An updated shot from last year around this time. I believe I took this from along the Indian Ridge Path if you want to visit the same vantage point.
Could Use a Quiet Break Right Now
Go slow, my life, go slow. Let me enjoy the beauty of silence, serenity, and solitude
I crossed over into a dimensional portal and got to take a selfie with some of the heroes of that world.
From the Top
Obelisks below, sky above.
The Goatfather Part 2
Yesterday we got to hang out with some goats with our friends who live up in Georgetown. We got to dress them up in costumes, which was not that easy! Naturally I had to be the Goatfather. It really is a pretty cool feeling to hang out with these animals, and the babies are so warm and snuggly. Studies have shown that goats can distinguish human facial expressions and prefer to interact with humans who appear to be happy so they are pretty emotionally intelligent animals. A cat names Penny also appeared to be pretty attached to me, which was cool. After the mingle we went over to our friends’ house and hung out for a while and had lunch. Sat outside for a bit on the patio, it was pretty nice outside in the sun.
Currently Reading: Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty by Kaila Yu.
Jersey Shore in a Storm
Well, we braved the weather and made it to the shore. There were areas of the shore that did flood, but thankfully not at all where we were. The weather wasn’t the greatest but we did get to see the power of nature. The waves were huge but the wind was the real nasty. Didn’t stay on the beach long because the sand would whip into your face like little stabbing needles. Glad we went though! I got to hang out with my four pawed friend Charlie, he is like the sweetest doggo.
What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?
What would I tell my younger self? I feel for me it would be to figure out what’s important in life. and just let myself be, everything happens in good time.
Yesterday was an action packed day, from doing to usual day to day, to getting a rental car, to decorating a hotel room for a friend who is visiting Massachusetts, (Salem actually, uhmm that’s so nuts this time of year) it was pretty busy. I think the hotel decorating was probably the most stressful as we ran into a bunch of issues with the front desk (and it’s a place we would never ever stay at in our lives, just saying) but we got it done and hopefully the recipient was pretty surprised to see the room all decked out. Stupid of us not to get a picture of the stuff but we were pretty cramped for time.
The rental is pretty sweet though, one of those decked out Pallisades! Going on a road trip this weekend, really hope the coming storm doesn’t affect us too badly! 🤞
Bloom Boldly
Here’s a shot from the church I like to shoot now and again before I go on those bike rides.
Here’s a page from our upcoming graphic novel!
Biking and The Bridge of Happiness
Started out doing the Cambridge city bike ride but toward the end peeled off and went to the Charlestown Navy Yard to check out the massive Bridge of Happiness animal sculptures. Also got a chance to bike over the newly opened Bill Russell bridge to get there – very nicely done. I had never actually been inside the navy yard before. The USS Constitution was there but like I said, I was there to see the sculptures. I might check them out again sometime when I have more time and it’s not so crowded with families taking pictures with it. LOL. Pretty cool to see it in person, it’s pretty big.
Haven’t been much updating lately – busy busy, car shopping and a bunch of other things getting in the way.
Gametime: Wild Willy 2. If you liked Super Mario Brothers, you’ll like this with a Mickey Mouse theme.
Grab a Handful of Little Ol’ Me!
Who wants a copy of this little doll of myself?
It’s been quite the busy week thus far, IYKYK. Tonight we were supposed to go to another outdoor movie on the rooftops in Cambridge with one of our couples friends but it looks like it’s going to be raining all day, so we’ll be nixing that. It’s ok though, I’m glad we went when we did last month. (Was that only a month ago?? It seems like so long!)
Possibly more later today as it goes along…
The Littlest Cider Doughnuts
We checked out this little farm in Canton today, just to get out for a little bit. It’s good to because after this little outing LD car died on the road back and had to be towed to shop. Thankfully not too far from the house. More on that stuff tomorrow I guess. (Last pic is from yesterday, I just really liked it and forgot to add it to yesterday’s entry.) Anyways, these cider donuts are just too cute!
Both my knees were starting to feel a little sore today. Here we go again!
This Fluff Festival was Fire (We Getting Burned!)
We checked out this year’s fluff fest over at Earth-1. It was it’s 20th anniversary and boy was it packed! We also brought along our friend Emily and her dog Pippa which was nice seeing as we haven’t seen her since March. We would have checked out more things but there were just too many people and some of the lines looked just way too long for us. That said, we able to score some fluff treats which were delicious including some Fluff croissant from Union Sq. Donuts and some cookies and fluff cannoli from some other vendors. Speaking of vendors, one of the ones there was the niece of one of LD’s best friends in life. I would have loved to try the product, but once again, the line was just too long. Man, they must have worked like crazy! After trudging through the festival we drove over to Revere Beach for a much more quiet hang and some sandwiches. The beach was a completely different vibe, very quiet and hardly anybody there which provided a nice balance to the day. It was also more Pippa and LD’s speed, LOL! We finally got back around dark and needed to decompress. In in all, we’re all glad we went though. It was a fun afternoon!
Currently Reading: Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story. Another one that popped up on my Libby app. I remember seeing a Dateline about this story, but this book goes much more in-depth into the victim and her life, really tragic and sad.
Checking out Yards and Fleas
Yesterday I finally took a ride down and got a chance to check out the Somerville Flea in Davis Sq. I hadn’t been to the square in ages and I’d never checked out the flea even though it’s been running for a few years now. It piqued my interest. I didn’t really think I’d find anything that I really wanted, and that was true, but it was interesting to check out the vendors and the crows. There were a lot of young college aged people buying things.
Then I took a ride over to Union Square to check out the Rock N Roll Yard sale. Nothing really grabbed me there either. I was maybe hoping to score some cool band tees or maybe some 45s for the juke but no such luck in finding anything good. I’m still glad I went though to check out those two events. Looks like the city was also gearing up for next weekend’s Fluff Fest. This will be it’s 20th year running. Should I check it out? I went for the first 2 or 3 years and that was it. Might be worth a revisit.
I found some pix I took why back in 2006 of the Fluffernutter gals!
Then back to Earth-2 to catch the Valkyries game. They were underdogs going into this one I had a feeling I knew what the outcome would be, Minnesota is just too strong. It’s not over yet (It’s a best of 3 in the 1st round) but you have to be realistic.
After that we went to the eyeglass store to finally pick out some new frames for LD. That did take a while! Chilled the rest of the night, little Emmy watching, little zoning out.
Will be trying to get another encounter with some new younger capybaras, probably sometime next month if we can swing it! Stay tuned!
Currently Reading: Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
Currently Watching: AKA Charlie Sheen on Netflix. It’s good!
Got the Heart Pumping in More Ways Than One
The other day I noticed my key fob car lock buttons were starting to work not so good so I went ahead and ordered some new batteries yesterday and replaced them this afternoon. Now they work swell, I can be a good distance away and it registers whereas before I had to get real close for it to activate. That’s how I knew it was starting to give out. I remember replacing these maybe 3 or 4 years ago. It’s pretty easy.
I had to do my walk around the block this afternoon because my activity goals were low by being in CPR/Mental Health training all day. Geez, what a long day. Plus it didn’t help that it was freakin’ freezing in there. They can’t seem to control the HVAC well. That seems to be the case in every office I’ve ever worked in – have you noticed that? Like, what is the problem – it’s 2025 for G’s sake. We have the technology, don’t we? I’m almost to 8 straight weeks of hitting the goal daily, only a few more days to go to achieve another badge. Maybe after I get this one I won’t care anymore. Thing is once you miss it you have to start all over from 0 again. That would kind of suck after hitting 56 straight days but we’ll see. Sometimes it’s a struggle to go out and do it so it kind of forces me to get the goal, which I think is a good thing.
Gametime: Sokobos II. Neat concept!
Sort of a Quiet Little Saturday You Could Say
Well, I got our Powerballs in for the night. We’ll see what happens, you never know. I’d be satisfied with one of the smaller prizes actually. Still playing around with AI imagery as you can tell. Watched the Conn. Sun game this afternoon against Phoenix and it was a real good one. The Suns won’t be in the playoffs this year but the rookies they have are pretty amazing. They need some time to mature. I think if they can keep them together the team could be a contender in a few. Really excited to see how the Valkyries do as well. Yeah, I’m into the W now.
Currently Reading: Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women’s Health by J.C. Hallman. Say Anarcha excavates history, deconstructing the biographical smoke screen of a surgeon who has falsely been enshrined as a medical pioneer and bringing forth a heroic Black woman to her rightful place at the center of the creation story of modern women’s health care. You can learn a little bit more here if your interested.
A Preview of Some Good Stuff Upcoming
Got some good stuff to look forward to in the coming months. A preview of some: another movie hang on a rooftop with friends, another goat snuggling session, hanging out at a fair and hanging out with the stars from the 80s movie Stand By Me to just name a few. Looking good!
Currently Watched: Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence. What a bunch of nuts!
Fox and Flowers
You never know what you’re going to see in the back yard here. This morning we witnessed a little red fox in the yard. He quickly scurried out an opening in the fence though but it was still pretty cool to see. I finally got the remainder of the plants in the ground for the fall including a witch hazel that we had sitting around in a pot for a few months. Hopefully with a little TLC it will take and provide a nice addition.
Speaking of plants I think next year I’m going to focus almost exclusively on little flowers. Chamomile (we grew some this year), Alyssum, Lobelia (got some of those this year too), things of that nature. We’ll see!
We Just Made the Lobster Roll Cut for the Season
Last Friday was a pretty day. Between doctor appointments, getting cookies at Tatte in Wellesley, getting a sticker to use the town dump, going into best Buy and getting a new tv and setting it up. (We went larger this time and one that utilizes a better display technology), and then prepping some food for the next day which was…
Saturday we had a couple of friends over for a BBQ. It was such a nice fun time! We need to hang out more often. Anyways, I grilled up some salmon and roasted veggies, nothing too crazy. Then I went and bought a subscription for the Ring doorbell.
Sunday. Had to go to Marshfield to get the lobster roll we love so much and they close after Labor Day for the season. When we got there, though, it was a little iffy to see if we’d even be able to get one because they were running out. It was getting really close! The cut-off line was fast approaching! It would suck to go all that way and miss out.
We just made the cut! Two people after us was the cutoff line! LITERALLY just made it!
. Then back to Wellesley to put together a bookshelf which took me about an hour or so.
Currently watching: Vatican Girl. A selection by our BBQ friends this weekend! Thanks L&D!
Small Late August Update
I definitely want to take a ride sometime down to Providence again to check out the new trolls. More specifically the one by the river holding a canoe over it’s head. Then maybe a trip to Charlestown to get a pic next to some statues of a hippo and a rabbit woman playing chess. I’m kind of weird that way.
I did enjoy going to out friends pool yesterday afternoon, and playing with their dog Mollie, I needed a bit of late summer relaxation after finding out my sister was in the hospital and I visited her in the morning before. Apparently it was some kind of anaphylactic shock by the appearance of things. More tests to determine, but she’s good and out of there now so that’s a relief.
Of course after all the hanging around my exercise goals for the day was low so I had to go around the block around here a few times last night to get my steps, activity minutes, and calorie burn set to meet my goal which I did in the darkness of the street lights. I never used to care about those things but I’m on a roll having met my goal everyday for close to 6 weeks now and I don’t want to stop.
The tv finally crapped out last night. I’ll need to buy a new one. It did appear to going on the fritz lately, So that’s on my docket to get over the next few.
More later today…
Currently Reading: The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise
Strange Locations
We found this really great place for lunch yesterday but actually finding the place turned out to be a little difficult, mostly because it’s actually inside s parking garage! It was so weird to be in the garage, going through a door, and being instantly transported into a cute little café. This has got to be the strangest location for a café I’ve ever seen in my life! But as I said, the food was actually quite good!
The Week So Far Uneventful
Let’s see, Monday night I “snuck” into the gym to use the hot tub. Tuesday was just a regular type of day I guess, Wednesday was pretty uneventful as well. although I did watch Chronicle to see if there were any good restaurants to try out that had great views, and Bubble Bath looks like it could fit the bill but it also looks like a hassle to reserve the rooftop spots which is where I’d want to be. (Also, somewhat of a strange name if you ask me).
Currently Reading: Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations. This book is actually pretty cool in that each chapter is set in a different place and time in human history (or prehistory). The author intercuts his modern-day exploits with vignettes about an inhabitant of that time period doing activities that he discusses in the contemporary parts of the chapter, from 75,000 years ago in Africa to Rome in the 100 ADs, to China in 1200 and a bunch in between. I feel it makes it so much more interesting as if you were there doing what the people of that time did and felt.
Game time: Frog Puzzle. This starts off pretty easy but give it time!
Umbrellas in the Skies of Newport RI
I wanted to take a jaunt over to Newport Rhode Island yesterday to check out this marketplace that has umbrellas all set up hanging above one of the walkways throughout the complex. Got some amazing deals of some hoodies and shirts while we were there, so bonus. I also learned that two of the elephants from last years migration along the Breakers are now permanently installed over at the library a few blocks down so I had to check them out as well.
On the way back we hit our favorite vegan ice cream place in Providence. They have a vegan deli next door and I tried the “fake” ham and cheese. LD found she couldn’t eat it – it was just too “wrong” but surprising I was able to chow it down just fine, which is rather unlike me. I guess there really is no replacing the real thing!
Pretty in Pink with Beautiful Skies to Match on a Rooftop Garden Summer Night
Amazing sunset last night too.
We decided to go see Pretty in Pink playing as an outdoor movie at this neat little rooftop park in Cambridge down by Kendall Square. It was hot all day and there was a chance of rain but all our apps said it should be okay. We got in the parking garage and not a drop around. Coming out of the elevator of the garage to access the roof we were bombarded with a pretty heavy rainfall. Oh no! I said we should wait it out a bit. It started thundering. Still waited a bit. Finally we decided to cross the rainy park to this area on the other side that looked to be covered and had one of those pop up food thingies. After getting a burger and some mac and cheese with pulled pork (both were really good by the way!) the rain stopped and we were able to watch the rest of the movie!
Just as we were going to head back home, LD noticed that the skies looked pretty wild and there might be an opportunity for some interesting sunsety shots, and once again she was right! The sky had this amazing pinkish color to it and just the way that it reflected off the water of the river made it look like you were in some magical place, which I suppose we were.
This park is really cute plus it’s neat that it’s up on a roof. We might go back to see the Goonies playing there in September. Anyone is free to join us!
As usual, you can click any picture for the captions.
Gametime: Cloud Walk. I like to keep my brain sharp! I need to, I forget stuff all the time and can’t remember half the shit I need to!
Biking the GLX Once More
Went biking along the path again this afternoon. It was hot, but it felt good to get the endorphins pumping. The pics in the middle are about 1/20th of all the cat candidates running for mayor of the bike path in Somerville. (Don’t ask me!)
Lowkey BD
I’m having a nice birthday weekend so far. Yesterday we went to our friend’s pool and hung out which was just what I needed. Between the water, drying off in the sun, enjoying a nice BBQ they made for us, and just chatting away the hours, I was pretty spent by the time we finally got home in the evening. Playing with their dog was great too. I’ve given up soda pretty much, been almost two weeks now, all I drink is water (and some coffee in the morning). I’ve been conscious about hitting my steps goal daily.
Today I’m just going to hang out in my gravity chair on the back deck in the sun, work on some puzzles, and just relax. I do have some stuff queued up for this week that I can’t wait to experience!