Artist, fabric designer, and author Heather Ross was on-hand last night at PowerHouse Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn to give a reading of her new book How To Catch A Frog and other stories of family, love, dysfunction, survival, and DIY. I’m a huge Heather Ross fan and was so excited to attend the reading and get my hands on a copy of her new book.
We’ve all heard you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but isn’t this one of the most charming covers you’ve ever seen? Of course it’s one of Heather’s own designs and there are sweet little drawings throughout the book that I love. I cannot wait to dive into it and start reading.
The book, as the title suggests, is about her life and childhood, which wasn’t so typical, or what most of us think of as typical. During her reading last night we got a hint as to what that life was like for her and I’m fascinated to read more.
With our book purchase, we also all received a print Heather designed especially for her book tour. I love it! This print is so me and I can’t wait to hang it in my apartment.
As an added bonus, we all left with Meyer lemon & thyme preserves Heather’s friend Maggie Brown made to celebrate the book launch. You can read about the significance of choosing Meyer lemons on Maggie’s blog, but as quick background, Maggie mentions that Meyer lemons grew by the boxful in Heather’s godfather’s California home, and writes about how ‘many subjects could represent Heather’s life in a jar.’ Life in a jar…I so get that.
When I think of my childhood, especially summer –the smells, the flavors, the activities – I always think of rhubarb. Yes, there were lots of other things going on like riding bikes, playing with friends, barbequing on the grill, etc., but for me, summer and rhubarb go hand-in-hand. I remember it growing along the side of our house, cutting the stalks when it was ready, and then finally getting to eat it. Sometimes my brother and I would eat it raw with a little sugar on it, but usually there was an array of rhubarb sweets all summer long. Rhubarb crisp, pie, bars, you name it, and my grandma would make rhubarb preserves that we would eat all yearlong on our toast in the morning. To this day, whenever I’m home visiting my parents during the summer, I always request my mom make some kind of rhubarb dessert.
The gift of Meyer lemon preserves was so thoughtful and such a nice personal touch; I can’t wait to try it. I would like to say that I’m going to make a lovely Meyer lemon vinaigrette for a salad, but let’s be real. I think a Meyer lemon martini is in my future!
