Martha Stewart

Whatever the outcome of the Martha Stewart trial, an opinion you hear frequently from pundits and other analysts is that the courtroom revelations have forever tarnished the public image of the diva of domesticity, decor and decorum. One example of Stewart's supposed peevishness was provided by the government's star witness, stock trader Douglas Faneuil, who said she had threatened to take her business elsewhere because she didn't like the telephone "hold" music when she called his firm.

AS THE AIR turns crisp this fall, Alderson, W.Va. is becoming a tourist alternative to watching the leaves change. Curiosity-seekers arrive daily in the Appalachian hill town (pop. 1,000), to see where Martha Stewart will spend the next five months for lying about a stock sale. "With Martha here and the fall season, it is easy for people to say, 'Let's take a drive there,' " said Patti Grafton, owner of Wolf Creek Gallery. That's so like Martha . . . to merge her fall with fall.

TATTLE IS TORN on Martha Stewart. Thankfully, Stewart can mend any tear. On the one hand, even though we discovered Bed, Bath & Beyond on Sunday, we still think her obsessions with housewares and home decoration are silly. On the other hand, she didn't deserve to be wearing a prison jump suit while some of the biggest corporate scammers in history were still yukking it up in their Armani suits. But now that Martha is out of the hoosegow and aiming to rebuild her empire one swatch at a time, she's chatting with Vanity Fair.

Let's face it. Martha Stewart is headed toward another jump in her income now that she has finished doing time at a federal prison for an illegal 2001 stock sale. Whatever Stewart gets she will have earned - and that includes scads more money as well as the ankle bracelet she must wear the next five months during her home detention. With her company's stock prices already rising, the Martha Stewart industry looks on track to rebound from the downturn her legal troubles caused. Not only will she resume her existing business, she also will get her own reality show, a la Donald Trump's The Apprentice.

HOME-decorating and cooking maven Martha Stewart recently expressed puzzlement over why people delight in her current predicament, a possible indictment for alleged insider stock trading said to have netted her about $400,000, an amount which is peanuts compared to her hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. The reasons for Ms. Stewart's problem with the American people are simple: She is wealthy and seen as arrogant. Class warfare always has been a strong facet of American life.

Let what Martha Stewart did serve as a lesson and a warning to other investors - even if that lesson so far appears lost on the perfectionist homemaker-mogul. Stewart's crime of lying to federal investigators about a well-timed stock sale wasn't in the same league with corporate-accounting scandals that toppled entire companies. However, there was no way that authorities could overlook the attempted coverup by Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter E. Bacanovic, who on Friday was given a sentence nearly identical to Stewart's.

The number of envious people dying to hurl overripe fruit at Martha Stewart, even those who merely wish something dreadful would happen to her, would probably fill a good-size stadium. They would include, I suppose, housewives who have exhausted themselves into nervous wrecks trying to accomplish all the projects she suggests are part of her routine day. Add to them people who keep messy houses because they've got better things to do with their time. Sensible feminists resent her because she carries domesticity to an absurd stage of raving neurosis.

No amount of 11th-hour public-relations alchemy can save Martha Stewart from herself. The flogging she has endured - financial, social and judicial - is nothing compared with the self-mutilation inflicted on her professional and personal reputation. Unable to deflect an unwelcome spotlight, Stewart has committed the ultimate PR faux pas: She insists she is being prosecuted, or perhaps persecuted, because she is a powerful and successful woman. As usual, Stewart, among the more famous of New Jersey natives, has surrounded herself with advisers who merely echo her. Stewart's tunnel vision is as amusing as it is alarming.

House arrest for Martha Stewart: Let her decorate for good causes. Does anybody think the doyenne of fine d?cor and gracious living really deserves hard time within four concrete walls? Stewart messed up, no question. Her stunning conviction yesterday for obstructing justice and lying to the government about a cannily timed stock sale means she faces up to 20 years in prison. What the New York jury concluded Stewart was guilty of doing was no dinner-party faux pas - but a purposeful, illegal attempt to cover her tracks when federal agents came calling.

It's been a bad few weeks for two of pop culture's biggest brand names - Tina Brown and Martha Stewart. First came the word that Talk magazine, brainchild of famed editress Brown, was folding. The magazine debuted in a blaze of synergistic glory in the summer of 1999: Talk was going to be a brilliant fusion of high art and gossip, of articles that would become movies that would have their stars featured on future covers. Instead, Talk became something familiar in the post-Sept.

NEW YORK - Macy's chief executive, Terry Lundgren, testified Monday that he hung up on home diva Martha Stewart after she called to inform him on Dec. 6, 2011, that the company that bears her name had inked a deal with J.C. Penney to open shops within most of the chain's stores. He said he hasn't spoken with her since, even though the two used to be good friends. "I was sick to my stomach," Lundgren testified in New York Supreme Court. "I can't remember hanging up on anyone in my life.

Before she even put down her bag or said hello, Libbie Summers was compelled to comment on the bright, minimal vibe at the La Colombe near City Hall. It's just her way: For the cookbook author, culinary producer, blogger, and food stylist, aesthetics are tied into everything she does. "On the train I was writing notes about radishes and white lace and spring onions," she says. "I can't help it, my head goes crazy!" The Savannah, Ga., resident was in town for a few days this month, promoting the recent release of The Whole Hog Cookbook , her first solo title.

Q: How can I post artwork, schedules and pictures on my stainless-steel refrigerator, since it is not magnetized? A: The smooth, bare expanse of a gleaming new stainless steel refrigerator looks clean and modern, and works in nearly any kitchen. The material, an alloy of steel designed to resist corrosion, may contain additional elements to increase its strength and resiliency. But these added elements can also cancel out steel's magnetic properties, making it impossible for you to personalize it with your photos and kids' art projects.

Q: How do friends and family celebrate the birth of a second child? I've heard a shower should be thrown only in honor of the first baby's birth. A: Strict etiquette holds that friends and family shower the mother-to-be only the first time around, because the gifts given generally provide the parents with the items they'll need for children who may follow. Also, people shouldn't feel pressured to buy gifts for each new member of the family. But as with most questions of etiquette, good reasons arise for breaking the rules.

A HORSEBACK ride through majestic scenery in Maine calls for a delectable lunch that's as beautiful as the setting. In 1925, Edsel Ford followed some of his friends to Mount Desert Island, Maine, and started construction on a hilltop vacation estate he named Skylands. In those days, horses and carriages were used by many for pleasure and transportation, and within Acadia, the great national park, there were extensive horse and carriage roads for the inhabitants' use. Ford also built a beautiful stable and carriage house where he kept horses and ponies.

HERE'S HOW to keep fleas, ticks and other pests from bugging your dogs and cats this summer. Animals thrive during the warm, active and social summer months. Unfortunately, so do the pests that can affect their health. The good news? There are many preventive options, which means you can customize a safe and effective plan for your animal. "Pest control can involve a combination of approaches based on the pet, lifestyle of the pet and owner, and where the pet lives," said Melinda Miller, hospital director of Smith Ridge Veterinary Center in South Salem, N.Y. She advised owners to use natural solutions whenever possible.

Q: Why won't my peonies bloom? The buds look bruised and don't open all the way. A: There are three explanations for buds that won't bloom. The first is botrytis blight, a fungal disease. It can hit plants as they emerge or once buds have formed. It's worse in rainy seasons and on plants growing in cool, wet, shady sites. The buds turn brown and then become covered with a fuzzy gray mold, which will spread down the stem. When you see symptoms, remove infected portions, throw them out (do not compost)

Q: What is the difference between regular corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup? A: Both types of corn syrup start the same way: Cornstarch is treated with an acid or an enzyme, turning it into glucose syrup. To make regular corn syrup - the kind found in supermarkets and used by home bakers for candies and frostings - manufacturers clarify and reduce glucose syrup until it's the right consistency. High-fructose corn syrup is also made from corn-derived glucose syrup, but it requires additional chemical reactions that convert some of the glucose into fructose, creating a sweetener that contains both.

PLANNING SUMMER weekends with houseguests is perhaps one of the biggest challenges a host can face. There are many factors that go into making a weekend fun, interesting and stimulating. One of the most important things is the food, which requires planning menus, shopping for ingredients and cooking dishes so that meals are served on time and guests and family are sated. I personally find such a challenge really kind of enjoyable, and over the past few years, I have compiled a file of recipes that can be prepared easily, that are certainly appealing and that make use of locally available foodstuffs and produce.

Q: Where is it OK for me to take my dog? I'd like to bring her to restaurants, shops and friends' homes, but I know she won't always be welcome. A: You can cross restaurants, supermarkets and beauty salons off the list of places you may visit with your pooch. Health codes in the U.S. ban dogs from such establishments (unless you have a service dog, which can accompany you anywhere, according to the Americans With Disabilities Act). When it comes to other destinations, always check ahead, even if you're planning to visit a close friend.