catch up

i need to write about a few things, so they can quit taking up space in my brain! there's only so much to go around. and so much has happened this last month that i'd like to write about. so let's just begin, ok?

1. the doula training it was absolutely amazing. Shafia Monroe, who founded ICTC and taught our workshop is an amazing, powerful woman. when she wlaks in a room, you know it. the energy changes. and she is the model for creating spaces that include, that welcome, and that honor differences. her vision is to have a midwife for every 10 blocks in this city. can you imagine? a woman rooted to her place, a woman of the community. someone who not only attends your birth, but is a vital part of your life. can you imagine the difference such woman could make? i aspire to be such a woman.
2. every other week M and i are volunteering at ICTC for Celebrate Your Pregnancy Day. it's a place for a woman to talk to a trained doula about birth plans or nutrition or breastfeeding. a place to enjoy a cup of tea and some fruit. a place to come among women and honor this amazing time. if you know of someone who might benefit (and who wouldn't!), please pass this information along.
3. on the weeks that we're not at ICTC, we're going to Harvest Homes, a care facility in St Johns. we sing and visit with the residents. Mabel is quite the star. almost everyone there has a sister or cousin or aunt named Mabel. she loves the fish tank and listening to Ruby, our 93 year old neighbor, play the piano. last week we went into the Alzheimer's unit. the door is locked, so that every one can be accounted for. but the rooms open up on a central courtyard full of flowers and good light. it's lovely. and we sat with a woman who just smiled and played with Mabel. she said how quickly Mabel has grown, how good it is to see us. she reminded us not to stay away so long. and we won't.
4. Dave and Trev came to visit. and in the biggest surprise, maybe of my life, my mom came along too. M had a great time with her cousin. she loves her uncle too. and for a few days after Nana left, any time i made her angry, Mabel would go over to Nana's bed and call for her. i think she wanted to tell on me!
5. last weekend i went to a writing workshop taught by Paulann Petersen. she is an amazing poet. i left with a notebook full of poems and ideas, new writing exercises to try when teaching, and a full heart. like Shafia, she is a woman at the height of her powers, full of grace and wisdom and joy and plenty of fire.
6. i'm beginning down the long path toward becoming a La Leche League leader. so lots of reading about birth interventions and mother-to-mother support and gentle guidance of children. one of my favorite blogs is written by a woman who homeschools and is a LLL leader. more amazing women in this world. can you stand it?
   
7. i'm starting work on a new zine about homebirth and homeschool and books to read and anything else that might inspire us all to open our eyes to this great world we live in. yea for zines! it's been a while since i've had that iron in the fire. i hope to have the first (small) issue out in the next week or so. certainly before the postage rate goes up. leave me your address, and i'll make sure you get a copy.
   

we made pound cake

well.

let me tell you how to make pound cake.

my mom has unearthed a recipe from the late 1800s. my great grandfather's, who we called Big Daddy (with the accent on the Big), who would hold me in his lap when the trains rattled by the trailer, grandma's recipe.

first you cream a cup of butter with two cups of sugar.

add the 5 eggs one at a time.

add the vanilla. fold in 2 cups of flour.

because i don't have a loaf pan, i baked our pound cake in muffin tins. unlined, greased, then into a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes or an hour.

they turned out just perfect. golden brown, not too sweet. perfect for an afternoon snack. be prepared: they are dense. that's what happens when you bake with no leavening agent.

and then you wash the dishes while the water boils for tea. these personal size pound cakes were even better the next day. i wonder if that's why Dalania made them? because they keep so well.