Every once in a while things come together. This was one of those weekends - not that I saw it happening at the time. In fact, it started out rather roughly with my concerns about economics suddenly getting to me. But then.....
Friday Intrepid Janet and I met to go to a friend's house/studio/shop out in Cato. Bittersweet Cottage. We'd shopped there for Christmas presents, and it was opened for one weekend this spring. The owner is a friend who listed her property with me a while back and has the most wonderful antiques, pottery, jewelry and garden whimsies. She's just fun to be around.
I didn't buy anything, but Janet found the table we'd looked for for months for her newly remodeled kitchen. And we ate lunch and talked and caught up on each other's news. Friends are important - yeah, they are.
Before that I took a very pleasurable walk with a man who seems to know the woods in a way I never quite got around to. Mike showed me tulip trees that grew much higher than the one I had in Saratoga and the two I've kept at the lake to remind me of Saratoga. We talked real estate, of course, but our walk confirmed that giving is also receiving. A portion of his family's property will be used for campgrounds for the Boy Scouts.
He showed me leeks, a pulled one from the ground. They are vegetables similar to an onion or garlic in their bulbs and uses. The leaves look like tulip leaves; the plant grows wild and are ready now for harvesting. His wife made leek soup from a recipe in the newspaper a week or so back.
When Bob and I took a walk the next day I ran across a leek - who knew they were in our woods! That's all it took, and last night Bob made leek pesto:
Wild Leek Pesto
3 cupps fresh wild leek leaves (firmly packed)
4 large wild leek bulbs chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts (walnuts or almonds can be substituted)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
Combine all ingredients (except parmesan) in a food processor, and finely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in parmesan. Cover and let stand at least 2 hours. Enjoy!
This came from the internet - we also had leek leaves in our salad, I believe. It all goes with whole wheat pasta and Rosalie's bread. I am planning a leek quiche for later this week.
Saturday we went to the barn for a Kentucky Derby party. The women dressed up and all wore fancy hats. I pulled out my straw hat that I used to wear in the Cabrio and added lilacs to it. We drank mint juleps (now there's a hefty drink!) and ate finger sandwiches while we watched the race and admired each other's hats. Ben and Erica who run the stables set up a television under the tent and ran the cable from the house. So much fun!
Check out their place: www.danilukfarmandstables.com. It's across from the Inn Between on Route 5 between Camillus and Elbridge. Great place to take lessons or board a horse!
I learned this weekend that life is more than just work and money and while the economy impacts all of us, friends and family and nature and animals bring so much joy. I know that I love real estate because of the people I've met and had the privilege to work with and get to know.
