November
The light is becoming brighter. But there is less of it. Thus begins the slow creep toward those short months in which the ground, tired and hard, is toed in gleams of frost. It’s the time of year I wish my dogs knew how to read. They pace and sleep and chew but the hours must pass so slow after the first snow. No grass to muzzle. Too cold for the ball, their bellies fat for warmth, slowly sleeping and moving with the sun’s daily migration across the living room rug. I went up to the farm on Sunday and sat with the gourds, the squash and mossy kale. The smell of the fire and the feel of the air in the green house tricked me into feeling ready for the seasons to change. It feels like time for restoration, meditation and work. And with this spirit we are beginning anew. A Gam is when two whaler ships meet and board each others boat. We had considered Salite one ship, sandwiches another, illustration one more in the fleet. And now we will begin to truly open up. Over this winter we will start inviting more voices to stay warm upon our decks, to transport us, to ferry away our imaginations. This week I would like to introduce you all to Dennis Spina, Roebling Tearoom’s own benevolent Ahab, following, recreating and inspiring recipes and traditions of the great french women who came before him. With the thunder of the North Atlantic and the E Street Band at his back Dennis pounds, chops and braises his way through the year, leaning forever toward Bastille Day. Dennis is my great friend. I am so exited for you to meet him. -AD
”How much more natural, I say, that under such circumstances these ships should not only interchange hails, but come into still closer, more friendly and sociable contact…. For not only would they meet with all the sympathies of sailors, but likewise with all the peculiar congenialities arising from a common pursuit and mutually shared privations and perils.” - Herman Melville
