Hats for the Kentucky Derby

Rick and I went to a party at the a friend’s house near Wingaersheek Beach on Saturday night. So much fun.

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Congrats to the Cape Ann Sharks 4 x 50 relay teams

Cape Ann Special Olympics Rocked the 4 x 50 Relay on Saturday. Congratulations ..

Cape Ann Sharks 4×50 relay teams both bring home the GOLD with impressive times! Relay 1, Meghan, Matt, Alexandra and Kyle finished first in pool 3:05.40. Shark relay 2 Gabby, Caitlin, Noah and Christina on their heels with at 3:19.70. Relays swam in two divisions and both won Gold medals. The third place team posted at 4:45.41. Sharks rocked the relay!!

Sand to City

May 10, 2017

PAINT YOUR OWN PIECE WORKSHOP
SAND TO CITY STYLE

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm.
21 C Lexington Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930

978-526-0954
lisa@sandtocitysyle.com

Impact of #teachers | Heidi Wakeman, Selma Bell, Barbara Kelley reconnect at Deborah Cramer talk at Sawyer Free

Heidi Wakeman teaches Spanish at O’Maley. Selma Bell was Heidi’s first grade teacher, and Barbara Kelley was her high school Spanish teacher. Were they yours?

Have you had a chance to thank the special teacher(s) that made a difference in your life? It’s beautiful when it happens!

Heidi and Selma (this photo from Heidi)

Heidi and Selma Bell

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$2400 Gloucester liquor license up in the air “feels like the lottery” and suggestions by Brian Hamilton

Another Gloucester Licensing Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday May 9, 6PM at the City Hall Annex on Pond Road. Once issued, will it be flipped or will it be held?
Here are some scenes from last week’s liquor license meeting at City Hall. Setting local caps on liquor licenses is outlined here Massachusetts laws. Those in favor of caps feel the policy laws help residents weigh in on whether additional local licenses are desirable, and prevents favoring new business at the expense of established businesses including some that spent tens of thousands on permits. Those against it maintain that it’s arcane, random and a hindrance to economic development. There are year round and seasonal licenses issued. For example, Gloucester Cinema & Stage, the Cave and Topside Grill have seasonal liquor ones. It’s a rarity here. Holyoke added 13 additional licenses in 2015. This interactive Google map of MA liquor licenses dates from that time. You can use  +-  keys on the map to zoom in to Gloucester as in screenshot below.

Brian Hamilton’s thoughtful input at the Licensing board meeting last week:

 

Tulip Festival on the Boulevard

On a grey and wet day a great celebration and opening of the Tulip Festival on the boulevard with a blast of color. Accolades to all involved with this project!!! It was a fun time and congratulations to the winners of the tulip prizes.

GAAC Speaker Friday Night 5/12: Ed Los, Rescuing Valuable Historic Astrophotos

Michael Deneen's avatarCape Ann Community

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At this month’s GAAC meeting, 8:00 Friday night, May 12, at the Lanesville Community Center, we are thrilled to host Ed Los, a long-term member of the “Digital Access to a Sky Century team at Harvard” (DASCH). Ed will bring us up to date on the project to digitize over 500,000 images of the night sky collected on glass photographic plates between 1885 and 1993.

Halley's_comet_1910Image: Portion of Plate b41215 of Halley’s comet taken on April 21, 1910 from Arequipa, Peru with the 8-inch Bache Doublet, Voigtlander.

These images offer us far more than mere historic value. They have greatly advanced what we know of the composition of stars, their inherent luminosities and distances, and, as a 100-year record of the skies, they are sure to continue to inform our understanding. Already as part of this ongoing project more than 162,000 plates, along with data from a card catalog and 1200…

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HOW TO MAKE A SUPER FUN AND CUDDLY BABY BANDANA QUILT

While looking for bandanas to make Charlotte, our baby granddaughter-on-the-way, a bandana baby quilt, I came across wonderfully whimsical animal inspired navy and white bandanas at J.Crew. The elephant bandana has little elephant heads in the corners and the whale bandana has an overall pattern that includes fishes, anchors, and a compass rose. The bandanas are printed on an ultra soft, almost batiste-like quality cotton fabric. Recalling that newborns can mostly only see black and white for the first three months, and that the J.Crew designs are so charming, I abandoned the pink idea and went for blue and white. And, a portion of the sale from the bandanas goes to support wildlife foundations.

Directions

1) Prewash bandanas, cotton batting, and backing fabric. Press.

2) Stitch together the four bandanas. Bandanas are not a woven design and oftentimes are not printed on the square perfectly. You have to fudge it a little and not be too fussy at this stage.

3) Press the bandana quilt top seams flat. Place the quilt top over cotton quilt batting. Pin or baste the batting in place. Trim batting close to quilt top edge.

4) Place quilt top and batting unit on top of cotton backing. Pin or baste through all three layers to keep in place. Trim to neaten edges.

5) Cut 4 bias strips, in desired width, in backing fabric, the length of each edge, plus two inches. I like to cut my bias strips 2 and 7/8 wide inches for binding a quilt. Fold bias strips in half and press.

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