Call it creating space or making a clearing or shifting priorities or what you will, we all do it. And I've been doing it for some time now in a way that affects klog. Blogging has become a less important priority to me, and as such it has sunk to the bottom of my to-do list. Really, the fact that blogging is on my to-do list at all means that the nature of this has changed. For awhile, blogging was an integral part of life for me. Now it's something I sometimes aspire to and then feel bad about not doing. And that's just silly, especially since this blog has always, first and foremost, been for me. And since the space I've created by not blogging has been put to very good use. I'm spending my time in ways that mean more to me than being here does, and that's okay.

February marked five years of klog, and I did note the occasion even if I celebrated it in silence. The truth is, I'm not ready to shut it down. I cherish the snippets of life I've captured here, and I still have moments and projects and thoughts that I want to document. The difference is that our original online community has dissipated to a large degree (or shifted to Facebook), and so there's less incentive to post because so few are still out there reading.

And then there's the reluctance I'm feeling, for the first time, to share some of my more personal, reflective writing. The past two months have been a time of real struggle and real growth for me, and the experience feels sacred in a way that should remain private. Writing has always been therapeutic for me, and I've forfeited that release recently because I feel like any writing I do should be here.

So really, this post is about giving myself permission to change the nature of this place a bit. To accept the evolution and to temper expectations. I'd like klog to continue to be a collection of travel tales and project photos and the occasional story. Whether anyone reads or not, at this point, doesn't matter. You're welcome here, always. But this place is for me and I need to reclaim it, in my own mind, as such.

Namaste, klog. I bid you both a fond farewell and a welcome back, in a way that honors what you have been and what I need you to be.

chess and knitting inside

Every school year, the Nielson household chooses a family theme, like Be prepared or Listen and obey. I like this. So for 2010 I chose a personal theme. A mind-quieting mantra.

To me, "carry on" has two meanings - marching forward no matter what, and having a mischievous good time.

(Rob feels the need to point out that the stress I expressed over getting that print framed without a single piece of lint or cat hair under the glass was not at all in the spirit of the motto.)

This year for Christmas we gave everyone homemade marshmallows. They were easier than I thought they'd be to make, and super fun. Seriously, if you have kids you should make this right away. The way Rob's eyes widened as the marshmallow fluff tripled in size in the mixer...I can only imagine his excitement if he'd been 5 years old.

There are lots of recipes online, and this one does a good job borrowing the best wisdom from many of them. My version is below.

2 1/2 packets of gelatin (about 2.5 tbsp)
1 cup water
1 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
peppermint extract (or vanilla for plain marshmallows)
red food coloring or gel icing (optional)
corn starch and powdered sugar, combined into a mixture of equal parts
cooking spray

You also should have on hand a stand mixer with whisk attachment, wax paper, and a candy thermometer. You can use a 9x13 pan, or a smaller one for thicker marshmallows.

1. Put 1/2 cup water in stand mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top.  Let sit while you do the next steps.

2. In a saucepan, add 1/2 cup water, corn syrup, sugar and salt.  Over low heat, stir until sugar dissolves.

3. Turn heat to high and let boil until candy thermometer reaches about 250 degrees. Use a fairly large pan because the sugar mixture bubbles up a lot as it’s cooking.

4. While that’s cooking, prepare the pan.  Line the bottom and sides with wax paper, then brush on a generous amount of oil and coat with corn starch/powdered sugar mixture.

5. Once sugar mixture on stove has reached 250, carefully pour into mixing bowl with gelatin and water in it while mixer is on medium speed.  Whisk until sugar mixture is completely incorporated.  

6. Turn mixer to high speed.  Mixture will start to get light and fluffy and will expand a lot.  It starts to look like marshmallow creme.  It’ll get about 3 times more voluminous.  Keep mixing until it doesn’t get any puffier (between 5-10 minutes). Right at the end, add a little peppermint extract. Use your judgment on amount as a little goes a long way.

7. Pour into prepared pan. Squeeze red food coloring/gel icing on top over top and swirl with a knife. Smooth top with oiled spatula, if necessary.

8. Let sit overnight.

9. The next day, lift entire marshmallow block out of the pan, and flip it onto an oiled surface dusted with corn starch/powdered sugar mixture. Peel off wax paper and cut into squares with powdered scissors. Dust each marshmallow in corn starch/powdered sugar mixture.

Makes 2-3 dozen. Store in an airtight container.

(I got the candy boxes and decorative wax paper at Williams-Sonoma. They made for a classy gift package, but I couldn't order the boxes without a monogram and so our marshmallows were a bit more pretentious than intended.)