April check in — knot so loud

Here are some what has been making my heart happy lately:

Family

I had special guests in town to visit me one week. My parents came from Upstate NY for their spring break. Some of my favorite memories with my parents includes eating breakfast at Carson’s in Noank. I love the ambiance and the retro feeling that it has. Gilmore Girls fans, it’s similar to the ambiance of Luke’s Diner! We also went to Waterford one day - walked around Harkness Park and they saw Seaside Sanatorium for the first time. If you don’t know about Seaside, it is a former hospital used to treat tubercoulious. The property has became a small park now, the abandoned buildings are fenced in. There’s a lot of beautiful detailings on the buildings but unfortunately vandalism has ruined some. I also introduced my parents to Book Barn. With my love for books, I was excited to go to one of my favorite spots! My dad was overwhelmed with all the books at Book Barn, ha! The ship, Mayflower also departed Mystic one day while my parents were here so we all went to watch. It’s always amazing to watch those huge ships go down the Mystic River. We also went to Avery Point/Eastern Point Beach in Groton, as it is one of our favorite spots. We found the bookstore for the first time and I got a great deal on a new Avery Point hat, it was only $7!

Essex

My parents and I made the trek to Essex, CT - about a 40 minutes drive from Mystic. Essex has their ongoing Daffodil Days event, it started mid March. The daffodils were in bloom! As soon we got off the highway, we were greeted with a daffodil field! The main street was decked out with daffodils on storefronts, homes, etc. It felt very festive! It was my first time seeing the Daffodil Days event as it is an annual tradition in Essex. It’s definitely worthwhile to go visit Essex during the spring.

Libraries

This month had a lot going on for libraries. National Library Week was April 3-9 and April 5th was the day to recognize our library workers. I actually saw a new-to-me library last week. I wanted to see the movie ‘Belfast’ which my local library didn’t have available. I took advantage of the interlibrary loan program and went to Wheeler Library in North Stonington. They had the movie but I was curious about the historical library building so I nosed around. I found the book sale cellar which had an amazing selection, even the newer books were $3! I was super impressed. Once I visited the upper level, it blew me away! It was so beautiful and reminded me of Trinity Library in Dublin (because of those busts!). I was stunned that it took me this long to see the library and now I want to visit more in the area! I took my parents to Mystic & Noank Library to show them how beautiful it is there too!

*Wheeler Library — North Stonington, CT.*

Strawberry Poke Cake

I follow several gluten free/dairy free accounts on Instagram. Again, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have them to come up with recipes! They were a huge help when I started this journey a couple years ago. One of them shared Easter desserts, and I saw the Strawberry Poke cake. It brought back childhood memories - my Grandma would make the exact same cake for Easter. I had missed it so much and completely forgotten about it. So happy to find a recipe that works for me!

Spring

It finally feels like spring. The weather’s been warmer in the range of 50-60’s. In the beginning of April, my husband participated in the Frostbite Regatta at Mystic Seaport. It was fun to see those colorful Dyer Dhows in the Mystic River. I realized that is one of the signs of Spring in Mystic. They have spring sailing classes every Spring and Summer. We’re definitely getting excited that sailboat season is coming soon. All the flowers blooming also excite my photographic soul!

Deaf Authors

April saw not just one but TWO newly released books from Deaf authors! It was an exciting month to see more from the Deaf world. One of the books, ‘True Biz’ by Sara Novic was chose for Reese Witherspoon’s book club April pick. This already has been a year to remember for the Deaf community!

Wishing you a Happy Spring!