Day: December 14, 2013

Rockport’s Shop Local Week Dec 15–Dec 22

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey C & GMG Readers!
Rockport’s Downtown Merchants Group would like to invite their Cape Ann neighbors and friends to shop locally this holiday season, and have designated a full week in December as Shop Local Week.  From Sunday, December 15 through Sunday, December 22, treat yourself and your family to the delightful experience of holiday season shopping amidst the Christmas tree lined streets and beautifully decorated shops of Rockport!
We hope to see you in Downtown Rockport!
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Noble
Rockport’s Downtown Merchants Group

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11 Days Before Christmas Song ~ “The Season’s Upon Us”

Posted on by Kim Smith

If you aren’t already, to get us  in the mood for the holidays ~

I am patting myself on the back as all my gift boxes to friends and family far and wide are in the mail a few days earlier than usual. Hooray! Next hurdle is wrapping up design projects for client’s homes before Christmas, and then family time! I love getting together with loved ones during the holidays, but sometimes it can be a challenge. Then the thought of having a Dropkick Murphy’s kind of Christmas makes me laugh and I realize that, in comparison, nothing is unnavigable! 

“The Season’s Upon Us” was submitted last year by GMG FOB Kathy. What is our favorite holiday song?

 

Long Story Short

Posted on by Paul T Morrison & RD

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Stella, our dog, small brain, but good memory of scary experiences. For example, four years after stepping in a puddle on the first granite step of the porch she still refuses to step on it. Pauses, then leaps over the steps. THERE ARE ALLIGATORS IN PUDDLES AND THEY WILL EAT ME!
Last spring Stella looking out front window making sure the dogs and dog walkers are leaving her yard. (When they enter she hides but as soon as they are moving away our super hero might even bark once.)
She is doing this one night and a cat who has been on the porch sticks her head up right in Stella’s face. Stella has a doggy heart attack but does get off a bark once the cat has split. Then for several weeks she is parked at that window waiting for the return of the demon cat. Bored one night, I whip off a cat silhouette on the band saw, sneak out on the porch and stick it in Stella’s face. Endless amusement. After a half hour I stopped figuring Stella might have a stroke if I kept it up.
Stuck the silhouette in the shop window which has no heat and this morning thought I might try a Len and shoot some ice crystals.
But I may have learned something. We had an insane cat bird who would slam into our windows in the spring. I think he was attacking the interloper he saw as a reflection. I think when he comes back this spring the window he hits is the one I put the cat in. Or Rubber Ducks. Not the Rubber Duck but I have enough ducks to put in every window. Shoot, I could put an LED light in each and be ready for Festivus.
As always, click twice to embiggen, an iPhone in Rockport.

City of Gloucester Code Red OFFICE OF THE MAYOR CODE RED

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

City of Gloucester
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

CODE RED – Issued at 11 am on December 14, 2013

Good morning.  This is Mayor Carolyn Kirk with an important message from the City of Gloucester’s code red emergency messaging system. 

Effective at 11 pm tonight, Saturday, December 14, the city has declared a snow emergency and parking ban on all city streets due to the arriving snow and possible ice storm. 

From 11pm tonight until Noon tomorrow, Sunday, December 15, all vehicles are banned from parking on city streets.  

Violators of this emergency declaration are subject to ticketing and towing at the owners expense.  Residents may park in municipal and school parking lots. 

We anticipate that snow will freeze in place due to forecasted rain which will be followed by freezing temperatures. Your cooperation during this parking ban is necessary for efficient and safe snow clearing efforts.     

To repeat, the city of Gloucester has issued a parking ban on all city streets as of 11pm tonight until Noon time tomorrow.

Thank you for listening, and this concludes this message.  

Italian Nacho Dessert Dip

Posted on by Sista Felicia

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Delicious and fun twist on traditional Italian Cannoli…makes a perfect dessert dip for holiday gatherings.

Italian Nachos

Ingredients

1 cup Mascarpone Cheese

3 cups fresh Ricotta Cheese

⅛ teaspoon pure vanilla powder (can substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla pure extract)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cup confectioners’ sugar

4 cups blended La Spagnola Vegetable and Olive Oils

8 flour Fajita Style Tortillas cut into eighths

2 cups granulated sugar

4 tablespoon ground italian cinnamon

½ cup mini chocolate morsels

1 tablespoon of holiday or festive candy pieces(optional)

Step-by-Step

1 Combine first five ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; mix on high speed 1 minute until smooth; reserve ricotta mixture

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2  Combine sugar and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl; mix well

3  Line one cookie sheet with wire cookie rack; set aside near frying pan

4  In medium frying pan heat oil over high heat setting 3-4 minutes or until very hot

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5  Working in batches carefully arrange 5-8 tortilla pieces in hot oil; cook 1 minute or until golden in color

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6 Using long kitchen tongs, turn pieces; cook 1 additional minute

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7 Using tongs remove golden pieces from oil ; arrange hot pieces standing up on wire cookie rack allowing excess oil to drip onto paper towel

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8 Repeat steps 5-7 with remaining tortillas

9 Working in batches of 4-5, toss hot tortillas in cinnamon sugar mixture, coat all sides; reserve

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10 Transfer reserved ricotta mixture to serving bowl, sprinkle top with chocolate morsels and optional candy pieces; place bowl in center of serving platter

11  Arrange cinnamon sugar tortillas around bowl on serving platter

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Fresh Ricotta can be purchased at J. Pace & Sons, in Saugus Ma. 

Note~Tortillas can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature and the ricotta mixture can be prepared and stored refrigerated in airtight container up to 3 days

Rocky Neck Fire Report 12/13/13

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The Gloucester fire department received a call reporting a building fire on Rocky Neck Ave. Upon arrival firefighters found a 2 story wood framed workshop fully charged with smoke. Crews vented the 2nd floor of heat and smoke by breaking out windows and it was found to be fully involved with fire. Firefighters stretched a hose line up the ladder well to the 2nd floor and quickly knocked down the main body of fire. Due to a significant amount of contents firefighting personnel remained on scene sifting through the workshop for hot spots to prevent against a rekindle. Crews from Headquarters and West Gloucester responded while the crew from Bay View covered the city. The workshop and it’s contents were destroyed by the fire and there was 1 minor injury reported as the frigid conditions turned the water from the firefighter’s hose lines almost immediately into ice and created very slippery conditions. One firefighter reported neck and shoulder pain from a slip and fall. The property is owner reported he was on the 2nd floor in the workshop when he noticed it filling with smoke. Upon his investigation he found smoke and fire coming from the 1st floor wall in the area of an operating wood stove. He stated that he attempted to extinguish the fire himself before calling the fire department but was unsuccessful. An investigation determined the fire was unintentional and originated on the first floor in the interior wall around the area where the wood stove vents to the exterior and was most likely caused by years of pyrolysis.Deputy Chief Stephen Aiello 12/14/13 Stephen M. Aiello, Deputy ChiefGloucester Fire Department8 School StreetGloucester, MA. 01930

Photos from Bill OConnor
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Margaret Atwood Quote of the Week From Greg Bover

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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13 December, 2013

“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”

Margaret Atwood  (1939 –     )

Born in Canada to parents engaged in the study of forest entomology, Atwood spent much of her youth in the woods and did not attend school full time until she was a teenager. A voracious reader, she ultimately graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English and the goal of becoming a writer. She did several years of postgraduate work at Radcliffe and Harvard, but did not finish her dissertation. Her poetry began to receive widespread notice in the 1960’s, but her novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1981) propelled her to celebrity status, winning the Arthur C. Clarke and Governor General’s award, and making her an icon of the feminist movement. Other works of speculative fiction, Oryx and Crake, (2003) and The Blind Assassin (2000) have won her the Booker Prize and the Dan David Prize, as well as a long list of honorary doctorates at prestigious institutions including Smith, Harvard, Oxford and the Sorbonne. Atwood is well regarded in humanist and liberal circles and is a member of the Green Party of Canada.

MLK DAY OF SERVICE – Y TEEN ROCK TO RE-STOCK!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

For the 17th year, the teens and advisors from our Y TEEN LEADERS CLUB will be rocking in rocking chairs for 24-sleepless hours for our ROCKATHON TO FEED CAPE ANN’S HUNGRY.  We’ll all be in our rockers from 8am Saturday – 8am Sunday of MLK weekend (with short 10-minute breaks allowed)

With the need in our community growing, our teens are steadfastly committed to making this our biggest event ever!  With more than 45 active club members, we’ve already collected and delivered more than 1600 items in the past couple weeks!  Each member has personally committed to collect no-less-than 150 items toward our “reach goal” 15,000!

100% of Food Donations will go to Open Door, St. Vincent DePaul Society and directly to families in need.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

     *  Please consider any or all of the following:

                  – honoring this supreme effort with your donation of non-perishable food items (financial donations will be forwarded to OPEN DOOR)

                  – donating a rocking chair you don’t want (at this time we are looking for “keepers” to build our fleet)

                  – help spread the word of this selfless effort by a great team of local teens

For more information, please contact Rick Doucette Executive Director of Teen & Camp Services, doucetter@northshoreymca.org

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