Author: Bridgette Mathews

You probably remember in January my hubster Neil’s trip to Mt. Washington Observatory was cancelled due to the impassable auto road and high winds, well this was his “make-up” weekend.   It was a little touch and go on the morning of the ascent because of the 10 inches of snow they were receiving but after a 2 hr delay they made the 2 hour ride up.    He is exhausted and still thawing out, but he had an awesome adventure hiking around the observatory!!

Almost to the top!

His Chariot for the weekend

Rime ice on a post going up

Venturing around the outside of the Observatory

Yukon Cornelius himself!

Skiers who made the hike to the summit then skied down

A mild 40-60 mph winds

Rime ice on the trees

My future son-in-law Jon came up from CT and participated in our local “Fool’s Dual” Half-Marathon yesterday.   It was a chilly, snowy start, but soon the sun came out, the skies turned blue and he had a great finish as did all the other runners!  Portions of proceeds from this race will help support the O’Maley Middle School and the Gloucester Cool Kids Club.                    

Been venturing over to Donna A’s neck of the woods this week to explore Magnolia beach.   Just love the textures the tides leave behind!

Before the snow came in yesterday we had a gorgeous orange filled sunrise.  A beautiful view looking out toward Logan Airport from Fan Pier in Boston.

5:00 am on Fan Pier in Boston this morning.   It was a beautiful sunrise which I will share tomorrow, but for now sharing a quick shot of blue hour…worth getting up at 3:45 on my day off 😀

Knowing the sun was going to show it’s face this morning after days of dreariness,  I took one for the team and skipped exercise to grab a sunrise shot this morning.  (I know…my sacrifices know no bounds lol!!)  

A drive on 133 through Essex and Ipswich was a bit gloomy and ominous!

It’s Monday…and what’s worse is it’s a cold, rainy Monday so I’m sharing a little morning sunrise from the other day to give us a little virtual vitamin D boost!!  Enjoy!!

Great way to start this beautiful, sunny, Sunday morning with a fresh made breakfast at Mom’s Kitchen!!  Thanks Dave and El….great coffee, yummy food and homey feel!   Stop down and give them some love at 29 Commercial St (down the Fort.). Now off to brave the market!

Couple more shots from Magnolia Beach the other night…such a peaceful spot!

Late morning sunrise on Monday, the first day of Spring.   Took a little extra time for the sun to reach it’s way over the low cloud bank.

It was a beautiful ending to the first day of spring!  You can see a little sparkle from the Boston skyline on the horizon.    Looking forward to more of these!

I love that social media can bring you inside everyone’s homes for St. Joseph’s!   It invites you to be a part of all the celebrations going on around the city and feel the spirit of the day and I thoroughly enjoy seeing them all.   It does not matter how elaborate or how humble the celebrations are, it is a day when families can make more memories together and share traditions with our kids.   Here are some photos of Sista Felicia’s Feast day preparations, blessing and celebration.   It was a glorious day filled with a great family,  good friends, and some amazing food!!  Viva, Gesu, Maria, Giuseppe!

Feast Prep begins!

Blessing by Father Garibaldi

Feast night!

Sista Felicia, Ma Pat and the Novena girls have been busy prepping for their St. Joseph’s feast tonight.  Typically it is celebrated on the 19th of March but to make sure the college kids who have to head back tomorrow can be here, we are having it tonight.   I wish you could get a whiff of how yummy the freshly made St. Joseph’s bread smells!!! 

Maria Millefoglie, Marie Linquata and Catherine Randazza join Felicia and her mom Pat for night 7 of Novena along with Marie’s daughter Caryn Ryder and Catherine’s daughter Andrea Carlson.

If you are looking for your St. Joseph’s Day groceries…Market Basket has bulb anise, fava beans, oranges, lemons and St. Joseph rolls ready for your Sunday Feast!

This was the calm before the storm yesterday morning…happy we were spared the volumes of snow predicted!  Now lets bring on spring!

St. Joseph Novena started last Friday night and as always it’s an unbelievably beautiful time to share the rosary with some amazing strong supportive women.  “…St. Joseph, you have blessed us with the gift of friendship, the bonding of persons in a circle of love.  Friends who love us, who share our sorrows, laugh with us in celebration, bear our pain, who needs us as we need them, who weep as we weep, who holds us when words fail, and who gives us the freedom to be ourselves.  Bless our friendships with health, wholeness, life and love..Amen”

Make sure you check Cape Ann Magazine with our own Sista Felicia, family and friends keeping up the traditions of St. Joseph! 

I love the “on this day” part of Facebook because you get to walk down memory lane a bit each day.   Today’s “on this day” was my first post as a GMG contributor and although I’m not sure I’ve had a whole lot to contribute over the last year, I know that GMG has contributed a great deal to my life.   It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to meet so many awesome new people!   The one thing I will take away from this last year is the love of my home town and how every day I learn to love this beautiful city even more!!   So Thank YOU GMG readers and fellow contributors for indulging me and always being so kind and supportive!