Makeover

by Jodi ~ February 8, 2010

Derelict shed in alleyway behind Brooklyn Avenue, Leslieville

It was time for a new look.

Cursive Mechanics will be four years old later this year, and it was beginning to show its age. It wasn’t a derelict space by any means, but it did need updating to reflect the content evolution that has taken place since the first post went live way back in August 2006.

That evolution has seen my lifelong love of food and cooking take centre stage in my writing and photography. This means I’ve been posting some recipes, yes, but more than that I find myself compelled to tell food stories.

For me each ingredient, dish, and technique has a story; each is also either tied to a memory or creates a new one. A deep appreciation for food — its origins, its preparation, its rituals of consumption — bridges me to my past (I come from a line of farmers, adept home cooks, and food traditionalists) and connects me to a present and future I am in always in the process of creating, one that centres on savouring moments amidst a busy twenty-first-century life. Accordingly, the new site design, particularly the page header, lets visitors know that food and the stories that accompany it to the plate are my passion and what I write about most often these days.

Some other site changes you’ll notice:

• There are fewer posts on the front page, but you’ll find a handy archiving system in the right sidebar. It provides the titles of other recently published posts (plus a link to a fancily indexed full-site archive) and a visual recap of posts in the Photo Friday and Recipes categories.
• I tweet, and I’ll admit it: I find it kind of fun. If you chirp away on Twitter too and are so inclined, please follow me — you’ll find my microblogging coordinates at the top of the left sidebar. There are also links at the bottom of each post that make it easy to share my content via social-networking sites.
• Some people have declared this blogging thing over, but I still read my stable of favourite online writers faithfully. I’ve organized my regular reading into three categories in a long-overdue blogroll in the left sidebar. There I introduce you to the food writers I love and some all-around interesting people doing and writing about cool things. You’ll also see links for some of my friends who also host their own blogs on a variety of topics.
• Last but not least is the overall look of the site itself. This makeover is entirely the result of hard, patient work by my partner, Michael. His claim that we could flip my old site into a new design in about 45 minutes turned into a several-weeks-long project that included difficult data imports, much fretting about a suitable header photo, and me, well, freaking out at high-pitched levels more than a few times (Why are the photos not aligning left?!; Why are the comments not showing up?!; Why are the posts out of order?!). Perhaps my favourite element of the redesign is the use of Garamond as the typeface for the main text. A venerable old serif font, I have a weak spot for it, and Michael put it on the page knowing it’d be the perfect choice.

So welcome to Cursive Mechanics, or welcome back if you’ve been here before. I hope you enjoy the new environs — let us know what you think.

In the meantime, be well and eat well.