book giveaway, and my new old love: glass

HE’S LIKE A PLANET that returns into your slice of the sky from time to time in a good way: direct, forceful, and something you can’t overlook, a happy nudge to go ahead and do something already. For me, here Jonathan Ellerby comes again.

A PPARENTLY THE VOICE OF JACK THE DEMON CAT, who lives in a shed of his own here, can be heard all the way in Nebraska by doodling Andre. Isn’t that what this illustration is about: my nocturnal killer cat who entertains who knows what out there all night long? Or am I missing something? Wait, Jack doesn’t usually say “bloody” (though things get that way when he’s on the prowl: weasel tails, anyone?).

THE PATH TO FULLTIME LIFE IN THE GARDEN–to a little more peace than my former city corporate life included–keeps offering up unexpected extras, especially in the form of new friends. This week’s book giveaway–the biggest yet, with chances to win four copies of my upcoming book and four of “The Gift of an Ordinary Day” author Katrina Kenison’s, too–is a collaborative cross-blog effort with a kindred spirit that you won’t want to miss.

You can win one of two, three-book sets that I’ve purchased to share as prizes—no, not my old food-splattered copies, above, but new ones. Promise! All you have to do to have a chance in the truly random drawing (I’ll use the tool at random [dot] org to pick a winner) is comment below, and be a subscriber to my email newsletter. All the details are at the end of this post.Your comment should simply tell us what you like to put up for later from your garden or the farmer’s market—and it can be as simple as a sentence or include a recipe or a link to one; up to you.Tips and Tricks:Immediate ideas and tips on coping with the harvest can be had from these articles:What’s in My Freezer at Harvest Time: a Roundup of Ideas Making Pesto: Garlicky Green Ice Cubes Growing and Storing a Year of Parsley (good for many other green herbs, too) Dan Koshansky’s Hand-Me-Down Refrigerator Pickles Vegetable Curry-in-a-Hurry ‘Love Apple

Last month’s giveaway, my first ever on the blog, was such a hit that I promised a monthly event (though in April we might just have a surprise “extra” edition, so stay tuned).  As a garden writer, it seems fitting that I should give away not just my own book (as I did last month, and promise to again) but also books by those who’ve taught me. I have been stockpiling some goodies from the used-book dealers the last few weeks.Crockett’s Victory Garden James Underwood Crockett (first published, 1977) The star of the PBS series “The Victory Garden” was also the author of a series of books on how to garden, and this is my favorite of his. It was my first garden book ever, given to me by my sister, so maybe that’s why, but I think its value far exceeds the sentiment attached. Dated (meaning chemic

To enter to win a copy, simply scroll down to the comments and tell us how you like your spears. Type a whole recipe right into the comment box, or just a link to a recipe on your blog or another’s, or perhaps a tip instead about what you like asparagus served with (Anna says dill and lemon come to mind, for starters).The backstory: I met Anna Thomas when “Love Soup” came out last fall, and promptly stocked my freezer with double batches of several of her recipes made from my winter squash and sweet potatoes and kale and the like, and stocked up on copies to give as holiday gifts. Now a whole new season of homegrown vegetables has begun, and I’m working my way through “Chapter 9: First Tastes of Spring,” and on to “Chapter 10: Green and Greener.” Heaven. Vats of Asparagus Bisque, here I come.Thismust-have cookbook features 160 vegetarian recipes for soups and all the extras, from b

From the first time I landed on her popular blog Posie Gets Cozy, I knew there would be a connection—again, though I was the hopeless (and embarrassed) girl who hemmed her junior high school dressmaking project right onto the lap of the skirt she was wearing, and when the bell rang for next period had to go there “wearing” both.Alicia (self-portrait, left) welcomed me into her sewing circle, anyhow, charming me in the funniest Alicia-style ways. I mean, what’s not to like about a woman you don’t even know who says, “I want to be a gardener. Like Margaret.”A woman who emails you—though you are still total strangers, really—and asks you about the potato she has planted in a smallish flower pot, and how to care for it? (Answer: Get it out of the confines of that pot, a.k.a., my curriculum of How Not to Grow a Potato 101.)A woman who sends you link

Each of her 150 recipes is delightfully prefaced with what amounts to its provenance: a juicy and sometimes hilarious back story that Clark tells in as simple yet deft a fashion as the style of the dish that follows. I sat right down to chapters like “Better Fried” and “It Tastes Like Chicken” and “My Mother’s Sandwich Theory of Life,” the perfect mix of a good read and a good meal.For me—a flavor-fearing kid who rinsed most of her entrees off at the sink conveniently positioned halfway between the Garland range and the family dinner table—Clark’s childhood tales are positively hair-raising: Summer vacations were spent touring France with her psychiatrist parents, gourmands determined to eat at every Michelin-starred restaurant there. Worse yet (or to Clark, more thrilling): Th

I guessed out loud to a friend that we’d see 500 entries. Not a bad guess, Margaret: After 519 (minus my own 3 welcome messages embracing hundreds of first-time commenters) we finished out at 516 eligible comments before midnight my time Friday.  Using the random-number generator on Random.org, the winners are:Number 50, Mary from Minneapolis, and, Number 513, Tracey, who lost limbs from her apple tree, as I did, in recent storms. Congratulations to you both.Most of all, though, let me repeat my sincere thanks to all of you who came out of the background and commented for the first time. It was great to meet you, finally (all you lurkers!).Because it was the second birthday week of the blog, it was especially sweet to hear from you at this time. As a result of the outpouring, we also passed the 10,000-comment mark during this contest, too, so it all felt like a giant celebrati

The chance to win one of two sets of books begins now, and entries will close next Tuesday, December 28, at midnight. I’ll pick the winners Wednesday at random, using the tool at random [dot] org as usual. To enter, all you have to do is comment below–just say hello, or season’s greetings, or “Hurrah for Santy” or whatever you want. Even, “I’m in,” or “I’d like to win the books” will do.Whether you choose to enter or not, here’s the important punchline:(Vintage print by the Louis Prang company, sent to me by one of my many kind readers after I ran this slideshow of that company’s other work.)

NELSON, NH, THE SIGNPOST SAID, pointing off to the right of my backroads route to a recent bookstore event. I knew it led to the former home of a favorite author, May Sarton, but there was no time to detour, at least not then.