no dilemma

In honor of my mother's request to avoid any big sad funeral type event, my father, sister, and I decided to create a reverse "shiva". Instead of mourning for a week, while accepting other people's food, we decided to cook for a week and invite everyone over to celebrate in her spirit.

on the bow: confetti coleslaw, quinoa salad with peas and mint, roasted fruit with rosemary and lime, spinach and ricotta cepes, onion and gruyere tart, baked olives, smoked trout and a variety of seasonal cheeses

and on stern my sister is pouring a fig and honey finish on her delicious dessert crepes served with toasted walnuts and a lemon ricotta sauce to die for...also on the dessert menu was a ginger berry triffle, cassis and hazelnut truffles, and an endless variety of cookies/mandelbrot


You and your cooking are greatly missed mama.

another sky and another sky

There is another sky

by Emily Dickinson

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my mother,
Into my garden come!

bling

crown jewels in NYT

dedicated to my mother.

*KNOW YOUR FOOD AND WATER
foodandwaterworkshop.com

somewhere...

In loving memory of my mother.

She is greatly missed.
Her spirit could never fade.

they teach us this poem early in canada...

Robert Frost:

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

"Crown Jewels" at SALON 94

doors

“There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.”

Jim Morrison

TED

http://www.ted.com
TED talks are now online...an amazing free resource.
My students were pretty excited about these ones:

William McDonough: The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle
William Kamkwamba: How I built my family a windmill

breakfast birding

Now that the trees are nearly bare I have an almost clear view of my neighbour's lovely white house with cupola. My neighbour is a very nice woman who also happens to be the mother/in law of a famous artist/pop star couple. I just hope she does not get the wrong idea when she sees me regularly in the window with my binoculars. Today at breakfast, I could have sworn I saw the Ivory- billed Woodpecker. After being talked down by my birding contractor, he assured me it was actually the Pileated version. The bird is somewhere in the background of this photo and although it is impossible to tell, he is large and loud. Thrilling actually.

just a reminder

before
after
after after

Of course, ideally these images would have been shot from the same position. This display is a little like that before/after poster woman on the subway walls describing a recent face lift. First she is shown with her hair up, then with it down, chin tilted slightly to the left and usually powdered with a thick coat of colour. You get the idea.

I just googled 'face lift' and this is truly what came up:
case in point.

congratulations sister

I could just post a blog about my sister's amazing accomplishments but she would not take kindly.
I must take a moment to bow to her today however.
Alissa just received a call informing her that she will be an honorable member of the class of 2008/2009 Thomas Jefferson Institute Food and Society Policy Fellowship.
Most sincere congratulations sister.
Here are past fellows: Thomas Jefferson Institute Fellows

rock shop

Last week I went to my first Upstate rock show which was part of the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.
After career day in the fourth or fifth grade, my definitive answer to the persistent question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" was "a geologist". It was not long, high school actually, before I agreed with my mother that this may be an inappropriate choice for "such a social creature". I have been dueling with the inner rock geek ever since. Here is an opportunity to finally set up shop.

door to window

Who knew this project was going to be all about windows...?
This one is my first major regret. Listening to my concerned contractors I decided to lift the bathroom window 18" off the floor so as not to be "on full view" when getting out of the tub. At least now my ankles will be covered.

fall colours

installing

So sorry to have missed celebrating your birthday with you sis. As you well know it was not because I was at home enjoying my new view to the stars. I have not slept in my own bed in weeks, which is a much less interesting story than it sounds. It could pass for a pretty good Chevy Chase script though.

Scene One: Last Tuesday I drove past the Canadian border with my wallet on the roof of the car. Fortunately, a sheriff found it on the side of the road and called me on my cell nearly two hours later, adding four hours to the mere eight hour trip.
Scene Two: Planned a flight this Tuesday to go back to Canada in time to celebrate my sister's birthday, but instead I left my passport upstate. Having parked my car at Laura and Chris' orchard, I took the train back to Beacon to find I had locked the keys in the car.
Scene Three: AAA broke into the car for me so I could drive home to spend a good six hours following up with the contractors. The drive gave me a chance to remember why I (sort of) moved here:


Scene Four: Far too embarrasing to continue...but I am on my way Aliss. We will try to celebrate this weekend I hope.

happy birthday Dr.Not From Concentrate!

My extraordinary sister celebrates her birthday today. She is my inspiration.

internal state of affairs

Bob prefers scotch.

SWF

available for rent:




this is the front half of the building with a separate entrance...rent negotiable.

rolling stones.

rockhound in camo
pouring the floor
manny in mud
collection set in stone

Stone collecting is an unparalleled form of meditation for some of us.
The ultimate goal is actually to turn the Creamery into a giant rock shop....sourced from travels around the globe.
Since the program funding is still under negotiation, the bathroom floor will initiate an archive. These particular rocks were sourced from Accord:NY, Cape Breton:Nova Scotia, Gotland:Sweden, Zaire(when it was):Africa, South Island:New Zealand, Oahu:Hawaii, Olafsylk:Iceland, and Jamaica Bay:NY.
Please note that radiant heat was installed before the concrete was poured. This is the most efficient way to heat a slab and a great way to keep an old clawfoot tub warm. Although radiant was not in the budget for the whole house, the bathroom tub is where I hope to spend the winter.

external state of affairs

(new roof)

Reformed!

Notice the light from above.

NIMBY...

anymore.

This used to be the Creamery's neighbour and is most likely how the street got its name. Since the use of indigenous materials is part of the scheme here, Bob took me rock hunting this morning. We have become friendly with Mike who bought this amazing old quarry about a year ago. Mike is pleased to have concerned neighbours, so we took advantage and pinched some rocks to misplace in my bathroom floor (images to come).

By the way, this land is being divided for sale in twenty acre plots.

words to live by...

"And if you think of Brick, for instance,
and you say to Brick,
"What do you want Brick?"
And Brick says to you
"I like an Arch."
And if you say to Brick
"Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lintel over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Brick?"
Brick says:
"... I like an Arch”

Louis Kahn

see the light

this is the kitchen skylight being installed.

I'm not sure how I feel about Feng Shui as a legitimate profession, but there is no denying the relevance of spatial harmony. Since the day begins and ends in bed, it is essential to get it down in the bedroom. One must choreograph perfect morning light and star gazing with awkward horizontal ergonomics ie. reaching for lamps, books, glasses (both kinds) and the occasional ashtray. My new trailer bedroom does not get enough light. Light in general appears to be an issue in this gigantic space, it gets swallowed.

I realized watching the messy roofers this afternoon, that there is a perfect opportunity for a new skylight where a useless vent once was. As it turns out, a hole occurs directly above the north facing bed (good Feng Shui). My flawed, yet intentional, design process is all about seizing existing conditions...carpe diem. Often this system proves ineffective but today it seems justified.

!

winterizing

lovely photo sent to me this morning by Angie Keefer.

The roof here is a mess. They are ripping off the original to replace it with two layers of Polyiso (R38.6) followed by giant rolls of Galvalum. I had my choice of colors from pink to acid green but decided to keep it honest. When I asked Patrick (one of the world's leading 'green' engineers) about 'greening' my place, he suggested the MOST important thing I could do would be to seal the place tight. The roof guys say we'll be sweating inside. Half my budget went into this project, I sure hope they are right.

road kill

Am thinking this should be my next floor treatment.

night and day