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ORNAMENTS:

Memory Keepsakes Finding A Travel Buddy

for the holidays

A Serendipitous Meeting

Have Sketchbook Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travel

Frugal Fashionistas Dazzle With Accessories

Home of the Month Deer Run Waccabuc

The Darien Times The Ridgefield Press The Weston Forum The Lewisboro Ledger

Bryan Haeffele photo

Greenwich Post New Canaan Advertiser The Wilton Bulletin The Redding Pilot

Vol. XIII, Number 12

A Hersam Acorn Special Section

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December 2009

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A vertical Christmas story by Jeannette Ross

My daughter Katie and I were decorating our Christmas tree over Thanksgiving weekend when she summed up things nicely. “I like our tree,” she said, “every ornament tells a story.” She’s right. I’ve been collecting Christmas ornaments for more than 30 years, and some I’ve inherited are even older than that. Most of the ornaments came from my travels and with them some very fond memories.

There are two angels from Savannah, Ga. I can’t tell you how many times my husband Rob, Katie and I traveled down the East Coast to visit my in-laws in Florida, always blowing through Savannah on I-95. That was until I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ,and I was determined to visit the city itself and taste some of the food mentioned in the book, particularly she crab soup. I had no idea how beautiful Savannah is, with its layout of squares that allows for open space as well as connected neighborhoods. We admired the lovely homes and walked through the oldest part of town along the Savannah River. I got to taste that soup in an 18th-Century brick building that had been used in the cotton trade. My angels also remind me of a previous trip to Georgia, to Jekyll Island when Katie was about two years old. I wanted to take her to a beach and I thought the

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December 2009

island would be a great experience. It was February and I knew it wouldn’t be hot, but I didn’t think it would be freezing cold. But somewhere there’s a picture of Katie running along the sand in her snowsuit. My angels are in pretty good shape. One is made of a scallop shell with a painted gown of sparkling purple. The other is made of a silky, white tassel. She has feathers for wings, and the wing on her right is fine, but her left wing is rather tattered. I’m afraid she’s grounded. The angel on top of my tree comes from Tennessee. On a trip through the Smoky Mountains (once again going to Florida, this time by a western route), we found a Christmas store just outside Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I bought lots of ornaments there: four beautiful white balls that look like glass snowballs, and six cobalt blue balls, Rob’s favorite color. I have three oddly contrasting memories from that trip, besides the spectacular scenery. While driving through the remnants of a settlement called Cades Cove, I was struck by the number of gravestones for children in the cemetery. It made me realize how hard life must have been living isolated in the mountains. It is isolated no more, as I learned when we drove through Pigeon Forge, which has the largest collection of outlet stores I have ever seen in my life. Pigeon Forge makes Freeport, Maine, and Woodbury Commons look like the amateur hour. The third memory has to do with animals. In all my trips to various national parks I have always hoped to see a bear. As Rob and I were winding our way through the park we hit a traffic jam. There was something at the edge of the woods people were gawking at. Hoping it was a bear, or at least something exciting, I got out of the car and went to have a look. A few minutes later I came back rolling my eyes. “What was it?” Rob asked. “A deer,” I said. Seen plenty of those. A very modest ornament reminds me of a very big vacation, our trip to Yellowstone National Park, our last trip together as a twosome since I was five

months pregnant in 1993. We saw spectacular scenery; we saw the desolation left by raging forest fires the year before; we saw moose and elk and antelope. And buffalo. Hundreds of buffalo. Up close, in your face buffalo. The buffalo graze along the road that passes through the park, and while we sat in our car watching them, two buffalo got into a tiff. They head butted each other, moving back and forth, until they got so close we thought one of them was going to sit on our little rental car. It was no match, so we took off, leaving two cranky beasts behind. There are so many more: Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell from a Thanksgiving family reunion in Orlando; scads of handmade ornaments – goats, sheep, horses, birds, geese – from craft fairs near and far; a lovely lady fox from Micanopy, Fla., which was a location for the Michael J. Fox movie “Doc Hollywood”; an enameled panda bear commemorating our visit to Butterstick, the panda at the Washington National Zoo; and most beautiful of all are King Henry, Queen Elizabeth I, and a See Ornaments page 11

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Finding a travel buddy by Polly Tafrate There’s an old saying … “A friend for a reason, a friend for a season, a friend for life,” which pretty much tells the story of how a new friend came into my life. The problem is, I can’t decide into which category she fits. “You don’t even know her?” one of my daughters shrieks into the phone. “Are you crazy?” “But I do know her, I met her on the South American trip Dad and I were on last year. He liked Elaine.”

“Come on, you spent a few days on vacation together. Now you’re traveling to Egypt with her?” “Not really, she’s flying from Chicago, I’m going from New York. We’ll meet in the hotel room.” “This gets worse,” my anxiety-ridden daughter laments. She had misgivings; I had none, at least none I would admit. Elaine and I’d connected over a glass of wine as we floated down the Amazon River. Our conversation had turned to travel. “I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt,” I tell her. �� “I don’t,” my husband, who is sitting next to me vehemently announces. “No third world countries for me.” We ignore him. “Egypt’s a place Jim and I’ve wanted to see, too,” Elaine says. “But he died before we could get there.”

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Vol.XIII, Number 12 is a special section to: Greenwich Post, The Darien Times, New Canaan Advertiser, The Ridgefield Press, The Wilton Bulletin, The Redding Pilot and The Weston Forum in Connecticut, and The Lewisboro Ledger in New York • 47,000 copies published monthly • Jackie Perry, editor Jessica Perlinski, designer • Thomas B. Nash, publisher • For advertising information 203-438-6544 • For information on editorial submissions 203-894-3380 E-mail: home@acorn-online.com Copyright 2009, Hersam Acorn Newspapers, LLC

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December 2009

“Let’s go together,” I say as casually as I might say, “Let’s have another glass of wine.” “YES!” she says. And so our wine-fueled discussions begin. Over the next few evenings we discuss travel times, tour companies and cost. Because Elaine’s a magazine advertising director, the time of year and length of a trip is non-flexible. Since I have more free time, I agree to do the groundwork. We hug each other good-bye at the end of the trip with the words, “See you in Egypt.” Funny how quickly one leaves the vacation mode behind. What was I thinking, I ask myself – fly halfway around the world to travel with a stranger. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it’s just not realistic. It reminds me of the “Let’s get together for lunch soon” conversations we have when we meet friends we haven’t seen for some time. Somehow those lunches seldom happen. In spite of this, my mind does wander to Egypt, and I ask our travel agent for suggestions. Over the next few months I e-mail Elaine her recommendations for best travel companies. The return e-mails are terse, but she’s still planning on going. How easy it would be to pick up the phone for a real discussion, but somehow, we don’t. We decide to go with Travcoa, only because their itinerary fits her time constraints. When I make my deposit, I double check that it’s refundable and take out travel insurance.

Elaine e-mails me that she’s made her plane reservations. I have a moment of panic, knowing that I can’t back out now. After a few days on the phone I finagle a ticket with my frequent flyer miles. Destination: Cairo. Since my flight has a seven hour lay-over in Heathrow and arrives in Egypt in the early morning hours, I decide to go a day early. Aside from the fatigue factor, I wish to spend a full day in the Egyptian Museum. It’s my first solo trip to a foreign country, and a week before leaving my anxiety level begins a slow bubble until it’s close to boiling on the day I’m to leave. Despite my anxiety, the trip goes smoothly and spending a day alone in a foreign country isn’t as intimidating as I’d imagined. Late the following afternoon, I’m relaxing in my hotel room when I hear a card being slid into the doorlock. The door opens. See Travel buddy page 26

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Each day has 24 hours, and that’s it! Medical professionals have determined that unless our minds and bodies receive proper rest, we won’t operate at our optimum level. At least one-third of our time is spent lying on a mattress, and having the right mattress is part of obtaining a good night’s sleep! Bob and Patty Drew, the owners of Norwalk Mattress Company, know the importance of creating high-quality mattresses. The Drew family has been involved with Norwalk Mattress since it began, more than 90 years ago in 1918. Bob and Patty have been in charge of the business for 25 years. In fact, they are walking encyclopedias where mattresses are concerned. Norwalk Mattress Company first began in a garage on Franklin Street in South Norwalk, the brainchild of Charles Anderson and Albin Walden. From the compa-

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ny’s earliest days, Bob Drew’s grandmother Edna worked in the factory as a seamstress. She didn’t have much of a commute since she lived right next door to the company. Edna graduated to sales, and eventually her three sons, Roy, Charles and Ralph, Bob’s father, went to work for the company. The three brothers bought the company in 1953 when Mr. Anderson retired. That same year, Norwalk Mattress moved to West Cedar Street, when the City of Norwalk redeveloped Franklin Street. Bob and Patty took over in 1984, two years after they were married. Ralph continued to work with the company until 1994, when he retired. Patty believes “the family that works together stays together. Norwalk Mattress is one big family.” Bob and Patty’s two children are now involved in the business. Daughter Jessica, a college student, works Saturday and helps with orders, and son Brian works in production on the quilting machine. Both plan on going into the family business full-time. Bob Drew is the president of the company, along with his partner, Fred Heinzelman. Patty is involved in sales and office management, as is her friend Annie, who has been with the organization for 18 years. Annie also buys the fabrics. Patty and Annie have been friends for over 20 years. They first met playing softball in New Canaan. “Patty was the Derek Jeter of the team. She was hot on the field and could play any position,” Annie said. Everyone involved with Norwalk Mattress knows the business from A to Z. No matter who picks up the phone at the company, you will be assured of a very clear and knowledgeable answer to your mattress inquiries. “Customers are pleasantly surprised to discover our mattresses are not made in China and are made right here on the premises,” Patty said. Grandma Mary, now 88 years old, has been working for Norwalk Mattress for 47 years. She has the same Singer sewing machine, still in working condition and complete with the spindle and thread, that she started with. She cuts and sews fabric for each box spring. Patty and Fred will go to a customer’s house at no charge and no obligation. “We had a customer who had inherited an antique bed frame and wanted to have a mattress to fit it,” Patty said. “He wanted to know how big he could make the mattress. We are happy to go out and measure beds for customers and work with

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See Norwalk Mattress page 12

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Cookbooks make delectable gifts by Jackie Perry Do we need more cookbooks? Doesn’t seem possible as you scan the many volumes lining the shelves at bookstores. However, the siren song of food is irresistible, judging by the titles that keep on coming. If you stop to glance through one or two, how amazing that, lo and behold, here’s another recipe that sounds too fine to pass up. And those photos ... it’s one thing to look at them online, but it’s quite another to behold them, one after another, as you flip through these handsomely printed books. So here are some that might just be a match with someone on your gift list. The first one features “comfort” foods, and the other three are – surprise – for your sweet tooth.

Mother’s Best Subtitled, Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again, it features 150 favorites from Lisa Schroeder’s restaurant, Mother’s Bistro & Bar in Portland, Ore. Written by Chef Schroeder with Danielle Centoni, it features home-style food your mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers might have made – slowcooked dishes filled with memories, such as chowders, stews, briskets, mac & cheese (an assortment of mouth-watering variations). Included are original recipes from mothers of varied heritages, each with a unique story. “Love Notes” from the chef offer tips to guide you through each recipe. Each one offers a significant change to an old standard that keeps Chef Schroeder’s diners coming back for more. Taunton Press 2009. Cake Keeper Cakes Lauren Chattman is back with 100 Simple Recipes for bundt cakes (Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel), round cakes (Pear Cake with Sea Salt Caramel Sauce), snacking cakes (Cinnamon Pudding Cake), loaf cakes (Nutella Swirl Pound Cake), crumb cakes (Heath Bar Crunch Cake) and more, which are not only easy to make but loaded with wholesome ingredients. Invaluable tips and techniques are included, such

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as selecting the best cake pan, essential equipment and stocking your pantry so you can whip up a cake on the spur of the moment. Ms. Chattman apprenticed under Francois Payard at Restaurant Daniel in New York. Taunton Press 2009. DamGoodSweet In addition to mouth-watering recipes, New Orleans-bred pastry chef David Guas and food writer Raquel Pelzel introduce you to characters, places and traditions of this unique city. Classic desserts include Buttermilk Beignets, Bananas Foster, King Cake and Red Velvet Cake. There are easy favorites like Fried Apple Pie; cup custards and puddings, such as Vanilla Bean Pudding and Mahatma Rice Pudding; frozen confections such as Brandy Milk Punch Ice Cream and Watermelon Granita-Topped SnoBalls. Add recipes for curds, jams, preserves, and lagniappes, a little something extra to follow dessert, such as pralines or spiced pecans. Part of the pleasure of this book is a trip with Chef Guas through the New Orleans of his childhood, with all its flavors, aromas and memories of special occasions and the food that made them so. Taunton Press 2009. Absolutely Chocolate When the editors of “Fine Cooking” magazine put together a book on chocolate, you expect lots of sound advice on cooking with chocolate...and you won’t be disappointed. Just like the magazine’s, the book’s format is visually simple and appealing, with recipes and tips (many with photos to illustrate) nicely laid out and easy to follow. Photos, as always, make the desserts look too good to resist giving them a try. Recipes include cookies, brownies, cakes, pies, tarts, puddings, ice creams, breads, candies, sauces and drinks, surely something for everyone. Armed with the editors’ expert advice, you’ll feel confident that you, too, can turn out these confections with aplomb. Taunton Press 2009. ■

Ornaments continued from page 5 showy white parade horse, all magnificent in felt, from Hampton Court Palace just outside London. Some of the best stories are told by ornaments that came from close to home. There is a set of teardrops I got at Pound Ridge Nurseries. We brought Katie there when she was little to visit Santa. I was never one for long lines at mall Santas, and at Pound Ridge it was very low key. You could take your own picture. Katie is 16 now, so I’m thinking this must have been 10 to 12 years ago. She even got a present from Santa, a tiny pine tree seedling. We came home, planted it, and put a wire cage around it to protect it from the deer. I took a look at it the other day. It’s still only about 18 inches tall, but it’s got lots of limbs and looks like a real, tiny tree. Finally, there’s the requisite nursery school ornament. It’s a circle of bow-tie macaroni painted gold, and inside the circle is a Polaroid picture of three-yearold Katie wearing her Christmas Snoopy sweatshirt and sitting on Santa’s lap. I put that ornament up every year wondering if Katie ever knew who Santa really was. I never questioned her. About two years ago as we were decorating the tree, she held it and, looking at the photo, asked, “Who played Santa?” “You don’t know?” I asked. “You can’t tell?” She just looked at me blankly. “It’s your cousin Matthew,” I said. Matt’s about 18 years older than Katie and was home from college when he donned that costume, stuffed a pillow under the jacket, and came ho-ho-hoing up the school steps. Katie – and all the other kids – bought it lock, stock, and barrel. “Really?” she said. “Really.” ■

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December 2009

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Norwalk Mattress is a family affair, and all are equally devoted to a great product and personal service.

Norwalk Mattress continued from page 9 them to determine the right size and type of mattress they need. We also measure staircases to be sure the mattress will fit up the staircase.” They will also deliver to any location, up to three hours away. Customers are welcome to have a tour of the factory above the showroom. Take note of the feather department, a small enclosed corner with feathers neatly stacked in sacks. The feathers are used to make feather pillows and for down feathering. Bob can often be found at the company’s state-of-the-art quilting machine. The workmanship at Norwalk Mattress is first-class. Bob and Patty and the whole crew

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pride themselves on manufacturing a high-quality product, while also devoting their time and attention to customer service. “Norwalk Mattress uses 2.6 density foam, and this foam does not sag,” Patty said. “Nationally made mattresses normally use a density of 1.8 and that is not in the best interest of the mattress, or the person sleeping on that mattress. High density foam is blue and low density foam is white.” The showroom is family friendly. There is a bin of toys and books so kids will be occupied while their parents look at mattresses and talk to Patty, Annie or Fred. An overhead TV in the area is turned on to the Disney Channel once kids pop inside. “Kids don’t want to leave the area, since they have so much to do,” Patty said. Bob and Patty used to live next door to the factory, “so we could just roll out of bed and keep an eye at all times on the business, seven days a week,” Patty said. “We started getting so much business that we needed to store our materials, so we turned our house into a storage facility.” Box springs, metal bed frames, wool and rolls of fabric are just some of the

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items the Drews keep on hand in the large storage building. Bob, a true craftsman, built and designed the building, working closely with an architect. Bob’s father, Ralph, built his home from scratch, digging the foundation himself; Bob’s mom still lives there. “Ralph’s generation was very self-reliant, industrious and productive. They had a real purpose in life and they passed down their values to their children,” Patty said. Norwalk Mattress Company is at 145 West Cedar Street, Norwalk;, 203-8666913; norwalkmattress.com. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5. ■

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Frugal holiday fashionistas ACCESSORIZE AND ECONOMIZE by Stacy Lytwyn Maxwell

Courtesy of Magnolia

Costume jewelry rules, with multiple necklaces, jumbo earrings and lots of bangles.

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Want to look sugarplum terrific for the holidays wearing last year’s little black dress? Give an old suit some razzle-dazzle? A bauble, bangle, handbag, belt, pair of gloves, hat, scarf, shawl, vest, handkerchief, pocket square, tie – men’s and women’s accessories can sprinkle elf magic on any wardrobe. Moreover, the money saved buying add-ons as opposed to higher-priced clothes can provide some wiggle room for holiday gift shopping. Consumers have caught onto this cost-savings concept. During the national economic downturn, the $16.3 billion fashion-accessories market is on an upturn. In fact, Packaged Facts, a New York-based market-research publisher, predicts the market will climb to $20.2 billion by 2012. (These figures do not include jewelry purchases.) Of course, wise stalwarts know that accessorizing is always in style. “The best way to make an old suit look new is, update your accessories. Start with a tie with a lovely shirt with nice cufflinks and nice socks, nice belt and nice shoes and that will make the whole suit look new,” says Naresh Mansukhani, proprietor and style consultant at Fairfield Clothiers, a boutique that specializes in smart formal-business and casual-business options for men. “Pocket squares, a lovely handkerchief will make the suit look brighter, lighter,” he adds. Diane Byrne, owner of Magnolia, a jewelry and accessories boutique specializing in designer costume jewelry, semi-precious and precious stones, sterling-silver and basemetal designs elaborates, “You take your little black dress, your little black sweater, your red sweater, green sweater, whatever it is, add a new necklace and it gives it a whole new look.” What grabs a man’s or woman’s fancy? In terms of the cliché – men are from Mars, women are from Venus – sure enough, when it comes to dressing, both genders live on separate planets. �� “We are more guided and clear in what we want,” says Naresh. �� From sterling-silver cufflinks to argyle socks to an array of multi-colored satin and silk ties to Naresh’s specialty tie (a velvet and silk knockout handmade by Italo Ferretti,

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Fairfield Clothiers has a fine collection of ties, pocket squares and belts to brighten your outfit.

one of the world’s finest Italian tie makers), for men, personal preference overrides current trends. “I like cheery and happy, and sparkly and interesting,” Naresh explains, illustrating his year-round fashion personality. Other men are more subdued. For women, the 80s are back – layer it on! Leggings, sweaters (with a penchant for the oversized ones), anything to pump up the volume. Diane paints an accurate portrait, saying, “So you’re wearing the sweater, you’re wearing the vest, you’re wearing 10 pounds of jewelry.” Out of the hot accessories, costume jewelry, Diane says, is scalding. Holiday vogue is to mix and match three, even four, necklaces. “A longer one and a shorter one, it is so ‘in’ right now.” Paralleling the “more is better” motto, women will wear rows of bangle bracelets that jingle throughout the season. They will also wear earrings in mucho sizes and designs. Rings may be flying solo, but they’re big and bold – just like the suitcase-size handbags. Like wrists, think accessories in plural on waists – sets of thin, multi-stacked black belts to secure a pair of pants. Other major sellers include leather belts adorned with leather flowers; this design trickles down to the latest leather purses. For men, Naresh advises, “The belt should match the shoe.” Both Naresh and Diane agree that scarves are classic standbys. At Fairfield Clothiers, cashmere and silk are all the rave. Cashmere is popular at Magnolia, too, along with an endless variety of other textures, like boiled wool, patterns and colors. “Plaid is pushing through right now; paisley has just come through for the holidays,” Diane says. You can buy an acrylic scarf for under $20; you can buy a cashmere one for around $100 – you can have the look wherever you fall in between price points. “It freshens up any outfit, even an old coat,” she adds. Shawls, also available in a rainbow of colors, styles and trims are a “got to have” item, comprising 25 percent of Magnolia’s merchandise. “It’s another year of hats. Hats are very in,” Diane says. Another favorite accessory at Magnolia is fashionable color gloves tinted in an off-mandarin tone, cognac, a Bordeaux red. For men, Naresh says gloves should match the topcoat. See Frugal fashionistas page 31 December 2009

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December Home of the Month

Have sketchbook, let’s travel by Jeannette Ross Most people take photos or buy postcards when they go on vacation. Ken McGahren’s more of a do-it-yourself kind of guy. He takes along his sketchbook and brings home handdrawn memories. Readers will remember Ken from a story this summer as a New Canaan-based architect of fabulous pool houses, as well as high-end residential homes, additions and renovations. In the early years of his career he worked as a color artist and then a conceptual artist. Today, even with the assistance of computers, Ken often opts for a hand-drawn sketch to present to clients. To maintain his skills, he must do what every artist does. Practice. Since 1968 he has filled 42 sketchbooks with about 4,000 sketches. During the last 20 years or so, most of Ken’s efforts have come during his travels with his wife, Jeanne. “I’ve found sketching to be like a sport,”

he said. “If you don’t constantly practice, you lose your skills. “Having free time on a trip and my mind unencumbered by everyday tasks, I’ve found sketching very rewarding,” Ken said. Most of his sketches are quick five- to 15-minute pieces. More complicated subjects can take up to 45 minutes, but no longer. Ken sketches everywhere: at the airport, on planes and trains, in the street, parks and other public places. Sometimes while flying, he will sketch from airline magazines “giving my interpretation of photos,” he said. Sometimes, if he can do so without being intrusive, he will sketch other people on the plane. “I wind up doing a lot of profiles,” he said, “or children, because they are less apt to realize I’m sketching them.” Ken has a few rules for his sketching. For one, he finishes each sketch in one sitting. He

The ships in a Copenhagen canal are one of many hand-drawn memories.

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December 2009

never goes back later. This can lead to some awkward situations. “On a trip to Scotland, I was sketching right into dusk. I was shivering knowing I was losing light and had to finish quickly,” he said. On more than one occasion, he has had to finish under the light of a street lamp, and “I constantly test my wife’s patience as five minutes turns into 15,” he added. It may seem a small consequence, until you start multiplying sketches. On one trip, Ken said, he completed 100 sketches in a week. “The ones at the end were clearly better than when I started,” he said with pride. Ken almost always sketches with a Pilot pen and ink. Recently he’s done a few in magic marker. Over the years he’s slowly started adding color with colored pencils. Sometimes he colors the sketches on site, sometimes later. Given that he is an architect, it’s not surprising Ken gravitates most to sketching buildings. “I enjoy going to London and Edinburgh for the architecture,” he said, adding that he’s also enjoyed Copenhagen. Ken has also sketched happily in Rome, Paris, China, Japan and Brazil. In New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York Public Library are two favorites. “I love the intricate details in a building,” he said. “You have to pick the details you want to sketch. If you pick the wrong details, it’s a bomb.” As with anything else, practice enhances skills. “As you progress, your skills are being honed, and you’re getting quicker at getting the subject on the paper,” he said. “It takes skill and talent to make a subject recognizable with just a few lines.”

Looking at some of Ken’s sketches, it’s hard to believe he can capture the essence of a scene with just a few lines in so few minutes. A sketch of a Copenhagen canal offers masted boats in the foreground, with a detailed background of buildings with windows, a spire and a tower. A line drawing of the Old City of Stockholm gives the feel of a tiny slice of history, while a detail from the public library in Rio de Janeiro offers just a snippet of this classic building. “It’s important to know when to stop a sketch,” Ken said. “It’s like a painting. There’s a certain point after which it goes downhill. Too much detail can kill it.” Along those same lines, Ken doesn’t believe in beating a dead horse. “If a sketch is not going well,” he advised, “drop it and move on.” See Sketches page 25

Ken often whiles away travel time by capturing portraits of his fellow passengers.

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�� The intricate details of Stockholm’s Old City Hall catches the eye of Ken McGahren, architect/artist.

December 2009

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INTO I THE I GARDEN ■

Thoughts of spring temper summer time blues by Donna Clark It’s December again and that means the holidays are just around the corner. I just received a release about the availability of David Austin roses online at davidaustinroses. com. David Austin roses have been around for quite some time as ones you can buy and grow, but now there is a grower in Monterey, Calif., who is growing bouquet roses hydroponically. This is a new collection bred with floral strengths specific to cut flowers. There are seven varieties, including four that are heavily perfumed. Shipped overnight in an attractive box, they arrive as large, slightly open buds. This is the perfect gift for the person who has everything. What luxury! And after all, that’s what holidays are all about. My gardens are all put to bed under a blanket of Sweet Peet. I like to put this mulch on in the fall after the garden is cut back. I think it helps perennials to winter and looks so very good in the spring when the bulbs push their way through. Sweet Peet is From pink to raspberry red, the colors in this David Austin Poetry Bouquet blend beautifully. composted manure that is neutral in PH and has no odor. It is still pretty hot, temperature-wise, when it is delivered. This summer an acquaintance told me she didn’t like Sweet Peet because it killed all her roses. After some questioning, I found out that the Sweet Peet was applied in the spring, pretty thickly, on newly �� planted roses. I am guessing that the roses � �� were slightly cooked. �� There could be another problem �� though. One side of the drive was planted �� with Knockout roses, and they were just �� fine. The roses that suffered were mostly � �� hybrid tea, which are very sensitive to �� everything. �� I used the Buddleia “Blue Chip” Lo & �� Behold in several gardens this summer. �� Wow! This is the first miniature butterfly �� bush at 24 to 30 inches in height. The � �� color is, of course, blue, and this plant �� needs no pruning or deadheading to �� bloom continuously through frost, with �� fragrant flowers that attract butterflies and �� hummingbirds. � �� There is always a problem having enough plants for the middle of the garden, and this buddleia works very well there. This is a fast grower, so if you are �� planting a grouping of them, please be ��

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December 2009

sure to place them at least two feet apart. It is also a good plant for a slope or to use as a ground cover. It likes full sun and doesn’t like to be too dry. Another new buddleia is Miss Ruby. The flowers are vivid fuchsia with soft silvergrey foliage. This plant was voted the #1 variety in the 2008 RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) buddleia trials. Although it has a compact habit, it will grow to five feet. We planted a new coreopsis called “Red Shift” this year, and it is a winner. The wellbranched plants with burgundy/yellow flowers, which changed mostly to red, grew to a height of 30 inches. In several of the gardens, the deer did browse on it, but it came back with a new group of flowers for the fall. This is a wonderful new addition to the middle of the border (you do need to stake it); you should try it next spring. As far as annuals go this wet summer, we lost all the rocket snapdragons after the first bloom. The short Zinnia Profusion in pink or white was a total washout, while the orange one did exceptionally well. I tried the new Zahara short, yellow zinnia and it did very well, also. I have a client that plants her own garden in front of her house. This fall I was envious to see her beautiful blue delphiniums in second bloom, along with her white reblooming German iris. It looked like June all over again. The trick to that rebloom on delphinium is to cut the stalk down to the ground after the first bloom. The stalk is hollow, and if left on, water goes down into the crown of the plant. The vegetable garden had its ups and downs. I thought I had a wonderful crop of yellow onions since they were unusually large. They were so full of water that they started to rot soon after being pulled. The red onions were fine. On the upside, the potato crop was outstanding – I will be giving potatoes away for the holidays. I planted my Brussels sprouts late this year and thought they would never sprout, but I finally got a crop last week. My fall planting of turnips and spinach was super, and the lettuce also kept on going. With the price of produce at the supermarket, these plantings are really worth the effort.

Now I’d like to give a report on my trapping success with the wooden Victor mouse traps. I have so far caught 11 voles, and lately it has been mice – six so far. I drop them in the paddock and the crows come and enjoy. The other morning there was actually a crow waiting for me. My neighbors have probably been wondering what’s on the donkeys backs. Well, it’s their bedding made of wood shavings. Whenever I completely muck the barn and put all new shavings in, the first thing they do is go in and have a good roll. Questions or comments: donnaclark@ix.netcom.com. ■

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RACKING I ONE’S I BRAIN ■

Renaissance man meets a field he can’t conquer: Specialization by Tim Murphy Fourteen years before he gained notoriety outside the academic realm, Harvard professor and author Henry Louis Gates Jr. spoke at the Colby College commencement in 1995. Although the speech suffered from too many references and footnotes, Gates’s message was a worthy one: He told the graduates to keep finding themselves after college. “I’m uncomfortable with the notion of adulthood being founded on a static, laminated sense of self – the notion that finding yourself, that self-fashioning and re-fashioning, is another of those adolescent maladies, like acne, that you’re supposed to outgrow,” he said. Gates went on to the tell the Colby seniors that he hoped they would continue pursuing intellectual growth in fields outside the ones they would be working in. His wish was that their liberal arts background would extend into post-college, making them eager and excited to learn and try new things. In the audience, as a guest of a graduating senior that day, I found Gates’ address timely and inspiring. I also thought it would be quickly forgotten.

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The issue wasn’t going to be Gates’s words, which were eloquent and impassioned. Nor was it going to be willful avoidance on the part of the Colby graduates, even though some seemed more interested in checking out the contenders for the alternative hat contest – won, for the record, by a student wearing a yellow firefighter’s hat. The stumbling block was not even present on campus that sunny afternoon but rather awaiting the graduates down the road, once their careers began. That was when specialization would step in and deliver its rebuttal to Gates: A clear and powerful reminder that while intellectual curiosity and tinkering might be rewarded in college, advancement in the employment world was geared toward

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specializing in one field and devoting time and effort to improving in that specific area. Fourteen years later, Gates’ speech seems even more utopian. Workers are working longer hours and staying connected in their off-hours through technological advances. And with such a dire employment picture, who without a trust fund is going to complain about having to do more work or be on call 24/7. Learning a second language may be a noble pursuit, but when the boss sends an urgent e-mail at 9 on a Wednesday night, it would be unwise to avoid responding until you’ve finished conjugating irregular French verbs. Gates’ heart was undoubtedly in the right place – but that place was either the 1500s, or perhaps the late-1960s through the mid-1970s. During the Renaissance, there was an emphasis on breadth of knowledge in different disciplines. The most revered example of such intellectual virtuosity, Leonardo da Vinci, was a painter, scientist, mathematician, engineer, musician and botanist – and that was just on Mondays. The guy painted the Mona Lisa and the

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Last Supper and drew rough sketches of tanks, helicopters and hang gliders. He was also regarded as strikingly handsome and could sing. In other words, the guy every other guy would hate. A similar, if less realized, ideal of branching out occurred in the post-World War II boom years, when a rise in production, wages and, ironically, technology, was forecasted to result in four-day work weeks and a surfeit of leisure time. An accountant at IBM, my father once attended a work seminar aimed at helping See Racking One’s Brain page 24

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Racking One’s Brain continued from page 23 employees discover hobbies to pursue during all their free time. Thirty-plus years later, my dad gets a mixture of laughs and quizzical expressions whenever he tells that story. Thirty-plus years later, the four-day work week has actually become a reality. But, alas, primarily for recession-strapped businesses and municipalities looking to save money. And most of those workers being forced to take an unpaid day off would likely rather be working than deciding whether to spend the time scrapbooking or antiquing. It’s unfortunate that Gates’ message is so strikingly at odds with today’s workplace. A fulfilling career that still left time for varied, in-depth pursuits outside the office sounds wonderful in theory. Putting it into practice, though, is increasingly tricky. For anyone with a demanding job, a spouse and young kids, the weekdays are a cycle of work, dinner and sleep, and the weekends full of chores and soccer practices. Finding time to read the comics is a challenge; finding time to read all seven volumes of Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past a Herculean undertaking possibly resulting in divorce papers. Except for a few professions – college professors among them – getting ahead means focusing on a specific skill set and then constantly learning more about that area. As long as burnout can be avoided, the most fortunate and rewarded workers seem to be those who find what they want to do at a young age and then spend their careers immersed in that endeavor. Cable news networks bear witness to such specialization – no matter how trivial the issue, they always find an expert in the field to interview. One day perhaps, the roles will reverse and the generalist will be back in vogue and in greater demand than the specialist. But for now, the Renaissance man is in hibernation, the 1970s a long time ago, and Gates’s words more wishful than practical. ■

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December 2009

Sketches continued from page 19 Sometimes odd things happen to Ken while he’s pursuing his hobby. He was happily sketching away in Rio, when, after about 35 minutes a pigeon left its mark in Ken’s book. “I don’t know if that was his opinion or not,” Ken said. Odder still was the reaction he got while traveling in China. While he was sketching a pagoda, a small crowd of people gathered. They were inches away from him, looking over his shoulder, watching as his work progressed. “There was no talking; they were silent,” he said. “I finished pretty quickly.” Ken is a self-taught artist, having no formal instruction. While studying architecture in the pre-computer world, he took classes in rendering, but there were

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no required drawing classes. In fact, he taught freehand drawing at Pratt Institute, where he was enrolled. He also became a critic for the senior thesis in design courses there. For several years, he has been a visiting critic at Norwalk Community College. Ken’s sketching really took off during the 1980s when he commuted from his home in Pound Ridge into New York City, and used his time on the train to practice. In addition to honing his skills, he found it a means of relaxation. During those three years, he also submitted a sketch a week to The Lewisboro Ledger of local scenes and people. Today, the opportunities are more fleeting. Also, the need is not that great. “I was always trying to prove something to myself,” Ken said. “I’ve reached a point where I don’t have to do that anymore.” ■

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Travel buddy continued from page 7

Serendipity linked Elaine, left, and Polly, and together they’ve shared many fine adventures.

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“Polly!” “Elaine! We hug, high-five and jump around like cheerleaders. The bell boy is nonplussed. He forgets about hanging around for a tip. I’d mentioned to Elaine on our Amazon trip about one I’d taken in college with Shirley, a gal I didn’t know well. Turns out she was less than neat, co-mingling our toiletries in the bathroom, using all the towels and dropping her clothes throughout the hotel room. But I’d told Elaine this saga before we’d even mentioned traveling together. I’d forgotten about this discussion. Elaine had not. I notice that she’s excessively neat and solicitous to the point where she’s getting on my nerves. “Do you mind if I take a shower now?” or “Is it okay that I hang my cosmetic bag on the back of the bathroom door?” I assure her each time: “No problem,” but I wonder. On the third day, I’ve had enough, “Am I intimidating you? What will it take for you to stop tip-toeing around me?” Then she mentions the Shirley story. Uh-oh! “There’s nothing not to like in you as a roommate,” I assure her. And I mean it. We’re more alike than different, taking copious pictures, buying gifts for our grandchildren, sending a few postcards and splitting the unused mini-bottles of soaps and shampoos to take home. Both of us like to be punctual, respect each other’s quiet time, and turn out the bedroom light within minutes of each other. We revel in every sight we see, meal we eat and picture we take. Neither of us is a big spender, nor a cheap-skate. In short, we’re comfortable with one another. Whatever activity the trip offers, we’re first there, and when there are a few free hours we explore on our own. “Look now, you may not be back,” becomes our mantra. This doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the company of others on the trip. We do. Most of them are curious as to how we met. They love our story and always ask how often

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December 2009

we see each other during the year. We look at each other. “We don’t,” we answer. “We’ve never even met each other’s families.” There is an undercurrent of envy among some of the women who are traveling with their husbands. They see the fun we’re having and often join us. One neglected husband was heard to snipe at his wife, “Having fun with your girlfriends?” I e-mail my doubting daughter: “Put your worries to rest. I’ve found the world’s best travel companion.” I know I should add, “Wish you were here,” but I don’t, because I don’t. On this trip I have but one person to take care of – me. The two weeks slip by far too fast. We plan another trip the following year. Our good-byes resemble our hellos in that they’re from the hotel room. Elaine leaves at 2 a.m. and whispers, “See you in China.” “China,” I mumble and go back to sleep waiting for a later flight. Fast forward to the next year. We meet in a hotel room in Beijing. Different country, different river cruise, but the same fabulous time.

Fast forward another year. This time we join each other in Mumbai and enjoy a third year of being world travelers for a few weeks. By now we recognize each other’s clothes – the same ones we wore on our Amazon trip. Now for next year. We made a “bucket” list when we were in India of places for our annual trip – Australia, Bhutan, Nepal, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia … We plan never to run out of world to explore, and never to lose our appreciation of how fortunate we’ve been to push life aside and travel together for three years in a row. Will we have enough money? Will some family issue demand that we stay home? Will we have a health issue and not be able to scramble along the Great Wall or climb onto an elephant’s back in search of tigers in the wild? We tell ourselves not to go there, but live for the moment. My fingers remain crossed as I turn the pages of the travel brochures. So where does our friendship fit? Is Elaine a friend for a reason? Well, yes, to be a travel buddy. Is she a friend for a season? Yes, again, two weeks a year. And is she a friend for life? Absolutely! ■

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HOME I MOANER ■

Negativity by Ben Guerrero

Matching past to present with old negatives found on eBay.

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Pop a cork and light up a Churchill! We’ve been on Rusty Hinge Road for 10 years! In the early months of our residency, as the sawdust levels began to subside and the patina of the previous tenants faded away, I began to collect ephemera related to my new home town. Just postcards at first. In those early days, when eBay was just a little more than an idea, I could win auctions without much competition: two dollars here, five dollars there, before long I had quite a collection. Then it was on to pottery and books; anything even vaguely related to my zip code was fair game. I would seek it out, bid on it, and for a while, there was a fairly steady stream of envelopes, padded bags and boxes arriving at my door. Once I figured out how to do it, I set up my eBay account to run automatic searches specific to my desires. Borselino hats is one of my favorites, as are Volvo parts and antique banjos. The one I get every day centers on items related to my home town. Not too long ago, I received an eBay notification offering old photographic negatives that were alleged to have been snapped by a renowned local WPA

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December 2009

muralist. It promised images of street scenes (I like those), old cars (sign me up) and people (I’m into people). I won the lot for $3.95 plus postage, and a week later I was running 4X5-inch negatives through my scanner. As anticipated, my computer screen delivered photos of old houses and cars and old-fashioned people in a 1930s back yards, sipping lemonade and pretty much doing what we modern folks do on a summer’s day (without the technological gizmos). One of the things I began to do with my postcard collection was to get in the Toyota and drive to the various locations pictured in my 80-year-old images, with the idea of replicating the exact image as it looks today. I had some success

with this, but it often required research, since occasionally streets are renamed and in some cases entire neighborhoods have been paved over in favor of a commercial enterprise. My newly acquired negatives sparked a renewal of this interest, especially since I had the name of the photographer and some possible landmarks I could use to identify the scenes I now had on my hard drive. I googled the artist with limited success, save for a whole lot of images of his fine murals, which are still on display in many local government buildings. My next step was to go to the local library to search the town directories. See Home Moaner page 30

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Home Moaner continued from page 29 After finding a “Jim Rockford” parking spot in front of the library, I walked in the door and practically knocked over Gilbert, the unofficial town historian. I had spent many hours in various places listening to Gilbert rattle off his boundless knowledge of local lore, and on this particular day, I merely mentioned the name of the muralist I was researching and Gilbert was rattling off reams of valuable information that was priceless for my research. He gave me so much data that I decided not to pursue the reference desk for the old directories, and set out to photograph modern digital versions of the vintage images that I now owned. In what I thought was a delightfully karmic twist, the address Gilbert sent me to happened to be right around the corner from my property at Rusty Hinge Road. The house was one with which I was quite familiar. Gilbert’s description of how the artist’s family used the property all made sense, but I instinctively felt that it was not the one depicted in my photos. I won another eBay auction of negatives of identical description, and while I was waiting for them to arrive, I returned to the library to do more research on the photographer. I found three different addresses from three different decades.

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My subject had moved several times. From the driver’s seat of the Toyota, I took three new photos. I also discovered that, unfortunately, one of the locations was now a more modern strip mall. Maybe one of these properties could have been the location of the back yard in my photos. I continued to poke around and e-mail Gilbert while I watched the mail for the new (old) negatives. In a week, I was scanning the new material. There were a series of interior shots, taken around a Christmas dinner table, and a few others of folks sitting on a back porch and then, hallelujah, one of the properties I had photographed came up, exactly as my modern photograph had captured it. I get an immense sense of satisfaction when I am able to bring the past to the present. When I am able to replicate a shot that had been taken before my father was born and study the two images side by side, every little detail and grain silently tells the story of the passing decades. I posted these images to the Internet on a photo-sharing site, where I have found neighbors with similar interests. I explained what I was doing and revealed my sources. There was some response, and I was given some useful suggestions. More negatives came up on eBay the next day, and some of the images look like they might contain a few shots of the house around the corner. I put in my bid and rubbed my hands together in anticipation. Lo and behold, at the last minute, I was outbid! Drat! Now someone out there has “my” negatives! I know where you live! ben.guerrero@sbcglobal.net ■

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Frugal fashionistas continued from page 15

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As far as the color palette, it’s the year of glitz and shimmer. Diane says, “Gray is the big color this year. Purple, purple, purple, purple, plum; those are the colors this season that you’re going to see a lot of.” She also notes that animal prints are bigger than ever. Naresh, on the other hand, says, “Black is back, gray and brown. Red is so popular with women that we have some influence of red for men.” Men can accessorize for the holiday with a bright red, orange or blue tie and a complementary pocket square (never exactly color matched). With the infinite choices this holiday season, glam up the accessories to ham up the attire without hammering the budget. Fairfield Clothiers, 1551 Post Road, Fairfield; 203-255-8889; e-mail, naresh@suityourself.com; Web, suityourself.com. Magnolia, 1215 Post Road, Fairfield; 203292-8299; e-mail, info@magnoliact.com; Web, magnoliact.com. ■

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