Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Boston Moving Day
September 1, as I mentioned yesterday, is unofficial Moving Day in Boston. Today when I went out for my lunchtime walk, I saw U-Hauls and Ryder trucks and other vans and cars double-parked or looking for a parking space. I work in the South End, where supposedly more vehicles with resident parking stickers exist than there are parking places for those vehicles. There are some beautiful homes in the South End, red-brick row houses with rounded fronts, wrought-iron railings, and tiny, neat gardens. I was thinking as I walked yesterday that living in one of these buildings might be nice - but even if by some miracle I could afford it, I'm too old to compete for parking spaces! Too set in my ways, at least; I feel I deserve a parking space reserved especially for me. The one in my driveway works fine - although last night when I turned into my driveway, the neighbor's gray cat was stretched out in my parking space. My cat Peaches was talking to him from the safety of the window. I can't tell if they're friends or enemies. Gray Cat got up and stalked away, annoyed.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Fall is almost here / make-believe friends
The days are shorter, the air is cooler, and the students are returning to Boston. Tomorrow is Moving Day - September 1, the day that U-Haul vans and Ryder trucks clog the Boston streets to a standstill. It's worse than the everyday traffic jams caused by the usual double-parkers and UPS trucks... Fortunately, I don't have to drive in the city tomorrow. I don't even have to take the bus if I don't want to - I can walk to any one of three Orange Line stops. It'll be Farmer's Market Day in Copley Square, so that may well be my destination after work tomorrow.
Fall always makes me want to start new things (or resume old activities). I want to write daily entries in my blog as a way to stimulate me to write every day. Maybe I don't have all that much to say, but that puts me in good company with the vast majority of the other members of the blogosphere. Despair.com has a wonderful Demotivator about blogging: "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few."
I've been thinking about my online audience. Who are they? Do I even have one? I link to this blog from my Facebook account, so there's an off chance that somebody occasionally reads it. Since nobody leaves a note, I can't tell. But if, in fact, my Facebook friends do show up here, at least they're people who have met me face to face.
I used to post on Open Diary. I still have a diary there, although I haven't actually posted since about January. I have a list of "friends" there, too, just as I do on Facebook. The difference is that I have never met most of those OD friends face to face. In many cases, I don't even know their real names. And that's fine - that's the way that particular forum is run. My own need - what I was and am searching for online - is a group of real-life friends. Everybody I met on Open Diary was content to remain a cyberfriend only, and I decided that there was more potential on Facebook.
I don't need any more make-believe friends. That's at the root of my problem with religion and churches, too. I like to know that there's somebody real out there, somebody who might actually want to spend face-to-face time with me.
Fall always makes me want to start new things (or resume old activities). I want to write daily entries in my blog as a way to stimulate me to write every day. Maybe I don't have all that much to say, but that puts me in good company with the vast majority of the other members of the blogosphere. Despair.com has a wonderful Demotivator about blogging: "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few."
I've been thinking about my online audience. Who are they? Do I even have one? I link to this blog from my Facebook account, so there's an off chance that somebody occasionally reads it. Since nobody leaves a note, I can't tell. But if, in fact, my Facebook friends do show up here, at least they're people who have met me face to face.
I used to post on Open Diary. I still have a diary there, although I haven't actually posted since about January. I have a list of "friends" there, too, just as I do on Facebook. The difference is that I have never met most of those OD friends face to face. In many cases, I don't even know their real names. And that's fine - that's the way that particular forum is run. My own need - what I was and am searching for online - is a group of real-life friends. Everybody I met on Open Diary was content to remain a cyberfriend only, and I decided that there was more potential on Facebook.
I don't need any more make-believe friends. That's at the root of my problem with religion and churches, too. I like to know that there's somebody real out there, somebody who might actually want to spend face-to-face time with me.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 6
August 8, 2009
The boys arrived at about 9 Thursday night. I picked up two pizzas from the Box Office Cafe - a Pineapple Express (standard Hawaiian, ham and pineapple) and The Usual Suspects - meatball, sausage, pepperoni and green peppers. They were both delicious.
Friday was our only full day together at the Cape, and the weather was perfect. I realized that I had never brought my kids to the Cape Cod National Seashore, so that's what we decided to do. I wanted to go on the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail, which is near the Marconi Site, so we did both of them. They're in Wellfleet. The Trail is just about a mile long. We forgot bug spray, but a couple we met on the trail lent us theirs. The part of the trail that runs through the swamp is a boardwalk, so you never have to get your feet wet. After we completed the walk, we went over to Marconi Station, site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission. We saw a few seals playing in the surf below the site of the station. The view of the water and the dunes was beautiful.
In the afternoon, we went to the beach. It was the first time I've gone to Red River Beach that the parking lot was full. Before the boys arrived, I was usually going over in the late morning. We drove around the lot until a place opened up. It was high tide, and the water was fairly calm. We had a great swim - it really is more fun to swim with friends and family.
Today we had to pack up and be out of the rental by 10 a.m. It was another lovely day, not too warm or humid. After I turned the key in to the realtor, we were in no hurry to leave the Cape. We walked around the center of Harwich Port for awhile, then the boys decided they wanted to visit Earth House in Orleans. So we did. After that, we had fish and chips at Seafood Sam's (I had fish and onion rings). Then it was time to go home.
I thought the cats would be thrilled that I was home. Peaches was - he followed me in and out of the house as I unloaded the car, and then sat in my lap and purred. Zoe, not so much. She was probably too mad at me for leaving her alone. She's thawed a little bit, now.
The boys arrived at about 9 Thursday night. I picked up two pizzas from the Box Office Cafe - a Pineapple Express (standard Hawaiian, ham and pineapple) and The Usual Suspects - meatball, sausage, pepperoni and green peppers. They were both delicious.
Friday was our only full day together at the Cape, and the weather was perfect. I realized that I had never brought my kids to the Cape Cod National Seashore, so that's what we decided to do. I wanted to go on the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail, which is near the Marconi Site, so we did both of them. They're in Wellfleet. The Trail is just about a mile long. We forgot bug spray, but a couple we met on the trail lent us theirs. The part of the trail that runs through the swamp is a boardwalk, so you never have to get your feet wet. After we completed the walk, we went over to Marconi Station, site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission. We saw a few seals playing in the surf below the site of the station. The view of the water and the dunes was beautiful.
In the afternoon, we went to the beach. It was the first time I've gone to Red River Beach that the parking lot was full. Before the boys arrived, I was usually going over in the late morning. We drove around the lot until a place opened up. It was high tide, and the water was fairly calm. We had a great swim - it really is more fun to swim with friends and family.
Today we had to pack up and be out of the rental by 10 a.m. It was another lovely day, not too warm or humid. After I turned the key in to the realtor, we were in no hurry to leave the Cape. We walked around the center of Harwich Port for awhile, then the boys decided they wanted to visit Earth House in Orleans. So we did. After that, we had fish and chips at Seafood Sam's (I had fish and onion rings). Then it was time to go home.
I thought the cats would be thrilled that I was home. Peaches was - he followed me in and out of the house as I unloaded the car, and then sat in my lap and purred. Zoe, not so much. She was probably too mad at me for leaving her alone. She's thawed a little bit, now.
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 5
August 6, 2009
We never got thunderstorms here yesterday, but it's noticeably cooler today. It's been cloudy all day, with a couple of brief showers, so I haven't actually been to the beach yet, and it's almost 5. My main reason for forcing myself to go every day was to make the beach pass pay for itself. The next time I park in a lot, it will. If it's too cold and yucky to swim, I shouldn't feel guilty for deciding not to. Right?
I decided to drive up to Orleans this afternoon to visit Earth House, a hippie-New-Agey shop I used to love back in the late 80s and early 90s. I was delighted to discover that it hasn't changed all that much. Incense, crystals, bumper stickers of any description, hippie clothes and tee shirts (some tie dyes, really!). I walked in through a room of posters, which reminded me of the ones we used to decorate our dorm rooms with back in the 60s and 70s. The dressing room had Indian-print bedspreads, and the entire shop smelled of incense, that mixed-fragrance aroma that's typical of a lot of the old hippie shops and pagan/Wiccan shops I've visited more recently. I bought two long-sleeved rayon batik tops. They're the same style but very different prints: one's kind of a dark royal blue with large flowers in turquoise and olive and lighter blue; the other is purple print on a dark gray-teal background. I've spent all summer looking for some new tops, and I was so pleased to find these even though they were out of my size in the short-sleeved version. The saleswoman (short and heavy-set and very pleasant) was wearing one, and she helped me find these. I also bought some cone incense. I have my grandmother's old incense burner, a little cast iron pot that takes cones. The scent was called Into the Night and it smells very much the way the shop did – a combination of delightful odors.
I drove back down Route 28. Earth House is on Route 6A, and when I drove up to the route 28 intersection, the sign pointing north said Route 28 South, and the sign pointing south said Route 28 North. They weren't turned around, either. Route 28 starts just a short distance from where I was, and while it eventually turns north, it starts out going south and west across the Cape. I drove by Pleasant Bay and enjoyed looking at the water. By the time I was driving away from the center of Chatham, the inbound traffic was backed up for miles. I suppose the less-than-perfect weather was keeping people away from the beach. It was a relief not to be in the traffic myself.
The boys are coming down today. I just called and they're at my house, feeding my cats (who are very starved for affection!). One of them just texted me that they found a dead mouse behind my chair. YUCK!
Yesterday after I posted in this blog, I went down to the center of Harwich Port and bought a couple of books at Reed Books (yes, that's what it's called; the owner's last name is Reed). I walked by my realtor's office because I wanted to find out what this condo is going for – it's on the market, and the fact that my rental was so cheap made me expect the condo would be cheap, too. It is. $149,900. I didn't think you could buy property on the Cape for that little, especially stuff that's between Route 28 and Nantucket Sound. Yeah, it's about a mile from the beach, but still, it's the Cape! I'd buy it, but they only allow one pet. Oh, yeah, and I don't have the money. But if I did, and if I could bring both cats, yeah, I'd consider it.
The place where my sister bought the inflatable whale is now an art gallery. Oh, well.
Later I bought swordfish and took my daily swim. I went fairly late in the afternoon. It was still warm, but very windy, which made for some great waves to jump. Then it was time to grill the swordfish. But when I opened up the gas grill, it looked disgusting - filthy and unpleasant. So I ended up grilling the fish under the broiler. I didn't have any seasonings to speak of, so the fish was a little bland, but very good, with a nice light texture.
We never got thunderstorms here yesterday, but it's noticeably cooler today. It's been cloudy all day, with a couple of brief showers, so I haven't actually been to the beach yet, and it's almost 5. My main reason for forcing myself to go every day was to make the beach pass pay for itself. The next time I park in a lot, it will. If it's too cold and yucky to swim, I shouldn't feel guilty for deciding not to. Right?
I decided to drive up to Orleans this afternoon to visit Earth House, a hippie-New-Agey shop I used to love back in the late 80s and early 90s. I was delighted to discover that it hasn't changed all that much. Incense, crystals, bumper stickers of any description, hippie clothes and tee shirts (some tie dyes, really!). I walked in through a room of posters, which reminded me of the ones we used to decorate our dorm rooms with back in the 60s and 70s. The dressing room had Indian-print bedspreads, and the entire shop smelled of incense, that mixed-fragrance aroma that's typical of a lot of the old hippie shops and pagan/Wiccan shops I've visited more recently. I bought two long-sleeved rayon batik tops. They're the same style but very different prints: one's kind of a dark royal blue with large flowers in turquoise and olive and lighter blue; the other is purple print on a dark gray-teal background. I've spent all summer looking for some new tops, and I was so pleased to find these even though they were out of my size in the short-sleeved version. The saleswoman (short and heavy-set and very pleasant) was wearing one, and she helped me find these. I also bought some cone incense. I have my grandmother's old incense burner, a little cast iron pot that takes cones. The scent was called Into the Night and it smells very much the way the shop did – a combination of delightful odors.
I drove back down Route 28. Earth House is on Route 6A, and when I drove up to the route 28 intersection, the sign pointing north said Route 28 South, and the sign pointing south said Route 28 North. They weren't turned around, either. Route 28 starts just a short distance from where I was, and while it eventually turns north, it starts out going south and west across the Cape. I drove by Pleasant Bay and enjoyed looking at the water. By the time I was driving away from the center of Chatham, the inbound traffic was backed up for miles. I suppose the less-than-perfect weather was keeping people away from the beach. It was a relief not to be in the traffic myself.
The boys are coming down today. I just called and they're at my house, feeding my cats (who are very starved for affection!). One of them just texted me that they found a dead mouse behind my chair. YUCK!
Yesterday after I posted in this blog, I went down to the center of Harwich Port and bought a couple of books at Reed Books (yes, that's what it's called; the owner's last name is Reed). I walked by my realtor's office because I wanted to find out what this condo is going for – it's on the market, and the fact that my rental was so cheap made me expect the condo would be cheap, too. It is. $149,900. I didn't think you could buy property on the Cape for that little, especially stuff that's between Route 28 and Nantucket Sound. Yeah, it's about a mile from the beach, but still, it's the Cape! I'd buy it, but they only allow one pet. Oh, yeah, and I don't have the money. But if I did, and if I could bring both cats, yeah, I'd consider it.
The place where my sister bought the inflatable whale is now an art gallery. Oh, well.
Later I bought swordfish and took my daily swim. I went fairly late in the afternoon. It was still warm, but very windy, which made for some great waves to jump. Then it was time to grill the swordfish. But when I opened up the gas grill, it looked disgusting - filthy and unpleasant. So I ended up grilling the fish under the broiler. I didn't have any seasonings to speak of, so the fish was a little bland, but very good, with a nice light texture.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 4
August 5, 2009
I'm sitting in the Brooks Free Library in Harwich, accessing their free wifi. (Should it be spelled wi-fi? No, that looks stupid.) It's air conditioned, which is an improvement over the 89% humidity outside. The temperature's only 75, but the humidity makes it feel ten degrees hotter. (WeatherBug says five, but what do they know?) If the sun were actually out, it'd be even hotter.
Yesterday I managed to get a slight sunburn on my back and shoulders. I guess I should have re-applied sunscreen; I was on the beach for around 3 hours. Today I'll just make a short visit, or else I'll keep a tee shirt on. I've made a goal to swim every day, and so far I have managed to do it.
I don't know what else to do today. After I leave here, I'm going to walk around the center of Harwich Port, but that doesn't take long. It's not as large as Chatham, and the center doesn't attract as many tourists. But there's a great book shop with used books, and I plan to spend some time there. And I'll probably visit the (expensive) yarn shop. I should go down to the place where my sister bought the inflatable whale... (in the early 90s, when I was coming down here with my parents and my small kids). Maybe I'll take some more pictures of flowers. It's so beautiful down on the Cape, even with gray skies. I plan to retire down here eventually.
This is the night I plan to buy swordfish. That was always a tradition when I came to the Cape with my parents, both as a child and as a younger adult. I want to buy a chunk and cook it on the gas grill on my mini-deck. If it ends up raining, I'll cook it inside.
I'm sitting in the Brooks Free Library in Harwich, accessing their free wifi. (Should it be spelled wi-fi? No, that looks stupid.) It's air conditioned, which is an improvement over the 89% humidity outside. The temperature's only 75, but the humidity makes it feel ten degrees hotter. (WeatherBug says five, but what do they know?) If the sun were actually out, it'd be even hotter.
Yesterday I managed to get a slight sunburn on my back and shoulders. I guess I should have re-applied sunscreen; I was on the beach for around 3 hours. Today I'll just make a short visit, or else I'll keep a tee shirt on. I've made a goal to swim every day, and so far I have managed to do it.
I don't know what else to do today. After I leave here, I'm going to walk around the center of Harwich Port, but that doesn't take long. It's not as large as Chatham, and the center doesn't attract as many tourists. But there's a great book shop with used books, and I plan to spend some time there. And I'll probably visit the (expensive) yarn shop. I should go down to the place where my sister bought the inflatable whale... (in the early 90s, when I was coming down here with my parents and my small kids). Maybe I'll take some more pictures of flowers. It's so beautiful down on the Cape, even with gray skies. I plan to retire down here eventually.
This is the night I plan to buy swordfish. That was always a tradition when I came to the Cape with my parents, both as a child and as a younger adult. I want to buy a chunk and cook it on the gas grill on my mini-deck. If it ends up raining, I'll cook it inside.
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 3
August 4, 2009
I think I spent too much time in the sun today. I spent about three hours at the beach – it was a little hazy, but nice, with a good breeze. Then I drove to Chatham and walked up and down Main Street. I stopped at the cooking shop, the one I know has doughnut muffins under another name, and I got one – they call it a French breakfast muffin – and an iced coffee. See how tired I am? I can't remember the name of the shop. It's something like Chatham Cookery and Cafe. They didn't have rooibos tea. That might sound a little random. Let me explain: Earlier this summer I bought a box of Twinings rooibos tea, and my son and I started drinking it iced. It was delicious. So we went back to the Stop & Shop for another box. They didn't have it. They didn't even have a spot where it should have been. So we thought maybe we got it at the new Hannaford's that just opened where the Wild Oats used to be. Nope, they didn't have any, either. So I tried Shaw's. No luck. The day before I went on vacation, I walked down to Foodie's Urban Grocer near work. They didn't have Twinings, but they did have some organic brand. (I could get up and walk across the room to find out what it is if I weren't so tired.) I bought it, and I've been drinking it here. It's just as good. Anyway, I looked at the Star Market when I was there on Sunday, and I checked at the cookery shop, where they didn't have much tea to speak of anyway. I may make a pass by the Stop & Shop in East Harwich, just in case.
There's a clock with a pendulum over on the wall by the sliding back door. It's a battery-operated quartz clock, and the pendulum doesn't swing in rhythm with the clicking of the seconds. Annoying.
I stopped on the way back from Chatham at the natural foods store up in West Chatham, and got a loaf of When Pigs Fly Hog Heaven bread. It's got all sorts of good stuff in it, including cranberries. It seems a little odd to come to the Cape and buy the same brand of bread I'd have gotten back home, but if it's the best available, why not?
There's a strong breeze, and it's clouded over. I wish I had WeatherBug access here. Yesterday I changed my site to the Chatham airport, but of course, there's no wifi here. It looks like a thunderstorm might be in the works. Tomorrow (I remember from yesterday) the thunderstorm icon was up.
The hydrangeas have been spectacular. They're a Cape tradition; so many houses have them, and they're all in bloom, gorgeous blues and purples and pinks and white. There's a house on North Franklin Street in Lynn with a row of four blue hydrangeas in front of it; it would look right at home on the Cape.
I can hear chickadees in the back yard, and a chipmunk. There have been cardinals and song sparrows and goldfinches. This has really been a wonderful spot. Not a traditional Cape cottage, but still very relaxing.
I think I spent too much time in the sun today. I spent about three hours at the beach – it was a little hazy, but nice, with a good breeze. Then I drove to Chatham and walked up and down Main Street. I stopped at the cooking shop, the one I know has doughnut muffins under another name, and I got one – they call it a French breakfast muffin – and an iced coffee. See how tired I am? I can't remember the name of the shop. It's something like Chatham Cookery and Cafe. They didn't have rooibos tea. That might sound a little random. Let me explain: Earlier this summer I bought a box of Twinings rooibos tea, and my son and I started drinking it iced. It was delicious. So we went back to the Stop & Shop for another box. They didn't have it. They didn't even have a spot where it should have been. So we thought maybe we got it at the new Hannaford's that just opened where the Wild Oats used to be. Nope, they didn't have any, either. So I tried Shaw's. No luck. The day before I went on vacation, I walked down to Foodie's Urban Grocer near work. They didn't have Twinings, but they did have some organic brand. (I could get up and walk across the room to find out what it is if I weren't so tired.) I bought it, and I've been drinking it here. It's just as good. Anyway, I looked at the Star Market when I was there on Sunday, and I checked at the cookery shop, where they didn't have much tea to speak of anyway. I may make a pass by the Stop & Shop in East Harwich, just in case.
There's a clock with a pendulum over on the wall by the sliding back door. It's a battery-operated quartz clock, and the pendulum doesn't swing in rhythm with the clicking of the seconds. Annoying.
I stopped on the way back from Chatham at the natural foods store up in West Chatham, and got a loaf of When Pigs Fly Hog Heaven bread. It's got all sorts of good stuff in it, including cranberries. It seems a little odd to come to the Cape and buy the same brand of bread I'd have gotten back home, but if it's the best available, why not?
There's a strong breeze, and it's clouded over. I wish I had WeatherBug access here. Yesterday I changed my site to the Chatham airport, but of course, there's no wifi here. It looks like a thunderstorm might be in the works. Tomorrow (I remember from yesterday) the thunderstorm icon was up.
The hydrangeas have been spectacular. They're a Cape tradition; so many houses have them, and they're all in bloom, gorgeous blues and purples and pinks and white. There's a house on North Franklin Street in Lynn with a row of four blue hydrangeas in front of it; it would look right at home on the Cape.
I can hear chickadees in the back yard, and a chipmunk. There have been cardinals and song sparrows and goldfinches. This has really been a wonderful spot. Not a traditional Cape cottage, but still very relaxing.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 2
August 3, 2009
Here I am in the Box Office Cafe, drinking iced coffee and accessing their wifi. Technically I'm supposed to get half an hour of time, but it's mid-afternoon and the place isn't all that full, so I hope I'll be able to write about today before I have to leave.
I came down here for my breakfast coffee. They had Sumatran, my favorite. I brought it back to the condo to drink with my day-old meltaway, which wasn't all that great. I won't be repeating that experience (the pastry. The coffee was great.). Some things really aren't as great as they seemed when you were a kid...
I got my beach sticker and was on the beach before 10:30. The water was warm and silky. The sun was bright. A perfect beach day. I don't think I got a sunburn; with any luck, the sunscreen I slapped on actually worked.
Now, I'm down here by myself. The boys are in New Hampshire and my daughter is working in DC. I don't have a Significant Other. Everybody else at the beach seemed to be in groups of family and friends. But I didn't really feel lonely. I talked to some of my fellow swimmers, and when I was on the beach, I read my book. The beach was a garden of brilliantly-colored umbrellas. It was a time to savor.
I left the beach at around noon. Then I made my annual pilgrimage to the Chatham Jam and Jelly Shop. Yeah, I know I said it was overpriced, but I wanted some exotic jams for my English muffins that were on sale at CVS... I got small jars of ginger marmalade and peach melba jam. I had them on an English muffin with a salad for lunch. Delicious.
I've taken some pictures, but I think I'll wait for another time to post them. I really have overstayed my half hour...
Here I am in the Box Office Cafe, drinking iced coffee and accessing their wifi. Technically I'm supposed to get half an hour of time, but it's mid-afternoon and the place isn't all that full, so I hope I'll be able to write about today before I have to leave.
I came down here for my breakfast coffee. They had Sumatran, my favorite. I brought it back to the condo to drink with my day-old meltaway, which wasn't all that great. I won't be repeating that experience (the pastry. The coffee was great.). Some things really aren't as great as they seemed when you were a kid...
I got my beach sticker and was on the beach before 10:30. The water was warm and silky. The sun was bright. A perfect beach day. I don't think I got a sunburn; with any luck, the sunscreen I slapped on actually worked.
Now, I'm down here by myself. The boys are in New Hampshire and my daughter is working in DC. I don't have a Significant Other. Everybody else at the beach seemed to be in groups of family and friends. But I didn't really feel lonely. I talked to some of my fellow swimmers, and when I was on the beach, I read my book. The beach was a garden of brilliantly-colored umbrellas. It was a time to savor.
I left the beach at around noon. Then I made my annual pilgrimage to the Chatham Jam and Jelly Shop. Yeah, I know I said it was overpriced, but I wanted some exotic jams for my English muffins that were on sale at CVS... I got small jars of ginger marmalade and peach melba jam. I had them on an English muffin with a salad for lunch. Delicious.
I've taken some pictures, but I think I'll wait for another time to post them. I really have overstayed my half hour...
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