Mr. Fairchild

she says:

In the movie Sabrina, Sabrina’s father is a chauffeur for the very wealthy Larrabees of Long Island. He chooses this profession not for his love of cars, or because its the best job his education will allow him, but because he is a lover of books and this profession allows him hours a day to pour over the pages of whatever book he fancies. I always liked that idea, the idea of not having your job be your passion, but instead, taking a job that allows you to enjoy your passions in life.

My thoughts wondered to Mr. Fairchild today (Sabrina’s Dad) because we have had some pretty damp and dreary weather the past few days and it has allowed me to start and finish “The Lovely Bones” in just a couple of days, (finishing a book in a couple of days is no big deal for most people, but for me, it’s a feat). The Lovely Bones is one of those books that hooks you, so when I would wake up the hear the rain tinkling the roof of our cabin, I welcomed the weather as it let me pour over my book without feeling guilty for not going outside.

So this morning, after breakfast was served and plates were cleared, I started a fire in the dining room of the main lodge and sat with my book, I was happy.  I happily read that last few pages and mulled over the story in my head and prepared dessert for the evening.

Today I made “Victorian Lemon Sponge Cake”, from a recipe my Nigella Lawson’s “How to be a Domestic Goddess.” The cake’s actual name is “Victoria Sponge”, (like with many things I read, I read it wrong the first time I saw the name and then was too stubborn to say the proper name once I realized the mistake.) The Lemon came about because with the simple fresh berries and whipping cream that filled the middle of the cake I thought a tart damp lemon cake would compliment the filling better than the plain sponge with the dash of vanilla extract originally suggested.  I was glad I went with my instincts on this one, the dessert went over quite well.

And so as the evening is wrapping up, the dinning room table cleared, kitchen tidied up and guest back in their cabins, I sit and reflect on my new profession. Reading books is not my passion, but I do enjoy a good read.  And the fact that this job allows me to do things like read, draw, kayak or hike makes me very happy.   And though being a housekeeper, making lunches for the fisherman or baking brownies from a box-mix for the umpteenth time is not my passion, it does allow me to dance around the kitchen, read up on scrumptious and complex recipes that make my mouth water and most importantly it allows me to bake and tweak recipes into the light and delicate form of dessert that I love so much.