Life – This Old House 2

Another light goes out

I don’t have any words that feel any sort of adequate when it comes to the violence we are all witnessing in this distraught world. Between a rhode island mass killer still at large, jews being assassinated on a beach as they celebrate their holiday of Light and Rob and Michele Reiner reportedly killed by their troubled son, and none of us can ignore the state of our current political climate to boot, ……. it all feels like a very dark world indeed.

Rob Reiner was a very gifted artist in the entertainment world , an Individual whom many of us first met as Meathead a/k/a Mike Stivic in the TV series All In The Family, his progressive views reasoning with Archie’s obvious ignorance I could relate to even at an early age. They were teaching us even then, and he continued believing in the goodness of people and championing equality and fairness for all as he moved through life unapologetically and with gusto, as did his parents before him. He and Charlie Kirk stood at the opposite ends of the political spectrum, yet his words when Kirk was assassinated, were the grace we all needed, the grace this world needs to find, and quick.

I don’t know how to fix broken people and ugly ideologies, but I know the power we each have to choose a kinder and more responsible and tolerant way to tread through this world and I hope this society, this world we live in, starts leaning in to that, in every corner of our existence.

Walking for wellness and thoughts on unity

At my recent physical I was told all looks good and the physical walking/hiking I do with my buddy, Kai has definitely helped me stay a reasonably healthy 60 year old. So what I discovered through many years and different approaches to trying to stay fit is it’s really important to find something you actually enjoy doing in order to find the motivation to keep with it, which is important and especially as we age. I’ve tried the gym off and on, and the bottom line is I’m just not a gym rat, it’s not for me. For the past three years I have really focused on the walking and hiking and I don’t go crazy with it – I am not one of those who has to get 30 miles in a week or even four miles in with every walk/hike. But consistently getting out there even when it’s just a 1.5 mile walk at least three times a week adds up to a healthier body and mind. For me, having Kai with me, knowing I’m doing him some good too is even more motivation and makes it more enjoyable as well. Hiking various trails makes it more interesting and varies the terrain and the workout. I am lucky to live in an area and state where there are an abundance of public trails. No matter where you live, an interesting walk is just outside your door. This morning it was 15 degrees out…. Brrrr…. we felt it… but we got in a little walk time and fresh air –

I just watched a ( closed caption) video and her simple words are profound. … “what made you a liberal?” a woman was asked. She replied basically ….Interesting question, I’ve not ever been into politics and haven’t given myself a label. I guess if I have to pinpoint what made me become involved… it was watching veterans not getting the healthcare this country owes them. It’s having family who work in healthcare and knowing intimately how awful the system is. It’s living a few doors down from a food pantry and seeing the line every Friday of people who don’t have enough food or resources to feed themselves or their families. It’s knowing there are many unhomed people in my city and it’s snowing outside. It’s the belief we all should have equal rights, it’s the belief that decency and empathy matter. So I ask you… what don’t you agree with here? And if that makes me a liberal, how did that become a bad word for you or others?

Something I’ve wondered myself. Who wants us to believe these are not good things or good people? Who wants us divided, who benefits from that?

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods, and that you’ll have a peaceful holiday season filled with joyful moments with those you love – That’s the plan here –

Till soon –

Shiny Brite Treasures

I was gifted this beautiful collection of vintage Christmas ornaments recently when a long time neighbor downsized and moved away. She is 94 years young, and still a dynamo – something to aspire to!

Always my favorites, the shiny brites remind me of Christmas’s long ago, when my extended family gathered at one of the aunts houses or the grandparents… and people actually dressed up for the occasion, cousins reconnected, the elders bickered and joked and laughed and fussed over their guests , the food was abundant and delicious and the laughter loud.

Often there was snow or flurries and because we lived in the burbs, we saw plenty of Christmas lights and trees lit in the windows on our drive home, hearts and bellies full.

Yesterday I started to wash these in warm soapy water, as they had been living in her barn in a big old tupperware container for quite some time and had acquired some dust, as you can see. Once I began the process I noticed immediately the paint was coming off the ornaments! UGH! Then I googled… and apparently the vintage ornaments were painted with a water based paint that would indeed come off in soapy water. So I stopped immediately and did what was suggested, clean soft clothes to wipe off the dust.

I am so tempted to start the Christmas decorating, our Thanksgiving feast will be the usual but with fewer people, as some of my kids now that they have kids are choosing to have a relaxing stay at home day instead of making the rounds. I thought this year I might divert from the usual and go with a more neutral theme, just greens and winter whites and beiges. But when I pulled out this box, I knew I couldn’t do it. Vintage Christmas it shall be. The only question is…. to wait.. or not to wait 🙂

Till soon –

A glorious October

Despite predictions that New England would have a drab fall foliage season due to the drought we experienced over the summer months, there’s been plenty of beautiful color. My walks and hikes with Kai have been fragrant with crunching leaves underfoot, the strong scent of pine needles along some of my favorite paths, the swirling breezy wiffs of autumn that always bring me back to childhood and fond memories – leaf pile making and jumping in. “Dog shows” on the front lawn with neighborhood kids and their pets. Making little trails in the leaves with rakes for my breyer model horses – For in the ‘burbs’ there was no room for real horses.

In our yard there are three shrub varieties that are beautiful this time of year… If you’re looking to add color to yours, these are a great addition.

Flaming azalea…

CrapeMyrtle –

And Snowball Viburnum – in spring months the flowers of this shrub are wonderfully fragrant.

Out on the trails and around the farm, the golden hues have been intoxicating…

Sometimes kai and I traverse a town instead of beach or woods walks. The Town of Essex does a spooktacular job during Halloween season, one of our favorite strolls.

The grands continue to bring me so much joy, and the holidays come alive again in a whole new way when we get to share it with them, and see their excitement and wonder and thrill –

Another joy of mine is getting to witness my kids become loving and engaged parents. Daughter K has her second child due in January – grand No. 4!

Two simple recipes Susan Branch has shared weaved into her art –

We had a celebrity visit here on the farm a few days ago…. If you know, you know. Well the picture helps if you don’t know 🙂

The Mister and I have visited a few farm markets, this month was the last hurrah for the farm market season and we took advantage… We are sixty-ish now and it shows, but those smiles and lines and gray hairs represent a lot of living that I am grateful for. Amen… and Amen again.

Up at the barn, it’s blanket season! Max is now about 30 years old, we don’t want the old boy to have to work his body too hard to stay warm… and Leah, bred for show… doesn’t grow a strong winter coat so we give her a boost as well.

I am tempted to dive into the tangle of current events, so much of it alarming… but I think I’ll leave this post as a reminder that there are many many things to be thankful for, and our peace is worthy of protection. Keep doing all the things you do to make the world a better place, even the smallest acts of kindness send a ripple out into the world. Hug those you love, love on them well and tell them often. Take care of yourself, too.

Cheers to hope for the future, from our moms, who are still with us, (so thankful for that)…. to you. To all of us! 🥂

Till soon –

Jane Goodall

I watched “Famous Last Words” last night with Jane Goodall as the guest- a new and profound Netflix documentary series where influential people are interviewed before they pass on, discussing their life’s work, their unhindered thoughts on a variety of subjects and giving their parting message for the world, not to be released until after their death.

Jane Goodall gave one of her last interviews, a genuine hero in my lifetime – a scientist, a humanitarian, an animal activist and conservationist. While I am horrified by how we continue to abuse this planet and the animals that live in it.. in Jane’s way, she gives me hope. Watch it if you can – and consider a donation to her foundation at the following website. There are also wonderful childrens books and apparel and other gifts that can be purchased on the website, all funds further the cause. If enough of us care about the world we are leaving to our kids and grands and so on, this beautiful place we all call home will stand a chance against the onslaught of abuses we all know exist.

janegoodall.org

We are The United States of America

We are the United States of America

not the United States of Republicans or Democrats. And like it or not, our differences over history have also been our strengths. Balance is the key word here. We shouldn’t have “sides”, there should be no – us and them – there should be a collection of voices that together hammer out the massive problems we have so that we all actually survive… and the goal of course .. to thrive.

So many external forces would love to see us crash and burn, and currently watching all the vitriol, we are on a course to hand them that victory. It’s not rocket science. And please please please… at every turn and in every party at every election from now on , elect officials that walk and talk Unity amongst us all, not the us versus them rhetoric that will be our demise if we dont figure that out.

I did not like some of what Ch*rlie K*rk had to say… some of it was pretty hateful and should have no rightful place in the fabric of this country, yet it’s there. But you cannot preach what I said above if you are not willing to hear any of the messages from a different perspective or you can’t have empathy and indeed horror for a hideous act.

Here’s what I hope America learns and keeps in its soul after the awful deaths of recent political figures both Democrat and Republican. And let’s not forget the children slaughtered in schools because we have yet to do anything about the hate and mental illness epidemic we have in this country.

Let these words of Charl*e K*rk be his lasting contribution to a better America – “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. When people stop talking, that’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil and they lose their humanity. What we have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.”

Amen to that –

Heaven is Here

Pardon the poor spacing in various places here… wordpress can be maddening and I’m done wrangling it for the day 🙂

It’s late August and fall is knocking on the door with cooler nights and the leaves on some trees are actually starting to turn. Around the farm with not enough rain, our tomato plants, grape vines, raspberry bushes and so on petered out early.

Molly and Lacey eating breakfast

The girls at the EggPlant enjoying some free range

With current events what they are, I’ve been distancing myself more often so that I can enjoy my time on this earth as best I can, and the people I love that are in it. We live in remarkable times, both good and bad. Here’s some of the good….

A dear friend of mine posted this a few nights ago. He has had some remarkable adventures, some incredible highs and some very deep sorrows but he always finds his way to a better place regardless. With his musings he brings me and anyone else lucky enough to read or hear his stories along for the ride. I keep telling him he needs to retire and write a memoir… he’s my modern day Charles Kuralt. Michael, I hope you’ll forgive me for sharing.

“On a late August evening where the calendar said summer, but the air had that hint of Autumn; I went down to Lynnie Lou’s Ice cream in Naples, New York for the last “Car Cruise Night” of the Year. It’s a summer staple every Wednesday night in June, July and August and I’d yet to make it to one this summer.

Aside from the ice cream (peach sundaes were plentiful), the fare was burgers, fries and rings along with music and joyous, exuberant (but very bad) Karaoke. The crowd was decidedly older (as am I) but the evening and night were perfect. Everywhere I looked people were smiling, having a grand old time whether eating, looking at the cars, getting ice cream, bravely doing Karaoke, dancing or just chatting with friends.

All sorts of old 50’s cars…. some Corvettes and old pickup trucks…. even a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, complete with a huge rear spoiler and dressed in a can’t miss me color of “Hemi Orange.” Occasionally one of these old beauty’s would fire up…..go for a spin and head up Rt. 21 with tires squealing and glass pack mufflers echoing a sound I had not heard in years. A sound of my youth. Lynn the owner of the ice cream stand was cooking away at the grill singing to the music while young high school kids waited on the many hungry customers in line for a burger.

Scenes like tonight take place all over small towns across America. Sitting there soaking it all in on a perfect summer night I was as content as I’d ever been. The line from Field of Dreams came to mind where the numerous ball players ask Ray Kinsella…. “Is this heaven?” Tonight if I’d been asked that question I’d have answered…… “No its Naples!”

There are small towns that dot the landscape of America all across this great land….and I’m very happy that I chose this one. Thanks, Lynnie Lou’s for a special evening that made me feel right at home (and oh, I really do think this is heaven.)”

I’ve been painting more of my “tiny painting series” in preparation for our upcoming artisan market. This is our 10th year of collaboration to put on this show, and I am so grateful for all the volunteers who come together to help us make it happen… and especially my market partner, Linda, who is more organized than I will ever be. We make a good team and that is such a gift. With over 90 quality artisan vendors and some really awesome food selections, it takes a village.

Mia’s Rocks… My granddaughter and I picked some rocks on the beach in Maine and we made this heart at waters edge. I painted it as a keepsake ❤️

This is a scene another dear friend took while on his boat watching fireworks… he has already collected this tiny painting, a reminder for him of a wonderful night he spent with his wife and friends in his favorite place.. on the water in a boat he’s restored.

When the season from summer to fall begins to change I spend more time in the kitchen and begin the hunt for new-to-me fall recipes. Having good food on the table for my family brings me tremendous satisfaction. The cleaning up part, not so much, LOL. I also bring out the big binder full of recipes I’ve been collecting since my early 20’s – many of which are from family and friends, some of whom have departed. The handwritten ones are my favorites…. and each time I make their dishes it feels a little like bringing those loved ones back into my kitchen to say hello.

My daughter brought this home from first grade class and it’s a wonderful bread to have on the counter in fall months.

Aunt Ro was a wonderful cook who could whip up a big four course meal for the whole extended family – If you like Brushetta, this is a good recipe. She left us last year in her 90’s.

Marge was the mother of a man I dated briefly. We became life long friends and she also lived into her 90’s. Marge was a fountain of optimism, I always enjoyed time spent with her, her enthusiasm for life and good old common sense were golden rays of sunshine even on the dreariest of days . She loved horses and dogs, too… and the state of Montana, which she and her husband visited whenever they could travel out west to visit a few of their sons.

Till soon, friends –

And Just Like That…..

… it’s August.

We welcomed our third grandchild last Friday! Much to his parent’s surprise, he has a shock of beautiful red hair. We are all over the moon, full of joy for this little guy, who joins his sister M and cousin J, all of whom are being raised on this family farm.

My daughter and her son… my son and his daughter in our vegetable garden on the hill behind our house.. This picture captures the dream my husband and I have been building for 37 years and not a day goes by that I am not grateful for this blessing.

Speaking of blessings… the fruits of our labor were on the dinner table last night…

Not pictured is my most favorite summer food… a simple garden tomato sandwich with mayo, salt & pepper. Sometimes some greens.

More garden shots…. I think planting things in your surroundings and nurturing them is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.

If you’ve been visiting this blog for years, you’ll remember our cottage at the shoreline.. Stella. That was a wonderful renovation project and we enjoyed Stella for six years. What we discovered along that journey is having two places to manage/maintain when our main homestead takes up so much of our time and energy isn’t ideal. I found that most of my time spent at the cottage was doing the upkeep chores instead of the rest and relaxation it was intended for. So ultimately we decided to sell it. Mom had been renting a summer cottage down on the island for five years previously, and this year the opportunity to rent that previous cottage came available…. and so we headed down to the island again, moved mom in for a little over a week… and enjoyed what initially drew us to the area – rest, relaxation, sea air, shore birds, and a few refreshing gin & tonics.

Who knew cormorants had such beautiful greenBlue eyes! They are the color of jadeite –

Have you ever seen an American Oyster Catcher? They, too, have beautiful eyes. All of these shots I was able to get while out in the kayak in the cove.

Back on the farm… smoke from the Canadian wildfires has made our sunrises and sunsets eerily red lately. Sometimes we can smell the smoke of it….

One of my favorite quotes – “We’re all just walking each other home”….. I keep reminding myself to keep this mentality when I allow myself to peek at the news headlines or glance at the TV screen as the noise blares. And there is SO… MUCH… NOISE. I’ve not ever enjoyed politics, largely just keeping it out of my life other than to exercise my right to vote and cast my pebble into the ocean of what feels like the right trajectory for us and our fellow countrymen. I knew there were many things our governing bodies were not getting right, many things that needed change and action that wasn’t coming – and that blame lies across the entire political spectrum.

That being said… I would not ever have believed an administration and a leader who is so thoroughly corrupt right in front of our very eyes in every facet of the human existence could muster the kind of cultlike support he has managed to create. It’s mindblowing. Ignoring it feels like a cop out, so I can’t.

If your entire political identity is built on hating “the other” – immigrants, queer kids, people of color, women who speak up – then maybe it’s time to ask who really broke this country. Because it certainly wasn’t progressive ideas… and let’s be honest about what that actually means, those progressives… the idea of progress. Specifically, it refers to social progress, the process of a society lifting itself out of ignorance, injustice, and inequality, toward a future that promises enlightenment, prosperity, equality, and environmental sustainability. Why does that notion offend anyone at all? The answer to that isn’t comfortable.

No… what broke this country was the normalization of cruelty, the elevation of fear over fact, and the celebration of power over principle. We didn’t drain the swamp, we added pollution to it.

Loving your country doesn’t require hating its people. If your politics demand cruelty and hate, you’re not patriotic. That’s parasitic.

And I don’t regret losing a few “friends” because I choose to speak up about what we are all seeing and being honest about it. Because I know… where I come from is a place of fairness, justice, truth, equality, safety…the desire for economic and environmental soundness…. FOR ALL.

If you’re still with me, this blurb below is true too…. ” we are all saving each other every single day in tiny, seemingly insignificant ways”…… that. Keep doing it wherever you are. Let’s grow where we are planted, and water others along the way. That is where our power lies, in the every day interactions.

till soon –

The Old Days

“Back in the old days”….. funny when you realize you’re old enough to say that.

Growing up on Staten Island in the shadow of the Big Apple, I knew from a very young age I was meant for a more countrified life. And so I set my sights on getting out of the ‘burbs as soon as possible. In my case that was 19 years of age with an old abandoned race horse I had adopted, with not a pot to piss in, really, except for a few important things – a Ford pinto my father had handed down to me, my mother’s support to attend college and a job opportunity on my aunt’s horse farm to work off that old horses board and my own.

All these many moons later, I did manage to build the countrified life complete with horses, dogs, chickens, goats, rabbits, fish etc. etc. and this family I cherish beyond the beyond. But I won’t deny, and I wouldn’t have believed it when I was a teenager…. there are things I cherish about my time growing up in those ‘burbs. Our streets were safe and we played all kinds of games with the neighborhood crew. Stores were walking distance, the ice cream truck came regularly. Family lived nearby and we visited frequently.

A facebook page devoted to Staten Island in Days Gone By has been a joy to follow, with many people either still on Island or having moved on long ago like myself… reminiscing about some of those wonderful things you find in a community such as the one we grew up in. The thing about Staten Island is….. it was once truly a beautiful place years ago, a respite from city life and employment, a safe place to raise families. It does still have it’s charm… but sadly, poor zoning and corruption have allowed horrendous overdevelopment and many of the old green spaces and beautiful neighborhoods are being destroyed by truly ugly housing developments. An example is the farm house I grew up in on a pretty green lot.. now demolished and all the tall oaks and old lilac and white and purple mulberry trees long gone. In their place are two duplexes with zero curb appeal. No greenery.

Anyway… on that facebook page a popular deli was highlighted… Silvestro’s. My mom remembers it was a very busy place that sometimes was hard to get into because no parking spaces could be found on her way home from work and we weren’t exactly easy walking distance. On that facebook page old neighbors, friends and patrons of that deli happily reminisced about the deli, and in particular… its famous potato salad.

I grew up with a whole lot of kids in our neighborhood and school system and one boy in particular was an old soul, the kind of kid you just knew was going to be a very decent man in life. For me that was Charlie. From the time we were in grade school chasing each other on bikes or walking home from school talking about whatever thing seemed important at the time… to the weekends when I’d come home from college and Connecticut life to visit mom… Charlie would occasionally stop in to say hello if he saw my car parked out in front of 14 Miller. He was a steady friend, a childhood rock in a sea of rambling pebbles. That was before cell phones and texting and facebook, etc… so people didn’t have the ease of staying in touch the way we do now, if we so choose. I lost track of Charlie when life on the Island for my family drew to a close, but I didn’t ever forget him.

Facebook does have some great traits… one of them being reconnecting people, and keeping friends and family in touch. And so Charlie and I caught up with each other’s lives and it’s no surprise he is a loving father and husband, a career police officer and trucker.

So… that potato salad. I discovered through that deli facebook post on that Old Staten Island page… that for a while it had been Charlie’s grandparents deli, something I did not know back in the day…. and he shared with the rest of us that famous potato salad recipe. His grandmother kept it in a jar on top of her refrigerator at home and made it for the Deli and her family. I made it last week… notice she didn’t measure ingredients. As Charlie describes it.. she added a little of this and a little of that until it tasted just right…. And so I did the same.

IT.. IS… DELICIOUS. Simple and simply good. In honor of a dear old friend, Charlie.. and his grandparents beloved deli, Silvestro’s on Staten Island…. I’ll share it with you, too.

Till soon –

The Doves

When we moved into this old house after the extensive resurrection, I put up a bird feeder and soon after, what seemed like a family of doves appeared. I did not have dove visitors at our previous farms, and really fell in love with them, felt they were a sign.

“There will be peace here, Karen.”

Fifteen years later, they still visit my feeder – which I placed right at the kitchen window so that when I do that dreaded chore (dish washing, bleh) I can at least observe my feathered friends. When they aren’t at the feeder, we often see them sitting on the roof of our house.. and at night they tuck themselves into the thick pine we planted at the front gate, now a large tree. Sometimes they are “birds on a wire”, sitting just in front of that pine tree on the power lines that run down the road.

Every time something really horrible happens here in this country lately… I watch with great hope.. to see if it will turn Tr*mp et al’s heart, bring him and his entourage the understanding that their own hateful rhetoric throws fuel on the fires of division that we all know will end us if we don’t quit the shit, and awful things happen as a result. When he was nicked with a bullet I had hope that he would see the error in spewing hatred, because that hatred came right to his home to roost. (Nope)

This assassination of a D leader and her husband this week, the critical injuries of another two… and a hit list of 70 more… should have been another turning point. There was the initial statement that seemed appropriate. But it was soon followed by a chaser of…

…”D’s are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities – And they are doing a good job of it. There is something wrong with them.”

Just days earlier, the Speaker of the House who claims to be a devout Christian, called for the governor of California to be tarred and feathered.

Two people were just murdered because of this kind of hateful false rhetoric. People who are not sound of mind look to their “leaders” and act on what they are being fed. That is not rocket science and denying or ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.

I hate politics, always have. I choose common sense, accountability, decency… equality… freedom, prosperity for all. Not a party. Why do I speak up? Why do I think anyone cares what I have to say? Being honest here… I’m criticized by certain members of my own family for doing so…. but I don’t do it to please or annoy anyone else. NOT STANDING UP AND SAYING THIS ISN’T RIGHT, THIS IS NOT WHO WE ARE….. feels wrong. I’d love nothing more than to be able to go about my life blissfully unaware of the ugliness oozing from the pores of this country right now. But we owe it to ourselves, to our children, to our fellow countrymen…to not turn a blind eye, to be brave regardless of whether it will be criticized by your friends, family, neighbors. DO something, SAY something, and for God’s Sake… LITERALLY…… choose kind.

History has already taught us these things, why.. why.. why… isn’t this country capable of learning from past mistakes… so that we DON’T REPEAT HISTORY.

Peace.