Crafty Down Under

When I was in the 3rd grade, one of our assignments was to figure out how old we would be in the year 2000. When I realized I would be an ancient 24 years, it was absolutely shocking. We had to write a few sentences about what we would be doing in this surreal futuristic time. My unimaginative prediction involved being married with three kids and working as a doctor.

Flash-forward to the present and I can confirm that I would make the worst fortune teller ever seeing that I am newly divorced, childless, not nearly smart enough to be in the medical profession, and just moved to the other side of the planet to live in Australia with my high school sweetheart.

Clearly, this isn't a typical recipe post. This post is to take care of some business that I need to share with all of you because I've found that cooking and eating do not happen in a vacuum. They are so entwined with all aspects of life. The inspiration for recipes, the events, places and people that shape my posts are all a part of my blogging world. There was just no way to sneak down to another country and carry on Crafty business as usual.

So instead of Minneapolis, I find myself in Perth. Instead of lakes and the Mississippi River, I now live near the Indian Ocean. When it's cold there, it will be hottest here. The upside-down seasons mean that there might occasionally be a rhubarb post in January and a pumpkin post in July. Snow and ice will not be missed but the absence of my friends, fellow cooks, gardeners and bakers will feel like a loss every day.

I shipped my most essential cookbooks, pots and pans, springform cake pan, wooden salad bowl, pie plates, tart pans, the perfect ice cream scoop, mandoline, and much more. The things left behind - Le Crueset essential pot, Kitchen Aid Mixer, Cuisinart Food Processor, Ice Cream Maker - will be an inconvenience but I suppose part of being Crafty is about figuring it out on my own.

I am 34 years old in the year 2010, and as I sit across the table from M, it's beyond bizarre to think that two kids from suburban Illinois are not only in the land down under but are here together. I could never have predicted any of this which really, should come as no surprise at all.