Progress #5. go greener

I've been roasting a lot of green Ethiopian coffee beans these days, which saves on the woes of packaging, as roasted beans are often stored in foil and plastic unrecyclable bags to preserve freshness, while green beans can be stored and shipped in single paper recyclable bags. I'm trying to find my perfect bean, so that I can buy in large industrial bulk in green, which should help preserve even more in packaging. Also, every time I think I'm learned about coffee, I pick up new knowledge through research, which is a fortunate byproduct.

I store all the beans in washed jars saved from sauces or pickles.

(Also, by the way, I currently roast exclusively in an old popcorn popper from my childhood, so that is the best repurpose endeavour in the world. Trust me.)

The above roast is my favourite thus far: An Ethiopian Limmu from the Burka Gudina Estate, light-medium roast, natural process.

I make my coffee exclusively by pour over and, though the filters are biodegradable, they are still waste. I bought these "Coffee Socks", which are reusuable cotton. I used them for the first time today, and they make a really clean cup.

I think sometimes what people don't realize with "eco" living, is that it actually saves money over time -- what is disposable in and of itself seems cheap, but you quickly earn back your money if you can use something repeatedly, indefinitely.

I think I will save the coffee grinds to sprout my saved tomato seeds for garden seedlings, as experimentation says that tomato seeds will sprout as well in coffee grounds as in soil.

Speaking of seed-saving, the tomato plants from the first cherry seeds I saved in my Aerogarden are flowering, which means it will be time soon for delicious homemade salsa. It's a constant cycle of reuse!

Lastly, I am obsessed with my dehydrator. I can make the greatest crackers from saved almond pulp and flax. 

I currently have two trays devoted to drying out fresh herbs.

The last tray is currently host to something new: Fruit roll-ups of yellow plum jam and applesauce (of which I obviously saved the jar -- good large size for 1 lb of coffee beans). I don't usually line with parchment paper, but it is advisable here for the ease of cutting and rolling.

Original goal list posted here

Progress: #1. Propose a written text for publication

This is a carry over from my last 3 year set, because I was waiting for authentic motivation. It's taken some up close arts & crafts, some ASD advocacy, some self-reflection and some Writer's Craft inspiration, but I'm going to give it a go. I am going to create my graphic novel memoir.

First, I pulled out all my graphic novels and set them in piles according to publishers. I noted authors and drew up some notes of similarities between their work and my own.

Next, I researched graphic novel publishers and submission specifications -- including some publishers of some of my favourites, and some smaller scale publishers. I also wrote down a list of individual authors to contact directly, and found at least 7 accessible email addresses.

Subsequently, I went through old photo boxes for sources and pulled them, too, along with any old interesting works or writings from various ages.

I tested all my pens and inks.

I pulled out my old bubble and frame templates, some papers, and some old comics of mine for potential use or inspiration.

I noted down a basic outline and - friends, I'm ready to go. It looks as though for most submission requirements, I'll need 5-20 inked and complete pages, a cover mockup, proposed length, and a synopsis, so I'm going to accomplish those things before any further contact work.

The best thing about this sort of work is that I can carry it with me whenever I'm out, should the time or desire strike.

I'm glad to feel I have a focus.



Original goal list posted here

Progress: #15. Read and write more poetry

I dream of late of poetry, so I took it as a sign.

"so live and remember

burn as if you were an ember 

capable of starting fires

like each moment inspires the next

like memories are the context we put ourselves in

and life is the next of kin we need to notify 

in case of a big bang or extinction level event

let now be our advent

let us live like we meant it 

burn like we mean it

because this world doesn't give a shit 

if we end in a train wreck or a car crash

if your story ends with a dot or dash if you were dust or ash

because all we were is all we’ll be

because all we are is the in-between of so far so good

so forget every would could should not

forget remembering how we forgot

live like a plot twist exists now and in memory

because we burned clear and bright

our light leaves scars on the sun

let no one say we will be undone by time's passing

the memories we are amassing will stand as testament

that somehow we bent minds around the concept

that we see others in ourselves

that self-knowledge can't be found on bookshelves

because who we are has no bearing on how we appear

so look directly into every mirror

realize our reflection is the first sentence of a story

and our story starts

we were here."

- Shane Koyczan, "Remember How We Forgot"

Original goal list posted here

Completed: #21. Bake a vegan tourtiere

Now that I've checked off some familial Christmas Eve culinary traditions from Geoff's side, I thought I'd try my hand at my own traditional familial Christmas morning breakfast: Vegan Tourtiere.

I followed my mom's exact recipe for the interior. However, I did not have all the ingredients to follow her pastry recipe, so I went with a variation of the uszka pastry, using the millet flour I had on hand.

At one point, Geoff came upstairs and asked how it was going. I said "I don't want to talk about it". He said okay and went back downstairs. That was probably a good idea.

To quote my dad "It's ugly as sin, but it'll do." I tasted the filling and it's 👌, so I'm sure it will taste fine, regardless of aesthetics. If not: Well, that's what Ketchup is for.

(In better news, I got to break out the new little red pot and deep skillet. You know you're #adulting when your Christmas list is all about kitchenware and socks.)

Original goal list posted here

Completed: #33. Hang something on the wall

Despite all appearances, perhaps, I am a highly avoidant person. When I have a negative experience with something, my mind does much anxious blocking prevention from ever having me do that thing again. This has been problematic in therapeutic endeavours and physical activity. This is why it is good that I am paid to be at work (wherein I discover negative experiences are 1. learning experiences, 2. par for the course, and 3. far outweighed here by the positives -- so you'd think I'd take this and largely apply it to my life. Alas.) This is why I will likely never work at a camp again, never make another social outing at a bar, never take another kickboxing class, never try my hand at homemade sushi again, and why I avoid phone calls if there is any other option, ad infinitum. Those things are perhaps understandable.

My hope, though, is that this all helps to give you context for why such an apparently "easy" goal is on this list. I honestly, before today, thought that hammering nails and screws (ha) for hanging was an art for the especially skilled.

This is because once I tried to hang one of my own paintings and the first nail must have been positioned over a stud and kept breaking when I tried (very hard) to hammer it. In the next position, the nail fell into the wall. Twice. This was maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I swore off ever hanging anything again.

I'd leave it to the pros -- my mom and my fiancé: "Little help? Please?"

The trouble with having very understanding people around you is that of course they will do things to help ease your anxiety and so it is easy to avoid "difficult" things forever.

(Though, again, you'd think if I eventually learned how to drive a car - I failed like seven driving tests in my life, p.s.* - I could take on hammering a nail again. Alas.)

In accordance with my last goal, I made so many anatomical birch scroll wood burns that my studio was getting crowded. I knew where I wanted to hang them but felt I couldn't fairly ask Geoff to hammer eight nails in a row with specific width expectations. I'd just have to rough it out on my own.

It was fine.

To quote a church sign, it wasn't "rocket surgery" (most badass profession ftw).

I used pliers to flatten some photo clips and hemp string to create some rustic hanging ties, because I thought it went best with the aesthetic. Then I secured them with a glue gun. Easy. The second easiest thing I did today, by the way. The first involved nails and a hammer. 

That second task was so invigoratingly easy that I followed it up by screwdriving a screw into the wall and hanging my beautiful vintage garage-saled bird clock that I bought in, oh, August?

Need to hang some things? Hit me up. Better yet, do it yourself. I believe in you.

*Eight years on the road now and no accidents, by the way. You want to talk about anxiety? I just hate passengers with clipboards and silent judgement.



Original goal list posted here

Completed: #23. Practice anatomical drawing

All of the following pieces are replicas from Anatomy and Pathology, 5th Ed. All are completed on birch bark scrolls foraged by my uncle. All are rendered with a wood burner and colourized with watercolour paint.

I think I'm going to call this goal complete, but I have some related ideas for upcoming paintings. I'm quite into freak art these days (thanks, Chris Simpsons artist) and I'm thinking of merging human and animal anatomy images, using acrylic on canvas. I haven't painted in awhile. Also: I think they'd sell, and I wouldn't hang them on my own wall, so... win-win.

Original goal list posted here