Maine, Revisited

People that build their houses inland,

   People that buy a plot of ground
Shaped like a house, and build a house there,
   Far from the sea-board, far from the sound

Of water sucking the hollow ledges,
   Tons of water striking the shore,--
What do they long for, as I long for
   One salt smell of the sea once more?

People the waves have not awakened,
   Spanking the boats at the harbour's head,
What do they long for, as I long for,--
   Starting up in my inland bed,

Beating the narrow walls, and finding
   Neither a window nor a door,
Screaming to God for death by drowning,--
   One salt taste of the sea once more?

- "Inland" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Portland and Monhegan Island, Maine, May 2013

Visit from Jaja

Jaja came to visit this weekend and we had a blast!  We went to an incredible workshop at the Center for Art in Wood, in Old City where we created a "cabinet of curiosities" out of a cigar box and with great instruction and inspiration from the staff at the center.  We created a portrait for the front, and of course I chose to draw my cats.  Yes, I'm a cat lady.  I really like how it turned out:

 

They had great supplies for us to use, and the boxes already had elaborately patterned paper around the edges that we could use as a jump off for inspiration.  Apparently cigar stores just smash these boxes and throw them in the trash, so it's easy to get them if you're there at the right time.  Which I will obviously be doing now that I know how beautiful these boxes are without any decoration at all.

 

We also went to a work day at Farm 51, which is run by my friends Andrew and Neal.  We destroyed some raised beds and harvested broccoli, then had a bonfire and ate delicious home made coffee cake and cookies.  Their house next door is gorgeous and another constant source of inspiration:

 

 

 

An amazing and inspirational weekend and a great way to start the new year!

Perfect Day

Yesterday was the first day of Fall! M and I spent the day at Highland Orchard, in Westchester PA where we picked a half bushel of apples that I plan to make into pies, butter, and preserves. When we returned we went straight to our friends' house for dinner, which turned out to be a surprise party for me for my 30th birthday! Yup, a perfect day.

 

Another Successful Bramblefest

The fourth annual Berry Weekend has come and gone.  This year we were only four: Emmy, my mom, and my friend KD, all others having weddings or school to attend.  This year, thanks to local Philly blogger and canner Marisa McClellan and her amazing book Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year Round, we really felt like we got into the swing of things are were finally comfortable with the entire process.

We were so comfortable in fact that we ended up making about 8 batches of jam, including peach lavender, peach spice, blueberry vanilla, and of course bramble jam, which was made using the juice from the wild berries that grow on Emmy's property.

It rained most of the weekend, but we still got a chance to do the things we like to do on Berry Weekend other than jam - go antiquing and shoot guns.  And after the rains, we were rewarded with this incredible sunset on Saturday night.

Enjoy the very end of summer, autumn is on its way!

- Erica

P.S. Posts from Bramblefest 2009, and 2010, I didn't document 2011 :(

Be My Savory Valentine

This valentine from Chloe came with two bags of tea and two home made biscotti, all of which have been consumed. My friends are so creative and so loving. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Be My Nerdy Valentine

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Possibly one of the most hated holidays, but I adore it. Making and sending valentines is one of my favorite ways to tell my friends and family I love them, and because I didn't send any last year I am twice as determined to get some out this year.

I found an old Biology text book in a free box on Baltimore Ave. and some friends helped me brainstorm these punny lines. They crack me up and I hope the friends who get them are equally as delighted. They'll be arriving late, as usual, but I don't think it makes a difference to most people.

So Happy Valentine's Day! If you don't have anyone special to share it with, just remember that romantic love isn't the only love that exists in this world.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!

It's been an incredible year. Best wishes to everyone this holiday season!

Check out the fabulous cupcakes I made with ingredients from my lovely friend Casey in California, and the way my window snowflakes throw a shadow on a sleeping Moo!

Sweeping up the leaves

It's Thanksgiving already! October and November have flown by, but here's a little snapshot for you:

** Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the fennel at The Woodlands Community Garden **



** Tree delivery at dawn, followed by many many volunteer tree planting events for work **









** A trip to the Philadelphia Zoo (the oldest zoo in the country) with some new friends **



** Lots of baking! **





I'm continuing my quest to perfect my apple pie recipe this fall, along with tweaking my presentation (see how I made it look like an apple when you cut it in half? clever clever me).

** Sukkah! **



We built a temporary structure called a sukkah on our porch this year in honor of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The holiday is a celebration of the harvest (and other religious and historical events) - the sukkah is open to the stars on top and filled with plant materials. Ours was decorated with paper chains, gourds, fruit, chestnuts, mums, fabric and drying bunches of herbs.







After we built and decorated it, we invited all of our friends to eat with us under the sukkah. Even though it rained during most of the week long holiday, we shared two fabulous dinners with friends and family. And it only took us two extra weeks to take it down!

That's all for now, I hope to post more frequently once I get a new laptop. This little setup that I have right now is driving me crazy, and I think it's time for a new computer, don't you?

It's Fall!

That crisp is in the air again, it's my favorite time of the year! But before we can address any fall-type things, let's do a quick recap. The last time I posted I was working with UC Green to raise funds for their fall planting. Many thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal, we raised more than our $4K target and UC Green will have plenty of funds for their fall planting. I was also starting my brand new job at Philadelphia Parks & Recreation where I've now been working for almost 6 months! It's a wonderful learning experience and I love the work and my coworkers. What more could a girl ask for?

In the intervening months a lot of other things happened . . .

. . . M and I got married!!!! . . .





(wedding pictures are by Tiffany Atlas, Atlas Wedding Photography)



. . . We went on a wonderful honeymoon to Maine . . .



. . . I spent the 4th of July at my friend Alex's family place on a lake near Ithaca, NY . . .



. . . Alex, Katie and I joined my mom and Emmy for another Berryfest weekend . . .



. . . plus two new cousins were born (baby knitting project posts to come), M and I joined his family for a lake vacation in Maryland, and we went to my annual family reunion at the Delaware River.

A very full summer indeed. I'm finding it difficult to balance my full time job and my outside-of-work life, so the blog and my reading of other blogs has completely fallen by the wayside. But I hope to pick it up again, especially since this cool weather makes it easier to spend time sitting at my desk at the computer (which was unbearable during the summer months in our un-air-conditioned home). My posts will certainly be less frequent than in the past, but I promise to check back periodically and I hope to start reading all of your blogs again soon!

I'm glad to be back!

Success! (and more help!)

Thanks to everyone who helped Duffy fund his beekeeping project, he raised 141% of his goal!



This means that we will have TWELVE more beehives at The Woodlands, plus one at The Walnut Hill Farm AND a group of high school students learning how to keep bees and sell honey with us at the farmer's market! It's all very exciting.

Also exciting is Nic's novel that he finished and is getting ready to self publish! It's about the urban homesteading movement, and there's a character in there based on little old me. Read more about it here. Here's his Kickstarter page where he's raising the money to publish the novel. In return for donating you can get a signed copy of the novel, a ticket to the book release party where cool local Philly musicians will be playing, and even a secondary character named after you!



Thanks to everyone who has already donated to these causes and helped move us all forward towards a more sustainable, creative, and well compensated future!

(I'm also working on a Kickstarter page to help fundraise for UC Green, the wonderful organization that is Philly Rooted's fiscal sponsor and all-around chearleader. Look out for that in April.)

Smells Like Spring!

The past few days have been the most soft, sunny, breezy, wonderful days ever! Yesterday I walked all the way home from my babysitting job in Center City (over 35 long blocks), just to get my fill of the weather. And today I've already spent some nice quality time on the porch with my beloved, just soaking in the sun.



I also took a few minutes on the porch to read an issue of Alimentum: The Literature of Food that my friend Nicole sent me (she was asked to contribute illustrations to this issue and they are adorable), along with one of the collagraphs that she's been working on! I'm so excited, this literary journal focuses on mixing fiction, non-fiction and poetry with food. Sounds perfect for a gardener who's antsy to get outside already. And the collagraph Nicole sent was absolutely perfect for today. It's called "Beam." :)



I also found out that the journal Poetry that I subscribe to (that Jaja subscribed me to as a gift) is giving away a limited number of free copies of their April 2011 issue to reading groups that request them. It's their way of helping everyone celebrate National Poetry Month (April)! So contact them by February 20th in order to get your copies: poetryfoundation.org/npm.

Happy Halloween!

We had our annual pumpkin carving party at The Woodlands Community Garden last weekend. Unfortunately, due to a timing mistake on my part, we were carving pumpkins by flash- and candle light! Whoops. But everyone had a great time anyway.



Especially the squirrels. Not even 24 hours after I put this beauty on my porch it looked like someone had taken a shot gun to it. The squirrels must be incredibly hungry in Philadelphia this year.



My friend Alex and I went to a party last night dressed as the Baseball Furies gang from The Warriors movie. Scary! Happy Halloween everyone!

First Whiff

Last week I had my first whiff of fall! You know that decaying leaf smell? Fall is my favorite season - season of squash and apples and trees on fire with color and scarves and knitting and baking. Speaking of baking, check out this bizarre green tomato pie I made.



I know I can always go to my friend Nicole of blue bicicletta for some great seasonal drawings and poems. Here's one I really like:



Enjoy the new season everyone!