Autumn Day at the Cove

Saturday at Wethersfield Cove.

Yes, I am glad to be back in Connecticut.

"'Thee did well, child, to come to to the Meadow. There is always a cure here when the heart is troubled.'"*

This past weekend I went on a Witchcraft and Tombstone tour in Old Wethersfield, CT, and, as a part of the tour, we visited the Buttolph-Williams house. Built in 1711, this house is the inspiration for the home of the Wood family in the Newbery award winning book The Witch of Blackbird Pond. ::cue my friend MEM having literary tour envy::


I had loved that book as a child, and it was the book that I read the very first night in my new house. (I love to reread old favorites from childhood when I am sick or nervous or blue. I don't know if it is the story or nostalgia or a combination of the two, but it always makes me feel better.) The novel, for those who haven't read it, tells the story of a young woman, Kit Tyler, who, after the death of her parents and beloved grandfather, leaves her privileged life in Barbados to live with her mother's sister and her uptight upright Puritan family in Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1687. Kit has difficulty fitting in with both her family and the community and finds herself becoming friends with other outsiders, including a old Quaker woman named Hannah who lives in a shack by the river and who is a suspected witch, which then throws suspicion on Kit!! SO GOOD!!!


I was really excited to visit the house that inspired the novel. I probably read the book for the first time in the fourth grade. We had a hardcover copy that had been discarded by the public library, and I loved the faded cover illustration of a girl in a meadow with the wind blowing her hair and clothes. There was something so free about that girl, which is very indicative of the book. (Who am I kidding? I still love that illustration. Also, I want to go to Barbados for the sole reason that Barbados is where the heroine Kit "grew up".)


One of the things I'd liked about the book was that it was set in my home state, in a town not far from mine. As a child, I had been really interested in the Salem Witch Trials and had taken out several books about them and witchcraft in general from the elementary school library. (In retrospect, I wonder if the librarian loved me or thought I was crazy.)  But this book isn't scary; it's about independence and freedom and standing up for yourself, framed in a historical context. (It's kind of a Johnny Tremain for girls.)  Girl power, circa 1690.


While the Buttolph-Williams house doesn't date back quite so far (built in only 1711), it is still one of the oldest houses in Old Wethersfield, and the preservation work on the house is impressive. I definitely want to go back and tour some of the other historical houses in Old Wethersfield and spend some more time poking around the old village burying ground. Gershom Bulkeley, who is a historical figure who features in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, is buried in the older part of the cemetery.


Sadly, Blackbird Pond no longer exists in Old Wethersfield (it dried up and they built the overpass for Route 3 where Hannah's house would have been), but it still exists in the pages of a great book and the imaginations of readers of all ages.



*The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Great Summer for Anglophiles

2012 has been a great summer for us (American) Anglophiles. It seemed like every time I turned on the television there was something British on. It started with:

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee (loved all of the news coverage and the great documentaries that were shown on public television)

 

 

then the showdown between Andy Murray and Roger Federer in the men's Wimbledon tennis final (that one was a real nail biter for me!)

 

 

 

then there were the London Summer Olympics 2012 (which gave the world a look at Britain beyond the royal family and the pomp and circumstance. Plus, Team GB earned 65 medals, including 29 gold medals!!!)

 

 

 

and then Andy Murray won the tennis US Open (the first Brit to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry!)

 

 

 

A very exciting summer indeed for those of us who love Old Blighty.  One of my co-workers got so jazzed up about GB from the Olympics coverage that he is going to London on vacation in two weeks. (You don't have to ask if I am super jealous, right? Because I AM. Maybe he will bring me back a souvenir Jubilee mug if I ask nicely.) At least great British television is on with "Doctor Who" running on BBC America, and "Call the Midwife" about to start on PBS, and Masterpiece will be showing new "Upstairs/Downstairs" in coming weeks, and then comes series 3 of "DOWNTON"!!!!

My Humble Abode

My House! (It is less blurry in real life.)

So in the interim between my last post and this one, I bought a house! And I moved into it!  Both of which have been very exciting and new and different and challenging.

Buying a house can be really stressful/emotional because you are walking a tightrope across a chasm of personal (someone's home) and professional (a real estate transaction). I was SO lucky to have a wonderful Realtor who helped me ask the right questions, advised me on price, and negotiated the deal. I was initially disappointed to have deals not come together on two separate houses before finding the one I bought, but it was my Realtor's guidance that protected me from dropping a lot of money into properties that (based on comparable sales in the area) just weren't worth the asking price. The house I bought was more affordable than either those earlier properties and is WAY nicer.  Third time's the charm!!  And it is just what I wanted: a Cape Cod house in a really New England-y part of Connecticut.

All my stuff got moved into the house on the last day of August, despite the fact that I swore that I would never again move on August 31-September 1, but moving on those days in CT was infinitely more easy than that particular turn-over in Boston. I still have some clothes left at my parents' house, but for the most part, I am moved in and am about 80% settled. I still need to repaint some rooms and get a new carpet upstairs (it has seen better days), but all but four of the boxes are unpacked and things are making their ways into their new homes.  It was awesome to get all my stuff out of storage! There were things there that I'd forgotten that I owned and was pleasantly surprised to see them again. It was like going on a major shopping excursion, without having to pay for it all at the end!!

Of course, there are household projects that I want to accomplish in the near future, but the house is in really great condition. (The previous owners already had updated the bathrooms and kitchen, which is SO MUCH bigger than my previous kitchen that I know that I am going to become a much more enthusiastic chef going forward. If you don't count the fact that I have been eating pasta and yoghurt most nights since I moved in.)  And I am going to have fun with the yard. I have already mowed the lawn. (I hadn't mowed a lawn in 20 years! It comes back, just like riding a bicycle. My dad was so proud.) ;-)

Slowly meeting neighbors, but the ones I have met are really friendly. I am very optimistic about it. Everyone on the street waves at each other, which was what I was hoping for in a neighborhood. It is a HUGE change from my old neighborhood in Allston, and I am still adjusting to that. (And to having a house with an upstairs and downstairs instead of a flat condo.)  It is really quiet at night; all I hear are the crickets. And while I don't miss the drunken students or the loud music from a car, I am used to hearing traffic or the train so I still have to put on my white noise machine to help me fall asleep. (Then again, I don't miss waking up to the front door of the building slamming at 2am or hearing noise from other residents' apartments.) It isn't far to go to the supermarket or get gas, and, while CVS is no longer right across the street, it is within a five minute drive. (There are also two really charming old, local cemeteries which I am dying -bad pun, sorry- to visit with my camera.)

So hopefully I will be back to blogging with more regularity in the near future. (If you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw all my snarky comments about the craptastic Olympics tv coverage, and you will know that I have been watching Masterpiece Mystery quite a bit. "Doctor Who" has just started up again and "Downton Abbey" starts in the UK this weekend so I will try to avoid being spoiled for those two, at least until my curiosity gets the better of me.)  If you have any tips for a new HOUSE owner, please feel free to share them in the comments. (And if I come up with any good advice, I will share it with you!)

"Red snappers snappin', Clam shells clappin'"*

Though it seems like ages ago, last month I was down on the Cape visiting with my aunt. After a walk along the beach in Harwichport, we headed over to Rock Harbor in Orleans, grabbed some "chowdah" (Rhode Island style) at Captain Cass', and took a walk along the harbor. It was a beautiful summer day! (The chowder was good, but it had NOTHING on my beloved Chatham Squire!)


*lyrics from "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s

Two of my Favorite Things in One Place

Last week, my friend Craig brought his solar-powered sound installation, Sun Boxes, to the Walnut Hill Park Rose Garden, which is one of my favorite places in my home town.

I had missed seeing the Sun Boxes last year when they were at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum outside of Boston, but I had the opportunity to see them earlier this year with Sister K in Brookfield, CT.  We loved them (Sister K said it was better than Tanglewood) and were really excited that Craig was able to bring them to New Britain.


It was a beautiful day, and, in the evening, there was a free yoga class. It was really peaceful and calming after a long day at work. Everyone had a great time.

The Sun Boxes are currently traveling through the state parks of the Green Mountain State (this coming weekend they are at Camp Plymouth State Park in Ludlow), and if you have a chance to go hear this piece, I highly recommend it.

It is difficult to explain what Sun-Boxes are; it is better to listen for yourself! (Personally, I like to listen to the Sun Boxes recordings that I have when I am having difficulty trying to sleep. They are so restful.)

Deuce

Today's Wimbledon men's final is very exciting to Britons (and Anglophiles alike) because this is the first time since 1938 a Brit is in the final. (Fred Perry was the last one to win in 1936.)

And the first time that I have ever rooted AGAINST Roger Federer in a men's tennis final.

Reminds me of this fun rom-com/sappy sports movie...

 If Andy Murray doesn't end up winning today, I will have to give Paul Bettany a shot. (SPOILER: Yes, there is a happy ending to the film. Hopefully there will be a happy ending to today's match!)

Fred Perry has a shirt named after him; I wonder what Murray would get. A kilt?  ;-)  Back to the nail biting (Federer is ahead in the second set as I type.)