Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Here's the smell of the blood still: 

all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.  

Lady Macbeth, Act V. Scene 1

In honor of Halloween or perhaps because of my own Scottish lineage or maybe just to sound ever-so-slightly different from all the other spooky stuff out there, I have decided to do a small tribute to Macbeth (that's right... I said it... Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth).

Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell; 

Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, 

Yet grace must still look so. 

Malcolm. Act IV. Scene 3

'The Scottish Play' or 'The Bard's Play' is surrounded by superstitions and, according to many acting troupes, a whole lot of bad luck.  Reports of faulty scenery, injured players and even deaths are said to surround the play.  It's no wonder that this Shakespearean tragedy (which happens to be filled with murders, deceit and even witches) is the perfect Halloween companion.

Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
First Witch. Act IV. Scene 1.

Greeting card companies tend to borrow lines from the famous play - "Double double toil and trouble." And I believe the Harry Potter movies quote the line "something wicked this way comes" in a Hogwarts song.  Macbeth holds a macabre appeal that every b-rated horror flick dreams of achieving and to top it off, eight deaths over the course of the show.  Talk about seeing dead people...

Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it; he died
As one that had been studied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he ow'd,
As 'twere a careless trifle.   

Malcolm. Act I. Scene 4

If you haven't read the play, or seen one of the many film versions (Patrick Stewart does a particularly nice job, but the Ian Mckellen/Judi Dench version is impeccable) then I would highly recommend it.  Just be careful not to quote any lines while you are in the theater.   

Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee; 

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 

Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 

To feeling as to sight? or art thou but 

A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 

Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw.

Macbeth. Act II, Scene 1

Thanks to the following Etsy Sellers: Azrail's Accomplice Designs,  Medieval Reproduction Carvings, Alaska Laser Maid, Chez Vous!, and Acrylic and Steel

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

Well if you want to sing out, sing out

and if you want to be free be free

'cause there's a million ways to be

you know that there are.  

- Cat Stevens

 

Harold and Maude, a film from 1971 starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Court, is one of my favorite films of all time.  I saw the film as a Sophomore in high-school (thanks Amy!) and I have loved it ever since.  It may be, perhaps, that the soundtrack is done by one of my favorite artists, Cat Stevens (a.k.a Yusuf Islam).  Or, it may be the simple, yet totally unconventional love story.  Whatever the case may be, the film is exquisite.  In honor of this wonderful film, I've managed to dig up some handmade and vintage items from the clever folks on Etsy so if you want to be me, be me or if you want to be you, be you, 'cause there's a million things to do, you know that there are.  

A Brief Synopsis:
Harold, a lonely rich kid, plagued by his Mother who has indulged him and nagged him his entire life, entertains himself by going to funerals and staging elaborate suicides.  One day as he is enjoy a funeral service he meets Maude, a 79 year old spit-fire who also frequents funerals but has a rather sunny outlook and a zest for life.  The fun that follows includes stolen cars, rescued trees, bubbles, a priest, a shrink, and a banjo.   

The soundtrack for Harold and Maude doesn't exactly exist, so here's a list of the songs as they appear in the movie and the albums where you can find them:

Don't Be Shy

   from: Footsteps in the Dark

On the Road to Find Out                     

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
I Wish, I Wish                                          

   from: Mona Bone Jakon
Miles from Nowhere                           

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
Tea for the Tillerman                          

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
I Think I See the Light                            

   from: Mona Bone Jakon
Where do the Children Play?              

   from: Tea for the Tillerman
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out    

   from: Footsteps in the Dark
Trouble                                                   

   from: Mona Bone Jackon

So, if I haven't sold you on the film yet, here are some of my favorite quotes to round out my gushing tribute to a truly one of a kind film...

Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much life. Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you’re bound to live life fully. - Maude

A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an "L". Give me an "I". Give me a "V". Give me an "E". L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room. - Maude

You know, at one time, I used to break into pet shops to liberate the canaries. But I decided that was an idea way before its time. Zoos are full, prisons are overflowing... oh my, how the world still dearly loves a cage. - Maude

Special thanks to: Celentano Woodworks, Naked Vintage and The Fox and the Apple 

Smother Mother: Learning to Let a Garden do It's Thing

I am confident that, in the end, common sense and justice will prevail. I'm an optimist, brought up on the belief that if you wait to the end of the story, you get to see the good people live happily ever after. - Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens)

This is my first season as a real gardener.  Not the back-porch-bulk-peanut-butter-container gardener, but an actual yard-garden gardener.   What have I learned thus far?

  

1.  You can't re-use nasty soil from the cactus you managed to kill in order to sprout your seedlings.  There is such a think as damping off and it kills your plants.  Why risk it?

2.  Pumpkins grow wherever they darn well please

3.  There is a reason that certain plants should be planted out in April and others should be planted out in June.  In short, read the back of your seed packets.  

4.  Being a "smother mother" doesn't always yield the best results.  Ignoring your plants isn't a great idea either.

5.  Talking to your plants really works.  They like the attention. 

6.  Weeding is important and if you are out there talking to your plants anyway, you may as well make them more comfortable.

7. Watering is important too.  Generally your plants will tell you when they need water.  If the ground is dry it's a good hint.  Also if your plants are droopy and rather thirsty looking they probably want to be watered.  It's a good idea to schedule a water check into your day.  Unless it's raining, in which case you probably can forgo the watering and watch a movie instead.  

8.  Stay on top of harvesting.  Cucumbers and beans will go crazy if you don't snatch them as soon as they are ready to be eaten.  I've heard tomatoes are similar, though in my experience, I haven't had that problem yet.

9.  Learn the art of freezing, pickling or sharing.  Chances are, you will have too much food so why not save some for later or give some to a garden-less friend?

10.  Have fun! That's what gardening is all about, Charlie Brown.

The Secret Garden: A Tribute

Mary Lennox tends her garden in the 1993 film

 Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to.  But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough.  Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them.  ~Victoria Glendinning

Unlock the Secret Garden with this Skeleton Key from Gwen Delicious

I am in love with the story The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  It has all the mystery and excitement of a fairy tale and yet, unlike many stories for children, it is also plausible.  Sure, not every little girl is raised in India, orphaned, and sent to live with her eccentric uncle who keeps his sick son locked in a room, but it could happen.  It's a lot more likely than a fish-girl getting legs from a twisted, nautical-witch and losing the man she loves to some lady and turning into foam; not that I've ever really thought A Little Mermaid was a children's story, it's a bit morbid... in fact, most fairy tales are.

If you can't have an entire garden, carry a mini one by Warm Country Meadows.

 
How many fairy tales are actually about children anyway? Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and The Beast, Aladin, Thumbelina... try going through the Disney repertoire and find some... there aren't many. Even the stories that have children in them, like Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel, tend to have talking animals and candy houses. Among those precious few that manage to stay away from fantasy, the depiction of children tends to be optimistic in a far too enlightened (rather than naive) way for their tender age (A Little Princess, Heidi).  The beauty of Mary Lennox, on the other hand, is that she begins as a lonely, spoiled little girl and over the course of the book she learns to care for something (and someone) other than herself and ultimately finds the meaning of family and friendship.  She does something that every child eventually should, she grows.  

Mary and Dickon

And speaking of growing, another wonderful element to the story is that one of the main characters is the garden itself.  This is where all the magic happens and I've found that in reality this isn't far from the truth; a garden is indeed a marvelous place.  Think about it, a pile of dirt is sprinkled with seemingly dead, dried-up seeds.  Add water, sunshine and patience and you've got yourself some sprouts.  Add a little weeding, water, sun and more patience and soon you have flowers and fruit and grass and trees and shrubs.  And then, the animals come.  Birds and rabbits and deer and butterflies, it's really an incredible setting for any story.  

Edwardian Style never looked so good.  By Enid and Edgar

I could gush forever about the majesty of this book, but rather than blather on like the kids' book-nerd that I am, I will just say this:
If you haven't read the book, it's about time to read it.
If you haven't seen the 1993 film (pictured above) do yourself a favor and see it.  It remains one of my favorite movies of all time and the cinematography is exquisite. 

It's Too Darn Hot

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.  ~Henry James

Keep the sun off your face and an air of mystery with this straw hat from Kakalina Rose.

Melting... that's what I've been doing for the past few days in good old Upstate New York.  And though we try with all our might, the boys and I cannot manage to cool off.  The best bit of work that I got to do today was ironing (believe it or not) in an air-conditioned room!  It was a chilly 78 degrees in there.  It's best, however, not to complain, because tomorrow it could be 60 degrees outside and then I'll want the heat back.  How fickle one gets, especially when it comes to the weather. 

Keep your cool with these lovelies from Petit Plat

 Ways to Cool Off in the Summer: 
A Modest Proposal

1.    Act like you're nine again and run through the sprinkler
2.   Go see a matinee movie... I hear they have air conditioning.
3.   Find a stream, lake, pond, river, kiddie pool, neighbor's pool, any pool and dive in.  Don't forget your water wings!
4.   Treat yourself to a creemee (that's soft serve for all you non-Vermonters) with sprinkles!
5.   Fill a rather large bowl with ice.  Position the bowl of ice between you and a fan.  Turn the fan on HIGH and pretend you are somewhere in the arctic... think cold thoughts.
6.   Gather lots of tasty ingredients and make a smoothie.  Here's one of my faves:
• Dig out the blender from the way back of your cabinet and layer ice, strawberries, whole milk yogurt, one banana, a mango and a peach (cut into chunks).  Add a bit of honey or agave nectar for an extra sweet kick.  Fill tall (preferably chilled) glasses and sip with a straw.  If you have those nifty little umbrellas and a wedge of fruit then bust them out.  It's like being on vacation... sort of. 
7.  Consider joining a nudist colony?  
8. Find two trees that are relatively sturdy and also relatively close together.  Hang a hammock and take a lazy nap or grab a trashy summer novel (in this case I always judge a book by it's cover and title -  if there is a picture of a body-builder and a swooning lady on the cover you've probably hit gold).
9. Buy a plane ticket North.  Or, depending where you are, Buy a plane ticket way, way, way South. 
10. Get a job at a grocery store.  Request to work in the dairy section, meat and seafood section,  or the freezer.  Take all the overtime hours offered.

Check out more underwater prints and other art at the Grace Gallery. 

A Summer-ish Mix

It's Too Darn Hot - Ella Fitzgerald 
Ah Mary - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Take it Easy - Jackson Browne
Summertime - Nina Simone 
Reelin'  in the Years - Steely Dan
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carne
Lights Out - Santogold 
Maggie Mae - Rod Stewart 
The Tide is High - Blondie
Ventura Highway - America
Summer boy - Lady Gaga  
Brown-Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
 

Bring out your inner siren in this upcycled creation by Snuggle Pants.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

"The time has come," the gardener said, "to talk of many things, of beets, carrots and lettuces and sweet peas strung on strings.  And why the ground is dark-brown gold and flow'rs are blossoming..."

As you might guess from my Alice in Wonderland rip-off, I am quite excited for the garden!  My little seedlings are (for the most part) growing nicely and as of yet they have not been ravaged by bugs or other critters.  The soil has been fortified with horse manure and raked into three lovely rows, the trellises are up and now it's time to weed and wait.  The amazing amount of work that goes into a garden is a wonderful trade-off for the treasures I will be enjoying later this summer and I suppose I would rather spend a bit of time raking, tilling, and weeding than paying with cash; the end result is so much tastier than any produce at the grocery store and it's just a quick trip out the back door.

The best part?  I know exactly how my food was grown and who has handled it.  I've started these little guys from seed and having that kind of connection with one's food is not only rewarding but something that I consider to be an important experience.  Every new sprout is thrilling and every failed tomato plant is frustrating!  But oh, how I love to watch things grow and garden full of food is not only fun to harvest, but also, it's fun to share - I'm hoping that I'll have to host a pick-your-own-veggies party at the end of the summer.

I like to watch things grow.   

They grow and bloom and fade and die and change into something else.   

Ah life...  

   -Maude, from the film Harold and Maude

I Guess I'll Go Eat Worms...

Okay, I will not be eating actual worms.  I will be eating the delicious food, that grows from the soil, that comes from the worms, that ate my garbage!  I know, compost is not something that usually gets one all riled up, but for me it is pretty darn fascinating.  Every time I'm out in the yard and I see the robins digging for wiggly little worms I get excited thinking about my garden and the nutrient rich soil they will soon have the pleasure of growing in.

After watching the birds make a meal of these creepy-crawlers, I get out my bucket, flip my already massive compost pile and snatch up a few of those slimy little fellows for myself, setting them to work eating my food scraps.  You see, I'm trying my hand at catch-and-release-vermi-composting or, in layman's terms, I'm catching a bunch of worms, putting them in a bucket and waiting for miracles.

I have two books, Garden Anywhere and The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, that sing the praises of using worms to quickly break down compostable materials (coffee grounds, banana peels, etc).  Both books use slightly different approaches so after scanning the pages of each and using some tools around the house I have created a lovely little bucket of worms!

To make your own worm bucket you will need:

A five gallon (or larger) container with a lid
A Shovel-full of Garden Soil or Finished Compost
Enough Newspaper Ripped into strips to fill your bucket half-full
Rubber Gloves (strongly encouraged, I did NOT use gloves which was a mistake)
Drill
corn meal
water
worms
veggie scraps

• Drill some holes along the sides of your bucket so that your worms have room to breathe.
• Rip your newspaper into strips no longer than 3 inches long and wide.  Moisten the newspaper pieces and add them to your bucket until it is half full.
• Add your soil and a sprinkling of corn meal and toss everything together.  Don't bury the newspaper in soil but use enough to coat the newspaper so that it feels gritty and looks a bit muddy.
• Place the earthworms that you've caught from your yard into the bin.  Take veggie and fruit scraps, cut them into small pieces, and bury them under the bedding for your worms.  The food for your worms must be buried for easy worm access.  Check on your worms' progress every few days by stirring through the bedding and mixing things up (rubber gloves are strongly recommended for this task).  Also, make sure that the bin is kept moist but not soggy so that your critters can stay properly hydrated.  A sprinkle from a watering can does the trick, as does a spray bottle.  When your bucket is teaming with worms, release some of them into your outdoor compost pile or start a second bucket!  
• For more info check out: Treehugger.com, Vermicompost.net, and HowStuffWorks.com

So far my worms are eating fairly slowly, but I've only caught about 50-75.  These books suggest 200+ worms for a 12 gallon bucket.  The more worms, the more quickly your food scraps turn into magnificent soil for the garden.  

Change of Pace

I have moved to lovely Upstate New York and things are beginning to settle into place.  Do I have an actual room to call my own? Not yet.  Is there a grocery store in town?  Not exactly... but there will be soonish.  Oh, how I've missed the little pleasures of the north country.

I've been here since the end of March and since moving I have made eight dozen newspaper pots for seedlings, planted tons of seeds in the aforementioned pots, eaten three delicious cheese rolls, pruned two lilac bushes, pruned many, many raspberry canes, picked up a truckload of cherry flooring, mudded and spackled and mudded and spackled and sanded and mudded the third floor of the B&B, baked some tasty bran muffins, baked some tasty orange poppy-seed scones, baked some tasty banana walnut muffins knit a seed-stitch scarf that took a long time but that I am exceptionally pleased with and ironed and cleaned and dusted and vacuumed more than I ever thought I could in the span of two weeks.  It has been heaven.

Despite the fact that I no longer have easy access to the wondrous goodies from the co-op and the great company of the folks in B-town, the work and lifestyle here has been excellent - I love setting my own hours - even if I am working for  twelve hours a day instead of eight.  

The biggest drawback from this new way of life is that it is incredibly easy to get sucked into the work that needs to be done around the house and my small business has taken a backseat for the time being.  If only there were a few more hours in each day.

If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

My home is deep in the forest near the roots of the mountains. -Treebeard 

For some reason I am on this strange enchanted-woodland-cuckoo-clock-fair-isle-knitting  kick.  Maybe it's the antlers I got for Christmas from my grandmother, maybe it's just springtime and the birds are chirping, or maybe I've watched too many episodes of Faerie Tale Theater... the bottom line is there is something incredibly romantic and frightening about the woods--which is probably why it is so darn enticing.

And so, dear tree huggers, I have composed two lists; some of my all time favorite woodland-themed songs and some of  my all time favorite woodland-inspired movies.  So grab your dirndl, skip to grandma's house and get your rocky mountain high on.
 

Songs for a walk in the woods:

• The King of Trees - Cat Stevens (album: Buddha and the Chocolate Box)
• Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell (album: Clouds)
• Annie's Song - John Denver (album: Back Home Again)
• Mother Nature's Son - The Beatles (album: The White Album)
• Hyper-Ballad - Björk (album: Post)
• She's a Rainbow - The Rolling Stones (album: Their Satanic Majesties Request)
• Get Out the Map - Indigo Girls (album: Retrospective)
• The Fox - Nickel Creek (album: Nickel Creek)
• Killing the Blues - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (album: Raising Sand)
• Blue Skies - Willie Nelson (album: Stardust)
• Harvest Moon - Neil Young (album: Harvest Moon)

Movies featuring the Forest:

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
• A River Runs Through It (1992)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• The Last Unicorn (1982)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• The Fox and the Hound (1981)
• The Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
• Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
• The Secret Garden (1993)

Thanks Baby Loves Pink,  Touch of the Dutch,Good Egg, Timber!, and Designs by Erin !

Dreaming of Spring

It's that time of year.  The time of year where it snows and melts and snows and melts and snows and once again I'm just itching to start my dear little seedlings so that I can have a bountiful crop of delicious treats, but I don't want to jump the gun.

 

Last year my tomatoes were a bit crowded and they ended up rather leggy with minimal fruit. But this year will be my year! I just know it. Armed with some lovely gardening resources (The Backyard Homestead, Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, Garden Anywhere, The Complete Compost Gardening Guide, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook )  I am ready to take on some serious planting and whip my basil and carrots and tomatoes into shape! No more cramming 5 plants into one pot (I will have a yard this year)!

Working at Cate Farm was one of the best jobs ever!

 

I think that my number one problem when it comes to gardening is deciding which tasty morsels to plant. With so many seeds to choose from a lady can be quite overwhelmed! I've drooled over the High Mowing Organic Seeds website for awhile now and today I just finished buying what I think will be the last of my seeds.


The list includes - but is not necessarily going to be limited to:

Brandywine Tomatoes - Heirloom
National Pickling Cucumbers
Kentucky Wonder Pole Peans - Heirloom
King Richard Leeks
Old Spice Mix Sweet Peas
Autumn Beauty Mix Sunflowers
Green Zebra Specialty Tomatoes
Sweet Marjoram
Evergreen Hardy Onions
Red Cored Chantenay Carrots
Genovese Basil
Lolla Rossa Lettuce
New England Pie Pumpkins
Bouquet Dill
Early Wonder Tall Top Beets
Lacinato 'Dinosaur' Kale - Heirloom
Hotshot Spicy Mix Mustard Greens

Am I overzealous? Definitely.  Am I over my head? Probably.  Am I going to plant all these lovely treats and then some?  Absolutely.  Besides, who gets a lovely full delicious garden if they don't plant all kinds of seeds?  This is no time to be conservative...  I will go all out this year and that is that!

Is it Memorial day yet?

Progress Report.... part 1

Today I spent some quality time working on the portrait of Mr. French and I do believe that I've made some headway! Hooray! 

I may have jumped the gun by telling a certain someone that this thing would be done by the end of the weekend (oops).  I often forget that oil paint takes several days to dry and then there's the fact that I'm not quite finished yet.  Oh the joys of wishful thinking.  Luckily, that certain someone is quite understanding and hopefully won't mind waiting on Mr. French for a few more days. 

More to come!

Mud and Drywall

I'm currently in Canton, New York, helping a good friend finish the top floor of his bed and breakfast, 24 East Main.  It has been so invigorating to put down the knitting needles and pick up a broad knife and a spackle tray.  There is also something to be said for a full day of physical labor; I've been sleeping and eating like a champion.  More on the progress of the B&B later, but for now, I think it's supper time.

'Tis the Season to Be Curling...

... and skating and bobsledding and luge-ing.  The winter games have officially begun and I, for one, am absolutely thrilled!

Call me crazy, but I do believe that the Winter Games are ever so much more romantic than their summer counterpart.  I mean come on... biathlon anyone?

It's true, seeing those swimmers swim and those sprinters sprint is pretty darn exciting, but track and field events look pretty tired compared to the glistening snow and the shiny skiis, skates, helmets and sleds.

I'm also a sucker for those fabulously sparkling figure skating outfits.  Holy Tanya Harding-err Nancy Kerrigan I want a closet full of those things!  

And did I mention that as a spectator, curling up in a knit-blanket to watch the games is much more enticing when it's -10° outside?

Whether you prefer the summer games or the winter games, here are some tasty winter treasures that have the potential to bring out everyone's inner Olympian... even if we never make it off the couch.  So I urge you, fellow spectators, to feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time!

Be Mine

The Beatles said it best. All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.


Okay. So if love is, in fact, all you need, why is there such push for romance and gifts on that notorious holiday that falls on February 14th? Nowhere does it say that little conversation hearts are necessary... right?


So Valentine's Day. I guess I understand the fact that we're celebrating love and all things mushy, but why just on one day? And when did this celebration get so incredibly over the top? It could be such a great idea for a holiday, and yet, every year I find myself a bit repulsed by it.


Maybe it's because I worked in a flower shop and all those red roses conjure an image of a less than agreeable customer who waited until the last minute and now...



he/she is angry because he/she needed those roses because he/she really messed up by forgetting his/her anniversary and if he/she doesn't bring flowers home on Valentine's Day boy will they be in some serious sh... trouble!


It's not even that I'm not the romantic type. I am! But somehow those goofy teddy bears and giant cards and boxes of chocolates always seem to come off as a shallow knock-off of the emotion we're really trying to express.


In honor of a less syrupy version of Valentine's Day, here are a few ideas that come from outside the proverbial chocolate box. Because let's face it. Love is all you need, but I wouldn't mind a gift or two as an added bonus!