Boston, Mass

Make Way For the Ducklings

In May, my mom and I went to Boston and the surrounding area for a week. I love going places to see the history. Boston’s big on history.

Caught in the Rain

Holocaust Memorial - each pillar (six) represents 1 million Jews killed. Etched on glass are their numbers

Our first day we saw the sites in the city. We followed the Freedom Trail around the city for nine hours. It was cold and damp but it was fun. Needless to say, we were tired and our legs were close to giving out on us.

We Boston sweatshirts and ate mini Boston cream pies. We saw where Paul Revere lived and where he was buried. We saw the church where the lanterns were hung: “One if by land, two if by sea”. We walked through buildings that were over three hundred years old. We walked the decks of the USS Constitution – Old Iron Sides.

"One if by land, two if by sea"
Lanterns were hung in steeple

Paul Revere and John Hancock are buried here

Deaths dated 1661 and 1678

We visited Salem, where the witches were hung. We toured the House of 7 Gables made famous by Nathanial Hawthorne’s book.

House of Seven Gables

Witch House - only surviving house from the witch trials. A judge lived here

We learned the way of life of the pilgrims when they settled in Plymouth, landing on Plymouth Rock in 1640. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the famous rock. Construction was being done on the structure that protects the rock. Scaffolding and plywood blocked my view. It’s just a rock though, right? And who’s to say it was the exact rock that the pilgrim’s feet touched.

Mast of Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower

Plimoth Plantation is a village that was built to model the time and the people working there spoke in the English of the time “just yester week I was speaking….”.

We toured the elite’s summer homes in Newport, RI. These houses were occupied by railroad tycoons and the like. Parties every night, one trying to out do the other. Homes such as The Breakers were only 70 rooms. Much smaller than the year round New York home that was about 150 rooms.

The Breakers owned by the Vanderbilt family

The best part was whale watching. We left from Provincetown and saw the most amazing things. To be in the presence of these mammoth creatures. To be RIGHT THERE while they fed. It was literally breathtaking. There is a feeling of peace and awe to be there. A feeling I hope to remember for years to come.

"It is an old maxim and a very sound one, that he that dances should always pay the fiddler. Now, sir, in the present case, if any gentlemen, whose money is a burden to them, choose to lead off a dance, I am decidedly opposed to the people's money being used to pay the fiddler...all this to settle a question in which the people have no interest, and about which they care nothing. These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert, to fleece the people, and now, that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel." - Abraham Lincoln, January 11, 1837

The scale of my dreams

I had a dream last night that I bought a new bathroom scale. I also had a dream that I had a job interview for a decorating company with Sean Penn (but he looked like the Chris Penn) and Robert De Niro.

In the dream, I got on the scale four times. The first three times it said I was about 50 lbs less than what I am and the fourth time it was what I really weigh. Meaning? Only step on scales a maximum of three times.

I'm still waiting to hear if I got the job.

Hungry

I want some more guacamole.
Then I want some chocolate cake.

G.A. Baby

In honor of Grey's Anatomy starting up tonight I thought I'd do a little G.A. quiz.

You're the best at what you do and with that comes a well-deserved amount of pride, but you're not quite a bold in going for what you want in your personal life. Go, grab some happiness for yourself already. You're not as prickly and unlikable as you might think, even if you go out of your way to cultivate the impression of someone who is completely unapproachable.

The thing about death is... it hurts.

The anniversary of my grandpa's death is drawing near. Saturday will be three years. There is still not a day that goes by that I don't think about him. There are several days a year that I am overcome with grief from missing him. Sometimes I ache just to hear his voice again or feel one of his hugs.


I just feel like my world was a better place with him in it. He was so kind, gentle and funny. He held so much love in his heart. I never imagined feeling the void I do since he's been gone.

I miss him.


"A heart can be broken; but it keeps beating just the same" - Fried Green Tomatoes

Let's talk nonsense

Since about Sunday, I’ve had increasingly gotten more and more uncomfortable in my skin. I’m sure some of it is lack of some nutrient and physical exercise but it’s also stress. I don’t stress much on a day-to-day basis. It’s usually something that triggers it and it sits and stews in my mind and spreads throughout my body. I carry stress in my neck and shoulders and face and right now I can’t relieve the pain. It’s tight. My shoulders, my arms, my legs, even my forehead are in constant need of being stretched and massaged, like I’m constricting in on myself. I can think about the oddest things and dwell on them. Of course there is the country’s financial state. I don’t concern myself with the details because I don’t understand them. I do concern myself with the tone of the news and how it’s affecting those around me. I absorb others’ stress. I’m sleeping hard but waking exhausted. My eye is twitching.

This weekend I watched The Savages and had the sudden desire to call my mom and ask her to clarify what she wants me to do if she were to become ill and/or die. How morbid is that? What terrible thoughts. Especially since I plan on my mom living forever. I can’t and won’t imagine my life without her. Probably the only reason I didn’t call her was because I didn’t want to bother her with such an insane question while she was enjoying her road trip through South Dakota, Utah, Colorado and wherever else. I know she’s already got her wishes expressed in her will but I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed with the ifs and whens. I held back the dialing and just tucked the thoughts away. I’ll ask her at a more appropriate time (which translates to: when I’m sobbing uncontrollably and my back has gone out from the tension).

Let’s add to that the daily thoughts of having a significant other and children – and whether I will have (or want) either (this is for another day). And I’m starting that whole stressing about aging thing. I keep telling myself, when I’m 50 I’ll wish I was 36 again.

So, I continue stretching and trying to rub away the knots, cracking my neck, back and fingers and sleeping and thinking.

Does Calgon really work?