The Cathedral in Providence is absolutely breathtaking..... It is almost as if you are in Europe when you walk down the cobblestone street and enter Cathedral Square. Inside the Cathedral was even more beautiful....high arches, frescoes, porticoes, columns, a beautiful high altar, and of course, the beautiful organ, which is actually located on the left side of the worship space on the ground floor of the Cathedral.
Attending mass with not one, not two, but three professionally trained organists (and one sleeping little girl) is definitely an experience.....after mass, we headed back to the Lake House for the remainder of our trip!!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Bruce House Renovations
We traveled after brunch down to East Greenwich, RI, to visit my friend Kristy and her family. Kristy and I have been friends for fourteen years, meeting in 1996 during our pharmacy residencies in Jacksonville, Fl. Kristy is a drug information specialist and now works for the University of Rhode Island. Kristy has two beautiful boys, age three and one, and Isa enjoyed playing with them and all of their toys while we visited. They even went swimming!!!!!!
Kristy and her husband, Chris, have been undergoing a labor of love the past few years renovating their home. They live in a home that was built in the 1800's, and have been working on it for the past several years. The ground floor is almost complete.....when we visited four years ago, there wasn't even a floor in the room that is now the nursery.... The upstairs has been transformed as well... The upstairs will someday have a balcony like walkway overlooking the living space below, two bedrooms and a bath. The vision is coming together.....I told Kristy that the next time we visit, maybe everything will be finished!!!!!!
We had a picnic and visited and then were on our way to mass at the cathedral in Providence....
Kristy and her husband, Chris, have been undergoing a labor of love the past few years renovating their home. They live in a home that was built in the 1800's, and have been working on it for the past several years. The ground floor is almost complete.....when we visited four years ago, there wasn't even a floor in the room that is now the nursery.... The upstairs has been transformed as well... The upstairs will someday have a balcony like walkway overlooking the living space below, two bedrooms and a bath. The vision is coming together.....I told Kristy that the next time we visit, maybe everything will be finished!!!!!!
We had a picnic and visited and then were on our way to mass at the cathedral in Providence....
Sunday Brunch at Lake Pearl
On Sunday morning we all met at Lake Pearl Luciano's for brunch. There were about twenty of us in attendance. The history of Lake Pearl is quite interesting. It was originally known as Whiting Pond, named after the Whiting family who owned a mill there in the late 17th century. It was purchased by the George Family int the mid-19th century and renamed George' s Park which attracted people foam all over the area. In 1885, George's Park was sold again to William Energren who relocated his bakery business there. The Energren family had a daughter named Pearl, who died as a toddler shortly after moving to the Lake. The lake was renamed in her honor, and remains Lake Pearl to this day. Over the years, visitors from across the area came to Lake Pearl to enjoy the many attractions it offered, including a merry-go-round, a band stand with a large dance floor, and water activities. In the 1930's and 40's dancing was at it's most popular and the ballroom at the park was known as the King Philip Ballroom. Many big bands played here including Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and even Frank Sinatra.
The hurricane of 1938 resulted in many changes that really were the start of the present day look of Lake Pearl. For the last thirty years, Lake Pearl has been a popular site for corporate outings and weddings. In 1998, the park was sold once again to it's present owner, Mr. J. Lorusso, and changed the name to Lake Pearl Luciano's. When you enter the building, you feel like you stepped back in time with beautiful chandeliers and Roman columns....the grounds are beautifully manicured a there is a tent set on the lawn where the weddings are held...in fact, there were chairs set up from the previous evening where a ceremony must have occurred.
We were seated on the balcony overlooking the lawn, quite cleverly separated from the majority of the other guests, as much laughter ensued at our table. We had a waitress who was quite the character.....her laugh was reminiscent of Fran Fine (Fran Drescher from The Nanny)..... If you have never heard this type of laughter I encourage you to find it on Youtube or TV Land so that you can truly appreciate this story. During the course of the brunch, our waitress, (I'll call her Frannie), managed to spill cranberry juice down the back of one of the members of our party.....he was seated at the table next to us and all we could see was Frannie patting him down with her dish towel......she also managed to spill coffee on one of our seats, while the person in that seat was off at the buffet......then she spilled milk all over our table. And then, once the coffee sitter was back in his seat, she spilled cream on him. Frannie seemed unphased by the fact that perhaps this is not the best line of work for her. As the story telling was occurring at our table, and Eric burst into his famous laughter that you read about in previous entries and Frannie said to him "your laugh is so amazing" and with that our whole table burst into another round of laughter,as she was oblivious to the fact that she was the source of our amusement..... Poor Frannie. I hope she finds a new career path soon.
What a lovely morning..... Off to visit my friend Kristy and her family in Rhode Island for the afternoon.......
The hurricane of 1938 resulted in many changes that really were the start of the present day look of Lake Pearl. For the last thirty years, Lake Pearl has been a popular site for corporate outings and weddings. In 1998, the park was sold once again to it's present owner, Mr. J. Lorusso, and changed the name to Lake Pearl Luciano's. When you enter the building, you feel like you stepped back in time with beautiful chandeliers and Roman columns....the grounds are beautifully manicured a there is a tent set on the lawn where the weddings are held...in fact, there were chairs set up from the previous evening where a ceremony must have occurred.
We were seated on the balcony overlooking the lawn, quite cleverly separated from the majority of the other guests, as much laughter ensued at our table. We had a waitress who was quite the character.....her laugh was reminiscent of Fran Fine (Fran Drescher from The Nanny)..... If you have never heard this type of laughter I encourage you to find it on Youtube or TV Land so that you can truly appreciate this story. During the course of the brunch, our waitress, (I'll call her Frannie), managed to spill cranberry juice down the back of one of the members of our party.....he was seated at the table next to us and all we could see was Frannie patting him down with her dish towel......she also managed to spill coffee on one of our seats, while the person in that seat was off at the buffet......then she spilled milk all over our table. And then, once the coffee sitter was back in his seat, she spilled cream on him. Frannie seemed unphased by the fact that perhaps this is not the best line of work for her. As the story telling was occurring at our table, and Eric burst into his famous laughter that you read about in previous entries and Frannie said to him "your laugh is so amazing" and with that our whole table burst into another round of laughter,as she was oblivious to the fact that she was the source of our amusement..... Poor Frannie. I hope she finds a new career path soon.
What a lovely morning..... Off to visit my friend Kristy and her family in Rhode Island for the afternoon.......
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Big Day!!!!!
The wedding was a day sixteen years in the making!! What a gorgeous day for an outdoor ceremony!!!!! I can honestly say that I have never before attended a wedding quite like this!!!! The beautiful ceremony was under a canopy of shade from the trees in the backyard and the happy couple was surrounded by tons of friends and family! Isabel was an angel through the ceremony despite a few troublesome moments prior to the beginning of service. The music was fabulous.... A string quartet, a keyboard, and at least two soloists, not counting the psalmist who had the most gorgeous deep voice! I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking (if they weren't lucky enough to be in attendance).
The reception that followed was a fantastic party under a large white tent on the front lawn. The food was delicious and the music was awesome and Isa had a fabulous time dancing... Or rather she enjoyed riding on my hip while I was dancing. I must say that the photographer might just have as many pictures of Isabel as the happy couple as every time I turned around he was snapping photos of her....I hope I get to see them!!!!!!! (this is a hint for the happy couple)
And now, as the party is winding down, I slipped away to a quiet spot where Isabel is again sleeping on the couch and I am happily blogging my entries for the past few days. The college mates are all playing "spoons" and reminiscing once again. Tonight, a special shout out to my suite mates from college who I know are religiously following my blog. Only you guys will appreciate the biologically successful le poulard that I saw at Kimball Farm yesterday....if only Lil Ricky could have seen it.
On the tv in the background is one of my favorite movies.... I won't tell you what it is but will provide you with a trivia question regarding a line from the movie.... The first comment response I receive correctly identifying the movie in Jeopardy style shall receive a prize...and those in attendance this evening at the wedding are not eligible to play...
Movie Quote: "if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter........"
If you read all the way to the end of this entry, you might be interested in reading the two previous entries that will catch you up on our trip since "the midnight swim" where we last left off..... Scroll down for your viewing pleasure..
The reception that followed was a fantastic party under a large white tent on the front lawn. The food was delicious and the music was awesome and Isa had a fabulous time dancing... Or rather she enjoyed riding on my hip while I was dancing. I must say that the photographer might just have as many pictures of Isabel as the happy couple as every time I turned around he was snapping photos of her....I hope I get to see them!!!!!!! (this is a hint for the happy couple)
And now, as the party is winding down, I slipped away to a quiet spot where Isabel is again sleeping on the couch and I am happily blogging my entries for the past few days. The college mates are all playing "spoons" and reminiscing once again. Tonight, a special shout out to my suite mates from college who I know are religiously following my blog. Only you guys will appreciate the biologically successful le poulard that I saw at Kimball Farm yesterday....if only Lil Ricky could have seen it.
On the tv in the background is one of my favorite movies.... I won't tell you what it is but will provide you with a trivia question regarding a line from the movie.... The first comment response I receive correctly identifying the movie in Jeopardy style shall receive a prize...and those in attendance this evening at the wedding are not eligible to play...
Movie Quote: "if you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter........"
If you read all the way to the end of this entry, you might be interested in reading the two previous entries that will catch you up on our trip since "the midnight swim" where we last left off..... Scroll down for your viewing pleasure..
Friday Fun
On Friday we packed up the car and relocated to the Marriott Courtyard in Foxborough, MA.....prior to arriving at the hotel, we went to spend the day with Bela's Aunt Barb (who was Bela's piano teacher as a boy). She has recently relocated to the town of Littleton (a suburb of Boston) to be near her daughter's family. She has the cutest little apartment in a complex with buildings all named after pine trees....I never knew that there were so many types of Pines......her building is named Hawthorne.
We had lunch at the Neshoba Valley Ski Resort, which doubles as a camp for kids in the summer....super cute! The "mountain" was very tiny, but you could tell that in the winter, it is a popular spot. After lunch we went for ice cream at this neat place called Kimball Farm. Isa got to pet goats and chickens and watch some children ride a pony. No pony rides for her on this trip. All in all a fun day with Barbie!!!
After getting ready at the hotel we made our way to the rehearsal dinner in Wrentham. What a fun time...... There were about 20 of us in attendance and the highlight was Eric walking through the screen door.....(readers, you can use your imagination of how this came to be). This wedding party is a great excuse for a college reunion for my husband and his graduate school friends. From inside the house as Isa was sleeping, I could here the retelling of countless stories and much laughter being had on the deck. Friends are so very important, and my husband has some of the greatest.
Next entry....the wedding!!!!
We had lunch at the Neshoba Valley Ski Resort, which doubles as a camp for kids in the summer....super cute! The "mountain" was very tiny, but you could tell that in the winter, it is a popular spot. After lunch we went for ice cream at this neat place called Kimball Farm. Isa got to pet goats and chickens and watch some children ride a pony. No pony rides for her on this trip. All in all a fun day with Barbie!!!
After getting ready at the hotel we made our way to the rehearsal dinner in Wrentham. What a fun time...... There were about 20 of us in attendance and the highlight was Eric walking through the screen door.....(readers, you can use your imagination of how this came to be). This wedding party is a great excuse for a college reunion for my husband and his graduate school friends. From inside the house as Isa was sleeping, I could here the retelling of countless stories and much laughter being had on the deck. Friends are so very important, and my husband has some of the greatest.
Next entry....the wedding!!!!
Thwarted!!!!
Just as we were heading over to the beach for our moonlight swim, we spotted a car pull up.... We were anticipating some teenaged skinny dippers but instead narrowly escaped crossing paths with a middle aged fisherman..... Needless to say, we delayed our midnight swim to another day.....
Thursday, July 29, 2010
On Golden Pond
Today at Wash Pond (the name of Robert and Eric's lake - google earth it......) I noticed something that I had not previously seen..... The water was so clear today that as I looked down I could see these tiny beautiful flecks of gold.......not really knowing for sure what this means or what the flecks really are (I prefer not to think too much while on vacation), I prefer to just enjoy them for the beautiful site they provide. Isabel got quite brave today (increasingly so with each passing day) and ventured out into the water up to her chin refusing to use her floating duck. I was never far away, and we had a good time with her throwing a stone and me retrieving it when it went too deep for her to bend over to get it without going under the water.
Everyday at Wash Pond there are two lifeguards, provided by the town of Hampstead (as you may recall from a previous entry). The lifeguards work from 9ish to 5pm, and no sooner do the lifeguards leave, the people bring their dogs for a swim (allowed only after hours).
Usually you see labradors or some other water loving dogs, but today, at promptly 5:01pm, a lady came to the beach with three dogs - a Pug, a mutt, and an English Bulldog. The pug, named Roxie, swiftly slipped out of her collar and traipsed off into the water. The mutt, Tyson, didn't do much of anything. And the bulldog, Justice, was obviously taking the lady for a walk, as he swam right over to the buoy rope, latched on and clung for dear life for the next thirty minutes. He pulled the rope several feet inland, and required the assistance of most, but not all, of the other beach goers had to lend a hand to free Justice from the rope, all the while the lady coaxing Roxie to continue enjoying the water while Tyson stared on. We (being the witnesses only and not the Samaritans lending a hand) listened and learned while the spectacle took place.... For instance, did you know that a bulldog's lifespan is but a short eight years? Justice was only 1.5 years old, so has many swims ahead of him.
After our afternoon at the beach, we had another cookout this evening and after dinner two of Eric and Robert's neighbors stopped by to say hello. What delightful friends, Jane and Sharon. Eric (the consummate story teller) regaled us with hilarious stories of the neighborhood, often times stopping to compare Ells Road to Wisteria Lane (and believe me when I say, if the stories are true, this is almost as food as Knots Landing, too.......) those stories will remain secrets for my first best seller on Oprah's top ten.
After dinner, we took a stroll through the neighborhood. There are about five homes for sale here, two of which are cottages only (meaning that they are not meant for year round living) and the others available year round. All of the homes are darling, and with some imagination you can totally see the vision of what some of the homes could be with some TLC (just like E & R's home). Big sigh.....someday we will have our vacation home in Bavaria, and our lake house in NH........(parents.....stop panicking.....this is so far from happening........)
It's getting late and we are planning a midnight swim tonight! Eric will stay in the house with my sleeping angel........ On the travel log for tomorrow, lunch with Bela's Aunt Barb and then down to Massachusetts for the weekend.
More to come.....
Everyday at Wash Pond there are two lifeguards, provided by the town of Hampstead (as you may recall from a previous entry). The lifeguards work from 9ish to 5pm, and no sooner do the lifeguards leave, the people bring their dogs for a swim (allowed only after hours).
Usually you see labradors or some other water loving dogs, but today, at promptly 5:01pm, a lady came to the beach with three dogs - a Pug, a mutt, and an English Bulldog. The pug, named Roxie, swiftly slipped out of her collar and traipsed off into the water. The mutt, Tyson, didn't do much of anything. And the bulldog, Justice, was obviously taking the lady for a walk, as he swam right over to the buoy rope, latched on and clung for dear life for the next thirty minutes. He pulled the rope several feet inland, and required the assistance of most, but not all, of the other beach goers had to lend a hand to free Justice from the rope, all the while the lady coaxing Roxie to continue enjoying the water while Tyson stared on. We (being the witnesses only and not the Samaritans lending a hand) listened and learned while the spectacle took place.... For instance, did you know that a bulldog's lifespan is but a short eight years? Justice was only 1.5 years old, so has many swims ahead of him.
After our afternoon at the beach, we had another cookout this evening and after dinner two of Eric and Robert's neighbors stopped by to say hello. What delightful friends, Jane and Sharon. Eric (the consummate story teller) regaled us with hilarious stories of the neighborhood, often times stopping to compare Ells Road to Wisteria Lane (and believe me when I say, if the stories are true, this is almost as food as Knots Landing, too.......) those stories will remain secrets for my first best seller on Oprah's top ten.
After dinner, we took a stroll through the neighborhood. There are about five homes for sale here, two of which are cottages only (meaning that they are not meant for year round living) and the others available year round. All of the homes are darling, and with some imagination you can totally see the vision of what some of the homes could be with some TLC (just like E & R's home). Big sigh.....someday we will have our vacation home in Bavaria, and our lake house in NH........(parents.....stop panicking.....this is so far from happening........)
It's getting late and we are planning a midnight swim tonight! Eric will stay in the house with my sleeping angel........ On the travel log for tomorrow, lunch with Bela's Aunt Barb and then down to Massachusetts for the weekend.
More to come.....
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