And So Christmas Begins …

December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

It starts with something quite simple, same as every year … with the arrival of the Dollar Store Christmas plates and the German Christmas mugs. This year, you will see something different, in addition. Mmmmmm … a sfogliatelle!

It took great restraint to wait until I could take this photograph and not consume the pastry right away, but I made it. Only after I had, indeed, eaten most of it and looked at the photos I took, did I realize that it appears that the sfogliatelle has landed on and crushed the gingerbread man! Ooops. Sorry, Gingie!

So we see I am occasionally a sorry excuse for a vegan, even if I am trying. But who could resist that flaky pastry and ricotta cheese? And really, what kind of person would I be if, having purchased some office supplies at Staples, I failed to help support the Italian bakery just 5 doors down? So rather than suffer the guilt of ignoring this veritable mecca of delights, I bought a sfogliatelle.

Rather a nice way to start off the holidays, don’t you think? Salute!

The Scarecrow Contest

November 4, 2014November 6, 2014 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Take a walk with me … on the pebbled brick paths through Peddler’s Village … and see what we found along the way to the carousel.

Each year the merchants hold a scarecrow contest, and in front of each shop or restaurant is a scarecrow – or two or three – which is their entry. Although I know there are different entry levels, as I noticed some were the handiwork of children, I don’t know much else. I was just appreciating the creativity of those who put these amazing, sometimes funny and sometimes scary, scarecrows together.

So come and dawdle along, and here are a few of the ones that caught my fancy.

Both the above sat on hay bales outside the shop’s window.

This maître d’ stood outside one of the well-known restaurants.

The scarecrows may have been the main attraction, but every shop was completely decked out for Fall.

And what a fetching bride she was!

Halloween – Short and Sweet

October 31, 2014October 31, 2014 / still a dreamer

Before 150+ little trick or treaters come scurrying through our neighborhood and knocking at our doors, here’s something I had to share.

Our local, (county), newspaper is to be commended for their coverage of all the goings-on in our towns, much of which is positive. Yeah, there’s a bit of the usual murder and mayhem, but they can’t hold a candle in that department to every other newspaper around. In the positive vein, they always feature a Kids’ Page in which they ask local schoolchildren a question and feature their answers.

This week, the question was the kids’ most creative costume for Halloween, and if this one doesn’t take all — written by Julia, a 3rd grader, (that’s 8 years old):

“WOW. You look great. My favorite Halloween costume was a fairy. It was blue and had sparkly fairy wings. I wore it when I was little and I wore it for a lot of great Halloweens. I got a boatload of candy. That was a great time of my life.”

What more could I possibly say after that?

except … Happy Halloween!

The Carousel

October 24, 2014October 29, 2014 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Sometimes we have to indulge ourselves a wee bit. So after all but shackling myself to my Mac all week long, faithfully taking care of my clients’ needs, I am sharing something that I have always found nothing short of magical – a carousel.

From when I was a small child and our family went every year to a nearby amusement park on my birthday, the greatest attraction for me was always the carousel. Of course … it had horses, music, lights … what’s not to love?

The carousel you see in the photos here is a P.T.C. carousel, i.e., made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, one of the greatest and most historic manufacturers of carousels in this country. And although I would love to visit Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn, this one is much closer, a bit more than a half hour away in Lahaska, PA. P.T.C. #59, as this carousel is known, was built in 1922, and has been in numerous places around this country, but found its current spot in Peddler’s Village in 1998; it includes forty-six hand-carved wood figures, by Master Carver Ed Roth from Long Beach, CA.

Perhaps all these photos are a bit indulgent, so feel free to pass on if you choose. But if you find carousels as magical as I do, hop on for a ride. I’ll only say I’ve saved my favorite horse for last.

It was becoming late in the day, and the sun was lowering in the sky, creating some unavoidable light and shadow contrast.

The carousel had a goat, rooster, pig, cat, rabbit, and a few others, but I have never been as enamored of any of them as I have the horses.

The most stunning of all …

Jazzy and the B’Day Bag

July 17, 2014 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

I’m taking a brief diversion on what was to be a triple-play on “Writing What We Know” for a very good reason – I had a photo op.

If you have or know cats, you know nothing makes them as happy as a new box or bag. They find it irresistible. So having just that – a new bag – I offered it to her highness for exploration.

First, let’s see if there’s anything inside. This might take a while.

Next, let’s see if it has the right amount of room for comfortable sleeping.

And, of course, let’s give Mom the money shot!

Never fear, animal lovers, this is a plaything for Jazzy under supervision only, lest she get her head caught in one of those pretty handles and set off to running with it caught about her neck, thus causing panic and overall, anything but the fun experience we’d been hoping for.

One day later? It’s already old news. There’s no forgetting – Jazzy’s a cat.