Nadine Krasnow, CRS
One of the pleasures of VT in the summer is heading to the local farm. This is where I check in. Bought fresh (an hour picked) corn, organic blueberries from the field next to the farm stand, annuals to plant with my daughter in her garden, and a heavenly lunch, from field to table daily. A feast for the eyes as well:
Was at Traffic Court in Brattleboro Wed., appealing (successfully!) a violation. Had a ball walking around town. Here’s what I saw, starting with this incredible “layer-cake” steeple at the Centre Congregational Church.
The Stone Church in Brattleboro, now the site of what looks like some very cool concerts and performances. But look at the roof. I loved the sharp angles, points, and slate shining in the sun.
I think these are the old window spaces in the historic Latchis Theater in downtown Brattleboro. Very fun that they’re painted with theatrical images. The river burbles underneath, with leafy places above to sit, gaze, sip… Do the shoppers coming and going from the Brattleboro Co-op, from which this is the view, still notice? Or does this require fresh eyes to see?
And there were logging trucks everywhere. This isn’t something we see on Cape Cod.
I did get to Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts to check on my favorite piece from last time I was here. This is a sculpture made from the black mesh of fireplace screens. The artist is Eric Boyer and this piece is called Apollo. I love the unlikeliness of the material and expression. One of the homes on the last West Falmouth Library tour had one of these, immediately recognizable.
And finally, I have been tucking into some books; and not that I read only books with real estate as the theme, but this one was totally charming: “The Long Haul, a Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road” by Finn Murphy.
I really enjoyed the unique point of view of this trucker-hauler, as he describes with unusual insight and great writing the challenges and pleasures of a life hauling around people’s stuff. Here’s his description of his role as a mover:
“My last thoughts before drifting off were about navigation. A mover’s job is to shift people from where they are to where they’re supposed to be. Lucky for me, every once in a while I find the place where I’m supposed to be too. It’s a priceless gift that I only get when I’m out on the road. It’s the best job in the whole world.”
How can you not love this book?! He also says,
“When you move people and pack their stuff, you see how people really live, not how they want the neighbors to think they live.”
This next quote is about the author’s decision to become a mover again, after an absence of many years. You’re going to love this:
“Fifty-one years old is not a propitious age to go back to building tiers in a moving van…I wasn’t at all sure I could make the grade. What I did know was that I could certainly perform other tasks much better than before. Maybe I couldn’t lift like I used to, but maybe, just maybe, I could make the experience easier for the people who were moving…I wanted to do it the right way, the way I had never done it before…I wanted to interact with my shipper and helpers applying compassion and professionalism. I wanted to approach the work itself with serious intellectual intention toward performing even the smallest tasks properly.”
This almost makes you want to move just to hire this guy! But he’s not nearby, and he does only long-distance, so he wouldn’t be available to us anyway. But I do know a mover who, while he may not have articulated this point of view as eloquently, gets the job done like this. And an attorney who takes care of his clients like this. And a loan officer who does the same. This is my team, the folks who take over once an offer is accepted. They take care of my clients the same way I do, with intention, respect, and care. This is who you want when you embark on the stressful process of buying/selling/moving. When I’m your agent, you get much more than just me. It matters.
Next time I’ll tell you about “The House at Lobster Cove” by Jane Goodrich.
After the opening of the photo show at Orleans Camera last night, I decided to indulge a long-time desire to experience ABBA, an Orleans restaurant that’s been showing up on all the “Best” lists for 18 years. What a treat! It’s intimate, thoughtful, and lives up to its reputation. I doubt it’s named for the Scandinavian musicians.
I met the owner/chef, Erez Pinhas, who was as charming as his restaurant. In Hebrew “abba” means dad or father. I should have asked if it’s named for him or his dad, but I was enchanted, and didn’t get to that. But I did find out why he and his wife opened this very sophisticated Mediterranean restaurant in Orleans. He said that they first visited in the summer and thought it was as special as the French Riviera.
Now that Erez and his wife have been here 18 years, raised their family, and become true Cape Codders, he’s acutely aware of all the ways that Orleans isn’t the French Riviera. He’s started leading culinary tours of Israel, where he’s from, in our off-season. Sounds fabulous! Look at abbagotravel.com for more info, and who knows, maybe I’ll be on your trip! Meanwhile, dinner at ABBA is definitely worth the drive down-Cape.
I was surprised and delighted to receive a phone call this afternoon that my photo “Red White and Blue-ing on the High Line” would be receiving an award tonight at the opening for a show at Orleans Camera. I’d stopped submitting photos to shows a couple of years ago, only because my work schedule no longer allowed for sizing/sending/printing/matting/framing/delivering/picking up necessary to participate. But Orleans Camera made it so easy- all I had to do was email the image, and they’d do the rest. Perfect!
The theme for the show was Red/White/Blue, and the judge was Julia Coombs. I was so pleased that her comments showed that she saw and appreciated what I saw: how a collage of building facade images could resemble a flag, and that the colors were still red, white and blue, but not in the conventional sense. If you’re reading this, you saw the image when I sent it as my Fourth of July greeting. Here it is again, and also some images of the reception.
And there wasn’t even bad traffic…
