Author: Nichole S.

What’s your “Blast from the Past”? Please share your answers. I was driving to the Tsongas Arena at UMass Lowell for one of Thatcher’s high school hockey games the other day and we went by this Haffner’s gas station. My mom was with us and she immediately said, “Well, that’s a blast from the past.” I had never heard of Haffner’s, but it did make me think of some other places that I used to frequent that are no longer. Some of the places I came up with were the Ben Franklin store in Danvers, the old and original Supinos pizza (FULL of creepy clowns) also in Danvers, Pennyworths (I think) in Ipswich with it’s swiveling stools and soda fountain, obviously the old Papa Ginos in Gloucester with the jute boxes at each table, the Garden Patch florist down on Whittemore Street, and many more…. I don’t want to share too many here because I’d love to hear your answers. What places do you remember fondly that are no longer here?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, college hockey is where it’s at. Now, mind you, this photo is of my son’s Essex Tech high school hockey team playing Lowell Catholic…but they played at UMass Lowell’s Tsongas Center. We attended one of the UMass River Hawks’ games this season and had a blast. Great hockey, easily accessible, clean, and hopping arena, and super affordable. It’s always so fun to see college students rallying to support their teams. Take advantage of some of the great schools around us…..UMass, Endicott, Merrimack, UNH, and many more! Go take in a game….and with baseball and lacrosse season around the corner, consider college games for that as well!

Gloucester Stage Youth Company performed Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, Jr. this weekend to sold out crowds. Congratulations to Gloucester Stage for continuing the tradition of engaging the area’s youth in the art of theater, to Director Katie Oberlander, and to all of the staff and amazing children who worked so hard to make this production possible. If you have students, Grades 4-8, who happen to be on school vacation during March intersession weeks (March 7th-March 18th), Harborlight Montessori will be conducting a Theater Intensive with Gloucester Stage that culminates in weekend performances. You can sign your children up here: https://www.engageyourworld.org/extracurricular/experience-weeks

Several of us purchased tickets to a wine tasting at PSP Imports in Beverly Farms while attending the Cape Ann Chamber’s Auction in the fall. We had a really wonderful evening, learned a lot, enjoyed meeting some new people, and had the opportunity to appreciate how passionate those in the PSP family are. I highly recommend PSP Imports if you are looking to learn more about wine or have a fun evening out with friends, family, or co-workers.

Their philosophy as found on their website:

“PSP Imports is an importer and wholesaler of fine wines and spirits from around the world. We source the best available products, through both personal connections with small producers, for whom we serve as an outsourced export manager, and strong relationships with key volume producers, many of whom have been making wine for generations. Regardless of size, all of our suppliers are committed to using sustainable farming practices.  We even grow and produce a portion of our portfolio in the Tuscan hill town of Pienza, Italy.

Our portfolio is diverse and carefully curated to bring unique wines to our clients and their customers. We sell to restaurants, stores and other retail outlets in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and we are a registered broker to the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission. We also work with other distributors in Maine, Vermont, Texas and Colorado. In each line of our business, we put a premium on developing solid, long-lasting relationships.

We hope you enjoy our unique portfolio of the highest quality wines from around the world. Our offices are located on the North Shore of Massachusetts in Beverly Farms.  

FOCUS ON PHILANTHROPY

Just as we have forged relationships with small producers in Italy and beyond, and with customers here in the US, we are also committed to building partnerships with non-profit organizations in our community north of Boston. PSP Imports is proud to support organizations that are dedicated to helping kids and families end hunger and to find jobs in the food and wine business. Some of our partners include Root, Beverly Bootstraps, Plummer Youth Promise and many others

Join us at the Rhumb Line for the Super Bowl. Wings, Pulled Pork Sliders, Mac ‘N Cheese, and bar snacks. If you missed out on football squares everywhere else, try your luck with our 50/50 Raffle. Proceeds go to the Open Door Food Pantry. As members of the service industry we are eager to help those experiencing food insecurities.

Ten of us had an early dinner at Hale Street Tavern before heading over to PSP Imports in Beverly Farms for a wine tasting. I can’t wait to tell you all about the wine tasting in a post during the next couple of days. For now, I love Hale Street and we had some amazing sushi and salads.

On Golden Pond. Photo credit to Finn’s good buddy, Jackson P. of South Hamilton for catching this shot during a good day spent skating.

My morning routine before heading out the door each day. Fill the giant YETI with coffee, take a mason jar of overnight oats out of the fridge and add a variety of toppings, and then fill my little Blend Jet (check out link here as I think it’s pretty cool!) with some smoothie fixings. Both of my boys have their own Blend Jets as well and will often fill theirs to drink on the way to school or, for Finn, at school as his morning snack. Once they are charged, they are perfect for on-the-go and can be used several days in a row before you need to charge them quickly again. They come apart easily and are a breeze to clean. Short video included of the cordless mini blender doing it’s thing on my desk at work.

Good Morning, chickens. One of the things that I love most about my job as part of Harborlight Montessori school’s Admin team is that, along with my normal responsibilities, sometimes I never really know where the day will take me. Lots of times I’m just plugging away in my office, but sometimes it takes me to Wachusett Mountain as our 6th-8th graders ski all day every Friday during the winter, sometimes I find myself hopping on the train at the Montserrat station to accompany a group on a field trip to Boston, sometimes I cover in a classroom, or go skating at Endicott’s rink with the younger elementary students, and….often….I find myself in the chicken coop. Last May we hatched chicks in one classroom and ducklings in another. Unfortunately, the campus isn’t properly equipped to house ducks, but we were super excited to make the decision to have chickens. We raised the chicks for several weeks after they hatched before sending them off to the farmer who gave us the eggs. Once they were old enough and we were back in school after a summer break, we welcomed the chickens back to campus. Having them on campus has been such a wonderful learning experience for all our students. In better weather you’ll always see families or our youngest toddlers/preschoolers visiting the hens on our greenhouse lawn. Older students will often eat lunch outside on the picnic tables near the chickens or open a book on the wooden swing right next to the coop. The Middle School students gather the eggs….and either use them to cook or hand them out to teachers to take home. Good stuff.

The Gloucester Stage Youth Program presents Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach Jr. When young James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers magic crocodile tongues that launches a journey of enormous proportions. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach, among human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities, but after it falls from the tree and rolls into the ocean, the group faces danger, sharks, and plenty of disagreements. Thanks to James’ quick wit and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together as a family. The dangerous voyage is a success, but the adventure takes a whole new twist once the big peach lands in the Big Apple.

PERFORMANCES Saturday, February 12 2:00 & 7:00 p.m. Sunday, February 13 2:00 p.m. TICKET PRICES $15 Adults $10 Students Perfect for families with children ages 6 and up. Approx Run Time: 55 min, no intermission All attendees over the age of 12 y/o must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent COVID-19 Negative Test and all guests are required to wear a mask while indoors. Visit GloucesterStage.com to learn more about our production of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach Jr.

This view off Grant Circle over what I think is called Green Landing changes as quickly as the weather. Sometimes it is great for birders, or those wanting to watch boat traffic under the train bridge, or for sunsets….and sometimes, well, for this.

Do you ever drive by those windows and find yourself thinking, “How do they come up with new and relevant phrases every single day? I always look forward to seeing what is in the windows at Howard’s Flying Dragon Antiques. Some days write themselves….but, surely other days they must have to dig deep to find something to spell. Must kind of feel like doing blog posts each day.

Seeing these fishing boats out on any winter day always tugs at my heartstrings a little bit. While it looks like a bright, sunny day….the temperature in my car was 5 degrees when I snapped this photo. Bless all who work hard in conditions like that.

Congratulations to David Ortiz! #34 will be the lone inductee to Cooperstown this year. The soon-to-be-hall-of-famer was always #1 for me to photograph during my years at Fenway Park.

Exuberant or crazy? I snapped this photo on that crazy cold, day we had a bit ago. What this photo barely shows….off in the distance, near the Adventure….is that someone was whipping across the inner harbor in a very small boat (that did not appear to be a police boat or Coast Guard). At the time I took the photo it was about 6 degrees. Nuts.

Reed between the lines. These reeds blowing in the wind on the back shore always catch my eye.

Freezing temps and no scheduled hockey game made for a perfect day for some team bonding on the pond on Saturday. Not only did both of my boys enjoy pond skating over the weekend, but I smiled as I drove by several different ponds and lakes and saw so many skaters enjoying the ice! Do you have a favorite place to skate? Or did you when you were younger?

We enjoyed a night in Boston on Tuesday and had dinner in the North End before the Bruins game. While the final score of the game was fairly horrible, a night in the city is usually a good cure for the winter blues.

When I looked up at City Hall I immediately noticed the reflection in the windows and I had to pull over for a quick photo. Lines, geometric shapes, and light always catch my eye. This would be great in a classroom. How many different shapes can you find? Pretty intricate!

I took a little time yesterday to drive by the boulevard and around the back shore. Here are some of the photos I took of the waves and surf from Windy Izzy. Debris was all over the roads from the previous high tide and early morning winds. While we dodged the snow the ocean sure was stormy.