Winter Picnic

Last weekend, Colette made plans for her friend and us to go ice skating on a pond and have a winter picnic. Alas, unseasonably warm temperatures rendered the pond too soggy for skating. But that same warmth made for great winter picnicking weather! We had a simple meal of sandwiches (Black Forest ham, Brie, apple, and arugula on baguette), clementines, coffee, and Colette's famous hot cocoa. Piles of warm wool blankets kept us from getting damp. And we had a gorgeous view of the frozen Connecticut River! It's our favorite picnic spot in all of New England!

Easy and Delicious Crock Pot Roast Recipe

It's wintertime and comfort food season! So, looking around for an easy recipe for roast beef that I could put in the crock pot, I combined Ina Garten's Balsamic Roast Beef from her How Easy is That? cookbook AND Brisket with Sweet Mustard Sauce from The Ski House Cookbook. And the end result was delicious!...tender and flavorful and ohhh so comforting!

The combined recipe goes like this:

1/3 c. Dijon mustard

1/3 c. brown sugar

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 t. kosher salt

1 T. freshly cracked black pepper

2 medium, yellow onions

2 1/2 lb. roast

1 c. beef broth

Quarter onions and scatter onto bottom of crock pot. Rinse roast and place on top of onions.

In small bowl, combine: mustard, brown sugar, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over meat.

Pour beef broth around roast. Cook on low setting for about 4 hours.

Serves 6.

Enjoying Six More Weeks of Winter

Happy Groundhog's Day! I love this holiday, because it's just so silly. I mean, what's not to love about a chubby rodent surrounded by a bunch of men in top hats? It's the thing of which children's books are written, yet it's real and it happens, much to my delight, every year!

And this year, when pulled from his cozy burrow, America's premier rodent weatherman predicted six more weeks of winter. I suspect about 85% of the nation groaned. I, however, was thrilled! So, lest you be tempted to grumble at the groundhog, here's some winter inspiration to help you enjoy the season to its fullest!

- Plan a sledding party...thermoses of hot cocoa or warming soups, wool blankets, and a group of friends. Bring the dogs too!

- Nights are long in the winter, so find a good television series to watch. We've immensely enjoyed "The Crown" (available play instantly on Netflix) and the latest in the "Hollow Crown" series this winter. The currently playing "Victoria" is excellent as well.

- Go ice skating at a local rink or lake.

- Read a novel aloud as a family in the evenings.

- Light candles every night for dinner.

- Go for a walk in the falling snow.

- Start a collection of warm scarves, mittens, and earmuffs, so bundling up becomes fun.

- Make a new soup recipe at least once a week. Here's one new recipe we've enjoyed this winter, click here.

- Have a fondue party! Ask everyone to bring an ingredient or two. Feast on fondue and then play games.

- Mull wine.

- Have a snowball fight.

- Make orange marmalade, since it's citrus season right now.

- Experiment with hot cocoa by adding flavored syrups, flavored whipped creams, homemade marshmallows, or spices. I've been adding turmeric and cinnamon to mine...mmm!

- As the sun sets early, enjoy the coziness it creates by turning off or dimming overhead lights and turning on lamps. 

- Keep a basket piled high with cozy blankets and quilts.

- Have a taffy pull. 

- Go snowshoeing.

- Build a snowman.

- Wear a bright scarf to add a pop of color to a gray day.

- Learn to ski or snowboard.

- Knit.

- Go for a sleigh ride.

- Bake cinnamon rolls.

What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy winter? I'd love to hear!

On Top of the World

A few days ago, Max texted me from the top of the world. He was at the observation deck of the new World Trade Center. Despite the cloudy weather...what a view! I was thrilled he had the opportunity to do some exploring in New York City. But mostly, I was thrilled that he's curious about the world around him and has the adventurous spirit to go along with it.

Garden Planning

Snowy January days are the best for garden planning. A cup of hot tea and a gift of herb stakes made it all the more pleasurable. And now everything is ready when it comes time to order seeds or mark out the beds one warm spring day. "To everything there is a season." - Ecl. 3:1

Trip Planning

Our big plan for 2017 is a trip to England, Scotland, and Paris! It's been a lifetime dream of mine and it is coming true! *giddy happy dance* Plane tickets have been purchased. Tickets to tour Highclere Castle were purchased next. (Priorities, you see.) And I just finished booking all our lodgings. I've been pretty much planted right here for the last two weeks...surrounded by maps and Rick Steves' London guide and endlessly studying hotels and tea shops and street views on Google maps.

Two weeks to make a few hotel reservations seemed ridiculous on one level. But we've never done this before, and I wanted the full experience in each place. I want to immerse myself in each, distinct location and feel like each place is the quintessential experience for that locale. Our lodgings include: a London hotel in a row of beautiful white buildings built in the 19th century, a classic Parisian apartment with tall ceilings and equally tall windows that open onto a wrought iron ringed balcony, an 18th century former country estate in Scotland that turned into a hotel when the aristocracy took a down turn post-World War I, a hotel in the Scottish Highlands (haggis served there), a farmhouse in the Lake District (our Christmas present from Colette) outfitted with wellies and a hamper of treats, a stone cottage in the Cotswolds with robin's egg blue kitchen cabinets and an Aga range (can't wait to try that out!), and (at the end) a London hotel built when Queen Victoria was on the throne. 

If you're planning an extensive trip, here are some things I learned in my planning:

- Set a budget and try your best to stick to it with each booking. If it's a bit over, but includes breakfast, it's probably still on budget.

- Maps are your friend. And Google Maps street view is your BEST friend. It enables you to check out the surrounding area.

- Rick Steves is a good starting place, but don't overlook Trip Advisor reviews too.

- Check out the traveler photos of hotels on Trip Advisor.

- Hotels are great, but get creative and check out Airbnb and other such sights for more distinct offerings.

- And when all else fails, try Expedia, which, despite what the hotel sites tell you, sometimes beats the hotel's best price.

Resolve to...

This week, I made good on my resolve to keep fresh flowers in the house more often this year. My favorite, reasonably-priced sources for fresh flowers are: Trader Joe's, Whole Foods (these beauties came from there), and local farms (in season). 

What have you resolved to do this new year?

Christmas Day

Christmas Day at our house, after church service, looked something like this...

...tasty appetizers

...a twirling Sugar Plum Fairy

...new toys

...special gifts wrapped in a discarded nautical map of Martha's Vineyard

...a new doggie sweater, which someone in this family keeps saying "looks stupid", but gets put on her (by said person) again and again

...and post-dinner charades, where we learned that they can be played by children age four and up, but a 2 1/2 year old can't quite grasp the concept, and a 1 1/2 year old just eats the clues.

I hope your Christmas was filled with the hope of Christ, and love and laughter of family too!

Christmas Doings at our Home

Christmas is nearly here! The month of December is nearly over. We are about to turn the calendar page to 2017. And my blog image is still stuck in autumn. 

In late-October, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and started on a treatment plan. Instead of blogging in the evenings, I needed to heed what my body was telling me and rest and attempt to release the tension wracking my body. You see, hearing what it's saying is easy. Knowing what I ought to do is easy. But heeding what my body is saying is the hard part. But I'm getting better at it. And my sweet family has been a big help, enabling me to still enjoy the holiday season and rest when I need to do so.

In quick highlights, here's a glimpse at the Christmas doings in our family...

In early December, we drove north to spend a day with Max and take a plate of Christmas treats to the Coasties on his boat. Posing here before one of the many lobster trap Christmas trees that highlight the town greens of coastal Maine towns.

We fetched our Christmas tree from our local cut-your-own, family-run business, which is down a narrow, bumpy, dirt road. And the family offers their maple syrup for purchase with your Christmas tree. Love it! 

Decking the halls tops my list of favorite things to do at Christmas time! This year, I used these beautiful metal wreaths (an antique store find) mixed in with the ribbons on the stair garland.

My favorite new vignette this year though was this tray on the front entry table. Super simple! Quick instructions: take one large, silver tray and add clear glass cylinder candle holders and multiple mercury glass candle holders, add tea lights and various height white candles, fill in the gaps with mirrored and ivory-colored ornaments. Light and watch the magic happen...the ohhs and ahhhs!

The family room decked out for Christmas.

I've been having fun playing with the tabletop contents of the sofa table this year, with the intention being to provide interesting things for the grandkids to look at and/or touch. Top row, left to right: a glittery lamb under a cloche and on a majolica plate (to remind us that Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God), an antique basket full of mercury glass acorns and pinecones (because the real variety abound on our property), baby Jesus in a manger, a stack of antique Dickens Christmas books. Bottom row, left to right: a stack of coffee table Christmas books, a clove-studded orange in a pewter porridger, a book entitled An American Christmas, a book of Christmas poetry with a magnifying glass, and an antique crockery bowl filled with walnuts for cracking and eating.

My shop did fabulously this season, and I am immensely grateful for all my wonderful customers! Thank YOU!

We had our annual Christmas party. I felt well enough to bake cookies, but hired someone to clean my house for the first time in my life. Oh my. That is strange, and kind of wonderful! Those are cookies lined up as far as the eye can see.

Hubby and I are ready for the party!

It has been a delightfully snowy December! We don't always have snow before Christmas, so I'm really happy about this! Our front door on a snowy morning.

Lots of snow means lots of snow blowing! And lots of shoveling! But there's no shoveling for me this year. It's my season to just provide the hot coffee afterwards.

A gorgeous scene from rural New Hampshire as the storm moved out that evening.

The grandkids came over this week for a fun morning of candy making!

And now the presents are wrapped and under the tree! Max is home for Christmas! Everyone is spending Christmas at our home this year, and we are rejoicing at that!

A very blessed Christmas from our family to yours!

Supporting Handmade this Christmas

In all the hustle and bustle of shopping for Christmas this year, I'd like to recommend to you some excellent Etsy shops, if you are inclined to support handmade and made in America this year. All of these shops are owned by relatives, friends, and/or have products that I'm continually impressed with.

My daughter's Etsy shop, NortheasternNautical, has a selective collection of nautically-themed or New England woods-themed Christmas stockings. This is one of my favorites!

Click here to view this one.

A dear, dear friend on the west coast has turned her passion for vintage photographs and ephemera into unique, one-of-a-kind pendants in her shop, OneSmallStory. The back of each one contains an appropriate word, snippet of antique lace, or a pressed flower or herb. She takes custom requests too! I just bought a Jane Austen-themed pendant from her, but I left this Emily Dickinson one for someone else!

Click here to see this pendant.

Our family has a young friend, who aside from being a hardworking new husband and an avid runner (looking forward to cheering him on in the Boston Marathon next year!), spends his spare time making amazing creations from wood. His shop, maillouxWoodcraft, is just starting out, and I predict great things for it! The attention to detail really shines in his products. Just look at the patterns of the grain in this cutting board!

Click here to view this cutting board.

One of Etsy's sweetest sellers is a fellow New Englander, Sam of TurtleDoves. She makes "pretty things with a literary flair". I love sending her cards to friends, because I just KNOW they're going to be as smitten by the card as I was when I bought it. And her magnets are beautiful too. My mom was thrilled with the set I bought for her!

Click here to view this card.

If you're like me, at this time of year, you're looking around for just the right calendar(s) for the new year. For several years now, I've enjoyed the inspirational hymn calendars from LittleThingsStudio. I know friends and family who have her calendars and other products, and we all just LOVE them! And she does art prints, like the lovely one below, too!

Click here to view this print.

I hope you'll seriously consider supporting these and other small, home-based businesses through their Etsy sites this Christmas season and all through the coming year, whenever you have a gift to buy for someone else or a need of your own. Support handmade!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pilgrim reenactor at Plimoth Plantation. (Photo taken several years ago.)

All people that on earth do dwell,

Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.

Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell;

Come ye before Him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord is God indeed;

Without our aid He did us make;

We are His flock, He doth us feed,

And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise;

Approach with joy His courts unto;

Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,

For it is seemly so to do.

For why! the Lord our God is good;

His mercy is forever sure;

His truth at all times firmly stood,

And shall from age to age endure.

- Psalm 100

(Genevan Psalter, 1551)

Quick Thanksgiving Tips

Thanksgiving can be an overwhelming holiday to the novice and the experienced hostess alike. There are so many separate dishes to cook...new recipes to try...food allergies to work around...linens to purchase or iron...a centerpiece...gravy...and a heart full of gratitude to cultivate. While not meant to be an exhaustive guide to Thanksgiving, here are some quick tips I've learned through the years.

- Plain white plates work for every occasion. Add a few seasonally appropriate plates and platters, and presto!...instant Thanksgiving look!

- Grocery shop TWO days ahead of time with a thorough list, but don't be surprised if you have to run back for one or two things. It happens to all of us. 

- If you're having guests, ask them to bring something to contribute. I like to ask guests to bring an appetizer and/or something that meets their dietary restrictions.

- The simplest centerpiece is a pile of pumpkins down the center of your table...all sizes and shapes...mixed colors or a single color. We just pull the pumpkins from all corners of the house, and even from outside, and use them afresh as our centerpiece.

- After grocery shopping TWO days ahead, make everything that can stay cold...cranberry sauce, pies, etc. And also, cube and dry your bread for stuffing.

- Need a great, classic stuffing recipe? Click here for the one I love. I substitute focaccia bread for the white bread and decrease the onions just a bit.

- ONE day ahead of time: clean your house, set the table, and make everything else you can cook ahead of time.

- The morning of: get your turkey started, and then find all your serving pieces and their utensils and set them at the ready on the counter.

- My favorite way to roast a turkey:

1. Rinse the bird and clean everything out of its cavities.

2. Stuff the main cavity with one onion (quartered), several cloves of garlic (peeled), and some fresh herbs.

3. In a small bowl blend softened butter with chopped, fresh herbs (sage, flat leaf parsley, thyme), and freshly cracked pepper...no quantities specified...use your best judgement!

4. With your hand, loosen the skin on the turkey breast and smoosh (yes, that's a word...I'm sure of it!) the butter-herb mixture on the meat of the breast underneath the skin.

5. Brush turkey with olive oil, and sprinkle with a smoked salt and freshly ground pepper.

6. Roast on a roasting rack at 325 degrees, basting every 30 mins., until thermometer registers 170 degrees.

- Give yourself some grace to not make everything from scratch. I do this with gravy. It's very low on my priority list for homemade musts. 

- Green beans can be blanched, blotted dried, wrapped in paper towels and place in a Ziploc bag, and refrigerated until the final 10 mins. before dinner. Then finish them off on the stove by sauteing in melted butter. (We like them with bacon and onion OR with dried cranberries and slice almonds.)

- Pair turkey with Gewurztraminer. Remember to have a sparkling apple or pear juice on hand for non-drinkers.

- Don't forget the butter dish and the salt and pepper on the table.

- Extend an invitation to people who have no place to go or might be alone...young married couples, military servicemen and servicewomen, the elderly, the newcomers to the area, the widow, the bachelor.

- In our family, the women cook and the men clean up. What a blessing that is!

- Count your blessings! Lots of food to cook means the Lord has blessed you abundantly with wealth and food for your table. Lots of people to cook for means the Lord has blessed you with friends and family. Be thankful!

- 

These photos are from one or two Thanksgivings ago. I hope you enjoyed them! It seems like I have a dreadfully difficult time blogging in November. We actually all gathered last Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving, because we were ALL able to be together that day. Table surrounded by our dear family and full of a traditional Thanksgiving feast. This Thursday, the three of us are hosting friends for a simpler, more non-traditional Thanksgiving meal. I'd like to promise I'll share those pictures soon, but my track record on November blogging is very poor indeed. But you'll see them eventually!