Fashion industry icon, author, and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg is this year's recipient of the prestigious Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award.
Last weekend, I traveled to our nation’s capital to attend the exclusive third annual award ceremony and gala at the Library of Congress. The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation created the leadership award in 2020 in honor of Justice Ginsberg’s exemplary career and life. It was designed to 'acknowledge and celebrate exceptional women who have devoted themselves to the betterment of society, regardless of background, place and purpose.' It was a very special evening.
Enjoy these photos and see the images I posted on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
This is the United States Library of Congress. The library’s primary mission is to research inquiries made by members of Congress, which is carried out through the Congressional Research Service. It also houses and oversees the United States Copyright Office and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country.
I arrived right on time. It was a lovely evening. Behind me is the United States Capitol, also known as the Capitol Building, home of the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the US federal government. The Capitol is just across the street from the Library of Congress.
My friend Ari Katz attended the event with me. Here we are in front of the Library.
Many of the Library of Congress’ sculptures wore decorative masks made using Diane von Furstenberg fabrics with lace in memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who was well known for wearing high lace collars.
The ceiling of the Library’s Great Hall at the front of the building is inlaid with six decorative stained-glass skylights and aluminum plating. Along the perimeter of the ceiling are the names of 10 authors, considered to have made great contributions to literature. They are Dante, Homer, Milton, Bacon, Aristotle, Goethe, Shakespeare, Moliere, Moses, and Herodotus.
The Library of Congress’s copy of the Gutenberg Bible was on display for all of the guests to see. The Gutenberg Bible is the first great book printed in Western Europe from movable metal type.
Ari and I took this photo at the entrance to the Library’s Main Reading Room on the ground floor of the Jefferson Building.
Above is a 160-foot-high, elaborately painted copper dome.
In all, there are 16 Reading Rooms at the Library of Congress, all with meticulously maintained desks where one can research, read, work, and in these modern times, sit and check emails.
Here I am with Nancy Pelosi and Diane von Furstenberg. (Photo by Tony Powell)
Photos were taken soon after all the guests arrived. I was in very good company. Some of those in attendance included Jennifer Flavin Stallone, Brendan Sullivan Jr., Ghada Irani, Julie Opperman, David Rubenstein, Teresa Carlson, Lynda Carter Altman, Howard Lorber, Diane von Furstenberg, Sylvester Stallone, Adrienne Arsht, and Carla Hayden.
Here is another photo where I join David Rubenstein, Howard Lorber, Brendan Sullivan Jr., Jennifer Flavin Stallone, Teresa Carlson, Adrienne Arsht, Diane von Furstenberg, Julie Opperman, and Ghada Irani.
Violinists played as we walked into the dining hall on the upper level of the Library.
Place cards were displayed on a large round table.
Here is Ari with Nicky Hilton Rothschild.
Distinguished attorney and Williams & Connolly senior partner, Brendan Sullivan Jr., addressed the audience.
Barry Diller looks on as his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, receives her award.
After dinner, a cake was brought out to celebrate Brendan Sullivan Jr.’s birthday.
And here is one more photo of the Capitol Building at night – so beautiful. Congratulations, Diane! What a wonderful evening.
So many of you comment on how much you enjoy my pet blogs - especially those that provide tips for making food for my four dogs, Bete Noire, Creme Brulee, Empress Qin, and Emperor Han.
Every few months, when I see that my supply is running low, I set aside time to make my dogs a batch of home-cooked food. Preparing my own dog food has many benefits - fewer preservatives and additives, more varied and better ingredients and, of course, more of what I know my dogs like to eat. I also know the food is from wholesome, organic, reputable sources - and that is very important to me. Over the weekend, we prepared a giant amount of food filled with excellent quality quinoa, turkey, fish, venison, and lots of nutritious, organic vegetables.
Enjoy these photos. And go to my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 for more.
Here’s my handsome Chow Chow Emperor Han, watching the birds from the terrace outside my Winter House kitchen. My dogs are very healthy. Look at Han’s coat – it’s so thick and abundant. My dogs’ good health and appearance are due, in part, to the food they eat. I love cooking for my dogs because I know exactly what they’re getting.
Inside, on the kitchen counter are some of the ingredients for my next batch of dog food. I currently have four dogs – my Chow Chows, Han and Empress Qin, and my French Bulldogs, Bete Noire and Creme Brulee. Having multiple dogs means there’s a lot to prepare. I use the best ingredients – butternut squash, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, sweet peas, mixed vegetables of corn, green beans and more carrots, kale and Swiss chard from my greenhouse, and quinoa.
The meats include salmon, venison, and turkey. Each protein is cooked separately until tender.
These broccoli heads are cooked until fork tender also and placed in a big stainless steel bowl. All my food is completely organic and full of flavor.
Here are the carrots. My dogs love carrots. They are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins. Occasionally crunching on raw carrots can also be good for their teeth.
In this pot, I cooked some of the mixed vegetables and added venison, which is deer meat.
The squash is roasted and then cut into chunks.
Here is a bowl filled with the mixed vegetables including the kale and Swiss chard from my greenhouse garden.
Sweet potatoes are also great for digestive health because they’re high in dietary fiber. They’re low in fat and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese, and they’re rich in the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene.
In another pot, I include a turkey – the wild turkey that found its way to my chicken yard almost two years ago. Once the turkey meat is removed from the bones, any carcasses are saved for the coyotes – nothing goes to waste.
All the foods are cooked thoroughly and distributed equally into the bowls.
Next, Elvira runs everything through the food processor. This step may seem extraneous; however, I have found that my dogs prefer their food ground rather than in big chunks. And watch out for bones. While some of the bones will be ground in the processor, it is a good idea to always carefully check for potentially dangerous bones. Making my own dog food takes a bit of time to complete, but it is well worth the effort to feed my dogs the best food possible.
These quart-sized containers were pulled from the rack and laid out. This step of filling the containers is done in a production line process, so it can be completed quickly and efficiently. Can you guess how many containers we filled?
This was my biggest batch yet – 72 quarts in all! It’s very important that dogs also get adequate amounts of calcium, and omega-three fatty acids – add supplements if needed. And, always talk to a veterinarian or canine nutrition expert before changing a dog’s diet.
If planning to freeze, only fill up to the first line around the container so it has room to expand. The quarts of food are left to cool a bit before securing the lids.
Each lid is marked with the contents and the date it was prepared.
Some of the food will be stored in my Winter House kitchen refrigerator, so they are easy to access. The rest will be stored in freezers elsewhere until needed.
Here’s Enma scooping some food into the dog bowls for supper. We mix high quality kibble with a scoop of their home-prepared food. Enma mixes it thoroughly with the dogs’ additional vitamins and supplements.
And then it’s meal time! My dogs eat two meals a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. Splitting meal times is good for their digestion. Cooking for one’s dogs is a personal choice, but if you have time, and are interested in giving it a try, I know your pets will love every meal. Creme Brulee and Bete Noire are ready to eat!
This day was so nice, all the dogs ate al fresco in their yard behind my kitchen.
Han is the first to get his food and the first to finish. My dogs love their food and always lick their bowls clean.
It was a delicious meal for all. Qin seems very content. Now it’s time for a nap.
This time of year my outdoor grounds crew is very busy "cleaning" the woods of all the cut trees and debris.
As many of you know, I feel very strongly about composting. In fact, an entire corner of my farm is devoted to this important process. Here at my Bedford, New York farm, my crew amasses quite a large pile of organic materials - bark, stumps, logs, and brush. All of it is either repurposed as milled lumber, or left to decay and made into garden dressings, such as mulch and compost. Nothing goes to waste.
Enjoy these photos.
As part of the woodland maintenance around my farm, dead, damaged, and diseased trees are taken down during various times of the year. Here, Domi, from my outdoor grounds crew, secures a chain around this log that was cut down last summer.
Using our trusted Hi-Lo, Chhiring carefully maneuvers the tractor and piles up the logs near the side of the carriage road for pick-up and chipping. “Cleaning” the woods allows us to reuse and repurpose a lot of natural materials – and it makes the area much prettier.
Stacking logs and other debris takes time. Every year, my outdoor grounds crew spends several weeks working in sections of the woodland.
After pruning and grooming various trees, branches are also left in neat and tidy piles close to the roads, so they can be picked up at a later time and chipped – everything is returned to the earth, organically and efficiently.
Pasang and Domi fill the dump truck with smaller stumps. Whatever can be moved easily is brought to my compost yard.
My large composting area is in a field behind my “Christmas tree garden,” where I planted 640 Christmas trees about 13-years ago – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce. They are all doing so well.
Here is a view of my compost area – one of the most important areas on the property. It’s actually very organized. Piles are divided into types of debris – some in various stages of decay. Wood chips, mulch, leaf mold, grass clippings, and organic matter made up of manure and biodegradable materials. Most of these piles are combined and put through tub grinder that comes to the farm every couple of years.
Straight, long logs will be put through a portable sawmill and made into usable lumber boards. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to various sizes. If I cannot save a tree, it is comforting to know I can reuse the wood left behind.
Stumps and other wood will be made into much finer chips. This pile is growing quickly.
Other piles include this leaf mold, which is compost produced by the decomposition of shaded deciduous shrub and tree leaves, primarily by fungal breakdown in a slower cooler manner.
Leaves shed in autumn tend to have a very low nitrogen content and are often dry.
The pile of composting chicken and horse manure, which is filled with nutrients, is smoking. Healthy organisms in the compost will be active and produce steam even in winter.
In another area, we pile up unused rocks from around the farm.
And here are piles of organic material in different stages of decay.
This pile is under a compost protection Gore-Tex tarp, which keeps the rain away, and allows excess moisture to evaporate and breathe.
This compost will be used to cover my garden beds in spring, and top-dress the vegetable gardens.
My young trees are also potted with rich, nutrient filled compost. Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed over time, while mulch is the layer of organic materials used as a protective cover.
Wood chips are spread out evenly around my young trees growing on the edge of my hayfield. Wood chips decompose quickly, and add nutrients back to the soil. Like mulch, using wood chips insulates the soil around the saplings and provides protection from the cold. Here’s Chhiring dropping batches of wood chips using our Kubota M4-071 tractor.
And here, mulch is used to cover the areas surrounding my azaleas.
Covering the garden beds also helps to deter weeds. Using these materials is a wonderful way to beautify the gardens and give back to the earth. Do you compost? Share your comments and tips with me below.
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