Talking of aimless trawling, I was inspired by this link, and made some spiced apple porridge for breakfast. I skipped the milk and the pecans, and substituted dried apricots for cherries, but it was still super delicious. Of course I have philistines for children, and they rejected the sullied porridge and insisted on cornflakes instead. The fools.

I called upon crafters’ favourite collage material, origami paper, and with some scissors, glue and a few strokes of India ink, I had a batch of cards.

Have you noticed how apples are the official fruit of children’s literature? Sure, pears, peaches and strawberries sometimes slip in, but A is for Apple and that’s where it all starts.

When I was a child  I had a favourite apple book. It’s gone now. It was about a family whose apple tree bore too much fruit. They stored it in boxes, in cupboards, under their beds, in their wardrobes. They filled bedrooms up with apples. Apples rolled between their feet wherever they walked. They made apple sauces and apple crumbles, waldorf salads and toffee apples. The family had to give away trucks full of apples to people, to animals, to fish. I can’t remember its title, but I do remember the joy I felt in reading the book. The world was so bright and full of plenty. The family was so joyful. I asked my mother to read it over and over, and she obliged, loving the book almost as much as I did. Do you know what book I’m talking about? I wish I could find it again.

It’s, of course, the favourite snacks of great writers. Which reminded me of something I’d drawn in my journal last year: all the food I found in Gogol’s short stories. There were apples. Actually, the food sounds delicious – I think there ought to be a Gogol recipe book.

Luckily there are thousands of people who do make stuff and sell them on the internet. One of New Zealand’s own crafty websites is felt, but the international mecca of craftiness must be Etsy. I did a bit of a trawl yesterday and found barrels of apple-covered cuteness.

How cute is this? I love the apple print; it’s a skirt by The Mommafish.

These nursery prints by justbunch are gorgeous too. It seems that apples are stalwarts of early childhood education. A is for apple – we can’t move past that.

Here is another excellent apple print skirt. For babies – babies don’t complain if the A-line doesn’t fit perfectly, or the skirt isn’t lined. Just two seams and some elastic. I could do it. Now why don’t I?

And a cotton re-usable sandwich bag with an apple print. Can one’s life be too dinky?

I got into kale when I was living in the States. It’s not really common here even though it grows abundantly. It’s just so robustly green and when you eat it you feel like you are being iron-lined. One of my favourite ways of eating it is first blanching it in salted boiling water, then sautéeing it in olive oil with crushed fennel seeds and garlic.

I always keep flowers in a pot by my door because they cheer me up. And I have rogue irises in my veggie garden. Every year I think I’ve dug out all the bulbs but every year they spring up in greater profusion. Perhaps they like being culled. They are the iris resistance movement. Of course I’m not complaining.
This is my magnolia tree. I love magnolias. I like their furry little buds that might turn into Totoros. This variety is one of my favourites – pink on the outside, white on the inside.

My apple tree is still doing what it’s meant to be doing: forming buds for spring. We planted this tree a few years ago, shortly after we moved here. It was only a single stick; it had no branches. But now it’s got lots, sprouting all over the place.

Tune in tomorrow for part 2!