Wordless Wednesday

Check out Wordless Wednesday for more interesting and fabulous shots!

Squidoo Charity Giveaway

Hey! Have you heard? The March of Dimes is in the running for the $80,000 Squidoo Charity Giveaway. http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-charity-giveaway

They need our help! Every vote is worth $2. The contest is running until October 15th or there are 40,000 votes. Please, please go and vote for MOD. It is a great way to support all the work they do without it costing you a dime. Isn't that refreshing!

Birthday party hats

“I can make a hat out of a paper napkin. You start with a square.”

“No you don’t! You need a rectangle.”


I looked on in disbelief as first Ross then Louise started to fold their napkins into party hats. I have no idea how to make a party hat or anything else for that matter out of a paper napkin. (I can do a great octopus out of a straw paper though.)


We had finished a fantastic meal of chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, smashed potatoes with sour cream and parm and peas with pearl onions. Not to mention the Greek lemon soup to start. Louise had outdone herself again. Out of 6 friends, 3 of us have birthdays within days of each other. 2 others are a mere few weeks ahead. This year we all got together to celebrate.


As each hat was smoothed and folded, they were passed around the table until we all wore tiny blue “Happy Birthday” paper hats perched precariously on our heads. As we laughed over the silliness we had to keep adjusting our chapeaus to keep them from falling off. It felt good to laugh.

Of course there is a maverick in every crowd.

I would much rather have a get-together than a gift any day. Time is the one thing we can offer each other that costs nothing but is worth everything. Thanks you guys for making my birthday, no, our birthdays special. You are special and I treasure our friendship!

Wordless Wednesday

Baby Black Rat Snake

I walked into the family room to find 3 cats all in a row staring intently out the screen door onto the deck. Looking out, I didn't see anything, so went back to folding laundry. The Hmong dresser scarf was not quite dry so I opened the door to drape it over a chair. As I started down the steps I found this little guy sprawled full length along the riser. Thinking it was dead, I touched it with my toe. Hello, not dead.

Well my friends, I am pleased to announce the arrival of a baby at my house. Remember the black rat snake I kept cutting out of the netting back in the Spring? Well, she is apparently still around.

Is this the cutest face ever?

Jerusalem Artichokes

I was on a nature walk at Sandy Hook where Jerusalem artichokes were growing wild everywhere. They are in the sunflower family—tall and beautiful in the autumn sun. Wild, or cultivated, the tuber is divinely delicious. Have you had them? I cooked them a lot when I grew them myself. Now I get them by the box-full from the flatland. Buuuuut, I wonder if anyone would notice if some disappeared from the Hook?


They are often called sunchokes in the stores and look sorta like ginger root. If you pull them yourself, keep the large ones and leave the smaller ones for next year. Some folks find them evasive. I have not had that problem, maybe because the winters are so much harsher here. Or maybe because when they are young and tender, the deer like them too.

Wash the choke but there is no need to peel it. The skin is thin and tender. They can be eaten raw or cooked. I prefer cooked; I think they have more flavor. They are wonderful in soups or gratins. Marcella Hazan (one of my favorite cookbook authors) has a few recipes using them. I usually chunk them and roast them with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and shallots at a high heat like 400. I sometimes throw in rosemary, just like I would with potatoes. To me they taste just like artichoke hearts. Be brave. Try them.

Wordless Wednesday