Birdseed Picnic

from a Token of Friendship by Barbara Milo Ohrbach

BIRDSEED PICNIC

This is a gift for our friends, the birds and is also a nice gift for nature-minded friends. This mixture will attract most varieties, including cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, gold and purple finches, and sparrows.

8 OUNCES STRIPED SUNFLOWER SEEDS

6 OUNCES OIL SUNFLOWER SEEDS

14 OUNCES SMALL CHICK CORN

6 OUNCES MILLET

2 OUNCES THISTLE

4 OUNCES PEANUT HEARTS

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Divide into small paper bags.

Tie each bag with ribbon or green garden twine.

Makes 2 1/2 pounds bird-feed mixture.

At 16 years old, June (Angel) was the wisest 15 year old I knew. My mom once said June was as pretty as Farah Fawcett.

A REASON TO SERVE ARTICHOKES AGAIN

ROBIN LEIGH WORTLEY'S SECRET ARTICHOKE DIPPING SAUCE

Robin was one of my best friends in college and, already a gourmet cook at the tender age of 22. We didn't call it dipping sauce then; but this was her recipe & it is delicious.

All measurements are to taste and depend on how many people you are serving.




Mayonnaise
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Minced garlic
Worcestershire Sauce (use sparingly & taste)

Mix all ingredients together in bowl.
Serve chilled.

GO FISH

I bought my brother one of these fish bowls (together with a wooden nail brush, loofah and sea sponge) for Christmas.

Ingredients: Whale-shaped cheese crackers, assorted rice crackers, spicy wasabi peas, and honey toasted peanuts; No tasteless fillers in the mixture, which is more than can be said for the perennial favorite, Chex Party Mix. Available at The World Market for $8. Delicious.

Chalk Chess: A few of my favorite things

I bought this chess set, made of chalk, while in Amsterdam at Christmastime. Designed in the UK, the chess pieces are elegant looking enough, especially, the soot-colored black ones. The cardboard packaging is cool - very high quality designed to last. I think it would be fun to take on a picnic or play on the porch stoop, unless of course it starts to rain. Bring something to blot your fingers with.

WHAT WOULD YOU PAY FOR A TULIP?

I paid 6 euros ($9.00) for this tulip from the Netherlands. Certainly a bargain by Dutch standards during Holland's Golden Age.

For tulips were once one of the most sought after luxury items of the 17th century. Tulip bulbs were a type of currency unto themselves, with their value fluctuating wildly day to day. This "tulip mania" caused a major market crisis in 1637 with speculation ruining a good many traders.

The Turks were the original tulip lovers and it was from them the Dutch acquired their first bulbs in the late 1500s. By the early 1700s, it was the Turks who were importing bulbs from Holland.

An early 17th century bill of sale recorded the following transaction for one single tulip bulb:

two loads of wheat
four loads of rye
four fat oxen
eight fat swine
twelve fat sheep
two hogsheads of wine
four barrels of beer
two barrels of butter
1000 pounds of cheese
a marriage bed with linens
a sizable wagon to hall it all away
"and a partridge in a pear tree"

Now largely associated with the Netherlands, Holland produces over 3 million tulip bulbs each year.

Yippy Ky Yo Ky Yay: Vintage Palm Springs Motel

Palm Springs Hotel, Ruby Montana's Coral Sands Inn Palm Springs, California
Someday, I hope to see this little, vintage 1950's motel. Ruby Montana's Pinto Pony was a favorite Seattle store. Miss Ruby closed it; moved to the dessert and bought herself a motel.


A hired hand or guest demonstrates a tiny tv screen displaying a bucking bronco

I did adore the red colored Indian inspired party dress...

"Good sir, I heard you are a poet ........ But a poet of no words?"

Goodbye Christmas

The Christmas tree inspires a love/hate relationship. All that time spent selecting and decorating, and a week after, you see it by the side of the road, like a mob hit.... Jerry Seinfeld

I COULD SURE USE SOME PIN MONEY

Today, we do not give pins a second thought. This was not always the case. In the 1800's, every woman cherished her thimble, her set of scissors, and her set of pins. Pins were such a luxury it became a custom to give brides money for pins; hence, the term pin money.