Two cooks + Two thumbs = a lot of LOVE!
Well, do I ever have a lovely little story for you! A few weeks ago I got an email from 'Auntie Lorina' asking me if I would do a surprise Cooking Class for her niece, Sawyer. Of course I said yes - birthday + surprise + cooking? What's not to love! But there's more! She explained that Sawyer has a very similar limb difference to me... I was over the moon!
Two thumbs up for veggie salad rolls!
Eventually Auntie Lorina had to let Sawyer in on the surprise so we could pick a recipe together. Sawyer was already a fan of the show so, according to her, this was the 'best birthday gift ever' - Yep, Auntie Lorina is definitely one of the coolest Aunts I know :)
I loved the fact that Sawyer and I use the same grating technique when using a small microplaner - we use our stomaches!
From the moment I walked into the house I felt like I was part of the family. It was amazing to feel so welcomed and comfortable in someone else's home! (For the record, Sawyer's family said I could come out for holiday meals any time I wanted to - and I might hold them to it!)
Sawyer and I got right to cooking, and the two of us were like a well oiled machine! I gotta say, it was both beautiful and surreal to cook with someone who uses their body in very similar ways that I do - to see myself reflected in this way filled my soul!
The two of us were tickled pink to be able to juice a lime with our stump + little arm! Seriously, this is one of the things that brings me the most joy in this world :)
A cool thing about cooking with adults with limb difference is that you get to explore the darker (awesomer?) side of limb difference humour... by re-enacting horrible knife-accidents (fake blood provided by: beets)
And of course you can't make veggie salad rolls without having a little fun wth the rice paper wrappers...
After Sawyer and I prepped our salad rolls, the family hosted me to a lovely lunch full of gluten free vegan goodies, including a marvellous chocolate brownie square thingy - Laurie gave me some to take with me and I might have eaten some on my ride home..... :)
Laurie (mom), Auntie Lorina, Sawyer and me.
Me, Uncle Carl, Auntie Lorina, and Sawyer.
Sawyer and I had some time afterwards to try out some of her AWESOME prosthetics - it made me even more excited about my up and coming Violin Arm!
When I thought our afternoon together couldn't possibly get any better, Sawyer presented me with a gift of hand-knit, custom mittens made by her Great Auntie Arlene. There was a right-handed mitten along with a perfect stump / little arm-sized mitten with each one! I was literally brought to tears as I explained to Sawyer that my grandma used to make me mittens like this when I was growing up. I had loved them so much. To be gifted with a pair of mittens like this is be SEEN, LOVED, and CELEBRATED. And that's exactly how Sawyer and her family made me feel.
Happy Birthday Sawyer, and thank you for celebrating it with Stump Kitchen!!!
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