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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Series of Ramblings about my day and otherness

it's six minutes to midnight.  i'm smelling the burnt smell of cookie batter that fell into the oven, and listening to Celtic Woman's Caledonia - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v28is4jFWeo.
the chocolate chunk cookies are looking deliciously crunchy and chewy and chocolatey and all those things that they ought to be, cooling on the bench while I type.
the dishes are waiting on the bench.  no-one did them.  there haven't been enough people around to do them, since a couple of my brothers left - one to go flatting, and another to rather suddenly elope with and marry a beautiful girl over in the States (read the story here).
Finished my last exam today.  I was scared of it, anxious for a couple of days, which was all the time I'd given myself to study.   Studied with a fellow student, Grace, and talked about being a christian, and churches.  Maybe she'll come along to Campus Church, like I asked her too?  ...this morning I got up at around 6:30, with great intentions to stay awake and study for an hour before walking (40 mins) to uni and studying 'til 2:30, which was when the darn exam was.  but I kinda have a way of sleeping in between trying to read my Bible, and falling asleep and waking up and falling asleep after my alarm wakes me.  and  it's all not very disciplined, though it is the most delicious, luxuriant feeling to sleep past the alarm in the mornings.

So I studied at uni, finally.  And worried, and bit my fingernails.  ...boyfriend alex has told me times without number to stop biting my nails.  I have a feeling he doesn't care much what my nails look like, but he knows that deep, deep down I care.  So he's just the lovingest and always tells me reprovingly to stop, and to promise him to stop!  but I can never promise truthfully, because I know that when the temptation comes... or when I get nervous about an exam or essay... good intentions will melt and nail-ends will become ragged.

For all that worry and so-short nails, the exam was good.  It was stimulating.  It was about the 60s, and the Civil Rights Movement, and Feminism, and Gay Rights and Abortion.  and I was happy and productive, filling ten sheets of paper carefully, hurting my fingers and wrist with the pressure.  Thankfully I had three hours in which to write answers to two questions, so a happy amount of time.  Because these questions were my questions and I felt them and believed what I wrote.  and that felt very good.  our souls get tired and strained when they feel out of place and unneeded at university.  we analyze and remember and structure but we get tired, tired.  because there is more to life, but exams and tests and essays trick us for moments into believing otherwise.

Because you will be happy if you make them, I wanted to share this excellent recipe that I found while searching for a chocolate chunk cookie recipe.  They were the first I found and they are good.
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
170g butter melted and allowed to cool a little
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg & 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups dark and white chocolate chunks/whatever you happen to have around

Do the normal thing.  Preheat the oven to 165C.  Sift the flour & soda.  Beat the sugar into the butter & mix in the eggs & vanilla.  Then mix the flour into the wet & add the chocolate.  Remember to add the extra half cup of chocolate:  I didn't, and now I have half a cup of chopped dark chocolate sitting on the bench.  The mixture will be kinda cakey-wet, so leave it for like 2-5 mins until it forms up.  Then form it into balls & stick 'em on a greased tray.  Bake them for 15-20 mins, whatever floats your boat.

Eat them with blue milk and be quite happy.  Share them around with your family/friends and be happier still.

2 Comments:

Blogger Rachel said...

Oh! I LOVE Celtic Woman so much and I listen to their songs over and over. First I've seen that someone else I know shares my love :P

1:04 pm  
Blogger Cinnamey said...

I know something that might help your nails! (it helps me keep mine)

Nail Polish!

Absurd? Tell me about it. I know it sounds vain. But it is the only thing that can stop me from biting my nails.

Of course, in high stress situations, it doesn't always work, but I found that if I went to bite my nails and tasted nail polish, I was reminded not to do it.

It's even better if you have the scented stuff, cause then you smell it before it even reaches your teeth. =)

Anyway, after this long comment about nail polish... I'm off to bed, to dream of chocolate chip cookies. Or Chunk.

12:57 am  

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