as retirement approaches, many of us ponder how to occupy all those newly available hours...my life was centered around my restaurant; it was more than just a job—it was my social hub, hobby, and identity...so, when I locked up The Market for the final time, I genuinely experienced a major panic attack, wondering, what now!?
it took several months to get used to the absence of a daily routine; even my car instinctively turned left when approaching 6th Street. I spent much of that newfound free time sorting through boxes of memorabilia I had brought home...these freshly organized collections of photos, newspaper clippings, and handwritten recipes motivated me to begin writing a book...this was the ideal way to bid farewell to the past and start looking forward to the future.
a year later, after countless hours of writing, editing, and perfecting each recipe and story, my memoir/cookbook, titled “Nostalgic Feast”, was finally published... the moment I had been waiting for arrived when two pallets, each piled high with the reminiscent pages of my book, were delivered...the sight of those boxes, filled with the culmination of my culinary journey and personal reflections, was both exhilarating and overwhelming
as the book tour began, nervousness set in...I was accustomed to people approaching me to obtain what they desired, staying within my comfort zone…now I had to venture out to unfamiliar places, promote myself, and explain why they would be interested in what I had created…fortunately, with each event I participated in, I started to feel more at ease, allowing my creativity to once again run free...my book signing table was about to expand
I transformed the yellowed handwritten pages of a cookbook I wrote in the 80s into postcards... my heirloom herb blends were revived... my display was becoming a table of culinary nostalgia, one I was proud to stand behind, but it went further than that
after a day spent mixing and bottling my blend, "poultry potpourri," I went to bed with its scent lingering in my nose... that night, I dreamt of my gramma's garden, the inspiration for this blend
many of my ideas occur to me during my sleep, and I awoke excited to recreate her garden on canvas...this way, when you inhale the scent of the herb blend, you can view the painting and imagine what it would be like to stroll through that field of herb and flowers
you might ask if I had done this before...apart from attending sip-and-paint events, I had never ventured into creating artwork, but now I had the time and curiosity to give it a try...
and there was no better place to rouse this vision than my very own garden…apart from a few wind issues and a bird that wanted to add his own touch, the paint flowed onto the canvas easily and “poultry potpourri” was created…enthusiastically, I quickly began working on “butchers grind”, the blend inspired by my grandpa
so, this is how it all started, how I stumbled upon the path that my life would now traverse…the “market lady” had now blossomed into the “nostalgic chef”
since that day, more herb blends and their related garden paintings have been created...the idea of transforming recipe ingredients into a whimsical garden on canvas was conceived... my nostalgic collection is now also available at JuLiana's Boutique La Femme and Serendipity Studios, where I am an associate artist
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