Writer's Block: Mark my words
May. 13th, 2010 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Yes. In my private life I talk about "paying rent" for the life that I've had. I've worked a suicide hotline, volunteered at events large and small for organizations as varied as New England Leather Alliance and the Smithsonian, and I've tutored in math, social studies, literature, and, currently, technology. I'll take time off from volunteering every once in awhile -- sometimes due to outside circumstances, sometimes due to burnout -- but I always come back to it. I don't know whether this will be a lasting mark or not, but I hope the world is better for my being in it.
I probably wouldn't have responded to this question today if I hadn't heard of the passing of Marian of Edwinstowe.
The lady has left behind a huge legacy. Her home has been shared with many of my friends for greater or lesser periods of time. Her talents as a baker and her dedication to historic cookery are legendary. I've spent time as an assistant in her kitchen, both for the Battlefield Bakery and for dayboards and feasts. Safety was always her first concern, and that's important in a busy kitchen, but she always took the time to explain things -- the why behind the step being performed.
When I did my first dayboard (and my deepest thanks to Morgon who helped me stuff sausages and Rhonwen who still won't even look at a parsnip thanks to me), Marian took the time to tell me what she thought I'd done right and make suggestions for my next one. I was so zonked from all the work that I never feel that I thanked her properly for taking that time and being so kind.
Several of my friends learned to bake scones from her. I'm not a baker, but I hope one of them will take the time to teach me Marian's way of the scone and in time that I will share it with others. Because good food may be ephemeral, but the meals, and the cook who brought us together, are long remembered.
RIP
Yes. In my private life I talk about "paying rent" for the life that I've had. I've worked a suicide hotline, volunteered at events large and small for organizations as varied as New England Leather Alliance and the Smithsonian, and I've tutored in math, social studies, literature, and, currently, technology. I'll take time off from volunteering every once in awhile -- sometimes due to outside circumstances, sometimes due to burnout -- but I always come back to it. I don't know whether this will be a lasting mark or not, but I hope the world is better for my being in it.
I probably wouldn't have responded to this question today if I hadn't heard of the passing of Marian of Edwinstowe.
The lady has left behind a huge legacy. Her home has been shared with many of my friends for greater or lesser periods of time. Her talents as a baker and her dedication to historic cookery are legendary. I've spent time as an assistant in her kitchen, both for the Battlefield Bakery and for dayboards and feasts. Safety was always her first concern, and that's important in a busy kitchen, but she always took the time to explain things -- the why behind the step being performed.
When I did my first dayboard (and my deepest thanks to Morgon who helped me stuff sausages and Rhonwen who still won't even look at a parsnip thanks to me), Marian took the time to tell me what she thought I'd done right and make suggestions for my next one. I was so zonked from all the work that I never feel that I thanked her properly for taking that time and being so kind.
Several of my friends learned to bake scones from her. I'm not a baker, but I hope one of them will take the time to teach me Marian's way of the scone and in time that I will share it with others. Because good food may be ephemeral, but the meals, and the cook who brought us together, are long remembered.
RIP
