GMG Nominated For CBS Boston’s Most Valuable Blogger In The Everything Else Category

If you feel that we deserve it you might consider voting each day through the 9th of September.   CBS Boston’s Most Valuable Blogger In The Everything Else Category

Here’s a link to the site-image

Here are the rules-

Voting for Finalists will be limited to one vote per day.

Very cool!   Thanks to whoever of you guys nominated us!

I’ll leave the widget they provided the nominees in the sidebar so you can vote daily.  Please only vote if you think we deserve it and thanks again, it’s a great honor to be nominated out of the probably millions of blogs throughout Massachusetts.

Congratulations Team!!!  and by team I mean every single reader, contributor and commenter because we’ve said all along that this thing we love doesn’t exist without all of you.  Without our readers and people writing in to let us know they like what we are doing we don’t really have a reason to keep trying to churn out the very best content we can possibly offer.  Thank You Team!!!!!

YOU ALL EARNED THIS NOMINATION!!!

Curley – Pet of the Week – Cape Ann Animal Aid

Hi, my name is Curley, I am the big kitten in the front.

Curley

I am here at the Cape Ann Animal Aid in Gloucester with my brothers.  We are four-month-old short-haired kittens.  Moe has a handsome black coat, Larry is a sticking tiger kitten and I have a shiny orange coat.

It is so nice here at the shelter, everyone is so kind and caring.   If you would like a kitten, please stop down and meet us.   The only problem is, we are all so cute, you won’t know which one of us to adopt.  My vote goes with me!  I think I am so cute it should be illegal! 

I have to run, that comment just made Moe cry!

Five Islands by John Caggiano – an Art Exhibit & Reception

For a great kickoff to your weekend, join Corina Belle-Isle & John Caggiano for a wine & cheese reception at the Caggiano seaside gallery on Friday, August 26 from 4 to 9 pm.

John has traveled and painted in some of the most breathtaking places in the country. The Five Islands Exhibit is a collection of plein air works from Nantucket, Cape Ann, Monhegan Island in Maine, Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands and the beautiful seaside villages of Niantic and Mystic.

John Caggiano Studio Gallery

66 Bearskin Neck Road
Rockport, MA

Look for WBZ Hottie Lauren Leamanczyk Shown Here With Cameraman Rick Macomber and Dave Jewell and Tom Ring On Tonight’s WBZ News

DSC06526

DSC06529

Lauren came down to talk to our fishermen about storm preparations.  We shot some “C” roll material with your boy Joey but hopefully they won’t have to use my ugly mug in the telecast.

Cameraman Rick does a great website- www.macomberproductions.com check it out!

AlsoFollow Rick on twitter @boston_camera

Lauren on Twitter LaurenWBZ
also Assignment Editor and Uber Boston News Twitter Star Andrea Courtois @AndreaWBZ

Did You Know? (Hurricane Irene the 2nd)

That a hurricane can have the same name more than once?  I was telling Joey about my experience going through Hurricane Irene while living in the FL Keys, when a coconut tree blew onto my house.  He said he didn’t think a hurricane could have the same name twice.  She does have the same name, but I know I don’t have to worry about coconut trees during this Hurricane Irene. 

Hurricane Irene was a hurricane that produced somewhat heavy damage across southern Florida during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth tropical storm and the sixth hurricane of the season, Irene developed in the western Caribbean Sea on October 13 from a tropical wave. It moved northward, hitting western Cuba before attaining hurricane status. Irene struck Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, moved across the state, and moved northward over the Gulf Stream.

The hurricane first produced heavy rainfall across western Cuba, causing four deaths and damage. Irene was a wet Florida hurricane in October, similar to many hurricanes of the 1930s and 1940s. It later dropped 10 to 20 inches (255 to 510 mm) of rainfall in the Miami metropolitan area, causing urban flooding unseen since Hurricane Dennis in 1981. Despite being only a Category 1 hurricane, Irene caused eight indirect deaths and $800 million (1999 USD) in damage across Florida. (from Wikipedia.com)

For every year, there is a pre-approved list of tropical storm and hurricane names. These lists have been generated by the National Hurricane Center since 1953. At first, the lists consisted of only female names; however, since 1979, the lists alternate between male and female.

Hurricanes are named alphabetically from the list in chronological order. Thus the first tropical storm or hurricane of the year has a name that begins with “A” and the second is given the name that begins with “B.” The lists contain hurricane names that begin from A to W, but exclude names that begin with a “Q” or “U.”

Usually, the six lists of names for tropical storms and hurricanes repeat every six years. However, if there is an unusually large or damaging hurricane, the name is retired by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee because using it again could be considered insensitive.  I experience 3 of the now retired hurricane names while in FL (Georges, Mitch, and Floyd), so am not too worried about Irene.  Of course, I’m not in a concrete house with hurricane shutters now.

Let’s all believe this Irene will be a kinder, gentler lady.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Did You Know? (Talkative Girl)

Photo by E.J.

That is it possible to kayak while talking on the phone?  Our Rocky Neck Madfish Wharf girl, Wendie Demuth of Wendie Demuth Photography, as anyone who knows her knows, loves to talk.  If the Blackburn Challenge introduces a new category next year for rowers who complete the whole course while talking on the phone, I think Wendie would be a serious contender. 

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com

Bread & Butter Pickles Recipe From Sista Felicia

2 ½ lbs. pickling cucumbers
1 lb. white onions sliced very thin
2-3 Tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 ¼ Cups white distilled vinegar
1 Cup apple cider vinegar
2 ¼ Cups white sugar
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¾ Teaspoon celery seeds
1 Stick cinnamon
6 Allspice berries
1 Pinch of ground allspice
6 Whole cloves
1 Pinch of ground clove
½ Teaspoon turmeric

imageStep 1: Clean cucumbers and onions under running water to remove any dirt 

image

Step 2: Slice cleaned cucumbers and onions 1/4 inch thick (discard the ends)

imageStep 3: Place sliced cucumbers and onions in a large bowlimageimage

Step4:  Sprinkle Kosher Salt or Pickling Salt over the cucumbers and onions, and toss well distributing the salt evenly (DO NOT use table salt)image

Step 5: Cover salted cucumbers and onions with a tea towel

image

Step 6: Cover tea towel with several cups of ice

image

Step 7: Place bowl in refrigerator for 3-4 hours

Step 8: Remove bowl from refrigerator (ice should be melted)

Step 9: Remove tea towel

Step 10: Strain mixture in a large colander

image

Step 11: Rinse cucumbers and onions EXTREMELY well with clean water.

**Repeat rinsing 3-4 times

Step 12: Set rinsed/drained cucumber onion mixture aside

Step 13: Place vinegar, sugar, and spices in a 6 qt. pot and bring to a rolling boil

image

Step 14: Carefully add Cucumbers and onions to boiling mixture

image

Step 15: Stir mixture making sure all the cucumber and onions are coated with spiced liquid, and bring to a boil again

Step 16: Quickly remove pan from heat

Step 17: Sterilize canning jars, lids, and rings by placing them in a water bath

image

Step 18: Boil jars, rings, and lids for 10 minutes

Step 19: Using long tongs carefully remove jars, lids and rings from water bath 

image

Step 18: Place a kitchen towel inside of a cookie sheet and place hot /wet jars, rings and lids on top of towel. 

Step 19: Ladle warm bread and butter pickles into sterilized jars leaving a half inch space at top of each jar. Make sure all pickles are completely covered with liquid and there is a ½ inch space at top

image

*Note: I use my grandmother Felicia’s Canning Cuff to fill my jars. I highly recommend picking one up at a kitchen store. It really makes filling the mason jars super easy and mess free!

image

Step 20:Place a lid on each  jar and fasten with a  metal ring

image

Step 21: Place sealed jars back into water bath and boil for 10 min

Step 22: Using long tongs, carefully remove mason jars from water bath, placing them back on cookie sheet lined with towel, and let them cool.

image
**While they cool on towel, you should hear little popping noises. Don’t be alarmed that’s a good thing, it a sign that your jars have been properly processed!

Enjoy!

Maine Vacation Lobster Roll Roundup – Two of the Best Rolls Ever!

It is now a yearly tradition to head off to Maine for our family vacation. It is an ideal vacation spot for the kiddies; short trip and you feel like you are worlds away. Last year I reviewed 5 Lobster Rolls on a 5 day trip to Portland & Boothbay Harbor. This year we went to a less commercial area called Phippsburg. This area has 2 beaches that are in the same league as Good Harbor – Popham Beach And Reid State Park. My lobster intake on this trip disappointed my friends, only 3 rolls and a single 2 and 1/2 Pounder in 7 days. While disappointed with the numbers, I did experience 2 of the best rolls that stray a little bit from the Buttered Bun+Mayo+Lobster formula that is pounded into people’s head from this blog. Here is a round up:

5 Islands Lobster Co. – Georgetown                        This place is a close drive from Reid State Park in Georgetown. It is the quintessential Maine lobster shack that stands in front of a majestic coastal island setting. The lobster roll was no joke either. It was the first of two rolls that had no Mayo. It did have lettuce, which caused it to lose a few points, but the amount and freshness of the lobster was purely amazing. RATING: Rip that Lettuce off and give me a little bit of Mayo and you have one of the best rolls on the planet!

Check out their secret to their Lobster. Straight from the fisherman to tanks with no filters.

Reds Eats – Wiscasset 

I drove by this place last year and thought wow this place jut got lucky on location. You can’t avoid seeing Red’s Eats and the line if you are heading towards Boothbay. I took the trip this year and this place is indeed the real deal. They stuff a full pound of lobster in every roll. This is at a comparable price to other places advertising a full 1/4 lb of frozen lobster! The best tasting lobster I have ever tasted. This again strays a bit from the formula; No Mayo and they give you some melted butter.  I had overflow in my roll that was a full lobster tail. Everything ordered was awesome here. The lines are crazy here and they are brilliant for having only one cashier! RATING: This is a must visit for any Lobster Roll enthusiast. Everything about this roll rocks!

3rd Roll – Undisclosed Location

The third roll I tasted proves that even places in Maine try to stray away from the formula. I won’t mention the place, but celery and globs of mayo have no place on a Lobster Roll. RATING – When the chips on the plate are the highlight of a Lobster Roll you should probably concentrate on perfecting your Tuna or Chicken Salad!

There are a couple of other places and thing you have to try if you are ever in this part of Maine:

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath is really a great place for all ages. We spent a whole morning there. They have a whole exhibit on the Lobster industry and it’s great.

Lears Old Fashioned Ice Cream in Wiscasset has real Lobster Ice Cream. 2 Lobsters in every 10 pints or so. It’s worth a try, but I don’t think you it will be coming to a freezer near you anytime soon.

Thanks for reading –  Patrick Ryan

It’s Ardelle Day!!!! Complete Coverage Round Up

She’s A Coming and we will be live blogging it!
Here is the first video of her making her way to Gloucester this morning from Nancy Dudley at The Essex Shipbuilding Museum-

Expected at The Heritage Center around 6PM, be there to welcome her!
Not To Miss!!! Welcoming the Ardelle to Gloucester August 24th at 6:30PM

Here is a link to the progress of The Ardelle including through The Weeks From Our Boy Marty Luster-
https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/?s=Ardelle
There are several pages of posts so go to the bottom and click older posts to go back in time.
We will be updating all day.
This just in from Bill O’Connor-
Hi Joey,

The Ardell and the Lannon were just tacking off of Eastern Point and it made for a nice photo.

Enjoy,
~Bill O’Connor
North Shore Kid

image

Schooner Ardelle Sails Into Gloucester Harbor Photos from Anthony Marks-

100_3924100_3940IMG_0639IMG_0662IMG_0690

Photos From Vickie S. Van Ness-

IMAG0067IMAG0068IMAG0078IMAG0093

The Birth of a Schooner

ARDELLE Takes Shape

ARDELLE is Coming Along

Support Ardelle

ARDELLE: Week 7

ARDELLE Week 11

Ardelle Week 14

ARDELLE Week 15

ARDELLE Week 16

ARDELLE Week 20

ARDELLE Week 23

Frame Up – Pictures of the Pinky Schooner Ardelle From Elinor Teele

The Schooner Ardelle 2-19-11 From Photoholic1

Chickity Check It! Boatbuilding With Burnham

ARDELLE Week 30

Did You Know? (Ardelle’s Rum Plank)

4th Annual Digital Photography Workshop

Ardelle Week 37

The Ardelle at Sunset Photo From Len Burgess

Chickity Check It! Daisy Nell writes children’s book about Essex Schooner Ardelle

Did You Know (Ardelle Launch)

Top Pick For Saturday- VIEW THE LAUNCH OF THE SCHOONER ARDELLE FROM THE ESSEX SHIPBUILDING MUSEUM

Unique Essex Side Launch of Wooden Schooner Ardelle Set for Today July 9th and Ardelle Photos From Len Burgess

ARDELLE MAKES A SPLASH IN ESSEX photos by Marty Luster

Launch Of the Ardelle Photos From Anthony Marks

Video- The Schooner Ardelle Hits The Water From Roger Torre

Ardelle Launch Photos From Len Burgess

Scenes From The Schooner Ardelle Launch From Rick Isaacs

VIDEO- SCHOONER ARDELLE LAUNCH FROM JOANNE MARKS

Mike Dyer Ardelle Launch Photos

Schooner Ardelle Gets Her Masts Installed- Photos From Len Burgess

Schooner Ardelle with Masts and Rigging Photo From Anthony Marks

Karen Pischke’s Ardelle Photos

Not To Miss!!! Welcoming the Ardelle to Gloucester August 24th at 6:30PM

Pinky Schooner Ardelle Heeled Over for Stability Test- Photos Mike Dyer