We took the pledge to buy handmade this holiday season.  We were able to do most of our shopping at Bizarre Bazaar Boston today.  It was a pleasure to avoid the parking lots and long lines in favor of something more meaningful! I also love the idea of supporting local crafters instead of big chain stores. I will fill in some gaps with stuff that I make and one item from Etsy.

These were our contributions to Thanksgiving at my Aunt and Uncle’s house in New York.

Cranberry sauce, an apple pie and pumpkin pie made with pumpkins from our garden.

I was responsible for the cranberry sauce.  Here is my trustee recipe:

One package of fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
zest from an orange
juice from the same orange

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium for about 5 minutes until it boils.  Let it simmer for 10 minutes until most of the cranberries burst.  Chill.

We took a road trip to Western Massachusetts recently.  Highlights included a trip to Herman Melville’s house, where he wrote Moby Dick.

Mass Moca and the new Sol LeWitt Installation, on view now through 2033. (It feels weird to type 2033!)

and a trip up Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Mass during peak foliage.  Herman Melville could see this peak from his study, and took inspiration from it for Moby Dick because the snow covered profile reminded him of a Sperm Whale’s back.

All pictures from our trip are here.

I came across this card that my great grandmother received from Jackie O. after JFK was assassinated.  Today happens to be the anniversary of the awful event.

The stationery is very similar to the card I received from Ted Kennedy’s family recently.

I noticed that both cards just have a signature that acts as a stamp. Turns out that the first family, members of congress and some others have franking privileges and their mail only requires a signature.

The sandcastle/moat that I made in Truro back in September.

All pics from the weekend in Truro and Provincetown are here.

In an effort to declutter I have decided to take some pics of old projects that are getting grungy and taking up too much space in my life.  I made this 3-D cardboard piece many years ago (in the 90s) after a visit to Siena, Italy.  It is a combination of cardboard, paper painted with pen and ink and tin foil.  It was inspired by a visit to the cathedral above.

My favorite cookies . . . Chocolate Mint Cookies.   Pretty easy to make and they taste like the Girl Scout Thin Mints.  The beautiful cookie jar was made by Jeremy Ayers in Burlington, VT, a gift from my brother.

I spray painted and decorated an old dingy toolbox, filled it with some basic tools and gave it to my brother as a birthday gift.

We headed down to the Westport, MA and Providence, RI area for the 4th of July.  There happened to be a Waterfire Festival downtown Providence.

We enjoyed the lighting of the bonfires and then rushed to the waterfront to catch the fireworks.  As you can see we found a somewhat gritty location, but it was a great show.

In our never ending search for the perfect chowder we made our first visit to Farnham’s in Essex.  We used the chowder rating scale that we developed with some friends.  Jay gave the chowder an 8.0 and my rating was a 7.8.