Author: Matthew Green

I am a translator, origami artist/teacher, and photographer, a blogger, former philosophy professor, and I love to sing. You can see my photos on Flickr and buy prints of some of them on Fine Art America. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter (@mehjg), and in various and sundry other social media sites on the web.

Good Chinese Take-out

Posted on by Matthew Green

No city or town is complete without a few Chinese restaurants. When I first moved to Gloucester several months ago, I was happy to see a Chinese restaurant right around the corner from my residence at St. Ann’s rectory: Ocean Garden (1 Maplewood Ave. in Gloucester).  According to the employee I spoke to there, Lily Chen, they have been in business for eleven years.  That means that their food and prices are good enough to attract a faithful clientele.

Ocean Garden, 1 Maplewood Ave. Not much to look at, but the take-out is very tasty!

I have ordered meals there several times (most recently this Sunday) and the food has been consistently hot and good, and I have always had friendly service.

Chicken with mixed vegetables and rice

Their wonton soup is just the way I like it, with a very flavorful broth and not-too-thick wontons.  I wolfed it down before I remembered to take a photo…

They are primarily a take-out restaurant, although there is one table where you could sit and eat. They deliver, and if you ask for delivery you might meet this friendly man:

Mike Marshall, one of the delivery men

He and his father Robert Marshall handle the deliveries. As I arrived, Robert was driving away with a delivery in a black SUV with a festive Christmas wreath still on the hood ornament.  Remember, Christmas isn’t over yet! Not until January 9th (at least, in the Catholic Church).

So if you’re looking for a nice hot Chinese meal, this could be a good option.   Lily said their specialty is the combination plate “General Gau’s Chicken”, but she added that some of their most popular dishes are on the appetizer menu – stock favorites like crab rangoon and chicken wings.

Full information about their menu, phone number, etc., is available on their website.

Civil War monument

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It seems like she's looking longingly at that chimney (or whatever it is) on Central Grammar, which is more ornate and higher up...

Poll: when do you take your Christmas decorations down?

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“When should I take my Christmas decorations down?” A surprising number of people search on Google for an answer to this question. I got a startling number of hits on a poll I posted on this topic on my own blog last year.  For the many curious people who search for suggestions about this, and to get the opinion of our GMG readership, I am reposting my poll this year with a few additional reflections.

Really, there is no day when you “should” take the decorations down (or put them up).  In a place of worship of an organized religion, there are usually rules about decorations according to liturgical seasons, but how you decorate your own house is your own business. Nonetheless, it can obviously be helpful to take cues for these things from the traditions of one’s Church, family, and society. People might look askance at you if you have your nativity scene on your lawn during Holy Week, or an illuminated Santa on your roof in August.

For secular Western society, Christmas ends pretty much at midnight on the 25th, and some stores have all the Christmas decorations down seemingly within hours. Liturgically (at least for Catholics), Christmas lasts until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Jan. 9 this year). But when it comes to taking down Christmas decorations, family and regional traditions vary widely. Some people clean house on Dec. 26.  Others do so on or immediately after the Epiphany, a.k.a. “Little Christmas” (traditionally Jan. 6).  That date, on which we celebrate the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, is actually the climax of the Christmas season for Orthodox Christians, rather than Dec. 25.  Some particularly fervently “Christmasy” people leave everything up until Feb. 2, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. I even met one man in Boston who keeps his Christmas decorations up until St. Patrick’s day approaches, and his St. Patrick’s Day decorations stay up until Advent.

Personally, I will be taking most of my decorations down on or after the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Is there a Gloucester tradition in this regard? When will you be taking down your decorations? Have you done it already? Vote now! And/or leave a comment about why you answer the way you do.

My Christmas tree. All the decorations (except the lights) are origami models. The garland is a string of traditional origami "peace cranes", part of a set of 1000 I folded for an exhibit once...

Origami sea life

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Guess who got a book on origami sea creatures for Christmas? Appropriate for someone living in a fishing port. I got folding right away.

Blue shark, designed by John Montroll, folded by me from 10" kami.
"Venus's comb" murex shell, designed by Robert Lang, folded by me from 10" kami.

These are both “first tries” for me with these models; I hope to do them better justice later using more specialized paper and wet-folding techniques.

The book, “Sea Creatures in Origami” by Robert Land and John Montroll, is one of two books on this topic by these authors. Lang and Montroll are master origami designers and have published many books, so the models are great and the diagrams are very clear – and they include some informative notes on species represented.

A perfect evening for photos

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On the evening of December 18th, the sky was cold and clear as could be. I did not edit or enhance the colors in these photos at all; they really were this saturated.

On the third day of Christmas, I saw THREE ships…

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…come sailing in, on my Christmas tree!

Remember, it’s still Christmas until January 6th (you know, the 12 Days of Christmas…). I didn’t get three French hens, but at the suggestion of several people after my earlier post, I added a third ship to my tree.  (On the left is an origami snowflake folded from a hexagon.)

Christmas in St. Ann’s Church

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A few shots from St. Ann’s church on Christmas eve:

The nativity scene in St Ann's Church
The old high altar of the church, all dressed up for Christmas
The 4PM Mass was full to standing room only

Merry Christmas!

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The parish choir (directed by Tom Misuraca) sang before Mass yesterday night, offering a sort of recap of the Christmas concert held earlier in the month.  Here are some highlights.

Unfortunately, in one or two places there is a little bit of feedback in the microphones which mixes with the higher frequencies in the music and makes it sound a little off-pitch, but the choir sounded great.

Christmas is almost here…

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Remember, it doesn’t arrive until the night of the 24th, and then it lasts until January 6th, store decorations and radio playlists notwithstanding.

So, our nativity scene in front of the rectory at St. Ann’s church (part of Holy Family Parish) is still waiting for the arrival of the Baby Jesus. Right now there are flowers in His place.

Advent evening on Main Street

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It’s amazing what you can do with an iPhone these days…

Deck the Halls (City Hall) with Christmas lights!

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Looking at City Hall through one of the windows in my room in the rectory, I see the lights on my Christmas tree superimposed over the building. It’s a nice seasonal effect!

Chris Coyne fine art

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On one of my recent expeditions to Bearskin Neck I ventured into Chris Coyne’s gallery, “Chris Coyne Fine Art + Design“.

The entrance to his gallery at 37 Bearskin Neck

The painting in his window is almost identical to a photo I posted not long ago. He has good taste in subject matter…

My photo of the same subject:

Chris was kind enough to pose with his artwork, which is quite beautiful:

I really liked his painting of a Rockport landmark, Tuck’s. The façade seems to glow with its own light!

His work is offered at a wide range of sizes and prices. It’s worth stopping by for a visit, maybe for a last-minute Christmas shopping trip. According to his website, the gallery is “open year-round by chance or by appointment.”

Christmas Sushi!

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Some closeups of the sushi provided by Latitude 43 for the GMG Christmas party last Saturday. It tasted as good as it looks!

This, like all the other food and beverages provided, was fantastic!  And the conversation was even better.  Thanks to everyone for a great time!

The Lobstah Crackah sampler

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I went to the Friday performance of the Lobstah Crackah at The Annie.  It’s an ingenious new Gloucester seafood-flavored take on the Christmas classic The Nutcracker.  It’s not the Russian Ballet, but there is enthusiasm and humor – and live accordion music accompanying the score!

Here are some clips and snapshots to give you a feel for the production.

  • Dec. 15-Jan. 1
  • Thursdays-Sundays 7PM & 2PM Sunday matinees
  • $15 suggested donation
  • located at the corner of Rogers and Washington Street, in the Blackburn Tavern building, above Giuseppe’s (entrance on Washington Street)

Homey watches the sunrise

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Seagulls are lucky – they can pick great vantage points to watch the sunrise.  Homey picked out a tall chimney with a great view.

What’s a Gloucester Christmas tree without a ship or two?

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Some nautical decorations are necessary on a Christmas tree in a city like Gloucester, so I made these for my tree (which only has origami decorations).

Models designed by Martin Wall (rear ship) and Patricia Crawford (front ship),  and folded by me, each from one uncut sheet of 5″ square tissue foil.

Any other Cape Ann origami folders out there? Comment on this post if you’d like to get together to fold from time to time! Maybe we could start a Cape Ann origami group.  I’m willing to teach.

Home-made chocolate chip cookies!

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I was upstairs in the rectory doing some work, when I smelled something baking… Something sweet…

So I went down to the kitchen, and sure enough, Mary Ann (who cooks for us at the rectory on weekdays) was making fresh chocolate chip cookies from scratch!

Irresistible!

There’s nothing like hot chocolate chip cookies and milk on a cloudy, cold winter afternoon.  Tollhouse dough isn’t bad, but Mary Ann’s home-made cookies are in their own league. She has been cooking at the rectory for years, and her she does a great job! I’ll need to go on a diet if I’m not careful…