Tag: Coronavirus

TIME magazine on museums and historic homes during Covid-19 features Salem Massachusetts

Posted on by Catherine

 

TIME MAGAZINE.jpg

Excerpt from ‘The Uncertain Future of Places That Preserve America’s Past’

“Thanks to the City’s infamous witch trials, the historic homes and gardens on the Salem, Mass., waterfront usually get about a third of their annual visitors in the Halloween season. But the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lock-downs have created a scary situation for these places: most of the rest of their visitors arrive in the spring and summer. Thanks to the pandemic, this year’s busy time has been a wash, and it’s not looking like the fall will be much different. At the site of Salem’s The House of the Seven Gables and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace…” Read the full article TIME magazine here

Peabody Essex Museum has reopened with a modified schedule:

“Thursdays through Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm. To allow for safe physical distancing, a limited number of visitors will be allowed inside the museum and its galleries at any time. Reserve your tickets in advance at pem.org/tickets or by calling 978-542-1511.”

In Gloucester, both Beauport Museum and Hammond Castle are open. While Cape Ann Museum is not open, its on line, virtual fare has increased. Check out “CAM connects”- the most recent July 23, 2020 Cape Ann Music

Hammond Castle-  Advance purchase of timed tickets is required to enter the museum. Purchase your tickets here. Guest are also welcome to explore the Museum grounds including the Bell Tower, Drawbridge, Look Out Point and our iconic arches. The grounds are open from 9:30 am to 4 pm daily. Face masks are required and social distancing should be maintained as recommended by the State of Massachusetts and the City of Gloucester.

Beauport Museum – Historic New England property details: “The tour has been altered to maximize social distancing, and each tour is limited to four guests. Please read the “Know Before You Go” section below for more information on safety requirements. Advance tickets are required, and admission is free for Historic New England members. Buy tickets now.”

 

GLOUCESTER FISHERMAN’S WHARF AND MINGLEWOOD ADDED 2 NEW PHONE LINES TO THEIR CURBISDE PICKUP AND THEY ARE OPEN TODAY!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Thanks to everyone who came out Friday for curbside pickup. Its so great to see the community eating local seafood and we are so grateful for everyone coming together to make it work.

We have opened up 2 additional phone lines to better accommodate everyone.

Saturday we will be open from 10am-4pm. Call 978-281-7707 to order. We will tell you a timeframe to pickup. Pay at your vehicle with our cc reader. No order limits. Thankyou!

Hours: Tuesday though Saturday 10am to 4pm


#weareinthistogether #gloucesterstrong#minglewoodharborside#fishermanswharfgloucester — with Zach Sears.

JEFF WEAVER! YET ANOTHER CELEBRITY SIGHTING AT CASTAWAYS

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Jeff Weaver, Cape Ann’s preeminent painter, gets his morning joe from Castaways

Although Jeff’s gallery is temporarily not open due to coronavirus, you can contact him via his website: Jeff Weaver Gallery

About Jeff Weaver

Jeff Weaver was born in 1953 in Framingham, Massachusetts. He began drawing and painting at an early age, accepting portrait commissions by age fourteen. In his high school years, he won awards in drawing & sculpture in the Boston Globe state-wide art competitions. During this time his teacher was Eleanor Marvin, accomplished sculptor and graphic artist, who nourished his draftsmanship skills. After graduating from high school, he entered the Boston Museum School. In 1972 he took up residence in Gloucester,  sketching and painting the waterfront on an almost daily basis.

In his early years in the city, he supported himself at various waterfront jobs, as well as from commissions for boat portraits from fishing vessel captains, and for murals in commercial establishments and private homes. This eventually led to many years of commercial work, including over 30 murals painted in different parts of the city.

Returning to fine art pursuits in the 1990s, Jeff again focused on depicting Gloucester and its environs in various media. He currently operates a studio/gallery at 16 Rogers Street on the Gloucester waterfront.

RALPH PUOPOLO AND PAUL GIACALONE PRACTICING PHYSICAL DISTANCING

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

These two friends practicing physical distancing as Ralph is getting his morning Joe at Castaways ❤

Ralph shared beautiful drone photos of Gloucester from Dave Gleason

FISHERMAN’S WHARF GLOUCESTER NEW CURBSIDE PICKUP DETAILS – OPEN NOW EVERY TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY – READ MORE

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns
We have partnered with our neighbor Minglewood Harborside to help provide you with everything you need to enjoy a delicious meal around our fresh, local seafood – without making a trip to the store.

Order your haddock or scallops from Fisherman’s Wharf Gloucester and sides, beer & wine from Minglewood Harborside; one call, one stop, one payment.

Just call 978.281.7707 to place your order and receive a pickup time, pull into one of our curbside pickup spots in front of Minglewood Harborside, and we’ll bring everything out to your car.

10 AM – 4 PM, Tuesday – Saturday
978.281.7707

Credit Cards, Apple & Google Pay only

$15 2 lbs. Fresh Haddock (pre-bagged)
$15.00 1 lb. Container of Fresh Scallops(dry)
edit: clam chowder* $22

THANK YOU CHAD AND OSCAR FOR CLEANING GOOD HARBOR BEACH!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

A huge shout out goes to Chad and his son Oscar. I spotted them from across the beach. Chad was methodically taking in tons of garbage and his little son’s blond curly head was bobbing along. When I got closer, I noticed Oscar had his own trash pick-up stick. Thank you Chad and Oscar for helping to keep Good Harbor Beach and the surrounding marsh and roadway clean of garbage.

THANK YOU KAREN GORCZYCA, MARK ANDREASSON, and DCL!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

I’ve mentioned my friend Karen Gorczyca and her husband Mark Andreasson from Design Communication Ltd., or DCL, because they recently began diverting resources in their fabrication facilities to making and producing Personal Protection Equipment parts and face shields. On Friday, they made a custom delivery to the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) and donated 50 face shields that were made in their Avon facility.

I just think this is the best, manufacturing and employing people in Massachusetts, and with Heart!

RESTAURANT TAKE OUT, DELIVERY, AND CURBSIDE PICK-UP MOST UP-TO-DATE LIST

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

The information is provided in collaboration with Discover Gloucester and the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce.

Last updated on April 9th at 10:45am.

Click Here for the complete list.

EASTER MORNING CHURCH BELLS FROM THE GLOUCESTER UU CHURCH

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Church bells ringing from the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church on this beautiful Easter morning. You can very faintly hear Our Lady of Good Voyage from where I was standing (I think it’s Our Lady’s bells). Perhaps I should have tried to record between the two churches. Anyway, a handful of people had gathered outside the UUChurch and it was sweet when everyone clapped at the end. Happy Easter, Happy Passover  ❤

PUREST SYMBOL OF HOPE

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

I’d like to write Happy Easter and Happy Passover but I think this spring of the coronavirus pandemic is for far too many of us the furthest from happiness that there is. Instead I’d rather think about eggs. Our granddaughter had the best time coloring Easter eggs last weekend (and all the fun made her suddenly love eating hard boiled eggs 🙂 ). It was her little two-year-old self first time and she adored every moment. Imagine children the world over decorating Easter eggs. The egg is a universal symbol of new life, fertility, purity, faith, and hope. We can fight this coronavirus thing with faith and the hope for better days to come (and of course the mandated protocols).

I took some snapshots of eggs from around our home. We don’t have many Easter decorations but the ones we do have I treasure. They include eggs covered in origami paper that we made when the kids were little. A decorated ostrich egg found in a junk store. And a bowl of small speckled stones that I have been collecting from the beach because they remind me of shorebird eggs.

Send us your egg photo tonight and tomorrow and I will post them Easter Sunday night. Any egg photo you like. Thank you. ❤

Photos can be added in the comment section or sent to kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com.

Ostrich egg vs. chicken egg

Don’t you love the the beautiful ovoid shapes and myriad colors of creature’s eggs?

Love the bits of colorful yarn woven into this Robin’s nest photo taken at Michelle Del Vecchio’s home

Catbird egg 

Kildeer eggs

Piping Plover Eggs

SHOUT OUT TO LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS MARK ANDREASSON AND KAREN GORCZYCA OF DCL FOR MANUFACTURING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS!!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Local people doing amazing things – DCL is a Boston based leading fabricator of architectural specialties. DCL President Mark Andreasson and his wife Karen Gorczyca reside on Cape Ann. DCL is now producing and delivering Personal Protective Equipment to area hospitals, police, and fire departments.  Thank you Mark and Karen and DCL staff for all you are doing to help first responders.

About DCL:

DCL is a leading fabricator of architectural specialties – including custom signage, rebranding, wayfinding, and themed entertainment. We partner with architects and designers to custom-engineer the right solutions for each project. Our experience and expertise spans globally, and we provide custom solutions for the Academic, Athletic, Healthcare, Hospitality, Retail, and Transportation industries.

SHOULD GLOUCESTER CLOSE BEACHES TO NON-RESIDENTS?

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Folks at Good Harbor Beach this afternoon practicing physical distancing 

Over the weekend many more beaches and beach parking lots closed across the state. Massachusetts DCR State Beaches such as Winthrop Shores Reservation, Revere, Swampscott, and Nahant joined other North Shore communities (Crane Beach, along with Ipswich and Newbury town beaches, for example) in closing to non-residents.

Should Gloucester close her beaches to non-residents? Please write and let us know what you think (and why).

The good news is that State Parks across the Commonwealth are opening early. Massachusetts owns more 450,000 acres of recreational property. Several of the State Parks listed below are beaches, which are now closed, but many are not.

Here is a link to Massachusetts State Parks, alphabetically listed by town.

State Parks by region.

BROTHERS’ BREW COFFE SHOP REMAINS OPEN FOR TAKE-OUT!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Stop by Brother’s Brew for their fabulous homemade world famous donuts, fresh coffee, and various other wonderful baked goods and sandwiches.

Brother’s Brew is located 27 Main Street

Rockport

978-546-3775

 

HOW TO SEW SURGICAL MASKS AND ELASTIC IS DESPERATELY NEEDED BY LOCAL SEAMSTRESSES

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Home sewers across the country are pitching in to make face masks for hospitals. Local Essex shop owner Georgeanne Richards from Sea Meadow Gifts and Gardens has been sharing how she and her sewing warriors are organizing, sewing, and collecting supplies for these much needed facial masks.

Georgeanne writes, “There is a desperate need for 1/4 inch flat elastic or elastic cord as you see in the photos.

The elastic is used to hold the masks in place. About 14” of elastic is used for each mask. Please check your home craft and sewing spaces for much needed elastic. Your very much appreciated donations can be placed in a bag and left on Sea Meadow’s porch in the boat planter on the bench.”

Sea Meadow is located at 7 Main Street Essex.

There are several styles of masks and here are instructions for two. Both these sets of directions are written very clearly and are super simple to follow.

From the Button Counter – Facemask: A picture tutorial

And from Sweet Red Poppy – How to Sew a Surgical Face Mask 

SHORT AND MAIN CONTINUING TO SERVE TAKE-OUT!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Dear Short & Main Customers,

First we want to thank everyone for their generosity over the past week.  As the ground shifted beneath our feet last week we had to lay-off 90% of our beloved staff and move to a new business model of curbside pickup.  It’s been tough obviously but the number of well wishes and takeout orders have helped raise our spirits.

With continued optimism, we hope to stay open and serve our community in these surreal times. When we get through it we hope to hire everyone back and probably have a really, really big party.

Until this is over the staff that have been let go could use some assistance.  We’ve set up a relief fund for our affected employees located on our website.  If any of our customers are able to contribute it would mean a great deal at this time.

We’re excited to offer our monthly burger special this Wednesday the 25th.  We expect to run out and would like to give all of you the option to reserve one online before Wednesday. If you’re worried about not getting one please go to our websitewhere we’ll explain how it works.

The following Wednesday, April 1st, We’ll be offering our monthly fried chicken special and give you the same reservation option we’re using for Burger Wednesday.
Starting Thursday March 6th we’ll bring back non-pizza entrees for all our GF friends, starting with Massachusetts raised beef short rib and then moving to a delicious roast chicken from Green Circle Farm the following week.

We’ll post our menu to the website every time it changes but we’re trying to keep things a bit simpler for the time being.

-sincerely Short & Main

WEDNESDAY  MARCH 25    BURGER NIGHT  fresh-ground grass-fed beef from jordan farms
WEDNESDAY  APRIL 1     FRIED CHICKEN  chicken from green circle farms

FIVE COVID-19 CASES IN GLOUCESTER – UPDATE FROM FROM THE GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Thank you to the Gloucester Daily Times who are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing. My family does because we value or local paper greatly 🙂

Gloucester Daily Times

By Taylor Ann Bradford  Staff Writer

There are five confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the city of Gloucester.

City officials expect this number, announced Sunday, to increase as testing becomes more widely available.

On Saturday, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken issued an emergency order for all personal care businesses in the city to close at noon Sunday, March 22. Personal care businesses include, but are not limited to hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, day spas, massage and body work establishments, tattoo piercing and body art establishments, aesthetics establishments, tanning salons, and gyms and fitness centers.

The move came after the three cases were reported to the city on Saturday. On Sunday, two more cases were announced as being confirmed.

“We’ve seen a spike in cases in Massachusetts and a cross the nation. The Gloucester Board of Health and the City of Gloucester have been preparing for the last several weeks for the arrival of COVID-19 in our community,” the city’s Public Health Director Karin Carroll said. “The city’s been at the forefront on planning for this outbreak and has taken appropriate steps to adapt to the situation.”

Once notified of the confirmed cases, the city’s Health Department began its investigation which included tracing back these individuals’ recent contracts.

The three individuals are recovering at home and following the recommended isolation protocols.

Thank you to the Gloucester Daily Times who  is making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing. My family does because we value or local paper greatly 🙂

READ MORE HERE

BROTHER’S BREW IS OPEN FOR TAKE-OUT!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Stop by Brother’s Brew for their fabulous homemade world famous donuts, fresh coffee, and various other wonderful baked goods and sandwiches.

Brother’s Brew is located 27 Main Street

Rockport

978-546-3775

 

SHORT AND MAIN COVID-19 UPDATE

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Dear Short & Main customers,

Obviously things are moving pretty fast.  Before Governor Baker’s announcement we had decided to close our dining room and switch to takeout service only.  We are ready to continue serving you in a safe and responsible way.

Place your order over the phone with a credit card and we will deliver to your car on Short Street.  No cash, no signatures, no door handles.
We are of the belief that we can’t be too cautious or too clean.  It’s for that reason that we will not be doing delivery at this time as it adds an extra link in the chain that we’re unable to control.  We hope that you trust us to be diligent and mindful during this time. That trust feels personal to us and we’d like to keep it at all costs.

We will be opening an hour early; 4pm to 9pm for now.

Our public events are obviously canceled but we will still be serving burgers and fried chicken on the first and last Wednesdays of the month.  You can pre-order via phone or email if you’re worried about our popular specials running out.

Let’s FLATTEN THE CURVE together!

-sincerely Short & Main

Wednesday March 25th Burger Night

Friday March 27th Steve Lacey Record Release

Saturday March 28th GIRL lbgtq dance party

Wednesday April 1st Fried Chicken from Green Circle Farm