Maggie's Lil' Fixins: 04/01/2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Happy Saturday!

Good Morning! I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been a busy time since my last post, and I really needed to get caught up with a few things. School is over at the end of June, but we are are already getting busy with the end of school year activities. Caitlin's class had a "luau" yesterday to celebrate the successful completion of "Partners in Reading", a program in her primary school. On Monday she has a trip to a farm and on Tuesday, we have her Spring concert. Upcoming school events include a day at the beach, field day, Fun Fair and finally her class party. Lots of fun things. Daisys also wraps up in May, actually May 30th when we march in the Memorial Day Parade. I'm looking forward to it all winding down for the Summer. Billy has finals in June so we'll start the studying shortly. He's a good boy with it; he was taught HOW to study at an early age and that makes all the difference. We never have tears or anxieties before tests because he organizes himself, sticks to a plan, and that makes all the difference at test time.

We enjoyed our trip so much, and I hope you all enjoyed my photos. I printed some extra of Mary Sawyer's plaque, the little red schoolhouse and the photo of the interior of the schoolhouse for Caitlin to take to school. Her teachers never knew that Mary Had A Little Lamb was true, and they were so excited to see the actual schoolhouse and all. If you missed it, go back to my vacation posts.

We had a very nice Easter spent with my family. We were invited to my brother's house in Massapequa. On Long Island, many towns are named after the Indians who lived here. Some town names, besides Massapequa, are Hauppauge, Nissequogue, and others including the town I live in , Commack. John and his family live about 1/2 hour from us and my sister and her family and my Mom were there as well. We had a nice dinner then the kids (only mine, the others are in their mid twenties and up) did an Easter egg hunt around the yard. It was a very nice day especially since we could all be outside for appetizers. The weather was perfect.

I took down all my Easter decorations this week and packed them all away. I do Americana from now until Halloween. I love Americana~~as long as it is old looking. I keep a lot of Americana up most of the year but for Summer I add even more such as my tea stained flags. I also have one special item from my Dad and that is the "76 flag. It was bought that magical summer. The Summer of '76 was my favorite for all the hoopla of the bicentennial. I only put this special flag out for the Summer; I do keep the regular USA flag out (several of them) ALL year. The '76 flag is special and even my son says he knows Summer is here when that flag comes out!

I'm working on a a little button stitchery that is Americana. Hoping it comes out cute. When I finish it, I will post it.

Dutchess, my big calico cat, is thrilled to have a new basket. My sister offered this beauty to me since she wasn't using it anymore and it was a better shape for Dutchess than I had plus a little bigger. She made herself very comfy. She suffers from arthritis so I always keep her basket in front of the baseboard heat. It soothes her bones! Now that the heat is off for the year, she basks in the heat of the sunlight beaming from my big windows!

As I look out my big windows, I am happy to say we are having a lot of plants coming back to life after our harsh Winter. My hosta are sprouting, the peonys are popping out of the soil and almost overnight the bushes are green! I'm also happy my flowering tree is about to bloom! She blooms every other year and this is the YEAR.

Well, now that I'm home from our trip and Easter is over and packed away, I have some serious work to do around here. Cleaning in and out. Can't wait to plant although we can't plant safely till after Mother's Day and so much more. I also want to get the materials for some crafts I have ideas for. Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives gave me a GREAT idea for a planter with flowers. I am changing it slightly but stealing the basic idea. Once I get the flowers for it and plant it, I will show it. It answered my question WHAT creative thing could I do with a particular antique I have.

Before I go, I have to say watching the Royal Wedding was such a thrill. I loved it all. I visited England in 1985 and it was amazing. I visited Kensington Gardens, St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London--all of it and it was really something else. I think they will have a long and happy life together. I was addicted to the tv all day watching it over and over.

And one more thing: for some of my friends who homeschool I thought you might like to know of this great website. In Caitlin's kindergarten class they were studying the food pyramid. Go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/ It's a great website and even has games to help kids learn about proper eating and the food pyramid. She enjoys playing the game Blast Off which is a rocket ship that is fueled by healthy foods. You choose the foods to power it up. It's very fun. It's a helpful tool if you guys are covering the food pyramid.

Have a great Saturday!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter Egg Decorating Party, & Good Friday dinner

Happy Good Friday everyone! Hard to believe that Sunday is Easter already. I feel like the months are flying by. The weather is supposed to warm into the 60's & 70's especially next week so I am looking forward to that. I have never been so anxious to pack away my winter coat.

Yesterday, we had our annual Easter Egg Decorating party. This tradition started when my son was born, and we invited our lovely neighbors who live directly behind us, over for egg coloring. They have three girls~~one is Billy's age and their youngest is Caitlin's age. We've continued this tradition for 9 years now. We have lunch and desserts and the kids color the Easter eggs. It's very fun. Plus the kids love to exchange little gifts and baskets between themselves. They love to decorate with the wax crayons, feathers, stickers and all that fun stuff. They are very creative! This year we invited some additional friends. We had Caitlin's preschool friend Olivia and her two sisters Lilah and Ella. Their Mom is also my good friend. Caitlin wanted to invite her friend from her class this year, Stephanie. So we had a nice group. My neighbor Christina made some great treats, and Genny, who is the daughter that is Billy's age, made an adorable bunny-shaped GIANT chocolate chip cookie. We had cupcakes and rice krispy treats, homemade Crackle candy, PEEPS (of course), donuts and donut holes and yes, more candy. Lots of fun and then the kids enjoyed the backyard while us Moms sat and enjoyed our treats with a nice cup of coffee.

For Good Friday I know many people have a special menu. Of course, in the Catholic religion, their is no meat consumption. Our family has always observed this. Recently, I was talking to my cousin in Connecticut, Joanne. Her Dad was my Father's brother. We were discussing our holidays, and she told me that every year on with Holy Thursday or Good Friday she makes spaghetti and eggs. Eggs are the IT food for all they represent at this time of year, and she told me her Grandmother on her Mom's side made this meal faithfully every year. She would make a red marinara sauce and scrambled eggs and put them together with spaghetti. She said many people think it's weird UNTIL they try it. SO I mentioned this to my Mom who remembered that both sets of my Grandparents used to prepare a pasta with a red sauce and slice up hard-boiled eggs into it and serve with pasta. Tonight I will be making cheese ravioli with sliced hard-boiled eggs and a salad for dinner. This will be my new tradition and a little homage to the Grandparents. I don't know if it's an Italian thing, but EGGS are like the most important food there is. They always believed it to be this major health food so we were always eating eggs, drinking egg nogs, etc as kids.

Thanks so much for emails about my trip postings. That means alot that you enjoyed reading them and weren't bored to tears. I hope everyone likes my new header picture of the House of Seven Gables and it's outbuildings. I came home inspired to do my crafts and work outside! The sewing machine is going to be coming out of the trailer, and I'm going to make some pillows for my parlor room. I also got these adorable felt farm animals that I'm going to blanket stitch onto felt as doilies.

Have a great day and a wonderful Good Friday!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Vacation Part 5!

Well, before I wrap up the trip, I had to include more of Salem since in my previous post I only talked about the House of Seven Gables. Salem is such an amazing place. Everywhere you walk there are homes that are so unique and they have a plaque on each of them that tells you the year it was built. Some of the plaques will even name the person who built it. It's common to see homes as early as 1750! I photographed so many (as I always do), and I can't help but love them! Our first stop on Saturday when we entered Salem was to go to the Salem Witch Museum. Now this is not a worshipping of witches type of place (before I lose a few followers, I want to make that clear!). It tells of Salem's historical witch hysteria and trials of 1692. It tells of how innocent people were accused of being witches by young girls who were stifled and bored. It never ceases to amaze me what actually happened. The world was so scary then. The people feared everything from losing their farms, to the epidemic of small pox which took so many of their children, the long, cold winters, the amount of parasites invading their food and water and mostly, as Puritans, they believed the devil walked among them. So of course this is a recipe for disaster.

We all love the movie Hocus Pocus in our house. In fact, next to Holiday Inn, it is my favorite movie. The kids and I love to quote lines from it and since it was filmed in Salem, I located the sites, and we had to take pictures of them. We found the Dennison's (Max & his sister Dani's )house, Allison's house (which is really the Ropes Mansion) and of course, Salem Common.

We had lunch at the Witch's Brew Cafe and I loved the graphic on their door. I took some good pictures of it and couldn't help but think that Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives would be so good at taking that image and cutting it out and making a pillow or runner to sell for her great Etsy shop. I actually have another good image from Salem that I am cutting out of black felt for such a project to save for Halloween.

Salem is on the water, and we walked the Derby warf and shopped on Derby Street. The sidewalks are all brick and cobblestone. When you visit Salem, you really get a Halloween feeling. The houses are built close to the street and close together. I think that would have been because of the bad winter weather. The streets are very narrow. Sometimes I didn't think our mini van would fit down the blocks!

I hope you like the photos!

Vacation Part 4! Gloucester & Rockport

We had originally planned to go to Boston on Monday but discovering that the Boston Marathon was going to be happening that day changed our minds. We took the kids and Mom to Gloucester and Rockport. These are areas filled with homes of old Sea Captains; as a matter of fact, the old show The Ghost & Mrs. Muir was based on this area and many scenes from that show were filmed here. I'm sure you recognize the famous seaman statue! He looks out upon Gloucester (pronounced GLOSTER) Harbor waiting for the safe return of ships filled with cargo. It is also famous for being the symbol of the fish brand Gortons. When you walk through these streets and those of Rockport, they are sea towns where on every corner you can purchase fresh fish and they mean FRESH. Lobsters, crabs, scallops, everything is there and you can buy it to cook yourself or eat at one of the many, many restaurants and shacks. We had delicious fresh fish and crab cakes served with Boston Baked Beans and coleslaw in Rockport. Delicious. Tons of shops and so much fun. It gets super busy in the Summer months. Years ago, my husband Bill and I stayed in Rockport at an Inn called Captain Bounty's. Bill loves the water so he got up early and went for a dip before breakfast. It was the end of July and you would think the water would be warm. NOT! I remember he jumped in and jumped out just as fast! The water never seems to warm up very much! That's why the lobsters love it and thrive.

Also, you may recognize the red building. It's famous for being one of the most painted structures EVER. It's called Motif #1 and in the warm months you will see a good number of people set up with an easel sketching and painting it. We had a really great time here.

Vacation Part 3! Concord & Lexington

All I can say is, if you stand on these streets you just can't help but want to sing "God Bless America." The feeling of patriotism is in the air. Many of the stores and restaurants play fife drum music and harpsichord tunes and at any given moment you can see a Red Coat or a Patriot walking the town from different functions and re-enactments. We took our picture several times with both and it really was a special bonus.

We visited Minuteman National Park and saw the North Bridge where the "shot heard 'round the world" rang out and started the whole bloody thing! At the bridge, it was the British on one side and the Patriots on the other. Those poor British soldiers had no idea what they were walking into. They had come from England, only 700 of them, to seize some stockpiled ammunition and talk some sense into those crazy Massachusetts colonists. Little did they know, we had found out and were waiting in numbers twice and three times as much as them. We visited the Paul Revere capture sight and saw the homestead of a family that was living right in the middle of all the action. So much to see; and I can't stress to you enough how every rock and stone and tree speaks to you as you walk through those beautiful woods and then onto the battlefield and across the bridge. It's a feeling that is amazing.

We ate lunch at The Colonial Inn. Again, we have stayed here overnight previously and it is such a cool place. It was an antique by the time the Revolutionary War even came! It actually is the OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY operating Inn in America. And a Redcoat was going in for a drink at the tavern!Louisa May Alcott's home is in Concord as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau. We have visited them all in the past but are saving them for next time. I want the kids to know who Louisa May Alcott is before we visit so they get more out of it. My son really loves old homes and touring them. The house in the picture above is Louisa's. Orchard House is its name.

Vacation Part 2! Sudbury, Massachusetts

My husband's favorite places of all in Massachusetts is Sudbury and Concord. I have to break my trip into parts because I'm not good at the blogging thing yet so I can't seem to get all my photos and text to work out well so if you don't mind all the part 1, 2, 3's etc, then please stay with me. I'm so excited to share my trip with you.

As I was saying, my husband's favorite place to go to in Sudbury is Longfellow's Wayside Inn as well as the town of Concord. Longfellow stayed and ate here on many occasions and wrote about it in "Tales of the Wayside Inn'. It was a popular hangout for many of the locals from Concord including Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and for dinners that included another famous local, Louisa May Alcott.

Bill and I have stayed at the Inn as overnighters before though we didn't this time. We did have a wonderful dinner in their tavern room. Lit by candles and kerosene lamps, it's very warm and inviting and you just settle in and enjoy it all. This was a famous stagecoach stop as well. They say the Inn is haunted by a former innkeeper's daughter who loved the Inn so much, she can't bear to leave so she stays to keep watch over the guests. We didn't meet her! The Wayside does a nice thing for its guests when the Summer comes~~they set out big wooden adirondak chairs out in front for everyone to sit and enjoy the night air. It's lovely.

Across from the Inn is the Wayside Grist Mill. We can thank Henry Ford for restoring this beauty. You can go in and see the "works" and although I only love to look at and photograph it, my husband and son enjoy walking through it to see how it works. That's not a postcard, btw, that's a real photo I took.

Lastly, Sudbury is home to the Little Red Schoolhouse. This is the school where Mary Sawyer went to school and was followed by her lamb. It made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school--you know the rest. Yes, there really was a Mary. You can't go into the school; I photographed through the window. Another favorite and must see every time we go to Sudbury. Simple stops that mean so much.

Vacation Part 1 !

We are back from our trip, and I have so much to write about. It was such a great trip so I thought I would highlight some of my favorite stops and my FAVORITE stop is always The House of Seven Gables. Although I had been to this house many times, I would not think of visiting Salem and not stopping here. We took the tour (again) not only because it was the first time for the kids visiting it, but because we always learn a little fact we didn't know. There is always something new to learn. For example, did you know that the expression "sleep tight" comes from the colonial method of tightening the ropes in the bed that held the straw mattress? They used a big "key" type item and they would tighten it before bedtime, hence the expression "sleep tight." Well, this trip we learned that the expression "it costs an arm and a leg" came from the days when people would have a portrait painted. In the 1700 and 1800's you will many times see just a head/neck shot with just the shoulders. That's because it cost more to have your whole body painted into a portrait. It was quite expensive. It cost an arm and a leg! Those little tidbits just are so cool

Anyway, the House of Seven Gables is a wonderful house. Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote the books The House of Seven Gables and the Scarlet Letter, was a cousin of the relatives who built it and lived there and the house inspired him so much he wrote about it. He lived there briefly. He actually was born several blocks away and in 1958 they moved his birthplace to the grounds of the Seven Gables. His house is the burgundy one in my photos.

To be at The House of Seven Gables is so special; it gives you a real feel for Salem. I love the home's prim look and the fact that it has a secret staircase. We spent our whole second morning here. I hope you like my photos. AND the other bonus was, a black cat named Lucky visited with us right on the side street of the Gables. A black cat greeting you at your favorite house~~~I'm in heaven! Oh, and inthe book The House of Seven Gables, there is a character named Hepzibah. I think that's a great name for a cat! MORE TO COME!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Mini Massachusetts Vacation

Today is packing day for me! On Saturday, we are leaving for a three day trip to Massachusetts as a mini family vacation. We are looking forward to it so much. We'll be visiting Salem, Concord, Lexington, Sudbury and Boston. This is one of our favorite trips. Bill and I used to visit quite often, but we haven't been there in recent years so we are really excited.

Some of our plans will include the Minuteman National Park (it's Patriots Weekend), the House of Seven Gables, Longfellow's Wayside Inn, the one room schoolhouse where "Mary" brought her lamb (the nursery rhyme is a true story and this is the actual schoolhouse), Paul Revere's house and more. The kids will learn about the Salem Witch trials, and have seafood on the Pickering Warf. We can't wait. There is so much to do there but we can't fit it in on one trip. Louisa May Alcott's house is in Concord along with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thoreau's homes. Beautiful places to see. I have visited all of them and plan to do it with the kids when Caitlin is a wee bit older. She's excited to see the schoolhouse and Salem and what is so special is to go to Minuteman National Park and actually stand where the Revolutuionary War began. Plus, they have random marches down Main Street of the British and Patriots. It's so cool. ANd we actually go to Paul Revere's house the days of his actual ride! SO that should be extra special.

I have alot of packing to do. There's a pool in our hotel which we will enjoy in the evenings after our long days of touring. Can't forget the bathing suits!

I'll tell you all about our trip when we return!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Robin and Swimmy

I'd like you to meet Robin, our seven year old black cat. Robin adores our beta fish~~as you can see. That would be Swimmy. Robin has a very bad habit. He likes to jump onto wherever Swimmy's bowl is and take a drink! Swimmy never seems to mind. Robin has no intention of eating Swimmy or harming him; he just wants a drink! Swimmy has actually gotten used to this behavior and sometimes swims to the top to almost greet Robin. Friendship!

We have Robin since the minute he was born. His Mom was a stray, and she gave birth to him on our porch. We kept her (her name is Mommy Cat) and we kept Robin. Robin was named by my son Billy who, at that time, loved watching Batman and Robin. Robin is like my middle child. He understands everything and loves to be with the kids. When Caitlin plays dollhouse, you can be sure Robin is right there to play too. He includes himself in everything the kids do which is quite different from most cats who usually fear small children (and rightfully so, if they aren't taught correctly). Robin enjoys visits from our neighbor kids and will stick around them the whole time they are here. He is a big LOVE!

I also wanted to show you a photo of another of our cats. This is Dutchess. We adopted Dutchess in 2006. Our vet's office had her staying with them because her owners had passed away a week apart from each other and Dutchess (an older lady) was left. She had never been anything but an inside house cat. She was heading to a shelter shortly if she hadn't found a home. We had recently lost a calico just like her to cancer and were happy to make her part of the family. I named her Dutchess from the Disney movie, the Aristocats. When Caitlin started talking, she couldn't say Dutchess. She would say "dadooba" so we now call her Dutchess or dadooba! She knows both her names. I call her Dutchie Doodlebug.

We also have Dixie and Red Cat and our two friends outside we feed, Patches & Bootsie. For now, just sit back and laugh at my Robin "visiting" with his buddy Swimmy. And if you come for a visit, Robin will want to be your best friend.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Gifts, Bread, & Girl Scouts

Well, it's been a few days since I've been on, but I have been doing my best to keep up with every one's blog! It has been a busy few days but busy with good things, I'm happy to say.

I received an incredible package from my buddy Gina of Cat Nap Inn Primitives yesterday and was I ever bowled over by what she made for me. She hand crafted a prim garden glove that is so creative. I had admired it when she made them and showed them on her great blog but to see it in person was something else. So much attention to detail; penny stitched and all and I love it so much. I also unwrapped a beautiful embroidered doily (tea-stained) which I think looks lovely on my kerosene heater under my little Easter bunnies. I think even when Easter is over, I will leave the doily there cause it fits so nicely. AND if that wasn't enough, she made this great black cat (I have two real black cats, ya know) and it's like a door stopper type item. My husband really liked that alot! Again, beautiful craftsmanship, lovely buttons for eyes and her stitching is so perfect. You must check out her etsy shop. I love it all so much Gina, and I love you as well. Although I am crafty, you are really top notch. I only wish I had your skills. Not exactly sure where I'm placing the kitty but for now he is at the base of my staircase, and I am really liking him there.

I have spent so much time doing planning and paperwork for Caitlin's Girl Scout Daisy Troop. It really took up more time than I thought it would this week and thank heaven Mom drove me to my little destinations for paperwork drop off. For those of you who don't know, I have a rare degenerative eye condition and I don't drive (never have) because I don't have peripheral vision; I have tunnel vision so I'm kinda like a horse with blinders on----funny, lately I'm not resembling a horse as much as I am a "cow" but that'll be another future post when I discuss my need to diet. :) SO back to the driving thing, Mom has helped me out by doing some of the driving for my paperwork stuff. It's a big pain being a non-driver but thankfully I have a wonderful family and friends and a husband who never rushes me in stores! I get it all done and I get my Dunkin' Donuts coffee as well since I am addicted to being in the car with a coffee. So in doing all this Girl Scout stuff, I can't help but wonder why, oh why, can't Moms pay attention and get their paperwork back to me properly or on time? It's a signature or a permission slip; just menial stuff but I guess everyone else is busy, not me, though ;) We have had a nice troop and it all comes to an end May 20th for the Summer. We have a magic show coming up, an amusement park trip and we are marching in the Memorial Day Parade. I have a nice group of 13 girls and they will continue as Daisys next year as well in first grade,then it's onto Brownies after that. I enjoy it all and had planned to be a Daisy leader way back when Caitlin was born. I was never a Brownie or Daisy as a child but I wanted Caitlin to experience it and hopefully she will make friends and love it.

With all the Girl Scout stuff out of my way yesterday, my son and I finally had time to do the bread baking! We used the King Arthur flour and recipe he received from school (see last post), and we had so much fun. He loves to cook and what my pictures don't show is that while we were waiting for the dough to rise, he had breaded and fried up some chicken cutlets for dinner with me! He has always loved the kitchen. Caitlin is making brownies after school today. That's her specialty, and she has learned to crack eggs so nicely.

Have a great day!

Friday, April 1, 2011

King Arthur & the Birthday Princess

Good Morning to you all on this very rainy day. I am thankful it is raining, though, as upstate New York is getting snow! Not us; just rain. Long Island usually has good weather patterns~~not too hot in the Summer and not too cold in the Winter and some snow but not mega snow. This year we really got hit with the cold and the snow.

Caitlin celebrated her birthday on March 28th and her class had a celebration as well. My Mom, she's seated in the rocker in the classroom picture, came to sing Happy Birthday as well in her class. It was a great day. She enjoyed her cupcakes and Scooby Doo fruit snacks! What a birthday Princess.

Yesterday my son came home from school with a bag of items from the King Arthur Flour Company. This was such a wonderful thing. King Arthur Flour Company visited his school and demonstrated how to make bread! The program is called "Life Skills Bread Baking Program" and King Arthur visits schools across the nation showing kids how to bake bread from scratch! They even went that extra mile and provided a 2lb bag of unbleached flour, 2lb whole wheat flour, yeast, and a dough scraper along with directions and a booklet to make your own at home! I thought it was so great because I feel that home economics have been so underestimated in recent years. I just heard that several schools in NJ were dropping their home ec classes and replacing them with even more technology classes and the students (thank goodness) were protesting it. There is room and a need for both! I take my hat off to King Arthur for being so generous with their time and money. Anyway, my son, who has always liked to cook and has cooked with me since he's three years old, wants to bake the bread on Sunday. He said he learned how to braid it, too! He's gonna be a great husband someday!

I got some great sunflower seeds the other day. I'm gonna start them in the house and hopefully they grow big and tall! I love them! I'm sure my birds will too!