In My Kitchen, July 2026

New Things in My Kitchen

New octopus-shaped jar which Evelyn made for me.

Dragon coffee bowl, also by Evelyn.

New grill pan which marks the food with grill marks.

Magnets

New magnets on the refrigerator.

A Little Magnet History

My magnet collection, which contains quite a few of them, hasn’t changed much lately, but Evelyn visited Arches National Park in June, and brought me the Arches magnet. The second new magnet — which I bought at a local shop — depicts the “Big Tire,” which is a famous Detroit landmark on Highway 94 between Ann Arbor and Detroit. 

The photo from a car window, taken a couple of years ago, shows the actual Big Tire as we were driving past it. The structure inside the “tire” was originally a ferris wheel built for the New York World’s Fair in 1964. The tire company purchased the ferris wheel in 1966 at the end of the fair. They moved it to its current location beside the freeway where it was repurposed as a record-setting outdoor advertisement. 

It makes a good magnet!

What We’ve Been Eating

Ripe local peaches. The stone-fruit season is just starting.

Lots of vegetables: here, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes.

Fresh corn

Meatballs

Berries

Len's Bread

Salmon from Seattle, a gift from Miriam

Salmon that Alice cooked for us in her kitchen

Blintzes in a fairly recently purchased skillet.

Pasta with cheese and pepper (cacio e pepe) — an Ottolenghi recipe

Cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and grilled chicken

More Berries

Cookbook from the library: most of the recipes call for too much chili pepper.

In July we can cook outdoors all the time, and often do so.

 All Photos © 2026 mae sander

Shared with In My Kitchen, the monthly blog event

Athena’s Owls

Illustration from the Odyssey, which I’m currently reading

Owl in the Parthenon Museum, Athens. (July 11, 2025)

 More Owls

Ancient Greek coin

Not Athena’s Owl

From Evelyn in Lake Placid, NY this week

From our birding trip in the Netherlands, 2022.

Picasso kept a pet owl named Ubu, which inspired him to create many owl images,
though Ubu's life story is a bit sad, as is that of many captive owls

New and Old Objects in My Kitchen

These frying pans that once belonged to my grandmother were in constant use in my mother’s kitchen.
Because I have a smooth-top stove, our only recent use for them has been as a steam source for baking.
The water in them has resulted in rust, as you can see.

Saturday was the December sale of the Ann Arbor Potter’s Guild.

Photos © 2025 mae sander

Weekend at Home

 The Potters’ Guild Sale

Saturday morning: the June sale of the Ann Arbor Potters’ Guild.

Our favorite artist: Maki Lin.

We bought two new plates (similar to ones we have already).

Along the Huron River

We don’t understand this “sculpture” — here’s another one in a different park.
Anyone know its real purpose?

Along the path is a plaza celebrating the history of local women in sports for the past 50 years.

We always enjoy watching the canoes and kayaks making their way down the Huron River.

Beautiful Weather But with Some Smoke

In spite of poor air quality, we have been eating in our garden.

Contemplation: “A Child’s Garden of Verses”

The Swing

HOW do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!”

Blog post © 2025 mae sander