Twin beds and Toilet seat and Switch box ... Oh My

Doesn't sound as good as Lions and Tigers and Bears does it, but those things made Dorothy nervous and these things make me nervous.  Lets start with the beds...they were my MooMoo's (Swedish for Grandmother) beds. They are beautiful antique beds, my sister Lisa and I slept on them for years when we were little girls and I still slept on mine through in college.  I am refinishing them for the new guest room.  

The scary part is that I had to purchase mattresses for them....that cost me $600 bucks... that is not that much for 2 twin bed mattresses with box springs, and that's  because there not good mattresses...but in any case, me parting with money these days is a scary thing.  Now that I am alone I am in constant fear that some huge thing is going to happen and I will need lots of money and not have it, so I am spending as little as possible.  

Which brings me to item #2 the toilet seat (and the reason I will not buy food this week).  I have wanted this toilet seat for 3 years......I know, I know, I'm nuts.... who the hell has a toilet seat on a wish list at Bed Bath & Beyond for 3 years....Ummmm.....that would be me.  But ya seeeeee it's like this, I have never been a girl that likes to shop (just look at my shoes) ...but when I fall for something... I fall hard ....and I am in love with this toilet seat.  Lets just say all day I have gotten so excited when I had to pee, and the one time I forgot and walked into the bathroom, I was startled and yelled "your so pretttttttty".  OK.... the scary part is that I had to special order it because I have an elongated toilet and BB&B doesn't carry it in the stores.  

Drum roll please....I spent $67 on a toilet seat...I know, I know.......  (the toilet seat was only 49.95 but with tax and shipping) 

Finally we come to the switch box....this my friends is the most scary.  The city of Malden has this program that lets local artist apply to paint a switch box.  I applied last fall...stupid, stupid girl!  I was approved and told to call in the spring  to let the city know when I would start on my switch box.  Mine is on the corner of Highland Ave. and Maple St. and I am doing the four seasons of the maple tree.  Well my life was turned upside down in the spring and I ended up with some inner ear thing (due to great stress) that rendered me dizzy, very dizzy..... so I was given the first two weeks in September.  I called the woman who is running this program last week to ask if I could start now because I had so many things to do in the first two weeks in September.  She was wonderful and told me I could start anytime.  Then she told me she was really looking forward to my switch box because the City Council member had fought over which ward was going to get my box.... NO pressure here....just my artistic ability on the line......

  

It's primed.... OH GOD..... now I have to paint......

Cooking....

My sister Lisa gave me a new cookbook in early April, she gave me lots of books in early April.  One was a crafting book, a few English\Irish crimes, two books on cupcakes and sooooo many more (she works in publishing ... books are her life).  I thanked her for them all and told her how much they helped me get through one of the worst times in my life.  But they didn't because I never opened one of them.... well that's a lie I opened all of them but I never read a line, or saw a cupcake, because I was dying, not literally but mentally.  Well, hello, April to August ....I am alive and kicking and I found this at the bottom of my pile of unopened bon appetit magazines the other night!   This is the Italian Cookbook Lisa gave me in April.... at first I couldn't figure out where it came from and then I remembered Lisa's book therapy.....Dare I say .... Oh My God!

I just sat there and flipped through the  pages for an hour and put little book marks on things I want to try or ideas certain things gave me.  This book is brilliant and it stunned me that I couldn't even look at it in April and now I can't put it down.  I called her and thanked her, she reminded me that I already had in April, and then I confessed I had never opened it.    

My love of cooking began long ago in a galaxy far, far, away.... I was eight years old and my mom was very, very pregnant with my brother Carl.  She asked me if I would cook dinner one night because she could not negotiate around her belly.  She walked me through the steps of "tuna casserole" and I felt like a master chef.  My father proclaimed "this was the best tuna casserole my mother had ever made" and the eight year old me believed him.... mother explained I did it and oh how he praised me.  Don't ever underestimate what words can mean to an eight year old.  It's powerful stuff.....

At the age of 23 I was married and living in Sicily. (Not the smartest thing I've ever done, but I've made some bigger mistakes in my 48 years.)  My first husband was in the Navy and so I moved to Sicily to be with him.  Honestly looking back there was a lot of good,  but so much bad too.  If I close my eyes I can still smell Sicily.  Roasted artichokes on charcoal, foods that smelled so good.  There was also the road kill .... dead dogs that nobody came and moved ... they just stayed there until they finally dissolved.  There were certain parts of the road you just learned to hold your breath when you drove through.    In Sicily our closest friends were another American and his Sicilian wife.  She was just as inspirational as the tuna casserole of my childhood.  This girl could cook.  She taught me to mix tomato with garlic and olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes, and just the right amount of cream to make the most amazing pink sauce. When ever I would ask how much of something she would say "till it's this color" my notes were full of things like "add enough cream until it is the color of, and then I would name a color.  It was a great lesson to me because I don't follow a recipes most of the time I just cook and add what I think will make something taste good.  I may follow a recipe once but then the next time I just do it and figure as I go.  Of course this would never work with baking, because there is science involved with the amount of yeast it takes to make bread rise .... I think that is why I don't like to bake as much as cook. I remember one night we were all drunk, except for Alasandra, who didn't drink much... and we were drunk hungry, and she went into my food supply which was supplied by the American base and not the Italian market and with a can of peas an onion and some dried pasta, she made the most amazing  dish I ever had.    She gave me cigarettes, when I wasn't allowed to have them and I will always love her for that.  That and her cooking lessons are precious to me.

For a while recently I thought I would never find the joy in cooking again... I thought that the love I had in that creative  process was gone ... but I think it is even stronger now.  I am so free and so happy that I think I am going beyond what I thought I was capable of.  I have more confidence in myself and my abilities....I just hope I don't fall flat on my face at my first catering job...cause then I will have to eat these words...

I just made myself lunch.....I picked some of the lettuce that I grew in pots, some of my herbs and a few nasturtium and made a simple salad and dressing.

 chives, lemon thyme and savory

 lemon zest, lemon juice and a teaspoon on dijon mustard

 salt, pepper and olive oil

 I picked a few green bean that were ready and threw them in too

 I made White Gazpacho the other night for dinner and had some left 

it's one of my favorite recipes from "Simply Recipes" as I've mentioned before this blog is great.

 There is something so satisfying about eating something you grew yourself.

Tonight I'm going to sit down with my new cookbook and figure out what I'm going to try first,

I've got a couple of friends who are always willing to test a new recipe.....

My First Job.......

I've had many jobs in my life.  I went to art school.... Massachusetts College of Art.  Everyday I would walk to the train station to travel into Boston and my dad would walk to the bank he managed in town and some days we would walk together.  On those days we would both be a little embarrassed to be seen with the other.  My dad was a snappy dresser and I can appreciate that now but back then I thought he was dressed like a geek.  I on the other hand was going to art school so I had to dress as crazy as possible and it was the early 80.... no tight jeans, high heels and big hair for me .... no it was more like men pj's and men's military uniforms and pink converse high tops.  Anyway ... I would carry my portfolio and wood carving .... big heavy works of art and my dad would say.... I don't know why your wasting my money your going to end up in a bank just like your old man.  Five years later after my first divorce....I was wearing expensive business suits, carrying a brief case, visiting clients and explaining report for the Bank of New England.  That was not my first job .... my first job was scooping ice cream at a Brigham's getting my ass pinched and dating one of the supervisors (that was a tough job.)  I worked for a Chiropractor and now I am a Church Secretary.  Not exactly what you would call a career.  Whenever anyone asks "what do you do?" I always say I am an artist, but that's not how I make a living.    

I have been hired by Liz Hart who is the Founder and Executive Director of Tailored For Success, Inc. http://tailoredforsuccess.org/  to cater a Fashion Show on September 18.  This feels like my first job, in a way it is.  This is the first time I will be representing me.  Putting out a product made by me and making money on something I am creating.  I have been offered money for paintings before but that felt like selling a child.  This is good for me on so many levels.  At this point in my life it is so important to have confidence in myself and having someone tell me they are confident in me means so much.  

Last night Liz and her husband David came to my house to taste several options and to hammer out our menu for the fashion show.  My sister Lisa is good friends with Liz and the four of us laughed and tasted for a few hours.  It was a great night.  

prosciutto, tomato, artichoke heart, mozzarella and a basil leaf with a balsamic drizzle 

 Grilled asparagus with prosciutto

 Beet Hummas 

 Olives wrapped in cheddar cheese pastry

 wonton wrappers with sausage and cheese filling

 Ebilskivers with ham and cheese

Pate a Choux with parmesan cheese and chives

vegetable spring rolls with hoison sauce

Liz and Lisa toasting the tasting!

 David and I prefer to stay out of the limelight!

Keeping busy........

I find the best way to deal with stress is to keep busy.  I've been known to iron every linen tablecloth and napkin in my house twice when I have a panic attack (and I've got drawers full).  The silver gets polished (got some I may do tonight) and the refrigerator gets cleaned out if I am worried about something.   I've also been known to can 20 plus jars of tomato sauce, if I've got something on my mind.  So .... lets just say I've been keeping busy the last 4 months.   I've also got a lot of things coming up in the next month.

I work at a church and there was a wooden sign on the front lawn that crumbled and I offered to carve a new one..... Oh about a year ago I started and would work on it when I found a few minutes here and there.  To the guys at the church especially my fellow Property Trustees this became something to tease me about.  "How's the sign coming?  How many more years till it's done?"  Well the boys will be so unhappy that it's almost done and they can't give me crap anymore....they'll have to find something else to tease me about.

Just need to finish painting and get it protected with some kind of finish.  (Every guy has an opinion on that as well.) I just want this sucker back out on the front lawn and to be able to stick it to the guys.

No one else at church wanted to take on the Vacation Bible School this summer so when I heard 3 months ago I said "Oh I can do it .... I've done it so many times before."   HELLO..... SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!

Had to make this space into a jungle....

 We only had 8 kids register the first day but are expecting a few more tomorrow......

I am sooooo excited!  I have been hired by my friend Liz to cater a fashion show. (more info on the fashion show in a later post....I want to make sure all my i's are dotted and t's crossed.) This will be the first time I will actually get paid to cater.  Liz and her husband David are coming to my house this Saturday for a tasting party.  I have to make several of my best hors d'oeuvre for them to taste.  Thanks to my sister who said "do this one and this one," I know what will be on the menu.  One rule in all of this is it must be finger food no utensils just small plates, glass or china .... no paper here.  I'm so excited!  I know that I will do my spring rolls as one.  They are a favorite with everyone.  Did 75 this past Saturday while I watched a movie.  Those are just for David to taste on Saturday.  These are great ... Freeze them raw ...take out as many as you need ...  heat and serve with some hoisin sauce.  I make mine all veggie, purple cabbage shredded, sprouts, shredded jicima and carrots, and these tiny thin mushrooms I get at the Asian Market, I let the veggies sit in a bath of soy sauce, garlic, lots of ginger, mirin, black vinegar, and sesame oil and then drain them well.  Then the wrapping begins....... 

Yum! 

I am also painting the front bedroom and refinishing furniture.  I am also the Wedding Coordinator for the Church and have two wedding  in the next two months......SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!   I am also painting a switchbox  in the city of Malden,  the four seasons of the "Maple Tree" on the corner of Maple and Highland Ave. (I am also, I am also, I am also.....)

The one thing I don't have this summer is the big party .... that has been my thing for the past several years.......that is like a death to me ...something that has happened for so many years and it is now gone.   Joe and my nephew Lucas shared the same birthday, August 7...... I would throw a  huge party on or around that date.... tons of food and people..... Funny how God works ... Lucas can't come this summer so it makes it easier for me.... this will be a hard one for him, and that breaks my heart.... he had so much invested in that friendship.... and now .... nothing.....

I love you Luke ..... and the next time you are in Boston I promise  I will make it great for you.... I will take you to Fenway, and I will do fun stuff with you, and you and I will be fine.....We'll paint our toenails and talk about our feelings..... I hope you have a good birthday....I'll be thinking about you.....