Farm update

People have been asking about our farm share and how its working out. We love getting all the produce and we have tested many new recipes to use it all up. For a while we were getting peas, and by peas I mean like TONS of peas. I put them in omelets, stir fry, salads and mixed with any veggie we happened to eat that night. Now we seem to be well into greens. Salad greens, swiss chard, and kale. By kale I mean TONS of kale.

The salad greens are great because I take salad to work and we eat a lot of salad with dinner or for dinner. In the picture above we tossed the farm greens with NJ tomatoes from Mom and Dad and organic carrots, radishes and onions from Wegman's. So far we are keeping up with the supply. The swiss chard was enough for one meal and I found a great recipe from the Cafe Flora cookbook my brother gave me. The yummy lemon dressing also called for garlic, which we have from the farm too! I love garlic, maybe too much and refuse to use garlic powder so getting fresh garlic bulbs is awesome. The chard was so good I would definitely make it again.

Kale is another story, It's not my favorite. Mark loves it so there's something I guess. We are getting kale in large quantities, 3 bunches last trip! I had to look up recipes that I would want to eat, it took some time. I found two great options, made one last week and one this week. Last week it was Colcannon from the Vegan Yum Yum blog (which I have on my rss feed and LOVE). I used Boca meatless sausage instead of the seitan because it was easier. Didn't taste the kale really at all so it was a hit.

This week it was Kale and Sun Dried Tomato Hummus also from Vegan Yum Yum. OMG y'all! It was delicious! We ate it with the salad above and the leftovers we ate with crackers the next day. I could eat that every day.

Well, we have one bunch of kale left and its almost time to go back to the farm so I guess I need to get back to recipe hunting.

Sewtastic!

I make things. It's kinda amazing. As you know
I now own a sewing machine. After staring at it and sometimes circling it in an attempt to determine whether it would bite, I actually got it up and running. The first thing I did was hem a skirt, then I made a really ugly, misshapen toy snake for baby Haywood and then I made this purse, another purse, a skirt and altered a blazer. How's that for crafting?

My past sewing experience was sketchy at best. Mom had an ancient machine that I used in Junior High. I took a class at the local fabric store and made a pair of palm tree print boxers. I tried to use my new skills on Mom's machine to make a dress but I gave up and Mom had to finish it. In high school my friend designed his own prom outfit but couldn't sew. I volunteered. Mom remembers coming home to see this massive mistake in progress and biting her tongue. I remember fighting with my friend as he screams "I thought you said you knew how to sew!!!" When I told Mark the story he said it reminded him of "that episode of the Cosby Show" I think you know the one.

Hence the trepidation. But, I discovered that I remember the basics and can actually finish projects. It's fun. The purse above was made using a free online pattern from Ric Rac and fabric I bought online at ReproDepot for my birthday. It took me more than an hour but I am a novice. I modified the instructions as I went along and lengthened the strap to be able to wear it hands-free. I liked it so much I made a second one the very next weekend.

This skirt is something I made for weekends in the summer and especially for my Disney World Vacation in August. Its comfy with an elastic waistband. Many of my blogs have been buzzing about using old bed sheets from thrift stores as fabric for sewing. I had wanted to try that. Then I saw this on the CRAFT blog and it was perfect. I went to Goodwill and purchased a twin bed sheet. It's green and white cotton with an eyelet trim. I loved the detail for the hem. I also loved the fact that it was the last Saturday of the month and that meant everything was 50% off! So this sheet was $.60, for reals.

In between sewing projects I joined BurdaStyle and posted the pictures. I think I want to make the Charlie Bag from Burda next.

I Ruled the School

.....In my mind.

I have been thinking about high school often lately (Rochester Adams High, class of 1992), things keep reminding me of it. The graduation announcements I received in the mail started it, I think. Then my friend Kristin emailed me about a song we loved in school

for the record: Maryn Cadell



To top it off my other friend Kristen's birthday is July 2 so I have been thinking about her and weaving some craft magic for her amusement, which will be late, as always, because that's who I am and I can't change. Happy Birthday Kristen!!!

So, these two girls were and are the best friends a gal could have and we had fun in high school. I was new to Michigan and came from a truly awful junior high experience so it was nice to find people that really got me and supported me and I hope I did that for them, too. Trips to Royal Oak, scouting costumes for plays from area flea markets, camping, and everything else we did while trying to be as grown up as possible.

I was thinking today about other music I loved in high school and came up with this list:

Violent Femmes
Jane's Addiction
The Cure
The Smiths
Morrissey
Primus (jerry was a race car driver)
REM
They Might Be Giants
Pixies
Senior Year: James Taylor and Carol King over and over again

I googled top hits of 1990 and 1991 and got a list of crap I never even considered listening to.

New Art

In honor of Steve's visit we finally got some art framed (it only took 21 months!). Mark was laughing at me because I spent a whole week obsessively cleaning for our guest and decided the blank wall above the couch would not do for his visit. So I took it to Michael's 60% off framing sale. This print is from our friend Bryce in Nashville. His studio is Isle of Printing you may have seen his website on this blog. We have 3 of his prints but are waiting to frame the other two.

We are very particular about art, since Mark is an artists and we both have strong opinions. We have some of Mark's art on the walls of course and a piece from our friend Jeff Coleman. We also have a print from Michael McBride, a Nashville artist. In Nashville, We spent much of our time researching local history and understanding southern culture and for us, this is a powerful series we just fell in love with.

Money may be tight but art is important. Finding local artists and meaningful pieces helps us to create a home. Speaking of, I missed the Pile O' Craft last Saturday which made me very sad but luckily the vendors are available on Etsy so I can shop anytime. Someday soon we should get some Baltimore art for our collection.

I'm Back!

Cable was out for several days, apartment living is fun! Some yahoo unhooked our connection because it didn't have a tag to prove it was legal. Also fun - waking up at 3am on a Wednesday because someone is having a super fun party! PAAARTY, good times.

Steve came to visit last weekend and I got to show him around town. I am actually excited to show people around Baltimore, It's cool and there is a lot to see. I never felt this way about Nashville, and I guess people agreed because very few people visited us there. Steve came to work Friday the 13th. We saw Edgar Allen Poe's grave and he got a bite to eat at Lexington Market which is an experience in itself.

Saturday we ate breakfast at our favorite brunch spot, Paper Moon Diner Near Hopkins University and the Charles Village neighborhood. Then we stopped by the farm to pick up our produce and headed to the train to visit Hampden for Honfest. Well, Honfest was not as exciting as we thought, not too many people actually dressed up and it seemed more like your average arts and craft fair which can be fun but not in 93 degrees and high humidity. We tried to find a place to get a beer that was inside but it was too crowded. So, we got back on the train and headed to our favorite pub, The Wharf Rat near the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards. The pub was filled with Orioles fans because it was a game day. It was cool and the beer was good and we had a fun time talking. After the pub it was time for dinner so we went to Mt. Vernon to our favorite place, Helmand, mentioned earlier on this blog. We almost didn't make it because it decided to rain, pouring rain and we had only one umbrella. Luckily it was Baltimore rain so it only lasted about 10 minutes.

It was a lot to see in a day, but a day was all he had. It was fun hangin' with my brother and exploring the city. If it sounds like fun to you, visit anytime!

Since I started this blog I have been tracking my readers which can get to be a little obsessive. It has confirmed my suspicion that they are all friends and family. So, thank you and hello again! I am right now only posting about once a week because of time and topic ideas. To tell you the truth there isn't much going on that might be of interest to you or anyone. Topic ideas are always welcome.

When I was thinking about what to write this week, I realized I have never fully explained what I do for a living. This would be a good week to do that. I sometimes share some articles on the Reader about my field, museum work, and you can see several now like The Salary Conundrum
Non Profit Leaders
Are Boards Failing Their Historic Sites

As a museum educator my job is to connect the visitor with the museum. This is usually done by translating the content of the museum (history, science, etc.) into exhibits, programs and field trips. As an administrator in museum education I have additional duties including managing staff, budgets and long-term plans. The size of the staff, budget and plans usually is in proportion to the size of the museum. I am currently working at a relatively small museum but with a national focus so it is further reaching than most small museums. We count traveling exhibits and on-line programs as part of what we do for visitors.

I began my week on Monday traveling on the Marc train to DC ($14 round trip, a deal) to attend the Smithsonian Affiliates conference. The conference was from Sunday to Tuesday but I only went on Monday. I attended a couple of sessions on planning programs and spoke with several people from Ohio, Montana, Arizona and other states. I also marketed our traveling exhibits as is my duty. After creating exhibits to travel across the country we have to sell these exhibits and we have to reach our income goals for these exhibits each year. I made some contacts I can use in one of my new projects which also makes my job easier. It was a long day but I love visiting DC and only wish I had time to see some museums. Speaking of, you do not want to visit museums with me (see Gettysburg post). I will pick it apart, especially if they have a guided tour. I can't help it, its what I do. And as a museum guide, when I see those museum professionals coming, I cringe.

Tuesday, I couldn't even concentrate because Obama was going to win the nomination and I couldn't wait. We were glued to the TV all evening for the returns and the speech. At one point I was on my computer and watching TV to get all the info available. The speech was truly amazing and exciting and when the Obamas did the "Dap" Mark exclaimed "Hey, that's what we do" and its true, we do that all the time. But apparently some people didn't like it. Speaking of museums, this brings up another interesting recent article, Museums: A Hotbed of Liberalism?

On Wednesday I gave some tours, as I do many days a week. We have volunteers sometimes but it often falls to me to help out here too. I really love giving tours, more now that I no longer have to wear an 1860's dress and corset to do it. Tours really depend on the teacher and the group so you never know if they will be good or really, really awful. As an administrator, I like getting feedback on the exhibits and the tour experience. It makes me a better advocate for visitors during the exhibit planning process and program planning. I also just love connecting with the kids, inspiring them and teaching them. It gets me out of my office, away from my computer and on my feet which is a nice change in the day.

On Thursday I was back on the Marc train to the Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capitol headquarters for a vendor thank-you luncheon. This was important for me because we have a well established Girl Scout program and Girl Scout USA is undergoing some major changes to their mission and vision which will affect our current and new programs. I heard about all the changes, dropped off some current program info and talked with other museums about what they do for GS. This helps me to understand how our programs stack up, do we charge too much? Is the program too long? I had so many ideas in my head when I left I had to write a lot of notes.

I ended the week up against some deadlines for our Board of Visitors annual meeting next week. Once a year we have a weekend meeting/celebration for our BOV, volunteers from all over the country. We plan a party for them and try to open a new exhibit that weekend. So I had final details for exhibits to work out (only a week in advance, totally stressful!) and help to finalize party details like favors and entertainment.

As often happens, the week didn't end on Friday because we scheduled an outreach opportunity on Saturday at a local fair. We had a booth to provide an activity for kids and give out information to families to visit the museum. I worked the booth for 3 hours in the afternoon in 97 degree temperatures! Also my car doesn't have air conditioning and I didn't drink enough water so I got a headache and was very sweaty. Yuck.

We picked up our second week of CSA produce after I got home. We received more oregano, strawberries and asparagus and also received 2 kinds of peas. Yum!

first CSA share

first CSA share, originally uploaded by bethjc.

We picked up our first real share from the Cromwell Valley CSA. Two weeks ago we did get a share of asparagus but that was not really official.

It was pouring rain but we managed. We received strawberries, lettuce, asparagus, garlic scapes, rosemary and sage. We immediately decided to make strawberry shortcake for after dinner and it was delicious! We are going to use the garlic scapes with pasta tomorrow. I have never cooked with them so we will see what happens.

We are really excited about this and I want to thank everyone who has written to me about their own local food experiments. I have two friends with some really great looking gardens, This is still beyond my abilities. I will stick with the community farm.