January is my favorite month. AND I’ve heard from others who feel the same way. It’s just a great month to play catch up. We’ve got a clean slate. The outdoors isn’t beckoning the way it is in spring. That means we spend more time indoors. And that means we can organize. There’s a reason for January being white sale month and catalogs appear filled with closet organizers. But in the world of retailers, this is also trade show month. There are gift shows all over the country but I follow the Craft and Hobby Association Show because that’s the one I’ve attended for many many years. Lately I haven’t gone, but luckily I still get all the email information. It’s a great time of year to take up a craft or go back to one you haven’t done for a while. Remember when needlepoint was such a big craze? Now it seems to be knitting. Read More
This is a busy week on Nantucket. Not only are we winding down the summer season but sliding into Labor Day weekend with still lots of events going on around town. Tomorrow night I will be talking about my new book from 7 to 8 p.m. upstairs at Mitchell’s Book Corner. The book, “That’s A Great Idea” is a compilation of the best of my columns in this paper for over thirty years. It’s got lots of Nantucket references to people and places you’ll recognize (some not here any more) and it’s chock full of good ideas, tips and how-to advice for sprucing up your homes with a Nantucket style. The columns represent those that got the most response from all of my readers. And you are all a very vocal bunch. Thankfully I am not writing about politics or any other subject that might be construed as controversial so I bask in more praise than criticism, but I’ve had my share of that as well. It makes for good follow-up editorials.