The Countdown

Once in a Blue Moon

I ventured down to the New Haven Green to photograph the Christmas tree and when I turned around the moon was beginning to peak over one of the bank buildings. I remembered reading about tonight being a Blue Moon, that is the second full moon in one month's time. It happens only every couple of years. Click here to hear Ella Fitzgerald sing Blue Moon by Hart and Rogers as you look at the photographs.This little landscape is the Green or the center square in the Nine Square plan in which New Haven was developed. The building to the right is the Federal Building Plaza.

Now wasn't that a treat?

Pepe's Does It Again.

The following article appeared in today's edition of the New Haven Register.....At iconic pizzeria, another joyful event occurs
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
By James Tinley, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Now that’s amore. In a wedding ceremony Monday, Gus DaSilva pledged his undying love to his new wife, Pamela, in front of the Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria brick ovens that cook the other love of his life: Pepe’s thin-crust pizzas.“We wanted to get married; we wanted to put two and two together, but to me, just being at Pepe’s means a lot, a lot of memories,” Gus DaSilva said.More memories were made Monday when Gus and Pamela said their “I dos” under the Pepe’s “The Original Tomato Pies” sign.The residents of Richmond, Ind., were in the state to visit Gus DaSilva’s son, who is about to be deployed to Iraq, and decided to “take a shot” at having the ceremony at DaSilva’s favorite restaurant.Gus DaSilva developed a love for Pepe’s pies while living in Waterbury before moving to Indiana about five years ago.While eating at Pepe’s the day after Christmas, DaSilva got the idea in his head to get married in the iconic Wooster Street pizzeria and asked his waitress.When the question was put to General Manager Steve Adkins, he said, “Why not?” — considering a wedding would be another first for the historic pizzeria.“The more I thought about it, the funnier it was,” Adkins said. “Everything has happened here. We’ve had a woman go into labor, (wedding) proposals, anniversaries and honeymoon visits. I thought, why not a wedding?”Pepe’s opened early Monday for the low-key affair.Gus DaSilva’s son Rui, and Rui’s girlfriend and son were the only invited guests. But several of Pepe’s staff took a break from stoking the coal-fired ovens to look on and snap pictures of the newlyweds with camera phones.Before becoming Pamela DaSilva, the newlywed had only been at Pepe’s once, and said she was a little incredulous when she first heard the idea of a pizza place marriage. But, she quickly came around.“It’s different, very different, but neat,” she said after the ceremony.Gus’ son said he too was taken aback at the idea of a Pepe’s wedding at first, but also quickly embraced the idea.“I was a little flustered at first, but it was what he wanted to do, and I support him and love Pamela like a mother,” Rui DaSilva said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so there are a lot of memories for me here, too.”In addition to being a new bridegroom, Gus DaSilva is expecting another grandson.Rui DaSilva’s girlfriend, Holly Thurston, could give birth at anytime. Her due date was Monday, the day of the wedding.Rui DaSilva, a private in the Army National Guard, is hoping the baby is born before he is deployed to Iraq in early January.But whether or not his baby comes before he has to leave, Rui still was able to enjoy a Pepe’s pie, on the house no less, with the new addition to his family before his deployment.

James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 203-789-5702 .

Old Meets New

Center Church on the Green

New Haven, affectionately known as the Elm City, is one of the oldest formally planned cities in America based on a Nine square grid. The center grid is the New Haven Green which is host to three churches side by side. The center church is Center Church on the Green a church of the United Church of Christ, Connecticut Conference. The really fun aspect of the church is that they have a crypt underneath open for guided tours.

Some of the headstones date back to 1687 through 1812 and mark some of New Haven's founding father's families. Why..even Benedict Arnold's first wife is buried in the crypt.

The sanctuary above the crypt is quite lovely, very typical of the old New England Meetinghouse.

Merry Christmas

From my house to yours,

a very Merry Christmas and blessed New Year

A Light on Christmas Eve

Serious About Arches

Yale University is very serious about archways.

And Let All the People of New Haven Say AMEN!!!

Since January 2 of 2007 the Grand Avenue Bridge over MetroNorth and Amtrak railroad tracks has been closed for reconstruction of the bridge. The closure diverted traffic over other nearby streets to get us downtown.

Then, one day, without any fanfare or ribbon cutting (that I know of) it was open for business. To the left is the New Haven Fire Department, and as you can see remnants of this weekends snow storm.

Yale Peabody Museum

A real gem of a museum is the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. They are committed to the conservation of the earth's cultural and biological diversity through research and exhibits.

In front of the museum is Torosaurus Latus, a gift of the Phelps family to 'stir the imagination of all children'. The sculptor is Michael Anderson and was placed and dedicated in 2005.

The stairwell to the second and third floors is reflected in the placement of the windows to the left.

In the Bleak Midwinter

We had our first snowfall overnight last night. It's not really the bleak midwinter yet, more of a winter wonderland at this point. Anyway you choose to look at it, it's quite beautiful. Other than taking Milo out it was a day of catching up inside for me.

Wooster Square, where are the squirrels now?

As I turned around I saw this brave soul cycling on Chapel Street about 7:00 am. I hope he got to where he was going without frostbite!

See a Need - Fill a Need

Today I spent a good part of the morning at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange, Connecticut. Not New Haven I know...but...St. Barbara's Parish had her start in New Haven many years ago. This past fall I took Greek cooking classes and today was a special class on Vasilopeta. Vasilopeta is a traditional New Years Bread made served on January 1 near the feast day of St. Basil. It's good luck if you find the coin that has been baked into the bread. Believe me, it's yummy!

The St. Barbara Ladies Philoptochos Society hosts the classes and their motto is "See a need, fill a need". Rev. Father Peter J. Orfanakos, Parish Priest for St. Barbara says, "For over a century, the Ladies Philoptochos Society has been filling those needs where ever they have arisen in the world. The Philoptochos (Friends of the Poor) was first founded in the late 1800’s, but this organization is the continuation of a long heritage of various philanthropic work of women for centuries. As Orthodox Christians, we know many Philoptochos members. They are our mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, sisters, daughters, and aunts. In fact, there is a good chance that our life has been touched by their great work and example. They lift up their God given talents, and through hard work and determination, become messengers of God's Grace and Love in this world. They are true heroes of our Faith!"

As we were making our own little loaves, the ladies of the Philoptochos Society were making massive amounts of dough to make Koulouria, little yummy cookies.

Our teacher!

Making Cinnamon Water.

The recipe makes 6 to 7 loaves...highly unlikely that I'll be making it anytime soon. But you never know, this is the season of miracles.

It is risen, it is risen indeed! Oh wait, those are Easter words, a very similar recipe for Tsoureki is made at Easter time.

Punching it down and getting ready to form the loaves.

Long braids, little knots. Any way the dough is formed they are still yummy. You can serve them as an appetizer with feta or kaseri cheese. Or you can have it for breakfast with butter. No matter which way...they are yummy!!!

After an egg wash they are smothered in sesame seeds and then baked.

Another one of the cooking teachers rolling out some Vasilopeta knots.

A Very Cold Night in New Haven

A friend and I set out to do some night photography but it was SOOOOOOOOO cold we stayed out for about 15 minutes. 24 degrees doesn't not make for a long photo shoot. I don't know the name of this building but it's on Elm Street in downtown New Haven at the Broadway Triangle.

A Yalie

More Than Words Can Say

Sometimes words, and you can find plenty of them at the library, just aren't needed. This is the leaded stained glass window that hangs above you as you walk into the New Haven Free Public Library. Quite stunning. Be sure to look up as you enter the door or you'll miss this beautiful window. For more information about the window and it's designer David Wilson click here.

Remember Last May?

Yale University holds graduation on Memorial Day Weekend. Milo and I happened to walk over to Yale on graduation day. Graduates were strolling all over the campus along with their families. I saw yellow police tape cordoning off some area around the law school. After finding an opening I walked in and sat down in front of this limo motorcade. While, no one officially would tell me who would be coming out, a few other people who had gathered told me that Hillary Clinton was addressing the law grads.

Cool, I thought. So I sat down on a stone wall and waited it out, along with the secret service. Then, the secret service got in their cars and started them up. I, too, turned my camera on and got ready.
Here comes Hillary - the one with the shades on. Worth the wait, we yelled out hello and she smiled, said hello and waved back at us.

Milo thought it was a good morning, he especially liked sitting on the stone fence. He also thinks that he should be the next "Handsome Dan" mascot for Yale. It makes no difference to him a Blab, Beagle-Lab mix that the previous Dan's, since the late 1800's have been bull dogs. No difference at all.