April check in

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. 

Daffodil Days — Essex, CT.

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! 

March check in

It’s been a while since the post I wrote about what makes my heart happy (read here). I thought I’d check in with what’s been going on since end of January. 

Snowstorm

We got one more big huzzah snowstorm. The highlight of which was going to Mystic Seaport when they were normally closed, they opened for a day to members so that we could see the snowy grounds. My photograph soul was fulfilled that day! 

Mystic Seaport - February 1, 2022.

Stay at Luxe Villa 

My birthday rolled around in early February which was coupled with an opportunity. I wrote a blog about a ‘stay’. I stayed at a new villa on the grounds of Norwich Inn and Spa. It was a fun experience, my first ‘stay’ blog that I wrote. I enjoyed it a lot and I hope there will be more in the future! 

At the restaurant inside Norwich Inn & Spa.

Cat and books 

February was a slow month, the cold weather keep us indoors more. My father-in law got a new cat named Barnaby, he’s adorable and my pup is very curious about the cat! I found more places to buy books that I *don’t need*. I never thought to check out Goodwill and some libraries were hosting ongoing book sales. 

Meet Barnaby!

Mystic Deaf History

I got to see a piece of history! If you recall the Mystic Deaf History blog (here), I explained that the original Mystic Oral School (formerly known as Whipple School) was in Ledyard before they moved to Mystic. The original Whipple School is a farmhouse so it has been a private residence. It was listed on the market and no, I didn’t purchase it! I wanted to SO BADLY! I had so many ideas for what I’d do with the space to preserve the history. I visited the historic farmhouse during an open house, it was amazing to see the history! Only if those walls could talk!

Those wooden beams on the ceiling were everywhere in the historic farmhouse.

Family time 

My parents visited during Presidents Day weekend. It always uplifts my soul when my family comes to town. We kept busy by going out to restaurants, exploring new spots and more. It was so nice going back to our favorite restaurants in person, restaurants that we haven’t visited in a long time. The visits always seems so short but I am grateful for the time with family. 

With my parents and husband at Inishmor Pub in Colchester, CT.

Re-charge 

March gave me a bit of a boost because spring is coming. We had a few days of great weather, the buds on our lilac bushes are growing and longer days now that the sun setting at 7pm. St. Patrick’s Day rolled around, so of course I enjoyed everything Irish. I watched a few new-to-me Irish movies. The re-charge also motivated me to give the website a long due change after 3.5 years. The website has organized categories that shows more blogs, two categories has sub-categories, a SEARCH feature! and cover photos finally shows on mobile version.

Mystic is ready for St. Patrick’s Day!

Wall Street Journal / CODA 

Most recently, I had been feature in a Wall Street Journal article here, about open captioning in the movie theaters. I was thrilled to have this opportunity to share my thoughts. This comes after ‘CODA’ winning 3 awards at the Oscars. What an exciting time for the Deaf community! I have no words, how it feels to see a historic win (first Deaf male to win an Oscar) in my lifetime! Marlee Matlin had been the first Deaf person to win an Oscar in 1987, before I was born. It’s been a long 35 years for MORE to happen and it finally did! I only hope that we won’t have to wait another 35 years! 

Not the actual newspaper but this is how I announced about the article that was published online!

Deaf

It’s been a busy year already for the Deaf community and it’s only March! The ‘Signs of Survival’ book came out earlier this year about a hearing sister and deaf sister who survived the Holocaust. Another book is coming out next month, ‘True Biz’ which I am looking forward to. It is written by a Deaf author. The book ‘El Deafo’ was adapted to a TV series on Apple TV this year too, it’s an adorable kids show to help understand deafness. The Super Bowl had sign language performers during the half time show. Unfortunately it was on a separate screen, so I had the computer laptop while watching the half time show on the TV. It was fun to watch the ASL performers. We always had issues not being able to see them during Super Bowl half time shows every year. This year was first time for the dedicated streaming to show them the entire time. I know there were issues with people not having access to the livestream, having to sign up, etc. so it’s not entirely perfect but it’s a start, I hope! We saw ‘CODA’ at the Oscars, but there was another Deaf documentary ‘Audible’ which was produced by a Deaf person nominated for an award. They didn’t get the win, but it’s amazing to see doors opening more and more for the Deaf community! 

A screenshot of two Deaf performers signing the songs during Super Bowl Half time show.

Artist Recreation

One last thing that made me happy recently, I always hoped that my photographs would inspire an artist to do an artist’s recreation. A photograph of the ferry passing a home in Groton, CT caught the eyes of Daniel Kenyon at DK Artwork. He painted a beautiful watercolor version of the photograph. The prints are available at his Etsy shop here. 

I’m looking forward to what Spring will bring, as I know I will be back to photographing a lot more once the blooming starts! I have a list of new places to see, hoping to see more of New England again. Let me know what makes your heart happy!