Blog | Small Notebook

My Plans for the Coming Year

water pitcher

I had checked out some productivity books from the library, but I returned them. They mostly contained tips, pages and pages of tips. I flipped through them, briefly, but then I decided I don’t need to read any more tips. I just need to get stuff done.

I took a true holiday for the end of 2012, barely looking in the direction of my computer and letting myself do whatever I chose. That’s why I finished the year covered with downy white feathers. Feathers in my hair, on my sweater, and stuck to my pants. I made pillows, which is something that I previously felt like I didn’t have time to do. I turned old pillows into new ones, and as I hand-stuffed clean pillow filling into new cases, I had to wonder what makes my brain come up with ideas like this? I don’t know.

I do know that the making of something was very soothing, almost meditative, and it made me feel like time stretched out more than the usual.

I think if I can concentrate on working through tasks and noticing the moments when I’m making something, I will find that place of calm even though my project list and work list is long.

I don’t want to be more awesome. I just want to be.

What do you like to make?

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It’s Enough

Christmas preparations

There’s a quiet little question that sneaks in about this time every Christmas. When you think you’re almost ready with holiday preparations, a nagging little question pops in your head: Will it be enough?

Are there enough presents to open on Christmas morning?

Will the kids be excited with this?

Will there be enough food for the guests?

And the answer is, yes, it is enough.

Those sale prices are tempting, and people load up on things because they are marked at seventy percent off, as if there will never be another sale. Don’t load up on stuff now. You have everything that you need.

Now, go enjoy your holiday. See you in the new year!

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Easy Entertaining: the Snack List

In college, having friends over meant making a tray of brownies or coordinating a potluck dinner. If you cooked the meal by yourself, it meant your friends would be gathered in your living room with a plate of spaghetti balanced on their knees because spaghetti lets you feed five people for a dollar.

After college and when my friends started buying houses, having friends over became replaced by entertaining. “We like to entertain,” people explain when they want to buy a house with a big kitchen and living room. The college-style gatherings don’t seem fancy enough, and the frequent casual gatherings at friends’ houses are replaced by parties with appetizers and wine glasses a couple of times a year.

I want my home to be a gathering place. I need easy snacks that let us invite people over often, even at the last minute. Two or three times a year we invite thirty people over for a big meal and party. Sometimes we have people over for dinner. Usually, though, our plans are “Let’s feed the kids an early meal, and then come over and eat snacks while the kids play.”

Last month when we had some friends over at our house, I tried to fix a snack for all the kids, and I started a small kitchen fire. “Fire!” I yelled, glad I don’t try to impress my friends. Usually I open a bag of chips.

Making people feel comfortable in your home means having easy snacks that don’t look like you made a big fuss or went to a lot of trouble. I always stay ready with coffee, beer, chips, and salsa. For the kids I have bananas, popcorn, and yogurt.

Some people have asked how I stay budget-conscious with our groceries while also providing a lot of snacks for other people, and the answer is easy: we almost never go out to eat. The main reason is that it’s difficult to eat gluten-free at restaurants, and we also need to bring our kids or pay for a babysitter. It’s easier to stay home. For the price of an appetizer and drink at a restaurant, I can buy snacks for everyone from the grocery store. It saves us money, and it saves our friends money too.

What do you like to keep ready to easily serve guests?

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