Month: June 2023

Of Beautiful Bike Rides and Feline Shots

Posted on by Markman

Since I was going to Earth-1 today for a visit and to help my mom bring one of her cats to the vet for his yearly physical, I figured I’d take the bike again but and check out the GLX path but this time follow it to the end. It basically ends at Lechmere but connects to North Point so getting to the Museum of Science, or TD Garden, the North End, etc. is super easy and one straight shot. Seriously, this is pretty cool. Naturally I had to get a shot of myself by the Zakim Bridge. The park actually goes underneath the bridge so it’s pretty freaky to be under something that so many cars use. (I-93) Plus the Charles River is right there. I must say that everyone involved did a really nice job tying everything together.

Anyways while I was doing that, my mom had a dr. appt but I was done and waiting for her by the time she got back. She wanted to run a couple of errands so I took her around to do those. I got some gas for my car. A bunch of little odds and end things.

The contractors demolishing the old laundry building out back are almost done it looks like. They’ve been using a backhoe to scoop up all the debris and place them into giant dumpsters. It’s all open now, which seems kind of weird being able to see the houses across the way that were blocked by the building before. It won’t last though as new buildings will go up to take it’s place.

By around 2 o’clock it was time to take Hardy to the vet. His brother Laurel will probably be going in a couple of weeks but today was Hardy’s turn. Just the usual exam, he was due for his rabies shot and got his nails cut while there. He wasn’t a happy camper while he was there but he mostly behaved himself and got a clean bill of health.

Finally after all that and he was returned to his abode I decided to take one more short bike ride over to just outside Harvard Square because I wanted to take a picture of this church that has all these really neat looking wildflowers growing out in front. So I banged that out as well.

Heading back to Earth-2 LD was kind enough to order us up some Greek food takeout, which I picked up on the way back from the ‘Ville. I did end up grilling some chicken afterwards though because it needed to be done and we can eat it tomorrow. I’m planning on having my mom and sis over for a BBQ day here on Monday so I’m getting pretty excited about that. I hope the weather will be alright.

First Fire Lily of the Season

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I was really excited to see this fire lily open up after the rains last night. I love the fire lilies that we have and am always so glad when they decide to show their colors for us. They don’t last too long so we have to catch them when we can. This little guy seemed to bloom a bit early, but I’ll take it!

I want to try Starry soda and some Warheads Sour soda based off the candy, which sounds really disgusting and probably is, but I think I want to try it anyway, at least the Green Apple and Watermelon flavors.

This afternoon was spent checking out paint colors, determining what handles to have for the cabinets, and a bunch of other things that I won;t bore you with at the moment.

Century Old Lilies Bring the Fire!

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100 year old bulbs came to life

After work today I decided to do some long overdue work in the garden, especially during a lull when the breeze was blowing and the day felt cool to me, so I thought it would be a good time to get to it. I basically used six mulch bags to surround the bases of all these lilies. Something LD’s been wanting me to do for a while now. It was on my to do list and I finally got it done. These particular lilies were gifted to us from one of LD’s pool buddies who also is in charge of the town’s garden club. Anyways, these lilies are , like, a century old! Nice to see they still have that fire. I hope I still have that kind of fire if I can make it to a century old!

The electrician came by today. We needed to move a couple of the outlets around to accommodate the new countertops in the bar-top area, I was afraid we were going to lose them but he managed to figure out a way to get most of them newly situated.

Love from Boston

Posted on by Markman
Show me you live in New England without telling me you live in New England.

Here’s a picture I took during one of my various photo expeditions throughout the city of Boston. I like this one. It’s got Long Wharf, the Constitution floating out in the harbor, and a couple enjoying the sights.

I went and took a drive down this afternoon and picked up the specific backsplash tile that the kitchen will be having over in Rockland. The regular place where you would pick it up normally is currently within the midst of it’s own renovation so I had to go to the warehouse that they use to get the goods. Pretty straightforward. Moved up to the loading gate and got my grubby little hands on all the boxes and got them in the SUV and took them home. All in all, roundtrip that whole adventure only took about 45 minutes.

I then went ahead and mowed the front lawn. I need to go out and get some more gasoline for the mower so I can do the back still.

Location, Location, Location

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Latest Work: One of my latest Cape shots has been put up for purchase. I think the notebook would be really cool. The metal print large would look pretty sick too.

Spent the morning weeding out the prarie area a bit, ans then added mulch to the central lily area in the middle of the back yard. I want to do more but then it got a little too warm out for me, so I’m going to wait until later this afternoon once it cools down a bit to maybe try to finish some of the things that I started. I don’t want to overdo it.

I spent some time with LD down at the gym, watching her do her amazing swim routines. It was quite the beautiful day for being in the pool for sure.

Below is a shot from Nubble I discovered I took from last year. Figured I’d share it because it looks kinda cool.

Sunfire Nights

Posted on by Markman

Yeah! The sink is back up and running. Most of the morning was spent dealing with all that stuff. Even got a new disposal out of the deal. As usual there were a few snags here and there but everything was figured out. In the meantime, enjoy these two pics I’ve taken. I may end up doing something special with the bottom shot, if there’s sufficient interest in it.

Serenity Now!

Posted on by Markman

Well, I forgot to mention yesterday another thing going on over at Earth-1. Contractors are ripping down the old industrial laundry building behind my mom’s house. What a giant mess that is! They’re making space for, what else, some new condos. I saw the skeleton of the stairway exposed that led from the front door up to the old iron pressers on the 2nd floor. I remember going up and down those stairs many, many times when I was a wee lad bringing those ironed shirts down from there and across the street to the dry cleaning operation, which is now gone and also replaced by a condo. Interestingly as a side note, before it was a dry cleaner building, it used to be a Dairy Queen and I can remember being 4, 5, or 7 and my aunt coming over and giving me a dollar to go get an ice cream from there back in the day. Eventually the prices started the climb and I’d still get the dollar, but my aunt didn’t seem to realize that a buck didn’t buy as much as it used to. I appreciated the gesture though!

Some of the tiger lilies are staring to bloom in the garden, What an explosion of color! I need to do some more weeding around that area though. It’s on my to-do list! Also can hear another baby hawk squawking all day long again! You might remember from last year, all the adventures I had in dealing with those creatures!

Busy day at the mansion here today. The new countertops are installed and what a day it was seeing how the process goes. They look super awesome and they even got the muted veins to match the slabs where they cut Amazing. It’s really going to look sick once the backsplash tiles LD selected go in. Anyways, every day it’s something happening! The plumber is set to come tomorrow to get the new sink up and running and get the dishwasher all back online and integrated into the new cabinetry.

Biking the New GLX Community Path Extension

Posted on by Markman
Looking down the hill
Approaching under McGrath
Just outside Union Square
East Somerville Stop

One of the things I had a chance to do today over at Earth-1 was checking out the newly finished GLX bike path extension. I got to say they did a really nice job. The original path literally end right at my mom’s house. Then they extended it a couple of blocks, and it sat that way for years. Finally after a decade or so, the added this pathway that goes all the way down to Lechmere now. It basically runs through Somerville Junction Park, under McGrath Highway, and along the south side of the rail corridor to Cambridge Crossing, following the path of the Green Line tracks. I didn’t follow it all the way to the end but most of it. I must be a little out of shape because I was winded at points! One thing to be aware is that there are a few paths that are kind of hilly, mostly while approaching the new High School and by the Industrial Park. It really is a nice direct route and I can say getting from one end of town to the other by bike would literally take minutes.

Happy First Day of Summah!

Posted on by Markman
Happy Summah (Boston pronunciation of summer) Solstice

Today was a busy day, and this entire week has been quite busy. I went and brought back every countertop sample we had looked at to the various outlets that deal with that sort of thing. Surprisingly, the actual countertops will be installed on Friday. Now that’s service! It helps to know people and have connections, for sure! The new ceiling fan is installed, and the dishwasher is almost ready to use, thanks to the electrician who visited today. There was a slight blip when he had to cut some power and the internet went out but it was back up fairly quickly. Just unfortunate timing for some of us. The new cabinets look great with the crown molding covering their tops. Since the job began, I have been snapping a few photos every day so that we can track its development. What a fantastic transformation this is becoming!

I went ahead and replaced one the outdoor lights by the door since it hadn’t lit up in while. At first we thought it might be an electrical issue, but a new bulb appears to have solved the problem. I also planted some potatoes in a raised bed, an experiment for now.

Additionally, today marks the official beginning of summer, my favorite season of all! I mean, how else could I get such amazing images from the Cape, like this one I’ve added here, without the arrival of summer? Pluses: beach, no jackets, late sunsets. Minuses: bugs, sunburn, annoying next door neighbors kids’ pool parties.

Currently Watching: Crack Addicts. A show about people visiting this chiropractor and she cracks their backs and such. The sound though! urgg!

The Yearly Getting the Cat to the Vet Adventure

Posted on by Markman
The Little Stinker! But we love him!

Carson’s owners were having a hell of a time in getting him to the vet today. The mere suggestion of a vet visit would send Carson hiding under the bed and refusing to come out. Even the sound of the cat carrier would make him bolt for the nearest hiding spot. His owners tried all sorts of tricks, from bribing him with treats to luring him with toys, but nothing seemed to work. They even resorted to trapping him, but Carson proved to be too clever for them, always managing to evade capture. One of his favorite moves was to run under the bed in the bedroom to be in such as spot under it as to be the most difficult to reach from any angle. It was a frustrating ordeal for his owners, who knew that regular vet visits were important for their cat’s health and well-being. In the end, with a little bit of coaxing and fake outs, his owners were able to grab him by the scruff of the neck and place him into the carrier. The boy was upset and confused and gave out the most heart rendering wails which did upset his owners and even the contractor who just happened to be working in the kitchen this day. But when all was said and done, Carson got to his appointment and checked out with a clean bill of health and a shot that he was due. He even got a little mani-pedi while he was there, although he was pretty nervous about it all, which we knew when the tech mentioned that he was sweating through his paws. Carson is happy to be back in his home now and everything is back to normal except now his parents will need to swallow some of the gabapentin he was prescribed but wouldn’t take to calm them down!

A Happy Father’s Day

Posted on by Markman
In front of a New England classic

Today I was jonesin for a little bit of Kelly’s Roast Beef out in Revere Beach, so LD was kind enough to get us there today. I also wore my Carson sweatshirt which was a gift from last year but I wear it only on special occasions because it is so special. It’s actually a hoodie, with the face of Carson on the front and the text “Carson’s Dad” all hand stitched from a photo that LD sent to a woman in the Ukraine who made it. Truly a one of a kind! It took a long time to arrive but I’m amazed it came at all seeing as there is a war going on over there! I enjoyed my roast beef sandwich loaded with cheese and sauce, but I did switch hoodies when it came to eat on the beach because I would not want to get the Carson hoodie damaged in any way!

Revere Beach Lovin
Bringing a bit of Carson to the beach
Carson and his daddy
S’more time

The other night we had some friends over for an impromptu BBQ and fire pit night. We ended up just getting takeout from a great Greek food place in town and then did the S’mores thing. It was supposed to happen on Saturday but the weather looked to be crappy so it all got moved up to Friday night and it was wonderful. We did need all of Saturday to basically recuperate from it all though. Being social can take a lot out of a person!

LD got these cool little firefly lights for the garden that are solar powered. They’re cute, purely decorative but I’m mentioning them because they’re pretty neat and it’s fun to look out the window when it’s dark out and see them lit up.

Some Books I’ve Been Waiting to Read

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Thought some of you might be interested in what I’ve been wanting to read. Some of these have been on my list for a while, most notably because my library network doesn’t have them yet, but my birthday is in a couple of months if anyone wants to splurge a little bit! Here’s a partial list:

I think this is a good representative sample of stuff that interests me. Maybe you’ll be intrigued by some of my picks and pick some of these up as well.

Progress Big Time

Posted on by Markman
Too much noise!
Hosta Paradise
Back Yard Views

Things were flying by this afternoon. The cabinets should be all done and installed by tomorrow! The countertop has been picked out and the template will be created real soon now. The new fan and silverware have been ordered. The cleaning lady took all the stuff that I was going to have to find a way to get rid of so that saved me a huge chunk of work and it’ll go to a good cause with folks who will make good use out of the stuff we don’t need anymore, so its wins all around!

Currently Reading: A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome.

The Most Delicate Flower of All

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The other day LD mentioned that she was really delicate like a flower because she has sensitive skin and a band aid adhesive had aggravated it. I think she was little bummed about it, to which I said:

You know what they say about delicate flowers? The most delicate flowers are the prettiest.”

-Me

She liked that!

Today will be spent painting the ceiling. We spent yesterday going to places that specialize in countertops, getting samples, comparing what we liked, and so forth. Today will most likely involve a trip to the home improvement store to look at paint colors for the kitchen that will complement the cabinets, countertop, backsplash, and so on.

Currently Reading: Almost finished with the last book. Next one up is called Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe.

Happy Birthday Carson, the Best Cat Around!

Posted on by Markman

Morning:

I saw the two mourning dove babies still hanging around yesterday. They are getting so big already. They were walking along the sidewalk pecking at things in the grass while what I believe was a parent keeping watch nearby. It’s amazing that they seem pretty self sufficient now but that the parents still keep an eye our for them. Nice to see.

Kitchen remodel is coming along great. A LOT of progress yesterday. Today and possibly tomorrow Ceiling Guy will do his thing!

Afternoon:

Ceiling guy is done! Now just waiting for the dust to clear so to speak. And I forgot to mention that today is Carson’s Birthday!

LD also went out and looked at some quartz countertops, I think it’s been narrowed down to the one to get.

Catching Up Time!

Posted on by Markman

Currently Reading: Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature.

Been a little busy working my shifts and all so that’s why I haven’t had much time to post lately but I still wanted to get up some shots that I had taken. My heart health must be really good now with all this exercise I’ve been getting. In the meantime I’ve taken to grilling as much as I can. Salmon, burgers, dawgs, corn, vegetables, etc. etc. I can’t wait until this kitchen remodel is done! However, I will say, it has really made us think and stretch out what we have.

Isn’t this photo pretty cool. I happened to take it on a very windy day down at Nauset Beach in Orleans, which is a part of Cape Cod, if you didn’t know. I’ve had this one sitting around for a while but finally decided to share it up. Those waves were really big that day. Probably can’t see from the photo but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were over at least 10′ tall that day if not more.