Brimfield Antique Show - Take a Look!

For the second time ever, Colette and I went to the Brimfield Antique Show this week! We were so excited that she had Tuesday off work, because it was our one and only chance to go, given other commitments on our calendars. We packed our totes with bottles of water, cash, trail mix, and other necessaries for surviving a day of some serious antique shopping.

The Brimfield Antique Show happens three times a year and runs for five days each time. Antique dealers pitch their tents in the fields along a mile-long stretch of highway that runs through the small Massachusetts town of Brimfield. We began at the beginning, which is entirely sensible, and shopped nearly the entire show in about six hours!

And of course I took pictures! Would you like to armchair travel to Brimfield? I'd love to show you! Follow me. I'm the one in the red pants and shoes!

We loved the booths where the vendors made an effort to capture the spirit of a New England autumn in their displays! So appealing!

Ahhh...a quintessential Brimfield scene! It's the opportunity to shop booths like this that draws people to Brimfield over and over again.

Everything, big or small, can be found at Brimfield...from silverware to canoes. Isn't that white canoe just so gorgeous?

I admired the oodles of flags, patriotic bunting, and swaths of red/white/blue fabric. You should know that the going price for a full-size, cloth, U.S. flag in excellent condition at Brimfield is about $65.00. So, if you see one at an antique store near you for much less, snatch it up!

We marveled at these 8-ft. long snowshoes. What? How can that be? It turns out that they were once part of a store display, and not cast-offs from a giant.

I admired this farmhouse table. Isn't it novel? I'd never seen one with a rectangular base and an oval top. Excellent idea, since you can always seat more people at an oval table.

Brimfield is a great place to add to a collection you might have...from shoe forms to Japanese fishing floats to European deer antlers. Aren't fishing floats captivating in their beauty when grouped together?

Time for lunch. There are plenty of food trucks to tempt you with everything from garlic pizza to gourmet grilled cheese. Colette opted for the grilled cheese with cheddar, fig jam, and arugula. Yum! And since we were in Massachusetts in the autumn, this sandwich vendor had exactly what I wanted.

As you know, I love a good picnic, because I sort of thrive on creating happy memories for people. So this booth, with its beautifully displayed picnic accoutrements, was our favorite of the day! 

And this picnic basket, with so many of its original pieces, was beautiful too!

Brimfield is a great place to find the unusual.

This was one of the more unusual items we saw...a large wooden box, lined with tin with compartments for ice cream. Each compartment was about 12" across and 16" deep. When full of ice cream, it must be very heavy. 

The weather was alternately misting light rain or the sun was threatening to come out. But by afternoon, we were hot and thirsty, so we stopped for one of the famous Del's frozen lemonades. Delicious!

Then Colette headed back to the car with her purchases, while I dashed back to purchase one more item. Her purchase for the day were: two vintage wool blankets in autumn colors, a brass pheasant to sit on her desk, two hat boxes adorned with hunting scenes, and a polo mallet.

And I bought these: four butterscotch-colored bakelite forks to add to my picnic collection, a small thermos (in mint condition) with a leather case, and a European deer skull. 

The deer skull was hung in the kitchen today. (Did you ever notice they hang in the kitchen at Downton?) Well, it continues a long tradition in Europe and early America of displaying antlers as a reminder that God has given us the beasts of the earth to be responsibly used for food.

I hope you enjoyed armchair traveling to Brimfield! You really must go in person sometime!

State Fair Time

It's state fair time in New Hampshire! Last Friday, Colette and I met Felicity and the kiddos for a fun day of fair going! The little ones greeted us with cries of, "We want to go on the rides!" However, the rides did not open for a couple more hours, so it was off to see the animals, which are the highlight of every fair for me.

They fed the goats and the sheep, including this sweet-faced one. Isn't it just precious?

Checking out the spotted pig. Walter noted that another pig (that was pink) was "just a regular one."

We "got lost" in the hay maze, where the girls were a wee bit frightened of the scarecrows. 

We wandered through the produce displays. Isn't this sunflower lovely? I was captivated by the contrast between its sturdiness and the delicate beauty of its dried petals, that also, coincidentally, perfectly matched the paint on the table on which it was displayed.

Another highlight was the the GIANT pumpkins!

Fair food! So many choices! Essentials for us for the day were: fresh-squeezed lemonade, french fries, a buffalo burger, cotton candy, and kettle corn.

Then it was ride time!

Lakeside Picnic

Sunday, I had a surprise picnic planned! I was so excited to take hubby and Colette to this location, but...alas...it wasn't open to the public (unexpectedly) that day. So we scrambled to come up with an alternative location, and we chose the grassy beach area at Lake Sunapee. It was a very pleasing alternative!

- Picnic Menu -

cold, roasted chicken

garden picked grape tomatoes

country sourdough bread from The Forge Bakery (MA)

Jarslberg cheese

refrigerator pickles (recipe here)

Pimm's Cups (recipe here)

individual summer berries cobbler

The older I get, the less inclined I am to use paper plates, plastic or styrofoam. I want to drink from a real glass! I'm not sure why this has suddenly become important to me, but maybe it's an attitude of "life is short...use the good stuff." So, I packed dishes, and crystal glasses for the Pimm's Cups, and some of my growing collection of vintage picnic flatware. Worth every bit of time it took to pack and clean!

The mini cobblers proved to be a great little picnic dessert. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and transport flat to prevent spillage.

Twins Come for a Visit

Look what came for a visit to our yard this summer! (Please ignore the dying grass due to the drought conditions in our state.) Aren't they cute?

Mama was nearby watching over her little ones.

This one was eyeing my garden. I was feeling mighty grateful for that deer fencing!

Reflection

Last year, while staying on Nantucket, I bought a mirror for the formal dining room. (Colette was sweet enough to carry it!)

It was just the right size to hang between the two windows in that room. But most importantly, it did exactly what I wanted it to do! It reflects the view of the woods behind me, since I sit with my back to the view.

Nantucket for the win!

Raspberry Picking with the Little Ones

Last week, Hubby and I met Felicity and the little ones for a hot morning of raspberry picking. Despite the heat, the grandkids were focused and cheerful and great little pickers!

And later, after lunches and naps, they came over for dinner...with vanilla ice cream with raspberries for dessert!

How to Make a Pimm's Cup

One of my goals this year was to learn how to make half a dozen cocktails well. Eight months into this year, and I've finally begun...with a Pimm's Cup. It is the quintessential British summer cocktail, a staple at Wimbledon and at British and American polo matches, and it is refreshing and delicious!

As with anything, I'm always a bit curious about the history behind it all. With some online research, I discovered that the base for the drink, Pimm's No. 1 Cup, was created by James Pimm, a British fishmonger, who opened an oyster bar in London in the 1840's. It was marketed as an aperitif and sold in a small tankard called a No. 1 cup, hence the name. An aperitif, by definition, is an aid to digestion and was typically served before a meal. ("Drinks before dinner? What would Carson say?" - Lady Mary) The exact composition of this liqueur, a mixture of "herbal and floral nuances", is said to be known by only six people.

I'm sort of an alcohol wimp, preferring about 1/3 of a glass of wine to a full glass. So, the Pimm's Cup is a great cocktail for someone who likes just a taste. 

The ingredients are really very simple. All you need besides what you see here is: ice.

Pimm's Cup

1 1/2 oz. Pimm's No. 1

3 oz. lemonade (I made my own, using a recipe found here)

Sprite

orange

cucumber

mint

ice

cocktail straw

Fill an 8 oz. glass full with ice. Add Pimm's and lemonade. Finish filling the glass with Sprite. Garnish with orange, cucumber, and mint. (You can add the garnishes to the glass if desired.) Insert a cocktail straw. Enjoy!

Super Easy Dill Refrigerator Pickles

Although I've made many jars of pickles in the past, I've never tried my hand at refrigerator pickles. SO easy! And SO delicious! I should've been making them for years. Gather the ingredients from your local farmers' market, and spend just a few minutes to make a jar for your family!

Super Easy Dill Refrigerator Pickles

-Makes 1 quart jar-

5 (3-4") pickling cucumbers

2 c. water

1 c. white vinegar

1 T. kosher salt

1/2 t. sugar

1 t. pickling spice

big bunch of fresh dill

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

10-20 peppercorn kernels

1 small onion, coarsely sliced

1/2 of a small green bell pepper, coarsely sliced

- Slice cucumbers into spears, OR cut them into bite-size circles. (I used a crinkle-cutter to give mine a wavy edge, which is kind of fun!) Set aside.

- In a heavy, stainless steel saucepan, combine: water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and pickling spice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove and cool to room temperature.

- Layer cucumbers, sprigs of dill, garlic, peppercorns, onions slices, and bell pepper slices into a clean quart canning jar. Pour cooled liquid over all. Seal with a canning jar lid and place in refrigerator; allow to sit for 48 hours before tasting.

- Will last for at least a month!

Antiques, Cookies, and Lobsters

Thursday was the U.S.Coast Guard's 226th birthday! Congratulations to the Coasties! Since Colette had the day off work, the two of us decided to take some cookies to Max and the whole crew to help them celebrate!

Max had to work most of the day, so we took our sweet time getting there. We made a stop at the L.L. Bean flagship store, with its famous giant Bean boot, and explored its multiple buildings of tempting merchandise.

Then we found a small town in which to antique shop, bopping in and out of each beautifully styled shop all along the town's main street.

This sign made us laugh! One point for hilarity, and one point for proper punctuation!

Ah! SO wonderful to hug him!

I ordered Jenny Steffens Hobick's nautical cookie cutters for my first real attempt at making classic decorated cookies. What fun! I love her blog! Click here to check it out. I also found her advice on colors really great, although I will definitely have to practice more with proportions. Click here to read her posting on The Icing Color Wheel. And I used Tessa from Nine and Sixteen's sugar cookie recipe and thought it was fabulous...love the way it gives you a cleanly defined edge! Click here for her recipe.

Once he was finished with work for the day, we all went to the Maine Lobster Festival, a real summertime Maine treat! It is held harborside, and features live entertainment, carnival rides, and of course...lobsters.

All too soon we had to say goodbye and head for home. Before the sun set, however, I had to pull over and snap this picture of the gorgeous Maine scenery.