Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Post Collection

What a lovely thing it is to have a small gift arrive in the mail...  the snail mail. You know... the metal box that you have been receiving all the bills and political hogwash in lately. We have a rural box out on the highway, a mile and a quarter from the house. I worry about people taking things in the middle of the night but I guess there are more honest folks in the world that I give credit for. We have only had a theft once in 13 years.
So, on Monday, the prospector made a run to get the mail in the afternoon and , low and behold, I got a small gift and a REAL letter from my friend in Michigan. This would be the childhood friend that I lost for almost 50 years. The one who was cute and blond.... and made crop tops out of her sweaters before they were in the stores. Her name is Dawn. A post about her and her early fashion statements here.
So, she sent me a little package with a LETTER and a really wonderful gift that she found at a farm/orchard market where they buy fresh apple cider.....
Happy Goat  goat milk soap with a "lovely lilac" fragrance. Oooou!, does it smell good.
The letter is filled with stories of a trip that she and her husband took in their camper for a weekend.... two old mansions in Muskegon, the market where they got the apple cider and the goat soap, and a casino  at Manistee. What fun! Then she had to tell me about a big antiques mall in Lidington and the wonderful cranberry glass that she bought; the Lake Michigan shoreline and a little village called Pentwater with MORE antique shops. Then she came home and sauteed some sea scallops for dinner. I was ready to get on a plane and fly to Michigan right then and there. This girl needs a blog. She's always doing trips like this. She needs a "travelblog".It was like I took the trip with her.
Are you reading this girlfriend. TRAVELBLOG???? You could do it.
So,write someone a letter.... a real letter. It's so nice to receive one. Even if Dawn hadn't sent the soap with the letter it would have been a wonderful surprise. There's something about getting something in the mail that is personal and just for you. It makes you feel special. Try just one. It's a guaranteed "feel good" for both parties.

OK! New magazine on the supermarket rack. It's from Hobby Farms and it's all about CHICKENS.
Someone really loves chickens. This is not only an interesting magazine with great articles but the titles are wonderful. The "Coop Corner", "A Nest of Her Own" and "Surviving Fowl Weather". How about "eggs-cellent" winter tips? Makes you want to read the articles doesn't it?. Pulls you right in.
And then.... "The Incredible Edible Egg", the recipe section by (and I have to believe she gave herself this name) September Morn. Honestly.... she's a farmer and dog trainer in Shelton, Washington. I just love that  name. This is the Recipe Roundup section and the article is called The Eggs and I. You have to buy the magazine to get the recipes but I'll tell you that they are "eggstraordinary" recipes that are worth the $5.99 price of the magazine. Try to find it . I found it at Raleys.

And I leave you with this discovery as I drove up our road to the house a few days ago.
Isn't this amazing? There it was, growing right out of an oak tree. If I looked it up right it's called a Sulfur Shelf or Chicken of the Woods ( free ranging on a tree). It says that it's edible when young but causes gastrointestinal distress and can be poisonous depending on what tree it's attached to. Good grief. Why take a chance. They have "safe" ones at the grocery store. That's why I don't pick and cook mushrooms around here. I just don't trust them or myself. I have an uncle who picks them and cooks them all the time. I trust him.... kind of.

Funny line in my mushroom book....All That the Rain Promises and More.... A hip pocket guide to western mushrooms by David Arora.
"Conclusion: If you eat and enjoy this mushroom, always cook it thoroughly and do not serve it to lawyers, landlords, employers, policemen, pitbull owners, or others whose good will you cherish."
I think I will leave this  pretty fungi right were it is.....

8 comments:

  1. Fun mail!! I still love getting real mail! I saw that chickens book at Sam's. Might have to pick it up. Oh, and lilac soap...how wonderful! What a sweet friend :)

    Blessings!
    Gail

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  2. I wish your friend would start a blog.. She sounds like a very interesting person. I don't blame you for not trusting mushroom that are growing around your place. Nice photos and a great post. Have a blessed day. Madeline

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  3. what an adorable post! Your blog followers are growing by leaps and bounds! I have had many get well cards lately and it is so sweet to hear from people. It really does brighten up my day.

    The chicken magazine makes me want to be on a farm even more!!

    I wish I new mushrooms wouldn't it be awesome to find and know they are good?

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  4. I want to take mytology from someone so I can learn, this is the rainy cool season, great for mushrooms...not sure I spelled that word right, but I just made portabello pizzas tonight, and they were YUM! I saw you made cookies, going over to check that post out now :)

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  5. First of all snail mail is the best! I have a friend who faithfully writes to me and I to her. She doesn't have a computer. Sometimes it's just a card but it's so nice to see a hand written envelope in the box isn't it? Secondly, I would love to find that magazine here for my husband since he is the chief of our flock. Did you ever read the book 'The Egg and I'? Very funny! Dated but funny. Thirdly...I have the same mushroom book and it's fantastic. If you don't want to eat the mushroom, you can carve names and dates in it. I also had a friend who use to dry them and paint little scenes on them.

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  6. I can't remember when I got a real letter in the mail. Blogging has kind of replaced that... and in a good way. We can "write letters" and "send" them to all our online friends at once... and even include photos!

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  7. I have great fun writing “real” letters and it’s especially nice to know they are enjoyed and appreciated. I guess maybe I’ll do it more often. But today I’m kicking myself that I didn’t think to buy a bar of that yummy Happy Goat soap for myself. Isn’t it funny how our brains get stuck in low gear sometimes?!
    When I read about the chicken magazine I immediately thought of the 1945 book and movie “The Egg and I” and I see that another of your followers remembers it too. It’s a very funny autobiographical account of a woman who did what “good” wives were supposed to do in 1928; she followed her husband from the city into the primitive countryside of Chimacum, Washington to work her fanny off so he could fulfill his desire to own a chicken ranch, even though he knew absolutely nothing about chickens or about raising them. When the movie came out, it introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle. The Chimacum community, as a whole, was up in arms because they felt the town’s population was depicted in a negative manner, subjecting them to ridicule and humiliation. There were even several lawsuits filed. I always thought it was pretty interesting that, having those feelings, the community elected to name a main street in Chimacum “Egg and I Road”!!! Aren’t people a hoot?! For all of you “chicken” people who are reading this, if you’ve never seen the movie or read the book, you would enjoy it thoroughly—the book is MUCH better than the movie. I had a special “historic’ interest in it because Chimacum is just 45 miles from where I lived in Port Angles, Wa until 5 years ago when I moved to Michigan. ~ Dawn

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  8. What a wonderful surprise! I do not think I've written a letter since the early 80's..long overdue. I agree your friend should start a blog. Not a big fan of any mushrooms but love the photo :)

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