I've been on Instagram for a little while now. Check out some of my mobile pics for some picture goodness from me. Sometimes it's easier and handier to just whip out the mobile phone and post instantaneously.
Today is Bike to Work Day at my office, and although I generally am off on Fridays, this morning I am biking in, mostly to get the free breakfast they are providing to the riders and be in the office photo. Then once I am done I will return here because I plan to go into town later and take in some sights.
I'm psyched that my special breed of iris is sprouting already and will be in bloom soon. It has these funky orange and white colors - not the usual blue you see around (although I also have some of those in the garden in S-town). Thing is with these, they bloom for like a week and then it's gone so I have to be ready to snap the shot soon. I find it rewarding to be able to grow something special like this year after year.
I'm a little fried this afternoon, working hard for a new project at work, want to do a good job - mostly just get it done on time and under budget - usually not a problem for me, but this one is a little tight. I seem to have entered a new phase at work - editing pdf files "behind the scenes" so that people with vision impairdness can read/view them. I've actually been doing these sort of tasks for close to two years now. I like doing them and I think I'm pretty good at it, but every now and then you'll get a document that makes you want to pull your hair out. Anyways, back to more of that grind all week and into next.
Got a busy weekend coming up, with a number of bicycle tours and Cat Daddy's to see. Then for the long weekend coming a little trip down to the Shore at a place we were at once before and liked.
I plan on attending this bikeride with a bunch of other folks. I remember the smell of NECCO's candy's filling the area growing up, but was unaware of all the other places. Who knew Junior Mints are being made right here in our backyard?
A nice hideaway looking across Boston Harbor from the Weymouth side. It's a little hard to see in this pic but the table is actually on a plateau and you look down into the ocean - pretty cool location, I never even knew about it - definitely a hidden gem - nice walking trails too.
Other notables: Doing more gardening and some weed management (yuck!), bird watching (highlight being Goldfinches this time), having a burger down by the Hingham Shipyard run by the Wahlburg brothers, and trying to mend our aches and pains!
They had something like an opening house celebration for this new suite of luxury condos that opened up down the street from me so I decided to go check it out. Some of Boston's most popular food trucks were there for the event along with live bands. I was just curious to see what they looked like since I hadn't been down there since before building them began. It used to be an old big factory plant that dealt with paper. It's totally unrecognizable now from what it was - a completely new place. Condos look sweet but not sure how anyone can afford them. I didn't stay long since they kind of picked a bad day with torrential rain and thunder coming down at times. Maybe they'll do another one.
This image is what an area now looks like where a building once stood that I worked at in the 90s. These days I work right across the brook from where I started out.
I really like this artist's etchings - especially the noir scenes of NYC. From what I understand his work is more famous now then when he was alive, but that's the case with a lot of folks. I especially like Shadow Dance, Night in New York, and Stoops in Snow. Oh, and Corner Shadows. Pretty expensive though.
After sitting in the office all day I decided to take the bike out for another spin after work off some energy. Took a couple of cellphone pix along the way that interested me - clockwise from the top, the Quincy Street Open Space project, which is this little park I never knew about on a sidestreet that has these interesting planks and sitting areas and a ton of flowers, an old style bicycle I saw along a shop along Somerville Avenue, some house that I thought has interesting architecture along another side street I discovered (there actually were many what looked like seriously pricey homes on that street), and finally the historic roundhouse of which only a few exist in the world - looks like someone is finally trying to restore it.
Ok so the newest photos have just been added, and I have a new "series" coming which I've decided to call Backyard Birding 2013. So far I have seen at the feeder: Grackles, Black Capped Chickadee, Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Mourning Doves, Golden Crowned Kinglet (which is totally new to me), Cardinals, Blue Jays, and of course, the "Asshole."
As I catch any new ones there I'll try to photograph them and add them here.
Watching a swan build her nest, birding in the back yard, planting some flowers and beginning gardening including getting this year's fuschia plant to attract hummingbirds, checking on C&L Frosty in Sherborn, got a Keurig, watching the C's somehow pull out a win, seeing llamas hanging around in Canton, enjoying the spring weather, going a nice drive in the country, and just generally having a fun time with LD. There's pix of some of these events forthcoming.
This morning I did my first bikeride into work of the season! Feeling accomplished because usually when I get up the last thing I want to do is pedal around. Coming home is sweet though.
I did feel a sense of euphoria which is weird because I never felt that before after riding. And as I was passing through the various areas on the ride I came to realize that I really do love Somerville.
6:49 PM update: It wore off, I'm ready for a nap now.
So Friday I was basically up since 2 am watching the news as all the craziness played out around here and then on Friday everyone was a bit frayed until everything was over. I had planned a getaway previous to all this and it came at a great time to just get away and chill for a bit up in the white mountains of NH. Ended up staying in the towers of the Omni Mt. Washington - a place I'd read about and always wanted to try. The hotel itself is very cool, in an old kind of way - kinda reminds you of the Overlook hotel in the Shining - that old grandness vibe to it. This hotel even has a guy in the elevator asking what floor you want and moving the lever. Maybe they have more of that in NY but it's the first I'd ever seen it in person these days. The room we had had it's own private stairway access away from any other guestroom which was cool. When you walk into the room in goes in two different directions - to the left was what I'll call the sitting room area with it's own half bath, and to the right was the bedroom area with a full bath. The man at the front desk said the place only has three rooms like that in the entire hotel, and this place is pretty huge. The nicest thing about it was the views of the mountains and the quietness of it being apart from everything - something the LadyDoc desperately needed after this week of seeing folks traumatized. I'll post some pics later tonight of some of the views.
Be safe all, lot of crazy shit going down in the Boston neighborhoods today as authorites lock in on bomb suspects. Their apartment is not all that far from me! Very scary!
Didn't do too much this weekend, mostly doing some yard work, and getting ready for the gardening and naturing season. Ran a bunch of errands, blah blah blah. Next weekend is going to be killer though (I hope!)
Seems like these days, every day is something day, and so as it is today is apparently National Grilled Cheese Day! Couldn't have happened at a better time either. Today in Boston it's wet and rainy and somewhat raw, grilled cheese and tomato soup would fit right in on a day like today.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
07:31 PM EST [Link] Cherry Blossoms in Cambridge MA
Ever since going down to DC a few weeks ago to coincide with the Cherry Blossoms blooming along the tidal basin I felt a bit gypped since it was unseasonably cool and they weren't ready to pop at that time, so I decided to see if I could find any around these parts to compensate. I found some stuff online about one in the Boston Public Gardens but as luck would have it, I learned that there was about 5 trees planted in front of a Japanese restaurant just down the street from where I work. The restaurant has long since been abandoned having gone out of business years ago but the owners even went as far as to plant several pretty pink cherry blossom trees in front of the building back in the day, now showcasing their colors for a oblivious audience. Just goes to show that there's a lot of little treasures around here if you just take the time and inclination to look.
10:13 AM EST [Link] Sniffing Rosemary can increase memory by 75%.
Sniffing Rosemary can increase memory by 75%. Or so this article says. Perhaps I should start growing some this season and start smelling them since my memory is constantly failing me. They also taste pretty good on french fries, if you've never tried that.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
03:19 PM EST [Link] Dead Sea Scrolls Coming to Boston
Yesterday didn't do much but accomplished a lot after having breakfast and doing some errands around the house. Even watched the horrible Rock of Ages movie on free HBO. The off-broadway play was great but the movie, no way. Later in the afternoon, we tried to grab a bite and a new Shake Shack that just opened up in Newton but when we got there the line was out the door and around the corner, so we said maybe another time. I had passed on while we were in DC but didn't try it. One of these days when it's not so crazy and the newness wears off.
So today is the 5th anniversary of the Ladydoc and I being together. Isn't that crazy? So, YAY, us! She brings joy to my life every single day. I hope I can continue to do the same. Happy Anniversary LD!♥♥♥ I Love You!
And I hope you like the surprise I have in store for you soon!
I really need to update this website more, truth is I've been slacking, but also because who wants to read about all the minutia of my everyday life? Painted eggs for Easter, did some yard work, shopped for groceries..blah, blah. I have been updating with photos though, which provides a little bit of insight.
I did seem to really mess up my shoulder lately however, most likely from a posture I've been having to deal with at my desk. It's not a sharp pain but it feels like it numbs a part of my upper arm at times, although numb is probably not the correct term since blood and everything still flows there. More like a minor pinch of the nerve, maybe? It comes and goes, need to try more stretching, probably a massage would help. Maybe soon.
Here's some pix from Instagram of the National Cathedral, drinks in Old Town Alexandria, and the FBI's newest agent. Just some of the activities I was involved with.
I've also uploaded some pix on the leftside photolog, but have more to upload in a few.
Currently taking in the sites at Washington DC. More later.
Update: Back from the trip - Checked out the basin and the Mall, various sculptures, museums, restaurants, and such. Some pix to come once I decompress enough and get back into the swing of things here. Stayed in a hotel where "The Pelican Brief" and "No Way Out" were filmed.
I got a book on Tree identification yesterday because I've been meaning to educate myself about the various species of trees I see in my travels and I am certainly no expert in that. I also picked up a map of the DC area for an outing later this week.
For some reason I remember seeing this movie on cable when I was a kid and somehow it stayed hidden in the recesses of my brain and for whatever reason, just appeared in my head now, anybody else remember this?
I'm psyched that my special breed of iris is sprouting already and will be in bloom soon. It has these funky orange and white colors - not the usual blue you see around (although I also have some of those in the garden in S-town). Thing is with these, they bloom for like a week and then it's gone so I have to be ready to snap the shot soon. I find it rewarding to be able to grow something special like this year after year.
