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Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, by Spencer Quinn (Forge Books, 291 pages)

Spencer Quinn is the pen name for Peter Abrahams, the Cape Cod resident who is the genius behind the “Chet & Bernie” books. They’re a collection of whimsical mysteries narrated by a dog who solves crimes with his human companion. I have zero evidence to support this, but believe that the books were sold solely because of their titles, which include “Tender is the Bite” and “The Sound and the Furry.” If you like this sort of thing, I suppose the books are great. If you don’t, they are painful.

And so I confess I came to the start of Quinn’s latest series with some trepidation, despite Stephen King having declared on the cover that he “absolutely adored the book.” The novel is called Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge, and it’s about a Florida widow who gets cyber-scammed by some unethical Romanians. It’s quirky, but surprisingly poignant and fun.

The titular Mrs. Plansky is 71 and although her first name is Loretta it is an affectation of the book that she is called Mrs. Plansky throughout. She had been married to Norm, with whom she had a long and satisfying marriage, producing two children. The couple had lived in Rhode Island, but the success of their business — the Plansky Toaster Knife, a knife that toasts bread while you slice it — enabled a comfortable retirement in Florida where they did the obligatory retirement thing when you live near a coast: “getting a metal detector and taking it for long beach walks.”

All this to say, Mrs. Plansky missed her husband greatly when he died of cancer, but he left her enough money that she doesn’t have to worry, and she keeps busy with the many needs of her grown children and grandchildren, and also with her tennis foursome.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Plansky, while she is living her best widowed life, a villainous man somewhere in Romania is paying an instructor to teach English to his dead brother’s son. It’s a bit of a struggle. The frustrated teacher tries to explain to the boy why no American ever says the grammatically correct phrase “It is I” — “You must learn the right wrong grammar. That’s the secret of sounding American.”

How does one learn the right wrong grammar? “There are ways. For one you could go to YouTube and type in ‘Country Music.’”

The teen, Dinu, is learning English for a nefarious purpose that is obvious from the start. At his uncle’s direction, he will be connected with hapless senior citizens in America in a scheme to drain their bank accounts. Mrs. Plansky is his first victim when she authorizes a payment to a person she thought was her grandson using a platform hilariously called “Safemo.”

While the banks and law enforcement were suitably solicitous about Mrs. Plansky’s plight, they ultimately said there was nothing they could do because the Romanian authorities tended to look the other way on such crimes, seeing as they brought U.S. dollars into their economy. At first Mrs. Plansky resolves to just figure out how to live out her days on Social Security and any job she can get; she owns her car and condo outright (and has a new hip), meaning she is already in better shape than many other people her age. She sits down to do an accounting of her assets, liabilities and income and have a drink like people on the Titanic “after the collision but before the realization,” and finds the math grim.

In addition to her own living expenses, she has promised loans to her children and is responsible for her 98-year-old father, who needs to move into a more expensive wing of his assisted living facility. Also, she is feeling as though she failed her beloved Norm in being taken in by the scam and losing their savings. She is finally overtaken with “real, hot fury” over her circumstance, sells her deceased mother’s emerald ring and books a plane ticket to Bucharest, determined to solve the case (and get her money back) herself. Hijinks ensue as she moves from “doing, not being done to.”

Since the publisher has already revealed that this is the first book in a new series, it’s obvious that Mrs. Plansky will survive her adventure with her pluck intact. There are enough clues throughout the novel that the astute reader will have a vague idea of how the story will end before Mrs. Plansky even deplanes. If you’re looking for a heart-stopping thriller with a surprise ending, look elsewhere.

That said, Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge is light-hearted fun packed with sly asides (like a “presidential suite” in a Romanian hotel that had a picture of Richard Nixon above it) that elevate it above a beach read — or a story of a dog detective. It’s a deceptively smart little novel, inspired by a similar scam call to the author’s father.

And Chet and Bernie fans can rejoice; that series is not over. Up on the Woof Top, a “holiday adventure,” comes out next month. B+

Album Reviews 23/09/21

10 Miles 2 Neptune, Change (self-released)

This New Hampshire-based fedora-pop duo features singer-songwriters Mike Birch of Derry and Merrimack’s Tammy Jann, who, for the last eight years, have co-run a Nashua-based songwriting group, I’m told, which I take to mean that they’re community-minded, which the state’s music community could always use, wouldn’t you say? Their songs are, as you’d expect, reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, all that stuff, you know, Bonnaroo-bait comprising ’60s rock, jam band stuff, and so on and so forth. “The duo’s challenge with their first CD release,” they tell us press people, “was to bring together Tammy’s lyrics and Mike’s music to create songs with an original sound and style.” I’d say that’s true; the songs are quite listenable, and if you’re, you know, a gentle soul who thinks Neil Young is way too heavy metal, you’ll probably like it. The production — which I only bring up because it’s really the only thing local musicians usually care about — is fine. A-

Rich Hinman, Memorial (Colorfield Records)

You know, if the only commercial CDs I received at this desk were all put out by studio hacks who were sick of being considered hacks by music journalism hacks, I’d be spending a lot more of my thesaurus.com time hunting for synonyms for upbeat-sounding adjectives instead of things like “humdrum” and “unlistenable.” Hinman’s pedal steel guitar has made appearances on recording sessions for songs by the likes of k.d. lang, Maren Morris and Amythyst Kiah, and I’m sure I’ve noticed his name on many other things, so I was a bit surprised that this is his first solo album. It’s trippy but kindhearted ambient stuff tilted in a Nel Cline direction; Hinman busies himself most of the time trying to make his pedal steel sound too breezily divine to be a pedal steel, put it that way, and there’s a lot of quirky, awkward but fascinating indie vibe along the way, found sounds turning into endless ringouts, plenty of cavitation, etc. Very listenable. A

Playlist

Ack, it’s about to get really freezing out there, isn’t it, because the next batch of random CD releases will magically appear on Sept. 22, just two months before Thanksgiving, can you even believe it, folks! In order to avoid thinking about sliding down hopelessly slidey hills in my car, which will be happening any minute now, let’s subject-change to something that’s a zillion times more pleasant, namely sexy singing lady Kylie Minogue, whose new album, Tension, is on the way to the stores, or whatever places people visit to buy stuff and randomly clog the aisles in our super-smart Information Age! Yikes, this song is so sexy and hot, like what Britney was doing for about five minutes, euro-trash trance-pop for runway models to stare vacantly to, I still love this kind of thing. Speaking of velvet-rope hotness, I wonder if Kylie’s ever done a jam with Tiësto, let me go look. Nope, apparently not, but DJ Flyboy once did a mashup of Kylie’s “Confide in Me” and Jonas Blue/Tiësto’s “Ritual.” OK, you have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? That’s a shame!
Unfashionably late-breaking: At this writing I’m hoping to attend a heavy metal rock ’n’ roll concert in Manchester at a place called Angel City Music Hall, a venue located within the Spider Bite building on Elm Street. An old public relations bro named Dave, who’s based in New York City, is helping to push the awesome, awesome New Orleans-based sludge-metal band Crowbar, who will be playing at Angel City on Saturday, Sept. 23, you should totally go!
Whew, I’m glad to report that our culture hasn’t devolved to the point that if you go on Google and type “Lydia L” the first thing the all-knowing search engine suggests isn’t “Lydia Lunch,” but the name right under that is, as it should be, Lydia Loveless, the alt-country indie-rocker, whose new LP, Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again, is due out in a few hours or whatnot! The teaser track is “Sex And Money,” a strummy mid-tempo gloom-along whose melody sort of reminds me of REO Speedwagon’s “Ridin’ The Storm Out.” Other than that, it’s OK!
I always get Teenage Fanclub mixed up with New Young Pony Club, mostly because I couldn’t care less about either of them! But don’t let that stop you from reading on: Nothing Lasts Forever, the band’s new full-length, floated a single a few months ago called “Foreign Land,” in which they come even closer to sounding like The Byrds than they ever did, which will please you or disgust you depending on your taste!
And finally, let’s look at swamp-monster thrash-metal band Cannibal Corpse, and their latest “slab,” Chaos Horrific! To be completely honest with you, I’m more familiar with the literally thousands of bands that are said to sound like them — for instance whichever one did the Occlused In Occlusity album, which is so obscure that Google is asking me “what the blazes are you even babbling about,” — than I am with Cannibal Corpse itself! But sure, I’ll go listen to one of these new songs, “Summoned For Sacrifice.” It is “spider walking metal” as I call it, like the guitar just does a “boo-bee-dah-boo-DEE-boo-dum-bee” in mid-tempo cadence, it’s perfect musical ambiance for coming at your little brother with a tarantula walking on your arm, which of course you plan to drop in his lap so his bowl of Count Chocula goes flying. And the singer is doing the Cookie Monster thing instead of doing any sort of singing, because it’s really hard for tarantula-owning suburbanites to find actual singers for their garage bands.

If you’re in a local band, now’s a great time to let me know about your EP, your single, whatever’s on your mind. Let me know how you’re holding yourself together without being able to play shows or jam with your homies. Send a recipe for keema matar. Message me on Twitter (@esaeger) or Facebook (eric.saeger.9).

Cornbread-Tres Leches Ice Cream

A tale:
I work my way through the party, smiling, waving, shaking hands. I check with the bartender, who assures me that she has everything she needs.
I field a couple of compliments on my new jacket. I wanted to wear my velvet smoking jacket, but it’s still a bit too warm, so I went with a double-breasted silver lamé one that I have nicknamed “Charlie,” and he’s striking just the tone I wanted.

I pause briefly as the background music reaches the greatest improvised lyrics of all time:

“She loves that free, fine, wild, knocked-out, koo-koo … groovy wind in her hair,” Frank Sinatra assures me, and I close my eyes and stab the air with my finger as he gets to “groovy.” Man, he was good!

In an easy chair by the window, I see a pretty, sad-eyed woman sitting and staring at the peacocks on the lawn. She is a friend of a friend, who has recently moved here from Jalisco, and rumor has it that she is a bit homesick.

“Hi,” I say, and she nods politely.
“Are you Flora?” I ask, and she nods again, and she smiles, but her eyes are still sad.

“Robin,” I call to one of the caterers circulating through the party with a tray.

“Yes, Boss?” she asks, coming over.
“Did Susan make that thing we talked about?”

“I’ll bring it out.”
I thank her and make small talk with Flora until Robin returns with a dish of ice cream on her tray. She presents it to Flora with a small bow.

Looking confused, Flora takes it, then tentatively takes a very small spoonful of it.

Her smile only reaches the Mona Lisa stage, but her eyes sparkle.

Cornbread-Tres Leches Ice Cream

Small box corn muffin mix
12-ounce can evaporated milk
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Make an 8×8” pan of cornbread, according to the instructions on the box.
Let it cool, then stab it all over with a fork. If you are feeling dramatic, use a pair of forks.

Mix the dairy ingredients and cinnamon together, then pour onto your pre-stabbed cornbread.

Chill for at least three hours.

Transfer the sopping wet cornbread and any unabsorbed dairy to a blender, and blend thoroughly for about a minute.

Churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If you do not have access to an ice cream maker, freeze the pan of cornbread solid, then blend. You will get similar results.)

Transfer the soft-serve-consistency ice cream to serving containers and freeze.

If you’ve ever had proper tres leches cake, you are aware that it is the king of cake, moister than moist, and silky smooth. Eating it is like getting a kiss from a cake. This ice cream is inspired by that, but with a chewy texture and the background flavor of yellow corn. The hint of cinnamon makes it taste a bit like Biscoff cookies. This is easy enough to make and delicious enough that it will quickly become a regular part of your dessert rotation.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Clifford Passero

Photos courtesy of Fresh Chef Press.zxFor Clifford Passero, head chef and kitchen manager at Patty B’s, an Italian American restaurant in Dover (34 Dover Point Road), cooking food is like building a house. “I take the knowledge I have learned, I use the tools I have, I start at the foundations and put things together until I have a finished product,” he said. Growing up in Portsmouth, he was influenced in the art of cooking by his mother and grandmother. His time in the food industry started with serving ice cream and busing tables and for the past nine years he has been at Patty B’s, where he says he has learned a lot and continues to be inspired.

What is your must-have kitchen item?
All my staff and a good sauce pot.

What would you have for your last meal?
Homemade buttermilk biscuits and gravy with a poached egg (medium) and delicious home fries with ketchup.

What is your favorite local eatery?
Sara Thai in Dover.

Name a celebrity you would like to see eating in your restaurant?
Giada De Laurentiis. I love her.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?
Eggplant Parm and Patty’s Bolognese.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Asian fusion. Hot pots and noodle bars.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
It’s really tough to say what my favorite is, but I love grabbing stuff from my garden and getting creative.

Creamy Marsala with mushrooms
From the kitchen of Clifford Passero.

7 cloves of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
6 medium sliced shallots
Cremini mushrooms
1 cup of Marsala wine
4 Tablespoons of butter
1 quart of light cream
½ quart of heavy cream
mascarpone cheese
1 teaspoon of Essence seasoning
½ pound of cream cheese
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
¼ cup of locally foraged mushrooms
Grated pecorino Romano
Pasta (penne or cavatappi is recommended)

In a large sauce pot take 5 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper, and 6 medium sliced shallots, cook until shallots get soft. Add in sliced Cremini mushrooms, cook until browned. Add 1 cup of Marsala wine, cook to reduce, remove from heat.
In another pot, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and sweat 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Add 1 quart of light cream and half a quart of heavy cream. Whisk until cream rises.

Add half pound mascarpone cheese and 1 teaspoon of Essence to the cream mixture. Add half pound cream cheese to cream mixture, melt and stir until smooth (do not boil).
Combine all into one large-size pot and reduce over medium-low heat for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan and add a quarter cup of locally foraged mushrooms. Cook until browned. Add cream mixture; cook until thickened. Mix in your favorite cooked pasta (penne or cavatappi is recommended). Finish with grated pecorino Romano.

Featured photo: Clifford Passero, head chef at Patty B’s. Courtesy photo.

New cafe on canal

Fresh Chef Press brings organic local food

On April 25, 2022, Abbey Morrison transitioned her meal prep business from Fresh Chef Meal Prep to Fresh Chef Press, a cafe on Canal Street in Manchester, with her friend and business partner Shauri Gilot-Oquendo. The cafe serves smoothies, salads, bowls, coffee, toast and sandwiches all made with local organic ingredients.

“We were doing [meal prep] … before we got presented with an opportunity to open a cafe on Canal Street,” Morrison said. “We didn’t really have this [plan] that we were going to open a location in this amount of years. It kind of just fell into our lap [from] hard work [and] after a while people see that you’re committed to the cause.”

Morrison’s interest in food and nutrition can be traced back to when she was diagnosed with high cholesterol at age 7. She began seeing a nutritionist to change her diet and learned about what food can do for your body in the process, an avenue she continued down at Johnson & Wales University.

“I wanted to do the same thing for other people, so I went down the route of culinary nutrition and worked with different chefs around the world to see how they do it,” she said. “I got to experience everything and bring it back to my home city and help people here.”

After running Fresh Chef Meal Prep for 3 years, Morrison got presented with the opportunity to fill the space that formerly housed Green Bike Smoothie Bar. She decided to go in along with Gilot-Oquendo to open Fresh Chef Press with the aim to serve food that is both nutritious and delicious while also helping local businesses and the environment through the use of reusable and biodegradable materials.

“We try to locally source as much as possible to help our local farms and support small businesses,” Morrison said.
Such businesses include McQuesten Farm and Charmingfare Farm, where they get their produce, Amherst Garden, where they get honey, and Hometown Coffee.

Their commitment to offering local and healthy food extends beyond the doors of their cafe with their POS fridge where customers can buy peanut butter, honey and oat power ball energy bites, a variety of hummuses, dressings and pesto, the same that are used in the cafe and all made in-house.

“It kind of plays off our meal prep,” Morrison said. “We try to make it as easy as possible for you to be healthy at home too.”

In addition to providing nutritious food for people, they feed their furry friends with pup-sicles and excite bites.

“A lot of the same things that are really good for people, like blueberries, they have a lot of antioxidants and cancer-fighting stuff in them, are really good for dogs,” Gilot-Oquendo said. “All clean and organic stuff for our pups as well.”

“Since we’re in downtown Manchester, a lot of people are walking with their dog,” Morrison adds. “The fact that they can come down and grab something for them and their pup I think is what separates us.”

Featured photo: courtesy of Fresh Chef Press

Celebrate diversity

Multicultural Festival will return to Concord

Celebrate the cultures that make New Hampshire special through food, music, dancing and art at the Concord Multicultural Festival on Sunday, Sept. 24, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Keach Park.

The free festival began in the mid 2000s when many refugees were coming to the capital, as Concord was a refugee resettlement city, according to festival director Jessica Livingston.

“It was created as a way to introduce the community to the new community members who were being settled here from other countries,” she said. “A group of community leaders … decided to create a festival that would help connect people.”

The festival has expanded over the years. In the international flag parade that was added to the festival around six or seven years ago, 40 countries were represented at first; the number is now over 70

More than 70 vendors will be at the festival selling crafts like African baskets, jewelry, wood carvings, instruments, clothing and shoes, and running activities like face painting, coloring and painting kindness rocks.
The overall favorite, according to Livingston, is the food, with community members making Mexican staples like tamales and horchata, dishes from Afghanistan like pashto samosa, and restaurants like Maddy’s Food Hub, with African, Caribbean and Italian food and Batulo’s Kitchen.

“[Batulo’s] specialty is sambusa … but this year since she has her own restaurant she’s now going to branch out and do a little more,” Livingston said. “She’s [making] rice plates with veggies or chicken …, home-baked bread, yellow split pea soup … fried potatoes [and] mandazi, which is an African fried dough.”

After the flag parade and opening ceremony, there will be live performances throughout the whole festival, with Japanese drumming, Hawaiian hula dancing, Nepali and Hindi folk and classical music, Irish dancing performed by In the Field Irish Dancers, and a Brazilian carnival performance by SambaViva.

“Our mission is about creating a welcoming community for everybody who is here regardless of where you’re from or how long you’ve lived here,” Livingston said. “It’s about bringing people together over shared love for food, music and art and connecting as a community [to] get to know each other in a fun way.”

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 23/09/21

Dear Donna,
I picked this small autograph book up a few years back. It’s 5”x7” and has about 60 autographs from Holyoke, Mass., 1884. I’m done enjoying reading it, so now I’m looking for a new home. Can you give me a value on this? Thank you for any help, Donna.
Alex

Dear Alex,
Autograph books were a very popular thing in the Victorian era. Earlier ones can also bring high values.

With autographs you’re looking for any significant ones of known people, events in time, drawings, etc. The more content the better, and hand drawings as well.

If it’s just a school autograph book with multiple friends signing it. I think there are collectors for just that as well. The values seem to run in the $25-$40 range. Again, though, if there are drawings or small paintings on pages etc., could be more.

Alex, I hope this helps finding your book a new home. Thanks for sharing with us.

Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton, NH where she is still buying and selling. She is a member of The New Hampshire Antiques Dealer Association. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at footwdw@aol.com, or call her at 391-6550.

Invasives: What are they? What can you do about them?

See a culprit, dig it out

I’m lucky. Unlike many houses built in the 1800s or early 1900s, mine had no invasive plants when I bought it in 1970, probably because it was built as a creamery, or butter factory. Decorative plants were not needed. Most older houses are plagued with plants brought from Asia or Europe by well-meaning people who did not know that, once imported, those handsome plants might not have any predators that could keep them under control. Most of our native insects will not eat foreign plants.

Plants including Japanese knotweed, Asian bittersweet, goutweed, purple loosestrife, yellow pond iris and multiflora roses have thrived in New England, and all are nearly impossible to get rid of, once established. Unfortunately, I now have four of the six mentioned above. But no Japanese knotweed or bittersweet, thankfully (they are two of the worst).

Multiflora rose hips are eaten by birds, but the plants are invasive and should be removed. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

The multiflora rose was introduced from Asia in the 1860s as a vigorous ornamental rose and as a source of rootstock for grafted roses. In the 1930s it was widely introduced as erosion control and alongside highways — a mature planting is so dense it can prevent cars from going over median strips. But the birds liked the rose hips — the seed pods — and it escaped cultivation.

So what am I doing to eliminate it on my property? I am digging it out. Most effective for one- or two-year-old plants, I am using a curved, single-tine hand tool called the CobraHead (www.cobrahead.com) to carefully excavate the roots until I can lift the plant out.

First, I dress appropriately: jeans, long-sleeved shirt, a hat with a brim, and heavy winter leather work gloves. This culprit wants to hurt anyone trying to uproot it. I cut off the branches, just leaving a foot or so to grab onto when pulling it out. Then I loosen the soil and pull weeds around it. The roots radiate outward from the stem like spokes on a bike. I loosen each root and tug gently when they are small enough to remove.

I’ve read that just cutting back the stems to ground level will stimulate the roots to send up new shoots everywhere, causing a bigger problem. There is no easy answer. Invasive plants are always difficult to remove — usually a scrap of root can generate a new plant or several.

Buckthorn is another invasive that is common along streams and at the edges of fields. As with multiflora rose, cutting it down stimulates the roots to send up new shoots. The best way to eliminate it is to starve the roots: Take a pruning saw and cut through the bark and the green layer of cambium beneath that. Go all the way around the trunk, then repeat 6 inches above the first cut, and repeat. This will not kill the tree until the third year, but this slow death will not stimulate the roots to grow. Best done in winter or fall after leaf drop.

Since buckthorn is often multi-stemmed, it can be difficult to use that method. Do it up high enough that you can get your saw in between the stems. But I’ve done it, and it works.

Purple loosestrife is blooming now in swamps and wet places — it is gorgeous but outcompetes many of our native wetland plants that feed pollinators and other animals. Like many invasives, it produces huge numbers of seeds and these seeds don’t all germinate the next spring — many stay dormant for years. I’ve read that multiflora rose seeds can stay viable up to 20 years — a good reason to clear plants out when young.

My approach to purple loosestrife is to dig out new, young plants. I recognize them by their square stem, the leaf shape and the color of the stem, which is often reddish. But for big established plants I just use a curved harvest knife to slice off the foliage once or more than once each summer. This prevents seed production and reduces plant energy.

As regular readers of this column know, I only use organic techniques in the garden. This means no chemicals including herbicides. From what I have read, most herbicides will not kill the invasives mentioned in this article. They will set them back considerably, depending on the age of the plant and the dose of the chemical. But learning to recognize all the invasives is best. And if one appears on your landscape, get rid of it immediately! And remember, persistence is important.

Henry is a lifetime organic gardener living in Cornish, N.H. He presents at garden clubs and libraries around the region, and is the author of four gardening books. Reach him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

Featured photo by Henry Homeyer.

Sculptures on the hill

Andres Institute of Art holds international sculpture symposium

Three artists from different parts of the world will have three weeks to craft a sculpture along the 12-mile trail of the Andres Institute of Art in Brookline for the annual Bridges and Connections Sculpture Symposium. There will be multiple events at the Institute throughout the artists’ residencies, including dinners with the artists and a closing ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 8, when attendees can view their sculptures.

The Andres Institute of Art was established by Paul Andres and John Weidman in 1998 and has been holding the symposium since 1999, according to Gail Bloom, the president of the Institute.

“This year we’ve added [events] because we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary,” she said. “We have the opening ceremony, there will be a meet and greet with the artists … a showcase … [and] during the course of the three weeks we’re going to have two dinners.”

There are currently 98 sculptures throughout the sculpture park. This year’s symposium artists who will be adding to the collection are Ivona Biocic Mandic, from Croatia; Renubala Kashyap Rajput, from India, and Finn Cossar, from Australia.

“I’ve always created things whether it be sculptures or playing around with bits of wood,” Cossar said. “I’ve always been drawn to certain materials like rocks or metal or copper.”

After high school Cossar studied screen and media to pursue a career in film. When the film industry shut down due to the pandemic, he used the time to focus on his passion.

“Since there was no work for film I thought why not have a crack at doing the sculptures, which is what I always wanted to do … [and] I’ve always loved doing,” he said.

During the pandemic, Cossar made two large works, including a stone and metal tensegrity sculpture, which he says were very well-received.

“Ever since then I’ve been trying to push myself and create better and better works,” he said. “I think I really found my feet over the last couple of years and I’ve become more confident making large works, entering them into festivals, being recognized by local councils and meeting new artists, so I think I really found something that resonates.”

While camping, Cossar was contacted by the directors of the Swell Sculpture Festival in Australia, who told him about the sculpture symposium at the Andres Institute of Art.

“Immediately I jumped in my car and drove down to the town, where I had internet, and quickly filled out my portfolio,” he said. “I think it was two days later I got a call from Natasha, who’s the creator of Swell, and she said, ‘Pack your bags, you’re going to America,’” he said.

For Cossar, an artist’s residency and America are both new experiences.

“I have no idea what to expect,” he said. “[When] putting yourself in a completely new creative biome [I think] something amazing will come of it. … When you get creative minds together and share their creativity and create something beautiful that lasts for lifetimes, I think that’s extremely special. I’m extremely appreciative and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Bridges and Connections Sculpture Symposium at Andres Institute of Art

Symposium artist showcase
When: Saturday, Sept. 23, 3 p.m.
Where: Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline) Welcome Center
Cost: Free

Dinner with symposium artists
When: Friday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:10 p.m.)
Where: Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline) Welcome Center
Cost: $38

Cedi’s Tasty Treats Food Truck and music by kNowhere Kids
When: Saturday, Sept. 30, 4 to 7 p.m.
Where: Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline). Music in the Welcome Center.

Panel discussion: Art in the public sphere
When: Saturday, Oct. 7, 3 p.m.
Where: Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline) Welcome Center
Cost: Free

Closing ceremony
When: Sunday, Oct. 8, 1 p.m.
Where: Andres Institute of Art (106 Route 13, Brookline)
Cost: Free.

Quality of Life 23/09/21

Animals needing shelter

In just a few weeks the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire (ARLNH) has faced an overwhelming surge of animals, including 15 animals from a home in Bedford, 24 cats from a home in Merrimack and 15 cats from a home in Colebrook, with an additional 26 animals coming to the shelter individually. According to a press release, ARLNH is now grappling with resource strains due to this influx. As the number of animals in its care continues to fluctuate, ARLNH notes the overall growing demand for shelter services and longer stays for animals.

QOL score: -2
Comment: Donations can be made at rescueleague.org.

More Wi-Fi

Delta Dental Stadium, home to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, now has free Wi-Fi for spectators. According to a press release, this upgrade was facilitated through a collaboration with Consolidated Communications, equipping the stadium with Fidium Fiber Internet service and high-performance equipment.

QOL score: +1
Comment: The Wi-Fi addition joins a series of upgrades at the stadium, including infrastructural enhancements and facility renovations, according to the release.

Help for kids

CMF Kids, an initiative by Crotched Mountain Foundation dedicated to supporting communities and children with disabilities from underprivileged backgrounds, has announced a $1,000,000 investment spread over three years. According to a press release, this investment will benefit four new school partners: Nashua, Manchester, Warren and Newport. The schools will use the funds in various ways, from professional development programs and adaptive playground equipment to infrastructure expansion and consulting services for special education. Alongside school support, CMF Kids is also collaborating with community programs, offering services like music therapy, adaptive aquatics and more to help children with disabilities partake in vital extracurricular activities. Visit cmfkids.org.

QOL score: +1
Comment: The Nashua district plans to use its investment for special education professional development programs, aiming at trauma-informed care. According to the release, this initiative will be specifically used by elementary school teachers and paraprofessionals to effectively reduce challenging student behaviors.

Wellness programs

Mount Pleasant Elementary School in Nashua was granted $2,300 by the American Heart Association’s youth programs, the Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge to acquire physical education equipment. The grants aid in bolstering school wellness programs. Laura Short, a physical education teacher at the school, was commended for her commitment to teaching heart-healthy habits. The Association’s initiatives, beyond funding, emphasize whole-body wellness in schools, blending physical activities with key life-saving skills.

QOL score: +1
Comment: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines, only 20 percent of kids in the U.S. achieve the recommended levels of physical activity.

QOL score: 85
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 86

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Tag: 230921