Art Fair, Okra, and Thank You
This is how we spent last Saturday; at an art fair in Baraboo, WI, selling a variety of my work including, as you see in the foreground, glass knitting needles. In the background, you can see just a few of my framed wall pieces; I didn't take tons and you can't see the other side of the booth in this image. We did about as well as we expected, except J got sick from the heat plus a migraine. Fortunately, our friend K helped a TON, coming with us for the whole day and carrying, running errands (including running back to Madison to get what we forgot) and bringing us cold drinks...all in all, it was crazy but worth it. And its over. I think we're over thinking that we should do outdoor art fairs in July and August. Its just hot and crazy.
Having been home from Ann Arbor now for a week, and believing that there are no (predicted) extended family stays in the next month or two, I'm starting to get my feet back on the ground in my own life. Having that art fair over with is a relief; I had only three days to prepare for it, and neither of us was actually thinking well that day, hence we forgot to take a ton of things! Now the next deadline is looming, but I have a whole week and a half to prepare for a two person show in Minnesota, and somehow in light of all the busy-ness of this year, that now seems like plenty of time!
And about okra: we tried it two ways, and both were good. The first thing we tried was to be careful not to nick or scratch the skin, nor cut off the tops, just rinsed and steamed. Not at all slippery, tasted just fine. Kind of like a cross between green beans and asparagus. Sort of. The other thing we did was slice some kind of thinly, saute it in olive oil with some garlic, and then when it was getting browned, added a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt and stirred it around. The yogurt went totally away; it was like magic. Served it just like that; that way was just fine too, and there was no icky texture. I'm tempted of course by the cornmeal-deep-fry thing but its just not how we eat, so the steaming and/or sauteeing thing will have to work, and fortunately it does. I haven't tried an Indian dish yet, but I will...that's more of a fall preference for me than a hot summer one. Also tempted by various stewy southern methods, but again with the fall weather preference for big dishes of hot things.
And thanks so much for all the kind thoughts sent my way over the summer! I've been a totally inadequate lj friend in the last couple months, rarely commenting on anyone's journal and rarely replying even to your nice comments on my own posts!! How rude of me!! Now that I'm home and feeling more myself, I imagine I'll get back in the swing of things, and I just wanted you to know that I've appreciated the support! Thank you!!