Must have

One thing that -- besides Leonard Pennario records -- I did not find at the Route 16 garage sales was...

... a peacock!

I must have one.

The October issue of Martha Stewart Living just showed up and it features peacocks and where they can be had. I get a kick out of Martha Stewart Living. It always cheers me up just with its pictures and its celebrations of everyday things like laundry and paint and soup.

There was one issue that celebrated mustards. It was my go-to bedtime read forever. I would drift off to sleep looking at glossy pictures of mustards and mustard seeds. That was before I got married! Now I drift off to sleep listening to Howard talking about lime wash and dump trucks.

Martha Stewart always goes into high gear in the October issue because it is about Hallowe'en and she loves Hallowe'en. She always has impossible new takes on jack o'lanterns and new elegant spins on pies and cupcakes and parties. I like an elegant take on Hallowe'en rather than a gruesome take. So I eat this all up.

Anyway, back to peacocks. This issue has a beautiful page that shows peacocks wandering at the Hallowe'en party you are going to hold. The whole room is silvery black-and-white. That is because before acquiring the peacocks you take a black-and-white photo and blow it up and transfer it to vinyl! And that is your backdrop. And then you get these blue peacocks and they wander around.

The large peacocks are something like $250 but, "They are worth the investment for the drama they impart," says Martha Stewart.

It gives you that beautiful Victorian look. Perhaps we will get a blue peacock for Big Blue. Howard liked the idea. I was trailing around after him as he made his oatmeal and I was reading aloud from the magazine and  I believe he said something like, "Fine, honey. Buy a peacock."

There is my green light!

I could not find the peacock story on line but I did find Chef Scott Peacock's recipe for chicken and dumplings.