What could it be?

Noticed this posting by Sylvester & Company, a shop in town, this morning. They're hinting about some new item that will have the old Sag Harbor Cinema sign on it...a t-shirt? polo shirt? canvas bag? We'll just have to wait and see...but whatever it is, it looks very cool and I want one!

The log maker

A long time ago (I wanna say over two years), my parents sent me a wrought iron newspaper log maker they found at a garage sale. It's a gizmo that allows you to easily roll up leftover newspaper into little logs to use in the fireplace. It's much neater than messy stacks of papers sitting around. Well, it's been in a box in the basement all this time and I decided it would be a good project to do this week. It was very rusty, ugly frankly. I sanded it down, masked the wooden handle with painter's tape, and sprayed it a flat black. I think it came out nicely, much better than it used to look. And the logs it makes look great too. Since there's no space in the living room to put it, I'll keep it in the basement and make the logs down there.

BEFORE: rush & ugly

BEFORE: side view

AFTER: painted & spiffed up

AFTER: side view

the 'logs' it makes

Hearth ready!

Pecan bars

I still had a bunch of the pecans my folks sent me from Texas. I wanted to make a dessert but instead of a pie I thought I'd try pecan bars. I found a recipe online and it only needed one cup of pecans...so I still have some left over!
It was a very easy recipe and the bars turned out very tasty.
Here's the cracking process:



Fresh out of the oven:



And the final result. Yum.

Wharfside

I took a walk into town today to pick up some groceries and the Sunday paper. I walked along Bay Street and was talking to my mom and then my friend Jan on the phone. I stopped to chat at one of the benches in the marine park that overlooks the harbor. As I sat there talking I took this picture, it was a really lovely day, almost 50 degrees. I only needed to wear a sweatshirt.

The cat's meow

My sister has become enamored of cats lately. She doesn't own one but she's seriously thinking about it. She's been hounding me for months to make her one of my cutting boards. I'm very handy with a jigsaw and I've made all types of boards in more shapes than I can count...whales, lobsters, chickens, fish, crabs, even ones shaped like certain states. So I thought I'd make her one shaped like a cat. I saw a cute one in a magazine picture a few weeks ago and I made my own version yesterday. It came out pretty nice and I think she'll be pleased. The detailing on the front is done with my wood burning kit. It helps to add a little decoration sometimes.

Sweet St. Valentine's Day

I have some heart cookie cutters that I only get to use once a year...the bigger one makes a generous sized treat. I usually don't bother with the royal icing but this time I was in the mood, but only two colors. I think they turned out nicely (and the recipe I found on Pinterest was great, so easy to cut them out).