Here We Go Again

A nifty thrifty website is whencanIreusethiscalendar.com.

Because of it we were able to reuse this lovely thing again this year after a mere six year wait.

Marie Kondo might not approve of that kind of saving, but she will be even more disapproving of the length of time we will have to hang on to it for a third time use. 2019 calendars do not sync up with the yearly dates again until 2030.

Your 2018 calendar is usable again in 2029. Not bad.

If you are a first wave baby boomer you might as well give your 2020 calendar to a millennial packrat right now unless you plan on taking really good care of yourself so you can use it again in 2048. 

Have a good year!

Eating Locally

It doesn't get much more local than your own kitchen tabletop.

Look what we got on sale!

What else would a mushroom company have on Black Friday special?

Field and Forest Products, a Wisconsin company, offers tabletop fungus farms.

They are entertaining and delicious!

The block yielded about 20 mushrooms in its first fruiting.

After it rests a bit we will ask it to do it all again.

Breakfast just won't be the same until the shiitake crop comes in.

Fall Fungi Foray

Through the Cable Natural History Museum organized by Emily Stone 

and under the leadership of Tavis Lynch

of Tavis's Wild and Exotic Mushrooms of Cumberland, Wisconsin.

This is some of what we found. 

Chanterelle, Black Trumpet, Wolf Fart puffballs, Oyster, Shrimp of the Woods, 

and Bear's Head Tooth.

A participant who is already an experienced forager brought Lobster and 

Chicken of the Woods for us to try. Both were excellent.

We sorted and IDed them.

And then we cooked them up.

The Black Trumpet mushroom is easy to identify and has a very interesting, truffle-like taste.

The group found enough of these that we each got to take some home. After sautéing some for breakfast I made this. It was great.

Wild Foraged Black Trumpet Mushroom Spread

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic scapes or shallots

1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped black trumpet mushrooms(cleaned)

8 ounce cultured cream-cheese

1 pinch sea salt (real salt) to taste

1 pinch white pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a skillet over medium/low heat, sauté garlic scapes in ghee until soft.

Add in black trumpet mushrooms continue sautéing until mushrooms are cooked through and any liquid is evaporated.

Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese (cut or scooped into roughly 1 tablespoon sized chunks). Stirring constantly until the cream cheese is melted and mixed thoroughly.

Transfer to an air tight jar or container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours prior to allow the flavors to come together.

Remove dip from at the refrigerator roughly 30 minutes prior to serving to allow it to warm to room temperature. Serve with crackers, toasted bread or raw vegetables.

Recipe Notes:

Use 1 ounce dried black trumpets that have been reconstituted in warm water in place of the fresh.

This recipe makes 16 servings

Gobble, Gobble

Turkey. Not just for Thanksgiving. 

This is a very nice soup.

Keep it in mind for the next soup weather day.

We recently made it on the last soup weather day.

Good anytime.

Turkey Meatball Soup

½ lb. ground turkey

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

4 T. fine dried bread crumbs

1 large egg

1 T. fresh minced parsley or 1 t. dried

S and P to taste

1 qt. chicken broth

½ c. frozen or fresh peas

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 small zucchini, finely diced (optional)

½ c. precooked tiny pasta, such as orzo, shells, rings, or precooked rice

In a medium bowl, mix together the turkey, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, and S and P. With moistened hands, form the mixture into balls about the size of marbles. Remove them to a large plate, cover with wax paper and refrigerate until ready to cook.

In a large pot, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the peas, carrots, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes or until just tender. Slowly add the turkey meatballs, keeping the liquid at a slow simmer. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes or until the turkey balls float to the top. Add the cooked pasta, and heat through. Serve in soup bowls and pass additional Parmesan cheese if you wish.

From Susan Costner - Parenting magazine 1991

Spring Beauty

Oh My!

Gorgeous!

Thank you soooo much to the mystery May Day gift giver. 

Did you know May Day is one of NDL's very favorite days of the year?

We started the day with snow in Cable, WI and came home to this beautiful burst of spring.

And that is why it is a wonderfully, whimsical (we are at the whim of Mother Nature) day to celebrate spring in Wisconsin.

Smokey Sez

Remember. Only you can prevent wildfires.

He's got a hip new look and a cool website. Smokeybear.com

Yesterday fire danger was "very high" today it is raining and snowing up North.  

Tomorrow? Who knows? Keep an eye on DNR signs for moment to moment status.

Camping and campfire season is almost here. Let's be careful out there.

Little Anne

Coming soon to West Columbia Street. 

Little Anne magnolia.

Buds are bulging. Keep your eyes open (while keeping them mostly on the road) for the flower show.

NDL on a Mission

We got to go here. Motawi Tileworks factory and outlet store in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Motawi makes beautiful tile and has rights to make the wonderful images of Charley Harper into ceramic art pieces. His work is perfect for reproduction in the lovely colors and finishes of kiln-fired glazes.

When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. I regard the picture as an ecosystem in which all the elements are interrelated, interdependent, perfectly balanced, without trimming or unutilized parts; and herein lies the lure of painting; in a world of chaos, the picture is one small rectangle in which the artist can create an ordered universe. - Charley Harper

It is possible one or two made it back to Wisconsin.

Another Motawi tile theme is arts and crafts/mission-style designs. You can see a few here and many more at their website. 

Speaking of Mission....

Here at NDL we are going to adapt and adopt the Motawi company Values and Mission Statement. 

Bout time we had some direction around here!

Values and Mission Statement

What do we do?

We make distinctive stuff and do things in a (relatively) healthy way. We share our story. 

And we have fun.

Why?

We believe we can make the world a better place by making beautiful (or at least cute) things for everyday places and model healthy(ish) neighborhood and family practices.

How do we do this?

We make things that are valued for their design and quality (or their quirkiness, or because they amuse us, or because they help us reduce, reuse, or recycle stuff).

We cultivate an intentional (home) workplace culture that fosters (almost) constant improvement, positivity (mostly through the wit and wisdom of Mary Englebreit and Calvin and Hobbes, greeting card slogans, or signs we see on our travels) and consistently high (as possible) performance all while drinking lots of coffee.

Wish us luck at our next performance review!

Have Herbs, Will Travel

It's a simple pleasure for sure. And pretty much a just a summer thing.

Heading out of town with a bouquet of homegrown herbs in the drink holder for some seasonal cabin cuisine. 

Time to plan this year's kitchen garden. 

Basil, basil, tarragon, basil!

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme...

Just One in One Thousand

Somehow we just happened to notice that this post would be the 1,000th for NDL.

We deliberated about whether that called for something significant to mark the milestone. 

And then we thought, "nah", let's just carry on as we would have. 

So here is what was next in the queue of drafts. It is a photo taken last spring of a jumble sale sign from the UK village of Temple Guiting.

Make that an Extraordinary Jumble Sale sign!

Back in the  80's we read several books by Barbara Pym*. 

Mostly what we remember about them is that the characters were perpetually preparing for church jumble sales while having tea and talking with or about the vicar.

So imagine our delight to spot the jumble sale sign outside this lovely church yard,

across from a sunny tea room,

in a charming English village

on a beautiful day in the middle of a long ramble through the countryside.

The only thing missing really was a vicar sighting.

Sometimes we feel apologetic about the number of times we have traveled to the same country when there are so many other places under the sun that we have not seen. Days like this, however are why we return again and again. Every visit holds in store a new delight.

*Very coincidentally Wikipedia tells us that Barbara Pym died on this very date in 1980. It also tells us that " A superficial reading gives the impression that they are sketches of village or suburban life, and comedies of manners, studying the social activities connected with the Anglican church. Her works are deeper than that, however. She closely examines many aspects of women's and men's relations, including unrequited feelings of women for men, based on her own experience. The dialogue is often deeply ironic. A tragic undercurrent runs through some of the later novels." 

Looks like we will be putting Barbara Pym back on our book list to see what 35 additional years of life experience brings to a rereading.

Withdrawn, But Not Forgotten

The library book sale.  $6 a bagful! 

It is a great time to try authors you have been meaning to read, own old favorites, or take a chance on something that might be too quirky or, wonderfully quirky.

Sometimes you find just the book that speaks to you in multiple ways. Badgers. Check. Great illustrations. Check. Heartwarming narrative. Check!

We cried.

We laughed. 

We cried some more.

If you choke up too much to read a book out loud you know it is a winner.

And eventually, with practice, and the desire to share the story with your little badger, you will get the words out. And if he or she is snuggled on your lap, where all the best story times happen, they will not be able to see your glistening eyes even if they wonder why you are taking unusually long pauses between pages.

Can You Do This, Old Badger? - Two thumbs up, five teardrops, and five chuckles for this charming story of a little badger learning the ways of the world from his old badger grandpa. - NDL Review

Making Spirits Brighter

If this doesn't make you smile this week nothing will.

Highway Beautification

We went to a donut sale at a local church and came home with brooms.

The men's group was selling them and although it was not the main focus of the day's fundraiser they did a fine job with their sales pitch (that they were made in U.S.A. and that NAFTA has been hard on the broom industry was mentioned more than once), closed the deal,  and then ran to their broom closet to get the items we had chosen. The silver tongued deacon doing the selling even managed to convince us it would be sensible to go for the buy three, get a whisk broom free deal. And since we couldn't even remember the last time we saw a whisk broom for sale we succumbed to nostalgia and the deal of the day.

We were really after some big old brooms for use in garage, sidewalk and drive way, but fell for the Kitchenette on first sight. Who would not love a broom that boasts a sweeping distance of 97 miles?

So when you see us keeping America's Highways clean by sweeping our way to St. Paul one day move over and give us a little non-startling honk if you love a litter-free landscape.

Sweet Sentiments to Live By

Seen at the Poundstretcher store in Hexham, Northumberland, UK.

Not only is this great packaging, we think it is the national philosophy.

Why not? Good as anything.

And perhaps the accompanying sentiment that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down will be reaffirmed upon the release of "Mary Poppins Returns", starring Emily Blunt set to open Christmas Day 2018.

We hope Lin-Manuel Miranda, of "Hamilton" fame, as a London lamplighter opposite Blunt's Mary Poppins will have an accent more acceptable than that of Dick Van Dyke who has offended ears since 1964 with his awful cockney impression. But if there are still problems with the production not living up to standards just remember what Julie Andrews had to say....

In every job that must be done

There is an element of fun

You find the fun and snap!

The job's a game

And every task you undertake

Becomes a piece of cake

A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down-wown

The medicine go down

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way

A robin feathering his nest

Has very little time to rest

While gathering his bits of twine and twig

Though quite intent in his pursuit

He has a merry tune to toot

He knows a song will move the job along - for

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down-wown

The medicine go down

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way

Buy yourselves some Jujubes, Milk Duds, or Junior Mints at the concessions counter, spoon them into your gob, sit back and enjoy.

What We Foraged on our Summer Vacation

Every now and then when we are at the lake doing the thing we most love to do of a summer day, we do occasionally get up out of our deck chair. Usually it is just to refill a drink or make room for the next one, and then right back down we plunk into our spot. On one occasion however, we noticed, out of the corner of our eye, something brilliant orange in the woods just below our perch.

The warm, damp weather had made so many unusual fungi appear could these be chanterelle mushrooms? We knew they grow in Wisconsin.

We took some into the local museum naturalist who also thought they were chanterelle. But to be on the safe side she offered to send a photo to her Mushroom Guy.

He gave this reply: "Beauties! That's the "rainbow chanterelle," Cantharellus roseocanus. I can

even tell you where the visitor picked them, roughly, as they grow with

conifers only. Definitely safe and choice edible!" Bingo!

Well who can you believe if not the editor of Fungi Magazine? So we picked some more.

Fried them up in butter and ate them!

And did so four or five more times before the end of August. And no one asked to share them. We did offer. 

Not really surprising as some family members have been know to remove with surgical precision an errant mushroom on the pepperoni side of a pizza and treat it as if it were biohazard. 

So sad. 

More for us!

Cemetery Sheep

One of the most beautiful final resting places we have ever seen.

We suspect the grounds keeping may be handled by the occupants of the adjacent pasture. 

This seems a fitting conclusion to Sheep Week. Hope you have enjoyed it.

Guiting Power Sheep

These are not Northumbrian sheep. They are kept sheep.

Kept in the Cotswolds town of Guiting Power in the village center.

Right across from one of the only two pubs in town. The one where we had a delicious lamb dinner. 

Chic Sheep Feet

This little lady has some fancy, spotted spats as do the rest of the gals.

So many sheep questions remain unanswered despite our quizzing of anyone who might possibly know anything about sheep. Are there spots under that gorgeous, all white fleece?

Twice Brewed Sheep

The view from our home away from home in Northumberland, the Twice Brewed Inn, includes tiny sheep in the distance who sometimes become regular sized sheep just on the other side of that wall.

Mind the Sheep

Don't mess with 'em. Don't mess with their babies.

Don't allow your dog to be a thug.