To Amuse and Delight

Friday, January 25, 2019

I have been Instagramed

Hello! 
This is my first Utah winter. We have lots of beautiful snow, but it's different that NY snow. Because of the lack of humidity, it is not heavy, soggy and icy. The roads are dry and we haven't lost power once. Yay!
In NY, it was a pretty common occurrence for us to lose power for a week at a time. For us that meant, no light, no heat, no flushing! Eek!

Besides enjoying this beautiful nature, I have been busy editing that craft/kit book I told you about and I have succumbed to peer pressure and joined Instagram. "Peers" being my family and friends. I am glad to be there, running into old and new friends, getting even more inspiration to make beautiful things. 
If you would like to connect with me on Instagram:
Children of Eve/ eve crespo

If you do visit me there, let me know you are a blogger friend. I would love to say hello. 

Friday, January 4, 2019

It's Alive!

Soon after we arrived in Utah we went to an outdoor festival with local artists, food and music. My family has a penchant for hand made one-of-a-kind mugs. You know when a mug is right for you, it fits your hand perfectly and feels just right. I love the idea that it is made from the dirt of the earth, just like us. We made our way over to the potter's stand and I found a perfect cup for me. 

After I purchased my lovely cup the potter and his wife offered me some sour dough starter that has been alive in their family since 1891! I made bread with it a couple of times and then parked it in the fridge. Life got busy and I ignored my poor starter for a couple of months. Last night I decided to take a peek at it. Eek! It was not a pretty sight. There was a pool of grey liquid on top that smelled of strong alcohol. I poured off the liquid and fed it with flour and goat milk in the hope that it may come back to life. It did! I left it to feed overnight and in the morning it was beautiful, active and sweet smelling once again. 

I proceeded to make some pretty tasty sourdough biscuits with it. (That intensely purple stuff is wild blueberry jam I made a few days ago.) I am always amazed at the transformative quality of microbes. Keep feeding the good guys and starve out the bad guys. 

God created our world (and our bodies) to renew itself. It will, if we give it what it needs.  When we're in need of even greater transformation, that same God can give us a turn on his potter's wheel. He can take a rancid old thing and build it back up to glorious life again.


1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 
Jeremiah 18:1-6