Author: Pat D

Sharing information from the Kent Circle Tree Lighting Facebook page. Mayor Verga also announces Parade is postponed as well.

The Emerson Inn will be hosting 45 vendors throughout the Inn tomorrow (Saturday Nov 26) from 11 – 4! Come join us and stop by Pat D’s Photos table to say hello. These 3″ glass ornaments will be featured along with several other photography gift ideas. The Inn will be offering music, food and full bar service, so no excuse not to stop by. You can check out Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook to get an idea of the items available. Come on over and say hello!

When I was a child, we had turkey for Thanksgiving as well as for Christmas and what I remember most is the mouth watering smell of roasting turkey. As Thanksgiving cooking duties turned my way, I noticed that the cooking turkey has never smelled as savory as it did when I was a child. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone know why? Are the turkeys different? Are ovens different? Am I crazy? BTW, I did Google this (or Gobbled it in honor of the day….) but didn’t get satisfactory answers so I am turning to the community at large.

While I’ve been contemplating turkey smells, I came across this photo from the Gloucester Daily Times in 1958 of the seniors for the GHS football Thanksgiving Day game scheduled against Wakefield that year. I have posted this previously but it seemed a good time to bring it back. Maybe you know some of the guys listed: Mike Linquata, Pete Favazza, Bill Loicano, Bill Hoffer, Cliffe Wolfe, Warren Whitehead, Mark Silva, Bobby Lopes, Fred McGuire, Bobby Cucuru, Nate Ross, Larry Mello, Harold Reed and Timothy Ryan.

In the meantime, good luck to our current GHS team vs rival Danvers today at 10 AM Newell Stadium. Special wishes to the current seniors!

The sun sets every night no matter the cold and wind discouraging onlookers. Magnolia sunsets are pretty spectacular. There are some additional pictures and story details at Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook if you are interested.

It’s no secret we have a young grandson (and several other beloved children) in our lives so it’s a great excuse to hit Toodeloos on Main Street in Gloucester for holiday shopping. Staff is extremely helpful with suggestions and there is a wide variety of merchandise available for all ages. It’s just plain fun in there AND I walked away with a super gift to send off to Erie PA. Thanks so much!

Some scenes from the back shore recently especially for those of you from away missing it. I have been experimenting a bit with some new techniques and you see some of the results here.

It looked like a Roman bathhouse in the creek recently. Hey guys, creek closed to swimming. Can’t you read?

An unusual (perhaps tropical) bird was sighted recently on Magnolia Avenue! A spot of color amongst the dead leaves was delightful. If you go that way to take a look, stop by the Magnolia Library for the Holiday Fair 9:30 – 2 today! Food and crafts offered by some of your favorite vendors!

A crane is poised next to the damaged turbine in the Blackburn Industrial Park. We understand the turbine’s remaining blades and hub will be removed. Applied Materials continues to investigate the cause of the failure and plans to keep the remaining portion in place meanwhile. Residents awoke one morning in July to notice that one of the blades had fallen off but there was blessedly little damage. The red crane is noticeable all over the city!

It appears the process is underway for the new senior housing units at the former site of the YMCA on Middle Street in Gloucester. I understand there are to be 40+ units with some parking and senior services coming to the site soon. I have no further details yet.

Pat D’s Photos is excited to be attending the Magnolia Holiday Fair this Saturday Nov 19 from 9:30 – 2 at the Magnolia Library, hosted by the Magnolia Women’s Club. Notecards, prints, coasters, playing cards, ornaments and glass prints featuring Gloucester scenes will be available. If you haven’t started holiday shopping, this is a great opportunity. Our NEW Fisherman at Dusk Glass Print will be available but you can order one here ahead of time. I expect them to go fast and they are in limited quantities.

Fisherman at Dusk NEW Glass Print

Glass print 5 x 7 includes acrylic stands. Free delivery on Cape Ann

$35.00

Sharing information from the Rockport Police Facebook page:

I noted that The Village in Essex had updated their menu and I was curious so off we went for dinner a few days ago. When we were visiting Gloucester with our children 20 years ago or so, the Village was one of the places we would gather with Gloucester family members so it holds some special memories for us. In the years since, we do go once in a while and have had a lovely experience each time. The recent visit was the same. We made easy online reservations and were seated even though we arrived early. We appreciated that the market prices were posted in the lobby for advance reference. Shout out to Eileen, our friendly server! I noticed several families with young children as well as older couples enjoying their meals so it’s popular for many.

Jim tried the Sicilian Fish Stew and the Seafood Trio. I had the Mediterranean Chicken and I ate every single bite. Strawberry Shortcake for dessert was plenty for the two of us. The choices on the updated menu were nicely varied and suited our tastes. We enjoyed our evening very much and will plan another visit soon!

Just came across ongoing demolition at the former Mobile convenience store site on Essex Ave. such an interesting process.

Sharing information provided on Facebook regarding CATA fares (FREE!) throughout the holiday season!

The holidays are fast approaching and I thought it might be fun to share some of my local shopping experiences with you. For the first installment, we went to Cape Pond Ice to pick up some gifts for some favorite people. I had in mind exactly what I wanted so it was intended to be a quick stop. We immediately noticed the inside of the store (located on Commercial Street) has recently been reconfigured. It looks even better! The merchandise is neatly displayed and easy to navigate. We got what I had planned on and Jim got himself a new hat. These are favorite items for family and friends so it makes the perfect gift especially for those who love Gloucester but live elsewhere. Thanks Scott and team! Well done, as usual.

Sharing information from the Present Facebook page. Opening Sunday Nov 20 at the site of Last Stop Variety 273 East Main St.

It’s been beautiful here these last several days. I wanted to return to Half Moon Beach at Stage Fort Park to see what it looks like in fall. I thought you might enjoy this too. You can see what GMG Jim does when I am working on the Good Morning Gloucester blog posts.

I was experimenting with some iPhone camera techniques in Magnolia recently and thought you might enjoy this perspective of a favorite area. I am not tickled with ALL of these, but some are pretty cool especially at the pier. I will keep working on it. It’s nothing short of amazing how far the phone cameras have come.

For some reason my earlier post about the Bird Buddy did not include all the text I intended so here’s an update. I have never been intrigued enough by a kickstarter campaign to jump in until I saw this Bird Buddy. I had been thinking about a gift for Jim, so I jumped on it. I waited through 2 birthdays, a Father’s Day and a Christmas but it finally arrived and we are very happy with it. They are now commercially available, although they are a little pricey for a bird feeder. Makes a nice gift though. Easy to install, friendly app. Here’s how it looked for our experience: