This Saturday at the Marketplace

New artist Jeremy Mortimore at the marketplace. Jeremy does custom paintings.

I began doing a lot of pen and ink art while I was young and going to High School.  However, as I began to start a family at a young age I began to draw less and less until I eventually stopped.  Five years ago I moved to Providence and was drawn back into the art world and did my first painting; and eventually began painting for friends and family as gifts. The paintings that I enjoy doing the most are those that have real meaning for the recipient.  Not some interpretative meaning of random paint thrown on a canvas; but something custom made for that individual that commemorates an event, person, or pet.  Each piece starts with a story and ultimately inspires what the end result will be.  

For example, the art below is for a cat named Coco.  The story behind it is that she is spoiled cat who will only eat certain food, and her tail always curled in a way that made it look like a question mark.  Based upon that information I chose to paint her as something of a diva (thus the Coco Chanel necklace) and incorporated the question mark aspect by painting the tail in the correct shape and adding "international cat of intrigue & mystery" in French.

• Activity Alert! Dad's Downstairs will have fall cut outs for the kids to paint on Saturday! And parents, don't worry, we will package up the creations so you can get them home, paint free!

• Swap for Kids! Join Emily Hawkins at her table and swap toys, books, games, arts and crafts, jewelry, clothes, whatever you want as long as it is in good condition! The Swap table offers a unique opportunity to show kids that it can feel good to let go! Also this week and all October long, Emily is encouraging a COSTUME SWAP! Bring in last year's Halloween Costume and swap it for a new one! 

• Tours of the Simpson Spring Museum at 11:00 and 1:00!

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 pound whole-grain pasta

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 minced anchovies (optional)

1/2 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel pumpkin and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups). Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the honey. Roast on a baking sheet until tender, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, and anchovies (optional) in a skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add walnuts and pumpkin. Toss to combine and heat through. Set aside.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Toss pasta with 1/2 cup cooking water and stir in parsley and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to a bowl, and toss well with walnut and pumpkin mixture. Serve immediately.

• Bees from the same hive visit around 225,000 flowers per day. One single bee usually visits between 50 and 1,000 flowers per day, but can visit up to several thousand flowers/day.
• Queens will lay almost 2,000 eggs/day at a rate of 5 or 6 per minute. Queens lay between 175,000 and 200,000 eggs/year.
• The avg. hive temperature is 93.5 degrees.
• Beeswax production in most hives is about 1.5% to 2% of the total honey yield.
• Bees eat around eight pounds of honey to produce one pound of beeswax.
• Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans.
• A single beehive contains approximately 40,000 to 45,000 bees!
• During honey production periods, a bee's life span is about six weeks.
• Honeybees visit around two million flowers to make one pound of honey.
• A bee travels an average of 1,600 round trips, up to six miles each trip, in order to produce one ounce of honey. To produce two pounds of honey, bees travel a distance equal to four times around the Earth.
• Bees fly an average of 13-15 mph.
• Honey is an amazingly flexible product. 

• Afternoon Fatigue: At 3:00pm or whenever the body is feeling fatigued, drink 1/2 tbsp of honey in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder. If taken daily, energy levels will increase within one week.
• Anxiety and Nervous Tension: Honey is said to calm a nervous, high-strung person. It can also help you sleep at night. For insomnia, take 1 tbsp of honey at dinner. If that doesn't work, try mixing 3 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 cup of honey in a jar. Take 2 tsp before bed. If you don't fall asleep within the hour, take another 2 tsp. An old ayurvedic remedy has men taking the same dosage (2 tbsp of honey) before bed to treat impotence.
• Honey for pain relief: Mix 3 tbsp of honey in boiled water and drink. Honey has natural pain-relieving powers.
• Longevity Tea: Boil 3 cups of water with 4 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of cinnamon powder. Drink 1/4 cup, three or four times a day. Said to give steady energy and keep the skin soft!
• Honey Relieves Coughs: Here's a recipe from the book, Folk Medicine, by DC Jarvis: boil a whole lemon slowly for 10 minutes. Cut the lemon in two and extract the juice into a 4 oz glass. Then add 2 tbsp of glycerin and fill the remainder of the glass with honey. Dosage: 1 teaspoon during the day. Stir with spoon before taking. If you have a nighttime cough, take 1 tsp right before retiring and then another one during the night. If your cough is severe, take concoction every four hours starting with when you wake up. As the cough gets better, take less and less of the concoction.
• Honey for Burns: Apply to burn, cover with a soft bandage.
• Honey for Asthma: Right before going to bed, take a mixture of 1 tsp honey with 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
• Honey for Hangovers: Eat honey on bread or crackers. The fructose in the honey helps to flush out the alcohol in your system.