Cookin' Day! Custard Pie

So Brian didn't stop at biscuits and soup--oh no!
He went completely insane and made pie crust (since we had a flour-covered counter)!






Then he whipped up a positively perfect custard with our raw milk, raw cream, homemade butter and little golden eggies from our girls--mmmm.

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Few foods can make me cry, but this did it! I thought of my grandmother and her custard pie and got misty. It was scrumptious!

Cookin' Day! In the pots

While those buttermilk biscuits were working, we started the usual chicken/veggie soup for his folks' Tuesday din-din. This is the yummy stock after the chicken (leg quarters, in this case) boiled for a few hours with celery, onion and seasonings.


Meanwhile, I had a craving for red beans and rice. So I soaked a pound of beans overnight and started them on the stove in the am with a beautiful ham hock, onion, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, crushed fennel/caraway/cinnamon...and cooked for hours. Over basmati, it was a DREAM!


And the dehydrator was running with some older winesaps and organic cranberries. When fruit gets old--dry it out! Or you can give it to the chickens--who go NUTS!

Cookin' Day! Buttermilk Biscuits

We tend to do all sorts of chores on Sundays. If you've read some of this blog before, you know that we lead an odd lifestyle--a little more old-timey than most folks these days. So our cooking is generally from scratch.

Really scratch...like making our own butter. That's another post.


Yesterday, Brian awoke with a mission from the baking gods! He started the day by making buttermilk biscuits. While he mixed the dough, I buttered and floured a juice glass for cutting.

Here's the final results--delish with my homemade apple butter. How Hoosier!

Washington Post Weighs in on "Good Food"

Interesting article about keeping "good food" accessible and affordable. Steps to take to accomplish what many want!

What are YOUR thoughts? Elitist or Practical?

Sarah

Can't Eat Helathy for Cheap, eh?

I beg to differ!

I'm starting a series on how to eat healthy and local for cheap. Heres the criteria:

* must be more than 70% locally-grown/produced ingredients
* either seasonal or preserved from fresh in season
* reasonable portion sizes -- not like your local restaurant "trough-size" portions
* recipes are generally for two as that's our household, so multiply to feed more, but serving cost is same.
* I'll include where I sourced the ingredients, so you can find them too!


Today's Local -- Pulled pork with Kale
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Ingredients:

* 1/2 container of pulled pork and separate bbq sauce (from IWFM, $10 full, $5 for 1/2)
* 1 onion, sliced (Cumberland Farm Market, $.30)
* 4 cloves of garlic, smashed (Cumberland FM, $.25)
* 1/2 bunch of fresh Kale (IWFM, $3, $1.50 for 1/2)
* EVOO for saute and spice (Trader Joe's, organic EVOO, and Sweet Curry from Penzy's)

Saute onions until translucent with the diced ribs of the kale--about 8 min.
Add garlic, and pulled pork, until onion is browned and pork is heated through--about 5 min.
Add kale leaves coarsely chopped until soft--about 5 min.
Season with some of the bbq sauce, salt/pepper/seasoning of your choice.
Enjoy!

This meal cost about $7.20, so $3.60 per serving. We were both hungry and finished full, but not loaded.

Sarah

Viewing Art on a Computer?

I just opened the very first VIRTUAL Fine Art Show on the website!
"Vibrant Views", recent paintings by Janet Skinner. Ms. Skinner has taken her view of the macro plant world and transformed it into saturated colors from her own perspective, rich with texture and life. I have been a fan of her work for some time now, and am delighted to present it in this format.

It's got me thinking about what it means to view art on a computer, particularly non-computer generated art. Is it an end unto itself? Is it more convenient? Is it flat? Is it exciting?

I don't know the answers to these questions. Can you help? We could start a discussion about this topic. Feel free to share your thoughts. I do not moderate comments...anything goes. But if it's rude, crude and socially unacceptable, I'll remove it ;)

Back in the spring, the Indianapolis Star (I would link to the article, but they purged the link) got interested in the closure of the physical gallery space in Fountain Square--where I had been showing art for 3 years. They were interested in the whole downsizing model of a business needing to close and looking for another option. In this case, when I was healthy enough to re-open, I knew it would look and feel very different. That's when the idea of a VIRTUAL art gallery and MOBILE frame shop was born.

There were several people interviewed and many supporters. In the article, the Dean of Herron School of Art and Design, however, said that art should not be viewed on a computer. That it should be felt and seen in person...lived with (I'm paraphrasing). I completely agree! The hope, of course, is that a viewer is moved by a piece and decides to purchase it and hang it in their home or office to enjoy everyday! So then, what of this interim VIRTUAL model? Where will it go--I don't know. But I'm enjoying the journey.

What are YOUR thoughts?

Sarah

New Chicken BLog

Found this super-fun blog while researching how to use kelp meal and alfalfa as feed supplements for the Girls.
Good stuff!

Sarah

Michael and Madeleine

If you are in Indianapolis today, you can hear Michael Pollan and Madeleine Albright. This is so great! What a wonderful city to live it!

However, they are speaking at the exact same time (noon) at different venues. Michael Pollan will be at the Scottish Rite Cathedral downtown for the Spirit and Place Festival, and Secretary Albright will appear at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in support of a new exhibit of her pins.

Had I not already purchased one ticket, I would have had a VERY difficult time deciding. On the one hand is a tremendously intelligent and influential woman--a role-model to me. On the other, the figurehead for my current passion--local, sustainable food for everyone. Which one of these?

I bought my (cheap $15 balcony) ticket for Michael Pollan before I knew about Ms. Albright. So that's done for me. But still...

If you are attending Mr. Pollan's discussion, please feel free to meet me at the shop (Senate and St. Clair--SE corner). There's plenty of free parking, or if you are on foot or biking it, I'm just a half block north of the Cultural Trail where it meets Senate! We can walk over together!

Sarah

Knitting again

I stumbled upon this wonderful blog by a woman trying her best to live sustainably. She wrote about "an obsession with kerchiefs", which I simply MUST try to use up some of the yummy-but-oh-so-tiny amounts of yarn in my bulging yarn box!

Here's my first pattern to try--looks quite simple!
Pictures, IF they turn out nicely.

Sarah

Puttin' Up the Harvest

I swore I would NOT go anywhere this weekend (broke that promise to myself by dashing into work to cut two emergency mats for an artist/client) so we could cross off all the things on the TO DO list!

Brian got an early start by renting the big tiller and chewing up the garden soil. Then he went and picked up another rik of wood--that's now the 9th, 3 more to go for winter.

The burn ban was lifted in our county after a nice, and well-deserved storm. So we burned what we had cut down in the middle of the garden. That will be tilled back in and then the whole garden gets a nice heavy blanket of chopped maple leaves for the winter. Although the chickens are sure to make a mess of all that ;)

Today, on the inside, I will be:
* cutting and freezing the last pepper harvest
* cutting and dehydrating the baby peppers
* cutting and dehydrating apples
* figuring out something to do with all those yummy beets
* juicing and freezing the last tomato harvest
* making butter
* re-arranging the freezer

Plus the usual Sunday chores of laundry, cleaning the hen house, composting, cooking for the week.
I'm getting OFF the computer and getting busy!

Sarah

Don't Mess with the Hormones

Today, I forgot to take the afternoon hormone until 3:30pm.
Not good.
It didn't help that I had met a friend, artist Carmen Hurt, for lunch at the Mass Ave. Wine Shoppe...a wonderful establishment run by Jill Ditmire. So naturally, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to sit outside on a warm fall day with Carmen, a nice sandwich and a glass of Carmenere.

Combine the two--no hormone and a glass of vino with lunch and...

I had to leave early, before 5:00, and when I got home, had enough energy to put down the purse and laptop and collapse on the couch.
For an hour and a half :( Then made myself get up to lock up the chickens for the night and start a fire. But I didn't roast that thawed chicken as planned.

*sigh*

I've got to get this pill thing under control. I'm not used to taking them, nor am I happy about it. But the pituitary is toast.

Sarah
P.S. I'm sure tomorrow I'll write a positive post.

PPFA Indiana

We just finished our Fall Framing Fest 2010 this afternoon with a docent led tour at the IMA of the American and European Galleries--with an eye for picture frames. Our docent, Susie, was great! She had an armload of research with her and gave us some very interesting information.

Stuart Altschuler, owner of Prestige Framing Academy, flew in from the east coast to help us with our print competition (yippee, I won the Open Competition), share information from the PPFA national board and teach us all about enhancing our web presence! It was very informative--Stuart really knows his stuff!

We all got a chance to catch up over a yummy lunch sponsored by Larson-Juhl and Lifesaver. And afterward, last night a few of us enjoyed lively conversation and dinner at The Marker.

Now I come back down to earth to clean up chicken poo and finish the laundry--never a dull moment around here ;)

Sarah

One Less Hen :(

We lost one of our girls today. Still have no idea why. Just noticed this morning all is well and this afternoon she was sleeping in one of the nest boxes...floppy comb and listless.

I separated her form the others as chickens are notoriously mean to an ill mate, plus I didn't know if she was contagious. So she sat in a little cat crate while I did an exhaustive search on line about what might be wrong with her.

Brian got home and we stacked another rik of wood which takes about 45 minutes. When we finished she was already dead, stiff and cooling....poor little thing.

The others seem perfectly fine. But so did she yesterday!
I'm still trying to find out what happened. I'll post a comment when I have an answer from the Backyard Chicken Forum.

In the meantime, I'm digging an enormous hole in the compost area--off limits to the other chickens. Plus she'll have all winter to decompose before using any compost on the garden.

Sadly,
Sarah

Which Came First?

Chickens and Eggs:

If you are in Indianapolis and are interested, we have a couple of offerings.

1) We are selling our eggies (lovely little brown free-range, cage-free, organic yummies) for $1.50/half dozen or $3.00/dozen -- just to pay for organic chicken feed. Our girls are always hungry! They are still about a Grade A medium to large size. But they are getting bigger by the week!

2) Our Amish co-op is placing its quarterly fresh chicken order. You order whole or parts from me and I deliver it fresh same day it's processed. Processor is Miller. Good stuff, far less expensive than nasty grocery store chicken and it's CLEAN! Let me know this weekend.

Sarah

The stack

Encroachment of wood...that's what we have on the porch this time of year. We are in the thick of the wood stack.

We heat with wood (almost) exclusively, save a little in furnace in the basement, when the mercury dips to the single digits, to keep the wood floors a bit warmer. So we stack between 3 cords (stinks, not enough) to 4 cords (more work, and have wood for outdoor fires). This year it's one rik (3 riks = 1 cord) at a time in a giant bag. Think Polar Express ginormous Santa bag. Twelve riks. That's a lotsa stacking, but doing only a rik at a time, it's much easier on our aging backs.
We still stubbornly hang on to the summer porch though! Even as we only barely have room for a smaller table, two chairs and our loungers, we still insist on it! After all, it's 80-some degrees out today! Sarah

The Card

I used to violently rip up and destroy the mailings Brian got a decade or so ago. After all, I was in my mid-thirties. I didn't have a boyfriend deserving of an AARP mailing! He wasn't even 50 yet! SHEESH!

And last week, it happened.
I got the envelope--with MY name on it. I'm not 50 yet either. But this time I'm thinking...

...well, there is a 10% discount, right?

Sarah

Thanks Pop!

This is the Really Big Painting. Thanks for all your help stretching and framing, to my Pop, Roger Adams!

Sarah

Framing, Farming and Fate: That's a Really BIG Canvas!

http://avframinggallery.com/home.html

That's a Really BIG Canvas!

I'm working on the largest piece ever--at least in my shop.
Abstract acrylic painting on canvas my Sandoval of Cincinnati for a couple of clients.

I put 3 work tables together to get enough surface area to stretch it. This thing measures 77.5" x 106.25" (that's 6.5' x nearly 9' for those of you who don't want to do your own math)!

I'm building the frame right now. Need to rotate it to glue up the last corner, but I need 3 handy volunteers, one on each corner! Anyone free downtown?

Sarah

"We just stole your cat..."

...our very nice new neighbors announced as they crossed the street to our yard.

We already knew. It had been kind of a joke earlier in the summer and had been growing more obvious as the weeks went on.

Snowball, (we would later discover was his third name) had moved away from his former family around the block to live at our house several years earlier. They got a baby and a dog and he was outta there! It was bound to happen again. You see, Snowball is a neighbor whore.

He's a wonderfully kind and genial black cat. Why Snowball? Because he has a distinctive white patch of fur on his right flank. He looks like he's been hit in the @$$ with a snowball. Not very creative, but somewhat ironic. He had been hanging around the neighbor's porch instead of ours. When called, he no longer comes over.
**sigh**

I will certainly miss him. Though he's not far, and we all joked that we can come visit him anytime, he's still gone. And he is one to remember.

Sayanara, Snowball! Miranda and Jeff, enjoy his company!

Sarah

Harvest is not without its hazards.

Some may be so unfortunate as to lose parts in heavy machinery. Some may lose their crops from Nature's wrath.

Then there are those like me.

I just seeded, sliced and froze a whole harvest of hot peppers...without gloves.
Ouch...

Sarah

Chickens, butter and beans...oh, my!

Tonight was a fun night in our urban farmer almanac.

On tap was:
* Butter making (Brian loves this task)
* Putting up green beans for winter (Sarah's, hands down)
* Chicken wing-clipping (takes both of us, this time as tipsy as we were...)

Reason behind the chicken wing clipping is, now that they are laying fairly reliably in the nest boxes, we can let them roam in the garden to eat bugs and seeds, poop, and generally enjoy chicken life.

All this after very long days of work for both of us and a light dinner of local homemade pasta with our own Alfredo sauce (made in Jan. 2010 and frozen--wanted to see how it thawed--great is the answer) with some caramelized shallots and a nice California Cabernet.

Now it's 10:19 in the pm...and I'm tired. Finishing the framing for the Eiteljorg Museum in the am.

Sarah

The Kid of off!

It was a whirlwind of a month. And now the Kid is on a plane from London to Beirut, where she will be attending grad school in Urban Planning and Policy.

There's no keeping up with her. You just gotta nab her when she flies by and hang on for a while!
I couldn't be more proud (proud-er?) of this woman!

Hopefully, I will be able to pass on some great stories as the time goes by. Certainly looking forward to our own visits to the "Paris of the Middle East"!

Sarah

EGGIES!!!!

I dashed home between farmers market shopping and work. While bringing in the produce, Brian said, "I heard a familiar sound out there"--gesturing his eyes toward the coop. Really??

I had to see. Changing into the $#!% shoes, I ran out to the coop, shoo-ing the girls out from under my feet. Threw open the egg door and didn't see anything! No eggs!

So I looked under the henhouse where they like to hang out. And there it was! One little eggie in the very back!! As Brian entered the coop he saw another one right under the hanging waterer!

TWO LITTLE EGGS!

We're in business now ;)

Sarah

busy--busy--busy

Mercifully busy! Completely booked in both the shop and framing appointments through the end of next week! Not a moment to spare!

I gotta get back to work...

Sarah

Opposums really like cat food

They argue and fight over the outdoor kitties' food each night that we forget to bring it in at sundown.

Then one night I chased off 2 raccoons. At some point that same night there was a break-in (or break-out) of the screen door--gaping open at the bottom. All the cats got out and we can only assume the raccoons had free-reign of the house too! Little Cat is still outside, having decided it's nicer there than indoors.

Nuke was out the front door in the morning having spent the night with the raccoons. And Charlie, the giant kitten, well he was gloating in the morning that he was the only one who disregarded the temptation to romp in the night. Until I petted him and found him covered in burrs. Ya, right, Charlie.

Sarah

The KID is here!

Yay!

For a brief visit between Baghdad and Beirut, we get the chance to share time with Kim as she transitions from one adventure to another. What a tremendous threshold she is decisively stepping through!

Brian and I look forward to traveling to Lebanon to see her in her new home as soon as we can manage it.

She has my continuing and undying respect and admiration.

Sarah

Still No Eggs :(

We were under the apparently false impression that our girls would be laying at around 3 months old. Not so...

I attempted to con them into it subliminally by placing a small red potato in each nest box. They don't care...

I tried threats, "One of you girls better give me an egg this week, OR ELSE!" Ignoring me...

What's a chicken mother to do?
Sarah

It's HOT

Oh, Lawdy! It's HOT!

Yesterday, 100 degrees a block from my un-air conditioned shop as I drove to our un-air conditioned home in my un-air conditioned van.

Before, you go nuts calling me "nuts", neither Brian nor I work regularly in air conditioning, so it is more comfortable (and healthier) to simply get used to the weather rather than try to maintain a narrow range of comfortable temperature and then be uncomfortable all day at work.
Plus, we hate closing up the house (windows open all winter too).
Plus, we just like to be closer to nature.

But at 100 degrees...wow!
Sarah

The Wee Hours

Fairly regularly, I end up...up in the middle of the night for an hour or two. Like right now. It starts innocently enough, a nice big glass of water or milk before bed and getting up to go to the bathroom. But then my mind starts to work on all the unfinished business in my life and won't shut itself back off and return to sleep.

So I lay there for a while, maybe a half hour, until there is just no closing my eyes. Eventually, I have to get up so Brian can sleep.

Here I sit, laptop open, warm milk and the mind is still going. I always think, "well I could do dishes or laundry or balance the checkbook." Those are the kinds of things that wake me up in the first place. But I usually opt for more calming tasks to try and tempt sleep. Maybe writing it down will work....

Sarah

Coming Soon...

New Digs!

Since closing my Fountain Square gallery and shop, I've been framing at a home-based shop of a wonderful colleague. Unfortunately, there is not quite enough room there for all my stuff. Some is there; some is my at home; some is in a warehouse in storage. With my scattered brain, I was never able to have everything I need at one place when I needed it. Driving around the city to gather my stuff sent my blood pressure to new heights.

Generously, the fabulous businesswoman, in who's warehouse my equipment and inventory resides, said to me a couple weeks ago, "Why don't you just operate out of here?"

BRILLIANT!

And oh, so welcome! She is offering me space and I am cleaning it out. It's a lovely arrangement.

I am still doing the "Mobile" thing. So I still meet clients at homes, offices, other locations with samples and computer in hand. But now I'll be working out of a convenient location downtown (next to the canal and Cultural Trail--sweet). Details and new photos coming soon!

Sarah

Purple Fingers

...from de-stemming goose berries! These are being frozen for a future goose berry/rhubarb custard pie. When it cools down a little.

Right now (11:10 in the pm) it's 86 degrees in the kitchen. I didn't even cook in there this evening. I cooked dinner on the porch (lp gas burner from a turkey fryer--thanks Christine and Eddie)!

Dinner was fresh green beans sauteed with onion, garlic, and BACON, plus Kabsa (Middle Eastern spice blend--uber yummy). Topped off with the end of the homemade chocolate/coconut ice cream. Delish. Loving this time of year!

Gotta go shower and clean off the purple.

Sarah

Recovery

It will take several months.

But when I first got home, the doctor's orders were: "Three squares a day, 8 hours a night, and lay down three times a day for an hour each." Outside of the naps, sounded like my life. I was not to lift over 5 lbs., and no yoga.

I was on the same pain pill as in the hospital--something heavy with a high street value; I forget now which one. But it kept the headaches manageable, just not me. I was a noodle. Brian stayed home with me the first week and a half before having to go back to work (we LOVE being self-employed). He would keep reminding me about the 5 lbs. rule...that's hard. It's just a sack of flour.

I was no good at the nap part. At best, I would lay down once a day for an hour. I was no good at judging 5 lbs. either.

But I read a great book, for those of us who grew up in the 70’s! Ordered the large print edition, just in case my eyesight was not very good after surgery. Carol Burnett has a new memoir all about the show called, This Time Together. If you are a Carol Burnett fan, I recommend it! It’s a very fast read and didn’t last the whole recovery, but fun! In fact, my friend's mom (who has known me for 38 years) came for a visit with a present…that book. The hilarious thing is, I had just put my name in my copy to share with her! So there we sat trying to give each other the same book and confessed to having read it already!

And so it went. The naps faded away after a couple weeks. And the pain medicine was a disaster. I won’t share so much of the indelicacies. Suffice to say, it wrecks your digestive system entirely! Remember how Elvis (who was addicted to pain meds) died? My advice: stay away from them...let Advil take care of it...YUCK!

One interesting thing happened around three weeks. My glasses no longer helped my eyesight. Evidently the sight had improved and the glasses were made when the tumor was big. So no match any more. But I have to wait for several more months before getting new glasses…if I still need them!

I went back to work – FINALLY – after about 4 weeks. And was cleared for driving, mild exercise and slowly getting back to the things that life affords. I tried yoga with an instant headache as the result. I’ll be a good patient and wait until the end of July, as ordered.

Sarah

ICU

Neuro-ICU or 3-NS was a special spot where all of us had the same basic thing. Varying degrees certainly, but the same basic thing...brain surgery.

The first nurse, whom I don't remember much, was not very nice. I asked for something for pain. Her reply, as best as I can quote was, "No, you know you DID just have brain surgery." Exactly, doesn't that give you a little consideration in the pantheon of all things surgical? Sheesh!

But the remainder of the staff was truly wonderful! Excluding one small thing...neuro checks.

Neuro checks were performed hourly the first 24 hours. They consisted of the nurse's prerogative of squeezing hands, pushing and pulling of feet, shining lights in my eyes and answering basic questions like, "Who's the president? What year is it?" Seriously? Dude, I'm really tired right now. And there's a considerable amount of pain. Can I have some morphine, PLEASE?

"Nope. Not for neuro patients :) We need you lucid to perform the neuro checks :)" ....*sigh*...

And so it went the first day. But before it was over, Brian and I were holding hands. He, next to my bed, and I all bandaged, packed and needles in every spot. It was 4:20am. In the ICU, you have a private room, but no privacy. There is a large window looking onto the nurses' station. There was a nurse there writing in a large binder. I noted to Brian, "Hey, that nurse is left-handed."

"And she only has ONE FACE!!!" I cried as I repeated and repeated, "ONE FACE ONE FACE." The first of the miracles had arrived! I was no longer seeing double, but single vision once again!! I cried and heaved...ONE FACE! Thank you, God! Thank you for all the answered prayers! For I knew that if this was permanent, my life could go on as I had known it before. WOW! Less than 24 hours after surgery and I was seeing in single vision!

The nurse arrived quickly, perhaps alarmed by my monitors going nuts. Andy said, "Settle down now. Are you OK?" I repeated, "YES, of course!" And Brian proceeded to explain what had just happened. As a nurse, I think he was conflicted. He was thrilled at my quick response to surgery...on the other hand, he had just spent 8 hours regulating my pain medication and my heaving crying fit had blown it completely. I had a splitting headache!

More pain meds for me!

The next day, I was feeling better and the neuro checks were every 2 hours.

The third day, they expected me to go the the regular floor, but once again there was no room in the inn. So they kept me in ICU, but unhooked from all my monitors. Neuro checks were now every 4 hours and the nurse gave clearance for Brian to take me for a walk (with a wheelchair, just in case).

We walked all over and he took me outside to the front entrance. It was an extremely humid night. I love those...wonderful for breathing. He wheeled me back and forth for probably a half-hour. Life seemed brand new somehow. It was a lovely moment I'll never forget. Wheeling and talking...all new.

The next day was Day 4 and I was to be released that morning! Wow! Just 3 days in ICU and going home. It was remarkable. That morning, Dr. Nelson came in. I saw him across the ICU, checking charts and signing papers. Then he looked my way and made a B-line! He entered my room all smiles and hugged me! He said, "How many of me do you see?" I replied, "Only ONE!" He smiled bigger and shook Brian's hand. It seemed this was a wonderful result, even for him. If this wasn't typical, I didn't know and no matter--I was happy!

Sarah

The Big Day

Relieved doesn't begin to describe it! Dr. Nelson said, "you will be asleep the whole time." Really? The only thing I knew about brain surgery is the patient is awake--seeing it all, hearing it all, smelling...all while answering questions. Ugh. But for trans-sphenoidal surgery, you're OUT! Hallelujah.

I was to arrive at 5:30am for a 7:30am surgery. Two hours of prep, sort of.

Of course nothing to eat or drink after midnight, so the night before we went to our current favorite restaurant, Saffron Cafe. It's a lovely little Moroccan spot downtown. We had a geriatric-hour dinner at 4:30 so we could get to bed by 8:00. Oh and a free baklava for mentioning, "hey this is where I came for my 'last meal'."

In comfy clothes and freshly showered, Brian and I walked out of the parking garage and met mom at the hospital. Registration and then downstairs to surgery. They gave me all the usual stuff, except for what I asked for. All I wanted was a little something to check my nerves. I had never been put under before, never even been in the hospital before. "Nope, not for neuro patients."

In fact, I walked into the operating room with a surgical nurse! Completely lucid and not hooked up to anything. Maybe that's the way they do it, but I was surprised. The nurse introduced me to a room full of people. They clapped. I curtsied. They lay me down on the table. The anesthesiologist and resident I had met before were there. The resident started to work on an IV in my right hand as the anesthesiologist gave me a mask. He said, "just some oxygen for you." Lights out! I suspect he was lying :)

The next day in ICU my sister, Christine, who owns two salons, came to visit me. She brought me some waterless shampoo and lovely face washing stuff. She was going through my hair and said, "what is THIS?" Thinking she was referring to a lump I've always had in that spot, she said "How could I have missed that?" She has been shampooing and cutting my hair for over 20 years. She starts feeling around and there are three more just like it...in a pattern. They were scabs.

Evidently, there was much more prep to my surgery than I knew about. My head had been clamped down in a halo, tight enough to draw blood. Makes sense. Wouldn't want me moving around.
__________________________

This is where I link to a video of what a trans-sphenoidal surgery looks like. It's clean, not too gooey. And fascinating! The tumor comes our of your nose. The only stitches are inside the nose itself! It's a short YouTube video, if you care to look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyOeLl4adSA
_________________________

It took about 3 hours total. I remember waking up in recovery, hearing a nurse ask, "No bed for Adams yet?" "No." So I went back to sleep. I do remember being wheeled to the Neuro-ICU and hoisted onto the bed. Then out again...but not for long...

Sarah

Disocovery

November of 2008, Dr. Rob Diegel of Urban Optiks in Broad Ripple. He's the best I've been to in 30 years...the ONLY one to ever see it and say it.

I've been wearing glasses since 1981. Back then, I just was having trouble keeping up with my reading. I complained of seeing a "negative shadow" on everything (for those of us old enough to remember rabbit ears on tv sets, it was like bad tv reception). If an object was light in color, there was an equally dark shadow around it and vise versa. Unfortunately for me, I also had an astigmatism in my right eye. If not for that, maybe someone would have suspected a tumor which must have been growing even then.

So I limped along, eventually getting used to what I was seeing, but still not enjoying reading like I wanted to. The dark type on a light page was difficult to see clearly even with glasses.

And then I found Dr. Rob. My eyesight had gotten much worse and I was wearing 9 year-old glasses. Time for a check up! I had not bothered to cover one eye and try to see out of the other, but during the exam, we discovered I had lost all of my peripheral vision! My eye appointment was 3 1/2 hours long. He was either looking for something, or had found it but didn't say. I got my glasses and went back for a follow up because they still weren't helping me. That's when he knew. He said, "Sarah, there is nothing wrong with your eyes, except for your mild astigmatism and presbyopia. You have a brain tumor." WHAT? No way. Thank you, bye-bye.

Well, I came home and told Brian, and I cried. In fact, that was one of the only times for tears in this whole ordeal. Much later after the MRI, Brian and I both had an emotional breakdown. I was crying mad--angry for my lack of emotional strength. Brian I think, was frightened.

Then I sat on it for a year and a half. I have my reasons.

Eventually, what I could see in the middle went to double. Driving was difficult, but I still did it. Framing was difficult, but still did it. Lying, or omitting certain truths (to everyone, but Brian and Dr. Bob Killingbeck) was difficult, but I still did it. Still had my reasons.

Until March 2010. It was unbearable and needed to be corrected, despite the cost and possible financial ruin. So I contacted my sister-in-law, Emily, a Physician's Assistant or PA. She is aggressive, loves me and kicked my butt! I had an MRI within 48 hours of visiting her office. The official diagnosis came the next day. Dr. Rob was right. I was right. Just wanted to know how big.

The answer was really big. It was in or on my pituitary gland which hangs in a bony area behind the sinuses called the cella. It had filled that cavity and was invading the optic chiasm (where the optic nerves cross over) and had also affected the muscles that control the eyes. The measurement was 3.5-4cm...basically an oblong golf ball in the middle of my head.

I really lucked out and got into Dr. Paul Nelson of IU Hospital, Department Head of Neuro-Surgery. An extremely accomplished man, he took my case as the pituitary specialist on staff. Along with excellent care from everyone at IU, he treated me well and with great respect. I could not be happier about the outcome and recovery! But maybe getting ahead of myself...

Sarah

Closure

I had a wonderful art gallery/custom picture frame shop in the downtown Indianapolis neighborhood of Fountain Square. It's an eclectic and bohemian artist area with terrific Indypendent restaurants and night life. The shop was well-known and successful, although not particularly profitable.

But something was afoot. Something unavoidable and terrifying. I was loosing my eyesight.

A picture framer and art dealer can be deaf, mute, have no sense of smell, even no common sense, but she MUST be able to see. In fact, it's quite handy to be able to see 1/64". That's pretty small. But as time went on, I was not even able to see 1/4" reliably. I couldn't go on doing what I do, and I was heartbroken.

There was an easy solution, go on a short hiatus and take care of the problem, right?. Then the prognosis came in.

Brian and I had met with the neuro-surgeon from IU Med Center on IUPUI campus downtown. Dr. Paul Nelson (you'll have an opportunity to read more about him). A jovial and deeply thoughtful man, when asked what my chances of regaining all my eyesight after surgery replied with something I didn't want to hear.

You see, I had known about my brain tumor for a very long time. And Dr. Nelson said I may have had it all my life. So there was a possibility of some long term damage to my optic nerves. The official prognosis was: "you will have a 2/3 chance of getting 'some improvement' in your eyesight." It was said with a smile, as though that would be good enough to continue my line of work. Very sadly, it was not good enough. I had a 33% chance that absolutely nothing would change. And if it did, there were no guarantees of how much it would improve.

I didn't show it in the meeting, but I was devastated by that news. I had to close the shop. It would make no fiscal sense to go through the surgery and recovery not knowing if I would ever be able to frame pictures again--the one constant in my professional life since 1991.

I devised a way to tell everyone without divulging my own personal medical issue (though I'm prepared to write in detail about it now that it's over). I would make the art gallery "virtual"--all the shows would be on my website, on line! I thought it was an intriguing idea, and so did the Indianapolis Star, which wrote an extensive article on it. I would also make the frame shop "mobile"--I come pick-up and drop-off framing projects and work on them at a remote location. This part was purely hopeful. But if I didn't get my eyesight back, I had trusted colleagues I could refer.

So here is my apology for being slightly misleading about my closure. I am sorry. It had to be done and I felt it had to be done that way.

Sarah

Surgery

Up until now, I've written a little about framing, a lot about farming, but nothing directly about Fate. The reason I placed that word in the title of the blog is because of the surgery. It will be a life changing event and I would like to write about it.

I woke up this morning trying to remember everything about the day of surgery. I don't know why. It's a typical Sunday morning; let the chickens out, try to go back to bed, can't get back to sleep. And I started to write in my head.

I will divide the topic into a series of posts devoted to: the store closure, discovery of the tumor, surgery, ICU and recovery...with possibly another in there as well. I'll try to stick to the headings above so you can recognize the posts and read if you choose, or not. I will not write anything icky, unless it is clearly stated in the title--don't worry! I won't spring something on you by surprise. In fact there is a wonderfully informative video of a surgery like mine I saw before going to the hospital (you can find anything on YouTube). I'll post a link, but clearly mark it!

I hope this answers questions for those who know me and perhaps informs those who don't yet know me. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Sarah

"...but I don't know what to do!"

Today was CHICKEN DAY! All herald the arrival of the pullets!

This afternoon, little 5 week-old chickens were delivered to our coop. They are all one breed (Hubbard Golden Comet). And they are cute -- cute -- cute. We expect to have these girls with us for about 3 years, laying eggs, eating bugs and being entertaining. And so far they have not disappointed.

They are little things, but still too big for their legs and wings. The result of their excitement is a very funny case of clutzy chicken! They run around the coop flapping their wings; because when one does it the others think it's a great idea and follow. But they can't seem to control their speed, or their braking and crash into one another. It's like a little chicken farce.

So we were wondering if instinct would take over when it came to roosting time. If you're not aware, most birds roost at night...meaning they find a safe and out-of-the-way place to perch and sleep. Chickens' eyesight is keen during the day, but suffers at night, making them vulnerable to predators. So they (should) have an instinct to protect themselves during the dark hours.

But not these girls.

We spent most of the afternoon and evening with them, but when it came to dusk, we went inside to allow their instincts to kick in. We wanted them to roost inside the henhouse and decided we would go back out after dark and move any who didn't comply.

When we walked out, we could hear them peeping! Why were they still awake? When Brian broke into laughter--they were ALL lined up at the door of the coop! Essentially, yelling for mommy and daddy to come and get them! Brian mimicked them between bouts of laughter, "but we don't know what to do!" HAHAHA! Poor little things had not yet either been taught or understood about roosting. So we carefully scooped them up one by one and placed them on the roost. It was like a scene from Raising Arizona. No sooner had we put one in and gone to get another, than the first one was back out again and at our feet!

Tonight, they are all locked up in the henhouse. We will let them out into the coop in the morning. I wonder how many nights we will end up repeating this bedtime ritual?

Sarah

Our Husky

Husqvarna, that is...

I would like to sing the praises of our fabulous lawn mower. The little orange machine, Husqvarna.

It will eat anything.

Today, I made it munch -- down to the ground -- 4' high weeds (or "native wildflowers") in the chicken run portion of the back yard!

We love you Husky...oh, yes we do...we love you Husky...and we'll be true...

Sarah (and my fine orange friend)

Race Day!

To me, it's better than Christmas! For those who call Indianapolis home, the ritual and tradition can even supersede the race itself. Or maybe that's just me. But no one can deny the excitement of the fly-over!

I was raised by a race car driver, spending my childhood in the paddock and later (when I got older) in the pits. I used to enjoy hot summer nights in the garage with my Dad. He worked on the race car of the moment. I sat on the tire watching him, learning and handing him tools or holding down something while he tweaked and revved the engine. It was very exciting! The roar would vibrate through my chest. It was a wonderful time with my dad, whom I still consider one of my very best friends.

So I learned about Formula-Vs, Midgets and Sprints from my dad. But Indy Cars fascinated me too. The hallowed names like: Rick Mears, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford and Tom Sneva seemed like friends to me, as if we knew each other and were part of some club together. And so I would study; study the driver/owner/engine/chassis/tire combinations. Eventually I got quite good at predicting the winner--had a little reputation for it--betters would call me! Very funny for a kid.

As an adult I moved around, lived in several different places. I would try desperately to find it on the radio, often with no luck. When the internet came along, I would try to find a station to listen to--also a bust in the early days of the web. With time, I was disconnected from my Indy Car feed of information and lost my mojo.

But I have NEVER lost the fever I get when the pre-race festivities start! There is nothing better than singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" with Jim Neighbors!! I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME! No joke. Did it yesterday.

Going to the Indianapolis 500 Race, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is an experience. One I don't wish to repeat, unless I have really good seats. It is much more enjoyable to listen on the radio! So each year, we get a Sunday Star, pull out the Indy 500 section. Get ourselves ready and listen to the radio in the window sill as we garden and work in the yard. As do our neighbors, so we all cheer in our own yards at the same times! Still in the "club"!

Sarah

P.S. Tony Kanaan, you are a true champion! In my mind, YOU WON!

Not scolded

Nope, Dr. Nelson only laughed when I said that I didn't lay down 3 times a day for an hour each. He even laughed when I told him about not minding his lifting restrictions. I don't know what it means when a brain surgeon laughs at you...but at least I'm still here.

So now my rather expensive (and stunningly gorgeous) glasses, aka "face jewelry" do not work any more. They actually make my eyesight worse. Not a fault of the glasses. I got them when my tumor was pretty bad. So I have abandoned them for regular-el cheapo-Target sunglasses and a little pair of readers! Not for 30 years have I walked around without my face jewelry--I feel a little strange :/ It's like going without earrings--and if you know me, you know I NEVER do that!

Dr. Nelson said that my eyesight could keep changing for several months. Evidently, the optic nerves are still in rebound mode. Whatever sight I have in a year will likely be what I'm stuck with for the long term. So I'll hold off of getting new glasses for a while.

In the mean time, it's proving a challenge to get used to just looking through the readers at close range and not looking through them to distance. Whacky blurrrr! Oh, and if you use readers, please tell me how you can wear them on your head and STILL use a little nice hair product without smudge-city? Do tell!

Sarah

What I do

Picture framing is what I do. In fact, may I boast a bit and say Certified Picture Framing is what I do? It is a grand achievment and it took many years to accomplish. But it all boils down to this...it's a fancy way of saying, I can frame anything. If it doesn't have to eat, I can frame it. Be it your grandfather's WWII medals to a Picasso, I'm your gal.

It's been over 8 L O N G weeks since I've done what I love to do! (not to mention that long since I've had accounts receivables--entrepreneur-speak for "money coming in!")

I am hoping to resume working next week!!!

You may feel free to read this as a shameless ploy to garner pity...and framing jobs. I have learned that one thing very well in the last 5 years. If you have been saving up framing for when I recovered, now's your chance!

I am so very anxious to get back to work, I could scream...but I won't. :) Don't want to wake the neighbors.

My "transition" to mobile picture framing simply means that I no longer have a physical store-front location. I will pick up your art; design with you in the space; take it back to a home-based shop to work and drop it back off. It's how I worked before; how I built the business, in fact.

Now that I can once again see 1/32", I'm delighted! Here I come! Weeeeee!!

Sarah

I can't do it

Sitting around...I'm positively lousy at it! In fact a nap makes me quite insane.

So Dr.'s orders are not to lift over 5 lbs. That's virtually impossible to abide by. It's just a sack of flour, for crying out loud! *sigh* *breathe*

I'm just lousy at it. On Saturday, I moved a 1/2 ton of fill dirt. Today I spread 12 bags of mulch over beds and planted a few things. And tomorrow I meet with my neuro-surgeon. You'll likely hear his yelling at me from Ohio!

Oh well. Trouble is, I feel terrific! And the upshot is our yard has never looked better ;)
More tomorrow on my scolding. But until then, here's today's count:

* 12 bags of mulch spread
* 4 hanging planters planted
* all containers watered
* butter made
* milk separated
* chiropractor appt kept
* 2 showers as it was 88 degrees today

Take that, Dr. Nelson :)

Sarah

June 11 is the Day!

June 11, 2010-that's the day! Re-flocking!

I'm very excited to have girls again in the garden! On Friday, June 11 we will be in receipt of a friendly delivery of 6 pullets. Hubbard's Golden Comet to be exact. I think we have had one of them before, Silver Belle. She must have had some Golden Comet in her for she was the right coloring and friendly and an egg-laying machine.

That's what we want...6 little egg machines!
So ready yourselves to get on the "rotation".

However, we will be on egg watch for a while...these are just little 6 week-old pullets. They are not expected to lay until they are about 12 weeks. This will be fun! Last flock we had came to us as full-grown layers. Silver Belle was the only one who would regularly come up to us, usually following us around the garden. The other five were more nervous. And Silver Belle was at the bottom of the pecking order too.

So you may be wondering what happened to our last flock? Well, my friends and family know this story, but for anyone new reading this, I'll explain. But first SPOILER ALERT. The story can be icky for some, although I'll skip over the details.

We had our girls for 2 1/2 years and eventually they stopped laying. So they became eaters instead of productive participants in our little urban farm. So we sent Silver Belle back to the farm for breeding (NO boys allowed here), and ...
We butchered the other 5. Yes we did it ourselves with the help of a wonderful farm friend who showed us how.

Very humanely done, mind you! Our friend and Brian dispatched the birds. There was a big pot of hot water to dunk them in after to loosen the feathers. We tied them by the feet in the barn and hung them up to pluck. And then our friend taught me how to clean and eviscerate them. It was all rather fascinating actually. I thought I would cry since we were dumb enough to name them. But actually something rather primeval took over and it was a job to be completed.

I will tell you, they are the most delicious chickens we have ever eaten! We raised them completely organically. They had plenty of fresh organic feed and time in the garden or chicken run for bugs and greens. They drank freshly filtered water as well as fresh unpasteurized whey. Never any chemicals or drugs of any kind. Just like our grandparents or great grandparents would have done.

We are all only a couple generations from this practice being common knowledge for everyone! And being happily at the top of the food chain, I was eager to learn the skill.

Our new girls are all one breed and hopefully will be more difficult to tell apart...therefore making it more difficult to name them. And their ultimate fate will be a stew pot as well. But we will enjoy them and their eggies for a few years first!

Sarah

Dill

Got the DILL FIELD weeded...of DILL, before the rain today. Got 7 very large bundles of fresh dill. They are wound up with twine and drying in the cellar.
Dill, anyone? Come and get your dill!

This will be an ongoing battle all season as it is a very prolific weed in our garden. I recommend you not grow it, just take some of ours...please!

Did I mention we have free dill? I'm just sayin'...
Oh, and cilantro too! Um, and chives.
Maybe I should rent a stall at the farmers market and sell herbs?

Sarah

Ah, our organic garden

Our very own tiny slice of the planet, sustainably managed and loved over like a child. This year, however, it got a case of 'dis. There was no time or energy for tilling, planning, planting and the like. So we decided to let it go fallow. It has been 7 years since so why not?

We've decided to "spot plant" certain things close to the house. While the remainder of the garden gets a good coating of clover. This is positive thinking in action, of course. There are several patches of clover, so we HOPE it will spread. Yet there is much weeding to keep up with, so the really rotten plants don't take over and re-seed for a true problem next year.

At the moment though, our beloved garden looks like a scraggly little urchin. It's essentially a field of DILL, CILANTRO and junk! But we've already started the planting. So far we have put in:
* sweet pepper
* jalepeno pepper
* cucumbers, Straight 8
* tomato, Ace
* rosemary, BBQ
* lavender, Munstead

There are also some volunteers so far:
* 6 sweet corn plants
* 1-2 cherry tomatoes
* some mystery squash, naturally
* onions (forgot to pull them last fall)
* the aforementioned dill and cilantro

And many things yet to go in:
* summer squashes, zucchini and yellow
* green beans, bush
* and my beloved zinneas

Strange year to start a blog about gardening, but hey! We are doing our best here. And you never know, we could have one heckuva harvest!

Sarah

While I'm in confession mode...

My prognosis wasn't quite as positive as I had hoped prior to surgery. I believe the quote was, "you have a 2/3 chance of seeing 'some improvement' in your eyesight." Sheesh, that doesn't sound so promising, Doc. Will I be able to frame again? If not, what to do? Well one thing was certain.

It would make no fiscal sense whatsoever to keep the shop open while I wait to find out. I'm not fond of losing money with no assurances on the other end that it's a good gamble. I'm CHEAP!

So I closed the Fountain Square gallery and shop to "go mobile" and wait it out--thinking positively that I would in fact have good eyesight at the end of this dark road. And, indeed, it has happened!

Much of my eyesight has returned, more than enough to continue on in my chosen career! So I actually did a little WORK today. Just a quickie little mat-cutting. And I'm thrilled to report...

I STILL GOT IT! My framing mojo never left me.
And AV Framing Gallery IS Mobile!
weeeeee what a ride....

Sarah

Welcome!

As a beginning blogger, my aim is to share with any interested folks the ins and outs of our odd little household. Many have expressed interest in reading more about how we function. Careful what you wish for!

We (that's my Darling and I, plus currently 4 cats) live in a little urban bungalow built in 1926. It sits on a postage stamp lot near the city center. On our tiny parcel of Mother Earth, we manage to cram quite a bit of useful stuff. More on all of that as we go...

Life at our house requires you be on your toes, work hard, rest fully and laugh often! I wouldn't live ANY OTHER WAY! My Darling and I are perfectly suited to each other...similar interests, similar level of risk-taking, and we complement one another with a healthy dose of "Shape up, Kid" when necessary.

We are both in business for ourselves. I own a custom picture frame company and an online art gallery and my Darling is a brilliant and creative designer/builder/general contractor with a gift for finish carpentry. There are times when we are both so busy, we seldom see one another. But we try to manage our calendars so that we maximize our time together and at home...especially during harvest season. We'll get to that in a short few months!

I hope you are interested enough to either subscribe or check back from time to time. We certainly enjoy ourselves and that can always be contagious--good for a laugh or a thought, maybe RIGHT when you need it!
Cheers!

Sarah