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Tis the Season of Trees!

Original publish date: Dec. 7th, 2010

In the spirit of the holidays I have been a busy little elf down in my workshop making Tree of Life jewelry!


(tree earrings and pendants before the ear wires are attached & trees waiting to be shipped)
The Tree of Life jewelry collection celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. After 25 years of hand-sawing the tree design I can practically do it with my eyes closed now!
Bill and I are so happy to see our jewelry worn by our customers. Now, more and more we catch people walking the streets in our famous tree of life earrings. 
 

 

 
Tree of Life
An ancient symbol of mankind's existence on earth, growing towards an understanding of peace, balance, and unity in life, with hope and love for all.
 
 
Happy Holidays!
 
Best Wishes,
Lynda & Bill
Autumn Colors

Original publish date: Nov. 1st, 2010

Bill and I took a lovely fall afternoon walk up Eastman Hill to pay a visit to the farm's beautiful horses. The lighting and colors could not have been more amazing!
These are the moments that remind us why we love where we are, and they make us feel so lucky to be able to do what we love to do.
Of course Bill was able to call over the whole horse family, including their new born. How cute!

We returned home to find the flock of turkeys roaming through our yard.


Hope you all are enjoying this special time of year and preparing for the holiday season upon us!

With our Best Thoughts,
Lynda & Bill

 
"In Every Walk with Nature, One Receives Far More Than He Seeks" - John Muir
Bill's Pesto, a Quick and Easy Recipe!

Original publish date: Sep. 11th, 2010

It's that time of year when the vegetable garden has seen better days, and the final harvesting of herbs and such must take place before the garden rests for the winter. For Bill, this translates into- PESTO making time! Pesto is a tasty sauce that can be made in a big batch and stored in the fridge or even freezer to add to your dishes at your convenience.  Bill has a quick and tasty recipe that fits any Pesto craving!
The recipe is as follows:  Pick your fresh basil, and using a food processor, add  2 cups of basil leaves, 1/3 cup of pine nuts,  8 cloves of peeled fresh garlic, 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese. Blend this all together into a nice green and aromatic paste! Then add 1 cup of olive oil and blend the oil into the paste.  Store the Pesto in a jar and keep refrigerated and use within 30 days. OR store your pesto into ice cube trays in the freezer. Once they are frozen, pop them out into a ziploc bag and Voila- Pesto all winter long! So yummy!
(Check out Bill's large can of Olive Oil- a sign of a true cook!)

 

And we wanted to share this lovely sunset picture taken from our backyard this week.
We love this time of year! Happy cooking!
Rainbows, Foliage, and Sunflowers: Oh My!

Original publish date: Oct. 13th, 2010

We have been having a spectacular fall here in Center Lovell, Maine! And we wanted to share some of our favorites pictures thus far!
ABOVE:  a beautiful rainbow highlights the mountains as seen through our gate at the Gallery's backyard!
What fall wouldn't be complete without sunflowers?
And Bill's basil is still going strong! Check out his Pesto Recipe here! 

 

And an outdoor sculpture "Prayer Wheel" by Craig Riches, looks lovely with the fall foliage and a rainbow!
More turning leaves...
A lovely haze over Kezar Lake.
And another rainbow picture!
If you fancy a beautiful fall drive- head on out and see us at our gallery- "Harvest Gold Gallery" in Center Lovell, Maine!
Have Green Beans Year-Round with Bill's Kitchen Tips!

Original publish date: Jul. 26th, 2010


From the garden to the freezer: with this large amount of green beans we'll be eating home grown garden fresh green beans all winter!  It's been a great year for the garden with the early spring and hot sunny days so far this summer, and so we have an abundance of green beans.

Bill's best tip for savoring your green beans year round is quite simple: blanche and then freeze!

1. Pick all your green beans when they are ripe, and wash all the dirt off.



2. While you're washing your beans have a full pot of water heating to a boil.

3. Also be sure to have a full bowl of ice water close by


4. When the water boils carefully add all the beans and bring back to a boil.


5. Once the boil returns quickly remove and strain the beans.

6. Add the strained beans to the ice water and gently toss until cold.

   


7. Remove the beans from the ice water and prepare the beans either French cut or Julian cut. 




8. Then pack and store your beans in freezer bags in the portions you desire!

 


9. Store these bags in the freezer until you are ready to use them on that cold winter day! When you are ready to eat your beans, simply place the frozen beans back in some boiling water to reheat.

10. When water returns to a boil your beans are ready to strain and eat!


Stay posted for more helpful garden and cooking tips from Bill!

 
Graduation Rings

Original publish date: Mar 31st, 2010

Hey everyone! The two kids just graduated college and Bill and I thought it would be a great idea to make them Harvest Gold Jewelry custom class rings. Check them out!

 
We engraved the inside with their school name, their name and the year.

 

Congratulations to Morgan and Aurora! They both graduated from Sierra Nevada College in Lake Tahoe. Morgan received his degree in Environmental Science and Ecology. Aurora, his girlfriend, received her degree in Fine Arts. 

And a big congratulations to my daughter, Carley. Check out her ring.
 
Carley received her degree in Communication Studies from Stetson University in Deland, FL. 

Bill and I couldn't be more proud. What a great start to our busy summer!
Our Trip to the Tetons!

Original publish date: Feb. 24th, 2010



We went to the Tetons for L's birthday! We did a lot of skiing , met fun new people and had a fabulous time. We are back in Maine now, with very little snow but that's okay since we are busy completing all the orders we sold while we were away!

The Story of Us... and Our Rings!

Original publish date: Feb. 4th, 2010


As we've mentioned on past posts and in our blog's mission, we want to share the stories behind the jewelry we design and make. So it was only fitting to share our own story! Recently on ETSY, there have been features of couples working and running their etsy store together and so we started to look back at our own story that began YEARS before etsy and has continued to grow and flourish over the past 25+ years! Above is a picture of L & B back in the day, hard at work in the studio making jewelry.



Our braided band was one of our first designs and became our wedding bands. It's a funny story behind our rings! We had the gold from L's grandmother's teeth and we repurposed it by melting and changing the alloy to the three different golds that constitute the braid! It's definitely an untraditional source of gold, one that speaks back to olden time, but when your young and just starting out- recycling gold can be a great option. We have had many customers stop by with old gold, or a grown out wedding band, etc and we have worked with them to make a brand new piece that fits their style and needs! 


And a more recent photo- of L&B with Mount Washington!

We love being jewelers and wouldn't change a thing! We work well together, starting our day early and always take a break for one of B's fantastic lunches. Then it's back to the studio to fulfill retail and etsy orders! And if the sun is shining and the weather is right, we'll close up shop for a gaunt of skiing or come summer- for a dip in the lake. We have many more stories to share with you about past and present designs, so stay tuned!
Winter Landscape Around the Gallery

Original publish date: Jan. 30th, 2010

We really do experience the seasons here in Western Maine, although sometimes during the winter months it feels like summer will never arrive. But we enjoy the slower pace of winter, of getting out and skiing in our very own backyard, of cooking up a delicious meal, and stoking that fire. Then soon enough the snow will melt and we will welcome back all of our summer friends!



As some of you may know- here's the view from our gallery! Looks a bit different with all the snow!!! Although we haven't had quite the winter as last year, there is always the chance for those unexpected storms!



And another view from our gallery!