BitterSweet

Rushing around in the predawn hours before yet another day at school, such a daunting number of tasks demand attention that it would seem as though I would have no choice but to clone myself in order to be everywhere at once. Even after my first cup of coffee sends caffeine surging through my veins, the manic race to get out the door and beat my train into the station feels like an impossible triathlon. Having never been an athlete of any sort, the odds are clearly stacked against me from the get-go. Throwing various books, skeins of yarn, and lunch items into my bag with abandon, it’s easy for the minute details to get lost in the fray. Many a day do I arrive at school and instantly remember that report that was left on the kitchen table, or those notes that were painstakingly written out and thoughtfully placed beside my computer, where they all still remain. Worst of all is when my wallet is the item du’jour that has been temporarily forgotten - Something that happens embarrassingly often.

Tactlessly trying to avoiding train conductors looking to collect the ticket that is now miles behind me, this first inconvenience is only the beginning. The real trouble is when lunch comes, and those cruel vending machines selfishly refuse to cough up just one measly bottle of water for me. Hands scraping along empty pockets, my throat feels dry enough to rival any dusty desert. Cursing the consumerist society that puts a price on a necessity as basic as water, there’s usually little choice but to accept my thirst and manage it for the remaining hours of the school day, until a bountiful faucet is at my disposal once more.

This time, however, a fellow classmate saw me looking anguished in front of these uncompromising drink dispensers and inquired as to the source of my distress. Looking quite blue himself, I hardly felt that I had any right to complain about my own malaise, especially when it was all caused by my scatter-brained oversight. Quite the trooper, he swore up and down that he was honestly better than it seemed, beaming with a bright smile that made it hard to doubt his assertion.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he generously offered to spare me the pain of thirst and confidently thrust the requisite number of coins into my hands. Feeling guilty to have evoked such pity, I attempted to convince this kind samaritan that I really would be fine. Although I normally find it very difficult to accept money, even after working a job or completing a commission, it didn’t take him long thwart my arguments and wear me down. After all, what’s a few cents between friends?

As much as I hate relying on the kindness of others, this strapping young fellow was quite the god-send. I wish it were as easy for me to remember some simple spare change as it is for him; It seems like no matter what happens, he always has extra coins tucked away somehow!

Thinking of something as an unforeseen event typically evokes negative connotations for me, as the past couple years have been full of some pretty painful surprises. Usually when this phrase comes up, it is accompanied by some terrible news, more horrendous than even the previous hardship. Well, time continues on and now change is in the air, pushed gently ahead by the cool breeze of a new season, straight into what could very well be the next chapter in my life. Suddenly I find myself face to face with another unforeseen event, but this time, it’s so fantastical I can hardly believe it’s true. The surprise is similar, but the accompanying joy is completely unfamiliar. Good luck is not something I tend to have in abundance, if at all, but now it seems as though I’ve won the lottery. However, my prize is far greater than any sum of money.

You may have already noticed some changes taking place here, namely in the frequency of my posting. Priding myself on taking no breaks, posting almost everyday, it would appear as though I’ve started slacking. Truly, it’s quite the contrary; I’ve been working around the clock, with scarcely a moment to complete my homework! Countless hours have been spent slaving away in the kitchen, even more so than usual, because… Well… I can’t believe it myself, but I’ve been working on recipes for my own cookbook of vegan desserts!

When I was first approached by Alisa of Go Dairy Free about this possibility, I was incredulous, to say the least. I still am. Honestly, the timing has been so perfect, it’s an absolute dream come true - Just days before receiving her first email, I had been musing aloud to my mom about how much fun it would be to actually compile my recipes for a book. A real book, a published book… It doesn’t even sound like a reality yet!

So please bear with me if I don’t have as many new posts available for your reading pleasure, but rest assured, I’m still crafting like mad despite my baking frenzy. For now, I’ll leave you with just a few teasers of what you can expect to find in my book…

It feels as though all of a sudden, spring must have crept in through an open window one night. It was marked on the calendar right and proper, and I do remember observing daylights savings, (Pointless ritual that it is) but the lengthened days of sunlight and warmth are still a shock to my system. After that winter that really wasn’t, it hardly feels right to continue on without it, but what is one to do? Mother nature won’t be bothered with such petty complaints when there are seeds to sprout, flowers to bloom, animals and insects to prod out of hiding! The season is still young, but there is so much to do; Spring could hardly wait another day before manifesting itself! Small mounds of compacted snow still remain, spotting the earth like unsightly pimples on an adolescent face, slowly retreating back into the ground and further distressing the swollen streams. Watching them melt makes the landscape appear some how changed, different from the last time I saw it without a covering of slick, glistening ice. Come to think of it, some thing was definitely out of place here… I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Pacing around the muddy dirt immediately outside my garage door, an unsettled feeling rose steadily in my gut. What is it? What’s wrong? It was driving me mad. Having lived here for the majority of my life, I should be able to tell when some thing is amiss. Venturing further and further from my haven, it was another few minutes before I finally laid eyes upon a large rock near the perimeter of our property. Out of the way and easy to overlook, I was certain that something about it was drastically changed even from my present distance. Picking up my pace and seeing the full picture in clearer focus, I was shocked to see exactly what it was that had disrupted my sense of normalcy.

No small fallen branch or waterlogged tree truck, sitting in plain sight was a multi-million year old Nautiloid! Unearthed by the motion of melting snow, there was no denying that this was an authentic piece of history in my backyard, a small glimpse into a world that we can only make educated guesses about with today’s technology. While on rare occasion our backyard has been known to cough up a random fragment of clay pottery of mysterious origin, this find was unprecedented! What to do? Who to tell!?

Coiled contentedly around itself, eyes unblinking, I was fairly sure that my little nautiloid wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. After unimaginable lengths of time buried beneath the earth, I would imagine that a few more minutes would hardly even be a drop in the bucket. Feet pounding the soggy terrain, I made a mad dash back into the house to alert some one, any one still home. Scaling stairs about as gracefully as a drunken leprechaun, my breath was growing short and yet not a soul could be found to share my amazing discovery with. Just my luck!

Finally, after a torturous wait, my parents returned from an early grocery expedition and I ambushed them, pregnant with news. Dragging both all the way into the corner of the yard, we all peered with excitement at the designated rock to see… A big rock. The nautiloid was gone! Perhaps it was able to stay hidden for so long because it wasn’t exactly fossilized after all… But I guess the world may never know.

Serving sizes in your typical American restaurants have frequently pushed the envelope to convey the idea of offering a better deal to their customers, but it’s lately begun to cross the line straight into absurdity. Take a look at your plate next time you eat out - Would that have been a normal portion had you served it up in your own home? As a sign of wealth and abundance, it’s easy to understand the draw for frugal consumers, and the prospect of repeat patronage entices producers to lower their prices, albeit in direct proportion to their quality. Sadly, money tends to be the driving force in decisions that should have more to do with either taste or health, creating a highly economical and addictive sludge that some people call “fast food.” Even if it isn’t purely junk food in question, what point are we trying to prove when a monstrous meal that could stuff a whole team of football players shows up at your table, with you being the sole recipient instead? Some eateries are even becoming known primarily for their outrageous displays of excess, but honestly, is there ever a time that one would need to ingest a burrito the size of your head all in one sitting?

Despite knowing the truth about such compromised but copious “value” meals, sometimes we must make do with what’s available and put ourselves at the mercy of those massive menus and overly-generous servers. Short on time and energy as dinner approached one day, I took just such a gamble and tried to pick up the most edible veggie burger I could find. What was placed in front of me after a brief wait was in sharp contrast to the innocent order I thought I had just placed.

Too thick to even fit in my mouth all together, the towering stack of bread, soy cheese, patty, and veggies dwarfed my bottled condiments as if they were simply misplaced childrens’ toys. Intimidated, I wasn’t sure how to approach such an large veggie burger, but began preparing to disassemble and redress my feast with a nice smear of mustard as per usual. It didn’t take long for me to see that even if I did manage to put it back together, there was no way I would be able to actually take a bite out of it!

As much as my meal seemed immense at first glance, it barely even tipped the scale in comparison to so many other offerings out there these days. In fact, spreading each layer out further, it almost even appeared to be a reasonable amount. Perhaps I was going through denial, wanting only to dig in and forget about what was best for my body, or maybe this is just a standard side-effect of prolonged exposure to America’s steadily inflating eatables. This is in fact a common symptom of what I like to call the Super-Sizing Syndrome. Inability to gauge hunger, insatiable cravings for deep-fried anything, and a lack of will to refuse otherwise unappealing fast food can be other signs of this dreaded ailment if nothing is done in time. Speak to your doctor if you think that you or a loved one might be afflicted, because the longer you wait, the worse it gets.

Despite my hunger, I suddenly just wanted to escape the grease-soaked seat that I occupied in the restaurant, fearing in earnest that the Super-Sizing Syndrome might take me as its next victim before long.

When it comes right down to the fact, it’s ultimately up to one’s own point of view on appropriate helpings, whether those decisions are made by an intoxicated brain, influenced by the Syndrome, or not. It’s all relative after all… I just think I might be happier far away from this unnaturally voluminous fare, where I don’t need to consider the repercussions of polishing off my whole plate.

Few if any flavors on earth have quite such a die-hard following as chocolate. It has a long and speckled history, being deemed first delicacy, then a source of evil, gaining favor again and becoming aphrodisiac, and finally being linked to heart-health in this day and age. In our own personal histories, I would bet that this indulgence comes up quite frequently as well, in numerous forms such as cakes, cookies, or just a solid bar of it itself. While it’s practically obligatory for me to wax poetic about my own unwavering love for the “food of the gods” at this point, I must confess that chocolate had never been something that I really craved. Sure, it certainly wasn’t a bad addition to desserts in general, and I was always forthcoming with new cocoa-based recipes for those insatiable demands from my loved ones, but I could almost guarantee that even as a child, you would never find me reaching for the chocolate bars stashed neatly away on the top shelf. For some reason, I just never fully understood the draw, the passion that some people had for what I considered to be nothing more than a chunk of ground beans and sugar. ...Until now.

Little did I know that my ambivalence towards the stuff had more to do with the chocolate itself than my own taste buds. After a few years of trying new foods and becoming accustomed to my developing preferences, I simply wrote it off as some other sweet item, no different than any other flavor out there. It turns out that all that time, and even as a vegan now, I had been under the influence of… cheap chocolate. The horror! Pinching pennies and conserving my food budget for other kitchen staples, chocolate had always gotten the short straw, and in the case of this highly esteemed bean, you really do get what you pay for. With unnecessary additives for shelf-stability and mass production, what found its way into my pantry had about the culinary value of Spam.

How did this revolutionary concept ever occur to me with my head buried deep within my “mockolate,” you may ask? Well, unbelievably lucky as I am, I recently had the great fortune to have some real chocolate fall into my lap - And I’ve continued falling with it ever since. Lake Champlain Chocolates, made in Vermont from only fresh, natural ingredients simply look like bona fide jewels compared to what I’m accustomed to. Although many of their offerings are not vegan, they do have an impressive selection of dark chocolates without any dairy, including some tempting hot chocolate mixes among other various products. Usually being rather limited even in my selection of cheap chocolates at the grocery store, I was thrilled to stumble upon a whole package of all-vegan chocolate squares in their repertoire.

Totaling 24 seductive squares making up 6.7 ounces of solid, unadulterated cocoa bliss, the mere sight of the Select Origin Chocolates box is enough to make even the most indiscriminate chocoholics and voracious omnivores sigh with desire. Almost everyone will agree that better quality chocolates don’t need the addition of extra sweeteners or milk to enhance their natural flavors, and Lake Champlain Chocolates will confirm this notion once and for all. If you still consider anything this indulgent to be junk food, just consider the health claims when it comes to pure dark chocolate - With all the natural flavonoids and anti-oxidants, there shouldn’t even be any guilt attached to this purchase!

Representing various geographic areas in which cacao is grown, this box claims that different beans contain a wide range of unique characteristics which become detectable after fermentation. Proving such a theory might be difficult with for many name-brand mockolates out there today, sourcing ingredients that are of questionable origin themselves, but if anyone could ever do it, Lake Champlain would be the ones to put it to the test. Included in this mouth-watering assortment are beans grown in Africa, Grenada, Sao Thome, and Tanzania, in varying percentages of cocoa content.

I must preface by saying that as a recent convert to the way of the cacao bean, I have no expertise in evaluating this most beloved prize. Like an ignorant beginner in wine-tasting, the words “woody,” “dry,” or “thin” make no connection in my mind to any sort of food-related memory. That being said, I can tell you what I enjoy and why I think it’s good, which is really what counts when it comes down to choosing your after dinner treat, isn’t it?

That being said, the moment this new, potent incarnation of everyone’s favorite aphrodisiac hit my tongue, I knew there was no turning back. Every glossy square was composed of the smoothest, most velvety substance I’ve ever experienced putting in my mouth - So obscenely silky that I hadn’t before even considered it to be a natural texture in terms of food. The magic came in the first bite, snapping a corner clean off with one swift cleave of the teeth and an audible ‘pop!’ that rang through the air like a bell. Slowly melting, allowing one to savor every last drop of flavor, it was nothing like any chocolate I had ever known.

Starting at the lightest end of the scale for cocoa content, the 54% African Blend was first on my hit list. Deliciously sweet and simple, it reminded me of some of my best experiences in childhood with chocolate chips and bars. The creamy texture had me hooked, although the overall flavor was nothing I found particularly spectacular that would make it stand out in comparison to other chocolates on the market. Moving up to the 60 % cocoa from Grenada, I found that this percentage had only a mild increase in flavor intensity, making for a slightly less sweet but still very mellow and pleasant flavor. Since this was only a 6% discrepancy, I hadn’t expected them to have jarringly diverse tastes overall, but I was so far only moderately impressed.

When I got to the Sao Thome at 70% however, all five senses went wild. The aroma, the feel, the smell, everything told me that this would be a pleasurable experience. Instantly I discovered it had a markedly unique tone, coming off as being deeper, richer, and somehow infinitely smoother. The simple sweetness present in the earlier squares had dissipated, now replaced by a more mature and sophisticated bite. Bowled over by this sensation, it was incredible how such a tiny amount of chocolate could focus my whole system on the experience of consuming such a luscious commodity. I swear that just a crumb could have coated my entire tongue like the softest and most comfortable blanket I had every taken shelter beneath. If I could only have one type of chocolate for the rest of my life, it would be this kind that I would demand, without question. I exaggerate not; While I’ve encouraged my mom to share much of this treasure with me, if one of those from Sao Thome turns up missing, there will be hell to pay.

Finally, reaching the uppermost level of cocoa content at 75% with the square from Tanzania, perhaps my taste buds had just reached their climax and tired out, but this one didn’t strike me quite as much. Still fantastic and intense, all the sweetness had been replaced by pure chocolate essence. At times the faint bitterness would remind me of a nice, strong cup of black coffee, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This one was very strong and not something that the children would probably take a liking to, but I found it to be a luxurious extravagance quite befitting of an after dinner nibble. Certainly not something I would turn down if offered, unlike my early response to any sort of chocolate up for grabs.

Whether you buy into the idea of potential health benefits, nuances in flavors depending on origin, natural ingredients, or anything else that this package offers up, there are few sweets more satisfying to the soul than chocolate. Now that I’ve learned the error of my ways, it will be difficult to sate my appetite for such high-end vegan chocolate, but truly, the sacrifice will be worth it; Was it not Shakespeare who said “T’was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?”

In addition to their year-round selection of truffles, chocolate bars, and chocolate covered-almonds, they have holidays covered at Lake Champlain Chocolates as well; Can you say “solid dark chocolate Easter bunnies?”

I suppose that this may be the one time that it’s perfectly vegan to eat rabbit! Just try to restrain yourself and divide this sweet fellow up into multiple portions for your own sake - After only scratching the surfacing on this 9.7 ounce cocoa bunny, I think I could be on the verge of a cocoa-induced coma right about now… But even so, I think I finally understand what makes quality chocolate worth all of the obsession, and even possible chocolate comas.

[Written for Go Dairy Free]

Dogs are man’s best friend, or so it has been said, which could at least partially explain my enthusiastic love for them. Beyond taking care of my own flesh and blood pup, of whom I show gratuitous pictures of every now and then, I find that every other time I finish tying off a new stuffed animal and weave in the ends, I’ll turn it to face me and find the soulful eyes of yet another pooch staring back. Even when I don’t consciously decide what the end product should look like, my idle hands are known to spontaneously bringing together raw materials and randomly choose to create… More times than not, some sort of incarnation akin to a canine. Sometimes it will be a specific breed, other times a generic dog-type-figure will satisfy my inner mutt just fine. We’re all mongrels when it comes right down to it, so as long as it has two floppy ears, a wagging tail, and a big black nose, that’s good enough for me.

I guess you could say that I found buried treasure even more valuable than fido’s bone hidden in the backyard when I stumbled upon a pattern for a felt scottie - Cute enough to pluck my heartstrings like a guitar, there was no way I could pass this one up. Initially put off by the clear recommendation to hand sew the whole thing, it took a whole lot of courage to actually start making preparations to begin. Accustomed to the soothing hum of my sewing machine, manipulating fabric without it just feels wrong and insufficient. I’ve lost faith in my ability to sew lasting seams with my own hands, and with the impractical amount of time it would require to complete any serious project, I rarely even consider hand-sewing as a technique to include in my own personal repertoire. Nevertheless, without a seam allowance included, my work was cut out for me if I really wanted this sweet pup to add to my growing collection.

Before you start asking me what sort of messed-up scottie dogs I grew up with as a child, I will readily allow that my supplies of felt are greatly lacking. Sure, I use plenty of felt as little accents in crocheted creatures, but each eye takes up maybe 1 centimeter of material, maximum. When you start looking for pieces big enough to actually fashion a full animal out of… It’s slim pickings. After tearing through the disaster area formerly known as a closet for nearly a quarter of an hour, the disorganized piles of scraps and remnants only seemed more mysterious and threatening, not inviting further investigation. Reviewing my find, I was left with the choice of either fire engine red, or plum purple. In only a blink of the eye would, it was clear that purple was the only real choice here. Normalcy be damned, a dog this bizarre would unmistakably belong with me.

Slowly, tediously, each individual stitch was painstakingly sewn before moving on to the next, meticulously spaced stitch. Not perfect, not by far, but the cheerful if simple expression on this adorable scottie’s face made up for all of its inherent flaws. Simple in design, but ultimately satisfying to see it materialize without the aid of machinery, I can understand why hand-sewing could be so popular in some circles. I will still prefer the help of my trusting sewing machine, but every now and then, I will certainly return to the wondeful calm of a simple needle and thread passing silently through fabric, nothing more, nothing less.

Stuffed and embellished lovingly with a heart-shaped dog tag, my newest hound fits right in with the rest of the gang. The best thing about having so many of man’s best friends all together? I can rest assured that in the times that I’m away, they will be excellent guards of the house, and there will certainly be no cat fights.

As shows like Semi Home-Made Cooking and 30 Minute Meals rise in popularity, it would appear that the average American is very easily swayed by attractive people that flaunt “easier” ways to make presumably labor-intensive dishes, but in reality their cooking skills don’t go much further than the ability to work an oven. Beyond that, it would also seem to indicate that as the working class continues struggling to make a living and be home at a decent hour, regular cooking, let alone baking, is a rare phenomenon indeed. Short cuts are what everyone’s after, which would explain how a whole aisle of a grocery store could be composed of nothing but one baking mix after another, each one filled with more chemicals than actual ingredients like those found in your own cupboard. Perhaps I’m spoiled by the luxury of unemployment, seeing as I’m left to my own devices all day after school, but the thought of making an “instant” dessert out of a box seems like some terrible joke gone awry to me. Still, I will admit there are definitely times when the effort to make something from scratch feels akin to running a marathon after having just swam across the Mississippi River. When this debilitating laziness strikes however, I don’t go scrounging around for the cake mix, oh no, I dig deep into my freezer to pull out my secret weapon: Puff Pastry.

First stumbling upon this fantastic resource a year or two ago, I was initially surprised to find that many mainstream brands of pre-made puff pastry are in fact vegan! Basic and bland on its own, this magical dough is all about what you put into it. That’s why it’s the perfect starting block for your own sweet (or even savory) creations, able to easily adapt to your exacting tastes and preferences. Should you have no idea where to begin, allow me to demonstrate how unbelievably simple it is to throw one of these instant desserts together with minimal work, but end up with maximum flavor. I digress though; This particular pastry was assembled many months ago, so the measurements aren’t exactly fresh in my mind. This is just an approximation, so if things seem a bit off, please alter your own creation based on your own intuition.

Begin by allowing the puff pastry to thaw on its own just sitting at room temperature for at least 30-45 minutes. This is absolutely necessary! If you don’t wait for it to become soft and pliable, it will simply crack when you try to unfold it! Once it has warmed, you will want to spread it out on a silpat or piece of parchment paper, using a rolling pin to smooth out the creases where it was folded and any other small lumps that may exist.

Now, when it comes to the filling, anything goes. This is an excellent opportunity to use up leftovers in the fridge, so whatever you have on hand could probably work as well. In my case, I had some extra vanilla frosting [As always] so I combined that with a good dollop of apple butter in a ratio of about 2:1. Starting about an inch in from the long side of the flattened pastry, apply your choice of spread in a generous line, reaching to about 1/4 inch from the short sides. Other excellent substitutes would be jams, preserves, etc. Continuing the apple theme, I opted to chop up a Fuji apple, sprinkled it with cinnamon, and dropped that in alongside my spread. Again, any fruit waiting to be used works just as well. Add ins should be used sparingly so as not to over stuff or over power the other main players in this delicate melody, but could include perhaps 1/4 - 1/2 cup of toasted nuts, chocolate… Or in this case, both!

The only rule to remember is to not spread your filling over more than 1/3 of the surface of the puff pastry. Once you’ve evenly distributed everything you’d like to include, gently roll up the pastry, using the silpat to help you. To secure the edge, moisten it with just a dab of water and press against the other side you wish to adhere it to. Placing this seam downwards, reposition the roll in the center of the silpat, and slide a baking sheet underneath. I chose this time to top it with some addition cinnamon, but you could also sprinkle on a different spice or some turbinado sugar for an extra crunch. Bake in the oven, following the instructions specified on the package of your puff pastry - This can vary depending on brand!

When it’s all done, the pastry will be a lightly golden / brown color, and if you used a margarine-based spread like frosting as I did, you will see a small pool of run-off at the ends. Do not panic - Most will remain safely inside, and the dripping will stop as it cools.

Wait until your roll as completely cooled before slicing. To cut, use a serrated knife and use a sawing motion without using any downward pressure so as not to crush or crack the flaky surface. A good portion in my opinion is a 1 inch wide slice, but divide them as you see fit.

Served alongside a dairy-free ice cream or vegan whipped topping, you’ll be thankful that you still made the effort to create something delicious, and not resort to that dreaded box of chemical-based cake substitute!

As the days continue to become longer and the pages of the calendar seem to peel away like dry, sun-burnt skin, I’m slowly coming to the sad conclusion that my latest finished project came just a little bit too late. Despite the lack of snow days, I’m perfectly happy with a slight chill in the air, preferring the climate to err on the colder side in general. Bitter winds and freezing temperatures can sometimes be comforting and familiar, since I had to grow up with torrential snows every winter. They would be so bad sometimes that as a tiny toddler of no more than two feet, I could stand on a pile of snow and easily reach the basketball net in the turnaround! Nothing of that sort has ever been dumped on us since moving slightly coastal about a decade ago, but thinking optimistically, I hoped that perhaps a little more encouragement would remind March of its duty to be a month where winter makes its come back; A gentle nudge in the right direction, and who knows what could happen? It’s still not too late to see snow in the forecast. Despite temperatures soaring to a jaw-dropping 70 degrees late afternoon yesterday, submitting and bringing out the t-shirts and light fabrics would be suicide to my hopes, so I suppose the end result of my crafting was a compromise - Meant to keep one warm, but still a nod to the approaching warmer weather.

Having found this combination knit and crochet pattern some time ago, I rediscovered it in my file of potential projects and realized that if I didn’t get moving soon, it would have to wait another year before I would even think about making it. Hating to miss any opportunity when it comes to making new things, I gathered a few skeins of yarn and set to work in short order. Very simple and very quick, all the pieces came together in no time at all, encouraging a little extra work to further embellish with additional leaves. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, continuing until I had knit up no less than six more leaves. Hey, if you really want to appease the threatening force of a premature spring, why not go all out and make it a flattering representation of lush foliage?

Wearing the finished neck piece is out of the question at the moment, lest I want I to sweat like a pig in a sauna. Although the actual atmosphere has done little to take notice of my desire for just one last snow, I suppose there are worse things than an early spring. Too bad my procrastination will force me to wait a year before I can wear it now. While I would have been satisfied with colorful acrylic flowers while white, powdery snow covered the ground outside, I’m sure that any day now, real ones will present themselves. I’m okay with this change, really! …I just wish I could have worn the neck warmer at least once.