Before my husband and I adopted two children, we adopted three dogs, a cat, and finally, a wonderful pet sitter named Janet. Janet is special kind of human being: She’s an animal person. And no, I don’t just mean an animal lover. In our pet-crazed culture, self-professed animal lovers abound. An animal person is someone […]
Yankee
Magazine
Everything’s Coming Up Roses
Floral and plant motifs fill your home, thanks to Patricia Spratt’s fine table linens and accessories. Fabrics are woven across the U.S. and then sewn as napkins, placemats, runners, tablecloths, and pillows in Connecticut. The “Botanicals” collection ($6.50 to $90). Designs by Patricia Spratt for the Home, Old Lyme, CT. 800-964-9291, 860-434-9291; patriciasprattforthehome.com
Magazine
A Splash of Summer
Artist Anne Bell Robb’s original paintings now inspire a wide selection of New England designs for the home. We love the hydrangeas in this hand-hooked wool throw pillow (15 inches, $75) and chairpad ($30), framed print ($35), and magnet ($5). There’s nothing to water, and no worries about drooping petals. Rugs, mirrors, and notecards are […]
Magazine
Herbaceous Art
Maggie Lake wanders the Vermont woods collecting leaves, plant stems, and petals. At home in Putney, she crafts her “flower portraits,” which are framed in cherry or bird’s-eye maple by her husband, Tracy. Giclee prints are also available. Pictured here is Vermont Pond Flora (giclee, 8-1/2 x 31 inches, $195). 802-387-2474; vermontbotanical.com
Magazine
Fleurs de Light
Adorn your favorite lamp with a wreath of pressed blooms. Jennifer Allen crafts these delicate-yet-sturdy fiberglass lampshades ($50-$100) from organically grown flowers and other plant materials, picked and dried onsite. Available with white, cream, or tan background from Botanical Lampshades of North Sandwich, New Hampshire. 603-284-7468; botanicallampshades.com
Magazine
New England Products: Glass
The showroom at Pepi Herrmann Crystal, in Gilford, New Hampshire, positively sparkles. In the studio, craftsmen carefully hand-cut and hand-engrave delicate patterns in fine glass. The “Wildflower” design is our favorite, and one of the most popular among customers. Pictured are the large footed “Wildflower” bowl ($135) and assorted matching pieces (from $39). 800-426-3288, 603-528-1020; […]
Magazine
Sea Kayaking: Rhode Island
When our kids were younger, we rented double kayaks from The Kayak Centre in Wickford, on the western side of Narragansett Bay, and paddled past the docked yachts. Soon we were out in the quiet harbor, coasting alongside the oyster beds and sea grass meadows that make up the puckered shoreline. We could see century-old […]
Magazine
Family Biking, Kayaking, Canoeing
Stephen Jermanok, travel writer and father of two young children, reveals his favorite family adventure spots. Get ready for New England’s best adventures in rafting and biking in Massachusetts, mountain biking in Vermont, sea kayaking in Rhode Island, camping in Maine, and canoeing in New Hampshire.
Yankee
Homegrown: Fresh Morels
Although you can find dried morels year-round, their fresh counterparts have a very short growing season and are available in New England only from late April through the first week or so of June. These prized mushrooms look a lot like brown sponges on sticks — but their flavor is delicate and earthy, well worth […]
The Winterpills blew onto the national music scene like a bitter wind with their hit single “Broken Arm.” Their sophomore album, “The Light Divides,” builds solidly on the haunting tone of their critically acclaimed self-titled début, which gives hope that the best is yet to come. This Northampton-based act avoids the insincerity that plagues most […]
Yankee
Book Reviews: Yankee authors
These two books have three things in common: Both are by former Yankee writers from Massachusetts, both are compulsively readable, and both are about quests. Suzanne Strempek Shea’s Sundays in America (Beacon Press, $24.95) begins with the flood of grief that accompanied the death of Pope John Paul II. “As a Catholic who in recent […]
Queenie came into my life in March 1953, when she was 9 months old and I was 8 years old, living in Orfordville, New Hampshire. My father bought her in New York for his zoo, which he opened when we moved to Vermont in 1954. Queenie and I grew up together. She could sense my […]