Boston Strong

 

 



 

 

We love Boston.  We love being less than an hour away from this great city. We spent  Sunday there celebrating our Boston daughter's birthday.

 

 

 

 

She called Monday afternoon from Boylston Street where she was watching the runners: "Mom, something bad just happened here at the marathon.  I'm OK, but it's bad".   Frantic searching for news led me to horrific images ; I wish I could unsee the picture of a blood-stained Boylston Street.

 

I am so very grateful that our daughter is safe and whole.  I cannot image the sadness and pain of the many families who were not so fortunate. 

 

It is too easy to begin to wonder about humanity and how much evil it takes to do such a cowardly deed.   It's too easy to think that the world is full of bad people.  Then I saw this on Facebook and took a deep breath:

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Mister Rogers, for still helping us be better people.  Now when I watch the news I focus on the helpers, the good people rushing in to help.  There are more of them than of those who would kill innocent people. We see what we're looking for, and I want to look for  goodness and hope.  There was plenty of that to be seen yesterday in Boston.

 

We were talking about the tragedy at work and someone mentioned the Newton shootings and named the killer.  A young woman with a degree in criminal justice stopped the conversation cold:  "Don't ever say his name.  Never give status to the bad guy.  Remember the victims, say their names, but never say the name of their killer.  Don't memorialize them by remembering their name".   More good advice.

 

And thank you Yankees for singing Sweet Caroline today. 

 







Playing with Gelli



It's been a while since I played with my Gelli plate.  I've been seeing the fantastic things people are doing with their Gelli plates and decided to give mine a go again.

I used way too much paint on my first attempts, so this time started with just a few drops.  Turns out my brayer had some dried lumps of paint on it, so I got some weird, inadvertent texture. I've since cleaned it off- every thing is a learning experience!

 



I found these cool foam stencils for $3.99 in the kids' section at Joanne's. Not sure what they are for, but they are perfect for Gelli printing!  Roll on the paint, lay down the stencil and pull it off, then lay down the paper to make the print.

I made a few prints on dictionary pages:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've managed to muck up the right page of the last 2 journal pages!  This one was a doozy.  I wrote the quote directly onto the page - too black, too dark, writing looked weird.  I tried covering it with tissue paper and paint; now we've gone from bad to seriously worse.  Then used the stand-by rescue technique - covered the whole mess with gesso and pressed some big bubble wrap into it to mirror the circles on the other page. 

 



 

 

This time I wrote the words with water-color pencils and swiped a wet paint brush over it for a little color.

 

I want to spend lots more time with my Gelli plate! 





DInner, Fresh Off the Boat!

We finally made it to the scallop boat at Rye Harbor.  The boat comes into the harbor to sell fresh-caught scallops .   There were several cars of people waiting with us - I thought maybe we'dd be the only ones there, but everyone else was a regular.  Why didn't we know about this sooner??   Here is the Rimrack, motoring into the harbor around seven o'clock this evening.

 

F/V Rimrack is a family-operated business, run by Padi and Mike Anderson. Their motto"  "Know your fisherman; know your fish".   Mike fishes off the Isles of Shoals to bring fresh scallops to locals and several area restaurants.  He makes daily trips out and back, so these are some seriously fresh scallops.  Bigger boats that stay out for days have to either freeze scallops or soak them in this ominous-sounding chemical - sodium tripolyphosphate (TSP).  Rimrack's are "dry" scallops; scallops soaked in nasty chemicals are "wet" - bloated with extra water that makes them hard to sear.

 

Scallop fishing is not for sissies.  Mike told me he went out at two in the morning - that's a seventeen hour day - and it was cold and blustery.  I was freezing just standing on the dock!

 

Last month, Mike pulled up a wolly mammoth tooth with the scallops:

 



 

 

Mike and Padi weighing and packing up scallops.  This is a low-budget operation - scale set up on the tailgate, plastic bags for transporting scallops, cash-only please and thank-you. They keep up a running commentary about the scallops and have an amazing amount of energy after a very long day on the water.

 

 

The Captain paying for our scallops.

 

Aren't theses some beauteous scallops?   We bought five pounds - two bags went into the freezer like Padi directed - add a bit of milk to the bag, press out all the air and freeze flat.  Apparently the milk gets into all the little air spaces so there isn't any freezer burn.  We also have some in the fridge -glass bowl with theses big beauties covered with a damp towel.  Mike is big on wanting his scallops to "breathe".

 

Thursday is The Captain's night to cook and tonight was his best -in-show!!

 

 

Notice the colorful sprinkles on the carrots?  We brought this back from Scotland - flowers, herbs and seeds.  It's  tasty and decorative .

 



 

Local seafood with a dash of the Highlands - a great dinner and a fun way to shop for seafood.  Also something to be thankful for - I don't have to spend hours fishing in the cold and dark.  Support local fishermen - they work really hard!

 

Thrifting for a Cause

 

 

I went to a great used clothing sale yesterday, sponsored by Clothes for Hope, a charity founded in 2011 by then- teenage Lauren Sundrstom to raise money for schools in Ghana.   Last year's clothes sale raised $23,000 for Ghanaian schools.  Clothes that weren't sold were donated to local shelters and organizations, benefiting local North Shore communities.

 

This was a serious second- hand (or as Clothes for Hope advertises ,"gently worn clothing") shopping, not for the faint of heart or those who prefer not to navigate crowds of shoppers with their arms full of loot.  No, it was police directing traffic, parking at a premium, and crowds of shoppers in a large warehouse full of great clothes and accessories.  All the clothes were in excellent condition,great brand names,  no tacky nothing - it WAS in Newburyport, after all!  Prices were really reasonable - most kids clothes were between $2 - $6 and adults $8-10.

 

 

The long line at the check out moved quickly and the volunteers were clearly having a good time, commenting on all the  lucky scores!  Interesting organizational strategy - all purchases were bagged into large shopping totes donated by Marshall's, (no one was allowed to use their own bags), so the volunteers at the door knew you had paid as long as your stuff was in the Marshall's bag.

 

And now to my finds:

 

 

 

 



A sweet Mini Boden dress, sparkly play shoes, and a sundress for Montana granddaughter.

 

 

A spring purple shirt for The Captain

 

 

A fun necklace.  My girls wear really big necklaces, so I'm trying to keep get with it.

 

 

A tie-front Ann Taylor sweater

 

 

A fuzzy pic of an LL Bean pea coat

 

 

 

And, the piece de resistance, this Cole Haan bag. This continues my luck with pricey bags at thrift store prices! It is actually more turquoise than it looks in this picture.  I love turquoise, but it's not a color I'd feel comfortable wearing much, so this bag is the perfect punch of color for me.

 

 

 

Pristine inside, with a phone pocket and a clip for keys - whooee.  Is it possible I won't be scrounging around the bottom of this bag for my keys?

 

 

 

The sale runs again today - I'm trying to convince myself I don't need to go again - or do I??



Make Your Own Sunshine

 

 

I'm pretty sure the best part of winter is spring.  Not that we've seen much of it here in New England; we've had two big snow storms this month, just when we are desperate for green grass, flowers and warmth.  Who am I kidding ?  I'd settle for no snow, temperatures above 40, and sunshine.

 

Sometimes you  have to make your own sunshine.  I did just that in a new journal page:

 

 

 

 

I started with my "found stencils" sprayed with orange, red, and yellow homemade sprays, and then added some stamping.  The sun's rays are made with washi tape and pieces of artist paper from my Somerset Studio magazines.  I like using a white gel pen to add some pop.

 

 

 

 

Tulips - a girl can dream - right?   I read somewhere that putting a penny in the vase extends their life.  It seems that copper (try to find pennies minted before 1982) acts as a natural fungicide and keeps the tulips happily standing upright and fresh longer.  I usually remove some of the bigger leaves and always cut about an inch off the stems so they take up more water. 

 

Tulips and homemade sunshine - works for me!





Day Light Savings Time and A Clock Art Installation

 

 

(An ATC I  made for an online challenge)

 

 

Here in the dark, frozen tundra that is New England, some of us are giddy with the return of daylight savings time.  It was light until after 6 p.m. tonight - so much better than the 4:30 lights - out of our interminable winter.

 

We were in Montana for our granddaughter's 5th birthday last month- here is the sweet birthday girl.

 

 

In addition to birthday festivities, skiing, swimming in hot springs and examining dinosaur bones, we squeezed in a trip to World Market.  I found some fun wall clocks that I thought would make great wall art.  Today with its focus on time seemed the perfect day to install our new clocks.  Montana Daughter convinced me that I needed these clocks and she started me off with the one on the top left. 

 

 

 

 





These faux French vintage clocks are so much fun.  I love the pocket watch look with the loops on top.

 

 

I admit to an unhealthy need to know the time.  For years I wore one of those watches with a light and I'd check the time when I woke up during the night.  Pitiful, I know.  I have stopped wearing a watch to bed, but I check the time if I get up during the night and as soon as I get up in the morning.  I used to work with a woman who never worn a watch and claimed not to be a slave to the time. Yet she would ask me the time several times a day and insisted I  put my watch on the table between us during meetings.  I own my obsession proudly.

 

 

 

Montana SIL asked if I was going to set them all to different time - like the various time zones where our kids live.  While that's a fun idea, clocks set to different time would drive me batty, so the clocks are boringly set to our current time. 

 

Happy Day Light Savings Time and Happy More Day Light!



DIY Chemistry Project - Cleaning SIlver

 

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My drawer of silverware was in serious need to polishing, and  I decided to try an easier way than actual polishing.   I had tried the baking soda, aluminum, salt and hot water method in the past with less than spectacular results.  Then Maureen commented on my blog post about my silverware find, and  she recommended using washing soda instead of regular baking soda.  I had to hunt around on several stores to find the stuff, but it made all the difference.  Thank you, Maureen.

 

 

Close the sink drain, then line the sink (or a plastic tub) with the aluminum foil.  I read that you can also use those disposable aluminum cake pans.  Fill the sink with boiling water, then add the washing soda and some salt.  I didn't measure this - just dumped in about half the box of soda and a handful of salt.  I stirred it up with a wooden spoon and then put my silverware into the solution.

 

Whoosh - the reaction was spectacular!  It's hard to see in these photos, but the solution was hissing and bubbling and swirling like a magic cauldron!  I did not get that spectacular reaction when I used plain baking soda.

 

 



 This picture shows the swirling water - pretty cool!

 

I let the silver sit in the water for about thirty minutes.  The tarnish was nearly gone, and what was left appeared to be sitting right on top.  A swipe with a sponge removed the remaining tarnish.

 

In case you are a science geek, here's why this works.  I didn't  write this explanation  -  my high school teacher would readily acknowledge my total lack of interest in his droning lectures. Anyway, this is why it works .  Info from  here:

 

"The tarnish-removal method used in this experiment uses a chemical reaction to convert the silver sulfide back into silver. Many metals in addition to silver form compounds with sulfur. Some of them have a greater affinity for sulfur than silver does. Aluminum is such a metal. In this experiment, the silver sulfide reacts with aluminum. In the reaction, sulfur atoms are transferred from silver to aluminum, freeing the silver metal and forming aluminum sulfide. Chemists represent this reaction with a chemical equation.

The reaction between silver sulfide and aluminum takes place when the two are in contact while they are immersed in a baking soda solution. The reaction is faster when the solution is warm. The solution carries the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum. The aluminum sulfide may adhere to the aluminum foil, or it may form tiny, pale yellow flakes in the bottom of the pan. The silver and aluminum must be in contact with each other, because a small electric current flows between them during the reaction. This type of reaction, which involves an electric current, is called an electrochemical reaction".

 

Well, now that THAT's cleared up, check out my sparkling silver:

 

I do live an exciting life!