June 2008 Martha | Salads with Substance

I am a faithful subscriber to Martha Stewart Living Magazine and I'm proud to admit it. Ain't no shame! When a new issue arrives each month, I pour over the beautiful images and pages filled with craft and cooking ideas, hospitality tips, and oh so much more. While I will never be as good a host, crafter, or entrepreneur as Martha, I humbly aspire to some of her finer qualities. I read the articles and my mouth waters over the menus and I envy a lot of her decorating ideas, but when I stop and think about it, I don't know if I've ever really put into practice what she's preaching or followed any of her suggestions.

Never fear though, because a new day has dawned! I've made a resolution that I will bake, create, or simply do at least ONE thing I find each month in the magazine. What's the point in subscribing after all if one doesn't use their new-found knowledge?

And so, for my first application of Martha's advice, I chose to make the Red Bliss Potato Salad with Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Chives from the article, "Salads with Substance" found on page 72 of the June 2008 issue, which presented several summer salads, each looking scrumptious. It was easy to make and, according to those who ate it, tasty to eat. Next time, I'd use a little less salt, maybe two TBSP instead of three. I also substituted some green onions/scallions instead of the chives (which were called for) and think it was a wise decision. Click here for the recipe!

CSA Week 3 | Beets in the Big City

Check out Amy's post on the second installment of food from our CSA. I have yet to try our turnips and beets, but will attempt them next week.

Our Sweet Molly

It is with a heavy and broken heart that I can finally bring myself to write about the loss of our sweet Molly. After refusing to eat and some other complications, TK and I noticed that our girl was looking bloated and wasn't acting like herself. Sluggish and weary, we learned from the vet that she was bleeding into her abdomen, and he was fairly certain that it was caused by some kind of cancer. It was obvious that she was going fast and that she might not even last the rest of the day. We brought her home so that we could spend what little time we had left with her and she had some visitors. Sensing it was time, TK's strong arms embraced her body that had so quickly grown weak over the day's short hours. As Hauna, Taylor, TK and I said our last goodbyes and she breathed her last at the vet, we knew we were losing a part of our family. Just a few days ago, TK had taken her to play at the beach, where she ran and swam and didn't tire. And now, all of a sudden, she's not here.

I'm certain that I cannot write anything that would do justice to the love my family has for Molly. For eleven wonderful years she has been the truest friend and our constant companion. I was always so proud of her... she always listened, never barked, didn't bother people, and was always gentle. She lived to please and to love.

Over the past week it's been so strange to adjust to life without her. It feels lonely in the house without her keeping us company. Sometimes I think I hear her collar rattling, or her paws coming. I forget that I don't need to make sure her water bowl is filled or that I don't need to take her on a walk. Sometimes, without thinking, I almost start to talk to her...to tell her not to worry about that rolling thunder, or to ask her if she'd like a treat for being such a good girl. I can barely stand to sweep the floor, knowing that slowly, but surely, some day there won't be any more of her hair to sweep up.

I want to feel her soft ears. I want her to shake my hand like she used to with out me even asking. I miss hearing her and TK wrestling upstairs having the time of their lives. I need to come home after work to her wagging tail and her big smile. I wish I could once more see her circle a few times before she'd find a place to sit. I want her to make us laugh again by jumping into our old swimming pool and finding her way out by way of the pool ladder. I want to take her on a hike and see her run about three miles for every one of mine walked. I wish I could to see her legs running while she sleeps, chasing rabbits or finding dumpsters full of garbage in her dreams.

My furry sister was such a sweet, pretty, and smart girl and it was my honor and privilege to know her. I cherish every walk I took her on and every time I stopped what I was doing to play with her or just sit and be with her. I'm thankful for all the trips on which we took her along over the last year because we couldn't stand to leave her alone or be without her sweet spirit. I'm so glad her quality of life was so healthy until just the other day. I'm grateful that she loved and embraced TK and that he had the chance to be her owner. He showered her with his love and energy.

So many people have let us know how much they enjoyed her and have shared so many kind words with us on her passing. Even people who didn't like dogs loved being around her and I know she was truly a saint among dogs. I hope she knew how much we loved her and what a perfect and good girl she was. This deep wound will surely heal, but I believe it will be fresh for a while still.

Drawing Room

One of my favorite fabric designers is Anna Maria Horner, who creates some incredible material. Just take a look at her blog and her home, and you'll be blown away by the burst of color and activity that your eyes will behold. This woman loves fabric and covers her world with it! She's got a new collection of home decor fabrics called "Drawing Room" that will inspire and awe. Take a look at her work and be amazed!

Click here for online retailers of Anna Maria's fabrics.

Vintage Sewing

My sister got me this beauty as a wedding gift. I'd love to have a humble collection of antique sewing machines, so this White brand table with a built-in machine makes the perfect beginning piece.

Its four drawers are filled with relics from the past...old buttons, some vintage patterns, an oil can, tape measures. Just think of all the clothes that were fashioned, quilts that were pieced, and other homemade items that were sewn on this old machine.

I'm looking into when it was possibly made and what model it is, etc. It has a serial number of 1537612, which evidently puts it somewhere around 1903-1910. However, because of its markings, cabinet/stand, and shape, it seems more like a Vibrating Shuffle (VS) II or III, which, from what I've read, were made in the 1890s. Singer kept good records of its various models, but I've read in several places that White didn't do as thorough of a job in its record keeping. I'm on a mission to find out more about it.

View more pictures here.

D'oh!!!

And yet again, our Triple Crown dreams have been dashed! Just like Funnycide and Smarty Jones before him, Big Brown didn't pull through, thus losing the Belmont Stakes and sending the Triple Crown trophy back under lock and key. It's been 30 years since Affirmed won all three races, and now we'll have to wait another year, and perhaps a lifetime, until another horse does.

Beat by the long-shot, Da' Tara, Big Brown just didn't seem like he was in the mood for racing...I'm sure his trainer and owners were thrilled about his lack of interest in getting it done on race day. Big Brown's jockey pulled him out toward the end of the race, since the horse wasn't responding. Considering Eight Belle's fall and death earlier this spring at the Kentucky Derby, I suppose it was wise to not push him too hard. Needless to say, we were a stunned audience, as the first Triple Crown hopeful in history finished last. As far as we've heard, there's been no explanation so far for his strange behavior on Saturday.

There have been 43 horses who won two out of the three Triple Crown races and only 20 who won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness only to fail in the Belmont Stakes. It's the longest of all three races and evidently is a challenge that seems unbeatable these days. Next year it will happen though. I can hope for a Triple Crown winner and a Cubs World Series Championship while I still live and breath......except this year, the Cubs will win for sure.

CSA Week 1 - Spring Means Greens

This summer and fall our church is partnering with a local farm in their CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) program through ResCov's Just Food mission. TK and I bought into a share of vegetables and a share of meat (beef, pork, chicken, and eggs) with Amy and Andrew, and we'll be receiving veggies and meat from Mike and Clare's Farm from June through October. We've been thinking a lot about our food lately...where it comes from, who is making it, what it actually is. I've never been one to get excited about organic food or farmer's markets in general, but the more I learn, the more eating locally is making sense to me (not that I can live with out limes, mangoes, etc.).

Inside this week's box we received spinach, lettuce, radishes, baby kale, arugula, green garlic, and mizuna. In our newsletter from the farm, Mike and Clare wrote that cool weather and soil temperatures favor leafy vegetables, and that over the next month or so, our boxes will contain a lot of greens like spinach and lettuces. They also said that greens have a short season and that as soon as the hot summer temperatures come, we'll have to wait until autumn for these types of greens to return. I think that it will be exciting to know what's in season and eat what the land is producing according to the temperature, sun, soil, etc. I also think it will be telling for us to learn to differentiate between what vegetables are what, without the help of plastic packaging to aid us in the identification of what we're eating.

Off to the Market

My dear friends Caroline and Lauren are fellow partners-in-crime when it comes to quilting and crafting. We also enjoy a flea market every now and again, so we wasted no time in getting to the first of this summer's Kane County Flea Market which opened this past weekend.

We made a leisurely stop at Town House Books (St. Charles) in the morning and enjoyed some breakfast, book browsing, and conversation...a good start to any day spent with friends.

Then it was off to the market to indulge our thrifty and vintage inner selves, walking through the rows and rows of antiques, collectibles, signs, jars, dishes, quilts, records, magazines, and more. If you've never been to a flea market before, I'd recommend it. Besides the wonderful stuff you can find at a bargain, you'll see some very interesting people, lifestyles, and some straight up junk!

I was fortunate to find an old wooden ironing board for a mere $10, a perfect addition to my sewing area. The vendor let me in on what she had done to a wooden ironing board she had and suggested I "pin quotes about friendship as well as some fake ivy" in order to enhance it's decorative impact. Hmm. I think I'll pass and just keep it plain, thank you very much. In this case, and as a general rule of thumb, I'd say less is more. To each her own!