paint-by-numbers

I remember my dad painting these ballerina pictures at the dining room table when we lived in Wooster, Ohio. They were the most beautiful pieces of art this first grade girl had ever seen and they hung on my bedroom wall. Me as a first grade girl was 63 years ago.

Paint-by-number kits were hugely popular in the 1950s and 1960s. This was an  approachable form of art and the pictures were designed for the masses so that anyone could paint them. Each color was assigned a spot to create the composition. No real skill was required although it did call for a steady hand to keep the lines neat. My dad got his paints out after all of us kids had gone to bed. We were 6, 4, 2, and 1...too much commotion to keep a steady hand...and this was his way of unwinding after a day of work and dad duties.

Fast forward to 2015. My mom had been in assisted care for a year (Dad died in 2002). It was time to sell Mom's house. We came across the paint-by-numbers. My sister took the Arc de Triomphe, one of my brothers took a clown picture, and I didn't have the heart to send the ballerina trio to a thrift shop. I've kept these pictures for 10 years now. Ten years and they've just been sitting in storage rooms. I've asked my daughter-in-law if she would be interested in them for her little daughter's room. I don't know - she has very specific ideas on the look she wants for Hallie's room. If she doesn't want them, I will keep them just for a little while longer to see if my daughter and son-in-law will have another baby and if they have a daughter, maybe these pictures will find a place in their home. 

There are just some ties to the past that are hard to let go. 

positive reinforcement

We all need that one person who offers that little bit of encouragement that keeps us going! 

 

the friday feed: heirloom tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes (heritage tomatoes in the UK) come in a rainbow of colors - red, yellow, orange, green, purple, striped - and are celebrated for their diverse flavors, textures, and appearance. Heirloom tomatoes are the original tomatoes. They are open-pollinated, meaning their seeds can be saved and replanted, while hybrid tomatoes are created through controlled cross-pollination. Hybrids are more neutral in taste, more uniform in shape and size, and are bred for disease resistance. 

We sell a lot of tomatoes at the farm and our older customers typically prefer the heirlooms. "This is what a real tomato tastes like."

The most popular spot at the farm is the Treasure Corner where the less than perfect vegetables are 50% off. These are the veggies that need to be used in the next day or two. Every day we go through the vegetables, check them for soft spots, bruises, getting too ripe, and other imperfections, and put those in the Treasure Corner. The half off tomatoes are always the first to go.

🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅  🍅 

Heirloom tomatoes

taste better bruised, over-ripe, 

50% off.

be still my heart

As we were getting ready to leave Cleveland last weekend, standing in the garage saying our good-byes and giving hugs, my son said, "Don't leave yet. We have a belated Mother's Day gift for you." He handed this cement garden stone to me and as much as I was trying not to cry as we left, this brought the tears. Little handprints frozen in time - Owen is 3 years and Hallie is 3 months.

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Hello and happy Wednesday! For the many, many, many times I've written "Wednesday," that little voice still goes off in my head. Not every time, but plenty of times.

My little grandson turned three last week. On the morning of his birthday, his parents made sure that all of his "friends" greeted him wearing party hats. What a fun way to start your third birthday! My daughter-in-law sent a video with Owen saying, "Hey! Where did they get those hats?" My son replied, "I think Buzz Lightyear went to the birthday party store and got them." It worked.

My friend's 50th high school reunion was this past weekend. Class of 1975 when bell bottom jeans were popular. She bought a pair of bell bottoms and asked me to sew a pocket on them to hold her phone and lipstick. She chose a fabric with peace signs on it, again a symbol of the era. The pocket had a top flap and she wanted a chunky button on it. She brought out her button box, a really cool button box that had belonged to her mom. 

This vintage cigarette tin is from a company called G. Zuban, a "Royal Bavarian Court-Factory of Cigarettes" located in Munich, Germany. My friend's mom was a German Jew whose family fled from Munich to Palestine (now Israel) to escape persecution. This was one of the items she packed when she left Germany. A treasure in so many ways.

I've been working at the farm for a couple weeks now. It's so nice to see returning customers, some who have been buying produce for years. One sweet little lady bought a cantaloupe and a few other items and asked me if I would mind carrying them to her car. "Would you please put them in the trunk?" I couldn't help but notice her license plate. HEY MON. I asked her if she traveled in the Caribbean. "I used to but not anymore. I just stay around here now." She told me some stories and it just hit home that you have to take that trip or do the things that you want because we just don't know when our last vacation or adventure will be.

Right now my husband is on a five-day schedule for cutting grass. With all this hot weather, it will quickly change to once a week. Yesterday he golfed with friends, it was the 5th day, I knew he wouldn't want to cut the grass after a game of golf, and I don't mind doing it. My neighbors get a laugh because when I cut the grass I put my step counter around my ankle and it looks like I'm wearing an ankle bracelet that a criminal would have. But hey, this is hard work in this heat and I want to get every single step counted. FYI, 7900 steps.

You all have a wonderful Wed-Nes-Day!

 

they're baaaack!

Yesterday morning's "excitement" was waking up to the sound of big trucks coming down the road and parking along our street. Around this time one year ago our neighborhood had new streets and curbs put in. That project took a few weeks to complete. 

So why are they back?

Well, it looks like they found something. A total of five big vehicles and machines along with a bunch of workers were figuring out what to do with a curb and a miniscule section of the road. Lots of big equipment for a small project.

I had a little fun taking a few pics looking through the beveled glass on my front door. The last one is a little abstract. How would you title it?

 

monday's mulling: peace

One month ago, Downtown Dayton turned into a NATO Village to accommodate the member nations participating in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. The Downtown Dayton Partnership commissioned this mural, "On Peace Work," to be placed in Courthouse Square for the opening of the Assembly.

Back in February 2025, Sierra Leone was chosen as the first Poet Laureate for the City of Dayton. During her recognition ceremony, Mayor Jeffrey Mims said, “Today, we make history in Dayton as we proudly announce our city’s first-ever Poet Laureate. This moment is a testament to the power of words, storytelling, and the vibrant artistic spirit that runs through our community. Poetry has the unique ability to connect us, inspire us, and reflect the heart of our city. We look forward to the ways our Poet Laureate will amplify Dayton’s voices and celebrate our shared stories. Congratulations to Sierra Leone, and may your words continue to uplift and unite us all.” The newly appointed Poet Laureate served as compiler on the mural project.

The mural highlights the epigraph of the titular poem containing seven stanzas from various Dayton voices. (A titular poem refers to a poem that either shares its title with a larger work (like a collection of poems) or has a title that reflects the main subject of the poem). Written by Alice Young-Basora, executive director of the International Peace Museum, the epigraph states, “Peace is a verb. First to be sought within, then to be actively shared with others.”

My grandson's birthday party was this past weekend. He's three years old and to see him playing with his little friends without a care in the world was so sweet. I want the world to be just like this backyard day as he grows up. Carefree happiness, love, peace is my wish for him.

ON PEACE WORK

Peace is a verb. First to be sought within, then to be actively shared with others.

We are tapestry of peace

clothed in cardinal directions -

We brave cloaked conflict, ceaselessly

unraveling shadows of silenced stories.

Our hearts syncopate

when possibility is our handiwork.

Our fingers see, our ears taste,

We drum a free jazz symphony.

Let us all find some peace - a steady state - 

beyond the greedy grasp of fearful hate.

Let us work together to break vile bonds

Time will wait and fairness and truth respond.

How can we, with bruises blooming on our spirit

speak against injustice? Only with the promise that

when even our memories are mere myth, we will not be gone.

There are no casualties of peace.

We cast dandelion hopes and bumblebee dreaming,

Caught within the winds of the future’s verisimilitude.

Tomorrow we will harvest honey yellowed meanings

And cherish our wish-sprouts manifest, bedewed.

Dig deep into earth’s pockets for a future where more women lead

in every vowel and syllable; vow to plant our peace seeds - 

less waste, less apathy, less greed

more gardens, more community, more trees.

Come when the year’s first blossoms blows

Come when the summer gleams and glows

Come with the winter’s drifting snows

And you are welcome, welcome.

In order of contribution, “On Peace Work” features: Young-Basora (Epigraph); Leone (Stanza 1); Furaha Henry-Jones, professor of English and African American Literature (Stanza 2); Matt Birdsall, poet and educational professional (Stanza 3); Aimee Noel, poet and educator (Stanza 4); Gentry Heflin, poet and Stivers School for the Arts student (Stanza 5); Amanda Hayden, poet laureate of Sinclair Community College (Stanza 6); and Dunbar as contributed by Martin, emeritus professor and poet laureate at the University of Dayton (Stanza 7).

 

use your senses

We need to use our senses to create a richer, more immersive experience of the world. Each sense provides unique information that helps us understand our environment, make decisions, and experience life more fully. Be sensible 🌸

 

get out and explore

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." 

~ Mark Twain from The Innocents Abroad

I firmly believe that travel helps break down barriers, reduce prejudice, and bring the world closer together. When you travel, even if it's in your own city, you quickly realize that humanity’s commonalities far outweigh the tiny differences that we too often allow to divide us.

the friday feed: kohlrabi

A descendant of wild European cabbage, kohlrabi is an old German word that combines cabbage (“kohl”) with turnip (“rabi/rube”). It’s not an iconic, popular or even recognized American vegetable but kohlrabi has always been more of a home gardener’s secret darling, It’s unusual-looking but fun and easy to grow, tasty and nutritious. It’s never been a supermarket staple in the U.S., and ten years ago you’d be hard pressed to find it even at a farmers market, but now kohlrabi has exploded from home gardens into markets across the country.As the community supported agriculture (CSA) and farmers market movements expand, more and more folks are being exposed to kohlrabi. It’s even becoming something of a cult vegetable in haute cuisine.

Kohlrabi is a truly versatile vegetable. Its “bulb” (technically not a bulb or a root but rather a swollen stem) is equally good raw or cooked, and its greens are tasty and ultra-nutritious. Raw kohlrabi has a nice crunch and an earthy, sweet flavor with just a hint of turnip-y bite. It’s nice on a crudité platter, as a veggie “cracker,” grated or thinly sliced on salads and in coleslaws, and pickled. Cooked, it has the sweetness and versatility of a potato without the starch. The greens can be used anywhere collards, kale or turnip greens would be.

Move over, veggies - kohlrabi is here to steal the spotlight!

                    A cabbage cousin,

                    sprinkled with sea salt crystals

                    is when it tastes best.

juneteenth

A trip to the downtown post office last week crossing my fingers that my son's and son-in-law's Father's Day cards would arrive by Saturday. (They got to their recipients on Monday). 

In the post office lobby one of the postal workers had put up Juneteenth decorations and she used her own money. I admired her Juneteenth tree and read every one of the posters she had put in the windows. She thanked me for taking time to look at her display. I thanked her for her generosity and sharing the celebration. Juneteenth celebrates the ending of slavery in the US but looking at all these posters, all these people persevered through a long line of hardship and prejudice so their stories can be told. Black history is American history and Juneteenth acknowledges the past while nurturing hope for the future.

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Today is Owen's Day! Say it fast enough and it sounds a little like Wednesday.

It's my first grandchild's 3rd birthday.

Where can I even begin to explain the magic that took over when I found out I was going to be a grandparent? After my son was married, I found my mind drifting to thoughts of one day being a grandma (but I never mentioned that to Andrew and Jen. That was their business, not mine). My youngest, my baby —having a baby—and in turn, giving me the coveted title of "Grandma" or a the grandma name which is music to my ears, “Didi.”

So, on the night of June 18 all of our lives changed—a change that would bring new life and a love beyond words.

What fun it's been to watch Owen grow into the little boy that he is and how quickly three years have passed. He's a carbon copy of his dad - a chatterbox, funny, boundless energy, inquisitive, creative, loving. Even though today is his birthday and the celebration is all about him, for 1096 days he has given me gifts that are so precious. I’ve learned to be in the moment, something that was hard to do as a mom because I was caught up in the daily to-dos, where-to goes, and trying to make the best life I could for my family. Now I get to experience the world through his eyes and what a wonderful world it is. 

 

organizing

While scrolling through my email, I happened across a reference to Marie Kondo, the tidying queen who has written four books on organizing, mentioning her method for storing kitchen towels. I’ve not followed Marie Kondo’s advice and tips but I was curious as to how she organized her towels vs. how I organize my towels. We have similar styles: hers is a folding technique and mine is to roll the towels.

Just to test out Marie’s way, I folded the towels as she recommends: 

• Fold the towel the long way, so it looks like a long rectangle. 
• Next, fold it the short way (so that the rectangle is half as long now). 
• Then, fold the towel into thirds.
• Conduct the stand test to make sure the towel can confidently stand on its own. 
• Fold all the remaining towels the same way.
• Stand all your neatly folded towels up in a basket or in a drawer.
• Be pleasantly surprised every time you go to grab one. 
• Repeat.

Marie's method works fine but my drawer is shallow and rolling the towels works better for my circumstances and I don't roll my dish cloths.

Move over, Marie…here comes Diane Marie!

petunias

Along with the produce we sell at the farm, we also have a lot of hanging baskets of petunias. Oh my gosh, catch the wind just right and their scent fills the air. Or take a walk past them and breathe in their fragrance. Petunias are a happy flower, too. Their many cheerful colors and sizes, their trumpet-shaped blooms, and their unending charm brings smiles to those who walk past. 

Petunias are native to South America. The first petunia varieties were introduced to European gardens in the early 1800s, where they quickly became popular due to their vibrant colors and ease of cultivation. Since then, they’ve spread across the globe, with new hybrids and colors emerging, making petunias one of the most widely grown and beloved flowers in both gardens and floral arrangements today.

In Europe, the petunia is seen as a flower that offers protection. It’s believed that petunias placed near windows or doorways can guard against negative energy, warding off bad spirits and misfortune. In the U.S., petunias are often considered a symbol of community and friendship. They are hardy in nature and are frequently used in public parks and gardens, creating spaces where people can gather and connect with nature.

Amid the complexity of life, petunias remind me of the beauty in simplicity. Their uncomplicated care requirements and stunning displays serve as a reminder that sometimes, less is truly more. A gentle to stop and smell the roses...I mean petunias.

flag day 🇺🇸

Today is Flag Day 🇺🇸

Flag Day commemorates June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress determined the composition of the nation’s banner: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The U.S. Army's birthday is also June 14, which marks the establishment of the Continental Army by the Continental Congress on that date in 1775. The Army  celebrates its 250th anniversary today. 

The Dor-Wood Optimists deliver flags five times a year to fly on patriotic holidays. The volunteers just placed the Flag Day banner in my front yard. This fundraiser supports youth programs in Kettering. Quite a few people in the neighborhood support this philanthropy.

Nothing like a milk container to remind you what day it is!

So many people have these big 12' (3.66 m) skeletons. They used to be out just at Halloween but now it seems like once they're up, they're a year 'round yard fixture and change costumes according to each holiday. Personally, I like to see them during the Halloween season and that's it. I wonder how much storage space they take up or if they're easy to put together? 

the friday feed: the farmer's market

At Treadway Gardens,

abundant fresh vegetables

 and feel-good music.

Treadway Gardens, a family-owned farmer's market opened on for its 56th year of business this past Memorial Day weekend. I have worked there for 12 years. 

A few years after retiring from teaching, I had taken a trip out there to buy some veggies. I know Stephanie, the owner - our kids went to school together. She was out in the field not too far from the farm stand. I waved at her, she cupped her hands over her mouth and said, "Hey, Diane...want a job?" Took about two seconds to say, "Sure!"

Right now the produce is coming from the Amish Market in Hillsboro, Ohio, about an hour's drive away. Soon the Treadway crops from their field will find their places on the shelves. The big question from the customers is when will the sweet corn be in? Up until now it's been cool and rainy. We need a stretch of dry and hot weather for the corn to ripen. It will happen, it's still early. People are just excited for fresh corn on the cob.

Have you ever hear of a candy onion? It's a hybrid of a sweet onion and a common onion. It's sweet but still has an onion taste and is a nice option between the real sweet onions and the ones where onion breath can knock someone out.

Tomatoes...these fly off the shelves. After a long winter of tasteless grocery store tomatoes, customers are so happy to see these. The Treadways grow heirloom tomatoes in their open field and again, with the cool and rain, they are growing slowly. 

Concord grapes...Stephanie wants to give these a try. A few customers have asked about them so we'll see what these do this year.

The other day a storm blew through and lasted for a good 30 minutes. The hoop house is new this year and right now a crop of tomatoes is growing in there. Did you know there is a difference between a hoop house and a hot house? In a hoop house crops are grown in the ground being protected by the covering. A hot house uses benching set ups, raised bed, soil bags, hydroponic techniques and the vegetables aren't as flavorful. The flavor comes from good ole Mother Earth.

And what's a farm without a dog? This is Josephine, one of the three farm dogs. She had a litter of puppies last year and what fun it was to watch them grow. Stephanie kept one of the pups and found loving homes for the rest of them.