My House in Spring

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American Dreams: a Cottage in Spring

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

By the grace of God, I have a cute house. Here's what we have to look forward to in spring.

The rose bush is bug- and disease-resistant. From White Flower Farms catalog.

Daisies, day lilies, coreopsis, and red crocosmia.

Japanese iris and chives.

Echinacea and a pollinator.

You can't have too many roses in June.

The view from my backyard hammock, sheltered from neighbors'  view by my garage.

Taking a step away from my house, this is the parking lot of my church in NJ. Go, forsythia!

Never forget to enjoy coffee, even on the warm spring mornings we will enjoy in the near future.

Mystic Library

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Sea Captain's American Dream

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

The Mystic & Noank Library is amazing. Commissioned in 1891 by Captain Elihu Spicer (he went to sea at the age of 9, became a ship's captain at age 22, and became a philanthropist who never saw his library completed), it's fabulous to be in.

Can you imagine sending your 9-year-old boy to the harsh environment of sailors, ships, and the sea, as so many mothers in days gone by have done? Yet it seems to have done a lot for Captain Spicer!

There's Oriental rugs on the wood floor, a wooden cathedral ceiling upstairs, and many of the racks are carved and beaded wood.  It's quiet, it's got people, it's got magazines, and best of all it's got books!

The roofline.

It's on a big hill, which accounts for the feeling that it's leaning :)

I

The side entrance, protected by wrought iron.

The main entrance (on the side of the building).

An historic Baptist church just down the hill.

The window in the nook that I like to work in.

Lucky nearby house.

Detail of the bay window.

Details under the eaves and above the windows.

How about you? Ever wish you'd been sent to sea at age 9? Comment below!

American Dreams of (Too Much?) Prosperity

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Great Architecture in Madison, NJ - II

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

The Dodges (i.e., Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation) had their estate in Madison, NJ, the town I haunted for five years as a reporter for a local weekly. They built the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building (town hall) as a memorial to their son after he was killed in a car accident. I imagine he was quite the too-rich, spoiled rake, and I don't miss him. But his mother did.

I sat through many meetings, on hard-bottomed chairs, within these hallowed halls. I always hoped that, as a reporter watching their proceedings, I helped to protect American freedoms by keeping public officials honest.

Today, newspapers' staffs are so diminished, many of these meetings no longer get covered. Buy a newspaper today and help support the American Way.

Hartley Dodge Memorial.

The Madison train station. Financiers from New York City (25 miles due east) built summer mansions in Madison and funded a rail station that befit their station :-)

Another example of successful 19th century commercial architecture in downtown.

Look at this brick work! Does anybody know how to do this anymore?

BTW, it was Shakespeare's 450th birthday yesterday, on April 23. To celebrate, why not pick up on a few of his best lines, to be used as needed: http://bit.ly/1jFVmhl

East Millstone Winter Sunset

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American Dreams of a Country Sort of Town

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Sorry for spotty publishing lately -- my mother was ill, and this week she passed away. I've been so busy taking care of her, and now with funeral arrangements, that my attention to this blog has not been total.

The following pics were taken in East Millstone, NJ, this winter. 

A church not far from the Delaware and Raritan Canal. East Millstone was the Saturday night stop, so there's five churches in a little town comprised of just six or seven short streets of houses.

Looks like a fire among the trees.

This is the historic home of people who own the best restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, not far from here.

This place has a strange, deserted feel, and the few windows are very high up in the walls, too high up for people to see out of. But someone lives here. My sister says it's been converted into a home. I heard classical music playing through the doors.

Someone worked hard to put all this out on the lawn and light it all up.

Whoops!

A warm, inviting home with Christmas tree lit up in the living room.

President's Day in New London, CT

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President's Day and the American Dream

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

I spent the morning walking and shooting pics in New London, CT, a whaling capital in the 1800s with glorious captains' houses, just like Mystic's.

But these days, New London is struggling in ways Mystic is not. Houses are run down, interspersed with houses where people with jobs and money lovingly tend to their houses' needs.

When is one of our Presidents going to stop waging war in a misguided effort to bring democracy to countries where the citizens are insane and don't deserve it (i.e., Iraqi and Afghan fathers, brothers and uncles performing "honor killings" of girls in their family who have been raped).

When is one of our Presidents going to focus on helping small businesses in this country grow? Small businesses employ far more people, in total, than big corporations do, in total. With jobs, people could better afford to take care of their homes, as well as work on making their dreams come true.

Take a look and see if I've made my case.

A splendid 19th century home falling into disrepair.

A close-up of the mess under the eaves and woodwork that needs a protective coat of paint.

Here's another example, just one block away.

Details of the peeling paint.

Across the street, a splendid example of what care can do for one of this historic homes.

The house above was built by two women in 1903.

The lovely front door.

Here's another beauty.

A detail of the front porch wrought iron.

Around the corner, a house whose owners can't manage.

A close-up of the front door.

Footsteps away, someone with a job maintains a beauty of a house, with a room on the roof.

Agreed? Let me know, and comment below.

If you like my blog, would you please follow it? Thanks!

Mystic Bridge House. Come debate me on historic significance!

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My American Dream of Preserved Historic Buildings

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

These shots were taken in autumn.  Remember the good old days, with temps in the 50s and 60s?

Today I'm offering more than the weather to be nostalgic about.

Even in Mystic, full of shoppers nine months a year, a few storefronts are still empty. Remember what a booming economy felt like? I'm nostalgic for that.

Fall roses. A beautiful sight at...

…a beautiful Mystic riverfront house. Sometimes it's hard to look at what only a few people can afford to enjoy, do you think? Then I have to let go of it and say, "I hope you enjoy it in good health," and I'm content with my little cottage again. At least this historic home is in the hands of someone taking magnificent care of it.

The house was built in 1834 by Daniel Williams, marine entrepreneur. That stone foundation looks stronger than my concrete foundation from 1952.

A romantic door.

This is the view that house has -- of historic Mystic Seaport itself.

Another autumn garden nearby.

The old Mystic Drawbridge bridge house, with a crane lurking in the background waiting to

 demolish it. 

The new house that's now on the bridge is probably warmer and has the latest technology in it, but it lacks the history, the historical significance.

Brand spanking new, but somehow….not as terrific. Do you agree?  If you like my blog, would you sign up to follow it? And RT, +1, or Share? Tnx!!

American Dreams of a Welcoming Irish Pub

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Beer and Ice Cream in Mystic, CT

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Folks, my 84-year-old mother is not doing well, and that's why I haven't posted the last two weeks.

But I'm determined to keep you guys happy! You need your fix of Americana, so, onward! 

Let's browse in Connecticut again this week and next.

This Irish pub, near the drawbridge, has been here since my parents moved to Mystic 22 years ago. I've never been inside -- somehow it doesn't invite me. What about you? Do you feel the same way? Comment below.

This is Drawbridge Ice Cream Cafe. When the traffic bar on the left goes down to stop cars on Route 1 so the bridge can open, the people on line (especially in summer) are stuck in front of the ice cream shoppe (so sad!). Next time I go there, I'll get shots of the interior of this indie coffee shop. I avoid going in because the scones are too tempting!

Not far from downtown, fall roses flourish beside an historic house.

A view of a three-master docked at historic Mystic Seaport, with a wood-hulled two-master behind it.