Thumbthing in the Way She Moves

I just finished Julia Child's My Life in France which I enjoyed immensely, and I've been spending some time trying to put into words exactly why.

Partly it was the pure joy that she imbued throughout the process of learning to cook, and as the book progresses you can see how her love of French food expands to all things French.

Even more endearing is her enthusiasm for putting these recipes down on paper, her commitment to getting every step of the recipe precisely correct, her thoroughness, attention to detail and pure delight in every aspect of the process, right down to the all the foibles and flub-ups. Just after beginning her work Mastering the Art of French Cooking she writes, "Now that I had started writing, I found cookbookery such fulfilling work that I intended to keep at it for years and years."

But mostly what I think I loved was the gradual process of her finding her true passion in life, her raison d'etre, if you will. Julia writes of her time at Smith College that she was "[...]only operating with half my burners turned on." Even at at the age of thirty-seven she was "[...]still discovering who I was." This gives me hope.

The one important message I took from this book: Don't be afraid of tackling the hard stuff or the unknown. The result doesn't have to be perfect; what's important is that you tried, and hopefully learning from your mistakes. "[...]it's all theory until you see for yourself whether or not something works."

Here is today's lesson: always take your time when you're putting your sharp knives away.

As Julia would say, Ouf!

We all make mistakes. Especially crafty people, with all those exacto knives and all. But as a wise person told me recently, cautious people may not end up in the emergency room, but they rarely create anything exciting, either.

So I bought one of these...

The jury is still out however. Reviews are mixed on this product, but it circumvents the surprisingly dangerous task of slipping the knife back into the cover that's supposed to protect you from cutting yourself on a dangerously sharp knife...you gotta love the irony.

Another good thing: it's dishwasher safe! But it can't hold knives that are more than 8" long (I would never store a knife as shown in this photo. Never. Ever.)

This is next on my list.

Burning questions remain, however:

• Will I ever thumb-wrestle again? (I coulda' been a contenda')
• Or do whatever the hell it is they're doing here?
• I do fear that my pencil spinning career has been cut short, so to speak.
• Even knitting is taunting me!

Big thumbs up to Steve for taking time away from Photoshopping gophers into wedding photos to help me promote my new line of "Thumbstrong" bracelets. Thanks, Steve!