Jimmies, Grinders & Tonic

 

I'm from New England, "that small pocket" in the northeastern corner of the US. 

We have different names for things. A submarine sandwich is called a "grinder." Soda or colas can be called "tonic." 

Peggy asked me what "jimmies" were.

When I was growing up, the small (generally brown) rod-shaped candies we sprinkled over ice cream were called "jimmies." In fact, small colored candies of any shape were called jimmies. It hasn't got anything to do with Jim Crow or the Jimmy Fund. Over the years these little sweets have come to be called "sprinkles." So I have had to adapt.

I am sure there are other regional colloquialisms that I use, but I can't think of them at the moment.

Here in New England, our hot dog rolls are split across the top, and when we eat fried or steamed clams that means they have the belly on them (and we think you're a wuss if you don't eat them. Sorry Julie.) Paradoxically, we eat more ice cream here in New England than any other part of the country.

OK, I'm going back to sew.

Shut The Barn Door!

Oh wait, it already is shut.

This is what I've got for the barn door of the Town Line Green Barn.  Much as I'd like to make these barns a bit smaller, once you set the size of a window, for example, these things grow. This barn might actually be BIGGER than the red one. Oh dear.

Actually this green barn is rather unique in that it is a free standing barn. 

One of the things about barns here in New Hamsphire is how many of them are different colors. I have a yellow and a blue barn on my list of barns I want to make. Both of those are attached to houses.

This isn't the yellow barn I want to make, but it shows you how barns and houses are joined here in New England**. This barn has obviously been converted to living space above and a garage below. This particular kind of attached barn is difficult to interpret in fabric because you have to decide where the barn stops.



** For those who are curious about the distinction between New Hampshire and New England:
New England is the area defined by six US states, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It is in the northeast part of the US, and comprises an area of 71,992 square miles. Five of the six New England states are among the smallest states in the US. New England is slightly smaller than the state of Washington, but slightly larger than England.