You can can!

Canning at home is one of those things that makes you seem like magic.

Making your own jams and spreads, pickles and chutneys, sauces and delicious things, and preserving them for another season is a fantastic combination of art and science, frugality and fanciness, and demonstrates your mastery over death and decay. At least of the fruit and vegetable variety.

Basically, home canning relies on a couple basic scientific processes–sterilization and oxygen removal. Heat and water are the mechanisms by which these processes work. Whether you’re canning by boiling water bath or pressure canner (the only two methods recognized as safe in the United States), your goal will be to create an environment in which bacteria, including good ol’ deadly Clostridium botulinum which can trigger botulism and KILL US ALL, just like in East of Eden, when Kate covers up her slow poisoning of the madam at the brothel by making it look like the home canned green beans weren’t safe. Canning is Steinbeckian, y’all.

Continue reading “You can can!” →

The Music Box: An Old-Fashioned Movie Date for the 4th of July

This Fourth of July, the fellow and I went to one of my absolute favorite places in Chicago: The Music Box Theatre.

The Music Box Theatre retains its gorgeous 1929 architecture. It seats 800 people, and has plaster wall decorations and twinkling star lights in the ceiling. It really is a step back in time. Billed as “Chicago’s year-round film festival” it shows a variety of contemporary independent, art-house, and foreign films, as well as frequent classics.

This time, we went to see the 1949 noir classic, The Third Man, starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, and Alida Valli.

Continue reading “The Music Box: An Old-Fashioned Movie Date for the 4th of July” →

Victory Garden Update, July 1

Kale and chard are harvestable!
Strawberries were tiny and few, but delicious.
Beets are growing.
Carrot stems are about a foot tall.
Peas are harvestable and plentiful!
I harvested three out of four volunteer onions, because they bolted.
Green beans survived transplanting in a different square of the garden!
Tomatoes are sturdy, strong, and blossoming!
Tiny eggplant has been sighted!
Cucumbers are getting their act together!

Victory Garden: First Harvest

My garden is growing like wild!

Behold, the first harvest from my Victory Garden. The Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard is getting tall and strong. Using the self-explanatory named “Cut and Come Again” method, I cut some leaves twice last week. I wrapped them in a damp towel, and popped them in the crisper.

Today, I cooked up my chard bouquet. It’s hot and humid, so I didn’t want too much stove time. Continue reading “Victory Garden: First Harvest” →

Vintage Style: Black and White

As you have probably guessed, I wear a lot of vintage, or vintage-style, or vintagey-looking clothes. I also wander around a modern city, doing modern person things. This series of posts demonstrates how I do it.

It’s easy to dismiss fashion as frivolous, materialistic, and vain. I know I’ve always felt vaguely uncomfortable with how much I’m interested in clothing, as though it makes me a shallow person, or somehow less serious. But as I’ve thought about it, I’ve come to these conclusions:

We decide what to put on every day. It might as well be something that makes us happy.
I love reading about other people’s style choices, and I know I’m not alone.
Personal style is a means of expression. I’m not going to call it art, exactly, but it’s definitely creative. And I think that has value.
Liking pretty dresses doesn’t mean you aren’t aware of problems in the world.

There we go.

So this outfit was put together for a night at the theatre. I like it. It’s casual, but nice. It looks vintage but not costumed. It’s comfy. Definitely a combo I’ll repeat.

It consists of:

Dress: Thrift Shop (label says dBy Ltd.) I’d guess it’s fairly recently constructed. I bought it in 2011. It looks quite 1950’s, all shirtdressy and polka dotted.

Cardigan: Ann Taylor (on very significant sale)

Stockings: Hand-me-down. (I’d bet you they’re at Taboo Tabou, though)

Bag: Also the thrift store. Made by who knows? I paid $3 for it.

Shoes you can’t see: Angel Steps, Margie in black.