Well, Joey was right this morning when he predicted this on the podcast this morning. My heart is broken and my hair really needs this to go away!

Non-essential business closure, stay-at-home advisory in Massachusetts extended to May 18

https://www.wcvb.com/

The tale of 2 ongoing projects.

Aquarius on the Back Shore as of April 25:

Former Cameron’s site; future Harbor Village:

Here’s some good news for this dreary windy day: Cape Ann Brewing will be opening for take out Friday May 1. Here’s the link for the menu which includes some grocery items such as paper towels, gloves, flour, bleach, Virgilio’s Bread and other items.

It also includes some very interesting menu choices such as Pulled Pork, Wings, Burger and Steak Bomb. New (at least to my eyes) are “build your own” choices (chicken, haddock among additional items) and dinners for 4: Roast Chicken and Mac & Cheese!

My mouth is watering already. Follow their Facebook page for updates and further info. I am so excited!!

Northern cardinals appear regularly in our backyard and I consider ourselves blessed to be part of their world. It’s hard not to be fascinated by the bright red males, but the females hold their own particular beauty. Symbols of hope and renewal, it seems appropriate now to share these with you. Many people believe cardinals indicate a departed loved one is nearby and watching. I think we could all use some help throughout this trying time.

When Kathy Tarpinian and Ginger Ataya of The Cottage on Smith Cove heard about Todd Carlson’s Isolation Chair, they contacted him to invite him to Rocky Neck as a potential sight to add to his “Isolation Chair” photo collection. Saturday he visited with his family Jes and Jackson and we got to see his work in action.

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day so it wasn’t as deserted down on Rocky Neck as it has been recently, but Ginger showed him around the area and introduced him to some potential locations. He found a spot he liked then out came the Isolation Chair and Jes’ camera! The chair is a long time possession of his and when it no longer served a purpose inside his house, he found a purpose for it outside.

His story can be found here or you can follow him on Instagram at @Todd_in_Isolation . The photos are an awesome record of this historic time. Thank you Todd, Jes and Jackson for driving all the way from Southbridge MA and for spending time here in our beloved Gloucester!

The Cape Ann Chamber has updated their list of take out and delivery options here: https://capeannchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cape-Ann-Take-Out-Delivery-List-4.24.20.pdf

Retailers here: https://capeannchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cape-Ann-Retailers-4.23.20-2.pdf

Grocery Stores, Markets, Pharmacies and Convenience stores here: https://capeannchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4.24.20-Cape-Ann-Pharmacies-Convenience-and-Grocery-Stores.pdf

Banks here: https://capeannchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cape-Ann-List-of-Financial-and-USPS-Services-4.24.pdf

Thanks to Chamber staff for their hard work in putting this together. Understand this information changes daily, if not hourly, so check often for updated info.

Surfside Subs and Pizza has been open for about a week now, right along side Long Beach Dairy Maid….a sure sign spring has officially arrived. We ordered pizza and the Tuesday Lobster Roll Special ($12.95) for dinner recently. What a treat!  Any local pizza I have tried is great, but Surfside holds a special place in my heart because their pizza is closest to what I remember from my favorite teenage pizza place on the shores of Lake Erie. This pizza takes me right back to those “wonder years”.  Another special is Wicked Wednesday: buy one 18″ pizza at regular price and get another 18″ cheese pizza for $3. There’s an app you can download for the easiest way to order: SurfSide Subs….I plan to give that a try. Delivery available through ChowNow, DoorDash (specials do not apply with DoorDash) and GrubHub.

From Destino’s Facebook page an announcement today Wed April 22 2020

Destino’s Subs & Catering to voluntarily close after employee exposure to Covid-19

Like other essential service providers, we have now seen our associates and family impacted by Covid-19.

Unfortunately, as public health officials have indicated, we expect to see an increase in cases as the virus spreads in our community. Upon learning of the exposure of one of our employees, we have made the decision to close the shop out of concern for our employees and customers.

This barn catches my eye every time I drive by. No matter the weather or the light, this barn just owns its character and history.  I hope we can all weather storms as well as this has.

Regarding Wednesday April 22 2020

A letter to families from the Superintendent as shared on Facebook. I took this news as a bit of a blow but no more so than parents, teachers, coaches, athletes and especially seniors. For additional information from Gov. Baker’s conference today: https://www.wcvb.com/article/baker-closes-schools-for-rest-of-academic-year-as-coronavirus-cases-surge-in-massachusetts/32222862

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am writing to inform you that Governor Baker has just announced that school closure will be extended through the school year. This comes after extensive deliberation on the matter at the state level.

For our part, the district teachers and administrators will continue to hone their instructional delivery, materials and resources to provide remote learning as best they can. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be providing updated guidelines regarding the remote delivery of education this week, specifically, highlighting best practices. Our district will take these recommendations under advisement.

My nephew Tim is currently stationed in Portland Maine with the USCG. He sent me this picture from the fantail of the USCG cutter Sitkinak. Gloucester vessels Blue Water III and Christina Carol sitting side by side in Portland. I guess it really is a small world after all! Thank you to Tim and his crew mates for their service. Special recognition to our own Coast Guard for their assistance yesterday with the tragic incident aboard the Miss Sandy. Blessings on the family.

From Gloucester Tonno’s Facebook page comes some great news:

I don’t know if this is what I want my “drink delivery system” to look like, but perhaps this is the new trend. What do you think of this Keurig-style drinkmaker?Now “on sale” for $249. Drink pods are not all available in our area, but seem to average around $15.099 for mojitos, cider, gin & tonic as examples. I’m not sold especially since Keurig coffee pods are much too weak for my taste. If there’s one thing I do not want to be weak, it is my preferred cocktail. But I’m open to the idea. Have you got thoughts to share? More info here: https://www.drinkworks.com/

Probably every post today is going to be showing some form of “April Showers Bring…” photos. I’d like to think that April Showers Bring us MAY be Out of Isolation. Oh, please…

Another opportunity for drive thru haddock and scallops from Fishermans Wharf today Sunday April 19 7 AM-noon. As reported on their Facebook page:

Drive-Thru “Pop-Up” Event – Sunday 4/19/20

Scallops and Haddock landed at Fishermans Wharf

April 19th, 2020
Starting at 7am – 12pm
37 Rogers Street, Gloucester, MA

As I compose this, the weather predictions indicate there may be snow on the ground when this post is published. This seems particularly unfair under quarantine conditions and I think we are all considering taking flight. Like these birds. Even a turkey is trying to escape by air!

Spring flowers, and especially tulips, are my very favorites and I look forward to seeing them burst forth each year. As you already know, the boulevard display beats any nearby so-called “tulip festival” but this is what it looks like just before we get to enjoy the beauty. It’s so nice to see green popping out everywhere. These were taken maybe a week ago so progress has certainly been made since then. Even the pansies seem to join the tulips and the Fisherman’s Wife  watching the skyline for returning boats.

We look forward to see what pithy advice Howard’s Flying Dragon Antiques will have for us. This advice was displayed even before masks became required in certain circumstances.  Thanks, Howard’s!

As an FYI we took Donna Ardizzoni’s advice and contacted Sue Wheeler of Arts Abound in Magnolia to purchase some additional masks. You may want to do the same! $15 each. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/artsaboundmagnolia/