by Kerri Hartman The Bazaar Girls are all about Christmas. Christmas was our first muse. For nine years I didn’t celebrate any holidays. I was involved in a very small religious group. When I left it, rediscovering holidays ushered me back to myself. I had great holidays as a kid. …
by Kerri Hartman You don’t need to be a zen master to be here now, all you need is a timer.What I call, the timer game, is a variation on a trick I learned from the book, The Slob Sister’s Get Their Act Together. The title of this book and …
Our plan was simple, we would spend an entire year planning a phenomenal Christmas bazaar, write a best seller about our crafty year, and retire in Spain. Angie and I met through mutual friends, in the thick of a plum season even better than the old-timers could recall. We joined …
If I had to pick, October would be my favorite month of our bazaar year. The canning (nearly three hundred jars) was done, the chosen crafters for our upcoming Christmas bazaar had proved superb, the event was unstoppable. And we were already living the creative life that we’d thought only …
It was shortly after last year’s Christmas bazaar and I was a little drunk. I’m one of those women who after two drinks, believes a) everyone is hard of hearing and b) very interested in what I have to say. I couldn’t’ tell you what I was blathering on about …
There is something about gathering and gleaning that imparts a sense of abundance. I’m a waitress and my husband makes cheese. Amy is a student and a care-giver and Angie a masseuse and a local theatre actor and directer. We all have debt and juggle bills. None the less, when …
Last December’s pipe dream is coming true. Nearly all of the canning jars we collected are full. My favorite small round jam jars are filled with my favoritist tart plum jam. Kerr pints are filled with rhubarb sauce and attired in green gingham “hats”. Kerr Wide mouth pints are filled …
I had been to the tree a few days prior and the plums were ready. The tree is in a vacant lot less than a mile from our apartment, but I have claimed it as my own. Although, if you happen to stumble upon it, I assure you there are …