I took another walk yesterday morning before I had to be at rehearsal – through the park and up to the Capitol steps and back again.
The lovely carousel. I haven’t been there for a couple of years (because I was working here during the winter). This is a new entrance marquis and, I believe, a new gift shop through that doorway on the right. It really is magical and no, I haven’t ridden it yet. It’s only a dollar so I think I can swing it. Maybe during tech week when I have some time?
It’s really beautiful. There were children on the horses, getting ready for their ride on the carousel, but I don’t like to take pictures of children without their parents’ permission. The internet can be a scary place. So I walked around to another window to take this picture. The horses are gorgeous.
This is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch and it serves as a gateway into the park. It honors the citizens of Hartford who fought in the Civil war and those who died fighting for the Union. George Keller, a Hartford architect, designed it and his ashes, along with his wife’s, are buried in the east tower. Those are the angels, Gabriel and Raphael, on top of the towers. The various statues on the arch represent the residents who left their homes to fight in the war; among them, a freed slave. The carving are scenes from the Civil War.
It’s one of my favorite sites in Hartford.
A run-through (our first) of the play today and then I will head for home. Not quite enough sleep last night as I woke up early for some reason and couldn’t get back to sleep. But I’ll see my sweetie tonight, Stella will arrive tomorrow, my car will get inspected a mere three days before the deadline, and we’ll eat takeout tonight because we currently have no stove!
I’m not sure if I have to head back tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning – that will depend on Tuesday’s rehearsal schedule. The propane won’t get hooked up until Tuesday, so any photos you see of Stella will be of her perched in the kitchen, but not quite in place yet. I’ll be back home on the following Saturday because the show moves onstage that day and I don’t have to be there for the first few days of tech. That’s good because it gives me a few more days with my husband before he heads to NYC on September 10th to begin rehearsals for the tour of Margaritaville. And I can finally bake some biscuits in that oven!
Happy Sunday.
I love a carousel! There is a restored one in Chattanooga and I’ve ridden it but not in years. It’s hard for me to get away for long right now with my taking care of Mom. Glad you will get some time home and see Stella even if she isn’t all hooked up before you leave. Today would have been my brothers 64th birthday. So much sadness all around me and in my heart.
Thinking of you today. These days are hard, I know. Sending you a big old hug, my friend. xoxo
Biscuits are a perfect first item to bake in that oven! I, like you, am careful about putting children’s photos on the Internet. I don’t even put my grandchildren’s photos on FB without permission from my daughter, and then they’re labeled something like “Oldest Grandchild,” etc. I don’t want to be spreading their names around. My grandmother pride wars with my grandmother protectiveness.
Yes, my sister does give her children’s names either. Better to be safe than sorry!
Have those happy days with Don before he leaves. The info on the memorial arch is interesting. What a beautiful memorial. There is an old restored carousel in a regional park near me. We used to take the kids on weekends to ride it, and the ponies nearby. I love the carousel at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk because one can pull rings from the dispenser and throw them into the clown’s mouth. I’ve only made a few successful throws, which ring a bell, but my husband was very good and usually got at least one in during each ride.
How fun! I don’t think there are any rings on this one, though I’m not sure of that.
These comments prompted me to look up some things online about catching those rings!
“During the first half of the 20th century, small, family owned amusement parks began popping up all over the country. Often, the centerpieces of these parks were carousels. And more often than not, these carousels allowed riders to play a sort of game, grabbing for metal rings dispensed by a stationary machine. Among the ordinary steel rings was hidden a shiny, brass ring. The rider who successfully snatched the brass ring would win a prize, usually a free ride: hence, the literal meaning of reaching for the brass ring. Over the years, however, carousels featuring brass rings slowly disappeared. Some parks closed, other parks remained open but removed the rings from their carousels, fearing riders may accidentally fall off and injure themselves trying to grab the rings. Today, only a handful of carousels still allow riders to reach for the brass ring, including the Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA. Our cultural memory, though, has kept the phrase “reaching for the brass ring” alive as figurative speech. It usually means someone is trying to live life to the fullest, or that they are striving for a difficult, but rewarding, goal.” (from Life With The Brass Ring, a Knoebels Fan Blog)
Thank you, Vicki!
We have a few Loof Carousels here in RI. One does not have ponies that go “up and down” so it goes very fast ! My favorite was always the one with “up and down” ponies because you got to try for the brass ring for a free ride. Never got it though! This has been perfect weather for you in Ct, enjoy. Waiting for Stella to arrive, I think everyone who reads your blog cannot wait for photos.
Keep your eye on Instagram, too! They may reach IG before they reach the blog on Tuesday morning, Mary!
Isn’t that carousel gorgeous? We have one here in Rochester, in a park within a resort-y region along the Lake known as Charlotte. That’s Char-LOTTE, not CHAR-lotte [a weird Rochester idiosyncrasy]. My mom remembered going for rides on it when she was little and she took us when we were little too. It’s just beautiful. I love the Soldiers & Sailors memorial – what a unique design. Yet it looks like it fits right into the area. Wow, how naive I am. Never realized that it really isn’t a good idea to post children online any longer. But that makes complete sense these days. How sad. Does this happen in every generation? Or is this a product of all this new technology? What made our parents sad that they couldn’t do with us, I wonder? Have a safe trip home & enjoy the grand moment of Stella’s arrival. Can’t wait to meet her “in person.” Peace.
#Resist
There’s a town in Michigan named Charlotte and they pronounce it the same way. Accent on the second syllable.
Someone stole a photo of Little Z a few years ago and was using it for some bogus fundraising. Mere had to track the culprit down.
lovely park, carousel and arch/memorial. glad your schedule has some flexibility so you can enjoy those walks and wonders. and soon … see your don and bake biscuits with stella!
hooray for time “off”!
kathy in iowa
Time off is rather short this week, but next weekend I’ll get to be here for 3 days! With Stella up and working!
Enjoyed your mini tour of Hartford. Old carousels are fabulous endangered species. There was a great one here on the lake when we first got here, but now only the building that housed it remains. I think they sold off the horses, etc. to other carousels around the country. It made me sad, but I guess people are enjoying it in other places now. (But, STELLA! So excited.)
My friend bought a carousel horse at auction in the 1970s. It’s a smaller pony, maybe meant for a toddler/young child, rather than one of the larger horses which otherwise would have been on a carousel for older-bigger kids/adults (called a ‘stander’ rather than a ‘jumper’ horse)…so, it’s the perfect size for being inside a (larger) home (I’m not saying it doesn’t take up some space; it does, but it’s also a focal point).
I guess it’d had horrible chipped paint (so many carousels suffered neglect after carousels fell out of favor at mid-[20th] century; 1950s, and even earlier, like when roller coasters became much more the thing, for instance) but somebody had carefully sanded this particular wooden horse, selling it unpainted…it came with quite a history and is from the early 1900s when the wood carving was reportedly at its best in America…it’s just a gorgeous horse, it really is; it’s sculpture; ART(!!)…and, I have to say, even with bare, tan-hued (pale-colored) wood, it’s a beautiful centerpiece in my friend’s high-ceiling living room (with its original, coarse, blonde/straw-colored ‘real’ horsehair tail; which, in part, makes me sad, because you then have to realize where that tail came from, not unlike my great-aunt’s fur stoles from the 1920s-30s; can’t go back to what was de rigueur for the day). My friend’s home interiors are rooms painted off-white with soft sand/pastel beach colors…and an unobstructed view of the sea below and in the distance…so the ‘natural’ wood horse is a stunning accessory/accoutrement.
She’d always been mesmerized by a carousel and I can attest, my friend loves that horse probably more than any other material possession she has (I’ve enjoyed it in three of her houses over 41 years!), so I do believe when carousels were taken apart and the wood horses (and, of course, not just horses, but dogs and giraffes, lions and tigers, etc.) sold off, they’ve gone on to live new lives with still-enamored adults (some of whom would be grandparents and great-grandparents by now…my friend is in her 70s) who rode one of those wondrous horses when they were wide-eyed youths having the time of their lives, a clear case of forever love. It would be better if the horses were still on an intact, antique carousel, restored and proud, but if they’re now in museums or privately-owned, it’s better than if they’d been discarded as trash and gone for all eternity.
It sounds just beautiful. I’m glad she has it and loves it so much!
I love old carousels. Another time, a gentler time.
Oh how I love a carousel! The carved animals and the calliope music are pure happiness!..and that arch is something to see!…Please be careful driving home with not enough sleep Claudia!
I did just fine! And I caught up on my sleep last night.
You know, Claudia, you just have a LOT going on in your life right now!
So thanks for taking the time to give us the lovely photos.
Aren’t carousels magical? I love them.
I do, too.
Can’t wait to see Stella in her new home.
Enjoy your time at home.
Have you read any of the Maisie Dobbs novels by Jacqueline Winspear? I think you would enjoy them. I’m now on #10.
Have a great week!
Yes, I’ve read a few of them, Claudia!
Love that carousel. Unfortunately, there are not too many around anymore. That Civil War is so moving. Thanks for sharing.
Marilyn