One disturbingly warm day in January (I mean, in northern New England you can get a January thaw, but when it lasts as long as that one did, and is as warm as that one was, you start looking over your shoulder because you suspect that the weather has something really nasty up its sleeve) …
Author Archives: deanb
Dry Sink
I can’t find any mention of this cute piece of furniture in posts where it belongs. Arlene found it for sale on Craig’s List and was immediately enthusiastic about it. I somehow imagined it as being much bigger and clunkier than it turned out, and slightly grudgingly agreed to go look at it. A young …
FO: Stepstool
This picture is actually from back on January 22. We had some unseasonably warm weather, and it was easy to take this project outdoors to avoid having solvent fumes in the garage and basement. I used Minwax wood finish, Golden Oak color. Minwax is easy to use. It goes on with a rag, not a …
Knitting progress
I tend to do little bits of lots of projects rather than stay focused on one thing, if I have a choice. This weekend besides baking bread, cleaning a sewing machine, building my first rustic furniture, and doing a little reading, I almost finished my mittens, and started a cap. Here are the mittens. One …
Sewing Machine Mechanic
An unexpected bonus of our Maine house was a non-functioning antique sewing machine in the garage. The previous owners had picked it up at some flea market, I think, never done anything with it, and it weighs a ton. They didn’t want to move it to their new digs. I, in my naivete, am hoping …
Yarn interlude
I mentioned getting some classy yarn for a hat. Here it is, alongside a ball of good hardworking Bartlett Mills aran weight fisherman yarn that’s going to be part of the same project. I’m not convinced that I have enough of that Jo Sharp to make a cap that will fold back over my ears, …
Rustic Project
One of the things I want to do is learn to make (and then make!) rustic furniture. There are lots of trees on our property in Maine, not a few of which we’ve cut down to make a trail around the place. Those saplings, two and three inches in diameter at most, are calling out …
Supermarket Opening
Over last summer, when we were looking for a vacation place to buy, we started hearing about the new supermarket about to open in Bridgton. First, the woman who ran the B & B we stayed at in Harrision said she was looking forward to having a good produce department closer to her. She needed …
SNL quote
“Nothing pulls me out of a funk quicker than Jazz Times Ten going klezmer” — Rachael Dratch’s character, in a bar mitzvah sketch. The SNL band went into Odessa Bulgarish after that for a few seconds before the commercial and right after the return from it.
Oatmeal Bread Checks Out
OK readers, the bread checks out! I approve of the recipe in my previous post, and I’m glad to have it online where maybe I’ll be able to find it again. That was a good supper with Charley’s chowder (apparently Jasper White’s recipe), that bread, and a little salad.