Spiced Peaches

I had a request for my family's Spiced Peaches recipe, and I am happy to share it!  It just couldn't be easier to make.  Although, I would caution you to not leave the solution unattended on the stove, as I left the room to put something away in the pantry, and returned just before it boiled over onto my stove.  Whew!  Can you imagine?...1 1/2 cups of honey boiled over?  Would've been dreadful.

Our family traditionally serves this as part of Thanksgiving dinner.  However, I think it would delicious with ham for Christmas too!

Spiced Peaches

1 - 29 oz. can peach halves in heavy syrup, drained

3 - 3" cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. white vinegar

3 whole cloves

Put peach halves in a 1-qt. jar.  Heat remaining ingredients until syrup boils.  Pour over peaches.  Cool.  Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.  Store no longer than 8 days.

A Guest, Snow, and Fun in the City

Last Sunday we had a friend arrive for a four-day visit.  She's been here several times before and done lots of touring in New England already, so she just wanted to spend time with us.  We saved some leaves for her and there was a leaf-raking afternoon.



Leaves were raked just in time too, as snow fell the next night.  Our guest was thrilled!



We met up with the rest of her family (just flown in from the west coast) for dinner in Boston the night before Thanksgiving.  The city lights are so pretty, even if it's nearly impossible to shoot them in a moving car.



We parked in the parking structure nearest to the restaurant, took the elevator to the street level, and walked out into this amazing building.  Got to love Boston!



Revolving doors are always entertaining!



We ate at Bertucci's, noted for their brick-oven pizza.  It was delicious!



We were within sight of Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace, and the twinkling Christmas lights just beckoned us to come out and walk around after dinner.

The giant Christmas tree drew the attention of our group.



Despite the bone-chilling wind whipping through the streets and the late hour (that clock above is incorrect, as it was close to 10 p.m.), we enjoyed each other's company and the hint of Christmas coming in the decorations on Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.



Christmas is definitely in the air!

The Girl Can Bake!

Colette and I spent four days this week traveling back and froth (1 1/2 hrs. each way) to the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vermont, so that she could take an artisan baking course. She learned how to make: crackers, lunetta, baguettes (but she already knew how to make those), foccacia, ciabatta, croissants, sourdough, pain au chocolat, and pizza crust. Oh my!



She is dancing with joy at her new-found skills…especially the making of croissants and pain au chocolat! The rest of us are too!

Autumn Front Doors of New England

I confess to having a love affair with front doors.  And I especially love it when they are decorated for the current season.  It shows care and love to me.  My camera goes almost everywhere with me, and this autumn I've been snapping pictures of well-tended front doors to share with you.  Enjoy!



The Snow Came, and Then It Was Dark

Snow started falling last Saturday…lots of snow. Lots and lots of snow! We got twenty-two inches of snow in about 12 hours.



When we awoke the next morning, this was what our deck looked it. We had never seen it so filled with snow. And in OCTOBER! It was the warmest AND the snowiest October on record in our state.



This much snow was a new experience for our sweet, southern-born doggies. We had to trample a path for them in the snow, as it was up to the level of their backs.

Max built a gaping-mouthed snow monster by the front steps.



Our power, phone, and internet service went out at midnight Saturday night.  But we have a generator, so we could run some essentials.  But we ate dinner by the light of the beeswax candles that Colette and I dipped last year.



And we lit the front entry up with the tin lantern from Old Sturbridge Village for Halloween night. As it turns out our town (as well as all the surrounding towns) called off Halloween, and rescheduled trick-or-treating for this weekend.

The power came back on just after 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As always, I was kind of glad to have it come back on, and kind of sad too...the convenience is nice, but so was the simplicity.