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...