Perfect Pink For an August Month!

That could be me up there in the front passenger seat.  I might be wearing that little floral sundress with the nipped-in waist and the sweetheart  bodice with the narrow little spaghetti straps that slide off my tender young shoulders.  My hair might be piled high into one of those French twists.  For certain, I will be on the road to somewhere completely outrageous.  I will have my sleep-over clothes, my pancake makeup, and my dancing heels in a Sansonite piece in the backseat.

August is the month for such adventures while the Senate and the President check-mate one another, and the country waits and wonders where it will all end…if it ever does!  The open road is my idea of August.

Now, were I to stay out of the Caddie entirely (note the rear bumper seems to be showing its age) and roost instead on that purple chaise lounge in the Florida room…which is most likely the case.  I will be reading another endless stack of books…”Tunnel Vision” by Gary Braver and two books about the folks who attempted Donner Summit during a dreadful winter…”Impatient With Desire” and “Searching for Tamsen Donner” both by Gabrielle Burton.  Seems to me August is the perfect time to read of a trek over the summit in a dreadful winter.  Sadly, the Donner Party did not fare so well.

Years ago, in a mustard-colored Volvo wagon, we drove the Donner frequently.  There were four of us…a bearded Republican husband (#2), two daughters, and one chocolate brown Burmese cat named Mugger.  We would take this route to visit my parents in Sparks, Nevada.  As the kids bickered in the back seat and the two adults (one with a beard and the other wearing the afore-mentioned sundress) bickered in the front seat over the Vietnam war and equal rights for women.  The only happy traveler was Mugger who dozed in the “way-back” of the mustard-colored Volvo.

Stay safe and stay tuned…more adventures from the open road to follow!

Eureka, Nevada Has a July 4th!

Somewhere in America, a girl wearing a pink tutu marched her pet goat down Maine Street in the 4th of July parade.  I am told there were fire engines and dignitaries and dogs dressed for the occasion in this parade.  Folks lined the main street of Eureka (a small town of no more than 600 residents) for the annual event.

What More Can Be Said?

In my neighborhood, on the 4th, the folks who live two houses down and behind me, the ones with the above ground pool and the barking beagle started their annual celebration. When I considered buying this house, I stood out on the second floor balcony and I looked over at the above ground pool and a small voice inside me said “Think about this.”  It was the same small voice that said exactly the same thing just before my second marriage.  Both times I ignored that sage little whisper.  Just as on every other 4th, the shouting and belly-flops began with the addition of the barking beagle and lasted well into the night.

At about the same time, my back-fence neighbor’s guests arrived for their annual barbeque.  Moments later the Karaoke machine was plugged in, the volume turned up to the highest frequency and the singing began!  All Latin ballads with a little of Bruce Springstein here and there.  What I can tell you is this…on a hot 4th of July evening, don’t attempt to serenade the woman who lives at #20.  She is thinking evil thoughts!

In My Next Life!

This could well be me!  Give me an open field, assorted boxes of goods to sell, a warm afternoon, and I swear to you this could be it.  Perhaps without the cigarette…and maybe the mix of “treasures” would be slightly different, but I admired this woman’s complete love of the moment.   I swatted away no-see-ums that dove up my nose when I breathed in or down my throat or took passage in my ears or circled my head and shoulders…not so for Donna!  We talked some and she seemed to not be bothered with the little critters.  I think it was the cigarette smoke that kept her at peace with all the best that Todds Field had to offer last Sunday!

A Favorite Table at Rowley

Why did I not buy this dog?  I loved it enough to take more than one photo.  I pondered how this dog reminded me of my childhood boston terrier  (known in our Locust Street house as the Boston Terror.)  His name was Bows and he arrived tucked into my Dad’s work-coat pocket.  I can’t remember ever seeing a more adorable living thing!  He peed on the carpet, tore apart the cover for my mother’s treasured  mangle iron and pooped in hidden places like closets and on the tops of black patent leather Mary-Janes.  And he did other things that divided the house into war zones.  We loved him even on his most out-of-control days.  Back then, no one ever heard of dog trainers or dog training unless, of course, you had a big ole black lab who could fetch fallen ducks filled with buckshot from the pond while the brave hunter stayed cozy and tucked into his duck blind.  So Bows ruled the roost at 1065 Locust Street.  I can’t believe I didn’t buy this little chalk dog!

Sunday's Gift of Veggies

After Rowley, the open field and the dog I didn’t buy…I worked at the store.  A lovely young man came in…we chatted about veggies and pigs (which he raises), and then he laid on my desk this divine little stash of fresh veggies from the gardens out in Dover!  Thank you to the handsome young man whose name I don’t remember.

Well...It Is Time To Vote Again!

How can I even suggest you go online (to the city voter Boston A list) and once again vote for the store?  We won last year, and I feel a tad ashamed to suggest you vote for me again.  I guess I have no shame!

Ex-Votos Garden Shrine

This is it!  Saturday the 25th of June you can tuck yourself into one of the most magical gardens there could ever be.  Now, coming from an avid gardner and knowing fine gardens of all sorts this is some wild claim.  Truly these two men, Alan and Dale, bring new meaning to the words “secret garden.”  Added to the lush plantings of this garden will be a scattering of unique spirit houses hidden here and there…I can assure you a wonderful Saturday afternoon!  The garden is open noon to five; please visit the Events section on my website for directions.  After you have swooned enough at Alan and Dale’s magic, pop by the store and I will share a tray of cupcakes with you!

New York City's Wonder...the High Line

It is quite possible that I am the last person on earth to walk the High Line!  Not that I haven’t tried a time or two…too much thunder one time and then too much snow another time.  Tuesday morning, with the heat index hitting 90 degrees, I walked over to 10th Avenue and 20th Street.  It was there that I entered a world of utter divine deliciousness! Get thee to New York and this amazing adventure!  No dogs allowed (no dog poop), no skateboards (no clipping of the ankles), no bicycles (“passing to your left,” no thank you!).  It is silent up there on the walkway!  One side, looking down, is an Italian sausage maker, next to him is the house of veal  with its trucks parked like crooked teeth in front of the ancient brick building.  On the other side of the High Line, looking down, I see cobblestone streets and the likes of Diane Von Furstenberg’s chic boutique, and over there, to my right, Jeffries and the house of Prada!   All of them lining the streets of the meat packing district!

Beyond the sausage maker is the Hudson River and the Lackwanna bridge on the Jersey shore as if posed for my camera.  No end of attention has been paid to the plantings…makes me marvel at the randomness of it all, and the utter planning that must have been paid to each and every one.  To list only a few…there are smoke trees and birches and wild poppies and lupine and false indigo and rugosa roses and ornamental onions and then there are the grasses all low growing mounded tufts of lemon yellow, acid green, hunter green.  Here and there, the original tracks pop into view softened by all the underplanting.  Thank you, New York City for showing us all what can be done with much hard work and deep pockets!

One other thing I must mention is the installation of Stephen Vitiello who has his living art project, “A Bell For Every Minute.”  Divine!

The High Line as It Once Was

Maybe a bit hard to detect but there you have a project about to become something quite wonderful in a decade or two!

Robert Warner Swept Us Off Our Feet!

What can be said of a full day with a quirky artist?  Bring us all more days of this man’s imagination!  The world has become such an odd place, and yet there doesn’t seem to be too many options for living otherwise.  Robert, on the other hand, transported us and gave us a day of his amazing work and his wonderful gentle self.  For a full-on day, there was nothing else except jaw-dropping joy!  Thank you, Robert, come back anytime!

Robert Warner's Terners!

We have kept a small body of Robert’s work…come in to check it out!

Rita Rose...wart and all

Yesterday, a delicious box of kantha (vintage quilts) arrived at the store. First step is to bring them home and give them a good cleaning, then dry the dickens out of them, and then marvel at what beauties they are.  Well, that little Rita Rose (still sporting the world’s largest wart) found the pile irresistible.  We have some wagers going on at the store:  HOW MUCH BIGGER CAN THIS WART GET AND WHEN WILL IT FALL OFF? It’s sort of like the football pool at any ten-man office…winner takes all.  Dino is starting to flirt with Gracie, a bigger-than-him Golden.  I think his passion for Rita Rose might be on the wane.  I noticed last week he took out the little red motor scooter and was giving it a polish for those summer gadabouts.  I wonder will it be Rita in the sidecar or Gracie?

"Markets of New England" Book Signing!

Christine Chitnis presented her wonderful book a couple weeks ago at the store.  What a time we had!  I know, for a fact, there will be gobs of well informed folks out there on the four lanes of summer travel hitting new farmer’s markets they had no idea (previous to Christine’s book) existed.  We loved having her, her husband, and her beautiful seven month-old son.  While here, Christine took some mouth-watering shots of the store…made me fall in love all over again with 6 Birch Street!  We have put some of Christine’s photos on our website, and you can check out her site for more images.  What I should mention is this…all the photography in Christine’s book is a credit not only to her writing abilities but also to her talents as a photographer. .  Thank you, Christine!

Did I Say Mouth-Watering?

This is something I said I would never do…feature a tray of cupcakes before noon on my blog!  These were created by a client for Christine’s event, and they were inhaled by all who entered the store.  We are so lucky that we have amazing bakers who shop the store, who bring in goodies for me to try, and who make divine treats for many of our events.  Thank you to Amy and to Lori for adding a couple delicious pounds to my not-so-skinny self!

We had such a great time with Lisa Occhipinti last week at her book signing in the store for “The Repurposed Library.” She wrote this lovely sentiment on her blog:

“Two days prior I was in Boston, Roslindale Village to be exact, for the book signing at Joanne Rossman which was more like a cocktail party (and we didn’t even have any cocktails!). Side note: I think anywhere Ms Joanne is becomes a cocktail party, she is simply and divinely fabulous. We were so busy with people that we ran 90 minutes over the event’s time!”

We wish Lisa the best!

Markets of New England

This Saturday (with any kind of luck it will be clear and dry), we will welcome Christine Chitnis for her book signing.  We are most excited about this book…I believe you will be too.  I would love to think that this dear, small gem might be tucked into every bike basket in New England.  For those of you, like myself  who haven’t put air in your bike tires since 1955, you might just tuck “Markets of New England” in the glove box of your electric car.  How about that word “glove box”…now that is a blast from the last century, but what else does one call that catch-all filled with worn maps and old chewing gum papers?

One-of-a-Kind Kantha Jackets

Now, when I am not walking the acres of Brimfield or shopkeeping or gardening or cooking up a five-course meal or divorcing one husband or the other, I can be found most often in my studio whipping up goods for the store.  I will say (with not much modesty) I adore these jackets!  One size fits most (my kind of sizing) and wouldn’t you just be the smartest one ever hitting all the markets of New England in your very own one-of-a-kind jacket from our store!

Brimfield and a Mighty Fine Sign

It must have been a Tuesday when I loaded up the granny cart in the way-back of Big Jane and headed up the Mass Pike for Brimfield.  I took with me: water, pockets of cash, two pair of shoes, the odd sweater, and my dear friend John Ross.  We wandered the fields searching for the best reasonable treasures and instead found things to be outrageously priced.  We ate peanut butter and apricot jam sandwiches wrapped in old- fashioned wax paper just like school lunch time (these a gift of John). At the very end of the day, after bags of salty sweet popcorn, we then managed to wrap our lips around a quite fantastic pulled pork sandwich.  My granny cart was pretty much empty, my stomach reasonably full of all the sorts of things one might justify eating while tramping around a couple thousand acres of antiques or antique wannabes!

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals

There has never been a time when being at Sofra (the wonderful bakery and cafe owned by Anna Sortun in Cambridge, MA) has left me wanting.  Be it a meal, a cooking class or last night’s event: the book signing and launch of “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” by Maria Speck.  We sell this book at the store…I was smitten the minute I saw the cover, and I believe you will be too.  This remarkable, well researched book is a delicious addition to anyone’s cookbook collection.  It now sits on my bedside table for late night reading!  Most of us know very little about grains…once, a few years back, I bought a tome on grains that took a weight lifter to hoist it off my kitchen shelf.  Did I use it?  NO!  What Maria Speck has given us is a gift to good health…hold the burger, add the grains!

Morning Toast

Last weekend, my friend John invited us all down for three days at his house in Provincetown. Now, before you doze off because I have written about this place in an earlier post or two, I promise I will not  go on about what an amazing host he is nor will I tell you the place is beyond scrumptious, and I won’t tell you that the “us” of us were three pugs, my daughter Maren, her husband Nathan, and the two grandkids Reeve and Bae.  Nope!  I won’t tell you a thing of all that.  I just want to show you a few photos which, when I returned home, wanted to make me tear my own place to ribbons.  I longed for less expected placement of the treasures I own…I longed for natural walls and a turn-of-the-century toaster and that Cape Cod light filling up the space in all my own rooms here in Roslindale.  Thank you, John, for your generous self!

Bathroom Door, Old Paint, Hand-Woven Towel, Mercury Knob

Seed Pods on Silk Ribbon

Pink Paper Hollyhocks on the Guest Room Mantel

I woke each morning to the sight of these hollyhocks made of the finest pale crepe paper.  One night the wind blew with such fierceness, I was certain I might be swept out to sea…of course, I would have grabbed these pink hollyhocks on my way out had that been the case!

Living Room Mantel with Canvas, Waiting the Artist's Brush

In the evening, John lights much of his house with candles.  Oh, there are a few wall sconces with the dimmest of bulbs, but it is the light from those candles that is forgiving for those of us over forty.

John at the Stove

One night, we ate the most delicious pasta from Amy Chaplin’s blog “Coconut and Quinoa.” The ingredients were dead simple…roasted cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions caramelized in olive oil, spelt pasta and a terrific feta cheese to toss it all. Check out Amy’s blog, there are some superb recipes for vegetarians.  What a wonderful weekend it was!