Where I've been and going forward.

Well.  I believe I have some explaining to do.

First off, thanks to those who've written -- and I'm sorry that I haven't written back.  When I walked away from the internet a few weeks back, that included, for the most part, my email inbox.  I also apologize to those who were participating in the Big Read -- when I walked away, I walked AWAY. 

Clearly I needed a break. 

Most of us in the blogosphere have dealt with blog angst in some form or another.  I've dealt with it in the past, and it'll pass eventually, but at the moment, I'm just not feeling it.  (IT being a desire to write.)  Compounding the issue is Dread February, which isn't exactly the most inspiring month here in Maine.  And as you may have noticed, I've been particularly sickly this past year, which has dampened my enthusiasm for, well, ANYTHING.  I've hardly read any fiction at all over the last few weeks.

All I've felt like doing in my free time lately are nesting sorts of things:  reading cookbooks and planning my vegetable garden.  (Oh, yeesh -- before anyone starts getting all suspicious:  No, I'm not pregnant.)  My sickliness does have a bright side.  It has resulted in a (quite possibly HELLO, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS) realization:  Up until very recently, my Cheez Doodles and Flavor-Ice diet may have ever-so slightly contributed to my general ill health.  So I've made a huge effort to change my habits, and I've been (I think) succeeding*. 

So that's where I've been.

Going forward, well, we'll see.  I have no plans to stop blogging, but I do think that it'll be a little while before I'm back doing regular daily posts.  And you may be subjected to the occasional freakout about whatever food I've concocted.

The other biggie is that I've been accepted to library school.  Yep.  Finally taking that plunge.  But what with that and other commitments, something has to give:  so I've decided to put the Tallboy on indefinite hiatus.  I feel bad about that, but it is what it is.

Thanks for being understanding.

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*I've been eating vegetables totally voluntarily!  And enjoying them!  Multiple times daily!  And just this week I've made red lentil hummus (their recipe is a bit too salty for me, so next time I'll cut it down a bit) and spinach/cilantro pesto (that one I actually thought needed MORE salt... or something) and I dug out my pasta roller (to make some whole wheat/oat flour pasta (subbed the oat flour for the white), which was lovely) and then there were those coconut-lime bars...

And look at my lovely granola!:

I'm going to make more this morning, actually, as Josh and I pounded the first batch in less than a week.

And my lovely rye bread:

I bought my own copy of That Book so I could stop worrying about getting the library's copy all flour-y.

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Comments

[eisha]

i feel you, dawg. follow your bliss.

[dani]

Yeah!!! You are baking bread!!! I wish I could come and cook with you!!!

[nancypearlwannabe]

Oooh, are you going to Simmons? We'll be co-library school alums! :)

[bookharlot]

That book is spectacular! Their healthy bread book is good too.

I've also been slowly making some diet changes lately...it's hard to break habits, but it's worth it.

I feel the ennui. I've missed the posts, but understand.

[tanita]

YOU are awesome.

I'm sorry I didn't help you with Tallboy. Each time it was in the process, I was doing revisions. I keep wondering how that keeps happening, but it's supposed to be a good thing, right?

When you do something cool like that again, I'm all over it. Meanwhile, we must compare granola recipes. Come over to the Crunchy Side. We have hummus. And DANG, your bread is killing-me gorgeous. D. is now officially jealous, since we're waiting for an order of his favorite flour from ...Canada. And it's snowed in. And your rye bread is giving him Ideas.

[EM]

YAAAY library school! The world needs more librarians like you. (And I confess I had no idea you were NOT a certified MLS already.)

[ICQB]

You GO girl! The bread is gorgeous, the granola is tasty-looking, and library school is FREAKING INCREDIBLE! I'm jealous - my secret ambition in life is to be a librarian.

[Meaghan]

I'm with EM. I thought you were an MLS already.

Glad to see you back. I check your blog every day.

[Jodie]

Congratulations on getting into library school :) I love reading about all the bloggers who are working their way through the courses. Also good to know you've not run away to sea or anything.

[Michelle]

February is killer isn't it? Sort of glad to know it's not just me with a case of the "mehs" these last few weeks. Here's hoping March is better...
Good luck with the dietary shift. BTW - that's some GORGEGOUS bread!

[Dulce]

i will miss all the many book recs (seriously, thanks a million for Heyer!!!!!) but you have to live your life so I understand. I hope your health improves, congrats on healthy eating and on your ability to cook, something i can't do, at all.

Have fun in library school (i too am jealous, even if i do LOVE being a geology major...) and hope the febuary blues don't get you too down

[Els Kushner]

Yay and congratulations on the library school! And the vegetables. And bread. I look forward to hearing your take on it (library school I mean) if/when you have the inclination. Enjoy!

[Elizabeth]

I am in mourning.

[Leila]

Thanks, guys! Encouragement is such a good thing. And it's always so nice to know that there are other people who get the February yucks.

And Elizabeth, there's no need to be in mourning -- I'm not going anywhere, I'm just going to be around a bit less for a while...

[emmaco]

Ooh, I haven't tried that rye bread yet though my copy of the book is quite floury too. I'm pretty sure you'll be feeling better in no time with yummy food like that.

[Jenn]

Yay for library school! It's mostly been a great experience for me, though there have been some classes I'm not so keen on (like cataloging and management). The practical experience you've gained will be a big help, though, and help give you an idea of how to put the information you gain to good use. Best of luck to you!

[Kate]

I'm so glad you're back, Bookshelves of Doom! I, for one, did think you were pregnant. I have two little kids and, while I love them, my reading time has definitely shrunk now that I'm a mother. So, whew! I'm glad you're not having any kids right now! I love your blog too much! I grew up in Nebraska, where February is blech blech. Now I live in Arizona, and it's the best month of the year. Who knew? Anyway, I've missed your blog, big-time!

[Kate]

Oh, and congratulations on library school! Good work!

[Rosten]

Let me just repeat what those above me have already said... I've missed your posts, I'm glad you aren't going away for good, I thought you already had an MLS, I'm grateful for the recommendation of Heyer (and many other great books!) :)
As someone who is halfway through library school, I wish you luck! I've found that working full time and going to school sucks, but at least it goes by pretty quickly. Oh, and I'd like your granola recipe, please!

[Himissjulie]

Congratulations on Library School, and good for you for taking some time for yourself. Very important to do that when needed.

[joanna]

You could start posting about your sock collection and I'd still look forward to your posts. I also do not object to food pictures or recipes. Good luck with all you have ahead of you, including the MLS plunge. Viva Bookshelves of Dooooooooom!

[Sarah]

Yay, Leila!! I'm so excited that you're going to go the MLS route - I'm thinking about it too actually. Fun, fun. And I'm so glad to hear that things are good - and that the veggies are going down with surprising ease. :) I'll be super happy to read anything you post. Thanks for the update!

Sarah I.

[Jess]

Hurray for library school! I hope you have a great experience. Post all the recipes/food stuff you want - I see nothing wrong with mixing food and books.

[Colleen]

So glad you are going to Library School! How exciting for you! And please post whenever and whatever you can - we love all the words you share.

BIG hug.........

[Claire]

Ditto on all of the above, especially the recipes! We miss you out here in the series of tubes, but I'm so glad that you're taking time to regroup and chillax. Hey, maybe you guys should take a Northern California vacation - we make great granola out here too :).

[Blaize]

Thank you for the links to the recipes. In re: the hummus. Have you ever tried making your own tahini? Because I want to try the recipe, but have generally found many commercial tahinis taste rather unfortunately like peanut butter. Peanut butter is fine in and of itself, but not what I'm going for in a hummus recipe.

[Leila]

I've never made my own tahini, but it seems like it would be simple enough -- just sesame seeds and oil, right? I've been using Joyva brand tahini, mostly just because when I saw the can at the store, I recognized it as the same kind that was in our kitchen cupboard growing up. It's interesting, though, that that specific brand seems to inspire widely varying reactions -- some people HATE it, and some swear by it.

Yet another part of the food world to explore...!

[Gina]

Glad you're doing all right! I was getting a bit worried. :-)

[Jeanne]

Yay library school! Glad to hear it.

[Francesca]

I hope you have a ball at school - it was reading your blog two years ago that convinced me to throw in the towel at my totally unrelated job and do an MLIS. In my experience bread can be much harder than library school - and you've got the loaf skills nailed!

[Jes at YI]

Hey man, no sweat. I'm on a bit of hiatus, too - until the end of the month. And Congrats on good food. I'm all for good food. I'm excited to hear more about your vegetable garden... and yippee for library school. :-)

[theduckthief]

I'm glad you're back. I was beginning to get worried when I didn't see any new posts after a week. And congrats on getting into library school!

[[email protected]]

glad you are back!My daughters and I rely on you to buy books for the family teens (and ourselves)

[sassymonkey]

Yay library school! (And laughing at myself because I just got That Book out of the library and highly suspect I'll be buying a copy.)