Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
Polly Castor 
We love this dish so much we just planted a whole bunch of tomato plants to support it. Meanwhile, we already have fresh mint in our garden which is fun to use it in this. (But we also make it year round with grocery store ingredients as well!) It is a Martha Stewart recipe (see … Read more
I had dinner last night with two friends visiting from Maine, at a picturesque spot just a few feet away from the Hudson River. It was a lovely evening. The restaurant was called Half Moon, and it didn’t escape us that there was a half moon in the sky as well. The light was … Read more
Well Fertilized My friend is on the phone: “What’s going on?” “I’m hauling a lot of crap around.” “Oh dear. What’s happened?” “No, really, it’s great. I’m making several trips bringing home free horse manure for my garden.” That’s when she realized that the metaphor applies: all that awful “shit she’s been through” has … Read more
I like color and azaleas really pack a punch. My husband lived in a brown house with brown decor when I met him. It was this humble plant that made him realize these hot jazzy colors were as “natural” as anything else. I mentally thank this plant for being the catalyst for this enlightenment every … Read more
The brilliant red rose against the white viburnum grabs the wandering eye. A cacophony of satisfying thunder it hasn’t rained yet. I am sorting piles – a deleterious heap of fragments bygone. My philosophy: to realize goodness and love one another. The leaf veins branch out a modest infrastructure for collecting food. by Polly Castor
This page represents May 15, 2009 through May 26, 2009. See below for some close up photos. Enjoy!
I can’t remember when I last shelled fresh peas. It is not only fun but delicious. The photos below show the fun you miss buying frozen, but below that, you can see the terrific result we enjoyed with them in an outstanding salad. I made it in the spirit of something I read in a … Read more
Last year a church here participated in the Field of Flags project displaying 4,576 flags that represented those fallen at that time in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very powerful and sobering to see. Check out the other photos below of this and remember what this day is chiefly about, while we enjoy the freedoms, … Read more
A photo of the full painting is below. The rest of the photos are close-up shots of details. What I liked most about this painting (besides that it was fun to do!) was all the paintings within it, so enjoy the details as well, as actual compositions in themselves.
This classic by D.H. Lawrence has been on my to-be-read list for probably twenty years. The best thing I can say about it is that it is off my list, finished, and I can move on to reading something I will enjoy more! I got so bogged down in the middle, I almost abandoned the … Read more
The photo above is the flower arrangement I made of our lilacs last year for church. I show it because I cut them off the back of our bush as a dual pruning effort along with my flower arranging. And then this year we had not a single bloom off the back of our bush … Read more
My good friend, Jill McKean (pictured above) is a professional organizer. I have found many of her ideas about organizing helpful, and plan on having her here in June to work with me. I’d like to be organized but am usually in a busy creative mode (which is messy and clutter enhancing) or in a … Read more
This recipe is a spin off of mine from one I found on the inside of a Stouffer’s Corn Souffle box. I added the tilapia, as I am always looking for good ways to use this inexpensive, environmentally friendly protein source. I also exchanged their white rice for brown. These changes make it a completely … Read more
My 12th grade daughter was honored yesterday by her homeschooling community. It was a wonderful thing and has put me in a reflective mood today.
The dogwoods here are lovely, particularly against a background of green. Enjoy the photos below.
I love bike riding. My 12 year old daughter just bought a bike with money she has earned with her little baking business, so I’ll be getting out more regularly now to accompany her. I am very pleased about this! Today friends introduced us to a rail trail in New York and we relished the … Read more
Today I had the pleasure of painting outdoors on location with two other artists. (This is called Plein Air painting.) It was a very refreshing and invigorating experience. The pastel painting above was the first of the two, done under heavy cloud cover, which led to a hearty downpour. (My feet in my hiking books … Read more