mishmash

mishmash: noun \’mish-mash, -mäsh\

1. A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.
2. hodgepodge, jumble
3. A popular Bulgarian summer dish made with tomatoes, peppers, onion, feta cheese, eggs, and fresh herbs.

That is what today’s post is; a mishmash of items. Plus a recipe for Mish Mash!

First and foremost I want to wish a Very Happy Birthday to my dear friend and former neighbor, Lori Vento.

Lori is pictured below, doing what she does best, looking beautiful and giving back to others! This is a photo from when she generously hosted one of many charity events at her home … while posing with two little angels.

Lori, her sweet husband Jonathan, and their gorgeous daughter Kylie moved to Chicago nearly 2 years ago. I miss them so much! Kylie is attending college in Michigan, while Lori and Jonathan are now doing business and living in Tokyo … temporarily. I hope Jonathan has some very special Japanese plans today for Lori’s big day! I wish I could be there to celebrate with her. But sending my love, admiration, and thoughts across the miles and through cyberspace will have to suffice. xoxo

Secondly, let’s talk about stress and old people!
Stress and Crazy Old People!

I’m quite certain I haven’t previously mentioned the fact that my mom has Alzheimer’s. Fact is, she does.

When I say Crazy Old People, from here on out referred to as CrOP, I’m not only referring to Alzheimer’s because, trust me, my mom has been crazy for my entire life! Ask anyone who has known me for more than a few years and who has met my mom, they will confirm that I’m not being mean when I say so, it just is!

Anyhow, my sister, Sloane, and I (more so Sloane, than I, until recently) have been dealing with trying to convince our mom and her husband, Bill (her 3rd husband, by the way) to move into assisted living. Mom turned 78 on March 8 and Bill turned 90 in February. We believe that Bill has Alzheimer’s as well, he is being tested for it next week. They need more help than we can provide!

Sloane and I found the place and had the lease papers drawn up yesterday. We then took the papers to their house to have them signed. We stayed and packed for several hours while the two CrOP, followed us around and repeated themselves and asked the same questions over and over and over for the ENTIRE time!

In the middle of that, while removing and packing up thousands of dusty framed photos from a dusty floral wallpapered hallway, I cut open my wrist on a nail that was invisibly protruding from said nasty floral wallpaper. It would not stop bleeding. It made me nauseous to look at. I finally got it under control and now it just aches. Anyhow, at one point in the middle of all that fun, Bill actually said to me, “You know that you and your sister will be going to heaven for this!” Amen to that!

OK, enough of that drama and downer news. Back to some more fun and uplifting mishmash!

The next fun thing – my horoscope for today – is spot on! I am working like a fiend on “the space around me,” so this horoscope must be correct. The final full sentence, which you can not see, is “Beautiful changes are coming.” I believe that indeed they are!

This past week, I’ve been spring cleaning. Big Time Spring Cleaning! One of the things I tackled was a large 6-and-a-half-foot-long credenza in the sitting area of our master bedroom.

It has four very deep glass-front cubbies, six large drawers, and two large doors in the center that opens to reveal 2 long shelves. It holds a lot! A lot of junk, it turns out!

When we first purchased it, about a dozen years ago, I didn’t know what to put in the cubbies, so I filled the two left cubbies with corks.

I wanted to reclaim that storage space and fill it with my ever-growing sets of napkins, placemats, runners, and tablecloths.  Out came the corks.

So. Many. Corks. Yes, that is the largest size Pottery Barn bag, nearly overflowing with corks that came out of those two cubbies. Now, what to do with all of them? I searched on Pinterest for cork craft projects and found a few I like, but they wouldn’t even begin to make a dent in the bag. As a result, until I can figure something out…

I’ve put them here! In the big old birdcage that sits by our front door. I’m not really loving how it looks, but it’ll have to do for now, until I decide on something else. I am praying that all the continuing daily drama from the CrOP won’t cause me to completely fill this huge birdcage with new corks in the coming months!

I do like how it looked when I only filled the bottom part of the cage, so at least those corks will most likely be a permanent fixture in the cage.

I didn’t only clean out the cubbies, I emptied the entire credenza and sorted through everything, including 18 years of Les Petites Gourmettes business paperwork, receipts, donation letters, registration notebooks, thank you notes, personal cards, and letters, etc. The entire time, I was hoping to find something I was certain was there. A hidden treasure amongst many treasures and memories. Before I found that little pot of gold, I found this one…

How sweet is this? A plaque from Marissa’s 4th-grade teacher? I remember that year as if it were yesterday. In 4th grade, they study Arizona history. So many parties, field trips, projects, and fun! It was a great year to be the room mom and Mr. Ely was a great teacher!

I kept searching for that one item I was sure I would find, and then I did!

An envelope was addressed to me, from Julia Child.

It was sent to me after I had called Julia and asked her to send a special birthday card to Barbara Fenzl, for an impending special birthday. Barb would be traveling to Africa with her family for the big occasion and we wanted to send along a bag full of good wishes from all her friends. So I called Julia and she sent Barb’s card to me so that I could add it to the surprise bundle to be opened in Africa.

I vividly remember the day it arrived and the mailman delivered it directly to my door instead of leaving it in the mailbox on the curb.  Even he was excited to see that I’d received a personal letter from THE Julia Child! That was at our old house, in July of 1995. Nearly 18 years ago! Finding this, made all that spring cleaning more than worth it!

Now … if you remember the very beginning of this post, I noted that Mish Mash is not only a collection of miscellaneous things but also a popular Bulgarian summer dish. Here is an easy recipe for it! I’ve never made it but it sounds pretty darn good.

Mish Mash

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
3 red bell peppers; cored and seeded and cut into bite-size pieces
3 tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs
Chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions, then the peppers and the tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the cheese and eggs and cook for 3 more minutes. Top with parsley, salt, and pepper.