Mary's imagination

And speaking of independent artists... I recently discovered the website of a family friend. Mary and I were both bridesmaids in my younger brother's wedding this past August. She has been friends with my brother and sister-in-law since their high school days. Her work is wonderful and whimsical and I can't wait to see more. Check it out!

This one's for my homies

Speaking of the Bellingham Farmers Market, I must give a shout out to the amazing women of Spincycle Yarns. I have been drooling over their yarns since I first glimpsed them last spring. I bought this beautiful skein for my mother's birthday; it's called "fallen leaves". All the yarns are hand-dyed, hand-spun, all-natural, mostly-local fibers. This enterprising duo bring pep and spunk to an age-old art. This ain't your grandma's yarn store. Not that her store isn't cool too. I mean, you can't go wrong with wool. I'm just saying, they bring a young, hipster sensibility to the craft. Check out their website (spincycleyarns.com) for more woolly wonders to behold. Support independent artists!

It begins again

The sun is shinning, turning my freckled skin a bright pink. Lilacs and rhododendrons are blooming. The Bellingham Saturday Farmers Market is well underway. And of course, what better way to celebrate the warmer days of spring than with strawberries and rhubarb. The produce stands at the market are still quite spare, but there can be seen the vivid stalks of fresh rhubarb. I'm cheating with the strawberries since they're not in season here, but rather in California. Close enough. To be honest, I had never cooked with rhubarb before, but Dorothy had brought home bags of the stuff from the food bank (that's life on the stamps for you) and I had my own stash from the market. The result: one strawberry-rhubarb pie with crumble top and six jars of strawberry-rhubarb compote. My life will never be the same. The pie was gone in a day and I've been alternating between covering toast and ice cream with this delightful sauce. And this is only the beginning!