Rural Intelligence (Page 738)

Style

New Year's Resolution #1: Get Organized

"Organizing," says Johanna Bard of Milan, "is not necessarily about throwing things out." Bard, whose company, Your Hudson Valley Organizer, is dedicated to helping its clients reclaim their time, space, and energy, belongs to the National Association of Professional Organizers, which routinely holds conferences in far-

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Food

Fa-la-la-la Flavor: Berkshire Mountain Bakery's Holiday Bread

Over two decades, Berkshire Mountain Bakery has built its reputation on hand-crafted sourdough and whole grain breads. So it's somewhat surprising to find founder Richard Bourdon rhapsodizing about his Old World Holiday Bread studded with rum-soaked dried fruits. "I think it's a stollen,

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Food

Dan's Diary: Thanks for Shopping Locally

Since August when we wrote about one-month-old Haven, it has become the most happening spot in Lenox. Owner Shelly Williams has created what feels very much like the town's highly-caffeinated social center. This Saturday, to encourage and thank folks for shopping locally, Williams will be

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Community

The Inauguration: The Next Best Thing to Being There

On January 20, 2009, three million people—no wait, make that five million people, or is it ten million? Anyway, as many people as can possibly squeeze in are expected to turn up in Washington, D.C. to bear witness as President-Elect Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of

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Food

Paige's Picks: Gifts for the Foodies on Your List

I suspect that non-cooks wonder what in the world to give those of us who are culinarily-obsessed. Cookbook? New gadget? Basket of delicacies? These are all good ideas—but how do you take them from "good" to "impossibly clever"? For me, simpler is better,

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Arts

The True Meaning of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"

In Charles Dickens's day, his novel A Christmas Carol was credited with reviving enthusiasm for a holiday, that, incredibly, had fallen out of favor with the public and appeared to be on the wane. Needless to say, modern marketing will never permit such heresy again. Nonetheless, Dickens'

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Style

A French Twist on American Country Style

French Chic: The Art of Decorating Houses (Rizzolli; $50) doesn't sound like a coffee-table book with a lot of relevance for people decorating Hudson Valley or New England houses. But the author, Florence de Dampierre, just happens to live in an 18th century clapboard house with Federal-

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Arts

A Serious Conversation About "Scrapbooks: An American History" with Jessica Helfand

When I met Jessica Helfand five or six years ago, I was dumbstruck when she told me that one of the joys of having moved full-time to Falls Village from New York City was having more time to work. (I thought country life was all about recreation, but I&

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Style

Holiday Shopping: Gifts from the North Pole

No need to buy on-line, in big-box stores, at soul-sapping malls, or in a glamorous-but-exhausting nearby city that shall go nameless. Every gift you need for the holidays can be found right here at the charming, sophisticated, fun-to-browse shops in-and-around our

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Style

Holiday Shopping: Gifts from the South Pole

Holiday cookies ($3 and up) that taste as good as they look. Sweet William's Bakery, 100 Main Street, Falls Village; 860.824.8180 Handpainted votives from Paris by Geraldine Gonzalez ($30) and beaded handbag ($139) at Paper Trail, 6423 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck; 845.876.8050 Gypsy T-shirt

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Parties

Berkshire Creative Economy Council Sparkles in Lenox

It was like a Facebook reunion when hundreds of actual and virtual friends of the Berkshire Creative Economy Council gathered at Seven Hills in Lenox on Thursday, December 4, for the Sparkle holiday party. Berkshire Creative's chairman Nancy Fitzpatrick (left) urged guests to bid on silent auction items

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Food

Let It Be Lasagna

It all started with the last tomato from my garden. A few weeks before Thanksgiving, right before that spell of bitter cold, I was (belatedly) cleaning up the so-called potager behind my back porch. This was my only stab at a garden this year, and though it mostly looked

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