Gilgal Garden

Yesterday, I took the girls to a very quirky garden downtown. Have any of you heard of the Gilgal Sculpture Garden? As bizarre as it is, I kind of fell in love with it, I can't get it out of my mind and I want to go back.

I was in the mood to see a garden yesterday so I googled Salt Lake City gardens and Gilgal is what I came up with. The online description said it had Mormon religious sculptures, most notably a Sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith. Weird but I was intrigued. As I was parking, I noticed a tattooed artsy guy get out of the car next to me. He was bring along some of his hipster friends and I asked if they were going to the garden. The guy was super excited and started to tell me all about the garden -- he had obvious love for the place. I'm guessing he is an artist himself. He explained that the Sculptor was a Mormon bishop who had built the place in his backyard and by some miracle had been saved from destruction after his death and had now been turned into this garden.

I guess when I read “Mormon religious sculptures” I had pictured the sweet mother and son ones that you find on Temple Square. This was nothing like that. It was random; definitely, Joseph Smith’s face on the Sphinx, random sculptures of hands, feet and human hearts, tablets with hymns and scriptures, and a shrine to the Sculptor’s wife. At first it was almost disconcerting but I as I walked around and read the inscriptions, I realized this was a man’s life work and he had pour everything important to him into this. There was something so raw and real about it. It is possibly the most sincere art I have ever beheld. Not created because the artist would receive money or fame, but just a genuine human need to communicate what was most meaningful to this man. It was beautiful.

The quirkiness reminded scupltures of Antoni Gaudi that I saw years ago in Barcelona. Like these ones from the roof of the Guell Palace.

But unlike the whimsical Guadi statues, there was the emotionally intensity you find in the religious works of the master's. I kept thinking of the rough unfinished Florentine Pieta. To me the fact that it is unfinished makes it all the more powerful, it is as if Michelangelo was just so emotionally drained he couldn't finish. The Gilgal works have that same quality.

I'm will definitely be visiting the Gilgal Garden again. Lots of my favorite art is very far away, it is pretty amazing to find something this thought provoking in your own backyard.

Refashioned Maternity Shirt

I have recently been inspired by Stephanie's shirt refashioning, so I decided to give it a try. I took two black tops that are both too wide for my not pregnant self but to short for my pregnant self.

I cut off the shirt with sleeves just below the bust and cut the straps off the tank top and then sewed the two pieces together.

I used some of the leftover fabric to make some little roses for the collar.

Bedroom

I've been spending most of my "decorating time" working on projects for the living. But the bedroom was being overlooked and I wanted instant decorating satifaction so I did a few quick things. I think they make a big difference but I like that I feel like I can change when ever I feel so inclined.

I spray painted a mirror cream that was previously gold. For the hang squares I hogpogged scrapbook paper over thick wooden frames I found at Michael's for at $1 each. And then I hot glued the bows made with fabric left over from the pillows.
These frames are also spray-painted cream with photos Josh took while we were in Maine. The middle one is some scrapbooking paper that looks the building blue prints.

Kürbissuppe

This afternoon I had the perfect fall meal that always takes me back to Switzerland. Pumpkin Soup and Grilled Ham and Swiss Cheese is a great variation on the ever classic Tomato Soup and Grill Cheese. I made this Kürbissuppe with acron squash, which I'm pretty sure could still fit the title because Kürbis is a more general term than pumpkin meaning all squash (I just don't think Switzerland has the variety of squash we do, so they almost always use a culinary pumpkin.)

Kürbissuppe is very simple to make

Start with a mirepoix of 1/4 onion, 2 carrots and 1 small stock celery
Saute the mirepoix on low heat with a T butter (this is sometimes called sweating the vegetables)
Soften a medium to small pumpkin or squash in the microwave for a few minutes, this makes it easier to shell and cube, which is the next step
Add the cut squash to the mirepoix and add 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (adjust amount to cover all the veggies)
Boil together for about 20 minutes or until all vegetables are tender
Pour into a blender and blend until velvety smooth (that is the magic of the soup)
Return to pot and adjust seasoning (I only like to add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ground rosemary. Unlike with most things I don't get adventurous with this soup and the seasoning. But you could try Cheyenne pepper for a little heat, paprika or I've seen German recipes that add ginger, if you are using fresh ginger add it before you blend the soup.)

Definitely finish it off with some cream or sour cream. And enjoy.

Homemade Bread and Jam

This just seems like the quintessential stay-at-home mom thing to do. I'm rather happy to find myself in the spot of the quintessential stay-at-home mom.

I used a dough recipe that replaces some of the flour with mash potatoes. It also has lots of sugar and eggs so it has a sweetbread quality that is great with jam. Although, I'm pleased with how it turned out I'm not totally satisfied that this should be "my" bread recipe. I think next time I'll try something lighter.

I Wish I Had Invited You Over

Sometimes my lunch turns out so good, I wish I had invited someone to share it with me. This Black Bean Hummus was just such a lunch. So I guess I'll just have to share via "the internets" and try to inspire you to try it on your own.

I've been a long time fan of do-it-yourself hummus. It satisfy all of my requirements for a perfect food: inexpensive, easy (I nearly always have the ingredients on hand), and healthy.

Any can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans will have the recipes on the back:

1 can of chickpeas with the juice, a garlic glove, salt,1 T olive oil, 1T lemon juice. Blend it all up in a food processor and service with fresh veggies and pita bread.

Today, I tried a little variation. Black bean hummus is just about the same, accept I added some cayenne pepper, black pepper, and olives. A recipe I saw recommended Greek olive, but I put in some green olives and it was very yummy. Overall, the black beans variety seems pretty open to interpretation. So, go give it a try!

A house of order . . .

The inspiration (for about $500):

My take(for about $50):

It even has a pull down cupboard that is set up to be a charging station.