“Sometimes the clouds in the sky are mistaken. They didn’t come to block the sunlight. They came to embrace it.”
I thought the clouds were pretty wild looking in this shot. What are your thoughts? This was taken with an older camera when I was initially getting into photography, thus the quality isn’t as high as some of my more recent images. Still, I believe it’s a fantastic shot, and as I previously stated, I’m a big fan of the clouds.
L’artiste
I’ve been working on some special posts coming up so stay tuned for that – all the feels! I saw that NECN shared the photo of the boat “coming in hot” that I took from the Cape so I would expect to see that on the television screen soon. Which reminds me if you’d like to have some of my work (shameless plug) adorn your own surroundings you can always just check out my store for what I consider to have been some of my best photographs which are available on a number of items ranging from small magnets and stickers to large metal prints. Scroll through and see if anything catches your eye – I tend to update it with new images every now and again as I receive some interest. I would appreciate any support – help keep me going!
Gosh darn this was one long month – I thought April would never get here! It had some great moments but also some not so great. Perhaps every month is like that but this month seemed to have some pretty big swings for me. I feel like I’m getting back into equilibrium though and that’s a good thing.
Tomorrow I have a handful of appointments I need to attend to. One is bringing our boy to the vet in the morning, which is generally an adventure in and of itself, and the other is getting fitted for some tactical equipment I need for my job. Onward and upward – that should be fun!
Woke up to a flat tire. Well, it wasn’t totally flat but I could see as the car sat there that it was getting flatter and flatter. After my shift, I took it to the shop. It was suggested that all four tires be replaced because they were all worn out. I was aware that it was a bit of a sales pitch, but I consented. It was time for a new set of tires. However, it was a bit pricey. Another bill to add to the pile. On the plus side, she rides like a dream.
It made me think that we are all like tires a little bit through our experiences. Some of us are new while others are threadbare. I guess I’m somewhere in the middle, and every now and again I need a burst of air to pump me up. Life can be so deflating at times, but in my case it’s a slow leak. I need to force myself to get to the air pump.
The sun rises over the cliffs off the coast of Nauset Beach, Orleans, Ma.
The story behind the photo: This was taken in June, I believe, while we were staying at the Nauset Lighthouse cottage. It’s actually across the dirt road, and the fence here is to keep you from going too far over the cliff’s edge, which you can’t see in this photo. I believe I got up at 5 a.m. and walked out to this spot in the hopes of capturing these sunrise images.
The burned hand teaches best. After that, advice about fire goes to the heart.
J. R. R. Tolkien
In other news, I burned my hand last night, in addition to everything else. I removed an oven-safe pan from the oven while I was cooking dinner and set it on the cooktop to do something else, but when I returned to it, I had forgotten it had been in the oven and grabbed the handle, scorching myself. For a while, it hurt like a motherfucker. I would apply ice to it and the pain would go away, but as soon as I removed the ice for a second or two, the pain would return. On my skin, it felt like a continual scrape. I eventually went to bed with my hand on the ice pack and was relieved to see that everything had improved by morning. I knew it couldn’t have been that bad because my skin wasn’t bubbling or blistered. Just red. That was a close call. It made me feel incredibly stupid and angry with myself.
As for other walking hospital news, I finally got a knee brace for my right knee. I’ve been wearing it for most of today to try it out and it seems to be helping I think. Time will tell if I stick with it or not.
“My melancholy is the most faithful mistress I have known; what wonder, then, that I love her in return.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
Feeling a little out of sorts today. I don’t know if the unseasonably cold weather today, the fact that I probably have a case of the Mondays, or whatever else. Hopefully I’ll feel better and more like my chipper self tomorrow but for now I just want to shut down for the day. I’m allowed to have that, aren’t I?
We traveled to Boston to see a performance put on by some students, and it was fantastic! So creative! The theatre was small, but not too small, which was a bonus because it meant the stage would be intimate to the audience, which it was. Because you had to be masked and show your vax card to go in, it felt completely safe. Anyway, the show was excellent, and it was motivating to see these young people, from the writer to the actors and crew members, enhance their skills. It’s just wonderful. We then went out and bought a couple of pizza slices to take home with us for the ride back.
The house’s notoriety is in part due to a popular local urban legend about its creation. The story suggests the house’s location was a result of a divorce in which the wife demanded an exact replica of their Newburyport house, but failed to specify the location, resulting in the spiteful husband building it on the edge of town, in the Great Marsh with saltwater plumbing. For this reason, the building is often listed as an example of a spite house.
I signed up for Tut: The Immersive Experience, which will be held at SOWA in Boston this summer. It’s similar to the Van Gogh event that happened earlier this year, but this time it’s about the Boy King. That’s right up my alley, especially since Covid canceled my visit to see the real treasures last spring. I did get to see many of them in New York a few years ago thankfully. I found out about this through a couple friend of ours who are probably going to go as well.
LD’s out on an overnight with her girlfriends so it’s just me and the cat tonight. Boys night in. We’ll be getting drunk on pizza, soda and catnip!
I’ve been using the above image to experiment with different Instagram publishing timings, but I can’t seem to get it perfect. Even though the dashboard suggests 3 p.m. is a good time, it appears that morning is the greatest time for me. They also keep altering the algorithm, which is quite annoying. I’ve gotten to the point where I just post whatever I want whenever I feel like it. It takes too much time and effort to find out how everything works. I simply want people to see what I upload and perhaps spread the word about my photographs.
Anyways the reason behind the repost is that the city wants to replace gas lights with LED lights in areas like as Beacon Hill and Charlestown, claiming that the new lights are more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Some residents who live near these historical streets argue that this will not happen.
What do you think. Personally I feel the gas lights give real character. I understand the reasoning behind the thought but I don’t think the LED light would give the same glow. Sure seems different in the light fixtures around the house. (I know they have various temperature color options these days). I’d be interested in knowing what are your thoughts?
Currently Listening to: Santana covering Van Halen’s “Dance the Night Away”. This is freaking awesome! This song was on the album Van Halen II which was released 43 years ago today hence why I’m including this.
We spent the first half of the day at Revere Beach, the second half in Boston wrapping up some business, and the third half of the day trying to recover from said business, which has left all of our bodies in pain. But at the very least, the job is done. Maybe I’ll go into more detail about this later.
The last of the numerous lettuce species from the hydroponic garden was finally pulled out. We gave the remainder to our friend whom we met at Revere yesterday to feed to her guinea pigs. I think they’ll enjoy them. Anyways next into the hydroponics we’re going to try a bunch of flower species and see how that goes. It is spring time after all.
We opted to get a variety of stuff done outside yesterday because it was such a wonderful spring-like day, like cleaning out some dead vegetation and seeing plants like tulips and daffodils start to spring up. Toward evening we even constructed a fire pit. I burnt some wood, as well as some old paperwork, which was really a cleansing experience. Picked up a few things and the supermarket. Ordered a pizza for take out last night. Trying to rest my knee at times.
Now for today’s exciting events. I was searching through my photo archives and came upon this lighthouse photo that I had forgotten about from Mystic Seaport. So I figured I’d share it with you today. I like the tones in this one, but I think it could have been a little better.
Our stickers from Random Acts of Kindness Foundation finally arrived. If you remember, you had to color in an image in order to get them. It’s now simply an issue of deciding where they’ll go! Whatever the case may be, it’s still a good sentiment.
Good day for a cat nap
I waited for the sump pump people to come over and finish up some work this afternoon. Had they arrived by 2 pm? The answer is No, despite the fact that I wasn’t certain they were meant to show up today in the first place. They need to come back at some point though, some of their stuff is still here. In the meantime Carson and I had decided to kind of lay low for a while and rest, especially me to take some pressure off my knee. I think Charles Shultz said it best: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon.”
For lunch I decided to air fry some hot dogs. I haven’t done that in quite a while. It’s so easy too, just pop them in for a few minutes and it’s done – no muss, no fuss. We also prepared some pasta bake that we’re going to delivering to a dear friend tomorrow who hasn’t been feeling too well as of late – sort of like a care package you might say. The house was filled with the aromas of cooking!
Everyone have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. To make our own corned beef and cabbage, we got takeout from a nearby restaurant.
I appeared to have strained some of the ligaments in my right knee; perhaps it’s patilla tendinitis. I’ll just have to be a little more patient with that for a while. Things take longer to mend these days than they did in the past.
It was a good thing I spent the morning after my shift down at Earth-1 running the normal errands. I got a notice from my dental insurance in the mail, and it said it didn’t cover anything. And the reason was that they were billing my old insurance, despite the fact that I had given the new receptionist all of my new information when I went down there in January. Since I was in the area, I decided to swing by and have this corrected in person. When I showed her the information again, she claimed they will redo it and fix the issues. Then she had the audacity to tell me that the next time I should let them know that my insurance had been changed. I told her I did tell them, in fact, it was her that I gave my new card to and she typed stuff in at the time, or so I thought. Don’t make it look like I messed up when it was you who screwed up, I thought to myself. She said maybe it was a miscommunication (ok?) and I left it at that. Just as long as it’s all correct and that I’m being covered properly.
My auto manufacturer also sent me a notification in the mail regarding a problem with my particular model of vehicle. Basically, the wrong size battery could be installed when being replaced, so simply apply the sticker they supplied me to the battery holder to ensure that anyone changing the battery does not use one that is too small to fit the housing properly. That’s not a huge deal.
I also received a slew of emails advising me that I should enroll in some cyber-security training. I’m not sure if it’s truly required for my job, but I assume it is. Also not a big deal, but I’d say 99 percent of the mail I get in that inbox is spam or phishing, or a message telling me not to address the message because it’s spam or phishing attempts. Other employees, I suppose, just click on those things all the time, despite the fact that even a cursory glance at the message indicates that it isn’t legitimate. I’ll take it anyway, supposed to only make half and hour.
As for shows I’ve been watching lately, it’s been all the usual. L&O’s (I’m willing the give the new one a little time to establish although it hasn’t wowed me), Forensic Files 2, Secrets of Playboy, 20/20, 48 Hours, Dateline (hmmm, do you see a pattern?) On the subject of Dateline, I’ve been watching The Thing About Pam, although I’m not sure why they chose to make it so campy. I believe it would have been much better if it had been done more seriously, like the Dateline episode on which it is based.
Boy oh boy, is it just me, or did the morning appear to be coming at a faster pace today since the time change? Well, no matter, I’m all for extending the daylight hours.
I went ahead and sorted the wood from the demolished old shelves from the basement which was done to make room for the sump pump. The objective is to burn the wood in the fire pit. I’m planning on doing a burn later this week, mainly to get rid of the wood, but also because it’s been a while since we’ve had a fire and I’ve been itching to have one.
I had some time earlier today to relax in the sun and clear off some old dead vegetation. It’s encouraging to see new greenery sprouting from the earth!
We stopped by Revere Beach on the way back from dropping off supplies for a friend who lives in Chelsea. Revere Beach’s claim to fame is that it was the first public beach in America. And, of course, I had to get some Kelly’s Roast Beef while I was there. After finishing our meal, we went into Boston proper to try to get some things done, but that mission had to be postponed for the time being due to some difficulties we encountered, but we will return.
I spent Friday afternoon preparing all of my tax forms and filed them. While that was going on, the guys arrived to install the basement sump pump. I even persuaded them to remove the water filtration device that had been delivered incorrectly here before Christmas, and UPS covered the expense and gave the owner a replacement. The guys will probably find a buyer, but it was simply sitting in the driveway, and we wanted it gone. There’s no harm, no foul. Now I just need to get rid of a damaged dehumidifier and an outdated exercise bike. Hmmm…
Today looks to be a wet, dreary day, so I’m thinking it’ll be a good day to just rest, catch up on a bunch of shows, maybe do some reading, and try to recover from this past week, which was actually rather hectic.
Haven’t had much time to update over the last few, getting errands as such done between work shifts. I had a dentist appt. today over at Earth-1 to get a filling replaced that fell out a little while ago. I got stuck in traffic on 95 which made me about 1o minutes late due to an accident with a truck on the highway but they took me anyway when I arrived and the procedure itself only took about 20 minutes. I did learn that they are moving to Wellington Circle in about 8 months from where they are now and have been for years in Winter Hill.
All that snow that fell yesterday afternoon and made warming up and dusting the car off this morning a pain was all gone by the afternoon. I think that’s the last of the snow we’ll be seeing – fingers crossed. What a difference a day makes in New England! One day snow, the next 50 degrees. Just as well, I’m starting to get spring fever.
“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.”
– Gustav Mahler
I saw on the news a couple of days ago that you could send away from more covid tests from the government so I went ahead and ordered a couple more. I guess the demand for them is not as high as last time as this time they arrived in 2 days, and they’re the Binax ones, whereas last time took over a month and a half and was some other brand. Hopefully I’ll never have to use any but I figured why not just have some around since it’s on Uncle Sam.
You can see why this is the most photographed street in America! I love taking shots of Acorn Street. I never get out there enough.
The spring in Boston is like being in love: bad days slip in among the good ones, and the whole world is at a standstill, then the sun shines, the tears dry up, and we forget that yesterday was stormy.
Cob” is an Old English word for a rounded mass or lump, something that was easy to find in Boston’s rocky soil. Builders used these troublesome stones to erect walls, provide balance to ships, and of course, to pave the roads. These “cobbled-together” streets became known as cobblestone roads.
While cobs were free and easy to use, the uneven ground led to many a broken wheel and twisted ankle. Most of Old Boston’s cobblestone roads have since been replaced, but a few still exist in Beacon Hill, including Acorn Street!
Spent the morning cleaning out the basement in order to get ready for the sump pump installation. Getting all the ducks lined up in a row. I figured cleaning out the area might be a big deal after accumulating years of stuff, but to be honest it really wasn’t as much stuff as I thought. It ties together nicely actually with spring cleaning time, and you as psyched as I am that we get to move the clocks up next weekend – yay to gaining daylight hours! Speaking of spring, while I was putting some of the stuff out back I noticed in the garden the first hints of plant leaves starting to come out from the ground. Ahhh! I liked seeing that.
Finally went and saw a live show last night in town, something we haven’t done since 2019! It was for a show that we originally had tickets for back in 2019 but got pushed back a couple of times due to the pandemic. Originally we believe it was supposed to be some sort of musical using the music from the Bat Out of Hell album, but I think since Meat’s passing it got changed into a tribute concert.
The man behind the microphone singing Meat Loaf’s signature classics was Caleb Johnson, an American Idol winner from season 13. There was even a couple of times when he would leave the stage and mingle into the audience while singing, including going way up into the back of the balcony. The band was super tight and sounded great, especially the two female singers. I cannot deny that it was amazing to see a live show again after so much time had passed. We were a little apprehensive but we played it safe. There’s just something about live performances that you just cannot capture any other way. It was a smallish local theatre and I’d say most of the crowd was middle aged or older. Let me tell you, some of these older women in the audience go nuts when they let loose. (Uhmm, you do know that’s not actually Meat Loaf, right? Although to be fair, the guy does have his own career.) It was a fun time!
When I was little and going to school, I was what you would call tiny. I was shorter than all the other kids and that sometimes made me the scapegoat of their jokes and teasing. I can remember in kindergarten, there was this kid, Basil was his name, and he would always push me up against the fence and cause me grief. At first I complained to my mom and not my teachers, because that’s not what you do (at least back in those times you didn’t), plus I was super shy and unassertive in myself. Eventually, though I’m not sure how, I figured out that maybe cracking a joke, or being self-deprecating, seemed to lessen the blows. It’s then I figured out, at that early age, that humor could be a useful tool to me.
Around that time the town had decided to close to school that I was going to and so I had to go to another school, a little further away but not really and that’s where I met Keith. Keith was another bully. I didn’t know why then that they focused on me. Now I now it’s probably because they felt powerless in their own homes and such but back when I was in first grade I had no concept of that. I just knew that they were really being a pain. Keith was more malicious than Basil and my humor didn’t really seem to work on him all that much. I lucked out in this case due to another kid in class, who I remember was into the Boy Scouts, his name was Chris, and he stood up for me – when no one else in class did. In fact, he took it upon himself to sort of be my bodyguard. I’m not sure why he did this, but was glad he did. I learned later that he had an older brother who was special needs so maybe that played into it. I sometimes wonder what happened to Chris. He was always looking out for me, even up through high school. I tried looking for him a while back but came up empty. I had heard he had fallen on some hard times though so I hope he came through alright. I would easily return the favor if I could.
Back then, you had to look out for yourself…
Speaking of high school, it was more of the same, although by this time I pretty much had my routine down, and there were other nerdier kids than me that were easier targets. Again, there was this one kid on the first day of probably being a freshmen that would give me a hard time. Actually made me move to a different table than the one I had originally chosen, but I ended up hanging out with kids that were more in my clique eventually and it was all good. I don’t remember that particular kids name but I do recall he had been held back more than once. Sort of like he’d been in High School for seven years already (I’m exaggerating, but it probably was something like that). Looking back now, I feel pity for the kid – probably had a rough time of it all. But like I said, back then, you had to look out for yourself. Some of the kids in my clique had come to call me “Cookies” because they thought I was so small that when I went to the counter to get a cookie, the lady would have to reach across the front of the counter and look down to see what was going on down there (me). Of course, this was a gross exaggeration – I could reach the counter just fine, but I learned to roll with it and just laugh it off. I’m not sure if I found it hurtful at the time. It was more of a playful teasing than a biting remark, but those things do stick with you. Thankfully I think I’ve learned to look past those events, although who knows, maybe deep down there’s still some insecurities. We all have them, right?
I hear it’s not like that there nowadays. I even learned when I visited the old stomping grounds a while back as they were knocking down the old place to build a new state-of-the-art school, that they have a mediation room, where if two kids have a problem with each other, they go to this room, with an arbiter or some such, and work out the problem! Come a long way since fist fighting after school in the parking lot. I mean, I can even remember a teacher being beat up outside after class in the parking lot. Those were the days. Luckily I never got into any of those altercations. I suppose nowadays its all about cyber-bullying which I thankfully never had to experience. I had learned to keep my nose clean and use humor to get me out of scrapes. Now I’m not saying I was a laugh a minute comedian, or class clown, but I had used self-deprecating humor enough to know how to navigate through life at that time. I’m proud of myself that that little 5 year old kid that I was had learned and used that lesson to help himself, and on his own.
It’s hard to imagine my life without you because you brought so much change to it. You’ve transformed my life, and every day with you makes it glow. Happy birthday to you, my sweetheart. Today isn’t just your special day; it’s also mine. It’s a day a unique person with a fabulous personality was born. Your presence in my life has filled it with so much joy and brightness. You’ve made my world better, and I can’t appreciate you well enough. You’re the perfect woman anyone could ever ask for in life. Happy birthday to you, my darling, my everything! I hope this day, this year, this life we’re building gives you the fulfillment and happiness you desire and deserve. I love you!
Nothing spectacular to write about tonight. I took a jaunt over to Earth-1 for a bit today in between shifts as I went to City Hall to pay my excise tax. I could have mailed it but why not just save a stamp and do it directly. I will say the potholes over there are a bit ridiculous. Not really sure what’s going on with that city lately but seems like here and there things aren’t being addressed as quickly or responsively as they used to. I’ll have to go back to the city next week for a dentist appointment – a while ago one of my fillings came out a bit so I’ll get that repaired.
Ended up getting a bunch of things done today, most in anticipation of LD’s birthday. Checked out a bakery that specializes in dairy free and vegan pastries which is kinda cool and is only down the street to boot. I also bought some flowers and have been putting together a little something for her upcoming birthday. It was rather nice out today weather-wise, felt good to be in the sun while out in the field and out and about all day. I was able to get a lot of it done but there’s always more I could do! And hopefully will over time – it’s going to be a year long celebration.
For dinner tonight I’m going to try my hand at crafting an Asian type dish using furikake, a Japanese seasoning. Expanding our taste bud horizons you might say. For the longest time growing up you wouldn’t even see me eat a vegetable, just a juvenile junk food junkie. One can only get so much nutrition from pizza and mac and cheese and Campbell soup and chips. I still love and eat all those things but they’re not the only things anymore. Over time I guess I grew up and wanted to try new tastes on my palette and that’s been a good thing. I’m still never eating pea soup though.
