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I poured in a mixture of 3 eggs, 1 and 1/4 cups of milk, 2 tablespoons of flour, and some salt and pepper.

I baked the quiche for 50 minutes. I’ve learned that when you’re cooking eggs, you gotta watch it. I take them out when they still look a little soft. The quiche sits for 10-15 minutes on the counter, and it continues to firm up. Overcooked protein is gross, so it’s worth being careful.

Our family of four ate all but one little slice (breakfast tomorrow). The real success story here is that I managed to avoid unpacking for over an hour. If you ever really crave pie, just ask me to clean out the garage. 🙂

 

 

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

                    ― Marthe Troly-Curtin

 

Years ago, when we first moved into our house in Conyers, Georgia, a long-time friend of my husband’s gave us a wonderful CD. It’s full of great music for entertaining, and the best part, in my opinion, is the groovy cover that our friend designed just for the occasion. We’ve played the CD tons of times–for ourselves and for company, and I thought it would be the perfect soundtrack for the very first pie in our new home.  We’ve been renting in the same Connecticut town for a year, and we just bought a home this month. We’ve slept here four nights, and we’ve been very busy cleaning, unpacking, and meeting new neighbors.

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve learned so much in our first year as New Englanders:

• What “real” snow is like. (AND what shoveling it is like)
• Our “coats” before were not really coats.
• We really were slower drivers than we thought. HOOOOONNNKKK!!
• You haven’t seen fall ’till you’ve seen it in New England–come visit us!
• “LOOKIT” is a word here. It’s a verb.
• There are still places where people leave their doors unlocked.
• Kind, friendly people live in all parts of this great country.
• Southerners are the ones who know how to make biscuits and grits. (If I’m wrong, somebody PLEASE tell me where to go, because I haven’t found it yet.)
• There were so many beautiful and interesting kinds of people–of many faiths, creeds, and origins–that we just hadn’t met yet. I’m so thrilled about the diversity my kids have experienced so far.
• I think the most important thing, though is this:

Don’t give up on your dreams.

I know that sounds hokey and cliché. But a couple of years ago, when my husband and I said, “Let’s live in New England” it seemed like something that could never really happen. So many different steps got us here. Things weren’t smooth along the way. We got stressed out. We got tired. Our kids had struggles. We had struggles. It was not easy or quick.

Now, though, the hard stuff seems blurry when I look back. I’m grateful for what we have learned so far on this journey, and I know we’ve got a lot more to learn. I’m humbled to be sitting at my new desk in our new home as a write this. And I’m inspired to ask, 

“What’s the next dream?”

There was a time when I didn’t ever ask myself this question, and I don’t know the answer yet, but I’m definitely thinking about it.  For now, though, I’m dreaming of Cherry Pie. I haven’t even really been to the grocery store since we moved in, and we’re going on vacation soon, so we’re just eating whatever’s around. I did, however, move some pie crusts and cherry filling from our other house. Sure, I want to make real pie crust very soon and share pie with some of our neighbors, but the smell of that cherry pie baking makes me care a little less about perfect crust. All that’s left is to get some ice cream…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

                                                                    –H. Jackson Brown, Jr.