MASSACHUSETTS, August 9, 2011
Dear Blog Followers,
Sylvia beaming in for another blog this evening, written at approximately 11:00 p.m. my time (EST, at this point in time). It has been a day of interesting change in weather. Right now, I am writing you from the quietness of the second-floor study of Marthe Aimee's house, as the rain patters the roof. A very cool breeze is stirring, and the jacket I am wearing feels very good indeed. This morning, I got up to clear skies, but as we are on the North Shore, and the Atlantic is never far from us at this point, the weather can change in a heartbeat.
I photographed one of Marthe's bigger installation objects this morning for her show during the weekend. As the wind caught the individual strands of the work, they created a lovely, swirly pattern that was a lot of fun to capture. We are almost finished, now, with labeling, photographing, etc., and the only big thing left to accomplish is to post prices for all the pieces. As Marthe's daughter Scilla is coming in tomorrow, and as she is a business major, she is going to be instrumental in getting things organized from that standpoint.
Today, Marthe, Sarah, little Owen, and I went to Rockport to visit a wonderful friend of Marthe's, a fellow artist and traveler named Chukki,an indomitable 86-year-old who is one of the most vibrant, well-rounded, intelligent people I have ever met. She has a house which is situated next to a farm which sports horses and sheep, both of which we were able to see up close and personal. She toured us through her magnificent house and garden, full of the most wonderful flowers--especially roses. She had a great lunch prepared for us--exquisitely rendered salmon, a salad, and fresh bread that practically melted in your mouth. After lunch we got in her car and drove into Rockport proper, in order to walk the cliff walk.
As you head northward out of Boston, you pass through a succession of rich little ports such as Salem and Marblehead. If you have time, the atmospheric old fishing ports of Gloucester and Rockport, further out on Cape Ann, are also worth a look. This area is also the best place on the East Coast for whalewatching trips. However, in Rockport, we walked along the cliffs and admired some of the beautiful Victorian houses facing the Atlantic, and I took a whole raft of pictures. Afterwards, we descended on the town, and again I took a number of pictures before we parked at the marina and headed towards a stone quarry, which had yielded stone for many of the buildings in Rockport and now serves as the water supply station for the town itself--a very peaceful retreat populated by seagulls.
We returned to Chukki's place after our little outing, petted the sheep and horses, and eventually made our way back through Ipswich to Hamilton and home. The rest of the crew took naps, and even I tried out the hammock on the front porch for size (I could get used to it very quickly!) and read. Eventually, Sarah prepared an impromptu dinner with Chinese noodles, cabbage, onions, eggs, and chives. Owen, fortunately, slept through the whole thing, and eventually, the three of us got into a good discussion about possessions and whether form follows function regarding the objects we own. Interesting topic, but by 11:00 I was ready to call it quits.
One sad piece of news this evening: Josh, Marthe's boyfriend, has been diagnosed with pneumonia. He had traveled with us to Cornish and Manchester, NH the other day re the visit of the Saint Gaudens Historic Site as well as the Frank Lloyd Wright Zimmermann House, and I feel rather guilty that he was not at his best then but simply came along because he had promised to do so. Let's hope he rallies soon! With best wishes, Sylvia
Sylvia beaming in for another blog this evening, written at approximately 11:00 p.m. my time (EST, at this point in time). It has been a day of interesting change in weather. Right now, I am writing you from the quietness of the second-floor study of Marthe Aimee's house, as the rain patters the roof. A very cool breeze is stirring, and the jacket I am wearing feels very good indeed. This morning, I got up to clear skies, but as we are on the North Shore, and the Atlantic is never far from us at this point, the weather can change in a heartbeat.
I photographed one of Marthe's bigger installation objects this morning for her show during the weekend. As the wind caught the individual strands of the work, they created a lovely, swirly pattern that was a lot of fun to capture. We are almost finished, now, with labeling, photographing, etc., and the only big thing left to accomplish is to post prices for all the pieces. As Marthe's daughter Scilla is coming in tomorrow, and as she is a business major, she is going to be instrumental in getting things organized from that standpoint.
Today, Marthe, Sarah, little Owen, and I went to Rockport to visit a wonderful friend of Marthe's, a fellow artist and traveler named Chukki,an indomitable 86-year-old who is one of the most vibrant, well-rounded, intelligent people I have ever met. She has a house which is situated next to a farm which sports horses and sheep, both of which we were able to see up close and personal. She toured us through her magnificent house and garden, full of the most wonderful flowers--especially roses. She had a great lunch prepared for us--exquisitely rendered salmon, a salad, and fresh bread that practically melted in your mouth. After lunch we got in her car and drove into Rockport proper, in order to walk the cliff walk.
As you head northward out of Boston, you pass through a succession of rich little ports such as Salem and Marblehead. If you have time, the atmospheric old fishing ports of Gloucester and Rockport, further out on Cape Ann, are also worth a look. This area is also the best place on the East Coast for whalewatching trips. However, in Rockport, we walked along the cliffs and admired some of the beautiful Victorian houses facing the Atlantic, and I took a whole raft of pictures. Afterwards, we descended on the town, and again I took a number of pictures before we parked at the marina and headed towards a stone quarry, which had yielded stone for many of the buildings in Rockport and now serves as the water supply station for the town itself--a very peaceful retreat populated by seagulls.
We returned to Chukki's place after our little outing, petted the sheep and horses, and eventually made our way back through Ipswich to Hamilton and home. The rest of the crew took naps, and even I tried out the hammock on the front porch for size (I could get used to it very quickly!) and read. Eventually, Sarah prepared an impromptu dinner with Chinese noodles, cabbage, onions, eggs, and chives. Owen, fortunately, slept through the whole thing, and eventually, the three of us got into a good discussion about possessions and whether form follows function regarding the objects we own. Interesting topic, but by 11:00 I was ready to call it quits.
One sad piece of news this evening: Josh, Marthe's boyfriend, has been diagnosed with pneumonia. He had traveled with us to Cornish and Manchester, NH the other day re the visit of the Saint Gaudens Historic Site as well as the Frank Lloyd Wright Zimmermann House, and I feel rather guilty that he was not at his best then but simply came along because he had promised to do so. Let's hope he rallies soon! With best wishes, Sylvia
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