Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular

Saturday night was warmer than expected, so after heading home from our favorite 3 year old's birthday party to take care of Dave and Grux, Melissa and I decided to head to Roger Williams Park Zoo for the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular and some great photo ops. The event runs now though November 1 from 6 pm-11 pm (last entry at 10) and includes thousands of hand carved pumpkins with various themes. One of my favorites was

Springtime Farmer's Market

It’s almost time for the farmer’s markets to begin! Pretty soon, we’ll be able to go out on a Saturday morning and pick up some fresh and local berries, beans, cucumbers, eggplant… but in the meantime, we took a drive over to the Winter/Spring Farmer’s Market in Pawtucket last weekend.

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of vendors! Here’s a short list of our favorites:


Narragansett Creamery: The Best Ricotta in the World. That’s what the woman standing next to us said. And… I imagine she’s right. It was definitely the best I’ve ever had. That night, Melissa made us some spaghetti with her sauce, and a little ricotta mixed in. It really was unbelievable. But probably the best way to really get the whole ricotta experience was when we mixed it up with a little sugar and dipped strawberries in it. Wow.

Allen Farms: Have you ever had pea greens? Neither had I, until I stopped by this booth. These are from snow peas, and we were won over immediately. We scooped up a container, and also a pot of cat grass for Dave – which he loves. We used the pea greens in a salad with spinach, kalamata olives, cucumbers and feta from Narragansett Creamery. We’ll definitely be buying these again.

Barden Family Orchard: We grabbed some apples – I wish I could remember what kind they were. Guess we’ll have to go back and get more.

Stony Hill Cattle Company: While Melissa wandered over to Purple Pear of Providence, I took some time talking to the ladies here – and ended up with a Porterhouse steak. It’s in the freezer still, but I’m going to grill it up soon.

The Spring/Winter Farmer’s Market runs through the end of May.

Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St.Pawtucket
10-1pm

Several other farmer’s markets begin in May. Click here for a list.

Bob Black REALTOR Williams & Stuart Real Estate 870 Oaklawn Ave Cranston, RI, 02920	Work: 401.942.0200 ext 28 Mobile: 401.261.1599 Bob@BobBlackOnline.com www.BobBlackOnline.com
Your Friend in Rhode Island Real Estate
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

Newport Winter Festival 2009

The Newport Winter Festival takes place February 13-22. We took advantage of the nice day and decided to check it out this weekend. We started out, as we often do, at Breton Point. We made our way to Cliff Walk and took a short stroll before heading down to the Festival. There are lots of fun activities going on:

· Chili Cook Off
· BeatleMania Concert Series
· Sand Sculptures
· City Wide Scavenger Hunt
· Ice Sculpting Competition
· Children’s Fair
· Pizza Cook Off
· Store and Restaurant Discounts
· · Children’s Art Contest
· Winter Swimming!
· Carriage Rides

The summer festival season (and weather) is still several months away, and when we have a nice day - along with an event like this, I like to take advantage of it. Make sure you stop in and check out the shops – we found a great birthday gift and a great shop that I’ll be writing about this week. Stay tuned!

Bob Black REALTOR Williams & Stuart Real Estate 870 Oaklawn Ave Cranston, RI, 02920	Work: 401.942.0200 ext 28 Mobile: 401.261.1599 Bob@BobBlackOnline.com www.BobBlackOnline.com
Your Friend in Rhode Island Real Estate
Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this!

Scituate Farmer's Market

As I was writing my Rhode Island Weekend Fun post for my real estate blog yesterday, I realized I had never been to the Scituate Farmer's Market. So off we went this morning. It runs from 9-12 and I had an open house at 12, so we wanted to get there as soon as it opened. I'm glad we got there early, because we got lots of good produce and goodies, and were able to take some time to talk to the vendors and farmers. It turned out to be a popular spot, with lots of regular visitors.

Our first stop was where we met Linda Couture of Butterfly Meadows. She offered samples of her homemade sauces and syrups, which I can tell you are amazing. She makes a Honey, Lemon and Lavender Syrup that is out of this world. We also picked up a Peach Chipotle Sauce that has just the right amount of smokiness balanced by sweet peach puree. Delicious.

I was starving when we arrived which was a mistake because all I wanted to do was eat everything. I decided on an Organic Zucchini and Onion Quiche. It was fantastic and I really loved that it was made with free range chicken eggs and organic vegetables. Melissa had a scrumptuous Blueberry Scone. Next time we go we'll be sure to take a little more time to speak with the owner about her products.

Next up was a pitstop at the Wildtree stand, were we met Donna. She gave us the background of Wildtree and all of the products. I can tell you I came home and used the Dill Dip Blend on my lunch and it was fantastic. It's a great blend of dill, sea salt, onion and pepper. Simple, yet so complex in flavor. I loved it.

Fresh flowers stood out as soon as we got out of the car and now we made our way over to Gayle's stand. Bright, beautiful, fragrant and fresh these flowers are directly from her backyard and all I can say is, she's got great soil. Melissa's going to bring them into her office this week to show off our find. We'll be sure to keep close tabs on Gayle's flowers thoughout the remainder of the season because we can't wait to see what she'll have next.

We then moved down to the next stand which was run by a man by the name of Alfred. He's a retiree whose home gardens provide enough fruits and vegetables to overflow his tables. We grabbed a bag each of the doughnut peaches and shiro plums. Get up there and buy them as soon as possible because they're worth the trip. Alfred appeared to really enjoy everything about being at the farmers market and particularly, offering his produce - from his yard - grown by him. To me that's the essence of localism.

Over to the White Oak Farm table where we met Roger. He had a bounty of fresh vegetables and we snatched up a Sicilian Eggplant. I find that most farmers who come to these markets always bring their best produce, which is good for us.

Right next to Roger was a young pottery artist by the name of Nidal. His pottery is colorful and imaginative and of course we bought a piece.

As we continued on we discovered Dan Tortorella and his delicious pestos. We bought the Olive Pesto but next time it'll be the Tomato Pesto for me. Dan's pestos had many levels of flavor, which I love, and he sells heads of garlic the size of baseballs. Man that's a wonderful thing this time of year. I've been pushing Melissa to make her gravy and this garlic would be perfect.

If you like salsa, then Howards Corners salsas and chilis are right up your alley. We met owners Kim and Fred and even though Kim was a 49er's fan, I still really like her goods. It's lucky for them that Fred was into the Pats or I would have kept walking! I consider myself to have a pretty good palette when it comes to food and I have the waistline to prove it. This salsa was more flavorful and chunky. The Carrot Pepper Salsa, which I bought, had a hint of sweetness with a nice crunch. I couldn't help myself and I scooped up some of their BBQ Chili as well. All I can say is football season is on the way and after talking football with Kim and Fred, all I could think about was gameday food.

Perhaps Melissa's favorite stop was Tim and Meghan's table. Melissa has been vegetarian for more than a year now so when she saw the vegan sign she fell a little bit in love. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, pancake mix and hummus are just a few of the wonderful vegan offerings made by Tim and Meghan. We picked up some of their spinach hummus, but I'm sure she'll be going back to learn more about everything they make.

Finally we came upon Hopkins Farms. Tables full of all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables ruled, and off to the side we found the pickled items, along with the different jams, jellies and relishes. It's going to take a long time for us to try everything, but I'm sure we'll try. We met Kathy from Hopkins, who told us a little bit about the farm itself. Also present was farm owner, Robert Hopkins. He sure knows how to grow things because he had the most produce of anyone at the market.

The story of the day was the amazing bounty that can be had in Rhode Island. I'm full of pride when I see so many people come together from all walks of life with one common interest aside from making money. Because let's face it, you're not going to make millions at a farmers market. One common thread binds them all; they love what they do. I'm happy to say we've found our new farmer's market and I'm looking forward to our next trip.

Roger Williams Park Zoo: More Than You Think!

Melissa and I were out doing something fun this past weekend. So many of our adventures start with waking up early and seeing something on TV that looks like it may be fun, and this past Sunday was no different. We headed out to Roger Williams Park Zoo - not only for the incredible display of animals but also for the newest exhibit, Flutterby. This is an unbelievable gathering of colorful butterflies all housed in a large building that resembles a greenhouse.

Flutterby is the newest incarnation of special attractions that RWPZ is putting on this summer. If you’ve ever been to the Zoo for the Dinosaur exhibit then you’ll know exactly how spectacular the Zoo staff can make things look. We must have taken 75 or so pictures just in the butterfly exhibit. I never realized that I’d enjoy myself as much as I did. You’re totally immersed in the world of these butterflies. I even managed to save a Buckeye Butterfly that was stuck to the exhaust vent from a certain doom. As amazing as the pictures are, being there in person is even more amazing.

The main portion of the Zoo has been under a $35 million dollar upgrade over several years. Go to http://www.thenewzoo.org/ to find out about all of the incredible upgrades they’ll be making. Some of the most significant changes will be the new world-class polar bear exhibit that will be nine times bigger than the old one. Personally I can’t wait to see how this turns out. They’ve put a pair of bald eagles in the area where the polar bear exhibit used to be housed. According to a Zoo employee, the eagles were rescued after being found in the wild with injuries that left them unable to fly.

Another huge change is the elephant paddock that is under a total transformation. The concept behind all of the renovations is to bring the animals and the visitors closer together. It’s going to be amazing and we’ve already seen examples of how they execute this with the giraffes. The giraffes just happen to be Melissa’s favorite so we always spend a little extra time there. You really get up close and personal with them while they eat. The big three would be giraffes, elephants and surprisingly camels. But I think once the polar bears come back she’ll fall in love with them too. I think anyone within 50 miles should make it a point to get to Roger Williams Park Zoo this summer and more so once they finish all of the exhibits. Now through September 1st.

Rhode Island Blood Center and The Tomorrow Fund Annual Celebration

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Rhode Island Blood Center and The Tomorrow Fund's Annual Celebration of life on July 30th. It was a gathering of donors, recipients and staff from both organizations in a show of appreciation for all of the hard work and dedication that everyone puts into fighting numerous medical issues that children with cancer face every day. The event was held at the Rhode Island Blood Center's Providence location.

We heard from many speakers who shared their stories of how being a part of this wonderful cause has affected their lives. Barbara Morse Silva from Channel 10 and Heather from the Jones and Heather in The Morning show on LiteRock 105 spoke about their experiences with The Tomorrow Fund and curing childhood cancer. We also heard from 15-year donor Tony Deller who shared a story of how and why he started donating and how it’s made such a huge difference in his life.

The most touching moment of the day came when Carlene Lawrence spoke about her 3 year old daughter, Autumn, who was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was only 2. I’m not afraid to admit that I was very choked up when she told the story of how Autumn fought off Leukemia and then had to take on another battle with another form of cancer that required extensive chemotherapy. I looked around the room and many people were wiping their eyes. Carlene is happy to report that Autumn is doing very well and appears to have the cancer on the run.

While she was being treated for Leukemia, Autumn received dozens and dozens of pints of blood, platelets and plasma. This is where all of the generosity of the donors comes in. Our simple donations - whether they are a quick whole blood donation or a two-hour long pheresis donation, make all the difference in the lives of so many people that we never even see or meet. I’m very proud of the fact that I am a long time monthly donor of platelets and I look forward to helping in any way I can for the rest of my life.

2008 South County Hot Air Balloon Festival

The South County Hot Air Ballon Festival is This Weekend!

July 18 4-10pm
July 19 5:30am to 10pm
July 20th 5:30am to 6:30pm
URI Athletic Fields

Chosen at one of Yankee Magazine's Top 20 Rhode Island Events, the festival is in it's 30th year and features:

Fireworks - Music - Pig Races - Catch & Release Pond
Antique Cars - Pony Rides - Petting Zoo - Amusements - Craft Show

Friday is $10, $3 for children 12 and younger.
Other days admission is $7, $3 for children.

http://wakefieldri.clubwizard.com/.

Providence Ronald McDonald House 5k

On May 4, 2008 The Providence Ronald McDonald House is having a 5k walk. The Ronald McDonald House provides housing for families of patients at local hospitals while their family member is receiving treatment. The PRMH is a private, non-profit public charity and funded by donations.

On the 4th, Melissa and I will be walking with my company, along with at least 25 others. It's a day long event, with activities and live music following the walk. I'm proud to be part of this event, and I hope to see you there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's not over yet! If you're not completely wiped out from the parades and celebrating this weekend why don't you check out the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet St. Patrick's Day Celebration Show?



Here are the details:

• Band 7:00PM-10:30Pm


• Irish Step Dancers 6:00PM-7:00Pm


• John Connors and the Irish Express 2:00Pm - 6:00Pm


• General Admission $10.00


• Food Available for purchase

"If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?" ~Stanislaw J. Lec