gardening and enjoying life in Salem, Massachusetts
Hi everyone! It’s Sunday night and I’m just relaxing and reading blogs and facebook and e-mail and thinking about the week ahead. A Facebook friend of mine posted this interesting article a little while ago so I thought you might like it too, especially you history bloggers. I had no idea that the White House had been gutted and re-built. Enjoy! Here’s to a good week!
Michele
What the White House Looks Like Completely Gutted – NationalJournal.com.
Our very first crocus of the year!! Yahooo! Spring is coming to Salem!
There are so many interesting things to see in Salem and one of my favorites is this mural that was painted last May by artist Kenny Scharf. It’s right across the street from the Visitor Center on the wall of the city’s downtown parking garage. It’s fun and whimsical and it really brightens up that corner!
Seriously, this guy has to make you smile…
Peek around the corner and there’s a whole gaggle of interesting characters.
Don’t they all have different personalities?
I could name each one if I had time.
Amazing and fun!!
Be sure to check out this cool video of the artist at work on Salem Patch.
Witches, ships and amazing art, we have it all!
Michele
Thank you all so much for your kind words over the weekend. It was hard to loose Dino. We spent the weekend talking about our short time with him. I really feel that things happen as their meant to. Sometimes situations come and go in ways that we never expect and the outcomes can be amazing. I hope that our experience of taking care of Dino builds resilience and character in my kids. Michael and I feel that it’s important for them to experience all parts of life, not just the pleasant, easy ones.
The fun part of our weekend included a birthday for me. I’m not telling which one it was but there’s now one ending in “0” coming quickly. Going into this birthday I really needed a new camera. My little point and shoot was so frustrating to use, I could see the shot but the camera wasn’t capable of taking it. The people who love me pooled their resources and I’m now the owner of a very nice Canon Rebel DSLR. Needless to say I have a lot to learn about how to use it but I thought I’d share my first flower photos. This camera is so much fun!!
I’ll start with the bathroom clock. Doesn’t everyone test out their new camera by taking a picture of their bathroom clock?
Moving on, here’s a favorite print that my mom gave me a few years ago. This is hanging in our foyer. 
And now– real flowers! Isn’t this sharp, clear and beautiful?
It’s not even set to macro, this is just the auto adjustment…
Puffy, white and perfect!
Good things are happening!
I’m going to watch a chapter of the dvd that came with the camera every day. Then I’ll practice the skills that each chapter teaches. Then I’ll use the auto adjust button to take pictures. Just kidding, I’m really going to learn how to use it! 😉
Spring is going to be fun here at the Salem Garden~
Thanks again and enjoy everything today!
Michele
This morning we woke to find that our sweet little old man had passed away, right next to his very cozy bed by the furnace. I feel blessed to have had him for the two months that we did. We gave him shelter, food and lots of love and attention…the simple things that matter the most.
Thank you for the joy you brought and for the lessons that we learned from you old guy.
It was an honor to know you.
Michele
This walkway on the ocean is just a mile away from here, on the border of the city of Lynn and the town of Swampscott. It’s a great place to get out and take a good walk. We’ve been enjoying it lately as it’s one of the few places thats cleared to walk with so much snow on the sidewalks and roads. It’s also a nice place for my kids to ride scooters and bikes. The roadway to the side is busy, but far enough away that we all feel quite safe. I’m not sure that the other walkers feel quite safe but the kids try their best to be considerate.
My little guy edited these photos. He loves to play with iphoto. It’s fun to see what he comes up with.
There’s the Boston skyline in the background, and a touch of “antique” in the editing process. The city is really a little bit further away than it looks. There must be a photographic term for when the distant background advances forward in a photo? Anyone know?
Looking over at the small town of Nahant. Nahant is an island that is connected to the mainland by a very thin causeway. See the plane landing at Logan in the background?
And turning around, looking back at Swampscott…
I love a brisk walk in cool ocean air!
Enjoy everything!
Michele
I spent some time on Houzz this morning poking around and looking at beautiful rooftop gardens. The caption for each is right under the photo. There just might be a rooftop garden (or two) in my immediate future~ Enjoy!
I love, love, love ice sculpture and this weekend is the Salem So Sweets ice sculpture event. It was originally scheduled for last week but it was postponed due to the blizzard. It’s hard to believe that that was a week ago already. Where did the week go?
There are sixteen sculptures this year. I always think their amazing, so every year I lead a spirited tour around town to take a look. We just saw a portion of them today because my little guy was sick all week and this was his first venture out of the house. My little girl doesn’t share my love of ice sculpture and wanted to go to Target to buy a new toothbrush. I really did not want to go to Target. I could have stayed downtown all day. We forged on…
This pretty heart was outside of Rockafellas Restaurant. Rockafellas hosted the festival’s wine and chocolate party so it’s a very fitting decoration for their entry way. 
This guy was further down the street.
The detail is amazing.
Last year a head was stolen from one of the sculptures. What a cute play on that! 
The Taj Mahal graced the entrance to the PEM (Peabody Essex Museum)… 
And this film projector outside of the Salem Cinema has a special story. A few months ago the Cinema announced that in order to remain open their projection system had to be upgraded to a digital format. The price tag for this was $60,000. A fundraising campaign was organized and within twelve days the Cinema had reached its goal. Our community loves this theatre because the theatre loves our community. 
I could have stayed all day, there were lots of other sculptures to see, but it just wasn’t our day. Maybe we’ll get back down there later in the week if the weather stays cold.
If you have kids of any age be sure to check out Happy Holligan’s colored ice post just below. What a fun thing to do with the kids when cabin fever sets in. I’m heading to my freezer to stock up on some colored ice. It’s school vacation week here, the perfect time to make some ice creations!
The ice won’t be here for long, garden days are coming!
Enjoy it while you can!
Michele
The experience of visiting Holland when the tulips are blooming sits at the top of my bucket list, along with visiting the Anne Frank museum… some day I just have to get there! In the meantime I’m enjoying this beautiful post by Michael at Florafocus. Michael’s blogs from a global gardening and design perspective and features amazing places all
over the world. Very fun reading on a cold New England Day! Enjoy! Michele
Michael took a little ride yesterday, dropping people off and picking them up while I took care of things at home. I didn’t leave my house for three full days over the weekend. There were two blizzard days with the driving ban, my little guy was sick yesterday, and it was just so nice to be hunkered down (in the words of our governor) here at home that I never went further than the chicken coop. I’m making up for that today of course. Anyway, here are some scenes from Michael’s trip.
Two of our former homes are in these photos. Anyone remember, or want to guess which ones?
Hint, we didn’t live in the Lobster Shanty (in the photo just above) but it was on The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” show last year.
Leave a comment if you know (or think you do).
Michele
The Salem Garden 