My View of Life on the Dock
I love the colors and textures!
I am going away for a spiritual retreat for the week, so my posts will be a series of photos from the street bazaar last week. I have a bunch more to process (including some cool taekwondo shots), but I sprained my wrist and really can’t do much work on the computer for now…
This just in from Helen Downey:
Come join us at Shaw’s Plaza, 127 Easter Ave., Gloucester, as the members of Holy Family Parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society conduct a “Food Drive and Bake Sale” on Saturday, August 11 from 9am to 3pm.
The Society, through dedicated volunteer efforts, services the needs of many families here on Cape Ann. We succeed in doing this only with donations of monetary value or food donations for our emergency pantry.
Shaw’s is a great supporter of community projects and we have been chosen to be the recipient of any profits received through their participation in this event. So come on over and have lunch at the concession or perhaps a home-baked goodie from the many delicious items made by our members. Hope to see you there on August 11th to support our fund raising event.
If you have any questions, contact helen at 978-283-7391. Thank you for your support!
Yesterday evening there was an art party at The Annie for the opening of a show of beautiful paintings by Sheila Lavelle. The artist was present, as was Henry Allen (founder of The Annie).
Her paintings are tranquil and calming, most of them suggestive of beach and sea skylines.
The art was accompanied by dishes of delectable appetizers, presented with artistic flair…
…including faux “candles” glowing in origami boxes!
The art will be on display all month. Several of the paintings sold while I was there, so get down to see them soon if you want to buy one of these beauties!
If you can’t make it, you can also view and buy her art on line.
A while ago, I posted about a set of accessory lenses I bought for my iPhone. On the morning of July 28th I got these photos of fallen raindrops with the macro lens:
They look like little ephemeral jewels…
At the grand opening for “The Hive”, I found my self seated next to Ben Macadam, one of our up-and-coming Gloucester artists. He mentioned that he has work on display at Alchemy (3 Duncan Street) for a little while yet (until August 5, I believe?). Since someone recently gave me a gift card for Alchemy’s, I trotted on down there for lunch on Sunday and snapped some photos.
These are not all the paintings, of course – you need to go down to see them yourself!
As I ate snapped photos and ate my delicious “native corn bisque” soup, I was entertained by great bluegrass music! It turns out that it was Flynn Cohen and a guest musician; Cohen plays there every Sunday with other musicians that he invites.
Art Haven held the grand opening of it’s community center, The Hive, on Saturday, July 28th. There was a good turn-out with a lot of local artists and familiar faces from Gloucester’s cultural community – plus, delicious food from Giuseppe’s! They have done a great job preparing this space.
“Cape Ann Art Haven is a community space where artists of all ages and abilities are encouraged to develop creativity and confidence through hands on learning and collaboration.”
Here are some photos from the event. For a slideshow, click on the mosaic below – or scroll down to see some highlights!
This was a free concert at the Cape Ann Museum, last Friday at 4PM. It was originally planned to be outdoors, but due to the threat of rain, it was held indoors. It was great! At the end I bought one of the CDs he was selling: “Live Souls”. His CDs can be bought on his website or at stores, such as Gloucester Music on eastern Main Street.
Well, it is for me, at any rate. I like to walk down from the rectory to Stage Fort Park for the Farmer’s Market, and stop off in a store or two on Main Street along the way. Here is today’s catch:
First, went to The Cave to get some “Manchego” cheese (front and center in the photo). It’s a Spanish cheese made from goat’s milk. I bought it at the recommendation of the proprietor, Laura Cramer, to accompany a jar of Alexander Thompson’s tomato marmelade. I got to try it in the store (with two other pairing options) and this one is a winner!
From there I headed down to the market. I went looking for two of the other items in the photo above: Ma’s Brand bread and butter pickles, and maple syrup (from Northwoods Sugarworks in New Hampshire). Thanks to the generosity of a couple at whose wedding I presided recently, I also had some extra cash to buy a beautiful hand-blown glass vase (on the left in the photo). It’s the work of Aron Leaman, a Gloucester native who has a shop down in Boston where he creates his glass art.
As I mentioned the last time I posted about the Farmer’s Market, I really enjoy buying there, because it supports small businesses and the local economy, and the enthusiasm of the sellers is (dangerously) contagious… I love to see their pride in their products. Not the sort of experience you can have buying on-line, or even at local outlets of big chain stores. They can offer great service and sometimes lower prices, but when possible, I like the direct interaction with people more closely involved with the actual production of whatever I’m buying.
P. S. I also picked up my customized “fire-breathing pickle-riding rainbow-jumping liger” teeshirt, which the folks at the G33K store were kind enough to make for me! I’ll post a photo soon…
Every season of the year, the Prince Insurance Agency (15 Washington Street) storefront has different, seasonal decorations in the front window.
I bet that many people walk or drive by without really looking. Check it out!
These photos were taken at around 5:35-5:45AM yesterday, from the room of the rectory at St. Ann’s Church (Holy Family Parish). I should have shot a panorama that included both the sunrise and the rainbow, but it was too early for my brain to think that clearly…
Click here for a slideshow, or scroll down for a sampling of Block Party photos.
I’m finally getting to my photos from the Firemen’s Parade in Rockport… This one was processed with CameraBag2. The effects are sort of like Instagram on steroids for desktop operating systems (without built-in social media functions).
A while ago, Joey posted about a book “Confessions of a Gourmand, or How to Cook a Dragon” published by Gloucester author Tom Bruno. It looked interesting; I am a big fan of fantasy and science fiction, and the description of the book made it sound like an unlikely and original entry in the fantasy genre. However, I forgot about it after I downloaded it to my Kindle…
Then, a few months later (back in April), Joey posted about another short story by the same author, this time in the realm of scifi: “Bibliophile (L is for librarian)” I dutifully clicked over to Amazon.com and downloaded the Kindle edition… and only got around to reading it over the past week or so! But I’m glad I did. The story’s protagonist is a librarian on a rural colony on a far distant planet, where he has taken on the personal mission to provide good books and to kindle an enthusiasm for literature in the local population. His endeavors are impeded by local culture and by galactic politics, but he is not easily daunted. It’s a well-crafted and fun read, with likable characters and a satisfying conclusion. He promises a sequel, so I’ll have to keep my eye out for it!
So, now have started to read the longer book I downloaded earlier in the year. A word to the squeamish: you might not want to read the beginning of the book, which is a detailed explanation of how to butcher and cook a dragon, while you eat lunch, as I did (fortunately I’m not very squeamish). I’ll post a full review when I finish! Thanks to Joey for sharing the links to these stories; otherwise I would not have discovered them.
Thursday, 3-6:30 at Stage Fort Park! Don’t miss it! It’s not just food (as if delicious local food were not a sufficient reason to go…); there are also people selling cookbooks, pottery, and art; plus there are art activities for the kids, run by teens from Art Haven.
One of the things I like most about the Farmer’s Market is that the people who are selling things there are usually closely involved in the production of what they sell. That makes a world of difference; you can see that they are proud of what they are selling, they really know it inside and out, and they are convinced of its value. Their enthusiasm is contagious! And they often offer free samples. So, be forewarned: you are likely to spend more money than you planned to. But that’s OK, it’s supporting the local economy!
Here are some photos from last week. Click on the block of thumbnails to see a slideshow, or scroll down to see some of the photos larger without leaving the post.
Edibles flowers, believe it or not:
From Arrowhead Farm. Seen at the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market at Stage Fort Park, Thursdays during the summer, 3-6:30PM. Don’t miss it! I had one of these peaches, and it was juicy and delicious (and messy, the way fresh ripe peaches should be).
Don’t worry, I’ll be posting more tantalizing photos of the many and varied products at the market, so you won’t forget…
Tonight (Tuesday, July 17) I will be teaching an origami class at The Annie, starting at 7PM. I’ll start off with some simple models, and will work up to more difficult designs as time and the ability of the participants allows. Among other things, we will fold a basic boat, and a bird that flaps its wings. If you are already an advanced folder, this class is probably not for you – but I’d love to meet you, and maybe set up a regular meeting for an origami group for folders of all skill levels.
Folders of all ages are welcome, although children should be accompanied by an adult. I will provide paper, but if you have your own favorite origami paper (kami? duo? washi? chiyogami? foil?), feel free to bring it along too. You can purchase origami paper locally at Island Art and Hobby (on Main Street in Gloucester), at the Liberty Tree Mall (at Michael’s or A.C. Moore), or on-line at Origami USA (members of the organization get a discount, besides access to other resources and the annual convention) or at Amazon.com.
The Annie is a non-profit, and requests a $5 donation per participant to help cover costs of operation. It is located on Washington Street, just north of the intersection with Main Street, in the Blackburn Tavern building (on the floor above Giuseppe’s).
Good Morning Gloucester 