Shark!

I love sharks.
I think it all stems from one of--if not THE--best movies ever made (IMHO): "JAWS".
I've seen it countless times and am borderline obsessive about it. And I'm not the only one. There's a massive cult following to this day for all things 'Jaws'...just Google it. You'll find any number of memorabilia, books, collectibles, tributes, memes, jokes, crafts, etc, all devoted to this timeless horror thriller.
That said, last Fall I was invited to a costume Halloween party. Being out of a job, it seemed like a good idea to make my own costume. I had nothing else to do, right? So I got the brainstorm for a JAWS shark mask modeled on the illustration from the movie's iconic poster...and I'd make it out of my favorite medium, paper maché. Here's the inspiration:

The classic movie poster image

And here's my initial design sketch:

A 'JAWS' inspired mask

Well, "the best laid plans..." as they say. I started the project but it took much longer to complete than I had anticipated. Halloween (and the party) came and went and the costume was nowhere near finished. But I kept forging ahead. "I'll use it for the next party I get invited to" I said. So I toiled on, and I just got finished last week. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. It's more a helmut than a mask, but it gives plenty of viewing through the mouth, you can see everything pretty well. Here are several views of the finished masterpiece:









I'm especially happy with how the eyes turned out, I used big wooden beads. I kept thinking about that famous speech Robert Shaw delivers in the movie where he talks about being surrounded by sharks during WWII when his ship has been sunk and what it's like to be attacked by a shark:  "You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah...then you hear that terrible high pitch screaming' and the ocean turns red and spite of all the poundin' and the hollering' they come in and rip you to pieces."

"...black eyes, like a doll's eyes..."

Post blizzard

Woke up today and it was all over, bright sunshine and blue sky and a blanket of pure white...the prettiest winter weather I think.
We've had much deeper snow in years past, but it was still a lot for one day.
Here are a few shots of the house and yard in all it's winter finery.

Backyard

Front yard

Back deck

Side of house

Blizzard in the backyard

A photo from the afternoon of the big storm.
The bamboo in my neighbor's yard gets so heavy with the snow that the stalks lean all the way over the fence into my yard. Some years they stay that way for weeks weighted down with the drifts.

The blizzard of January '16

#survivingtheblizzard

Well, it's really coming down. They, for once, predicted correctly...this is a major storm.
I've got a roaring fire going, listening to my favorite snowy weather movie soundtracks (Murder on the Orient Express, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Far From the Madding Crowd), with a cup of hot tea and a good book (City on Fire). The crock pot is making a hearty beef stew and I made churro cheesecake for dessert. Now if only the power holds out...

The only way to ride out a winter storm

Watchcase views

For years Sag Harbor had an eyesore smack dab in the middle of town, the old abandoned Bulova Watch Factory. It sat there, falling into ruin, graffitied, and looking sadder every year since the mid-'80s.
All that changed the last few years as some developers bought it and started the complicated process of turning it into luxury condos. They had to deal with all kinds of village zoning, architectural review committees, cranky locals,  and red tape, but finally it's getting inhabited. In my humble opinion it looks GREAT. The designers have done a splendid job of maintaining the historic look and context of the old structure while bringing it into the 21st Century with a modern, handsome style.
Here are a couple of photos from the building's website, you can see more here.

The Watchcase condominiums

This aerial photo shows how centered the building is to the village

Last weekend, my friend texted me to see if I wanted to see the interior of one of the Watchcase condos. He's an interior designer and one of his firm's clients bought one of the units, a two bedroom, on the second highest floor with views overlooking the village and harbor. He was going to do a small site inspection to see how things were coming with the client's renovation of the space (they haven't moved in yet). I jumped at the chance. When was I ever going to see one of these luxe apartments on my own? These apartments are going for millions of dollars, I guesstimated that the one we'd be seeing went for upwards of $7MM. Yowza. It was lovely, and as a friend of mine would say, "All it takes is money." I snapped the following pics from the apartment windows. It was fun to see the village from this high vantage point. Like seeing an old friend you've known for years from a totally new perspective.

A view of Highway 114

A view of Sag Harbor Beverage & Cavaniola's Cheese Shop

Looking down into the landscaped courtyard of the condos

The apartment comes with an outdoor deck, this is a panoramic view of Main Street and the harbor

Instagram seashells

Here's a pic I posted on Instagram this morning...some shells I beachcombed a while back. The light was so pretty coming thru the bedroom window across the bedside night table where I keep them.

After beach combing

Stuart Little #2 R.I.P.

I hadn't been out to the house in over two weeks. I had just one mousetrap set before I left on Boxing Day, it was all I had. I knew that odds were that I'd catch at least one more of my little friends since the saying goes, "if you have one mouse, you've got two." So, sure enough, when I went to look this afternoon behind the new Mouse Door, there was Stuart Little #2...gotcha! I think this should solve the problem for a while. The last time I was fighting the mouse wars last year I only caught a couple...but we'll see. I left two more traps slathered with peanut butter, let's see if anybody else takes the bait by next weekend when I return...

So long, Stuart Little #2!

Whales of Sag Harbor #6

This one is on a sign in front of the many gift shops that line Main Street. I'm not sure if 'scrimshaw' is part of the name of the store or if they really do sell scrimshaw items, hmmm.