My Christmas Card Evolution

(Christmas card, 2019)

As kids, my sister and I made lots of cards.  Relatives' birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions meant bringing out the colored pencils, crayons and paint.  I remember afternoons spent at the kitchen table choosing special paper from my mother's collection and personalizing it with colored pencil drawings under my mother's guiding eye.

(1980s)

I stopped making cards by the time I was in college.  I didn't have the time or inclination to send my friends individually made cards.  It took a postage increase, rising to 15 cents in 1980 when Bill and I were early married and counting pennies, that prompted me to remember how economical homemade Christmas cards could be, drawing one original and making any number of xerox copies.

(1987)

With pen and ink, I drew my original including an inside "Merry Christmas" done with the swirl of a calligraphy pen.  I took the picture on its 8.5 x 11 paper to my copy center.  In the 80s, copying meant black and white on "xerox" paper.

Eventually, I decided to add a little color.  Going back to my childhood tools, I bought some art pencils and individually colored each of the roughly 35 black-and-white pen-and-ink copies that I would send.

As time went on, color copying became available, but it was very expensive. By 1990, postage had gone up to 25 cents!   I wasn't about to go crazy making costly color copies.  I continued to color my own for a few more years until the price came down.

As with most technology, the cost of color copies eventually became competitive.  Bill bought me watercolor paints for my birthday, and I was off and running in full color!

(2002)

My cards became less about cost and more about tradition. I had fun finding a coordinating quote for the inside of the card which I began including along with the painted "Merry Christmas" greeting in a swirl of red.

(2005)

Coming up with a subject for the card picture became my biggest challenge.  Ideas came from books, magazines, cards I received, or my own photographs.  One year, I didn't have a subject that interested me.  I decided to buy cards for a change.  I was surprised by the response. "I missed your homemade card" or "You didn't make a card this year," friends said in dismay.  Finding a new idea that pleases me continues to be a challenge but I haven't taken a year off since.

(2010)

Best is when I have a subject in mind long before the holiday season arrives.  Ideally, I paint the picture in the fall, while sitting at the porch table. It's nice to know that it's ready when I need it.

(2009)

One year I painted my card original but wasn't happy with it.  I didn't have another idea, and I didn't want to spend time drawing something else, so I took the painted original to the copy shop and had it printed even though I didn't like it.  When the time came to address the envelopes, I couldn't send the card out. It just wasn't good enough. I cut all of the cards up for scrap paper.

But I still needed a card to send.  I looked through my drawings from previous years, and sent out copies of them. No one said, "Didn't I receive that card one other year?"  Anyway, how bad is a repeat?  Bringing out past favorites is now my back-up plan, should Christmas-card-painter's-block ever haunt me again.

(2008)

 
I made another change a few years ago.  Instead of painting a watercolor background on the paper, I decided to layer colored paper.  This was such a simple idea, but something I hadn't thought of doing before.

(black paper, white paper, and paint -- couldn't be easier)

(2016)

With multiple layers as in the card below, I challenge the copy center's machine. A staff member will help me by adjusting the color and intensity levels until the tones are strong and even.  Sometimes the staff even gets excited by my project.  I think I'm a diversion in the copy shop's day.

(2017)

I like finding quotes to put on the inside of the cards, but my painting skills fail me when I write sentences with a paint brush, such as in the blue one above.  "Merry Christmas" is one thing, but a whole stanza, not so good.

(inside quote, 2019)

This year, I found a quote that I liked.  I showed my mother how I had painted it on the inside of the card.  As usual, I had found writing so many words with a paint brush difficult, and they didn't look good.  My non-digital, non-computerized 94 year-old mother said, "Why don't you just use your computer, pick a font, and type it?"  Why not, indeed.  I still painted "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," but next year, I'm going to type that too, with a pretty font, in red!

Pitney Meadows Community Farm

I have driven past the Pitney Farm for years.  It looked so beautiful one time that I took the photo below in the late-afternoon light, but I knew as I admired it that a farm that is not farmed is a bad thing.

Fortunately, others saw its vulnerability and took action.  In 2016, Saratoga Springs city voters and the Pitney family collaborated to create the Pitney Meadows Community Farm to preserve farming and education on the last remaining farm within the city limits of Saratoga.

(lovely but lonely a few years ago)

What a treat when my former high school classmate, Jody Terry, a member the farm's Board of Directors as Education and Program Chair, offered to give me a tour of the property.  "I'll show you around the farm first," Jody said.  "Then we'll walk out into the field."

(an active place brought back to life!)

Community gardens are a big part of the Pitney farm.  I've seen very large lush community gardens where I live in Albany, but these gardens were new to me.  Many are in raised beds.

I was baffled by the vegetables growing in high metal frames.  "People with mobility issues plant vegetables in them," Jody said. "It's very exciting for someone in a wheelchair to be able to have a garden here."

In addition, one garden plot is a sand box with toys.  What a great way to keep kids entertained while a parent weeds!

A few tables and chairs adorn the gravel pathway beyond the raised beds. Jody told me that some students from nearby Saratoga High, who have off-campus lunch privileges, come over in the middle of the day.  I could imagine that even a few minutes at the farm made a refreshing change from the loud cafeteria. The Pitney Farm is definitely multi-use.

At the end of the garden walkway, Jody pointed out the Fairy Garden, created by a woman who spends hours intermingling plants and small decorative items into a unique fairyland.  Children can spend a long time discovering fairy hide-outs here.

A reading area is tucked in among the sunflowers.  The tall bending early fall stalks made an attractive canopy, but Jody told me that this "sunflower house" is even more appealing earlier in the year when the chairs are barely visible through summer's growth.  On pleasant Saturdays, a reader gathers children amidst the sunflowers for stories in the garden.

Another row of sunflowers made a division between the garden and field.  "We have a contest for the tallest and biggest sunflowers," Jody told me.  Children tend to their plants and watch them grow.  Raising a new generation of gardeners is part of Pitney's mission, at a time when so many children do not know where their food comes from.

We went into a small barn where another of my high school friends, Kim Fonda, dexterously twisted grapevines into baskets just the right size and shape to fit a sunflower head.  These would be sold in the farm store.  Patrons could take them home, hang them outdoors, and watch wild birds congregate.  I was impressed that so many people share their creativity in so many different ways at the Pitney Farm.

(Jody and Kim)

(Kim's sunflower seed creations)

The store was the next stop on my tour.  Even with the growing season on the wane, there was still much to buy here both on the counter and in a refrigerator.

A young couple perusing the shop asked a few questions and Jody explained about the Pitney Farm's unusual CSA.  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular concept worldwide.
For a season fee, the public can become members of a farm and receive weekly boxes of fresh farm produce, usually picked up at a designated location.

The Pitney Meadows Community Farm takes a different spin with its "pick your own" CSA, an experience that brings the consumer even closer to the product.  A CSA member here can go into the field, look for signs that indicate which areas of the main farm garden are open for picking, and harvest the produce they desire.  This eliminates the oft-maligned problem many people have when their CSA has an overabundance of one vegetable.  Of course, much or little is due to the vagaries of a growing season, but 5 lbs. of kale can be difficult to manage before the next box arrives.

The amount of work that has been done here in just two or three years is astounding -- a greenhouse with a pretty door, a flagstone sidewalk, attractive landscaping, all done by a host of volunteers and a few staff members.

Not all volunteers work in the field.  Job options are myriad.  Besides farm work, volunteers help with events, desk work, children's programming, and a mind-boggling list of ways that help bring new ideas to fruition.

(popping corn dries on racks in the Children's Greenhouse)

Jody and I walked beyond the buildings to the fields.  We could not have picked a better day to be outdoors where a sprinkling of bright foliage added color to the browns and tans of October grasses.

The Pitney property is huge, and most of it is not actively being used.  Future plans for the land include trails, more vegetables, and maybe even farm animals.

(posted signs designate vegetables ripe for picking)

Our first stop was a field that supplied the CSA.  When Jody pointed out the signs posts at the ends of vegetable rows, I knew they designated picking availability.  On this day, quite a few pumpkins still lay in neat rows.

We walked over to the high tunnels where plants are started early in the season.  Student volunteers had been instrumental in covering the tunnel frames with massive plastic sheeting. "Community" is the operative word here.

(high tunnels)

At home I went on the Pitney Farm website (www.pitneymeadowscommunityfarm.org.)  The word "visionary" popped out.  Given how much has been accomplished here in such a short time, Pitney Meadows Community Farm is a place to watch and become a part of.  Since I don't live close enough to come on a regular basis, I still plan to stop by now and then to see what's available in the shop. And maybe, while I'm there, I'll see if I can find a small inhabitant of the fairy garden.

(Fresh vegetables straight from the farm on my kitchen counter)

Windham Weekend

Early in the year, I suggested that we plan a family weekend in honor of Bill's and my 40th wedding anniversary.  Our son, Thomas, and his wife, Marlie, and our daughter Meredith, and her husband, Brian, all responded with enthusiasm.  Even a small family has many schedules to work around, but we were able to settle on a weekend in October.

I was adamant about choosing a location that would be an easy travel destination for everyone.  The Catskills seemed a logical choice.  Thomas and I began checking HomeAway and Airbnb.  We found the Mountain House in Windham, a 5-bedroom house that boasted views and a pond.  Meredith and Marlie confirmed our lodging suggestion and the plans were set.

 Enjoying the pond and leanto on the property

"We're going to Windham?" Bill said with hesitation when I put the dates on the calendar.  A native of Prattsville, just down the road from Windham, Bill does not long to "go home," especially now that we have no family to visit there.  This part of the northern Catskills would not have occurred to him as a getaway for a family gathering.  I hoped he would enjoy a new perspective on an old place.

A few days before the weekend, I said to Thomas on the phone,  "I'm wondering what we will do there.  Do you think we will get bored?"  Windham is, after all, known for winter sports or summer hiking, both of which we weren't likely to do.  Thomas said, "I'm not worried about it."  Okay, I wouldn't worry either.

Outdoor fun!

Bill and I drove from Albany, Meredith took the bus from New York, and Thomas and Marlie, with little Hayden and Harry, drove up from their home in New Jersey.  Our only disappointment was that Meredith's husband, Brian, had had a recent change of schedule and would not be with us.

By early afternoon on Saturday, as five adults and two children, we began exploring our weekend house and grounds.  Indoors, huge windows and sliding glass doors offered a panoramic view of mountains, the pond, and trees. The spacious kitchen had all the amenities and the living space boasted three couches and a wood fireplace.

Marlie, Hayden and Harry look at spiders on the bocce court

Outdoors, we gravitated to the leanto by the pond and the yard. Hayden and Harry quickly discovered spiders.  They were shocked but fascinated when I picked up a Daddy Long Legs so that they could have a closer look. Later I heard Hayden tell Bill, "Grandma picked up a spider."  From then on she found spiders in lots of corners and wondered if I would touch them.  "Only Daddy Long Legs," I said.

Bill helps Hayden understand how bocce is played

Because we had both little children and good cooks, we chose to have all of our meals at the house and brought food from home.  From the open kitchen, we could keep half an ear on the conversation,  an eye on the children, and still look out to the view.

As I prepared the manicotti that was Bill's and my dinner contribution, I saw three deer nibbling apples under the tree by the pond.  "Come look, Hayden," I called across the room. "There are deer eating the apples."  I lifted her up to the kitchen window to see.  Even from inside, we made enough noise to spook the deer.  They ate apples for a few more minutes and then scampered away, tails up.

Harry gives croquet a try

On Sunday, we decided to go to Oktoberfest at Hunter Mountain. Bill took us on rural roads both to and from Hunter Mountain.  We saw new Colorado-style log houses as well as villages whose better days were long behind.  And always we saw colored leaves over rolling hills and mountains that reminded us why tourists have come here for fresh air and scenery for 200 years. 

Meredith and Hayden play hi-lai

Oktoberfest is no longer the huge event that it was in years past when the long-time former owners brought in well-known musicians, and reveling continued well into the evening.  We were happy with the new, smaller, more low-key format.  We watched a German music and dance performance, ate a pretzel, kettle corn, or bratwurst.  Hayden had her face painted, and we saw dachshunds training for an afternoon race.  By 1:30, Harry needed a nap and we went back over hill and dale to Windham.

Indoor fun -- Bill and Hayden make a unicorn puzzle

Harry rides the Thomas dinosaur

Thomas and Marlie planned and prepared Sunday's dinner.  With a choice of a gas grill on the house's deck, or a charcoal grill by the pond, Thomas dressed chicken with a Brooks-style marinade for the charcoal grill.  The sky threatened rain and clouds hung heavy, but did nothing to deter us from more time by the pond where we kept Thomas company at the grill. The aroma of barbecued chicken wafted across the property.

Virginia and Hayden read "Scary Scary Halloween"

Monday's forecast predicted solid rain.  We could hear it pounding outside even before we got out of bed.  After breakfast we sat around visiting, playing with the children, and enjoying the views out the windows as the rain came down.

The Batavia Kill from the recreation path

A few months before, while checking out bicycling in the Catskills, I had discovered the new 1.5 mile recreational path in Windham.  Although not long enough to bother bringing bicycles,  the Windham Path would be perfect for a family walk.  Yet, here we were on our last day with heavy rain and we had not yet checked it out.

"I'll go.  I need to go outside," Meredith said.  I asked the others and no one wanted to join us.  Meredith and I gathered our rain gear as large puddles formed on the deck.  After a short drive, we found the Windham Path trailhead. Even fully covered, zipped, and snapped up in torrential rain, we could not miss the beauty of this trail. 

Meredith on the trail -- why had no one wanted to come with us?

Rounding the final bend, I heard my phone deep in my rain jacket pocket.  Thomas said, "We're going to go out for ice cream.  Want to meet us?"  Apparently, cabin fever had set in at the house, even though it was only mid-morning.  At the Catskill Mountain Country Store, other patrons consumed full breakfasts, but that was not our plan.  Breakfast for us had been hours before.  We were ready for a serious snack.

Harry ate his entire bowl of ice cream with sprinkles and whipped cream

Attached to the store, hay bales under a roof with enclosed plastic sheeting looked inviting.  Bales rose high above the children but not so high that we might lose them in the maze. Running between the bales, admiring the Halloween decor, and petting a very friendly cat helped the children expend some energy before heading back to the house. 

The rain still pounded as Thomas and Marlie prepared a pizza lunch.  By 2:30, we decided that we should pack up and head home.  Thomas and family left first in their car, beeping to us as they drove out of the driveway.  Bill and I took Meredith to the bus stop on Main Street for her 4:00 Trailways bus, and then we drove north to Albany.

Three full days with two nights, not far from home, had made for a great family weekend.  I was very pleased and said to Bill, "I bet you never thought you would vacation in Windham, did you."  "Never," he said with a smile.