Good Things by David

I had the most marvelous afternoon this past weekend while visiting my friends' property nearby.  If you remember a short while ago, I promised you that I would visit the chickens that lay those beautiful eggs, which we've been partaking of here at home.  I finally took that much-needed trip to see the "ladies" and visit my friends. When I arrived, I noticed that some of the flowers near the home and around the outbuildings were still in bloom.  The garden planted by my friends, Luke and Alicia, was bursting with vegetables ready for harvesting.  To top it all off, the sky was as clear and blue as the ocean.   Our area of Pennsylvania has been experiencing very warm temperatures of late.  The days have been feeling more like midsummer than early fall, but you won't hear me complaining because I don't mind sunny days and eighty degree temps.  I'll take this weather and whatever the garden has to offer, any day. Years ago, I visited this b...

A year ago, while visiting a used book store in California, I found this wonderful binder that contained some of Martha Stewart Living's best crafts and keepsakes.  I had never seen it before, but I was told by several friends that it was worth owning.  While looking through it I found it to be wonderfully organized and appealing, so I took the advice of my friends and bought it.  At five dollars I don't think you can blame me for treating myself.   I love being inspired by things from the past.  This special-edition binder contains some of the best crafts and keepsakes that have graced past issues of Martha Stewart Living magazine.  No doubt many, if not all of these crafts, have made it into the subsequent craft encyclopedias published by Martha Stewart Living.  Still, it's so nice to have a few memorable crafts in this flax-colored bookcloth binder.   I love this idea of using eggshells to start seeds in one's home.  It's a grea...

The leaves of brown may come tumbling down in September, but for me, it's all about taking down the yellowware bowls from the shelves and giving them a prominent place in my kitchen.  I've told you before that these bowls are among my favorite pieces of stoneware to collect, and to this day, that remains true.  What better time to start using them than now? September is also the perfect time to begin planning for the Fall and Winter months ahead.  I can already distinguish a few changes in the landscape as I take my walks around our home and throughout the neighborhood.  One may still be harvesting the last of the tomatoes or eggplants from the garden, but if you look up at the trees, at least it is the case here in Pennsylvania, you can already detect changes, however slight, in the foliage. Yes, the months ahead are going to be very busy for me.  Requests for baby shower cookies are already noted, a Yom Kippur brunch that my friend wants me to help her...

I have a penchant for mixing bowls, all types of mixing bowls.  Bowls are a must in any home because they are practical and helpful with a number of tasks in the kitchen.  From holding items for your mise en place and mixing batters, to serving portions at the table and storing leftovers, a good set of mixing bowls will always be welcomed in the kitchen. Vintage enamelware bowls have slowly started to make their way into my home, because I find them to be charming and a perfect fit with the other vintage kitchen items that I love to collect.  I first took notice of them while visiting flea markets eons ago, but I never really inspected such pieces up close.  They were "filed away" in my memory under a future maybe/maybe not. To put it simply, it didn't take long for me to get the first set of vintage enamelware bowls into the kitchen before they started to multiply.  It was instant attraction.  Enamelware began to be manufactured in thi...

Holiday Cookies by Elisabet der Nederlanden is a book that every baker is going to want to have in their kitchen this year.  It's so nice when I can preview a book that I know all of you are going to like.  Best believe that you will be pleased with this one the moment you get it!   The compilation of classic holiday cookies will have bakers everywhere reaching for their aprons and carefully measuring out flour, sugar, butter and spices, for baking year round.  It's great to have "new" recipes to turn to during the holidays, especially when we want to gift homemade baked goods to friends, neighbors and family. Elisabet cleverly divides her chapters with Very Merry Classics , Cookie Exchange Party ideas and suggestions, Warm Holiday Spice , baking from Around the World , classic Holiday Confections , and Decorated Delights .  I'm already looking forward to baking some Icebox Pinwheel Cookies, Fruitcake Shortbread, Glazed Eggnog Madeleines, Hungar...

The passing of a loved one is never an easy thing to go through.  As much as we think we can prepare for it, it is not easy. Our beloved Lion passed away this morning in our home as peacefully and as gently as he lived his life.  Having had everything his way and on his own terms these past eighteen years, our baby decided that it was time to go.  As much as I wanted to bottle up his love, soul and affection, and keep it forever, I knew that I too had to let go and make my peace.  It's difficult to put into words how upsetting this is for us. Isn't it always the case that we feel as if we are going to have our babies forever?  That the affection and unconditional love they give us each and every day, will be there for us day in and day out?  I can't believe that the little kitten we adopted back when we moved into our first home is no longer with us.   Two days before he passed away, Lion took a small stroll outside and sat on ...

Life seems so much better with farm fresh eggs, don't you think?  The day I arrived back from my trip to California, I had a text message from my friend and neighbor, Luke, saying that he had a little surprise for me.  The airplane was literally taxiing down the runway when I got his message.  I told him to stop by the house later that afternoon after I had settled back home and unpacked.   When he arrived I noticed that he had a small bounty of vegetables from his garden in one hand, and an egg carton in the other.  He said that they were small gifts from his home that he hoped I would enjoy.  I was really touched at such a thoughtful gift.   I knew that Luke was a kindred spirit the moment I opened the egg carton. The multi-colored, farm fresh eggs from his chickens were absolutely beautiful and simply perfect.  I began asking him about his animal husbandry, and came to find out that his flock of chickens were just getting start...