Author: Nichole S.

Strange Magic

Posted on by Nichole S.

Someone commented “Bah Humbug! Get in the spirit!” to a post that I wrote the other day about the fact that Santa has already taken up residency at the North Shore Shopping Center.  To the contrary….I’m well on my way towards making sure that this holiday season is as magical for my boys as possible. Although, I sincerely did appreciate the kick in the butt…as sometimes I do need it.

While I have totally begun my holiday planning, I try to keep the holidays a bit under wraps for the boys until Thanksgiving.  We’ve made a Thanksgiving night tradition out of making popcorn and hot cocoa, spreading out sleeping bags, and watching The Polar Express for the past several years.  For us…that is the true beginning of the holiday season. That also happens to be the evening that jolly, little “Jingle the Elf” sneaks back into the house to oversee the boys’ behavior and keep the big S privy to the going ons of the dynamic Schrafft duo.  And then, the day after Thanksgiving, we go out and tag and decorate our Christmas Tree at the tree farm (and then let it sit and simmer prior to going back to chop it down)…..another favorite day of ours for sure!  In my humble opinion, 7 or 8 weeks of holiday excitement kind of detracts from the specialness of the season. Too much of a good thing, and all.  For pete’s sake, that is 1/6 of the entire year! For us, the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas is perfect!  And…we do those 4 weeks BIG.

For starters, an overnight trip to NYC to skate at Rockefeller Center and to see the tree, lights, and decorations is already booked (thanks to a pretty sweet Groupon)….as is a trip to ride on the Polar Express up in New Hampshire. A really special thing for little ones to do. My iCal on my Mac is all loaded with no fewer than a dozen important holiday festivities and I’ve already lamented the fact that we can’t see Santa on the Beauport Princess while simultaneously watching him arrive by lobster boat in Rockport Harbor.  The two appearances overlap by just enough time to make doing both impossible.  Never mind the lies that would have to be told to explain how Santa actually did both.  Magic….I know.

I won’t share more of those events/activities with you yet…as they are bound to reveal themselves in some upcoming “Picks of the Weekend” posts over the course of the next several Thursdays.

A whopping 4 stocking stuffers have been purchased….along with three teacher gifts.  I have a “sticky” on my desktop all organized with a T and an F and a B (for both) to be uber organized about which gifts have been ordered…and for whom (with the boys being exactly 2 years apart…they get some gifts that are actually meant for them to share…hence the B column).  I have items in virtual shopping bags locked and loaded at Under Armour, Nike, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.  Likewise, my eBay “watch” list is growing with NWT (new with tag) items to be bid on.  I’ve also started to DVR Christmas movies as they begin to get listed.  Game On, peeps.

Christmas is indeed starting to take shape….and commercials like this one are starting to give me the warm fuzzies.

Nichole’s “Family Picks of the Weekend” 11/15 and 11/16

Posted on by Nichole S.

This weekend’s picks involve a little bit of learning, a little bit of getting out into nature and a decent indoor activity to show some support for local youth.

Pick #1

My first pick of the weekend takes place at a fantastic Mass Audubon property on the Plum Island Turnpike in Newburyport.  Joppa Flats Education Center is always a great place to visit and if you’ve never been this is the perfect weekend to give it a shot.

This Saturday they are hosting “Nature’s Harvest Free-For-All” from 10:00-3:00. The event will include storytelling, crafts, educational games, guided bird walks, botany dissections, tree identifications, and more!  And yes…the activities are all free.

Check out Joppa Flats here!

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Pick #2

The Neverland Theatre Company has been giving area youth a fantastic opportunity to explore acting and putting on wonderful shows for 24 years.  This weekend they are performing Disney’s High School Musical.  The shows are at Temple B’nai Abraham Theater on Lothrop Street in Beverly.

You can purchase tickets here

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For the record, they are also performing a Broadway Kids Revue on 11/19, 11/22, and 11/23.

 

Pick #3

Forgive the obviousness of this pick, but it is that time of year!  Two words.

Plimoth Plantation.

A disclaimer here, friends.

I haven’t been in a looooong time.

But….with my boys being 5 and 7 now….I think it’s about time.  I have, over the last many years, had lots of students make the pilgrimage and all have enjoyed it.  I have also done virtual field trips through their website that we have enjoyed in the classroom.  It is obviously very educational and is really something that all children living in this area, should really see at least once.

Learn all about Plimoth Plantation here

For an added bonus, there are some hotels in the area if you’d like to make a quick little getaway out of it.  For example, the John Carver Inn, has a fun indoor pool area called Pilgrim Cove.

 

Making My List and Checking it Twice

Posted on by Nichole S.

Well, since there’s no denying that the holidays are coming…. I may as well make my list.

So, here’s item #1

What local peep is going to start cranking these out to sell in downtown Gloucester or Rockport so that I can buy one….or several?

Challenge on.  You make them, I’m first in line to buy some.

This one is from a company called Suzy Kuzy….how excellent.

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check more out here

Like a Hunter in Headlights?

Posted on by Nichole S.

Wait, that’s not how the expression goes.

Sunday evening, on the way home to Rockport from Danvers, I saw a deer that had been struck dead on the side of 128.  It made me super sad.  It also made me worry about the driver who had hit it….as that is never good either.

It also reminded me of a time a couple of years ago that Freddy, the boys, and I were driving home from New Hampshire and ended up behind a guy with his dead deer trophy strapped casually to the back of his Jeep like it was a Thule or a bike rack.  Previously, I had only seen deer under tarps or in the back of pick-up trucks.  Never ever plain as day on the back of a car, in the middle lane of a large highway.  I’m not sure why it struck me as so out of the norm, but it did.

Please allow me stop here for a moment and say that I understand hunting and realize that there are merits to it for population control and certainly out of a necessity to feed a family. As a sport, simply for fun, I still don’t have to like it. This post is not intended to start a hot debate about whether it is OK or not….it is simply to retell a story.  So, I’m not going to go all “anti-hunting” on you….that being said, don’t feel the need to go all “pro-hunting” on me.  I should add that I just finished reading one of my favorite books ever, My Side of the Mountain, to my students….in which young Sam Gribley hunts and kills many deer and an abundance of other animals to survive in the woods.  I should mention too that I am the proud owner of two German Shorthaired Pointers, and, while our “bird dogs” don’t hunt, I enjoy hearing stories about their “friends” who do.  It seems hypocritical for me to say “it’s ok to shoot a turkey, a pheasant, or a quail, but not a deer” so I don’t.

I’ve also been on sport-fishing boats and have caught tuna, mahi-mahi, and marlin, and have felt super sad as the color drained from their previously gorgeous bodies.  It seems hypocritical for me to say “it’s ok to catch large fish, but not a deer” so I don’t.  A dear friend of mine (no pun intended) who passed away a couple of years ago, was an avid hunter and we agreed to disagree on the subject.  He teased me relentlessly about his “Gut Deer” (as in Got Milk) sticker on the back of his truck.

I also remember being at an airport in Africa with my camera gear all ready to “shoot” the Big 5 in Namibia and Botswana and standing behind people fully loaded with giant guns all ready to shoot some of those very same magnificent creatures.  Again….I’m sure there are valid arguments for that….but, I don’t have to like it.  And, in the case of large African mammals, I really don’t like it.

But, I digress….big time.

Back to the deer on the Jeep.

My concern upon seeing the deer was mostly that I didn’t want my boys to see it. They were maybe two and four at the time.  My husband slowed down a bit and changed lanes so that it wasn’t as easy to spy.  At the same moment, a little teeny car came flying by us, with an even teenier driver blaring her horn, screaming, and waving her middle finger wildly at the driver of the Jeep.  She was so incredibly upset and passionate.  I remember being proud of her….but yet, oddly, feeling bad for the hunter too.  Her anger was so deep and….dare I say, mean.  That sounds crazy, right?  Me calling her mean for her rage against the hunter.  It seemed like such a personal attack. She was so emotional and enraged.  I remember feeling kind of confused by the whole encounter.  It bothered me for days, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.

To go back to Africa….  I was confused in the same way that I felt on Day #3 of safari, when I found myself rooting for the cheetah to catch and kill the impala because I knew there were babies to feed.  Days #1 and #2 I was cheering for the prey…not the predator… but, that changed upon seeing the hungry little ones.  Surely the impala had hungry little ones too?  Knowing who to root for was hard…so I opted to not align myself with either side of the hunt, but to simply watch it unfold…sometimes through the tiny cracks between my fingers that were covering my eyes.

So, all this had been spinning in my head as I thought, “Blog worthy or not?” and then I sat on the couch and saw a video of a deer attacking a hunter that a friend had put on Facebook….   and I laughed…. and then I felt really bad for the hunter.  Full circle.

Can’t Quite Put My Finger On It

Posted on by Nichole S.

Hmmm.   There’s something different about Rockport Harbor these days.  I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Could it possibly be the massive marine crane that is resting alongside our sleepy and iconic Motif 1?

It has taken me by surprise several days in a row upon coming to the end of Broadway to turn up South Street to head home.

The equipment, for the record, is in town to work on the Rockport Breakwater.

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Let the Games Begin

Posted on by Nichole S.

Decorations, fine.  Commercials, whatever, I get it.

BUT….S.A.N.T.A already poised on this throne at the mall??  WTH.

Come On!!!  Madness.

Doesn’t he have like 9,837,261,2984,001 more gifts to help the elves handcraft?

This momma isn’t ready for this crap yet!

Wasn’t it just a second ago that I was lying about the Easter Bunny?

In case you missed the newsflash about how massive a liar I am, you can feel my pain here

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There’s a New Slice in Town

Posted on by Nichole S.

Seaside Pizzeria on Railroad Avenue in Rockport!

So, I guess they’re not totally new, but they are new to the Schrafft family.  I think they opened a few months ago, but we went for the first time 2 weeks ago. Sadly, we scarfed down our pizza before thinking to take a photo.  Sooo, we had to order it again last night.

YUM.

We got a large pizza with ricotta, linguisa, and eggplant.  My husband, who does not throw compliments around all willy nilly, said that it might have been his favorite pizza ever.  Them are some pretty big props, Seaside Pizzeria, I assure you.

Our bill came to $17.something.   Not cheap, but not expensive….and, either way, worth every single penny.

For the record, they also deliver.

Seaside Pizzeria’s website

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If You Could, What Would You Do?

Posted on by Nichole S.

I ask my students to do some journaling each day.  Some days it is just “free write” and they can write about whatever they please.  Other days they need to answer a question or address a writing prompt.

The other day I asked them, “If you could do something that you’ve never done before, what would it be?”

Their answers were adorable…because they’re in elementary school…and really, they have their whole lives ahead of them, and could have chosen a billion different things…and because, there isn’t much they actually have done yet.

But, it made me think.

What would I do that I’ve never done before?

Well….

1.  Swim with a whale

2. Be good enough to sing (and well) for a crowd.  In fact, I can’t sing at all and SO badly wish I could.

3.  Surprise some of the most important people in my life with the most amazing surprises.

I could go on and on.

What about you?

If you could do something you’ve never done before, what would it be?

 

 

Nichole’s Family To-Do Pick(s) of the Weekend 11/7/14

Posted on by Nichole S.

If you listened to the most recent podcast, you would have heard Joey challenge me (ask me?) to begin a weekly Thursday post highlighting my “Pick of the Week” for families with youngish children to possibly do over the weekends. Silly Joey should know by now that I can’t pick just one thing….SOO, sometimes I’ll highlight a few events…and sometimes I truly pick just one.

I’m thinking that I’ll also try to highlight something more local and then also highlight something that may possibly involve a little day trip and may take some people out of their comfort zones.

Pick #1

So, also, if you listened to the most recent podcast, you’d know that this first “pick” was kindly handed to me and comes along with some pretty exciting news. And, that is that GLAZED will now be operating out of Cape Ann’s Art Haven on Main Street in Gloucester. Beginning this Friday at 5:30 you can “Glaze Something Awesome” at Art Haven.

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Pick #2

My 2nd pick is for a small theater that I have raved about in the past.  The Wheelock Family Theatre is a fantastic little venue for a show and they always do a tremendous job making first class productions!  “Alice”, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass is playing from now until November 16th. Prices are totally reasonable and the shows that I have seen there have never disappointed.

more information about the show here 

Pick #3

My 3rd pick challenges you to dig deep for even more stamina and to actually head out of state!  WaterFire Providence is spectacularly gorgeous and isn’t really that much of a drive.  WaterFire is considered an art installation that consists of more than 80 bonfires aglow on the three rivers that wind and flow through the city of Providence.  While gorgeous alone would be reason enough to make the drive, it also has the feel of a large block party as bridges and vessels along the path are also lit up, music plays, street performers do their thing, and crowds gather to take it all in.  WaterFire Providence takes place periodically from May to November and is happening this Saturday, November 8th, beginning at sunset.  A bonus is that this weekend’s WaterFire experience is a salute to Veterans.

Learn more about WaterFire Providence here

Listen to the most recent GloucesterCast 102 (the Estrogen Episode) here!

Well, Lookie Lookie

Posted on by Nichole S.

Donna, this one is for you.  There was much discussion last week about the “Duck Face” thanks to Joey’s post.  There was also a ton of talk about the video of the young lady who walked through Manhattan and was subjected to some shady comments being directed her way, as well as, a good deal of what could easily be called harassment.

So, during Sunday’s podcast (The Estrogen Episode), we brought both topics up.

The Duck Face post

10 Hours of Walking in NYC video

Hear the podcast here

The one and only Donna Ardizonni commented that the girl in NYC “wasn’t necessarily Gina Lollobrigida.”  Crickets.  Some of us didn’t necessarily get the reference at first.  What she meant was that she was no super model…she was just your average young lady.  Nor was she acting all “look at me” like some of the girls who take selfies all day long of their Duck Face and then smack them all over social media.

So, curious, having heard the name, I wanted to refresh my memory of who exactly Gina Lollobrigida was.

And lookie what I found.

Gina herself doing the Duck Face!  Well, kind of.

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Over the Bridge…not tremendous driving

Posted on by Nichole S.

So, in case you need to leave town, this is what it looks like over the bridge right now. First snowfall of the year = wackadoodle drivers. Be careful.

Up, Up, and Away

Posted on by Nichole S.

Happy to update this post thanks to some great information from some readers!

So, it sounds like this building is being raised so that work can be done on its foundation and that it will remain in its current location!  I’m glad…because we walk, run, ride bikes by it often and I would certainly miss it!  So, a more fitting title would be, “Up, Up, and Going to Stay.”

Thank you also to Bill Hubbard for sending a fantastic photo of the Straitsmouth US Life Station from the early 1900s…around 1906.  Be sure to scan all the way down to see said photo!

This always fascinates me.  If I’m correct, this is a part of the old Coast Guard Station in Rockport.  I’m not sure where it is headed….maybe a FOB can fill me in? IMG_9868 IMG_9876 IMG_9878

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What a Loss…What a Legacy

Posted on by Nichole S.

I had the pleasure and the honor of meeting and photographing Mayor Menino on several occasions. What a tremendous man, what a great influence on the city of Boston and beyond, and what a sad loss.

Nothing Says “Fall in New England” like…

Posted on by Nichole S.

Want to get back at your children for whatever they’ve done wrong or failed to do when asked so far this season?  A little Doughnut Revenge is fun for all.

Nothing says, “Fall in New England” like being slapped in the face by a sugary doughnut.

 

Helpful or Hells No? Dining out Debate.

Posted on by Nichole S.

I’ve been thinking about this for years…as it is something that I’m conscious of and pretty particular about each and every time we go out to eat….especially with the kids.  So, here’s the question…  Do you clean up the table to help out your waiter or waitress or do you leave it as is?  Or does it depend on the degree of the mess?

I’m a big fan of doing what I can to make order of the mess.  I am admittedly more than a bit obsessive compulsive, so it is probably 60% because I feel like I honestly should and 40% because I can’t bear to not do it.

I’m a big fan of wiping down the table, stacking plates, placing silverware neatly on one dish….and even scraping leftover food onto one dish so that the wait staff doesn’t have to scrape each individual plate.  I’ve been told that I go too far on more than one occasion.

I should also add that with a very brief exception (one summer vacation), I’ve never worked in a restaurant so it isn’t out of any kind of kinship…I think of it rather as common courtesy.

On that note, when the boys were smaller…and hence messier, I was known to pick up the debris that lay like shrapnel all over the floor after the breakfast battle of pancakes and scrambled eggs.  How could I not?  But I can still hear my friend’s voice saying, “Could you please stop doing that?” as I was under a high chair picking up scraps of rejected food.

So, by the end of a fantastic evening at the Studio the other night our table was covered with no fewer than 25 dishes.  With three adults and four children..with pretty refined palates…we managed to knock down one salad, one bowl of chowder, one pizza, one fish and chips, one order of edamame, one order of chicken dumplings, six platters of sushi (don’t forget the 4 little bowls of soy sauce), four desserts (might I add those were a lovely surprise, on the house, delivered by the manager especially for the kids), tons of silverware, and a bunch of glasses.

Even with well-behaved kids who are old enough to not make any extra or over-the-top kinds of messes, the table was an absolute disaster.  I could never, in a million years, have felt ok about simply sitting there as things were cleaned up around me.  I made a meek attempt to stack, straighten, consolidate, and wipe….while simultaneously being told nicely to leave it alone by our waiter.  It is worth mentioning that the same waiter and a co-worker of his shooed me away repeatedly as I tried to help clean up the chocolate milk that Finn had spilled on the floor.  OK….I realize I just said that the kids are old enough to not make any extra or over-the-top messes….but, that was a total accident and it was a really big glass compared to his little hands!  Bygones.  In case the picture isn’t painted well enough….allow me to make it clearer….that is a FANTASTIC staff over there at the Studio.  But, I digress.

What’s your Modus Operandi when it comes to post dining dish etiquette?  I’d really like to know.  Anyone in the restaurant business care to chime in also?

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Friday Night Wine Down!

Posted on by Nichole S.

I’ve been meaning to write a post about this awesome place for months now, but just haven’t gotten it done.  So, without further delay…  you need to check out Mill River Winery in Rowley.

I’ve been twice and truly can’t get back there fast enough.

While their event calendar is pretty full with tastings, tours, vineyard walks, and much more, it is the “Friday Night Wine Downs” that I find the most tremendous.

The first time I went, there was some pretty awesome music thanks to Michael Maloney.  Totally check him out as he was really fantastic and has done some cool things since I heard him play that evening!  In addition to the music, the wine is without a doubt spectacular and the food that they offered up was truly delicious.

Another event that I’ve been dying to hit is their “Crush and Brew Trail“.  It’ll take you from the Mill River Winery to the Riverwalk Brewing Company to the Newburyport Brewing Company, and finally onto Jewell Towne Vineyards.  I mean, come on!

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