Afternoon in Central Park

I went to NY last week for a quick visit to see some friends, and had an awesome time.  I love this city!  One afternoon was spent wandering around Central Park, where we saw fall colors, someone taking footage for google interactive maps, an acrobat showing off his muscles and skills, and lots of people lounging around and enjoying the beautiful weather. 

The Sprinkler Factory

The Sprinkler Factory is an awesome renovated warehouse that now houses studios for artists.  We went to the opening of a show on textiles and fabric, which was really great.  After spending time soaking in the colorful tapestries, we ran around in the large open space in back with some of the kids.  It would be such a cool place to have a studio!

Ships, Ships

I developed a slight obsession with ships this year.  I think it started when I was living in Israel - my window looked onto desert dunes rolling off into the distance, and I would sit there and daydream about a ship that could sail on sand.  And sometimes I get a crafty itch...so one day I ran off to the fabric store and came out with a bag of wooden dowels, copper wire, and thread.  After some sawing, wrapping, tying, and adjusting, my own ship sails through the air of my bedroom!

Homemade Granola

This, I think, is my most successful batch of homemade granola to date.  Often I've ended up baking it for too long, or adding more oil than I'd like to try and form bigger clumps.  This time I cooked some almond milk, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and a mashed, overripe banana until it thickened into a sauce, and poured it over oats, cinnamon, salt, almonds, and dates.  I baked it at 300 for not long at all, probably a little over 10 minutes, and it turned out really well!  And it's good.  Next time I will add more nuts and dried fruit, and replace some of the brown sugar and oil with honey or brown rice syrup.

The WAM

On the first Saturday of every month, the Worcester Art Museum has free entry.  It was my first time there and I wasn't sure what to expect, but this place is very nice and has a great collection.  We saw a lot and didn't even touch several wings of the building.  But they can wait until the beginning of December :)

Pony Farm

Sometimes Trish is asked to house-sit at at a farm right outside of Worcester, and we go spend nights there, basking in the glory of nature and a cozy, very much lived-in home.  The house is awesome!  There are fireplaces all over the place, and it's stuffed with books, photographs, rugs, and big beds covered in down blankets.  Not to mention there are dogs running around and horses waiting to greet you out back :)

Our Snowstorm

New England got whacked by its first nor'easter last weekend.  Unbelievable!  Barely any leaves had fallen, and the snow was so heavy.  By nightfall, trees were completely drooped over - it looked like they were doing an exercise where they had to try and touch their branches to their trunks.  The weight was too much for some of course, and so many branches are now on the ground.  Those two trees that fell over are on our street, right by our house - that poor car!!  Days later, even with temperatures around 50, there's still a lot of snow on the ground in some places.

Tale of a Squash

He was obese and keeled over from a heart attack.  Onlookers bowed their heads in grief but remained calm.  His remains disappeared and were rumored to have been devoured by some local omnivores.