Giveaway – Harbor Sweets Gather

Disclosure:  I was sent complimentary Gather chocolate in exchange for my review.

The opinions expressed are my own.

One of the awesome things about living on the North Shore of MA growing up was having Harbor Sweets chocolates. They’re handcrafted in Salem, MA.

They have a new line of chocolate, with local honey, called Gather.

Gather Chocolate is six distinctly flavored chocolates each designed to be part of a flight of flavor experiences. Made by hand in small batches, the flight is unified by rich notes of 70% cacao dark chocolate complimented by a lighter note of local wildflower honey. A portion of each sale is donated to the Pollinator Partnership whose mission promotes the health of bee pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through research and education.  

Harbor Sweets sent me a box to sample and they’re delicious!

They’ve also offered to send a box of Gather chocolate to a lucky reader of my blog. Enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Simpsons on Quincy

I’m amused and think this an extremely appropriate post after the “Your City” photo challenge.

The Simpsons had an episode this week spoofing Boston, and they made fun of Quincy too.

The pretty building on the back left is the Thomas Crane Library – the one I post photos of often

As I mentioned in my last post, Quincy is known as the “City of Presidents” so that’s why they joked about the “City of Mayors” in the Simpsons.

The “Er, ah” in the sign is a joke on the Kennedy type Boston accent. I don’t add “er, ah” in my sentences, but I do drop “r” in words. Yes, I do “pahk my cah” but not in Hahvahd yahd. (There’s no parking in Harvard Yard so that sentence making fun of the Boston accent just annoys me.)

I recommend checking out this episode of the Simpsons before it disappears from On Demand if you’re from MA and want a laugh.

Photo Blogging Challenge – “Your City” Quincy

The theme for the September photo blogging challenge was “Your City”.

I’m a proud resident of Quincy, Massachusetts (pronounced KWIN-zee).

Quincy is the 8th largest city in the state. It’s known as the “City of Presidents,” since it is the birthplace of two U.S. presidents — John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams — as well as John Hancock, a President of the Continental Congress and the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Ok – enough talk about the historical significance of my city – on to the photos!

Quincy has a vibrant public art scene

There is a lot of construction in Quincy Center (the part I live in) right now.

This spot is being turned from a street to a pedestrian walk way.

The church on the top left contains John Adams and John Quincy Adams tombs. I actually recommend a tour. Not as creepy as you’d think!

As part of the construction – the city put in these traffic lights – but they don’t make sense!

The shot above is what cars see when a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. But most times, cars still barrel through and I’m taking my life in my hands when I step into the street.

The city is working on a public awareness campaign to explain the signals – but I wish they’d just installed normal signals everyone is used to!

Here’s a side view of one of my favorite places – the Thomas Crane Library

Our city seal is on the side of trash barrels in the city.

I agree that Quincy is beautiful!

Thanks for taking a tour of the center of Quincy, MA (my backyard). I love it here!

Quincy also has a beach, marina, and 4 different subway stops on the Red Line of the MBTA.

Here’s a bonus photo for you:

Me and my in-laws celebrating “Ring a bell for Rosies” on Labor Day

My husband’s grandmother (wearing the red around her neck and in her hair) is President of the MA chapter of the American Rosie the Riveter Association.

Photo above from left to right: My brother-in-law Doug, Aunt-in-law Ellie, Sister-in-law Jen, Uncle-in-law Michael, Mother-in-law Martha, Uncle-in-law Matt, Aunt-in-law Maria, Nana (Bertha Glavin), me, and my husband

My father-in-law Marcis was taking the photo and recording the day. The church I mentioned in the 1st photo is the one we’re in front of. They kindly rang their church bell for us, in celebration.

This monthly photo blogging challenge is facilitated by PJ of the Northeast Bloggers Network.

Thanks for inspiring me to take more photos!