Martha Stewart and Me

I have always admired Martha Stewart, the homemaking maven who showed us all how to make the world a more beautiful and tastier place.

My mom first discovered Martha when I was a young mother.  She would order beautiful cookie cutters from Martha's website and give them to me as a gift.  Not only were the copper cookie cutters lovely to look at, but they were durable and packaged like gold.

Then, my mother paid for a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, the monthly magazine that Martha publishes.  I loved reading the magazine, cover to cover, as soon as it came.  I truly believed that I could make my life as beautiful as Martha's.  And believe me, I tried.

I actually learned all about bulbs from her.  I learned about tulips, daffodils, and lilies.  And how happy I was after planting them in the fall to discover that they did indeed come up in the spring.

To this day, I tell John that we need to not cut our grass as short as the mower will allow, because it destroys the grass.  How do I know this?  Martha.

I never appreciated how much better a pie crust will be if the butter is actually chilled before it is worked into the dough.  I do now though because of Martha.

I would like to say that my seasonal decorations have been taken up a notch because of all that Martha taught me, but I do believe I'm missing a "craft" chromosome; no amount of trying on my part will make what she so easily creates on the TV screen.

I'm reminded of the film Julia and Julia, starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep.  I do believe I could spend a year creating everything that Martha has, and enjoy every minute of it.  It wouldn't be perfect by any means, but I would love it.

Next came her TV show.  I watched her short, non-syndicated show before her indictment, and for a brief while, I watched her syndicated morning show afterwards.  There's something very peaceful and calming about Martha's demeanor.  I could feel that she actually expected things of me, and she believed that I could make them.

My cookbook cupboard is actually full of magazines and cookbooks of hers, and when I needed a recipe for Pfeffernuessen this past week, I knew just where to turn.  Martha never lets me down.

I ended my subscription several years ago when I noticed that her magazine was surreptitiously repeating a lot of articles.  Too, she was showcasing homes in every edition, and I found that I was beginning to feel badly that I couldn't have what was being given to me in the magazines.

However, this past week, something on Facebook mentioned Martha, and I "liked" her page.  And once again, I've been drawn into the tranquil beauty and possibilities that could be mine.  I believe my next house will need to have a kitchen with beach glass blue on the walls, ironstone white painted cupboards, and grey and black flecked granite countertops.  Too, I will have not only a cutting garden for continuous fresh flowers, but I will have a vegetable garden for healthy eats, and perfectly landscaped beds of shrubs, trees and flowers, gracing the peaceful walkways of my property.

Well okay, I can dream.  But that's what I love about Martha.  She shows me the possibilities.  She leads us to civility.  She makes the world a better place, one cookie cutter at a time.