After a long and snowy winter, I have made quite a mess of my craft supplies. This week I set a goal to de-clutter and organize my materials before sunny spring weather arrives. Although most of my craft supplies can be put into labelled storage boxes and jars, I cringed when I came across this […]
Just the other day, when the sky was a piercingly clear blue and much of the region was still digging out from a recent snowfall, I stopped in the historic section of town known as Jaffrey Center, taking in the natural beauty of its surroundings. It’s easy to take these scenes for granted when they’re […]
It takes all kinds of folks to stay warm in New England. Take a humorous look at how we heat.
Harold Mathews has been looking after The Elms, a 48-room French chateau known as The Elms on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, for 30 years.
Heat & Water: The Elms is heated by three boilers. During an average heating season, the mansion uses 8,000 gallons of oil; even the closets are heated via small grates. The estate uses 7,000 gallons of water per month today. Originally, a water-tank room served as a back-up supply (early municipal systems were unreliable); each […]
The aptly named Panorama Quad whisks passengers to Gunstock’s summit for a bird’s-eye, beak-gaping view of 21-mile-long Lake Winnipesauke, the Ossipee Range, and the Whites. It’s the ultimate backdrop at a ski area with so many picture-perfect spots that the mountain designates more than a half-dozen official photo opportunities on the trail map. This mountain, […]
Melting snows predict the end of winter, but only the appearance of the first spring greens finally confirms it. Dandelion greens are among the first that Yankees swear by, come spring. If you want to cook dandelion greens, the lawn may be the last resort for harvesting. Hunt instead in the fallow garden or along […]
Newfane, Vermont, is some 60 houses and other buildings that amount to a white-clapboarded, black-shuttered, Greek Revival epitome of small-town New England.
The Shelburne Falls Bowling Alley in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, has seen more than 100 years of candlepin bowling.
I’ve been visiting Concord, New Hampshire, for more than ten years now. The main draw for me is family: My brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephews live nearby. Every now and again I have a business meeting there, or I stop on my way to somewhere else to grab a quick bite to eat, or do […]
Lacking a thermometer, I gauge how cold it is by icy calligraphy on the living room windows: a little rime means we’re nosing zero, but once designs like down feathers and fractals show up—oh boy, we’re trolling in the negatives. This morning: a whole pane of paisleys, which the town website confirms is -17. To […]
Until February 23 when the 22nd Winter Olympics end in Sochi, Russia, the Olympics competitions will hold many of us watching from the warmth and comfort of our living rooms. The training, courage, and endurance of these athletes cannot be captured or measured by fleeting moments on a television screen; nor measured even by the […]
