Good Afternoon for Yard Work
After my shift today I decided to tackle some yard work and getting ready for the next season. I started off by mowing the lawns, mulching a bagging all the leaves. I left some for ecological reasons in certain spots as well. Then it was off to disconnecting the grill and putting it away for the winter and getting the heater set up in case we want to use that later on. Brought the patio umbrella into storage and then went ahead and picked up a bunch of leaves that were just lying around the front porch and driveway. It was sort of a lot of work but it was nice out and I feel pretty accomplished by doing it. Now I just need to get those leaves bags out on the curb by trash day and we’ll be all set. That’s what fall clean up fun is all about! Of course now my back hurts and I’m tired but that’s the way it goes. Afterwards I took a shower, did some laundry, and cooked dinner for us tonight.
Little Home Remedies
The other day I saw something on a home improvement show that I thought would be good to have so I bought it. Simply put, it’s a GCFI Outlet tester. These things are great because they tell you if your outlet was wired correctly, for example, everything is connected the right way, no reverse polarity, grounded properly, things like that. Plus it was only ten bucks. We’ve had things reversed in this house before so it’s good to check to see that it’s correct. Things will still work if it’s reversed but the problem is you’ll think appliances and such are off when they really aren’t because the current wouldn’t be off at the outlet so there’s a possibility of electrocution which would not be good.
Yesterday we made some of the famous Lemon Orzo chicken soup, mostly for LD’s old landlady who Unfortunely had to go the the hospital over the last week. She’s now in a rehab facility so we visited her yesterday evening and seemed very pleased with the soup. For some reason or another, she really likes the way we make this soup.
As for me, well, I’m hanging in there. Both my knees have been hurting, who knows why, just old age I guess. Plus there’s a lot going on here right now but trying to stay strong and to stay on the path!
Halloween week 2024
What a week! Started off by me wanting to get some autumn shots over at Mount Auburn cemetery, (one of my better shots now available) so much so that I went on two days, both Sunday and Monday. Tuesday was spent doing my usual Tuesday things where I also tried out a new burger establishment in town and it’s pretty good, especially the chicken sandwiches. Wednesday was meeting up with LD at the office after my dentist appointment checkup, who had been away on a solo trip for a few days. Yesterday was Halloween so we had to give out the candy – I even got a couple of shout outs from some kids about my shirt. Later in the evening though I sort of had a stomach ache, I think I just ate too much candy. It seemed to me we didn’t have as many kids this year but there was enough. Let’s see, my favorite costumed kiddies this year would have to be the Rubik’s Cube and a skeleton that actually had lights all over themselves and lit up. Of course, the best ones of all all the really little kids who are just so cute.
My Favorite Color is October
Ok, one more from yesterday. I’ve got that all out of my system now. I can feel the muscles in my legs are not all that happy. I guess doing all the walking (over 14,000 steps daily up and down rolling hills) for the last three days, yes including today, is getting to me.
Statuary of Mt. Auburn: An Education
Alright, I couldn’t help myself. I decided to go back for the second part of this particular journey, this time focusing on the various statuary that I came across. Here’s a chosen few that I really liked. I’m especially fond of the ones that have the dogs in them. You can click on each one for a larger view. I’ve added my own commentary to a few of them. It’s been a educational experience for me to look up the many notable figures buried there and learn about their contributions to the world. Oh, and the grounds are absolutely gorgeous.
Visiting Mt. Auburn in Fall Part One
My mom invited me to brunch over at a place called the S&S in Cambridge this morning so I took her up on her offer. I hadn’t been to that place since probably before the pandemic with LD. I ended up getting a turkey club with I must say was delicious. That place has been there forever and it’s always pretty good.
After dropping her off I decided that Mt. Auburn might be a good p[lace to get some autumn shots so I drove on over there with no set goal in mind and to just see what I see. However after today I feel I’m going to need to go again because there is just so much and I only had limited time today. There’s a few more sites there I want to check out and pay my respects to. As LD always says, “Mr. History!”
I did find a couple of noteworthy people in my walking today however. Stopped by Edwin Booth‘s grave, considered by many to be the greatest actor of the 18th century but unfortunately overshadowed by his younger brother killing Abraham Lincoln and Dorothea Dix, an advocate on behalf of mental health. Her grave is very non ostentatious considering all the achievements she accomplished in life.
I Grew Up Hyper But It Was Anxiety
Overcoming anxiety, one breath at a time, to deal with my own mental health.
Things we need to remember, including myself:
You don’t have to have everything figured out today. Take things one moment at a time. You are allowed to protect your peace even if it means saying no to others. Your journey is uniquely yours and comparing it to others only takes the beautiful light away from your own Path. Whatever you’re going through, please remind yourself that hard times don’t last. Your mental health matters. Take steps to prioritise your self-care. You deserve love, kindness, and care – especially from yourself.
Spooky Season Approaching!
Got to swing by the the Ville for a little bit yesterday afternoon. After getting a photo op down by the old Assembly Row (kind of amazing how many new things are down there nowadays) I took a trip over through Malden to visit the grave of my grandparents. I hadn’t been there in quite a while. I also took my mom out for a quick bite to celebrate her birthday the other day.
Abandoned Amusements Now a Scenic Park
Checking out the remnants of the old Rocky Point Amusement Park, now long gone. Things of note are the arch, from a 1964 New York world’s fair, and the location of the very first presidential phone call from Rutherford B. Hayes to Alexander Graham Bell! Just had to get out of the house and enjoy some sun and fresh air. I had never heard of this place before. Guess I was living under a rock because the place was super famous, especially back in the day. If you’re interested here’s a good little video about it’s varied and long history.
Finding My Calm
Finally had a chance to get a massage tonight. Felt good as my back, neck and shoulders were really crunchy and actually giving me some pain. Although I wouldn’t say I’m at 100% yet, this really helped big, big, big time! Maybe another treatment or two and I’ll be good as new. I was able to also get a bunch of errands done today, which had been outstanding, so it was nice to be able to cross those off my to-do list.
Staring to really feel like autumn around here now. Enjoy this nice picture of a tree I took.
A Moment for Halloween Decorations
Had to take some time off – trying to get back to some normalcy for the moment now.
Currently reading: There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish. This is actually a pretty fascinating read, I’m digging it. Also after that going to try to dive into Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. In the last few days I also had a chance to read and finish A Girl Named Carrie: The Visionary Who Created Neiman Marcus and Set the Standard for Fashion, mostly while I was waiting around this week.
We’re Off to See the Wizard…
Printed out a little happiness
Just me with another one of my masterpieces. This is actually one of my favorite shots. I tried something different than usual this time by having it printed on acrylic. I must say that I am very pleased with the results! I also went a bit large on this one so you could easily see all the little details in the image.
Do We have a Collecting Obsession?
We’ve sort of decided that we might want to visit Maine in a moth or two and not do the usual Prelude thing that we’ve been doing for the last couple of years. Not that we don’t love it, but it’s just so busy around that event. Might be a little quieter earlier in the season.
Got a few more leads on some Dedham Pottery items. Once again, we’re always on the lookout for something different, and generally involving a bunny or two. The key is to get a somewhat unique bunny themed item that you don’t usually see and at a very good price. I saw someone selling these cute pins for cheap and it happened to be close by in Roslindale so this morning we went and picked them up. Plus I was jonesing for a Dunks so we stopped off at a drive thru to fuel my caffeine addiction. Later on in the afternoon LD saw a display plate she wanted in Ashland so I hopped on over out that way to get that. Not too much going on out that way.so it was a quiet ride up and back for about an hour or so. Always on the lookout! It was originally just because the colors of the objects matched the new kitchen colors so well plus it has the bunny theme but now it’s taken on a life of it own.
Last night we watched the Suns of the WNBA take game 1 of the semis against Minnesota. Very good close game. It would be amazing if they could pull off a championship. I think my fav player on the team (besides the daughter of LD’s trainer) would have to be Mabrey. Not only does she nail the long bombs and is super scrappy but she’s from NJ!
Doing the Cambridge Bike Tour Fall 2024 🚲
Damn my body aches…wtf? 
I Like Big Mums and I Cannot Lie…
Today to help LD out from going stir crazy we took a ride to the beach! The weather was pretty nice with only a cool breeze passing through now and again. One thing we noticed was a fishing boat just a few feet out from the beach. After looking it up I discovered it was the Nemesis and discovered this interesting website where you could track all these vessels,. On the way back we ended up at a stand and got some interesting looking gourds and another pumpkin and got a great deal on a pot of some of the biggest mums we’d ever seen! I’ll have to put a pic up of some of the gourds later.
Hawk Visitors and Rabbit Holes
Hawk decided to have a seat and hang out on the patio with me. These guy better leave our bunnies alone! 🐰 🐰 🐰 Got through a bunch more tasks today before the weekend. I woke up early again and got through some billing tasks, then I went to Target to pick up some things for LD. Got back and went out again to get gas, drop some food off at the food pantry, and then took another trip out to Lexington to get some more stuff for LD, including some more pumpkins. Unfortunely they no longer had this bumpy warty one that I should have got the last time I was there, but instead picked up a popcorn pumpkin and another one that was multicolored. Perhaps I’ll come across some more unique pumpkins elsewhere. Toward the end of the afternoon we roasted a 7-lb chicken in the oven.
In the early evening we just happened to be flipping around the dial and landed on the Chronicle show which was doing a piece on Devens, which brought back to my mind the time that I worked on projects related to the army base that was there. I did a bunch of the mapping for the gov’t reports that we’d do. Here was one such report, and if you scroll around to the figures you’ll see my initials “MSB” in the title blocks. God, that was so long ago. These graphics were all done by me in AutoCAD back in the day. It was probably version 12 or 13 at the time. I also think they were all originally in color. The basic idea was the army had to know where any contamination was and to remediate it before the land could be used for anything else. In watching the Chronicle episode last night you could see what became of some of it. Pretty amazing that I had a part in that, all those years ago. What’s also weird was just the other day I came across some old awards and such back at Earth-1 recalling myself back to that time as well. Nostalgia city!
Thursday Travails and Treasures
Yesterday ended up being a fairly busy day for me. I had an early day so I used to time to head on over to Earth-1 for a few things. First up was getting an oil change because my auto kept nagging me about it so it was good I was able to get that done. I also got a haircut while I was there. Finally, as one last task, LD saw a chair on marketplace that was for sale pretty cheap and looked really good in town so I went to go pick it up. They seemed like a nice young couple. They lived just outside of Union Square though by Lincoln Park which is in an area of town that I wasn’t all that familiar with. Anyways I got the chair no problem, but the traffic down there around rush hour time and in rain (although thankfully it didn’t rain when I had to do anything outdoors) leaves a lot to be desired. Having to cut through Cambridge along Mass Ave around that time wasn’t great either but I figured it would be the most direct route back. All in all, it all worked out. Go Connecticut Sun! So cool to know people around the team on a personal level!
The Cutest Halloween Mugs
Check out this cute mugs LD got for us. I’m the ghost btw. Also notice the pumpkin is holding a ghost pail and the ghost is holding a pumpkin pail, so they compliment each other! Just like us!
Gametime: Dungeons n’ Ducks. This game was pretty cool.
Sports Watching Sunday
Laying a bit low the least weekend as LD has been feeling a bit under the weather. Ended up watching the Connecticut Sun kick Caitlin Clark’s arse, which was great. I don’t really understand what the big deal is about her/ I mean, I know she was great in college but the pro’s are a whole different story. Hopefully the Suns can pull off another win on Wednesday and progress to the next round. In the evening, after making our delicious lemon orzo with healing properties soup we ended up watching the first two episodes of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. It does a good job highlighting lesser-known aspects of Hernandez’s life and tells his story in an approachable, watchable fashion. Definitely a bit more sympathetic to his side but there’s room for nuance. It’s better than I thought it was going to be.
Visiting the Fluers de Villes Artiste
I braved the rains this morning and actually took the subway into Boston’s Back Bay this afternoon to check out the flower dresses. I hadn’t taken the subway since probably 2018. I did get to ride on one of the new red line trains which was pretty nice. I did it to check out the amazing Fleurs de Villes exhibition. Each floral installation this year is based off a famous work of art in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston collection. Swipe to see the different ones! Which one is your favorite? Thanks to Em who lived nearby and came out to meet up with me for taking my selfie!
Sunday Full of Pool, Goats and Kittens
What a full weekend this was! I think we might need to lay pretty low next weekend. After heading to the office to drop off some things it was off to the north to visit old G-town again. LD had seen that they were doing something with kitten so we said why the heck not. Since our friends also live in town, they were kind enough to let us have some of their pool time, so we floated there and hung with them and Mollie for a couple of hours. Then it was off to the farm. First there was some baby goat hang with some live music out on the lawn area which was actually pretty fun. After about an hour or so of that it was into the barn we went to do some yoga (which no one really does because you really just want to hang with the animals, at least in our case) although I did do some. I’m not as flexible as I used to be I am learning. Ouch! Oh, and then the kittens came out, so cute. Must only be a couple weeks old I’d imagine. Did you know that LD had never in her life held a kitten before? She had cats, but never from being a kitten, so this was pretty special in that way in that she finally got to interact with the little creatures. At then end we watched their mother nurse them as they were probably getting hungry and sleepy. So precious to see. We took well over 200 pictures from both events but I’ll just provide a sampling here for now.
