The folks of Farmhouse
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Handmade Gifts: Bandboxes
Bandboxes (or band box), also sometimes called hat boxes, were used primarily by men and women in the seventeenth and eighteenth century to protect, hold and carry their hats or other articles of clothing. Men’s hats during this time period were mostly made out of beaver pelts (beaver hat), which were imported and very valuable. These early … Continue reading
Shopping For the Hard-to-Shop-For Guy
Well good grief my friends. The holidays are already upon us. The summer and fall just FLEW. BY. And now it’s almost December. Time to start thinking of Christmas gifts. And that means shopping for family and significant others. My fiance is not easy to shop for. He likes some computer games, he likes hiking, … Continue reading
Slowing Down and Summer Goodies
Unlike many Americans, summertime is the busiest time of year for those of us who work in museums. So I often miss whole seasons of fruit and vegetables before I can fully appreciate them. Working extra hours each week and then spending the weekends DOING things because it’s beautiful weather out or it’s so hot … Continue reading
Beating the Heat, Vintage Style
I grew up without central air conditioning. In fact, mostly without air conditioning at all. Actually, come to think of it, I have never lived in a house with central air. And I grew up in a pretty hot and steamy region of the country, where the temperature in the summer routinely reached 90 degrees … Continue reading
When We Spring Too Early
This topic has been weighing on my mind a lot lately, so I’m going to write it out. Humans have a tendency after long cold winters (like the one we just had) to crave fresh, green, growing things and fresh fruits. Except, Mother Nature generally needs time to produce these things. As in, several … Continue reading
A Garden Fair Pictorial
The Hudson Valley Garden Association had their second Garden Fair on May 3 at Montgomery Place in Red Hook. My husband Dale and I’d never been to Montgomery Place and we couldn’t make Garden Fair last year. You know how sometimes in life you have a magical experience that only lasts a few hours, but it is … Continue reading
Dip Into Spring
It’s been busy around here lately. Work is crazy and the house is often messy. And all of those grey skies make me sleepy and lazy. But spring is on its way, despite the softening white snow still on the ground. Things are starting to get muddy and balmy breezes blow through on occasion. No … Continue reading
Lard-Roasted Potatoes – Snack of the Year?
In my last post, I talked a little bit about lard-roasted potatoes. While some people may fear animal fats, I am not one of them, and pork fat with potatoes is quite possibly the greatest combination ever. I render my own lard at home from locally produced pork fat I buy for cheap at … Continue reading
Celebrating 2013
So we haven’t updated this in a loooong time. But sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. As does the fact that more often than not this year, I’ve forgotten to take pictures, to take my camera somewhere, to capture in digital format all the wonderful things I’ve seen and done. And that’s okay. … Continue reading
Easter Recipes
Even though it was just us two for Easter, I decided I wanted to go all out. Despite the fact that I did everything in one day (including yeast bread) with a single oven and only one oven rack, it all turned out pretty deliciously. I didn’t get everything to the table piping hot, but … Continue reading
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