Art: Mallory Tolcher

I came across the work of Guelph-based artist Mallory Tolcher in this CBC article. In her Nothing But The Net work, she “explores the beauty of basketball.” The series features beautifully hand-crafted basketball nets using materials such as crystals, silk flowers, lace, and artificial pearls.

all photos via Mallory Tolcher

Aren’t they lovely? It’s hard to look at a regular ol’ basketball net after you’ve seen these, I think.

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Food: Recipes I’ve Tried and Loved

I’ve cooked more this year than I ever have in my life. Anyone else in the same boat?

Here are some recipes I’ve tried that worked out well (and that I’ve made multiple times).

  1. Broccoli potato cheddar soup
  2. Potato leek soup (so many times!)
  3. Sheet pan garlic herb butter chicken and potatoes
  4. Chicken provencal
  5. Roast chicken
  6. Chicken noodle soup
  7. Pasta alla vecchia bettola (a version of pasta alla vodka)
  8. Slow cooker pulled pork
  9. Tuna salad cucumber bites
  10. Berry angel food cake roll (my version)
  11. Falafel (from the Gourmet Cookbook)
  12. Raw Caramel Oatmeal Cookies (which my friend and I call protein balls)
  13. Blistered green beans
  14. Sugar cookies and royal icing (my Christmas cookies, my Valentine’s cookies)
  15. Crockpot pork roast (with chicken broth)

I’ll likely add to this as 2021 progresses. It’ll become a handy recipe reference guide (at least for me, but I hope for you, too!).

Personal: February Update of my 2021 Goals

Who else has drafted a list of goals to accomplish in 2021? What’s on your list? How did you to this month?

Here’s an update of my 2021 goals.

  1. Eat more vegetables. Yes! I’ve had a salad for lunch nearly every weekday. That should be good enough, right? I also made this acorn stuffed with chicken recipe, which seemed healthy enough.
  2. Travel. Nope! Unless you count traveling to see my parents for a day.
  3. Save money. Yes! I’m continue to track my spending (mostly on food these days!), and I even met with my bank representative to chat about a few things. I find our discussions quite helpful.
  4. Pass on magazines/books/clothes/puzzles. Yes! I passed on magazines and a puzzle this month. A friend passed on a puzzle to me, too. Fun!
  5. Crochet a blanket. Yes! I’ve started my blanket project. In another 274193 hours, it will be done!
  6. Reduce social media consumption. Nope! Not really. Why is this so hard?
  7. Renovate my bathroom. Nope! But I have made progress in terms of ideas, fixture options, and layout.
  8. Play games. Yes! It’s been a Bananagrams-heavy month! My beau and I now give each other new challenges like words on a theme or number of 5+ letter words. We’re bananagrammers now.
  9. Edit my magazine subscriptions. Nope! There was no need to edit anything this month because none of my subscriptions were up for renewal.
  10. Read more. Yes! This month, I listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking To Strangers on audiobook. He narrates it and there are snippets from others, too, so it was an enjoyable audiobook. I’m also a fan of Gladwell, so I appreciated his presentation of research about how people meet, communicate, judge, and trust one another (and how they don’t!). Chapter 5 was a difficult one to get through because it deals with the topic of sexual abuse, and there are audio clip testimonies from courtrooms in the audiobook version. I’m also just about finished Nick Hornby’s Just Like You (on audiobook), and I’ve enjoyed it (but I’ve always been a Nick Hornby fan). I’m also one chapter into Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer for my faculty book club at work. We’ll be reading and discussing it over the next few months.
  11. Blog. Yes! I have blogged regularly this month. I like being back in regularly contact with my own blog and others, too.
  12. Embrace cross country skiing. Sort of! I got out once this month. Not bad. Not great.
  13. Cross stitch. Nope! I planned out my project, but that’s it.
  14. Have fun! Yes! I did have some fun in February, even though there were some challenging days.

Previous updates: January

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