Recycle. Refurbish, Repurpose. Reuse.
What can I possibly say? How can this be? It was 28 years ago when he walked through the front door, wrapped both his arms around me, planted a huge kiss on my cheek, and then cackled with laughter at my surprise. It was the first time I’d ever laid eyes on him. Who was… Continue reading On the Loss of a Friend
The north east has been hit with our first big snowfall of the season. It had been a remarkably warm and green winter here so far. But it is cold this morning. 15° F is the expected high temperature for that day. Snow flurries, come and go. Winds blow fallen snow into deep drifts. Snowfall does… Continue reading Long Snowy Weekend
The 2018 craft fair dates are Saturday, November 10 and 17. Each year as the wind turns bitter cold and the once green, and then golden, and now brown and falling leaves pile up beneath the big oaks and maples in my back yard, my sister and I kick off the Christmas shopping season with a day… Continue reading Daytripping to Geneva, OH for Christmas and Crafts 2018
November 2. All Soul’s Day. Another church adapted holiday with roots that stretch back to an ancient pagan festival. The Festival of the Dead celebrated the day loved ones were believed to return to eat a meal with their families. An extra place was set at the table and people placed a candle in the… Continue reading Hunting Your History On All Souls Day
If it's July it's blueberry season. Blueberries are one of the easiest crops you can grow. I give them some acid loving fertilizer in the spring and put a layer of mulch beneath them, but otherwise you just plant the bushes in a sunny spot and let them grow. I've heard of people planting them… Continue reading Easy as a Fresh Blueberry Pie!
Driving down the road last week, I spotted the first blooms of roadside lilies popping up out of a ditch. Just about everyone is familiar with this tawny orange summer bloom. It grows everywhere in Ohio. Probably everywhere else too. Because it's so prolific I used to assume it was one of our native… Continue reading Heirloom Garden Flowers: the Ditch Lily
After moving to my forever home 20 years ago, my love of heirloom garden plants intensified when I purchased a piece of land adjacent to my property and discovered an old species daylily struggling to grow there. The property had once been the home of the "Red, White and Blue" tavern. Built in the early… Continue reading Hemerocallis Dumortierii: An Heirloom Garden Discovery
In my mid-20's I became interested in both hostas and heirloom garden plants. My boyfriend at the time owned his abandoned family home. He told me about a hosta that his late mother had planted there many years before and he encouraged me to dig one up and replant it in my own tiny flower… Continue reading Discovering Hosta plantaginea ‘Grandiflora’: “The August Lily”
Home at the WhackyShack 