Farmers' Market Saturday Mornings

We only have a few more weeks left. When this market started a number of years ago, there were maybe 5 or 6 stalls and only a hew shoppers showed up. Now it is packed with vendors and buyers. It's the place to be on Saturday mornings and I love it. It's what this town was like years ago, when our downtown was full of shops, the sidewalks were crowded, and you could hardly walk a few feet whiteout running into people you knew. Ohioans love malls, so many were built and that's where people went and our local shops went out of business.

But now, starting in late June, like Brigadoon a little mini-town appears and stays until the end of October. There are still vegetables to be had: squash, kale, radishes and potatoes. Starting last week, there are lots of pumpkins and mums. There was a new food vendor this week selling hot soup, just in time for nippy weather. I bought potato garlic and it was terrific. One of my favorites is Gaelic Imports, which sells pasties, sausage rolls and little cottage pies. A favorite of everyone there is Rafael, the Spanish baker. He makes wonderful breads. He said he even used to grow and mill his own wheat, but while it was an adventure, it was just too time consuming. There's a young man who bakes and sells cookies which are quite varied and good. One woman makes organic dog treats, but nothing for cats, so I can't buy any of her wares. I haven't checked to see if there is any catnip seller, but I bet there is.

We have a couple of goat farmers with all sorts of gourmet cheeses and feta. I buy my face soap from a young woman who makes the best herbal soaps that feel like cram on my face. I don't think it has had any effect on the wrinkles, but it certainly feels good and it smells heavenly. Everyone loves the garlic man and his two dogs, who sit in the bed of his truck and smile at people. He said it was not a good garlic year, but he also had shallots and fancy onions this time.

Music is provided from some of Kent's best folk musicians. This week I happened to run into a fine folk singer I know as she was talking to the musician on duty and I said. "You should be singing here." They conferred briefly (they've worked with each other before) and did a rousing number together, so I threw some money into his guitar case. (The folk festival happens next month and they'll both be performing.) World renowned composer Halim El Dabh was strolling about looking like an Old Testament prophet, wearing one of his African robes and using a long walking stick like Moses. He has performed there in the past. He and Rafael, the baker, are two of the most charming men in Kent and have quite a good time flirting with women of all ages.

Last year, some of the vendors had an indoor Christmas market in a big unused business garage and I hope they do it again this year. Our family has decided that we all have too much "stuff" and are planning this Christmas to give only things that can be consumed rather than objects which take up space,, so this is the kind of place to find those things.

Fit For A Boa Constrictor

I realize should be contemplating the meaning of life or the state of the world, but I am not. My mind focuses on trivia, only some trivia looms large in life at times. My current concern is the size of sandwiches. For most of my life, a sandwich was something between two slices of bread: peanut butter and jelly, or a piece of baloney, ham. or roast beef, with maybe a bit of lettuce. These sandwiches were held in one's hands, stuck together without the aid of toothpicks and easily eaten by the normally jawed. One would occasionally get a triple-decker BLT at a nice tea room sort of place, delicately divided into fourths and skewered with cellophane tasseled toothpicks. It could be a job to keep it together long enough to convey to the mouth, but it was not impossible without dislocating the jaw .For the past decade or so, however, sandwiches have become towers compiled of layers and layers of meat, cheeses, and lettuce. Unless one has jaws hinged like unto a boa constrictor's, it is almost impossible to bit into one of these things.

Recently, for instance, a friend and I, having rambled around in Amish country, stopped for lunch at a nice hilltop eatery. (It was not Amish, although there were a few young Amish women amongst the wait-staff. ) There was an interesting looking sandwich on the menu and we were able to persuade the server to let us halve it, knowing we would be unable, as geezers, to eat a whole one. When it was brought to the table, each half on its own plate, we were confronted with this 5 inch high creation, stuffed with lots of lettuce, thick bacon, tomato and turkey. It looked delicious, bur we were forced to use out knives and forks to cut it into manageable size. It took forever. We really didn't need that much food. I could not imagine anyone eating the whole thing without developing some terrible jaw condition. (And along with the sandwich and a cup of soup, the waitress brought little biscuits with cheese baked into them. At least they were the right size to bite into. )

I am not sure why sandwiches have gotten so huge. But then Americans have also gotten huge, so there must be a connection, no? There's enough stuff in the average restaurant sandwich to feed a village in Upper Volta, or whatever it's called these days. So I guess I am thinking of the state of the world after all.

Days to Remember in February

For the past month we have had the sort of weather I dream about when the winter days are gray and the earth looks dead. The skies are blue, the temperature is in the low 70s and the sun is golden. The leaves are still brilliant green as the sun shines through them. Late summer has become almost my favorite season; there are still flowers, the markets are full of wonderful local fruits and vegetables. Even though parts of my garden look creepy, I still have plenty of fresh herbs and healthy tomatoes and green peppers.

One of summer's pleasures which is still enjoyable is the ice cream stand down in New Baltimore, a crossroads hamlet just over the southern border of the county. There used to be two splendid antique shops there as well, but only one is left., and I don't need any more "stuff," anyway.

Although the place is on a main route, I like to go on the back roads through some lovely farmland. There's one place which, in early summer, had the most gorgeous garden right by the road. In June there are huge bright red poppies, iris and all kinds of roses. Last year I stopped to take pictures (which I have unfortunately erased) and the people came out and showed me around the back where they actually had some opium poppies which the man said his mother had started many years ago. Since I so admired their garden, the man picked me a selection of the most beautiful roses I've ever seen. he told me the names of them, but I don't remember. A few weeks later I stopped back with a painting I had done of one of them as a thank you gift.

The ice cream stand in New Baltimore is very popular because the ice cream is handmade and the flavors are unique. They also put eyes on top of the ice cream for the little kids, which I guess I could ask for if I wanted to. Nothing like having your ice cream staring back at you before you lick it. One afternoon this summer a group of antique car owners made a stop there during one of their rallies, so the parking lot was full of gleaming old beauties from the past. Motorcyclist roar in frequently, too, with their tanned babes on the back. It's also a popular stop with county fair goers, too, since it's on the same highway a few miles away. Even when it's crowded, they're very efficient, so you never have to wait long.

In the past couple of years, they have duded up the place, adding a vine covered arbor to sit under while you slurp. This year they are going to stay open a little longer, which will be nice for the leaf peepers in October. I'll probably get a couple of visits in before it closes for the year.

When Good Veggies Go Bad

This has been a bonanza year for tomato growers. I have several varieties and they have all produced prodigiously. Somehow I got a couple of beefsteak tomatoes, not my favorite except for BLTs. (This is the only time of the year when I allow myself the luxury and cholesterol of bacon.)

With the other tomatoes, I have made chili, spaghetti sauce and even experiments with tomato paste which Erma Bombauer promised I could do easily. Alas, I do not keep the required brown sugar in my staple supply , but I made a tomato paste-like concoction which took most of the day to cook , turning 8 great tomatoes into about a half cup of goop with which I thickened my spaghetti sauce.

With most of the tomatoes I have made our favorite tomato, basil, garlic and onion topping for pasta, the memory of which will haunt us in February. Or sliced tomatoes, with mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. I have also frozen a few little packets of tomatoes for soup this fall and winter.

What with family reunions and much loved company for the past month or so, however, I have rather neglected that care of my garden. I went out yesterday and discovered the above horror in one of the beefsteak tomato plants. Eeewww! There is something so disgusting and ghastly about the transformation of a healthy plant into something so grotesque. It looks like something Hieronymus Bosch would put into a sort of corrupt still life, fruit for the damned. A good veggie gone bad on its way to eternal damnation. No more the shiny, red, edible globe. Aargh! Something nasty in the garden

A Goofy Pleasure

Years ago, before VCR or Tivo, when television was "live", Sunday nights were the nights for watching the Ed Sullivan Show. In spite of the fact that Ed Sullivan was one of the clumsiest hots ever, it w2as a terrific variety show, which brought all sorts of wonders to us out here in the spaces between New York and Los Angeles. We could see the stars of Broadway shows doing a complete number from a hit musical: Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet and Richard Burton from "Camelot," for instance, and Paul Lynde singing the Ed Sullivan anthem from "Bye Bye Birdie." We could see Rudoph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn doing a pas de deux from "Coppelia." Itzak Perelman, as a child prodigy appeared, too, as did Isaac Stern. He introduced some of the great comedians, like Stiller and Meara. Of course one of the biggest TV debuts ever was the first performance on American TV of the Beatles, featuring hundreds of screaming teen aged girls. (A charming, funny little movie was made about that, called "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", which is worth seeing.)

Among the more unusual and old fashioned acts were Senor Wences, with the head in the box - "S'all right!" - and Topo Gigo. There was some guy who would spin dozens of plates on slender sticks, Myron Cohen with his old Jewish lady jokes, Frank Gorshin the impersonator, and a comic dog act featuring a dog who only stared at his desperate trainer as man tried to get the animal to do tricks. I think this part of program was like the vaudeville shows that my grandparents' generation had enjoyed back before movies killed them.

One of the old vaudeville acts that never failed to make me laugh aloud was that of Mr. Pastry, a British music hall performer, whose schtick consisted of a demonstration of The Lancers, an old fashioned group dance popular at grand parties. Dressed in white tie and tails, with white gloves, he would dance alone, but make you see the whole company. He was on probably once a year, and that''s the only thing he did, but he did it perfectly. I had forgotten his name, but I came across it in a memoir I was reading and immediately found him on YouTube. His real name was Richard Hearne and I rather doubt that he's still among the living. Some people reading this may remember him. This is only a little clip, but it still makes me laugh.

I 'm sure that the entire Ed Sullivan show is archived out there. It was not always memorable, but there were moments that I still remember. It is nice to have Mr. Pastry available to watch again.

Wild and Crazy Music

The New Yorker of August 31 has an article by Alex Ross, their music critic, about embellishment by musicians, historically and currently. He mentions the cadenza, that event in the concerto, particularly, where the soloist can show off his/her ability to improvise, or in most cases, stray from the score using the composer's own invention. He mentions a couple of YouTube examples of whist he calls "full cadenza craziness." I checked them out and just have to share them.

The first is from a violinist called Gilles Apap, who both looks like and plays like a Gypsy, having his way with Mozart's Violin Concerto. Check this out.

The other is Alfred Schnittke, being not quite so crazy with Beethoven. The Apap performance is on video and you can see that some of the musicians Are Not Amused. I think it's pretty cool myself, even though I love both of these concertos. The Cleveland Orchestra concerts start soon and I would love to see/hear something like this once in a while.

Busy August

Yikes! Summer is a goin' out and I haven't even posted an entry for August. It all started when Emily, Katina and Elena arrived in the U.S. of A. First I had to dust behind the furniture, buy a new kitchen sponge, wipe away the cob webs in the hall, alphabetize the canned goods, color coordinate the dish towels and perform other household tasks that can go unnoticed until company arrives. (What I really need to do is rent a dumpster and throw out the accumulations of 46 years in this house.) The thing is unless the mess is absolutely egregious, no one notices any of that stuff anyway.

So into my semi-clean, semi-neat house, the three lovely ladies arrived un-jetlagged, since they had spent the first few days in New York. The young ladies are taller than when I saw them last, two years ago, and still beautiful. It has been a whirlwind of activity for a couple of weeks, since there is an awareness that Emily is back in town and phone calls arrive almost simultaneously with her coming in the front door. The girls are now old enough to wander about on their own, mostly to a couple of favored coffee shops. I kept my studio free so they could draw (which they do beautifully) and peruse books and just lounge.

The main reason for their coming was the Harper Hootenanny, held in Dayton. This was a reunion planned by the cousins, originating in the Hofbrau Haus in Munich, when Emily and Terry decided that the Harpers needed a reunion. They generated an email list of all 26 Harper grandchildren and sent out the word. Despite the initial enthusiastic response, we were missing about 60 or s0, with some of the West Coast, Alaska and New England relatives unable to make it (even though Emily CAME ALL THE WAY FROM GERMANY!!) And sadly, we lost our dear Terry in June, but his parents and his family, Lee Ann, Dale and Jace were there.

All of these people are the issue of May and Sid Harper, which is pretty amazing. I mean, what a crowd! I don't know how many of us are still Catholics and how many of us are atheists, but the lack of birth control from a couple of generations really caused a population explosion for a while. We are all quite fond of each other and had a wonderful time. There were a couple of nephews I hadn't seen for ages, whose children are now grown. There are a tribe of adorable little ones, the youngest of which is 4, all blond and movie tyke gorgeous. They were like a flock of puppies and I loved watching them. We all welcomed Jill's new husband, who seemed not a bit overwhelmed. The Dayton and Cincinnati Harpers all brought edibles and drinkables, including Paul's delicious home brew. I heard that at one point some Maker's Mark was hoisted in toasts to the spirit of Terry.

I took my little Flip video camera and interviewed many of the participants and intend to make a family documentary if I can figure out how to edit it coherently, so I can cut out the shots of my feet. Still photos are being downloaded onto various Facebook pages as I write. There is talk of trying to do this again with hopes of increasing the participants.

The amazing Jill Harper Collett was the major planner, managing to put this all together AND running off to the Rockies to get married AND buying a new house AND planning to move just about all at the same time. Brother Mike and wife Marian ended up having a lot of us descend on their home periodically during the weekend and managed to make everyone feel welcome. They have a lot going on in their lives right now and I hope they are getting a good rest.

So that's what I've been up to and why I have not added a post for such a long time. Emily leaves for Germany on Monday and John leaves the same day for a conference in Colorado, so the house will feel REALLY empty. Dupree and I will have to muddle through.