Salem Living

Cheap Thrills: Wolf Hollow in Ipswich

2010-08-25T09:56:00.004-04:00

Checked out Wolf Hollow in Ipswich last weekend with Chloe. It's right down Rt 133 in Ipswich just before the turn-off onto the road to Russell Orchards. I'd been waiting until Chloe was old enough to have a hope of sitting thru the hour-long talk that's part of the presentation.

She actually managed to pay attention pretty well. The presentation is given at 1:30 in the afternoon and two wolves are present behind a double fence while the guide talks about wolf varieties and their history with humans. The two wolves are Weeble, the oldest wolf and Nina, a young female. Weeble sniffed around a couple of times, ate some cheese treats and retreated to the shade of a large tree while Nina trotted back and forth constantly making eye contact.

There's a full moon howl on this coming Saturday too: Wolves, reggae, beer and barbeque! Adults, $10.00, kids under 5 free. Event starts at 3pm.

Wolf Hollow Saturday Presentation: 1:30pm
Adults admission: $7.50
Kids admission: $5.00

Beat the Heat: Green Curry

2010-08-10T09:01:00.002-04:00

Even though it's hot and sticky outside and the cicadas are screaming, I still can't put down my wok. Standing over a pan-full of frying tofu and vegetables while sweat beads on my forehead makes it even more worthwhile when you are sitting down and eating this awesome vegetarian curry!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil
4 oz tofu cut into 1-2 inch strips
1 small head of broccoli
2-3 handfuls of green beans
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2 slices
2 or 3 handfuls of mushroom slices

for the sauce:
1/2 medium sized can of coconut milk
1 cube of vegetarian bullion
1-1.5 tablespoons of curry paste (I use Patak's)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root shredded or 1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 cup of brown rice
2 cups water

Prepare the vegetables and keep them close to the wok for quick, efficient cooking. Heat the oil in the wok over medium heat until it starts to smoke. Add the tofu with a long-handled utensil (to avoid spatter burns) and fry it until it has all browned on both sides.

My general rule of thumb is to add vegetables in the order of their water content. Since the broccoli is the hardest one (least watery) here, add it after pushing the browned tofu up into the sides of the wok. Cook the broccoli until it has softened a little and push it up before adding the green beans. Once they have cooked, add the zucchini slices and the mushroom slices along with the ginger.

Stir-fry everything together for about a minute and then add enough water to cover the bottom of the wok. Add the bullion cube and let that dissolve before adding in the coconut milk and curry paste. Stir the sauce in with the vegetables until everything has blended and then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors together.

Turn off the heat and add the curry to helpings of rice and enjoy outside with a nice frosty beverage. (A crisp white wine is a good choice)

Vida Local: Coven

2010-07-27T14:10:00.003-04:00

I had about 30 seconds to spare before a meeting in Salem this morning and decided to grab an iced coffee and some kind of pastry at Coven. The interior is really fun, with tons of local art everywhere (Rich Flynn Cheap Art!) and a television that was showing everyone's favorite meddling kids, The Amazing Chan Clan.

I got the large iced coffee and a blueberry muffin that was inspiring. As in, I took the first bite and could taste all the right ingredients and instantly wanted to run home and bake my own. Not the usual clod of fats, sugar and flour, but a light, yet substantial cup-cake-sized muffin with fresh blueberries. Bonus points too, for the little spice shakers shaped like lightbulbs at the coffee station.

Coven is located on Essex Street across from Harrison's Comics.

Bargain of the week! Hummingbird Feeder

2010-07-16T14:22:00.002-04:00

Guess what I found in the "Seasonal" aisle at Shaw's yesterday? $1.49 Hummingbird feeders! It was fairly easy to set up, just needed to climb a tree next to the patio to get the right "hang". I found this site that has some good info about using the feeder and a nectar recipe to boot!

(Almost) Guilt-Free Waffles!

2010-07-16T11:15:00.002-04:00

I got a waffle-iron a couple of Christmas's ago and it's one of the favorite things in our kitchen. Chloe's able to pour in the batter pretty well now and it's fun for her to watch the egg whites turn into foam. I started out with making the traditional recipe that came with the appliance booklet, but it made way too many waffles and used an entire stick of butter. Since someone in the family has to watch their cholesterol (ok, both of us), I've adapted the Whole Wheat Waffles recipe that was also in the Oster booklet.

I should have taken a picture, but these were so good I ate them before I remembered to.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
4 tbs wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, separated
1.5 cups soy milk
2 tbs honey
4 tbs olive oil

Preheat your waffle iron

Mix the dry ingredients together

Beat the egg whites until just stiff

Mix together the egg yolks, soy milk, honey and olive oil

Using a rubber spatula, stir the egg yolk mix into the dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites.

Pour the batter in about 1 ladle-full at a time into the pre-heated waffle iron and bake.

These are really good with maple syrup and blueberries!

The Lost Art of Real Cooking

2010-07-12T11:43:00.005-04:00

I found this via Delicious Days' website. I found a great excerpt here, but you can find it slightly cheaper here. I can't wait to get this! It's the perfect combination of self-reliance, thriftiness, localvore-ness and taste that I've been looking for! I just hope that my attempt at beer won't turn out like this:

East Indian Succotash with Brown Rice

2010-07-11T21:08:00.002-04:00

I had to use up some vegetables this evening and decided to put a recent purchase of bulk brown rice into the mix as well. Actually came out really good! The texture of the brown basmati rice and the silky coconut curry sauce really took me back to the days of dining out in restaurants that don't hand out crayons (sigh)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice (dry measure)
2 cups water

1 large zucchini
3 ears of corn
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 med can stewed tomatoes (or fresh)
3 or 4 scallions
1 cube vegetarian bouillon
6 oz coconut milk
1 teaspoon curry paste

Cook the brown rice in either a covered pot or a rice cooker

At the same time, boil the ears of corn for 2 minutes, then remove them from the pot and use a knife to slice the kernels off the ear.

Chop the zucchini and scallions and add them to the oil in the wok. Stir fry until the scallions are soft and the zucchini has browned a little.

Add the tomatoes. Use some of the liquid if you are using canned or add 1/4 cup water if fresh.

Add the corn and simmer everything for a few minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk and add the vegetable bouillon. Stir until the cube is dissolved.

Add the curry paste and stir until blended. Simmer for a few more minutes, then add the stew to the brown rice when it's ready.

Vida Local: 3 Reasons to Celebrate!

2010-06-04T15:35:00.004-04:00

Survived the crazy thunder/hail storm yesterday and today is one of those days that makes it almost impossible to work downstairs in the "bunker". If you are stuck indoors too, here's 3 reasons to cheer up!

1: The Salem Farmers' Market opens in less than 2 weeks! Sure it gets as crowded as Ben Thanh during Tet, but it's always a great feeling to elbow in there and get your fresh corn while you catch up with your neighbors.

2: Local farmstands are open for business again!

3: Picked-that-day fresh produce is starting to appear in the bins of farmstands. My new favorite is Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton. It's a fun mini-daytrip to go to Bradley Palmer State Park, then stop in at the farm on the way home to pick up dinner. Out of the farmstands I've been to so far this year (4), this is the best one to shop at for all your family's needs. They have guilt-free meat in the freezer section, yogurt, Richardson's milk, toiletries, flowers and enough animals out back to keep a 4 year old entertained while you shop.

Cooking Green: Double Bake!

2010-05-29T18:37:00.004-04:00

Why turn on the oven for just one little batch of cookies or 1 loaf of bread? Get twice as much use out of the same amount of heat by baking two items that cook at the same temperature! Not only will your house smell 10 times better than one of those cheesy scented candles that smell like baked goods, but homemade gives you control over you and your family's intake of whole grains. I've found that buying a sack each of wheat germ and wheat bran and adding a shake or two to some batter is a great way to "sneak" fiber into someone's diet.

Here's two items that lend themselves nicely to the practice of "double-baking": Whole Wheat Bread & Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

First, take out 1 stick of butter so it can soften while you get the bread going:

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast (I've found that it's much more economical to buy a jar of yeast rather than the packets)
1/4 cup dry milk
1/4 canola oil
1/4 honey

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour (this makes the bread lighter)
1 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the warm water and yeast. Let it dissolve and start its thing while you combine the flours and salt in another bowl.

Pour the dry milk into the yeast mixture, then add the oil and the honey. (tip: if you add them in this order, it makes the honey slide out of the measuring cup easier)

Gently stir the mixture. Then, add the flour mixture. Stir until the dough comes together and then turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead for 7-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it once to coat the dough. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and put in a warm place for about 50-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.

Lightly grease a 4X8 loaf pan. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a loaf. Place it in the pan and let it rise again in a warm place until the dough is 1" over the top of the pan. (about 45 minutes, during which you can make the cookie dough)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, then put the pan in once the dough has risen enough. Bake for 40 minutes total, tenting with tin foil after the first 20 minutes to ensure a good crust.

Let the pan cool slightly and then invert to shake the bread out. Once it's fully cooled, I've found it keeps best when it's wrapped in foil then bagged in a bread bag.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 stick butter softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 cup dry oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries or cherries

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together (if you are co-baking the bread, just use the same bowl that you let the dough rise in.)

Add the egg and vanilla then mix well

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients then add to the butter mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips and dried fruit. Some people might like shredded coconut or chopped nuts too.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased or non-stick cookie sheet (tip: I usually save the paper that the stick of butter was in to grease the pan if needed)

Bake the cookies alongside the bread. They brown nicely in about 12 minutes and with a little practice, you can have both cookies and bread done at the same time!

On the "vida local" tip, I buy the eggs, butter and honey at local farms such as Connor's Farm in Danvers or Green Meadow Farm in Hamilton. Both places have animals on site so it's worth the extra time and gas to get out there if you make it into an outing with the kids! (Even without kids, it's really cool to see the origin of what you are eating and support local farmers in the bargain)

New Playground taking shape on Salem Common

2010-05-22T20:38:00.003-04:00

They say it will be open for business by next weekend. The new flooring has to set. It looks like it's going to be worth the wait!

Growing Vegetables Upside Down

2010-05-22T20:30:00.002-04:00

Great info in this NYT article about growing vegetables upside-down. I'm not sure I can trust the gutter over the back porch with the weight of a 5 gallon container of dirt though. Still, the yield seems to be better and there's some good pictures of homemade containers that look way better than those lime green topsy-turvy planters.

Second Life: Plastic Fruit Containers

2010-05-08T14:28:00.003-04:00

Those plastic containers that berries come in are too useful for the recycling bin. I'm hoping that I'll see some marigold sprouts soon!

BTW, the drain tray is the top of a supermarket sushi tray.

Cool Backyard Flora & Fauna ID Resources

2010-04-27T14:39:00.007-04:00

Fauna

Birds

Birdwatcher's Digest: They offer a list sectioned by type. As you mouseover the different birds, a thumbnail image of that bird shows up to the left.

Whatbird.com: This page has an extensive list of birds commonly found in MA with an image of the bird as well. This was how I found this bird.

Critters

AA Animal Control.com: Wow, unless I'm off in my selection of keywords (wild animal guide massachusetts), there's nothing on backyard critters that is as fun to use as the bird guides listed above. This is packed with useful information though.

Flora

There are some good iPhone apps, such as Landscaper for identifying plants by site.

I found this Flickr Group that has a tagging method to search their image database.

This blog also has a good list of book resources too.

If you come....we will build it! The new playground on Salem Common

2010-04-21T10:37:00.003-04:00

Volunteers needed for the new playground build on Salem Common!

When: May 21, 22 & 23 That's Fri/Sat/Sun 7 am to Sunset

Where: Salem Common

What: Community Build

Why: The time has come! The new playground is almost here but we need all hands on deck to help build it. The more help we get –
the faster the build! The Salem Common Playground has long been in dire need of a serious upgrade. Thanks to the tireless (and I do mean tireless) efforts of Sarah Wheeler-Gaddipatti and all the Parents at Parents United of Salem, this plan is finally coming to fruition! Kids of all ages will finally have a playground that is accessible and safe for all!

Who: Volunteers needed for 3 hour shifts

To Volunteer: Please email with your available days/times: melzwilson@hotmail.com

Second Life: Snack Size-Easy Seed Trays

2010-04-20T10:12:00.003-04:00

Tomatoes and Lavender have begun to sprout!

I've been collecting those little snack size containers of Greek yogurt and applesauce all winter mainly because every time I hovered over the recycle container with one its size and shape seemed to cry out "Wait! Are you sure I couldn't be of some other use to you?

Well, actually, yes. I poked some holes in the bottom, filled with potting mix and put the containers in some old tofu and take-out sushi containers. Push some seeds into the mix, conscript your kid to water every day and you've got a great way to show your kids the value of growing your own food and recycling! Bonus.

2 Birds with 1 Stone: Shopping & Working Out

2010-04-19T10:30:00.003-04:00

I'm lucky to live near some conservation land and lately I've been trying to get more exercise. But some days (most days actually) the idea of taking 45 minutes to "work out" just isn't practical. So why not combine a work out with an errand? I found out that if I walk to the local grocery store (instead of getting in the car and driving 20 minutes to a big chain store), I get moving for 45 minutes, plus the extra effort of carrying the bags home, AND I get to walk past scenery like the photo above. Double Bonus!

Clutter Busting: Kid Picasso

2010-03-14T14:34:00.004-04:00

Art is messy. Kids are messy. Put them together and you have a big (happy!) mess in the time it takes to dip a paintbrush. It's alway been the biggest clutter-generating activity in the house and I'm slowly learning how to get a handle on it.

Here's what Chloe's art corner in our new place looked like:

Everything had a place, but there were a lot of empty and half-empty containers of random items and taking anything out to use it was a bit of a process. At first I was convinced that I needed some sort of storage system, but once I cleaned the corner out, I knew I could make better use of what I already had.

The first step was to sort everything out into piles:

1: Glitter, glitter glue, glue, foam stickies and pom-poms. (crafty stuff)

2: Finished works of art (to go into portfolios)

3: Paper that could be used for drawing and painting and construction paper

4: Paints and brushes

5: Activity books

6: Potential containers

7: Stamps and ink pads

The next step involved thinking about the best way to store small items. Luckily I had a set of stacking file boxes on wheels that I wasn't using any more. They were conscripted to hold paints (on the bottom) and all the stamp stuff, small craft items, glue and scissors. Like I said in my last post, the muffin trays I used to hold the paint jars were a great way to easily move the paint jars around en masse. Put the paints in the bottom, craft stuff in the top crate and voila! Instant roll-around art cart!

Next I needed a way to contain all the paper and activity books. I simply put them in a canvas fold-out crate and had an easy way to quickly find the right material for Chloe's next masterpiece. Once I consolidated everything I had some containers left over so I put the ones that were past their prime in the recycling bin.

Second Life: Muffin Tins

2010-02-23T01:28:00.001-05:00

Paint Trays!

They stack too!

Nesting has a new hero!

2010-01-25T14:36:00.002-05:00

Roost, at 40 Front Street in Salem, has hit the block running with a great selection of what they call, urban country design. They sell terrariums, cookbooks, natural and organic products, handmade soaps, decorative vases and dishes and french presses and teapots, all chosen with an eye towards great design and alleviating the winter blahs. Check them out and help support the awesome 3/50 project as well!

State and Month Peak Season Produce Map

2010-01-12T12:22:00.002-05:00

Via Lifehacker, this is a very useful tool: A flash-based map that tells you what's in season in a particular state in a particular month. Bonus feature! When you click on the name of a fruit or vegetable that's in season, recipes pop up! Yay!

Second Life: Gift Wrap Tube

2010-01-05T21:15:00.003-05:00

After you've spent all those hours disentangling miles of christmas lights, you can recycle a used giftwrap tube to wind the lights up for easy(er) trimming next year. Just tape the female end of one strand to the end of the tube, then wind the lights around until all the strands are wrapped around. Now tape the male end and wrap in plastic bags for December. When you get them out again, just plug in and unravel as you circle the tree!

Ultimate Holiday Cookie Guide!

2009-12-22T13:31:00.003-05:00

Found this amazing collection of cookie recipes on the NYT website. Merry Christmas/Winter Soltice/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah! If anyone needs me, I'll be in the kitchen whipping up rugelach & shortbread

Why Big Box Stores Suck

2009-12-17T00:08:00.001-05:00

Sears Saleslady (ringing up kids stuff from clearance racks): "Do you have a Sears Rewards card to save 10% off on purchases today?"
Me (trying to corral rampant 3YO): "No"
SS: "Would you care to sign up for one today in order to save the 10%?"
Me (glancing back at long line): "Uh-no"
SS: "That will be $14.99"
Me (taking out debit card): "OK"
SS: "Are you paying with your Sears Master Card today?"
Me: Um, no I've got this debit-"
SS: "Would you like to take 10 minutes to open a charge card with Sears today?"
Me (starting to sweat with effort of holding onto 3YO's hood and wallet): "No Thanks"
SS: "Are you paying with any Sears Gift Cards?"
Me (swiping DC through): "No"
SS: "Would you like to purchase one and receive $10 back on your purchase today?"
Me (thinking OH MY GOD, IT'S EASIER TO GET THROUGH CUSTOMS IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY!!!! SWEET JESUS, JUST LET ME BUY MY KID HALF-PRICED "BRAND-NAME" MIX 'N MATCH SEPARATES WILL YOU????) "No. Thank you, not today."
(NOT EVER! UNLESS THERE IS SOMEONE THAT I DESPERATELY NEED TO GET REVENGE ON!)

Herb Garden in Winter?

2009-12-11T15:11:00.002-05:00

I say why not? I've been looking for basil plants for a week now and guess who has a great selection of organic basil, chive and parsley plants? The fancy gardening store? Super Stop and Shop? Nope. Market Basket!!

I put the new plant in the window garden in the bedroom, but I think I'll have to move it because I woke up this morning craving spaghetti for breakfast.

Favorite Thing of the Week

2009-12-03T19:40:00.002-05:00

Leave the kids with a trusted relative/friend/spouse in the Activity Room on the first floor and go check out the Iris Apfel show at the PEM before it disappears! Or, go in the morning before all the "art snobs" start mucking up the place and let the kids play with the addictive online paperdoll display while you marvel at the idea of making your own jewelry out of the barbie accessories currently living underneath your couch.

Thanksgiving Countdown!

2009-11-22T10:41:00.002-05:00

I found some good links for Turkey Day (or, T-Day, as it's known around here)

Need to get out of the mashed-potatoes-green been casserole-canned corn rut? The NYT on-line edition has some great ideas for sides.

Going to someone else's house and don't want to try and figure out what wine goes with stuffing? Turtle Alley, in Gloucester and Salem, sells a chocolate Turkey stuffed with nuts. How awesome is that?

And if the fam is coming over to your place, how to create the right atmosphere? (Unless, of course, your idea of ambiance is a few apple turkeys scattered about) Head on over to Design Lab, Lovejoy Design's new blog. Phoebe Lovejoy Russell has an amazing eye for color and texture and her ideas can easily be adapted to any budget.

Cheap Thrill of the Week: Magic Birthday Candle!

2009-10-19T21:08:00.003-04:00

(please note-This is only a video simulation of the reaction at our house last night)

Great way to entertain a toddler for 6 bucks!

Second Life:Mesh Hamper

2009-10-14T21:19:00.006-04:00

Giftwrap, ribbons, tissue paper, bows, gift bags, what I collectively refer to as "giftcrap" felt like a huge space-hog in our new place, which mysteriously lacked closets and a hanger-rod. In the process of whittling down items and containers in order to make everything fit, I started putting all the giftcrap into one pile on the floor and then it hit me-

Could it all fit into one container?

Turns out, it can!

Tips:

Sort the giftbags however you like, but save a few you're not going to use for gifts to store small stuff like ribbons and tools.

Honestly ask yourself, how many baby showers/bat mitzvahs/quinceaneras do I really go to a year? Then save the appropriate ratio of themed gift bag. Try it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Things I will miss about living here

2009-09-22T21:18:00.007-04:00

1. The Ropes Mansion Gardens Like a desert oasis, this has always been a cool, peaceful pitstop on the way to the library.

2. Having an ice cream place every 50 yards. Sometimes this is kind of a pain, like when I realize that traveling in any direction with a toddler in a stroller requires going past an ice cream parlor, but at least at this age, she's satisfied with a few bites from the "kiddie cup".

3. Having almost as many playgrounds. We have one right next to our building and it's amazing to have so many places within walking distance where you can have a "pick-up playdate".

4. Random surrealism. There's something about walking to CVS to get milk and passing teenage puritans bumming cigarettes off mid-western wiccans that never gets old.

5. Halloween. Known to most towns simply as October, here it's a month-long party culminating in a 24 hour orgy of weirdness that brings out the SWAT team.

Happy 1st Day of Fall!

2009-09-21T13:49:00.000-04:00

So close...

2009-09-21T13:36:00.002-04:00

We were supposed to close on our new place today in Marblehead, but the Marblehead Fire Department didn't get their inspection done because (get this) they said they couldn't find the property. Considering the size of Marblehead, this isn't a very comforting idea...

WE'RE MOVING!!!

2009-09-19T11:23:00.003-04:00

-Just up the road to Marblehead...

So-I'll still be around Salem a lot since, in my opinion, it's got it going on in a way that Marblehead doesn't. We found a great place for a fairly decent price and I'm going to have my own office instead of a 2X3 foot space in a corner of the living room/den/playroom now! Part of the reason I've been so lax about keeping this blog up-to-date has been the fact that: A)The Chloe has discovered online games and it's hard to say no when I see how quickly she's learning to use the computer from them, and B) by the time she's safely out of the house, I've got so much work piled up that I can't justify the time it takes to crank out these finely handcrafted bon mots :^|

Anyway, here's some moving tips tailored for moving with a toddler:

1) Make Moving Day sound like a really awesome adventure.

Maybe tell them it's like going camping in the new house and pack their sleeping bag and a canteen and flashlight for the first night. Maybe tell them they are going to "discover and explore" a brand new neighborhood in their "explorer ship" (aka moving truck)

2) Get all their friends' contact info for future playdates.

Chloe is old enough to verbalize her fears fairly well and knowing that she will be able to stay in touch with her old buddies makes it easier for her and her friends to deal with separation anxiety.

3) Let them get involved with packing and purging.

Giving a kid a damp rag and letting them clean unbreakable stuff before it goes in the box makes them feel more in control about what's happening. Giving them a box to pack favorite toys in helps too.

4) Take everyone up on those offers to "help get them out of your hair".

Because there's times when you just need to focus on what you're doing and constant pleas to play "train" with 20 cardboard boxes is a bit too much at the moment.

5) Big liquor stores are the best source for grabbing carloads of free packing boxes.

6) Got old clothes, towels, bed linens? Use them for packing padding before you recycle them! Bubblewrap and peanuts don't bio-degrade too well. Also, before you toss some old stuff, think about making something else with it, like a stuffed animal, pillow case, or quilt.

7) (Local tip) Savers, in the Danvers Market Basket plaza, is the easiest way to get rid of kid's stuff. They take toys, books, games and clothes.

8) (Set Dresser's tip) Blue painters' tape is great for labelling everything since it stands out against boxes and bags really well and won't damage wooden surfaces. Make a "packing kit" by using a box or tub and keep your markers, blue tape and packing tape in there so you can easily go from room to room.

Fun at the Salem Farmers' Market

2009-07-23T17:08:00.003-04:00

Yay! Finally got to go to the Salem Farmers' Market today (see right) un-emcumbered by a stroller full of screeching toddler. 2 fresh zucchini and a big yellow squash for $1.75. And, I'm not embarrassed to say that the only other thing I bought was a gigantic double-chocolate brownie for $3 from Nana's Kitchen. It was there OK?

Guess which food item the 3yo's going to eat?

Library Find: Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde

2009-03-28T23:58:00.006-04:00

Found in the young readers section, The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde with illustrations by Michael Hague

Featuring Oscar Wilde classics such as "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant", this is a gorgeous book that seems to be out of print and therefore, even more of a great find. Good for lulling a restless toddler to sleep, or engaging an older child.

Note, the above illustration is from a completely awesome blog called simply The Dodo Blog

Yin Yu Tang with a Toddler?

2009-03-28T23:41:00.002-04:00

It's possible! I have been blessed with the type of kid that retail clerks and gymnastics teachers euphemistically refer to as "exuberant". That said, I was hesitant to attempt the Peabody Essex Museum's Yin Yu Tang exhibit until a friend of mine with two toddler boys said that they were allowed to tour the house. So I decided to try my luck last week.

I knew better than to attempt the audio guided tour, but there was no avoiding the orientation speech before we were allowed in. After carefully explaining multiple times that the floors were uneven and to watch our step, (or, "if you trip, you can't sue us.")the velvet rope was lifted and the sprog and I were allowed in along with a small batch of tourists.

Chloe had a great time discovering that people who lived during the Qing dynasty used the potty too and I marveled at the wide variety of child-restraints crafted from bamboo. A big hit was the pair of cisterns in the courtyard with their population of koi and a couple of enormous carp. I don't think visitors are allowed to jump on the beds or try on the clothing laid out on the furniture, but Chloe managed to restrain herself somewhat and I thought the guards were pretty lenient about small children running around.

Get Lit in Salem!

2009-03-14T13:37:00.002-04:00

Salem's 2009 Literature Festival is coming up fast! They have a website here and the schedule page looks really good. It all takes place the weekend of March 27-29 and there's events for authors, soon-to-be authors, kids and Scrabble fanatics. Pack your reading glasses and come on over!

St. Patrick's Day Survival Tip:

2009-03-12T14:45:00.004-04:00

Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's day right? Now there's finally a way to celebrate that doesn't involve green beer, shamrock shakes (which I thought was another name for a St. Pat's hangover, but whatever) and everyone's favorite; boiled cabbage and soda bread. Turtle Alley (in Salem and Gloucester) has created Irish Stout Truffles! Bring these to your Aunt Brigid's annual Boiled Banquet and you can use them as a smoke screen against being plied with whiskey and stout by your scary uncle all evening. "Oh, no more Car Bombs for me, I've still got a buzz from these truffles!"
Good luck

UPDATE: I went into Turtle Alley's Salem location today and got a 1/2 pound for $10. If anyone wants me, I'll be in a corner in a truffle coma...

They have great greeting cards and cool gee-gaws too!

Awesome Gift Idea!

2009-03-12T14:23:00.003-04:00

Courtesy of Boing Boing.net, a mother created a stuffed toy out of her child's drawing and the result is achingly adorable. Now I am definitely going to go for that kids-quilt-from-old-baby-onesies idea I've been putting off for the past 5 months!

Getting Down at the Wenham Museum

2009-03-02T12:19:00.003-05:00

Took Chloe to the Baby Boogie Oogie at the Wenham Museum yesterday. Of course, like any rational human being, she was terrified at the site of 18 month old's and their birkenstocked parents shuffling around to the strains of "Burn Baby Burn", so we ended up spending most of the time looking at the new Soul of the Shoe exhibit which is pretty amazing. We learned that Chinese foot-binding practices created a market for cruelly exquisite silk slippers the size of hummingbirds, the 1960's was the Golden Age of stiletto design, and former President Bill Clinton had some mighty big feet. Also, the fact that mothers in the last century needed to button about 10 buttons on each toddler's shoe completely explains the popularity of all those soothing syrups.

Second Life: An old floppy hat

2009-02-26T19:59:00.006-05:00

My downstairs neighbor's incessant smoking finally drove us to switch our bedroom with our daughter's. (A 3 year-old with a smoker's cough tends to get strange looks at the library storytime) I kept procrastinating because part of the switch involved dismantling a large handmade futon frame that was a refugee from a loft we had built in Fort Point. Even though it was an awkward monstrosity of polyurethaned pine and metal reinforcing "bandaids", it was a reminder of days without kids and spontaneous night-life.

Finally, after transferring about 2 metric tons of stuffed animals acrosss the hall and dismantling and re-mantling the crib, I decided to just tackle the damn thing with a Mikita and, two afternoon sessions later, I was triumphant and the former slumber-barge lay in pieces next to our garbage bins.

One of the side effects of being somewhat of a compulsive clutter-buster is that there always seem to be a few random items that constantly turn up in storage bins and closet bags because I just can't bear to toss them for some reason. Take, for instance, a purple and gray nylon floppy hat. If I were to actually use it as a hat, it would only make me look like the nerd I really am. But, it's a hat that was purchased for me by a friend while in Vietnam in order to help me avoid paying the "roundeye-tax" and everytime I see it, I am reminded of: 1) My friend Phong, who was the coolest guide a girl could have, 2) Travelling throughout the Mekong Delta by motorbike with my husband and 3) Touring the Cu Chi tunnels whilst in the early stages of food poisoning.(not fun, but memorable)

Long story short, I can't toss the hat, but I really wanted to get rid of the old crap lumber and recycle the brass l-brackets, so I grabbed the hat by the brim, filled it with about 5 pounds of used woodscrews and l-brackets, added a manual screwdriver and ta-da! Instant toolbag!

Salem Trash Services Video

2009-02-24T11:39:00.004-05:00

Interesting video of Salem's Trash Service in action. And yes, they do show them flinging a bin or two back in the general direction of the sidewalk, just like our trash guys do.

Just curious, has your trash pickup crew started acting like prima donnas about the new trash rules?

Things have gotten crazy on my street. Last week, someone put a box with an old toaster oven on top of the trash barrel and, instead of lifting the box off to get the barrel's trash, they simply left the entire barrel sitting there, box on top and all. So we were treated to another week with our household trash, left in the barrel. And, everyone's barrels are also completely battered and barely functional since the trash crew doesn't have the more precise aim of the guys in the video and they heave the barrels into the middle of the street half the time.

Does your trash crew leave trash all over the street? Are they being over-eager sticklers for the new trash rules? Vent here!

Kid's Room Needs a Lift?

2009-02-18T22:06:00.004-05:00

Found via crossing paths on Boston Mamas' blog, Cheeky Monkey Murals will do custom murals for kids' bedrooms, playrooms or wherever you wish to put one of their unique works of art. (they also do murals for businesses)

I love the style these murals are done in and the artist, Holly Johnson also does portraits of "loveys" that are a wonderful way to capture your little ones' loved ones.

Should lollipops, m&m's and mini-cupcakes fail...

2009-02-16T10:58:00.003-05:00

You could always try the potty-caddy.

I coulda been a contender. While still pregnant, I saw an article in People about mothers who trained their kids in infancy and avoided the whole diaper scene altogether. I was all fired up to try it out with my still-theoretical spawn until I got the book out of the library that showed happy earth mommies holding their infants over porch railings and park benches, beatifically letting nature take its course. I just didn't think that would go over too well at a neighborhood barbecue or on the playground. I don't have a dog, on principle, and I grudgingly change the cat litter, so I didn't want to find myself following my own kid around with a plastic bag.

And of course, it's come to get me in the end. After a great start with the potty chart/sticker technique, I could have sworn Chloe would be trained by Thanksgiving. Then, it became Christmas, and now it's before she goes off to college, hopefully.

Of course, friends all have similar war stories about stonewalling and regression battles. And of course both nanas have started their greek chorus of "Well my kids were all trained by 2 and a half." I'll just keep up the bribery. She's bound to crack soon.

Second Life: Turn a Picture Frame into a Remote Caddy

2009-02-15T13:36:00.002-05:00

I didn't come up with this on my own, but I found it on Lifehacker and it bears repeating. This great if you have a fairly deep 8x10" photo frame lying around and the usual 3 or 4 entertainment center remotes.

Spring Cleaning! Book Swap

2009-02-14T12:57:00.005-05:00

The Salem Recycling committee is hosting a book swap on Saturday,
Februrary 28th at nearby St. Peters Church from 9:00 am - noon. Folks can bring in any unwanted books, videos, CDs, DVDs etc and choose anything that they like. All leftover materials will be recycled through "Got Books".

Address: 24 Saint Peter St, Salem across the street from the Salem Cinema.

See you there! (I'll be the one trying to unload the interactive Princess Barbie books with the almost-dead batteries)

Also, the above image was found on a great site called Simple Productivity Blog. Check it out!

My New Form: 5 Mantis Pickup

2009-01-30T17:41:00.004-05:00

1. Child pulls out the legos (butterfly horse stance)
2. Mom helps build a castle (kneeling horse stance)
3. Mom lunges to grab cell phone (side to side with mantis hook)
4. Mom cleans up the toys (duck walk back and forth 3 times)
5. Mom sweeps the floor (deep lady horse stance across the floor)

Second Life: Kids' Clay

2009-01-30T17:15:00.005-05:00

An old bag of modeling clay resurfaced this morning and when I was picking up the remnants I realized that it makes a great stress-ball. Then, when I was trying to get a half-decent photo, some more clay did the trick! (right side blob)

Ok, I'm walking away from the computer right now...

Second Life: Old file crates

2009-01-29T17:33:00.005-05:00

As any parent will tell you, having kids + a bathtub = A plethora of little cute plastic bath toys. After searching high and low for a good way to store everything, I had an epiphany when I was cleaning out some old files. I grabbed a terrycloth bathmat, folded it so it fit in the bottom of the crate-

Yay! Instant tub-toy caddy!

The reason I was so picky is that so many of the "official" types of tub-toy caddies rely on suction cups, which any half-way intrepid toddler is just going to pull off, and/or contained little nooks and crannies which are a haven for mold.

How to Cure Cabin Fever in a Blizzard

2009-01-28T18:21:00.004-05:00

It's snowing/sleeting/raining today and I did manage to get out and clear my car off in time to move it so my space can get plowed out. So I feel like I got at least something constructive done today.

BTW, when I ventured out, I was the first one to do so, and the stairs needed cleaning off too. I was already carrying some laundry so I simply started moving the fast accumulating snow off the steps with my feet. It occured to me as I was doing so that it made a good kung fu exercise, kind of like a sweeping kick drill. I started trying to get as much snow off each one step as I could with one kick.

Then, moving on to the car, I kept it going as I used my snowscraper like a broadsword and tried to challenge myself with how much heavy wet snow I could push off the roof with each stroke. First with one hand, then both hands.

You could probably practice some more form moves with other snow-removal implements, but it's a start.

My Random John Updike Memory

2009-01-27T20:47:00.003-05:00

So I finally poked my head out of my inbox and found out that John Updike has died. He was the same age my grandfather was when he died. It was strange growing up going to church with my dad and stepmom at the same church that Updike was (nominally) a member of. He manned the booksale table one year at the annual church fair. I bought a copy of "The Omen" from him for a quarter. I remember that he took a good skeptical look at the cheesy mid-eighties foil-embossed paperback cover and then looked at me and said "You sure you really want this one?". I was old enough to recognize him from some book jackets I had seen, but young enough to be saucy so I shrugged and said "Yeah, it looks really scary!" He took my quarter and sent me on my way.

Gung Hay Fat Choy at the PEM!

2009-01-27T19:14:00.010-05:00

Buddha guides the lions to eat

The lion approaches an offering

Some businesses like to challenge the lion a little

After eating the lion dances to show their thanks

See some Lion Dancers in action!

The Peabody Essex Museum will be celebrating the Year Of The Ox in style with a martial arts demo on January 30th (Friday night) in the Atrium at 7:30. There will also be Lion Dancing and Kung Fu at 11:30am Saturday the 30th. Free to Salem residents! BYOFC

Second Life: An old in-box

2009-01-24T18:59:00.003-05:00

My daughter goes through a ton of different types of paint in the average week and she's also taken to painting wherever the "mood" strikes her. I finally got tired of constantly following her around like a human paint caddy, schlepping tiny bottles and brushes all over the place and then I realized that a recently retired plastic inbox could hold everything, water, paints and brushes. So, the inbox-paint caddy was born.

Buy Local! Salem's So Sweet

2009-01-23T12:13:00.004-05:00

-But you already knew that right?

Salem Main Streets will be hosting a chocolate and ice sculpture festival February 6-14!

$20 gets you in the door of the kick-off event at Hamilton Hall on Friday, Feb. 6 at 6:30pm. The event features wine, chocolate and coffee samplings from Salem purveyors.

Lots of stores will be having special Valentine deals and sales as well. The SMS site has the full details.

Buy Local! Yarn Sale Kicks Off Thursday at Seed Stitch

2009-01-21T22:10:00.003-05:00

From now until the end of January, Seed Stitch Fine Yarn at 21 Front Street in Salem is having a sale with 20-70% off yarns of all types. They will be open from 10am to 7pm and (I think) until 8pm on Thursdays. Support a local business (and your knitting habit) and check it out!

(they are very toddler-tolerant too!)

January 20th, 2009 12:01pm At last...

2009-01-21T14:37:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've been this verklempt ever. What a great day. And props to the Marine band for their restraint shown by NOT playing "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead" as Dick Cheney was wheeled to his waiting limousine.

(rumor has it he pulled a muscle stretching the truth too far)

Found: Organic Coffee That Actually Tastes Good

2009-01-19T12:34:00.003-05:00

One of the ways that my local Market Basket keeps me coming back for more punishment is the occasional awesome bargain find. Sometimes, it's Nutella at 2 for $4 when the Whole Paycheck price hovers around $5 a jar. This past week, it's the Good Earth coffee which I found for $4.99 for a 10 oz. bag.

And here's the kicker; it actually tastes like coffee, good coffee. Their website doesn't say anything about their labor situation, just stresses the fact that their coffee is raised in organic conditions. I have to confess that I've bought Fair Trade coffee in the past for a good price at BJ's and while it made for guilt-free caffeination, it tasted kind of sour. Still, you could always use it for recipes or composting.

ReadyMade: Recycled Cookie Tins

2009-01-18T14:29:00.006-05:00

For all of you that received homemade cookies in those ubiquitous tins for the holidays, ReadyMade has a great article about how you can use them to create tiered serving trays, ribbon dispensers and cookie cutters.

25 Days and Counting...

2009-01-17T23:02:00.000-05:00

Here's to Valentine's Day!

Man Eating Bugs at PEM

2009-01-14T20:48:00.002-05:00

It's a cookbook! A COOKBOOK!

Trapped by snow and ice (plus my husband had to borrow my car), I couldn't watch any more "Blue's Clues" so I ventured out with Chloe in her stroller to the Art And Nature Room at the PEM. Chloe loved to empty the activity boxes, not necessarily playing with everything, just likes to do inventory, and while I waited for her to get bored, my eye happened across "Man Eating Bugs" on the bookshelf. Finally, a cookbook that will scare away any potential schnorrer who sees it on your recipe shelf.

Salem Library Hidden Gem

2009-01-09T22:11:00.002-05:00

Found at the SPL this week, Roald Dahl's "The Mildenhall Treasure" illustrated by Ralph Steadman. (Which,BTW is listed on Roalddahl.com as an ADULT book so now I don't have to pretend I'm checking it out "for my kid").

At any rate, I love finds like this; half-remembered stories that trigger Proust-like reactions when I pull them off the shelf.

Light 'em up!

2008-12-31T13:16:00.002-05:00

Salem will be hosting its annual Christmas Tree Bonfire on Thursday, January 8 at 6pm at Dead Horse Beach off the road to Salem Willows. Free hot chocolate, music and a public burning! Fun for the whole family

You can drop off your tree (sans lights and ornaments) starting January 2 at DHB, or leave it for curbside pickup which also begins that day.

Rain/snow date is the following day, Friday, January 9 and if you have any questions you can get in touch with Ellen Talkowsky, Special Projects Coordinator at 978-745-9595 ext. 5676

Find Local Cheap Gas Online!

2008-12-31T12:28:00.001-05:00

Noticed this today at Salemnews.com. Find the cheapest local gas around town.

Happy New Year!

Sad Sign of the Times

2008-12-31T11:21:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve, Chris and I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and make the pilgrimage to Edaville Railroad in Carver MA and in the course of the 2.5 hour drive I think I heard variations on the term "difficult economic times" approximately every 45 seconds. Still, nothing brings it home like a store you walk by almost every day suddenly going out of business.

New Civilitea on Derby Street in Salem send out an email blast last night stating that it would be shutting its doors on New Years Eve for good. (Except for a brief inventory sale)

I tried to stick to my guns this year, and only shop in Salem,but if I had to get something and was certain that I could only find it at the mall then I'd get behind the wheel. I tried it couple of times but it was so depressing that I came home before I was done and spent the rest of the evening worried I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Picture a recently laid-off car salesman launching into an obscenity-laced tirade on his cell phone next to a long line of exhausted kids strung out on candy canes waiting to see Santa while some food-court queen storms out of Belden's Jewelers screaming at her boyfriend that she's really going to get that restraining order "this time" and you get the idea.

Shopping in Salem is actually fun. Most of the stores are staffed by the business owner and/or their family and it's almost like shopping in some country where it's traditional to welcome a customer like a long-lost relative. People discuss their vacation plans with you while they ring up your items and then ask if you are related to someone they know when they see the name on your debit card. I actually had a Hallmark Movie moment when I had driven to three different chain stores in a quest for a real christmas tree stand and been told by three different sad-looking men with Santa hats and nametags that they were sold out. I noticed a little garden store on 107 called Highland Gardens and not only did they have tree stands in spades, but a life-sized animatronic Santa that actually wasn't as creepy as it sounds.

Just to make conversation while my card was being approved, I asked if they were open year round and next thing I knew, the owner was proudly describing her part-time geneaology business followed by a brief rundown of her family history back to the Mayflower. I almost expected her to whip out a PowerPoint presentation. I had been stressing out over what to get my mother for Christmas and as she talked on, she reminded me of the way my mother could go on about her family for hours if you let her. I realized that the only thing holding her back from the book she was always hinting about was the fact that she didn't have a computer to type it into. So I did the "Gift Ticket" thing and promised to transcribe her stories that she would write up and add family photographs.

Despite the crappy weather and trying to complete three projects at once for various clients, I did manage to get out and get some last minute shopping done the day after Christmas and since my dad's a tea freak, I stopped into New Civilitea and found his entire gift there. I even grabbed one of their cards to put into a tin of color-coded tea-timers since he comes up here quite a bit. Maybe the spartan appearance of the store should have tipped me off, but it always looked really spare which is why I liked it in the first place. Once you become so surgically attached to a large Graco stroller that your friends don't recognize you without it, it tends to limit your shopping to places that can accommodate its wide displacement. This ruled out stores with narrow aisles crammed with tchotchkes. So, I'll miss this store and my 2009 resolution is to keep buying as local as I can so I don't get any more of those depressing emails.

In With The New, Recycle the Old: Part 1

2008-12-30T22:11:00.004-05:00

Life Hacker published an article about melting down crayon bits and pieces to make new ones with a double boiler fashioned from an old tin can and silicon triangular ice trays. Not a bad idea. When everyone in my family asked what to get my daughter for Christmas, I said "art stuff" thinking that it's the type of thing that's broad enough for her to get a good variety of stuff and doesn't sound greedy. So now we have about 6 sets of various types of "washable" markers and "mess-free" poster paints scattered around the house, but at least everything's a pretty color.

Also, if you have a girl and she received any sort of doll, chances are high it came cocooned in a few dozen industrial sized twist-ties. Don't throw them away! They make great A) Computer cable/AV cable-tamers B) Closures for bags of beans/sugar/pasta and C) Climbing plant tethers

Google.org Launches Site To Track Flu

2008-11-12T10:47:00.004-05:00

As reported on the BBC's website, Google.org has compared billions of searches that occurred over the years during various flu outbreaks and developed a way to triangulate what is breaking out where based on search data. (Sounds like fun, no?)

Anyway, Flu season is here, kids are snuffling everywhere like bloodhounds, every other parent I know has some kind of cold going on and a couple have had sinus infections, so at least this could help you determine if you have to wear the bunnysuit to to the grocery store.

Google Blog Article

Google Blog Article On An Arenavirus That Could Turn Your Hair Gray

Who Is Sick.org (another sniffle-tracker)

(Thanx to Modern Mechanix for the photo!)

Shop Local: Cornerstone Books

2008-11-10T18:15:00.004-05:00

1) They have hot drinks, baked goods and a fireplace.

2) They will honor Barnes and Noble coupons.

3) They sell their own gift cards.

4) They also have an online retail store.

There's also a great kid's corner and no matter how crazy my toddler acts, I never get the "look" from the staff.

Mantis Sighting!

2008-11-05T15:08:00.002-05:00

-Right here at the Gonyea Park playground! The warm weather seems to have confused some of the local insect life. We currently have a resident fly that seems to have Alzheimer's slowly buzzing around the house. I almost considered keeping the mantis as a pet to catch insects, but our cat might not want any more affection competition!

Shop Local for Christmas! 5 Reasons

2008-11-01T16:53:00.003-04:00

1. You'll save on gas.
2. You won't run the risk of giving "that special someone" a gift that looks like anything but.
3. No hours wasted sitting in traffic, finding a decent parking spot and then waiting in line.
4. It will keep your local economy going strong.
5. It's more fun!

I tried doing this last year and had a great time finding comics for my niece and nephew at Harrison's (who else would be able to recommend non-naughty age appropriate but not brain-mushing manga?). Some other good places:

Derby Bookstore
Cornerstone Books
Pamplemousse
Bunghole Liquors (fun t-shirts)
PEM Gift Shop

Pardon the Witches!

2008-10-31T11:08:00.002-04:00

And by that, I don't mean just that drunk chick and her friends in the glittery witch hats with the price tags still on 'em. I mean the group in Great Britain that is seeking to gain an official pardon for all the hundreds of people that were executed over the years for various completely ridiculous reasons.

Vida Local: todo el año!

2008-10-22T09:51:00.003-04:00

In Season, a locally sourced grocery delivery service, has a great blog with a lot of useful articles and recipes featuring locally produced comestibles. I read this post about eating locally all year today and it helps cheer one up on a dark, cold October day. (makes the foliage more intense right?)

Vida Local: Homegrown!

2008-10-13T14:48:00.002-04:00

Since the farmers' markets are starting to become scarce, I've decided to try a little indoor gardening this winter. I am cursed with a black thumb, but hopefully after doing a little research, it will get a little greener. I'm starting with a little counter-top composting rig that I came up with while cleaning the kitchen. Basically it's a half-gallon milk carton, opened at the top with a plastic produce bag liner. It's easy to scrape things into and the Adult Services section of the Phoenix makes a handy resource for the "browns" layer. There are way cuter versions available online. But hey, Christmas is coming and it's the gift that keeps on giving!

Little Cider Donuts

2008-10-10T19:23:00.001-04:00

Local-made doesn't have to mean carrots with dirt all over 'em and kale recipe searches. It's cider donut time!

Best Local Cider Donuts: Brooksby Farm Bakery
The first thing that hits you when you get out of your car is the perfume of cinnamon, apples and frying dough. These come off the oven racks all day and to get one fresh out of the oven is worth the, uh, dough. $1 per donut fresh, $5 for a half dozen. Best deal, if you can resist this long, is to get the bag and then pop one in the toaster oven when you get home. If done right, these are the kind of donuts that will make a grocery bag turn clear in about 15 seconds, so you might want plenty of napkins to blot off the fat. Crispy outside, with a nice blend of apple, cake and nostril-tickling cinnamon.

Vida Local: Beverly Farmers' Market

2008-10-07T15:53:00.001-04:00

This is a farmers' market run by the Food Project and since yesterday was the last scheduled day for the Beverly location (right across the street from The Golden Hanger) and the weather was a little crazy, there were a couple of stalls open and that seemed to be it. The proprietor of one of the stalls said that Green Meadows Farm is usually there as well, but it is getting pretty late in the season. I bought two adorable little eggplants for $1.25. They had some peppers that looked pretty good and some delicatta squash. Here's a summary of the Food Project flyer:

Beverly
Ellis Square-Cabot and Church Streets
3:30-6:00pm: Mondays, June 30th to October 6

Lynn
Ingalls School, Collins Street Terrace
1:30-3:00pm: Tuesdays, September 9 to October 28

Central Square, Corner of Union and Exchange Streets
11:00am-3:00pm: Thursdays, July 3rd to October 30

Gloucester
Harbor Loop
3:30pm to 6:30pm: Thursdays, July 10 to October 9

Marblehead
Veterans Middle School, 217 Pleasant Street
9:00am-Noon: Saturdays, June 14th to October 5

The Food Project accepts WIC and Senior coupons, Food Stamps/EBT, cash and Debit cards

The Answer to a Vexing Question...

2008-10-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

The Hawthorne Hotel's blog has a category called Flags of the Week. So the next time you go by the hotel and see some flag you can't identify and it keeps you up at night, you can find the answer!

Not a burning issue, I know, but maybe it will come in handy for impressing that date/relative/client who happens to ask.

Online Photo Diary of Bypass Road

2008-10-04T14:21:00.000-04:00

Found this while searching around for my latest project. Salem resident, David Moisan, took photos of every stage of the new bypass road's construction and completion. As someone who lives right on the end of Northey Street, this road is sort of a double-edged sword. While it is awesome to be able to make a left turn onto Bridge Street in less than 5 minutes, sometimes the motorcycles drag racing down the strip at 2am can seem like a little much. I love the little grassy area they created in front of the old Salem jail and the bike path that runs up to the Carlton School playground is nice too.

Halloween Parade Kicks Off The "Frenzy"

2008-10-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Broom: Walgreen's $3.99
Belt: Gift from relative
Cauldron: CVS $1.99
Child sized witch's hat & Black kitty: Salem Witch Museum Gift Shop $2.99 & $5.99
Dress: Wahlum Kung Fu shirt turned inside out.
Seeing your little one gettin' her spook on: Priceless

Vida Local: Spaghetti Sauce!

2008-10-02T13:47:00.000-04:00

I made spaghetti sauce last night with the carrots and plum tomatoes I got at Brooksby Farm Tuesday (see previous post). I'm too impulsive to follow recipes in a book so I made this up on the fly and it came out better than I had hoped for! All you need is a blender, a big skillet or heavy bottom sauce pan and an appetite.

Ingredients:

5 or 6 plum tomatoes
2 or 3 carrots, peeled
3 cloves garlic peeled
1 TBS olive oil
fresh basil
oregano
1 can tomato paste
1 cup of vegetarian "crumbles" (I used Morning Star Farms)

Directions

Chop the carrots and tomatoes into medium size chunks and reserve about a cup of the tomato pieces for the sauce. Place the rest of the tomatoes and the carrots in a blender with the garlic cloves. Chop until you have a puree.

Heat the oil in the pan and add the crumbles. Stir until browned and cooked. Add the puree and the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of basil and oregano. Add the can of tomato paste and about a 1/2 can of water. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally while you cook the pasta.

Total cooking time, about 1/2 hour. Makes about 4 adult servings.

La Vida Local: Peabody

2008-09-30T18:07:00.000-04:00

So I had a few hours to kill this afternoon and decided to check out what's available in Peabody for fresh produce. It was my lucky day since there were 3 places that I could hit all of of Lowell Street. The first was the Peabody Farmers' Market which is located behind the District Courthouse off Railroad Ave. in downtown Peabody. I had to go to Market Basket in the morning for my mom, so I took notes on some of the prices in their produce department to compare.

There was a good variety of stuff for sale, with beets, lettuce, apples and plums and nectarines laid out under a pop-up tent next to the little yellow diner. I had noticed that beets were $1.99 a bunch in Market Basket and here they were $2.50. Apples and pears were $1.79 a pound. The people running the stand said they did a brisk business with all the assisted living centers in the neighborhood and they were pretty cool about having photos taken as well. A little more expensive than a chain store maybe, but the stuff all looked like it had just come out of the ground and you can't beat the proximity to Salem.

Next was Chris's Farm Stand up on Lake Street in Peabody. For those of us who make the pilgrimage to the Ross Memorial Playground, it's located a short ways away off of Lowell Street where it makes a left at the Hannaford's Plaza. No beets here and the apples were $1.89 a pound and corn was $6.50 for a baker's dozen. LOTS of pumpkins though, if that's your thing.

Last stop on the tour was back down Lowell Street to Brooksby's Farm which is located about 4 minutes from the North Shore Mall. It's like a smaller version of Russell Orchards, with farm animals (in pens) pick your own apples and even emus! My daughter loves coming here to visit the "baa-baa's and doo-doo's" but I hadn't really checked out the produce for sale before. The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car was the unbelievably appetizing smell of frying apple cider donuts. I couldn't leave without a half dozen ($5 for 6) and they are worth every penny. Fresh carrots were $1.39 for a bunch of about 5, apples were $1.69 a pound, (the best price out of the 3) and vine ripened tomatoes were $1.99 a pound. I splurged and got a bar of Ipswich Bay Soap Company soap in Tea Tree and Peppermint since Irish Spring is a little harsh on the face. They take debit cards too which is a nice convenience.

All in all, it was worth a little driving around to get a feel for what was going to be the best selection and the best prices. My pick for the day has got to be the Peabody Farmers' Market. It's close, the prices were mid-range and they had a decent variety of fruits and vegetables. I forgot to ask, but my guess is they operate on a cash only basis. If you are making something that you want to taste as fresh as possible, plan your shopping for Tuesday afternoons 1-6pm.

Another alternative that's even closer to home is Jr. Busters which is located just before the Salem Beverly bridge. They are open every day of the week and offer a wider selection of local produce as well as Richardson's Dairy products and a good selection of groceries as well.

Livin' la vida local: Part 1

2008-09-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

I think I'd much rather be doing other things besides running all over the North Shore in search of that perfect bunch of fresh kale that just came out of the ground. I would like to eat something a little fresher than that bagged spinach you get from the grocery chain store that goes bad after 2 days in the fridge. When I started looking into the idea of buying locally grown produce, I realized I had stumbled into a netherworld of farmstands, markets and co-ops that were obscure and all but impossible to compare. So for the next month, I'm going to be your personal guinea pig and attempt to check out a variety of local venues for buying home grown vegetables and fruits.

The first step was to try and get beyond those occasional trips to Russell Orchards to buy raspberry wine and cider donuts. I decided that in order for the idea of buying local produce to be practical, it had to be less than a twenty minute drive away so that the high cost of gas wouldn't counter-balance any money saved by buying direct from the farmers or picking my own stuff.

Here's my map, which is a work in progress, but at least it should guide one through the maze of information out there.

Lizzie Borden Museum (finally) Open!

2008-08-30T16:10:00.000-04:00

After almost an entire summer of walking by their enormous brown paper covered windows, the Lizzie Borden Museum is open for business!

Because of its strong year-round base of tourists looking for the darker side of history and Halloween seasonal traffic that rivals any place on the planet, Salem is the perfect location to maximize exposure for Lizzie’s story to be told.

Which,kind of, explains why the museum is in Salem and not Fall River, where it actually happened. But then again, Danvers is where most of the accused of 1692 and their accusers actually lived so touche.
Anyway, their gift shop window is another awesome addition to Salem's gallery of horrors located precisely at a stroller-bound toddler's eye-level.

Playgrounding

2008-05-10T21:08:00.000-04:00

Thank god for the warm weather so we can get out of the house! (See previous post)
Now that Chloe's back in her spring/summer routine of errands/playground visit once a day, here's some things I wish more playground designers realized:

Slides are great for almost any age, but try not to have them terminate in a two foot drop. Kids are freestylers by nature and I've swapped a few stories with other parents about head-first or belly-down runs going heartstoppingly wrong.

Those big habit-trails for kids need a little baby-proofing. I've never seen a toddler take the plunge off the side(knock on wood), but those sudden openings into a sheer 6 foot drop to the ground need to go.

One thing the much-maligned Salem Common Tot Lot does right; the little chain & post fence next to the swing set. Nothing like seeing your kid make a beeline into a row of accelerating human pendulums to get your heart going!

Got any ideas for making playgrounds around here better? Let me know!

How to handle a harrassing neighbor

2008-03-29T14:51:00.000-04:00

So, this week I found out that:
1) There is very little useful advice online for how to handle a neighbor that harasses you.

2) You cannot file a restraining order against a neighbor. You can only file one if the person actually lives with you.

3) The police will come and take a report, but the only thing they will tell you to do is call them to come when the neighbor harasses you again. Which is good to know, but doesn't really help when your kid has already seen the neighbor scream at mommy and call her a bitch.

In case you are wondering why I found this out, click here

Toilet Humor

2008-03-29T12:16:00.000-04:00

The comments section on Apartment Therapy's post on the pro's and con's of bidets yielded this link to CIH's unintentionally hilarious site featuring smiling animated yuppies and baby boomers extolling the virtues of hosing down after doing your business. Firefox warning, the bandwidth needed to view the site does induce a little address bar freeze.

Muchos gracias to Pam's Mondoboston.com, for pointing out this commments thread to their readers!

Just when I thought I was out...

2008-03-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

They pull me back in. In case you've noticed the rash of articles recently about the burgeoning film industry in Massachusetts, here are my insider tips on the reality of working in the movie business:

1) Watching movies is fun, making movies is actually pretty boring. Hours of preparation equals 2 minutes of screen time. But if your idea of excitement is watching 50-70 people walk around in circles trying to find decent cell phone reception/their next gig, then knock yourself out.

2) "Movie stars" are usually just about the least visible people on set. It's amazing how many people will park themselves on the edge of a film set for hours, hoping to get a glimpse of So and So as they run from their minivan to set, usually hidden from view by umbrellas and nervous PA's.

3) Working on a film set, the average crew member has 2 states of existence: 1) Rushing around frantically with about 50 other co-workers wielding big pieces of equipment in a very small space or 2) Sitting around eating yet another bagel/donut/handful of M&M's because they are so damn bored. Also, they rarely have any interaction with the Big Star, so stop asking them what So and So's really like because they don't know.

4) Teamsters may appear to be big fat semi wiseguys who sit around all day and get paid a lot of money for nothing, but there's a reason that guy's sleeping in the cab of his truck in the middle of the day; he was probably up at 5am driving the truck to location and he'll have to drive it back around midnight. They also drive the actors back and forth to the set and it wouldn't be good for business if one fell asleep at the wheel with So and So in the back seat now would it?

5) Thinking it would be cool to allow a film crew into your newly renovated home to show it off/pay the contractor bills? Just close your eyes and imagine a chapter of the Hells Angels led by General Sherman camped out in your home for 16 hours a day. Movie crews don't want to destroy your home, but the combination of 18 wheelers, damp New England weather and sleep deprivation can produce some frightening results.

Nook! Nook!

2008-01-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

"Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?" "Penguin now?"

It started so innocently. I saw the little segments entitled Winter Warm-Ups with Pingu in between episodes of "Choo Choo" (AKA Thomas the Tank Engine) and thought to myself, "kids like penguins, maybe Chloe will enjoy this." The fishing episode triggered 6 straight minutes of belly laughing and now when I go to sleep at night, all I can hear is the little house music number from the show.

I think of it as the "methadone" to treat what was becoming a serious Barney addiction.

3 (cheap!) things to do with a toddler in the winter

2008-01-25T12:12:00.000-05:00

1) Salem Public Library kids' room
370 Essex Street Salem, MA 01970. Telephone: (978) 744-0860
Free, books, toys, lots of room to run around and a very welcoming staff.

2) Bonkers
Even if they are too young for video games, it's still fun for them to run around and the "tot lot" off to the side has tumbling mats, a slide, "hamster trails" and lots of PVC structures that make their hair stand out straight, which is fun.

3) Chuck E. Cheese
Great if you need to go to Market Basket in Danvers and want them to get rid of some energy first.

Happy New Year Salem!

2007-12-31T20:43:00.000-05:00

CommunityWalk: A Parent's Guide to Salem

2007-12-31T20:30:00.001-05:00

Because how else can a person find out where the good baby-changing bathrooms are?

Halloween photos are here!

2007-11-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

Binging and Purging

2007-09-19T15:13:00.000-04:00

I made a chocolate cake on Saturday for no particular reason. I goofed up and put the top layer on upside down so that when I put the frosting on, the whole thing split into 3 large chunks about halfway down. I wanted to cover up my stupidity, so I ended up eating really big pieces of cake for breakfast and lunch on Sunday. That
s the binging part.
As for the purging, fall always makes me want to make changes and start new, so I began with the bedroom. Clothes are easy for me to get rid of. My rule is, if I don't absolutely love to put something on, then I get rid of it. Luckily, there's a really great vintage store close by that's very reasonable, so I don't feel bad giving old stuff away. I even got all inspired by watching a couple of episodes of "Clean House" and "repurposed" an indian print tapestry to hang in front of the bed. (Author's note: 18 month olds love playing peekaboo with tapestries hanging in front of a bed)
So now, at least when I walk into the bedroom, it feels like a place I'd actually want to sleep in.
I'll get to my three foot high inbox one of these days...

Fun with cardstock

2007-09-15T20:17:00.001-04:00

We had to make a room darker for a software training session where I work part time. Apparently, the manager of the building didn't even notice until people started teasing him about the fluorescent yellow and pink window panes on the second floor.

Communitywalk.com map of farms in Essex County

2007-08-28T08:58:00.000-04:00

Good to have if your 16 month old can't stop saying "Neigh, neigh" and HAS to hear "The Very Busy Spider" before she goes to sleep! Apple season's coming up too.

Ideas for Salem Google Map mashups

2007-08-27T07:28:00.000-04:00

1) Stroller-friendly retail. You know, the kind of store that doesn't cram in everything but the kitchen sink and has a level entrance more than 30 inches wide. Although, I credit the impossible-to-navigate Ben & Jerry's doorway with helping me to lose my baby weight.

2) Playgrounds. ( I think this has been done though)

3) Safe parking for more than 2 hours at a time. Then again, if you know of a place like that, why tell people?

4) Toddler-tolerant restaurants. Where the staff won't look at you funny when your child starts acting like a chimp on crystal meth (not that MINE does ;^) ).

5) Stores open after 7:30 at night that sell diapers and milk.

6) Free tourist-y stuff that doesn't have hundreds of tourists around. (I nominate the garden next to the Ropes Mansion.)

Time for a change...

2007-05-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

I feel like this guy...

But every time I think about interviewing, I'm worried I'll come across like this guy...

Wish me luck!

And Further More...

2007-05-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

Currently reading "Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix" in which a drunk-on-power government leader slowly wears away at Hogwarts students' rights "for their own good" all the while denying the existence of the real enemy and obfuscating a conflict that is threatening the wizarding world's existence. Hmmm...
By page 300 I was checking the publication date. 2003. Hmmm.
Anyway, here's some "Order of the Phoenix" eye candy to tide you over.
Note: if you want something that loads faster, go here.

Girls Rule!

2007-05-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Sometimes out of curiousity I go to my local Chamber of Commerce site and check up on my colleagues' sites to see what's going on. Then, I noticed something, the ladies outnumber the guys around here. Funny, I was just reading about how everyone seems to think it's the opposite(comment #68).

This Ain't No Walk in the Park

2007-05-09T09:46:00.000-04:00

Trial and error, rinse, repeat…
Things are getting down to the wire for launching my first CSS-based design onto the web. After aeons of coding, tweaking and tweaking, and testing in Safari and Firefox, then checking IE and balling up my fists and sobbing, then tweaking again, things are coming together in a good way. It’s not going to end up on Webcreme, but hey, it’s an insurance site. I figure that people go to insurance company websites for basically two reasons; either they want to get a quote on insuring some aspect of their lives, or they need to file a claim because of some sort of calamity. They probably won’t be in the mood to marvel at pretty colors and fancy animations. So I focused on making the information as clear as possible, and putting in lots of useful links.
Here’s what I learned:
1) Just because the client says something looks fine, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to need changing eventually. A.K.D.F. Always Keep Design Flexible.
2) Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Case in point, the client wanted a form like the one on the “big” company’s site(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was going to do the "big" site a favor and link back to them, but luckily I tested the link and it "traps" the browser so one can't go back, which further proves my point!). I dutifully went to the url they sent me to check it out and it was a sticky mess of tables, inaccessibility and non-usability. I kept trying to explain that simple was better. After all, the “big” site’s form only had room for 2 or 3 questions per page and there was no way to go forward and check to see how much the user was getting into! Plus, it was pretty difficult to locate it on the company’s site.
3) Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. I spent 15 minutes tearing my hair out over changing a div’s border to a nicer color only to realize that DreamWeaver’s “code-hint” tool had neglected to include the semicolon on the end of the attribute. One keystroke, and everything worked again.
4) When in doubt, go to a site that you know has the format you are going for and hit View>Source.
5) When nothing seems to be working right, go take a walk.

An Unholy Cabal in an unexpected place

2007-05-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

How to spot a web designers’ convocation
It’s funny how things come together sometimes. I went to this event in Cambridge yesterday, and ran into 2 people who practice the same kind of digital voodoo that I do and we realized that we all live within a triangle of Salem about 1 mile square.

At any rate, I had a great time and it was cool to talk shop/commiserate with other people who hunch over a keyboard all day. Actually, when I looked around, there were almost more people hunched over some kind of digital device than there were drinking and talking with each other. I highly recommend the Spring Training IPA.

Making Google Cry Uncle.

2007-05-04T21:59:00.000-04:00

I just did a search for “Harry Potter” on Google and I think I broke their hard drives. At any rate, the browser window seized up for about 3 minutes and then shut down with a faint whimpering noise.

No, I haven’t been living under a rock for the past 10 years, I’ve just been ignoring most of the hype.
But then my father was talking about the books and how they were more involved than the films and I was intrigued. After all, this was the guy who gave me“The Chronicles of Narnia”
(author’s note, take the quiz on this site to find out if you are a bigger geek than me!)
for Christmas when I was 7 and had original hardcovers of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy laying around the house.
. And then Salem, originally just a town I had moved to for spatial-economic reasons, hosted a Harry Potter convention
complete with a Quidditch tournament, played in true Hogwarts style: in the pouring rain. I started noticing people walking around Essex St. wearing cloaks and pointed hats like it was no big thing.
So now that I’m already on “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, when I walk around downtown, it’s unsettlingly like visiting Hogsmeade.
You’ve got your magic shop , your corner tavern, and you can take your pick from the dozens of stores selling anything from broomsticks to dragon figurines. Judging from the frequent sightings of people in capes and robes, (usually worn over an XXXL tiedyed ensemble), a lot of other people think so too. It’s fun to watch, but I’m like one of those people who live in NYC their whole lives and never go to the Statue of Liberty. It just isn’t done. If someone asks, though, I can tell them where to find a good deal on a crystal ball or where to find an ounce of wolf’s fur.

PEM Guide for Parents

2007-04-30T09:52:00.000-04:00

Thought I would expose Chloe to a little "cultcha" so I took her to the brand new Joseph Cornell exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum yesterday. If it's threatening rain, the PEM's usually a safe bet because a) it has a handicapped entrance with button operated entrances, b) the galleries are spacious enough to accomodate our SUV-sized Graco stroller and c) I can show them my driver's license and get in free since I'm a Salem resident. Unfortunately, the galleries' entrance doors are not handicapped equipped so I usually find myself relying on the kindness of strangers to manuever the Graco 2000 through the glass doors. Once I got inside, I was immediately approached by one of the guards who gave me a very detailed rundown of the Cornell exhibit and then asked me if I had ever taken Chloe to the Children's Museum. I glanced around the darkened, hushed gallery with its maze of glass cases surrounded by upper middle class baby boomers carefully studying the art works on display and wondered if he was trying to drop some sort of hint. Luckily, Chloe picked that moment to give out one of her Incredible Hulk-like yells and I told the guard that she was eager to see the exhibit and pushed on.

Some of the PEM's exhibits are fairly kid-friendly with lots of things low to the ground at their eyelevel and full of details and bright color. The Cornell exhibit, though, was a little less accessible to the stroller-set intelligentsia. The boxes, objects, assemblages whatever, were mostly displayed in cases that were decisively set at adult eye level. As Chloe's grunts grew louder and shriller I tried to steer her through the wandering crowd. One of the Graco's wheels began to squeak and in the thoughtful silence it sounded like a Red Line train pulling into Harvard Sq. We escaped to the connecting catwalk outside where I failed to spark her artistic sensibilities with the enormous silkscreened photos of post-WWII New York. From there we progressed into the film exhibit but since Cornell's found footage assemblages don't have anything resembling large rotund brightly colored anthropomorphic creatures with television screens in their midsections, Chloe's interest began to wane. Finally I gave up and retreated downstairs to the Art & Nature center where there were other little humans and things were more at her eye-level.