We visited Salem and Boston on the same trip,
I saved this post till it got closer to Halloween.
Can you see why?
This shop is called "Salem's 13 ghosts".
This one is "New England Magic".
Are you seeing a theme here?
Salem is quite proud of it's historical connection to witches,
although, I think they would prefer live ones now.
I am quite pleased with this photo,
Love the way the color in the reflection hints at autumn leaves to come.
This statue is in honor of Roger Conant.
He was the first settler in Salem.
He lived here by himself for many years.
Very atmospheric statue.
Salem also has a long connection with ships and sailing.
This collection of ships figure heads is on display at the Peabody and Essex Museum.
I like the fine example down in front the best, does he look familiar?
Good thing he has such a great sense of fun.
This is a "moon bed" brought over from China,
Wouldn't you love to wake up in that?
Of course, I managed to find some cats!
This one kind of reminds me of Spontaneous, (OK, only a little).
It is an old Chinese incense burner.
A pair of lovely old tigers,
also residing in the Peabody and Essex.
This is the back of the Yin Yu Tang house.
It housed several generations of the same family,
then it was disassembled, and brought from a rural village in southeastern china to Salem.
It was reassembled as part of the Peabody and Essex.
No photography allowed inside so you will have to
The museum has an exhibition
We were in the first group on the first day it opened!
No photos in there either, so see the link.
Yes, another cat.
I saw a Zen Cat calender, and I laughed,
all cats are Zen Masters.
This is THE House of Seven Gables.
It belonged to Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin and inspired the novel that is named for it.
It even has a hidden stair case.
Sailing Ship.
September is a great time to visit Salem.
Cheers.
Kat
I am posting early this time as I am working this weekend. Remember I said I wanted to start doing at least one art project per week? Well this week's art project was a quick and easy photo manipulation for a Halloween card. This is actually three photos combined. The kitty, is of course my Grand Kitty, Spontaneous. This particular photo is one my hubby took of her playing. The original background is the floor right next to the computer desk. The new background is a combination of two photos taken in an old cemetery in the woods. The cemetery is one of the most peaceful places I have ever found. It is not very big and there are no churches or houses nearby. The gravestones are old and much more interesting than anything new. I converted it all to black and white then added my lettering. I love my Photoshop Elements 4. 
and all roads start just outside your door. All you have to do is put your feet on the road and go. Doesn't it just make you want to grab a backpack? Another nice thing about this photo is that since it was taken here in the South last week, it isn't nearly as chilly as the photo looks. There was just enough chill to be cozy.
not familiar with the climate in this part of the world, you may think, based on our preparations, that winter here is harsh. It is not. We do have occasional ice storms. Sometimes they knock out power for several days. It never lasts long, but occasionally we get some snow. It gets cool enough to make the fire place nice. I love being cozy, I do not like to be cold. Besides, there is something very comforting about knowing that we can heat the house without power if we have to and that heat is based directly on our labor. Isn't the wood pile a lovely site?
made from local clay and some have partial hand or finger prints. When we bought this house, the chimneys were leaning to the side in a most alarming fashion and most of the fireplaces were blocked up. during restoration of the fireplaces and chimneys, we had the bricklayer reuse some of these lovely old bricks as a visible feature. Now, if you sit in the library in front of the fireplace, you can place your hand in a partial print made by one of the people who built this house approximately 180 years ago. We used the little red wagon to transport some of the bricks to a new storage location. When I saw the color of the bricks and the wagon with the area around it, out came the camera. What do you think?
wagon and all the things it has been used for over
