Posts Tagged ‘Holidays’

Friday, December 23, 2022

How to go green this holiday season

By ANCA Energy Circuit Riders Shawnea Hull and Carlie Leary

Incorporating sustainable practices into your holiday season doesn’t have to be difficult and can be a wonderful opportunity to create new traditions, start meaningful conversations, and reduce your impact on the environment. Below we offer some tips on how to cut down your energy use and expenses and reduce waste during the holidays.

Energy Use

Switch to LED this holiday season.

switch to led lights

On average, Americans use around 3.5 billion kWhs of electricity to light their holiday lights throughout the month of December. Using standard equipment (one 20-ft string of 100 incandescent bulbs using 40W of electricity x 9 such strings on average to light a Christmas tree and outdoor lights), for 6 hours a day means the typical household in the U.S. will use around 65 kWh of electricity in December — adding up to around $645 million spent by Americans this month running holiday lights.

One solution? LED lights. LEDs may have a higher upfront cost, but they ultimately provide savings on your electric bill and reduce your GHG emissions. When you use  LED bulbs for all your holiday lights, the amount of power you use drops by around 75%. Whether you strive for Clark Griswold-inspired lighting or a more modest holiday display, these holiday light calculators show you  how much switching to LED lights can save you!

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Sunday, December 4, 2022

Christmas in Hague

holidays in hague In Hague, our Christmas celebrations are a tad unusual. We kick off the season with a dog parade the first weekend of December, with prizes awarded for the best-dressed dog. The canines and their owners promenade up the only road in town, arriving at the Community Center, where Santa is on hand to hand out presents to the dogs – oh, yes, and to any children who might be around. But since this is becoming more and more of a retirement community, there aren’t that many wee ones in town anymore. 

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Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Holiday events around the region

holiday lights

Here’s a look at some of the many holiday events coming up around the Adirondacks:

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Saturday, December 25, 2021

Poem: Puppy Elf

chance the rescue dog

Puppy Elf ( If you have a pet, you know!)

This ‘Elf on a Shelf’, with sweet doggy paws,
Helps Santa all year, our dear Puppy Claus.
Keeping us nice, because naughty won’t do,
Loving us always, and ‘herding’ us through.
Sniffing the tinsel, nuzzling the wrap
With little black nose, then curls in a nap.
Innocence, goodness, from day into night,
She keeps us laughing, with brown eyes so bright.
And no tear would dare to fall from an eye,
When puppy is near to lick those tears dry.
She stands her proud watch, in good times and bad,
This Christmas blessing, to her mom and dad.


Monday, December 20, 2021

2021 Last-minute “Support Local” Holiday Gift Guide

By Audrey Schwartzberg, ANCA Communications Officer

buy local graphic
Nothing says true love like a year’s worth of garbage pickup.

This may end up being my favorite gift this year. The rest are sitting wrapped, tidy and pretty, under the tree.

My garage, on the other hand, is neither tidy nor pretty. It is bursting with trash bags, busted gear and crammed recycling bins — quietly waiting (and waiting) for us to make a trip (or two) to the transfer station. Our cars, in the meantime, are relegated to the cold and snow just outside the garage doors.

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Friday, December 17, 2021

Roast Grinch: A holiday feast

holiday grinch roast

So, you’ve been doing some hunting, managed to bag a few Grinches!  Congratulations!  NOW What??

Well, I wanted to take a moment and offer some suggestions and an easy original Grinch recipe from my own Whoville Santa’s chef pantry.

Now – Whoville Santa is a firm believer that proper Roast Grinch preparation begins in the sleigh.  He recommends that once you bag a Grinch- field dress it right away!

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Monday, December 13, 2021

Yule Logs

yule logs

The tradition of burning a Yule log has largely fizzled out in most parts of the world. While holiday cards often feature cute, picturesque birch rounds in the hearth, old-time Yule logs in 6th and 7th century Europe were monster tree trunks that were meant to burn all day, and in certain cultures for twelve continuous days, without being entirely used up. 

Apparently, if you didn’t have a leftover bit of this log remaining after the marathon burn, you were doomed to misfortune in the upcoming year. The remnant piece of charred wood was tucked away in the ceiling and was used to light the following year’s Yule log. I assume it was extinguished before being squirreled away in the rafters or some really bad luck would ensue.

While a birch log is charming, it doesn’t compare with many other hardwoods in terms of heat value and how long it will burn. Heat value from wood and other fuels is measured in British thermal units (BTUs), one BTU being the energy required to heat a pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. If you look at firewood BTU-value charts you’ll see that few of them agree exactly. This is to be expected, as the heat value of a given species varies according to the conditions in which it grew.

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Sunday, December 12, 2021

Reduce Waste this Holiday Season

holiday lightsThis year, lighten your holiday celebrations by reducing waste and recycling right!
Here are some holiday waste reduction tips:

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Saturday, December 11, 2021

Boughs of Holly 

holly

Deck the Halls 

    Deck the halls (with boughs of holly). It’s a fun-to-sing Christmas song (with its fa-la-la refrain) and perhaps one of the most widely recognized and most-often caroled.

    First published in 1881, the song is generally believed to be American in origin, although the author remains unknown. The music, however, (or should I say the tune) dates back to 16th Century Wales and a song titled Nos Galan, which means New Year’s Eve. Some people associate the music for Nos Galan with a duet for violin and piano by Mozart, and / or a piece written for voice and piano with violin and cello composed by Haydn.

    Interestingly, an early calendar in the Church of Rome described Christmas Eve as templa exornantur; churches are decked.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Adirondack Harvest creates holiday shopping guide

adirondack harvest gift guide

This holiday season,  support the farmers, makers and small businesses in the Adirondacks by shopping for Adirondack-grown and made food and gifts. Share the special sense of place that things made from the sun, soil, and wild rivers of the Adirondacks offer.  There is no better way to express your love and gratitude for our region and the people who make it special than to put your extra holiday spending back into your Adirondack communities.

The guide aims to inspire and connect you with farms and small businesses to support this holiday season. Click here to access it.


Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Ti Festival of Trees runs Nov. 26 to Dec. 31

festival of treesThe Ticonderoga Historical Society invites the public to visit the Annual Festival of Trees, taking place at the Hancock House through December 31.

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Thursday, November 18, 2021

What’s In a Gnome?

gnomes

Early one fall, several years ago, my wife Robin & I were planning our Christmas gift shopping list.  We asked my mom, who lives with us, and has everything;

“Mom-What do you want for Christmas?”

Mom’s answer?

“A really neat Garden Gnome.”

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, December 19, 2020

Holiday recycling tips


Recycling Bin “Do’s” and “Don’ts” – Holiday Edition

NYS DEC provides some important recycling tips so you can have a waste-free seasonal celebration! Check out all the following tips and information, as well as events offered this season in order to help spread information and reduce waste this season.

Holiday Recycling Tips
  • Cardboard Boxes: Do recycle! Flatten boxes to save space and remove loose tape.
  • Holiday Cards: Do not include cards with glittery, metallic, or foil elements. Do include all others.
  • Wrapping Paper: Do not include metallic, glittery, or foil-lined papers. Do include other wrapping papers by folding into flat sheets before recycling.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Howl Story Slam returns live online

The Howl Story Slam is back with an evening of live stories told online. The team behind the Howl has worked to revamp the program as it is so important to hold space for stories in a time when we can’t physically be together. The beloved program will take place virtually for everyone to enjoy from home on December 18, 2020 at 7:00pm

Anyone is welcome to tell a true, five-minute story on the theme “Holidays: The good, the bad, the ugly” using no notes.

The first 15 storytellers to sign up will be included in the lineup. Registration required for storytellers and audience members, sign up here bit.ly/decvirtualhowl. Free to tell stories and to attend.

The Howl Story Slam team is a partnership between Adirondack Center for Writing and North Country Public Radio, two organizations that believe in the power of stories.

Gretchen Koehler tells a story at the Howl Grand Story Slam, December 2019. Photo credit: Baylee Annis, Adirondack Center for Writing


Saturday, December 12, 2020

Make it: Skillet Cornbread

Skillet Cornbread


This old-fashioned recipe for skillet cornbread is simple, easy, and produces a delicious cornbread that has a perfectly buttery crust on the bottom.

Ingredients:

  • ½ stick butter
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups cornmeal
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 ½ cup milk
  • 10-inch cast iron skillet

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