Weekly Basket Classes

Nantucket Basket Classes are continuing for the next few Tuesdays 9:30-12:30 at Kate's home. Classes are taught by Tim Cavanaugh. Cost is $20 per person, and you can provide your own materials or purchase a kit. Everyone is having a great time and making some beautiful baskets. Open to new and experienced weavers. Call one of us if you are interested.  Favorite idea:  twill patterns.

Thursday October 20 - Fuller Museum Basket Exhibit

Betty-Jo, Louise, and Carol saw a beautiful puppy named Charlie at Betty-Jo's home, and then went to see some beautiful baskets at the Fuller Museum in Brockton. There were 35 pieces by invited artists and 35 juried pieces. The baskets were unique and contructed from all sorts of materials, including zip ties! Photos of a few of them are here. Favorite idea: basket shoes!

Monday October 10 - Rags to Bags

Everyone who participated loved this event! It was a lot of fun to make the bags, and it felt really good to use up fabric scraps that were small and insignificant, yet too pretty to be pitched. This project was the perfect solution! It reminded me of my grandmother who was the original recycler - she made braided rugs out of old wool clothing, reused the wax paper bags inside cereal boxes to store things, put oval patches on jacket elbows, and never bought a pad of notepaper because she reused envelopes and the backs of greeting cards and such for her grocery lists and notes. Favorite idea: work like an assembly line - first cut all pieces, then sew all sides, then all handles, etc.

Friday September 30 - Cupcake Decorating

Betty-Jo, Carol, Kate, Louise, and Pam met in Kate's gorgeous kitchen to learn how to decorate cupcakes by Joyce White from Cakes of Milton. Joyce brought a kit of pre-baked cupcakes, frosting, and decorations for each one of us. We learned how to do 4 kinds of decorations with frosting, marshmallows, cookies, and candy. Did you know tootsie rolls can be used like modeling chocolate? Favorite idea: cut the tip on a disposable decorating bag like a beak and you can make leaves and flower petals (like the sunflower).

Friday September 23 - Opening Night of "George M"

Dave Merrigan gave a spirited performance as George M. Cohan, Yankee Doodle Boy and the Father of Broadway in this 10th Anniversary production by the Canton Community Theatre. The kids in the production gave added dimension. The singing was terrific, the dancing mesmorizing, and the acting grand. All in all a great night!

Wed Sept 21 "I Don't Know How She Does It"

Betty-Jo, Carol, and Louise had a great time at the movie, which was predictable, but funny. Favorite idea: For school bake sale, buy a pie, place it in a glass pie pan, squish it a bit, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, and pass off as homemade. Favorite quote: Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman.” --Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker)

Thurs Sept 8 - Rainy Day Shopping

Betty-Jo, Carol, and Pam took a rainy day drive and went down Route 3 past Derby Street. We stopped in a couple of furniture consignment shops just for fun - it's amazing what they get for used furniture! Then we hit Boston Interiors which we all love - their stores are always styled so well. Our final stop was Homegoods/TJMaxx in Norwell. Scored the usual items plus this store has The Runway designer section like the one in Newton so we also found Kate Spade gray flannel flats and Prada sunglasses. Favorite idea: Don't donate - Consign!

August 17 - The Help

Barbara, Patty, Carol, Louise, and Betty-Jo all enjoyed the movie from Lux level seats, cocktails in hand! What a great way to see a movie! This one followed the book closely, and was filmed on location which gave it an authentic feel. Both Viola Davis (Abilene) and Octavia Spencer (Minnie) as “colored” maids toiling in upper middle-class white homes in the Jim Crowe Mississippi of 1962, and Jessica Chastain as a flighty but loving newlywed, are stand-outs in a cast where all were fabulous. Favorite idea: positive thinking for children - "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."

Wednesday August 3 - Chihuly at the MFA

Kate and Carol had a fabulous trip to the MFA to see Dale Chihuly's installation "Through the Looking Glass." Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade. In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art. Favorite idea: glass ceiling

Fall Planning

Time to start planning for fall events. Email Carol with your ideas and they will be added to the blog. Any interest in encore trips to Brimfield and/or Secret Gardens of Newport? How about a fall shopping day somewhere we usually don't go? A trip to The Best of Everything in Kennebunkport? Anybody know of a cooking class? Want to go back to the North End and revisit the shops we learned about on our culinary tour?

Monday June 27 - Babes with Boobs

Kate and Pam went to the Carney to experience their new digital mammography machines! Unfortunately we have no photos from this event. And no favorite idea!!!

Friday June 17 - Secret Gardens of Newport

Friday, June 17 Secret Gardens of Newport - Pam, Kate, and Carol had a ground hog sort of day...all but a couple of the gardens were the same ones we had seen in June 2009, so not only were the locations the same, but the plants and flowers were in the same stage that we had seen previously. Had it not been pouring rain we would have been better sports (maybe we just needed Louise to get us on the right mental track!). Tour guides were not in good spirits and refused to come out of their protected spots to check off our tickets and guide us around the gardens, so we were mostly left to our own, with our questions largely unanswered, including if there were any NEW gardens! In spite of the tour, we had a fabulous time, and lots of laughs, and are determined to purchase really cute umbrellas for the next one! Lunch at Amber Road was really good! Favorite ideas: drink holder in Adirondack chair, and rain chain. Click here for photos.

Thursday June 16 - WAFA Flower Show

The WAFA (World Association of Floral Arrangers) World Flower Show at the Seaport Hotel was an interesting event. Floral arrangers came from all over the world to participate in the show. Arrangements were very artistic and over the top! Carol and Barbara had a great day! Click here for photos. Favorite idea: lunch with a friend at a flower show!

Monday, June 6 - Coffee for Louise

Louise , Kate, Pam, Betty-Jo, and Carol all enjoyed saying good-bye to Louise! We get to say good-bye again on Thursday at Tower Hill! We all promised we'd stop by in Onset to see her over the summer! Favorite idea: Betty-Jo's yoga coffee pose.

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Tuesday May 31, "Bridesmaids" the movie

Betty-Jo and Carol explored Legacy Place and then went to see "Bridesmaids." This movie is hysterical...a must see. Favorite line: Lillian: Why can't you be happy for me, and then go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person?

May 19, 2011 - Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill

Ann, Betty-Jo, Carol, Kate, Mary, and Pam had a great day in Beacon Hill. We were pleasantly surprised that we did not need our umbrellas! The weather was perfect for walking around the city. Our day started off on a high note when a man at the next parking meter when he realized we were short a few quarters, proceeded to fill our meter for us! Kate was the perfect guide, managing to find short lines all day. We finished with a great lunch at the Hoosic. Favorite idea: a tie between Club Moss and Plant Paintings, both pictured here. Club Moss, a relative of princess pine, was used in many gardens, window boxes, and at the base of planters. Favorite idea: "paintings" made with growing plants that were spectacular. Here's a link to Pam's photos.

Friday, April 30 - Teacups and Tiaras

Well, the Royal Wedding was almost as entertaining as Pam's guests' outfits! The tea and scones, and silver tea service were perfect accompaniments to viewing this momentous occasion. Guests wore various ensembles including formal wear, hats, a fascinator, tiaras, and of course a wedding veil! Favorite idea: fascinator. Click here to see all the photos from the party.

April 20-21 - Stowe, VT - HGTV Dream Home

This was a fabulous trip! Louise, Betty-Jo, and Carol were the travelers, and Pam was our tour guide and chauffeur, giving us plenty of shopping stops along the way. The Stowe Mountain lodge is just a beautiful resort, great surroundings, wonderful food, lovely decor, and really good service. Due to the amount of luggage we brought I think they thought we were staying more than one night (19 bags for 4 people - no exaggeration!) We had cocktails in the bar and later Maryellen met us for a fabulous dinner. We had an impromptu birthday celebration for Pam, but you won't see any evidence of that in the photos...she's shy about her birthday! In the morning we toured the HGTV Dream Home, then we went to the Trapp Family Lodge, and finally one last stop at Maryellen's to see Gary's art before heading home. Favorite idea: Huge birch branches installed around columns. To see more photos from the trip, click here.

Tues April 12 - Cash 4 Gold

Louise, Betty-Jo, Pam, and Carol had a great time selling our broken chains and single earrings! The group took home $4300! Favorite idea: turn unwanted jewelry into cash!