Christmas into winter

Christmas was busy here! Much of it went by in a blur of activity,

but we enjoyed it. Now, on to the still of winter. -Polly

Keeping Busy

I am still here. We have been awfully busy with Holiday preparations. Too much of it has involved big box stores and overly late night baking. Much of it has been sweet and pleasant though. If the big snow comes, we will be forced to stay home and enjoy the nicer parts of the season. Come on snow! -Polly

Scarves in Progress

80 Scarves in a pile. 80 Scarves to iron. -Polly

Parade

Yesterday, the boys and I went out to see our city's Christmas parade. It was not as heartwarming as the hometown parade that we attend in the summer, but our gritty city did a nice job. Seeing the high school football team maneuver the balloons under the telephone wires was worth standing in the rain for. Just look at big bird's expression here. Fun. - Polly

Towards the End Of November

Thankful for so much. - Polly

Real Life

This week I participated in a survey. I am almost always willing to offer my opinion on a survey, but this one made me think more than most. SNAAP The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project studies the lives and careers of folks who have had an arts education. The questions were for me, interesting and depressing. I answered honestly about the actual amount of time that I spend making and experiencing art. Not very much. But of course, some is better than none! - Polly

A little of this

A little of this

Mina's First Bird

Yesterday Mina brought home a pheasant.

Mr. Moss is very pleased with her. We all are. - Polly

Down at the bottom of that dirty ol' river

Down where the reeds and the catfish play

There lies a dream as soft as the water

There lies a bluebird that's flown away

-Townes Van Zandt

RISD Alumni Holiday Art Sale

My Biggest Sale event of the year is one month away. If I can get out from under my housework and Thanksgiving prep I will have many many scarves ready. -Polly

My Review of Weck Canning Jars

As I continue on with my non weaving diversions and obligations, I will now give my official review of Weck Canning Jars. I love these jars. I am not a canning expert, but I have a number of years experience using the American style jars. The jars that I have been using are all made by the same parent company and all have a coating of BPA on the underside of the covers. I wanted to find a new method.

The Weck jars pictured here are the ones that I decided I wanted to try. I was hesitant to order them because they cost much more than the ones I already have in the basement. I acquired these by the right place - right friend method. A good friend is planning to move out of the country, and gifted her jars to me! I would rather she not move away, but these jars are a silver lining I guess.

Anyway, these jars are made in Germany. They have glass covers that seal with natural rubber rings. Metal clips hold the lid in place during processing. Easy. All my jars sealed well, they look wonderful, stack nicely, and are not currently leaching chemicals into the food. The few troubles I encountered are as follows. The lovely shaped jars fit in my canner differently. I was able to fit fewer side by side, but they are squat enough that a second layer worked. My American style jar lifter works on the jars, but not the lids. I miss the little tonk sound that metal lids make as they seal. Also, it was hard to take a picture of these without a reflection of my goofy self appearing. Otherwise, I love and recommend these jars. -Polly

A Welcome Delivery

In our neighborhood, delivery trucks are a very common sight. Almost every week a truck will come by bringing furniture, groceries or other goods to our neighbors. This week the truck was for us! -Polly

Visiting Plants

Today I helped out by visiting someones plants and giving them a drink of water. It was quite a pleasant chore really. -Polly

A Near Find

This morning as I drove the boys to school, I spotted something special in a garbage can. On the way home it was still there. I was very compelled to stop and take a look at it. My overriding sense of embarrassment stopped me. I do not like getting out of my car to check out an item. The act of taking home someones trash does not trouble me. It is the possibility of attracting attention to myself that I want to avoid. Making a minor spectacle of myself while I peruse the trash selection is not what I want. So, I figured that I could drive back home and then walk over to see the item. As I strolled toward the trash can, I would have time to assess the treasure. If I decided that I wanted it, I could then lift it as I passed and walk back home without any fuss. Certainly the added few minutes might cause someone else to acquire my treasure, but I knew that it either was or was not meant to be. As I made my way back around the block on foot, the trash truck rounded the corner. In my haste I tripped on the sidewalk and made a long drawn out windmill action with my arms and lurched down to the ground. Someone called out "Careful!" as the trash truck carried away my treasure. The birdcage like this was not meant to be mine. Ah well. -Polly

More Fall Color

Fall is my favorite season by far. The colors outside are maybe fewer than in the summertime but they are so much richer. -Polly

Another Repeat!

Well, we do some of the same things year after year. Most of the time I take pictures. The boys with wet socks are a little bigger this year. The cranberries as usual are hard to pick but well worth it. -Polly

Halloween Blogoversary

Happy Halloween!The ghost cookies are complete.
Or are they feet? Anyway, take a look back at one year ago . This blog is one year old today. Happy Halloween again to you, Happy Blogoversary to me. - Polly

Dog Training

Our girl dog is settling in very well with us. In this picture she is standing steady waiting to be called over by Mr. Moss. One of the adults in our family knows a lot about dog training, and has been reading up on the subject. That person is not me, but when I was asked to help with a training session I agreed. My job would be to "hold the rope in the field". I prepared myself by donning a raincoat and the clogs that I wear most days. These being the wooden type of shoe that can sometimes pass as heels with the earthy set. When we arrived at the field, I learned that my job was indeed to hold the rope. I was to hold the rope while doing an experienced hunting dog impression running back and forth across the field and into the marsh. As commands were shouted out, I was to respond and help our dog learn to respond properly. One of us did very well. For our next training session I will try to be better prepared. I don't need to worry about wearing those unsuitable shoes though. My dog partner ate them this morning. -Polly

Beans

"When I get those beans threshed and winnowed and sacked

there'll be pretty near a bushel of beans. When I get those few

hills of corn cut, husked, and stored down cellar in a teacup,

we'll have quite a harvest."-Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter

New Old Chairs

I have a new chair. Actually I have two new chairs that are just like this one. When I was small, these chairs were in my Great Grandmother's house. My brother and I would sit on them at Christmastime when the adults were chatting in the kitchen. For many years they have been in my Aunt's house. She was ready to part with them and now they have come to be mine. I have been thinking about that old house where we spent Holidays. Things have changed since that long ago time when I was a child. The internet now has made my interest an easy one to research. It turns out that the old house is for sale, and I can see pictures of the inside of it! This exterior shot is not my photo, I took the picture from the realtors site. What new fangled things will they think of next? -Polly

Loving Fall, Rain and All

I hope you are enjoying Fall as much as we are. -Polly

RISD Alumni Fall Art Sale

On Saturday I attended the RISD Alumni Fall Art Sale. Just like the Spring sale, the tent was needed. It was a great day though. I sold a ton of scarves. Forty two scarves in fact! The sale date coincides conveniently with the alumni and parent weekend. One of my favorite things about this Fall event is talking to the parents of new students. Some are comfortable asking what it is like to live as an artist. Others, are not sure they want to ask, but the question is there on their faces. "Can you make a living doing this? Will my child end up selling wares on the street?" Fun! The other nice thing about Saturday was visiting with my lovely sister in law and her wonderful Beau. After visiting with me they helped break down and carry things away! The third wonderful thing about Saturday was that I sold a scarf to one of my all time favorite teachers. My elementary school art teacher who is also a RISD grad. Kind of a banner day. Now I have a great deal of work to do before the Holiday sale. - Polly

Catching Up

Printing bags and ironing scarves today!

Trying to catch up after a long week and a half of croup and colds, vaporizers and soup. -Polly

Halloween

Now that it is late September, Halloween is upon us. Our boys adore Halloween in a way that I cannot really understand. I do remember liking jack o lanterns and costumes very much. For weeks now the stores have been full of headless zombie decorations and injured monster statuettes. The boys and I don't always agree on which decorations are nicest. Their enthusiasm is fun though. -Polly