My Holiday Tradition

Fruitcake is not part of my childhood holiday tradition. I can’t really think of any childhood holiday tradition. My first taste of fruitcake was in my mid-20’s. A friend was cleaning out his departed father’s home and offered me a fruitcake. I scoffed at the idea of it, but Rod assured me Claxton was a good brand. 

So one evening I sat and drank some of the Cointreau from his dad’s estate, and ate some of the fruitcake. I was surprised! It was delicious–moist, full of chewy fruits, crunchy nuts and warming spices–and I savored it.

Several years later I was driving through southern Wisconsin on my way to visit family. Gray day, bare trees, flat snow-covered earth. A public radio station was broadcasting “A Christmas Memory”, Truman Capote’s childhood memoir of making fruitcake with a much older cousin. The story struck me enough that I remember the scene and story 20  years later.

The desire for a holiday tradition struck me some time in my late 30’s. With no kids, I spent the holidays either with friends or driving to Wisconsin to be with my family. I wanted something I could carry through year to year and share with whoever was important to me. 

Alton Brown’s “Free Range Fruitcake” fit the bill. It is a recipe that takes time, planning and a few bucks. Six different kinds of dried fruit, macerated overnight in rum, cooked in apple cider and butter with freshly crushed cloves and allspice berries, mixed with pecans and folded into a simple quick bread. Then days of basting with brandy. The loaves are then sealed in plastic and foil and wrapped with a bow. The many steps allow for plenty of time to consider the past year and with whom I will share these delicacies. 

The raisins, currants, apricots, cranberries have soaked in rum and cooked with butter, sugar, apple cider, and spices.

Fruitcakes are both famous and notorious for lasting a long time. A family in Michigan still presents the last fruitcake made by their great-great-grandmother before her death in 1878. Indeed, after basting in brandy, a loaf hidden in the back of my fridge for a year tasted just as delicious as a fresh one. Fruitcakes have their limits though. 

Helen’s Fruitcake

Year after year, dear Grandma Helen (not really my grandma, but I feel a part of her family) would pull the same foil-wrapped fruitcake from her freezer and place it among her dozens of picture-perfect lady locks, cherry winks, date bars and clothespin cookies. It was never unwrapped, never a show made of it, but it had a place in her celebration. Primarily as the butt of a few jokes.

The fruitcake that hadn’t been unwrapped since its inception decades earlier.

Helen passed away in the fall of 2015, just weeks before her daughter’s renowned annual Christmas party. Doreen retrieved the fruitcake from Helen’s freezer, brought it to her home, and placed it center-stage among the turkey and ham and shrimp salad. Finally, the fruitcake was unwrapped, displayed on an elegant platter. It was beautiful. Golden brown, with the neon-colored fruits and pecans strategically placed on top. 

Doreen displays the legendary fruitcake.

Despite seeing the silvery block and hearing jokes about “The Fruitcake” for multiple years, I never knew the story behind it. Just before slicing into it, Doreen told us its origin story. 

Attempting to cut Helen’s 20-year old fruitcake.

As part of her marathon holiday baking session, Helen made fruitcakes and gave them to friends. Some time in the late 1990’s one of the recipients passed away before Helen could give her the fruitcake. Helen didn’t think it right to pass this cake on to someone else. (Think about it; would you want a dead woman’s fruitcake?) So it went into the freezer. Years passed before Helen found it again, and on a whim, she placed it on the holiday table. For 20 years this cake was frozen, thawed, displayed, frozen, thawed, displayed. Until there were no more Christmas get-togethers at Helen’s house.

That fruitcake, lovingly made and brought out year after year, I’m sure was a reminder to Helen of her old friend. I imagine her flood of memories of past fruit cakes as she pulled it out of the freezer. And maybe a bit of sadness as she put it back in the freezer to wait for another trip around the sun. Until it was Doreen’s turn to pull it out.

My New Tradition

Helen’s fruitcake ultimately became the parody of a baked good that we all know: solid, heavy, dry, inedible. That is not how her fruitcake started. And that is not what I present to you this holiday season. It is neither a mass-produced confection, nor a stale, beleaguered loaf. 

I think I have chosen fruitcake to be my holiday tradition, because it is like the other things I’m attracted to: stray cats, abandoned buildings, thrift store finds, the half-price rack at the garden center. They’re not too attractive but if you clean them up, give them a little love, others will see how wonderful and valuable they are. 

I started this fruitcake tradition for me as much as for you. Each year as I make my fruitcakes, I think of Rod and of Helen and of Doreen and all the others that I have shared these with. Some of you are just receiving your first fruitcake. Some of you have been with me for a while and I hope you look forward to my fruitcake. And if you still have last year’s in the back of your fridge, be sure to eat that one before cutting into this one.

What the Guests Like

What do our guests like about staying at the Jewel Vinsota Artist’s Guesthouse? Here’s a very specific list from recent visitors.

“Lisa | Chaco | Mike saying thank you for things such as …A comfy dogbed, a nice view from the dogbed room; Bila’s hospitality; a dog peeing on a bush sign magnet; a private sculpture walk complete with chipmunks to chase; good A/C; plenty of cookware; the stackity Scrabble game; great sound insulation; spare dog water bowls; a Charleston magnet; proximity to a summer farm stand; good wifi; 1 mile to the AT; an enormous sofa; NO GODDAMN TV; proximity to the liquor store; art supplies; cool nighttime temps; a nice firm mattress; lots of art books; so many convenient coffee tables; a shady parking spot; a welcomingly empty fridge; lots of ice.”

Fractured Dreams

An Evolving Outdoor Sculpture

It takes a different kind of person to carry a rusted iron bed frame between three homes in two states. But that’s David–he saw the potential in it. Once he started developing the Jewelv Vinsota Sculpture Park he knew he finally had the right use for it. It was one of the first installations in the park and has evolved over the last three seasons.

Raking sunlight beams through “Fractured Dreams“– an installation composed of a salvaged iron bed-frame with broken windshields in a glen of ferns. Jewel Vinsota Sculpture Park. Smithsburg, Maryland. c. 2017.

The frame is unremarkable. It probably fits a full-size mattress. A stout outer frame with steel springs connected to an inner frame that is divided lengthwise by a another steel band. Iron mesh fills one half, but is missing from the other half.

In 2017, David stood it upright in the woods and hung a broken windshield in the empty half, creating an interesting play on transparency. Both halves allowed you to see through them. The steel side had a logical, consistent pattern that is easily seen through to the landscape beyond. The glass side fractured in a random pattern that has turned opaque over the last two years.

Windshields are constructed with two layers of glass sandwiched around a sheet of poly-vinyl butyrl. Don’t ask the exact science, but from observation we found as the PVB is exposed to air, water and light, it becomes opaque. Bits of glass had broken off revealing the distorted, clouded PVB.

Close up of broken windshield component of “Fractured Dreams” c. Feb 2020. Glass has fallen from the center layer of Poly Vinyl Butyrl (PVB). The exposed, distorted PVB has gone opaque.

In May of 2020 David composed a collage to replace the the windshield in “Fractured Dreams“. He gathered rusted metal roofing, flattened half-round gutter, radiator coils, and a lens that inverts the view and mounted them onto plywood. The colors and textures of the collage play against the rigidity and rust of the frame, and contrasts with the green of the surrounding trees and ferns.

“Fractured Dreams V.2“. Jewel Vinsota sculpture park, Smithsburg, Maryland. May 2020.

That could be enough, but if the visitor isn’t careful, they’ll easily miss the fun part of this sculpture–the back side, covered with 5″ x 5″ mirrored tiles, that provides a disjointed reflection of the viewer. It’s not just the reflections, but the reflections contrasted with the view through the mesh that make it interesting.

Degibnio’s image in “Fractured Dreams V.2“. Jewel Vinsota sculpture park, Smithsburg, Maryland. May 2020.

And if you get close, you can see the inverted image through the lens

Reflections and transparency turned upside down. Jewel Vinsota sculpture park, Smithsburg, Maryland. May 2020.
An inverted Degibnio through the lens of “Fractured Dreams V.2“. Jewel Vinsota sculpture park, Smithsburg, Maryland. May 2020.

Experience “Fractured Dreams” and dozens of other installations at the River of Rocks Sculpture Park by booking at our Airbnb. Or CONTACT US to arrange a visit to the park.

Life as an AirBnb Host

  • The Jewel Vinsota Artist’s Guesthouse
  • The Burhacienda

We’re coming up on 2 years as short-term-rental hosts and it’s been an amazing gig for us so far. We rent out the Jewel Vinsota Artist’s Guesthouse which is next to our home near Smithsburg, Maryland. We also rent the Burhacienda, my former home in Hagerstown, Maryland.

What I like most about being part of this community is that it reaffirms my belief that most of us are decent human beings. Hosting has a bunch of benefits, and a few drawbacks. Here’s some specifics:

Benefits of Hosting

Sharing This Place We Love

No matter how amazing your home is, it’s so easy to become complacent about what you see everyday. Having people come through on a regular basis, and pointing out what they love, breaks that complacency.

When all we can see are the furballs or the uneven paint job on the ceiling, giving our guests a tour of our home makes us see it in a renewed light. We again can appreciate the light rays beaming in through the clerestory windows, or the window view that lines up perfectly with the guesthouse gable window.

Our guests’ appreciation makes us want to make this place better to heighten their experience and make them want to come back.

Meeting Great People

We’ve had guests from all over the world, here for so many different reasons. In the beginning it was mostly people on longer road trips looking for a place to rest their heads. Now, most are getting away from the cities for a weekend. Some come to focus on writing projects. Here’s a few that stick out in my head.

  • Oli, an artist and AirBnb Host from Iceland, came with a Baltimorean friend and her St. Bernard. Oli gave David great advice and encouragement.
  • Staff from the Maryland Symphony Orchestra used the Guesthouse for a planning retreat.
  • A film student from MICA used our house as the setting for part of her Master’s project.
  • So much stuff …
  • The whole crew.
  • Alison, of My Good Eye Music Visuals, rented the house to record a video for Bottom Feeder, by local band Clutch. She and her partner stayed with us for a couple nights. They set up their equipment, furnished some special props (like Maryland flag hot pads), and had the band Clutch show up for one day.
Clutch drummer practices while singer performs in front of a green screen.
Crabcake Recipe by Clutch

Keeping My Stuff

I loved my home, now known as the Burhacienda. I loved the furniture I put in it, the art I put on the walls, the colors I painted it, the plants I put in the yard, and the graffiti-covered trains that rolled past it. I loved it–but then I fell in love. And my now-husband, Degibnio, had a better house, with plenty of art, and a creek that flowed past it.

I was able to move into his home, the Jewel Vinsota, bringing only clothes, cats, a few bits of cookware, and some favorite art. The rest stayed put. Guests and month-to-month renters come and go, and in between I can go and look at my stuff, soak in my colors, and take care of my plants.

I haven’t had to put my stuff in storage or get rid of it. I haven’t had to sell it for what will definitely be a loss. I haven’t had to find good long-term renters and deal with all that entails.

Money (duh)

Who is going to deny that hundreds dollars of extra income is an awesome thing? After going through the Government Shutdown of 2019 with no paychecks for a month, having that little chunk o’cash deposit several times a week was incredibly reassuring.

Drawbacks of Hosting

Money (huh?)

Even after buying all the stuff to set up the rental, you have to keep buying stuff. At the bare minimum–toilet paper. To make it a nicer space you have to keep stocked on coffee, creamers, tea, paper towels, sodas, some cooking basics, trash bags, and cleaning supplies.

If you didn’t splurge on sheets at the beginning, you’ll be buying more. Whether it’s from fabric pilling or –ahem– stains, nice clean sheets are a necessity.

All these purchases add up and this income is reported to the IRS. So we need to keep our receipts and track what we buy, to soften the blow at the end of the year.

People All in Your Shit

In our case, strangers are living with and using our personal stuff. Both of our rentals have been our homes, and still hold our personal effects, like furniture, books, and artwork. Sometimes I think about the assumptions our guests might make from being around our stuff. Because I damn sure judge them for how they use our space.

The Bad Apples

Truly there have only been a handful of guests that made me uneasy. Sometimes its because they don’t provide any information when they book. Sometimes they ask A LOT of questions and are high maintenance. I’ve learned to say no to anyone asking for a discounted rate because those folks have just been difficult even after I cut them a break.

As far as how they’ve left the house, I can count on one hand the number that have not done their dishes. And one who didn’t pick up the dog poop in the tiny yard of the Burhacienda.

One of our draws is that we allow dogs (and cats!) at both our places. And most have been really good. Usually it just means fur to vacuum up and maybe muddy paw prints on the floor.

But this guy, oh this guy. Turbo. A gorgeous, rescued, literal-junkyard dog of a pibble. Ironically, his human companion was in the area attending a dog-training workshop and she was gone during the day. She kept him in a crate and had a video camera to keep an eye on him from afar. That way she could watch as Turbo worked the latch open and proceeded to scratch up woodwork, strew toys and food around the house, and bust up some blinds and furniture.

Who would ever guess this relaxed guy could have such bad separation anxiety?

She’d then call or message us asking us to check on him. On the day this pic was taken, I was at home and, rather than risk more damage, I just brought him out with me while I worked on the porch. As you can see, as long as he wasn’t alone, he was fine.

Would We Do It Again?

Oh hell yeah. It’s totally worth it.

Update: Moller’s Sustained Wind

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Degibio–Happier than a pig in shit.

Here’s something good that came from the Government Shutdown of 2019. With a lot of time on my hands and some really good timing, Degibnio and I salvaged components from the Moller Organ Factory site. We arrived just as they were being pushed by skid-steer loader into a pile, to eventually be loaded into a dumpster. Together we loaded 26 keyboards and various other intricate parts that I can’t name. It filled the back of our flat bed truck.

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All the organ components we salvaged from the Moller Pipe Organ Factory site.

Degibnio’s plan for Moller’s Sustained Wind doesn’t include any keyboards–the focus will be on the organ pipes. But when an assemblage artist finds a cache like this, they don’t walk away. Instead the ideas start boiling for more creations. So stay tuned for  more posts on what he’s creating using these pieces. We’re hoping a large collage can be installed in the atrium of the organ factory’s new incarnation.

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Sculpture Update

Back to the sculpture update: Degibnio recently submitted a formal proposal to install Moller’s Sustained Wind along Hagerstown’s Cultural Trail. The site has been chosen — it will be in front of the Mural of Unusual Size, provided they get permission from the adjacent housing complex.The city committee will be applying for a grant to fund the project and they’re confident they’ll receive it. We’ve also gotten a couple donation commitments from friends. We’ll also be holding a fundraiser party later this spring.

The sculpture will be a composed of a “forest” of metal organ pipes rising up out of two brick rubble piles. The brick pathway will meander between the piles. It represents the spirit of the arts  that has been sustained in Hagerstown, despite loss of industry, population, and money. It’s an honor to the thousands of people who worked at Moller over the course of a century. Both the craftspeople — woodworkers, metal workers, tuners, designers, and draftsman — and the accountants, salesmen, office workers, and managers who kept the projects coming in. This company touched a lot of people in Washington County. This video from the 1980’s, The Sound of M.P. Moller, has some great video of people working there.

Now we need to find the organ pipes. Of course I’m searching eBay and have found several dealers. We haven’t made a purchase yet. But we need to soon. Many dealers don’t ship pipes because of their size. So when we finally buy some organ pipes, there’s probably going to be a road-trip involved. (Woo-hoo!!)

Things to Do at the Jewel

While you’re staying at the Jewel Vinsota Artist’s Guesthouse, we want you to connect with your creative side. Play the guitar. Paint a watercolor. Write a poem. Finish your novel. Cook a new dish. Sculpt with play-doh. Complete a puzzle while listening to an audio-book. Whatever!

But don’t plan on staying in our little paradise for your whole visit. There’s lots to do in our area.

Google Maps

Use these Google Maps to help guide you.

Pennsylvania & points north
Hagerstown & points south

State and National Parks

Old-School Fun

Duckpin lanes are just like regular bowling. Just the balls and pins are smaller.
  • Roller Skating–there’s two options in Hagerstown! Starland Roller Rink and Turner’s Skate Place. Take my sage advice, drink your cocktails AFTER roller skating, not before.
  • Bowling–There’s regular 10-pin that you’ll find anywhere, but if you’re in Maryland you HAVE to try duckpin bowling. It’s like regular bowling but the balls are the size of large grapefruits and the pins and it’s harder to get a strike. Be sure to put up the bumpers so you don’t feel so lame 🙂 Turner’s Dual Lanes is our place for both kinds of bowling.

Artsy-Fartsy

Be sure to walk the Hagerstown Cultural Trail that connects downtown Hagerstown with the Washington County Museum of Fine Art so you can see David’s sculpture “Moller’s Sustained Wind”.

Other places to see local artist’s work:

Dining

There’s not a huge selection of restaurants to choose from in our area, but here’s some good ones that aren’t corporate chains.

LocalVores

The sign for DoNut Alley. Folks line up on Friday nights to get them. Note: they’re closed on Saturday nights!
  • Krumpe’s Donuts is a local institution. They’re only open from 7pm to 2am while they’re making the donuts. You might have to stand in line on DoNut Alley. They’re best eaten right after you buy them.
  • Mountain View Orchard is just a mile from the guesthouse and offers seasonal produce. Depending on when you’re visiting it might be strawberries, blueberries, asparagus, peaches or apples. They also sell jams, and really good pies!
  • Ivy Hill Orchard offers local produce, plants, eggs, cheese, and other goodies, just a few miles north of the guest house.
  • Zoe’s Chocolate Co is your place if you’re a connoisseur of fine chocolates. They’re made in downtown Waynesboro PA, often using local products.
  • Misty Meadow Farm Creamery is the place for local ice cream. They also offer a gorgeous setting and petting zoo.

Local Brews and Distillations

  • Knob Hall Winery has good wine and entertainment in an historic barn. West of Hagerstown near Clear Spring MD.
  • Antietam Brewery has a tasting room, tours of their brewery, food, and entertainment.
  • Red Heifer Winery is only 5 miles north has an amazing hill-top view. Plus you’ll drive by goats!
  • Lake House Distilling Co. in Waynesboro offers flavored whiskeys and food trucks to soak up some of the booze.
  • Big Cork Vineyards has a lovely, rural setting south of Hagerstown and offers weekend entertainment.

David and Sarah look forward to meeting you and sharing everything this area has to offer.

Jewel Vinsota Sculpture Park

The Jewel Vinsota Sculpture Park is accessible only through our property. Our guests are encouraged to explore and see the latest creations. The trail is unpaved, and is steep and rocky in some places. We have hiking sticks for those who may be less sure-footed. To complete the mile-long loop, you will cross the creek three times Your feet may get wet.

The Jewel Vinsota house overlooks Beaver Creek which starts up on South Mountain near the line between Washington and Frederick Counties. The adjacent woods went largely unexplored for the last 18 years. In the spring of 2017, we explored before the underbrush leafed out and realized the jewel that was hiding there. A field of ferns, dozens of wildflowers, towering poplar trees, former creek beds, steep slopes, and lots and lots of stone.

We marked out a trail that meandered through the woods. A day with some shears, loppers and a chainsaw gave us a way to get further up the creek, to a beautiful, secluded spot. Large stones naturally stepped down into a ravine that was overgrown with barberry. We cut that back and had the first spot for a sculpture.

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We used what we found nearby–a fallen tree, up to 6″ in diameter with beautiful blueish-green fungus. We propped up the biggest, longest sections and screwed them together. The result is somewhat like a tee-pee, growing out of the forest but already in decay. It is balanced on a stack of rocks, and flanked by two vertical steel grids. And totally unexpected in this corner of Maryland. DeGibnio was hooked.

Throughout the summer of 2017, DeGibnio assembled over a dozen pieces, primarily using materials he finds in the land and water. Any other materials and tools have to be hand-carried. This strip of land between Wolfsville Road and Foxville Road is rich with human detritus. Tires, appliances, water tanks, rusted buckets, were discarded over many decades, tossed down the hill or washed down the creek. They have found new unexpected life in his assemblages.

The River of Rocks Sculpture Park gets its name historically; that’s what is shown on a map of the area from 1877. And though the name of the creek has changed, it’s still an accurate description of the terrain.

River of Rock map

What the Guests Like

What do our guests like about staying at the Jewel Vinsota Artist’s Guesthouse? Here’s a very specific list from recent visitors. “Lisa | Chaco | Mike saying thank you for things such as …A comfy dogbed, a nice view from the dogbed room; Bila’s hospitality; a dog peeing on a bush sign magnet; a private…

by GibneyPolzin

Moller’s Sustained Wind

DeGibnio recently submitted a proposal for Moller’s Sustained Wind, an interactive sculpture, honoring the Moller Organ Factory, to be placed along Hagerstown’s Cultural Trail.  The proposal was inspired by a piece he created in the Jewel Vinsota Sculpture Park, created from salvaged organ pipes.

Drawing of organ pipes emerging from a rubble pile of brick.
Initial proposal illustration for Moller’s Sustained Wind.
Seven organ pipes, ranging from 2 feet to 6 feet in height, emerge from the leaf litter in a winter forest.
Installation of organ pipes in the River of Rocks Sculpture Park.

The proposal evolved a bit to enable the viewer to create the sounds of a pipe organ.

View the current proposal. 

The name was derived from the essence of a pipe organ:

A pipe organ produces sound by driving “wind’ (pressurized air) through a combination of pipes, which each have a specific pitch and are selected via a keyboard. The primary difference between a harpsichord or piano, which are also played via keyboard, is that the organ has a sustained supply of wind, as opposed to the stringed instruments, whose sound begins to dissipate as soon as the key is pressed.

Moller’s Sustained Wind represents the cultural spirit of Hagerstown, which has been a constant presence in Washington County despite its loss of industry and population.

Although this piece wasn’t selected for the grant, the committee was still excited about his proposal and want it to be realized. The city is willing to sponsor the foundation and infrastructure for the piece, but we need to fund-raise for the materials, sound system, and artist’s fees.

If you would like to financially help to make this a reality, please complete this form and we’ll tell you how you can do that.

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