Christmas Time

Celebrating Christmas at our house.

Dining room all set up for Christmas Dinner.

leah, Josh, Evan & Elly after opening the "crackers". Celebrating an English Christmas.

Elly's Vintage Christmas display on the bookshelf.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - DCU Center Worcester

Yesterday, on the day after Thanksgiving,  The Trans-Siberian Orchestra played at the DCU Center in Worcester.  Their CD is a staple on our Christmas playlist.  When we were in California in 2012, we visited a neighborhood of 19 houses all lit up in Christmas lights and blinking in time to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on our radio. You can check out this blog posting here: CA Christmas Lights

They really know how to put on a show.  The first half of the concert was sort of a musical opera with a Christmas story about a young girl with a narrator.  The second half was just their music.  The lighting and light show was amazing. The back wall of the stage was an entire video screen.  Pieces of the stage move up & down.  A balcony catwalk appeared out of nowhere and the performers and singers were on the catwalk. Here are just a few of the videos that I took that night.

A balcony catwalk appeared out of nowhere and the performers and singers were on the catwalk.

It was a great concert, didn't have to drive far, had great seats, and a wonderful way to spend the day after Thanksgiving getting ready for the Christmas holiday.

Little bit of Trivia:  There are actually 2 Trans-Siberian Orchestras on tour.  One on the East Coast & another on the West Coast.  also, When they are touring a specific area (like new England), they use local youth musicians for the violin string section.  What a trhill that must be for these kids.

String section in the background

Avery Hill Farm, Ledyard, CT - Another Primitive Antique Open House

Today Elly & I ventured out to Ledyard,CT to see another Antique Store that sell primitive American antiques.  The Open House with the house tour was on Friday night, but we had decided to go to our neighbor's live Band House Party instead.  The ride took about 85 minutes.  There were no signage or arrows pointing to to location, but Google Maps showed us the way.

View of the house from the parking lot.  The right side of the house was built first around 1740

They had a few animals, 2 Donkeys, 2 sheep, 2 geese, 2 chickens

Here's lookin' at you!

There were only 3 other cars in the parking lot and we were a little apprehensive that we got the day correct, becuase other that the Open House days, they are only open by appointment.  We were OK that we missed the house tour on Friday.

The antique shop was in the barn, so we walked on up to the shop. Here are a few of the items in the shop.  The prices were very expensive, but we loved looking at all their items.

There were four other ladies talking and as they headed out the door they turned and asked "Do you want to see the house?"  They didn't have to ask twice.  We were going to get a special guided tour of the house without all the crowd that was there the previous night. Yeah!

Living Room

Kitchen with sink, dishwasher (covered by cabinet) and Range with wooden surround

Nice dry sink & bowl collection

Elly admiring a dead fraser fir christmas tree

Dining room

 It was a nice trip and a beautiful house decorated in primitive antiques, worth a trip.

Walker Homestead Antique Show

The Walker Homestead is an Antique Shop that people live in.  The 1st floor is the antique shop, the second floor is the living quarters.  Although they do actually live on the 1st floor as well.  A few times each year the have events such as this Antique Show or Christmas Open House, etc.  This is the first time Elly and I have been out there.

 The main house is the antique shop.  For events you park in the fields in the front of the house, while the dealers set up in the fields in back of the house.

Owners Setting up for the Show

We didn't get there for the opening, but here is how long the line was.  This place is literally out in the middle of nowhere, but people and dealers come from all over just for this show.  It features mostly the "primitive" style of antiques.

Line waiting to get in

 

People shopping during the show. The house is open and set up also.

Sitting Room

Living Room

Dining Room

The rear of the house.  This is where most of the dealers were

The Antique Dealer Booths

Reproduction Redware made by a local artist

Nice Display of Antique Stoneware

Elly at the Dried Herb Shed

Nice Primitive Santa's. These were $95 each!

The prices were very high, we did not buy anything.  The show gave us a good idea of whats people want and what dealers are selling.

stART on The Street - Worcester

Every year for the past 15 years the City of Worcester closed down two blocks on Park Ave between Highland Street and Pleasant Street and has an Craft and Arts Festival called "stART on the Street".  Our neighbor was setting up there to sell her Batik Dyed T-shirts, so we decided to check it out. Being our first time there we did not know what to expect or what the parking situation was.

Our Neighbor's Booth at stART

 We decided to park in the neighborhood where I lived during my junior year in college at WPI with 3 other classmates. It was only 2 blocks from Park Ave. I hadn't  been back to the area in years. This is my old apartment building. I lived in the 4th floor, back then the side porch looked like it was about to fall down with at least a 30 degree pitch to the porch.  I am glad that they built a new porch.

When we got to Park Ave & Elm Park, the entire place was busy with shoppers and bands playing on three different stages. One at Elm Park, One at Elm & Park and the third at Pleasant & Park.

Large Crowds

  There were many vendors selling all type of crafts

Wind Chimes etc, made from old Silverplate Utensils

After shopping and seeing our neighbor, we ate lunch at The El Basha Restaurant, it was nice getting out of the heat and sitting in comfortable chairs for lunch rather than just eating Food Truck food and standing around or sitting on the grass or curb.  After lunch we went across the street to listen to the band that was playing.

After the band finished, they moved all the chairs & table aside to make room for The Asociación Carnavalesca de Massachusetts Dance Group that brings a bit of Dominican Carnival to the United States.  They are also called "Keeper of Tradition" keeping the Dominican culture alive.  The costumes were absolutely unbelievable!

 Very interesting dance cultural display.  Someone said that you could see more of this stuff at the Worcester Caribbean Festival in August. Will have to try to remember that next year.

They also had many street performers such as jugglers.

It was a great festival that we will have to attend next year again.

The "Linkanoe" The Canoe That You Can Take Apart

Earlier this week I was at a local auction and purchased this "Linkanoe."  I had never seen one before this and knew nothing about it so I was intrigued and bought it.

The assembled canoe as I nought it. The boot is on the canoe.

 A Linkanoe is assembled by laying out all 10 sections, with all the red star sections on one side, all the whites on the other. There is a number painted on the inside of the hull along the keel line: place all 4 ONEs adjacent to each other, etc. Then clamp the red/white bow section together, and continue until all 5 segments are lined up. Next, pull these segments together and clamp them. Position the center thwart into its spring-loaded bracket, and likewise, install the seats into their respective brackets, giving them a hand-slap to lock into place. Lastly, the two deck plates are slid as far forward into the points as possible, and the eyebolt in the center is rotated so that the tang on the bottom of the bolt securely locks into the underside of the gunwale.

All the pieces. The 'boot" is rolled up on the left of the photo

Match up the numbers and attach the clamps

One side assembled

The canvas ‘boot’ is held onto the hull by stretching rubber rope over aluminum ‘furls’ that are screwed into the gunwale. The original canvas boots were made by the Eureka Tent Co. of Binghamton, NY, and were olive drab in color.


 

Both halves assembled, ready to join together

The completed Linkanoe without the Boot attached.

At the end of World War 2, Ed Link was searching for a way to keep his factories going and his employees working. He was a pilot and the inventor of the flight trainer, with the homebase of Link Aviation Devices in Binghamton, NY.  He owned a Grumman Widgeon floatplane and also enjoyed hunting and fishing. He had invented a sectional canoe that could be carried in the tail of his airplane so that after landing on a remote lake in Quebec, he could assemble the Linkanoe on the top of the wing, then paddle off to fish, or to a nearby cabin. So in 1945 he kept the branch factory at Gananoque, Ontario, busy by building these sectional canoes and square stern boats utilizing the same equipment and materials which had been used in building flight trainers

Making Tabooley From 1971 NYT Natural Foods Cookbook

We have had this cookbook since the early 1970s. It was published in 1971 and is out of print and difficult to find.  We keep this cookbook around for two main recipes that we use often: Tabooley
(Tabbouleh, Tabouleh,Tabouli or Tabooley) and Hummus (Chick Pea Dip).  Tabooley is one of our favorite summer dishes. It is refreshing and healthy made from locally sources vegetables and fro our garden.

All the ingredients ready to be assembled

It is very easy to make, just chop up the veggies and assemble. We assemble ours into the inside crock part taken from an old crock pot.  It is the right size and keeps the Tabooley nice & cool.

After it is assembled we place in the refrigerator overnight for all the flavors to mingle.  It is ready the next day. Yum!

Here is the recipe from the book. Although not specified in the directions,  we first take the cup of dry bulgher and cover it with water in a cereal bowl.  By the time we are finished chopping, the water has been absorbed by the bulgher. We also to use chives from our garden instead of scallions and we also prefer the leafy parsley instead of the usual curly parsley. We also omit the Romaine or any lettuce leaves and just eat it from a small bowl or as a side dish to a meal.  Great in the Summer!

 That's it, easy!

The next day, eat it!