well i got one of my hair pots accepted into the Evanston + Vicinity Biennial 2018 Art Show. it's the first show i have attempted to get into and i think it's pretty cool regardless of "little" size that the hair pot is. i am grateful. be well.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
unsung heroes
so as i visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens weekly, or almost weekly, to be in my temple called, "Mother Nature's Beauty", i always give special attention to a couple groups that i refer to as the Unsung Heroes - conifers/evergreens and roses. yes i know, two very different items.
i say Unsung Heroes because my perception over time as i have watched many folks at the garden is such that they don't really appreciate the true beauty of these two categories. of course you are saying, "marlo, you are so wrong and you have a really distorted perception! everyone loves roses! every garden in my neighborhood has an evergreen tree!"
well. on the contrary. let's start with the first group. when you climb up through the dwarf conifer & evergreen part of the garden, it's magical. you are surrounded by all shades of green, from blue-green to citrus green to deep forest green and many in between. you have the traditional tall stoic evergreens towering up either side of you but the majority of what you are distracted by are the low crawling ones over steps, or the droopy Adams Family-like spindly tree, or the small very compact, keeping to itself shrub pine. each of them with a different texture, color and feel to their needles. i run my hands over almost every one and over every plant or flower to help me remember it and to smell its distinctive scent.
conifers, evergreens and pines are used in gardens to add structure, to help ease erosion and to add color all year long - hence their name ever-green.
this next info from THE SPRUCE website:
"conifer" is an arboricultural term meaning, literally, a cone-bearer (such English words as "refer" and "aquifer" also use the FER Latin root, meaning "to bear"). Trees and shrubs that fall into this category reproduce by forming a cone rather than a flower as a container for their seeds. It is this fact regarding reproduction that points us to the difference between evergreens and conifers (see below). The corresponding adjective is "coniferous." Most conifers are evergreens, but not all of them are.
again, do not confuse "conifer" with "evergreen." While there is overlap between these two botanical classifications, they do not signify the same thing. As you can see from the above, the former pertains to means of reproduction (the cone); the latter, by contrast, pertains to the nature of a tree's leaves (or "needles")...
many people get frustrated with the cones that conifers bear or that they make soil acidic for planting and others just think Christmas trees for evergreens. this group of trees are so very unique with their shapes and colors and feel. when one decides to place them in their home garden, i hope that they do so with the intent to compliment with even more color from spring to winter.
i say Unsung Heroes because my perception over time as i have watched many folks at the garden is such that they don't really appreciate the true beauty of these two categories. of course you are saying, "marlo, you are so wrong and you have a really distorted perception! everyone loves roses! every garden in my neighborhood has an evergreen tree!"
well. on the contrary. let's start with the first group. when you climb up through the dwarf conifer & evergreen part of the garden, it's magical. you are surrounded by all shades of green, from blue-green to citrus green to deep forest green and many in between. you have the traditional tall stoic evergreens towering up either side of you but the majority of what you are distracted by are the low crawling ones over steps, or the droopy Adams Family-like spindly tree, or the small very compact, keeping to itself shrub pine. each of them with a different texture, color and feel to their needles. i run my hands over almost every one and over every plant or flower to help me remember it and to smell its distinctive scent.
conifers, evergreens and pines are used in gardens to add structure, to help ease erosion and to add color all year long - hence their name ever-green.
this next info from THE SPRUCE website:
"conifer" is an arboricultural term meaning, literally, a cone-bearer (such English words as "refer" and "aquifer" also use the FER Latin root, meaning "to bear"). Trees and shrubs that fall into this category reproduce by forming a cone rather than a flower as a container for their seeds. It is this fact regarding reproduction that points us to the difference between evergreens and conifers (see below). The corresponding adjective is "coniferous." Most conifers are evergreens, but not all of them are.
again, do not confuse "conifer" with "evergreen." While there is overlap between these two botanical classifications, they do not signify the same thing. As you can see from the above, the former pertains to means of reproduction (the cone); the latter, by contrast, pertains to the nature of a tree's leaves (or "needles")...
many people get frustrated with the cones that conifers bear or that they make soil acidic for planting and others just think Christmas trees for evergreens. this group of trees are so very unique with their shapes and colors and feel. when one decides to place them in their home garden, i hope that they do so with the intent to compliment with even more color from spring to winter.
I ADDED THE BONSAI EVERGREENS AS THAT IS ALWAYS AN OPTION TO CREATE IN YOUR GARDEN AS WELL.
and now for the roses.
i have enjoyed roses all my life. my mother grew them like it was the easiest thing to do. my grandma, the same. of course i didn't really appreciate them during my childhood because i had to water them and the rest of garden when i would have much rather been playing in the alley with my friends. those were called chores, which is also a topic for another day.
the roses in the stores for a few decades now are bred for color, shape and showmanship. they are not the roses of old which are sturdy, more disease resistant (though new breeding technology is helping with that without sacrificing anything else), and they were full of aroma. beautiful aroma. not every kind and some so subtle, only one with an acute sense of smell would notice. thankfully, i am one such person.
my reason for including them in the Unsung Heroes is that again, I don't feel that there's real appreciation for the variety, depth and subtlety of this group. when i walk through one of two rose gardens that i frequent, one much larger than the other, not one person outside myself, & the person i may be with during that visit, bends down to smell the roses. not one. isn't that a saying from many wise sage folks?? they just stroll on by chatting on their phones or to each other oblivious of the sheer beauty, color and aroma that they are passing. every single time it's the same.
wait. i, apologize. the only other kind of person who is paying attention to the color and shape only (not the scent) are the photographers with their foot long lens trying to capture just the right image, never stepping back long enough to simply look at the beauty that stands right in front of them. remember, this is how i view things, not how anyone else views this scenario.
all i am saying is that, the world of roses is stunning if you really want to include that kind of beauty, patience and commitment into your life. there are so many varieties available to each region and so many colors. talk about the complexity of Mother Natures hand. wow. from the tiniest blossom on a crawling shrub to the tall stems holding the sexiest of buds bursting with voluptuousness, teasing you as they open petal after petal after petal. their scents range from subtle green to light vanilla to citrus with vanilla to the sweetest peach to the grand traditional deep floral that will forever remind me of Lorraine, my grandma, and the rose soaps in her bathroom. always.
think about bringing an Unsung Hero into your life. it's worth it.
be well. marlo.
Sunday, April 8, 2018
a spring feast
beautiful day it was...spring showing itself slowly to us in the midwest. i feel so badly for the folks on the east coast who keep getting slammed with winter snow though i know that we get our fair share of biting from Mother Nature. so it goes.
a feast was in order for friends to reveal our newly remodeled 44yr old kitchen. so refreshing the change, light and calming it feels. the food meant to be somewhat the same, slowly lifting the weight of winter's grip on the body.
and so, i share the deliciousness with you all. yes of course you can hire me to come cook a feast for your friends. any time - just give me a call.
i also included a short clip of Brene Brown, whose writing and teaching i enjoy a great deal. she talks about the food table as a place of community in one's home and how it brings people together. she also speaks of it as the place in the house where all is laid out - nothing is kept secret and everyone is supported. an interesting short piece and i feel that our food table does just what she says it does.
https://www.washingtonpost.com
enjoy & be well. marlo
a feast was in order for friends to reveal our newly remodeled 44yr old kitchen. so refreshing the change, light and calming it feels. the food meant to be somewhat the same, slowly lifting the weight of winter's grip on the body.
and so, i share the deliciousness with you all. yes of course you can hire me to come cook a feast for your friends. any time - just give me a call.
i also included a short clip of Brene Brown, whose writing and teaching i enjoy a great deal. she talks about the food table as a place of community in one's home and how it brings people together. she also speaks of it as the place in the house where all is laid out - nothing is kept secret and everyone is supported. an interesting short piece and i feel that our food table does just what she says it does.
https://www.washingtonpost.com
enjoy & be well. marlo
creamy burrata cheese with melted tomatoes, shallots & garlic
arugula & butter leaf salad with apples, pears, sharp blue cheese,
toasted walnuts topped with a grainy mustard lemon vinaigrette
avocado deviled eggs with a dash of wasabi & scallion
fennel, blood & naval oranges, mint with a poppyseed
vialia onion dressing drizzled
bowtie pasta with sundried tomatoes, carmelized buttery
onions, steamed asparagus & parmesan cheese
roasted winter squash (a light variety whose name escapes me)
with cumin, black sesame seeds, olive oil, s&p
and a gorgonzola butter drizzled over it all
samoa pie which is coconut crust with a caramel layer under a
chocolate-coconut milk pudding and flaky malden salt sprinkled on top.
i cooked the caramel a touch too long as it became a very hard
candy under the pudding which was rather hard to bite into.
lemon cardamon spice cake with lemon glaze covering
....left out that we had beautiful cheeses, pates, salami and a
rather yummy pork shoulder with a mustard sage coating.
we set the pork out later in the evening and i forgot to snap a shot.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
snow
it's getting late for me in my day, being the early to bed gal that i am, and i wanted to quickly send this off while the feelings are still vivid.
snow. i love it. always have. i don't do snow sports at all. i drive in it, long distances. i take public transportation in it. i walk in it. i shovel it. it's been in my life every year i have lived here in the midwest. people love, love, love to complain about the snow. i truly don't understand it as i have experienced all the same shit around it that they have, and yet i choose to look at it differently. the same goes for any weather that isn't exactly perfect, though i have no idea what that would look like. keep in mind that snow is crucial to every midwest farmer as is rain. the winter frosts and snow fall kill the pests that can otherwise wreak havoc on crops if winter stays to warm, but most folks forget that. snow fall also replenishes the great lakes that supply our every day, every minute water and without enough snow, we have low lakes come spring which can cause challenges. so snow is very necessary here in the midwest. period.
i simply love the beauty of it. i love how silent the neighborhood is when the storm is tapering off, be it evening or morning. i love the mornings especially in the snow because no one wants to go out except me, the beyond committed runners and the bigger of the brave dogs. though the small ones don't like to be shown up, so they muster themselves to get out and strut their stuff.
snow is a gift for the mind and the eyes, if you slow yourself down enough to look at it. it covers all the ugly gray and bleak of winter here in a vibrant, porcelain white blanket. it creates artistic outlines of all that is hibernating and helps them rest even further until it's the right time to wake up. it makes one quiet immediately because you are in awe of its splendor and elegance as it has landed in the most perfect way upon everything. it stops your thoughts and allows you to be so ever present in each step you make through the depth of whatever has fallen.
so this past week we have had a good amount of snow that i have been praying to the universe to bring. everyone i know gets very frustrated with me when i tell them that i have asked for this to come. oh well. i am filled with glee, joy, smiles and peace when it comes and keeps coming!
this morning, i woke to another 4 inches or so that had landed and i decided it was time for a walk to the lake while it was quiet since i didn't get to that a few days ago when about 8 inches landed and i spend 2 hours shoveling. i decided to capture some images of the beauty. enjoy, take a walk in the snow and be well.
snow. i love it. always have. i don't do snow sports at all. i drive in it, long distances. i take public transportation in it. i walk in it. i shovel it. it's been in my life every year i have lived here in the midwest. people love, love, love to complain about the snow. i truly don't understand it as i have experienced all the same shit around it that they have, and yet i choose to look at it differently. the same goes for any weather that isn't exactly perfect, though i have no idea what that would look like. keep in mind that snow is crucial to every midwest farmer as is rain. the winter frosts and snow fall kill the pests that can otherwise wreak havoc on crops if winter stays to warm, but most folks forget that. snow fall also replenishes the great lakes that supply our every day, every minute water and without enough snow, we have low lakes come spring which can cause challenges. so snow is very necessary here in the midwest. period.
i simply love the beauty of it. i love how silent the neighborhood is when the storm is tapering off, be it evening or morning. i love the mornings especially in the snow because no one wants to go out except me, the beyond committed runners and the bigger of the brave dogs. though the small ones don't like to be shown up, so they muster themselves to get out and strut their stuff.
snow is a gift for the mind and the eyes, if you slow yourself down enough to look at it. it covers all the ugly gray and bleak of winter here in a vibrant, porcelain white blanket. it creates artistic outlines of all that is hibernating and helps them rest even further until it's the right time to wake up. it makes one quiet immediately because you are in awe of its splendor and elegance as it has landed in the most perfect way upon everything. it stops your thoughts and allows you to be so ever present in each step you make through the depth of whatever has fallen.
so this past week we have had a good amount of snow that i have been praying to the universe to bring. everyone i know gets very frustrated with me when i tell them that i have asked for this to come. oh well. i am filled with glee, joy, smiles and peace when it comes and keeps coming!
this morning, i woke to another 4 inches or so that had landed and i decided it was time for a walk to the lake while it was quiet since i didn't get to that a few days ago when about 8 inches landed and i spend 2 hours shoveling. i decided to capture some images of the beauty. enjoy, take a walk in the snow and be well.
the neighborhood streets
historic evanston home
the yellow was beautiful against the snow
beach front of the lake
beachfront of the lake & sailboat docking
frozen lake michigan
swings waiting for a warm bottom to fill them
the fortress longing to be climbed upon
the lonely bench waiting for a passerby to pause
the architecture of the landscape
trees showing their stunning structure
the hardy hydrangea serving as a hideout
for any tiny winged bird
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