Art – The Salem Garden

It All Began With Children…

…reads the sign describing the creation of this beautiful new carousel on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston. I love the Greenway. It’s green space full of fountains and sculpture that recently took the place of a very ugly highway that cut right through the city.
This carousel is a wonderful addition to the park.

Where else can you ride on a lobster
or on Peter Rabbit

or sit next to a harbor seal?

We loved it!

Dad still rides the carousel wherever we go. He’s been riding for many, many years!

The artistic work is amazing..

and fun

and whimsical.

We have whales here…

falcons

and sea turtles…

I had a funny flash forward as I watched my family enjoy this and imagined that some day we would be watching our grandchildren ride…I think I need help, lol.

You’ll find the carousel just around the corner from the New England Aquarium… Salem Residents, don’t forget that the aquarium is free to us this month. If the aquarium is too crowded (as it was for us last Sunday) the carousel is a great substitute, or you can easily make it to both.

Enjoy everything!

Michele

Carousel Opens In Downtown Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway (boston.cbslocal.com)

Camping At the Beach~

We love to spend time family camping so early this week we spent a night on site 27 at Winter Island, the coveted first spot right next to the beach! It was wonderful to fall asleep on Sunday night listening to the waves roll in a few feet away. I think that this family was meant to live on the water. We love it so much! Here are a few of my favorite Winter Island photos. Needless to say, we had a good time!

the view from our campsite…

the Winter Island lighthouse

What is this cool pole called? Maybe a peace pole?

The now hidden lagoon, it used to be part of a moat around the fort.

Looking north toward Beverly…

How the lifeguard chair is used after hours…

This kid is too much.

Seriously, he just cracks me up!

The sunset reflection, looking north.

and south, with the moon rising.

The boys heading to the beach.
One of our friend Casey’s creations. Still used and loved all the time, if you happen to see this Casey 😉 .

Boats in the moonlight… one of my favorite things to do at Winter Island is to watch the boats come into the harbor at night. It’s so peaceful and quiet.

Early morning fog at low tide…

Playing on the beach in PJ’s is the best!

Camping is also the best (next to gardening 😉 )

Enjoy everything!

Michele

My Mother’s Day Gifts

We have a busy weekend here. Today’s the dance recital, which means lots of work and lots of fun! This is our ninth or tenth year of dancing, actually I should say this is “my daughter’s ninth or tenth year of dancing” but it doesn’t really work that way. As a dance mom, it’s my project too, and now my youngest child has joined in so we spend more time at dance then ever. I believe that dance is a wonderful way for my girls to develop skills in many areas. They love to dance and we love to cheer them on.

When I let Winnie out this morning I was greeted by this view. It was rainy and overcast but all I could see were the flowers.

Of course I was drawn right out there and I had to keep looking. Tomorrow will be garden day for me but I’ve been so busy with rehearsals and running people places that I haven’t been down to the garden in a couple of days. I’m always surprised by the changes when I’m absent for a little while.

The rhubarb is in flower already. Shallots are peeking out. My daughter decorated the fence for her birthday party. I think the lights are staying here, I love them! This perennial border is starting to come together this year. We need some more rain to fill up the pond so that the kids can use the canoe, and I need to make that fence with the dogwood twigs.

There’s always bleeding hearts and spirea for Mother’s Day, along with the flowering cherry in the background.

Dancing and flowers…what better gifts are there?

A perfect Mother’s Day weekend to me!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Michele

Need a Smile? Here You Go!

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

A Little Bit of Ice Sculpture

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

coloured ice sculptures (happyhooligans.ca)

A Few Scenes From The Nutcracker

Two of my girls performed in the New England Ballet Ensemble’s production of The Nutcracker this past weekend. It’s always wonderful to watch the many, many weeks of rehearsal come together in this beautiful ballet. It was a wonderful show and being part of it made memories that will last a lifetime. I was helping backstage during dress rehearsal so I ran out to the auditorium when I could to take photos…

The party children danced….

The battle scene

The Mouse King and his helpers…

Soldiers marching onward…Two of my favorite toy soldiers. They’ve been friends since they were babies. My Snow Lyrical dancer…The reindeer bringing the sleigh out for Clara.. There’s the choreographer, Joe Istre, with them. He comes from New York to work with the production. The weekends when Joe is in town for rehearsal are a highlight for the dancers. He has a way of using humor to bring out the best in everyone.Here’s my Marzipan dancer, ready to go…And again, with her adorable little lamb partner…
Here come the Gum Drops!There’s my girl!They add so much fun to the show!Marzipan on stage…and dancing with the lambs.Could they be any cuter?

The Polichinelles dancing for Clara…

My favorite Nutcracker photo this year…

And here’s Mother Ginger. This man comes to Massachusetts from his warm retirement in Florida to appear as Mother Ginger. It’s always great to see him! Apparently it’s a tradition that Mother Ginger be a man, dressed as her…

The ballet is over and it’s time to get ready for Christmas. I can still hear the music, I hope it stays for awhile!

Enjoy Everything!

Michele

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