The craftsmanship of this 1860’s staircase leading to the John Dix Social Room at the Balsams delighted me from any angle.

Last week, I returned to Dixville Notch as a Visiting Artisan at the Balsams.

There are many wonderful things at the Balsams Grand Resort… not least of which is this 1860’s staircase with its mismatched balusters descending into the John Dix Social Room.

A sight that delighted me at any hour!

In October 2001, Andy & I spent part of our honeymoon in British Columbia.

After checking out the ship’s cabinetry school on Gabriola Island, we explored Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.

Surrounded by giant Douglas Fir trees (some over 800 years old), we perched a while on this ancient willow, feeling a druidic reverence for trees.

After devouring Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” last year, I am highly motivated to eat as locally as possible.

I’m partial to fruit smoothies year-round, so I picked and froze 37 pounds of these tasty beauties from Edgewater Farm last weekend.

(But will it be enough, though??)

Our old farmhouse came with 3 overgrown apple trees and a falling down barn.

We are determined to revive them all.

(At left, you can see the cribbing Andy added to shore up the barn’s crumbling foundation.)

I’m a West Coast native, and grew up in a ranch home built in 1972.

I think that’s why I’m especially entranced with the architectural details of our 1840’s farmhouse.

In 1868, blacksmith Jethro Coffin and bride, Mary Gardner, received this house as a wedding gift.

The oldest house on Nantucket, it is also the sole remaining structure from the island’s original 17th century English settlement.

I’m particularly fond of the hand-wrought strap hinge.

When Andy wasn’t in cabinetry class, we thoroughly enjoyed summer on Gabriola.

Especially Quinn Dog.

Like the old growth rhubarb, this happy patch of chives near the front steps was a gift unlooked-for on our overgrown acres.