Simplicity Tuesday Celebration: Bread and Barter
I once was on top of bread making like freshly made raw butter on steamy hot buns. But these days I plain and simple don’t have the time (sad face). My last sourdough starter died a dismal death months ago and I took that as a cue to score me some more from some where and with that I decided to take a spelt bread making class for kicks which promised a scoop of that magical living ingredient at the end of the class.
The teacher use to own the local restaurant and made wonderful, good for the whole family things happen there. Things like organic chicken wings, locally brewed organic beer on tap and freshly baked organic bread straight from the kitchen. Oy, how I miss organic chicken wing night (even sadder face).
During the three hour workshop though my brains just about short circuited from the generous sharing of her vast knowledge of the chemistry behind baking (mind you this occurred the morning after Monsier Angel landed in our house when I was seriously sleep deprived and twitching dramatically from the failed attempt of perking up with a double dosage of triple shot latte).
And then after the workshop (pulling out my new puppy having brain card out again) I promptly proceeded to accidentally toss out the container of the precious starter in the throes of fridge cleaning frenzy.
So I can’t tell you how blissened I was (yes, I’m jumping on the made-up word bandwagon- spell check be damned) when she approached me seeing if I might be interested in bartering bread for something.
I was like, totally!!! We got eggs, milk, Craig’s topless modelling services… and then she stopped me there.
She was hoping for something a little more creative. And less creepy.
Cool. I liked the energy behind that sentiment. I told her I would love to sew here something. She got excited and explained that though she knows how to sew she just doesn’t have the time for it these days. And I got excited because I love sewing and don’t have the time for it but I would love the excuse to make the time.
She came over one afternoon, picked out a vintage skirt pattern from the seventies and three different materials from my stash she felt would look sweet together and I whipped up this bad girl for her .
It was wonderful to sit at the machine again after have been so busy with other projects the last six months that light my fire in different ways; like preparing the launch of my coaching offering and the Simplicity Parenting Virtual Workshop series.
It was fun and energizing to switch creative gears and get to whip up something pretty for a fellow, creative mama to prance around in this summer.
And in exchange I get a giant loaf of bread from her once a week for three weeks. The timing is perfect too for we are living with a three year old toast addict these days.
So that’s my celebration:
Using the magic of bartering to help lift bread making off of my “feels like it should be on my to-do”- list and instead give myself a permission slip to carve out some time every few weeks to sit down at my sewing machine; an activity I was so sweetly reminded this week nourishes my soul so deep like freshly baked bread satiates my little bottomless pit bread monster here.
What’s your simplicity celebration this week? Leave a comment or a link to your blog post below!
Lovely skirt!! I love the simply yumminess of toast! Throw in a cuppa tea and that is a perfect snack. Simplicity celebration….one day at a time is all I can manage….I am by myself for a few hours today so it is perfectly quiet here..I am going to sit and meditate and maybe do something rejuvenating like NAP! xo
Ooooo… that sounds lovely! I’m trying to take more naps here myself. Pretty powerful stuff!
What an awesome idea..:-)… The skirt is lovely and that bread looks delicious…I wonder if I made someone a skirt they would come and help with my mountains of washing???….xoxo loved your post as always
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Thanks for the sweet words Kelly! You know, maybe there is somewhere out there who would be into that ~ seriously! Throw that one out to the ethers and let me know what happens xo!
What a lovely post! I love the idea of bartering your services, but also that it gave you the time and motivation to do something that was important to you! What a wonderful idea…now what can I barter….
Hey Megan ~ maybe you want to connect with Kelly in the comment above
Love to hear what you come up with too xo!
Love this idea! I’ve just been invited to a handmade swap party with much the same intent and am crafting some ideas of what to take. ; )
Handmade swap party!!! What an amazing idea. Would love to hear how that is structured. xmooch sweetie!
Excellent idea! This is a great way to help each other!
Yes! That’s what it’s all about, no?
Bartering for goods or services is simply wonderful. My simplicity celebration is cutting up old t shirts-(cut off collars,trim sleeves change neck line to a scoop or a v,,and then, tie to side-if it is too baggy). A quick way to have a a “new” and “cool” t-shirt to wear in the heat wave we are having. 102 today! . My other celebration,is just saying no,to the 4th of July parade.Too hot to be dancing at the parade!
Happy 4th, to those that celebrated it!
Yay to no!! Good for you Lee, Lee. That is cause for celebration. Perhaps there will be fireworks tonight in your honor
Bartering rocks! I love it!
We used to trade milk for beautiful, fresh-milled sourdough bread baked in a huge hand-made stone oven, but lately our baker friend has been too busy to stop by (sad face for me here, too).
My simplicity attempt for this week is to get out my sewing machine and do some clothing repair. I have a lingering pile of things to be mended, and I’ve been ignoring it too long, to the point where I feel like I don’t have much to wear these days. It’s been so long since many of the clothes were put in the pile, it’ll be like a “new” wardrobe!
I wish I could see Lee Lee’s t-shirt transformations–I’ve thought about doing something like that, but attempts have not been wearable.
What a great trade! I’ve bartered my writing services for lots of different stuff, and it always feels so good. Something about trading is so old-fashioned—and so completely modern all at once.