Chances are you don’t live in a clutter-free house, but sometimes it’s nice to pretend you do. Like when guests are on their way over and you realize the living room needs a quick pickup. You may be tempted to hastily pick up all the stuff on the floor and toss it into miscellaneous drawers […]
Winter is the perfect season for completing indoor home projects. If cabin fever is settling in for you, these string lights are a quick and easy project that can add charm and character to a room. There are two reasons I love this project– you can custom design the color or theme of these lights to […]
New Year’s Eve is upon us and it’s time to close the year with friends and festivities. Cocktails (and “mocktails”– drinks without alcohol) are a popular addition to New Year’s Eve celebrations. For those who celebrate with cocktails, swizzle sticks are a festive touch for the drinks you are serving. Cocktail swizzle sticks are used […]
We all know Concord, Massachusetts, as the hometown of the American Revolution and the birthplace of American literature. But are you aware that it also had something to do with the peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
Photographer Joel Laino captured the work of restorers Emery and Brandon Pineo in March 2013. The father and son team work together at their Antique Stove Hospital in Little Compton, Rhode Island, restoring wood stoves to their former glory. Their shared passion is driven by the understanding of the importance in keeping these efficient wood […]
Whether you celebrate winter holidays or not, the underlying theme of the season is love, peace and joy. You can easily create handmade ornaments based on these words using a small branch and basic craft supplies. The branches can be hung directly on a wall or set on a shelf (which allows the words to […]
Houseplants make thoughtful presents to put under the Christmas tree if they’re chosen with care. It’s easy to think of plants for the accomplished gardener, but not so easy to find the right one for someone with less experience or less time to devote to the plants. Here are some suggestions for giving gifts that […]
Learning how to make an ice lantern takes a bit more time than constructing a lantern made of snow, but they last a long time if you don’t get a thaw. These sparkling ice lanterns cast a lovely light and are worth the extra work. Materials to Make an Ice Lantern a five gallon bucket […]
Products made and/or grown and harvested by New England gardeners make great gifts for friends and family members. The money spent on these products stays local and supports the local economy in addition to supporting your area’s gardeners, farms and growers. Roadside farm stands, indoor farmer’s markets, craft fairs and country stores are all great […]
I enjoy trimming a Christmas tree with our usual hodgepodge collection of ornaments but I also love themed trees. Themed trees are based on a color, a style (i.e. Victorian), or another common thread (a cowboy/cowgirl theme, the 50’s, a tropical theme, etc.). Once every few years I like to decorate a themed tree in […]
Photographed at Quoddy Head State Park, Lubec, Maine The Savannah Sparrow These birds forage on the ground or in low bushes; particularly in winter they are also found in grazed low-growth grassland. They mainly eat seeds, but also eat insects in the breeding season. They are typically encountered as pairs or family groups in the […]
A year ago last spring, I put two healthy (still red) poinsettias in my garden. In the fall, I brought them back inside, still healthy but green. I though they would make red leaves for Christmas, but they didn’t. What went wrong? Why didn’t my poinsettia plants turn red? The red — or pink or […]
