Columbus Day in Granville, Mass.

I won't get into a discussion as to whether Columbus deserves a day devoted to him. I am not going to argue about getting a day off from work. I am one of the lucky ones who has gotten Columbus day off for the last 30 something years (save a few years when we were allowed to go in for two hours to make the day after not so hard--now we just have a tough day on Tuesday). It's worth a day off.

With most of the state "not" in a day off mode, we have made it a tradition to hop over the border to Massachusetts where Columbus Day is a bigger event and we find ourselves strolling the grounds in Granville, MA every year as they celebrate their Granville Harvest Days. Crafts and food abound and ramble around the town. There are booths on the green, in the church basement, church parking lot, library parking lot, book sale in the basement of the library, craft booths in and out of the school, with shuttle buses taking people to the Meeting house for more displays and to the farms selling apples and such. There are tag sales all around town too and of course the Granville Country Store selling their world famous Granville cheddar cheese and other goodies.

We did a little Christmas shopping but mostly browsing and definitely some eating. Although the selection was sparse, for $3.00 a bag, we could find books to fill a bag at that price in the basement.

We talked to some people we knew and some people we didn't. My husband was in rare form with his quips and puns. We both were feeling better after a lingering cold. It was a little chilly and cloudy, but it didn't rain and was a great autumn day.

The first picture is of one of my customers and her beautiful products she makes--baskets and coasters and mats. She mails them out often and it was nice to see them on display. They are so beautiful that it was hard to chose between them. You can check out her stuff on Etsy at Yellow Violet.

 These  mittens were made by two of the craftiest sisters I know. Every year they come up with some wonderful new item they have crafted. They did have other items on display, but these were the latest edition. These beautiful unique mittens were made out of sweaters. Unfortunately they only sell them here and not online. (But I do know where they live).

                                                                             

 It always amazes us the different kinds of crafts people do and how there always seems to be something new. If you love jewelry, there is no way you could not have found something you liked.

We love the home made relish that they serve with the hot dogs. We did miss the potatoes and onions this year that for some reason weren't being served but we were assured they would be back next year. There was plenty else to chose from for food. You should not go away hungry.

Recent years they have added tours of the Noble & Cooley Company drum shop where I had my first summer job. We went last year and it was fun to once again be in that old building and the memories of my summer factory work experience for two summers.

This year we saw there was a quilt show in the building across from it.

If you have never been to the Granville Harvest Days, you should check it out. It always runs three days ending on Columbus Day--maybe you will find it becoming a tradition with you too.

The Salisbury Scarecrows

These were some of the wonderful scarecrows in competition this year in Salisbury, CT. From Elvis and Michael Jackson to a group "gone fishing" to the last picture of little scarecrows trick or treating to the circus ones including an elephant, lion in a cage, a strong man, a clown juggling, a circus train and ring master, the creativity ran wild. We enjoyed walking up and down the street marveling at the clever imaginations. It was a beautiful ride up there and a enjoyable stroll. We might just add this to our Columbus Day weekend agenda every year.

Salsibury on a Sunday

We have our own little traditions that we stick to for Columbus Day weekend. We always go to the Riverton Fair and Granville Harvest days. This year we learned that Salisbury, CT also has some festivities happening during this weekend, so we decided to take the ride up there to see what it was all about.

As we walked along the quaint main street, we found the WWI Memorial where my husband pointed out his father's name. We enjoyed a muffin and delicious cookie from a bakery. We were intrigued by the book stalls that the church uses to sell used books.

Along our walk we were entertained by the various scarecrows that people created in competition with one another. The next post will include pictures of some of them.

My husband suggested I take a picture of the house with the flag. It was such a unique structure. The part in back connects to another building just like this one in the front, except behind the pillars is a brick fireplace.