Category: Everyday Life

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.

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.

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.

Gardening on the Patio

Posted on by Markman

Our little container garden on the patio is progressing well. It’s incredibly relaxing to just rest there in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee as the day begins. In order to make things appear attractive, LD does a great job of arranging, mixing, and matching various species. I certainly think so. Are there any of you who enjoy gardening? Hit me up. Additionally, the other day we went and bought our yearly fuchsia. Instead of the normal purple color scheme, we chose pink and white this time. I think it provides a nice contrast.

Still making do without a kitchen. I’ve been manning the grill and so far so good. Although truth be told I can’t wait until everything is done and we can live normally again!

Next book that I’m Currently Reading (thanks Libby!): Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. Currently Listening: the new tracks off the upcoming Extreme album. Got to say they sound pretty good! Did you know their lead guitarist is Portuguese? Plus he’s a guitar god. I’ve liked and followed them since their early days in Boston but lost interest in them after the 3rd album. This new one sounds really good though! Currently Watching: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace on ID.

Baby Mourning Dove Sighting!

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We saw this couple of baby mourning doves just chilling against the fence in the driveway as we were planting things this afternoon! Guess they are trying out their wings and trying to leave the nest! Although they don’t seem particularly afraid of me.

Just before this we had a nice afternoon at a BBQ hosted by LD’s old landlady and her husband, and we got to meet another nice couple there and chat. Also her granddaughter came by who I hadn’t seen in forever and the upstairs tenant was moving out. There was a lot of activity going on there!

Happy Unofficial Start of Summer!

Posted on by Markman
Happy Start of Summer

Hope everyone is having a Great Memorial Day Holiday. We’ve been having quite the time. You never realize how great a kitchen sink is until you don’t have one! We’ve been making do with my grilling and sometimes some takeout though so it’s all good. Things are moving right along on that front and proceeding quickly. Working on the ceiling right now. Backsplash has been picked out – a nice blue colored hexagonal pattern that we think will look really great against the new white cabinets.

Also been sprucing up the patios with various plants that have been purchased. Looks really nice. I’m back to my daily routine of watering everything in the late afternoon. Supposed to hit the old landlady’s place for a BBQ she invited us to today, so maybe we’ll do that after checking out some more plants at the nursery.

Of Birds and Kitchen Remodeling

Posted on by Markman

I just happened to notice today a couple of mourning doves nesting over behind a basketball hoop in the neighbor’s driveway. I had never seen a mourning dove nest before, so watching this is actually pretty cool.

The kitchen remodel is moving along really quickly. Yesterday all the old cabinets and countertop and sink and so on were removed and today was some more of that along with getting some more of the flooring squared away and getting ready for the new bottom cabinets to be placed, etc.

For lunch today I decided to hit the local BK and try out that new promotion they’re having with a tie in to the Spiderman Spider verse movie. Essentially a whopper with a red and black bun. It was pretty much just a Whopper.

With a red bun.

I did like it. I just wanted to get in on the novelty.

Currently Reading: On to Book #26 of the year that I’ve read so far. Decided to take it back to the Victorian Era once again this time around. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. They were more than just names of victims, they were real people and they deserve to have their dignity. These women’s lives had value regardless of their circumstances in life and their life stories are worth being told.

Playing with AI Again

Posted on by Markman

Found another site that uses Ai to create images and I had it create this dashing image of Carson. Anyways the site is called Lexica.art and it looks pretty cool. I also found a site that will generate a musical rap for you based on a prmpt you provide. I’m trying to get it to rap out something about LD but I need to work with it a bit more. If it creates something I really like I’ll post it. If you want to try it out for yourself the site is called Uberduck.ai

The plan is on finishing cleaning out the last of the cabinets today as demo starts tomorrow! *gulp!* I want to take before/during/and after pictures.

Currently Reading: Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence. Interesting life story about the dude but more interestingly, to me anyway, is why everyone was so silent about his abhorrent behavior and why for so long.

Paying It Forward

Posted on by Markman
Good memories and to making a lot more

I went off to the local food pantry and dropped off a bunch of items this morning. While there I also happened to pick up a lily plant to replace the one that I supposedly killed over the winter this year, although on my defense I did keep it alive for a couple of years longer than otherwise and I did try to revive it. Anyways I thought it a nice gesture to replace it for LD and also as a coming home gift that she can replant on Sunday if she so wishes. I’ll try to take better care of this one!

I do enjoy all the memories we create together. We’ve seen a lot and hope to see much more and continue to enrich eachother!

The power went out here for a couple of hours in the late afternoon which was super annoying btw.

Dance with All Your Beauty

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Be like a peacock and dance with all your beauty.

I’m dedicating this post to LD, who’s going through a procedure this week. I hope everything goes well. I’ve been visiting her throughout and helping as much as I can. I have a dinner function to attend tonight though so I had to leave early today in order to make that commitment, which maybe I should have cancelled but it’s a once-a-year thing celebrating the team so I decided to go, with her blessing of course. I’ll be right back to it tomorrow.

Purple Skies for Sunset

Posted on by Markman

Been kind of busy over the last couple of days so updates here have been a little slim. Bit if you’re interested in what’s been happening here’s areal quick rundown. Hosting a BBQ over the weekend, getting plants from a farm for the containers and the gardening, getting some free flowers from a MD day promotion at Lowe’s, hanging out with my mom and sis on MD and watching the Celtics put the smack down on the Sixers in a Game 7 extravaganza!

We’ve been watching a Baltimore Oriole flying around here lately. We think it might have made a nest in a tree in the back yard, which I find pretty cool.

Currently Reading: Another one on the docket! Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues.

Carson Makes Us Bread

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I had to run down to the home improvement store this morning because the ceiling fan remote just didn’t seem to be working anymore. I was hoping it was just the battery and I’m pleased to say that that was what it was. Strangely enough, even though I took the old battery out, the light went on with no power, which was truly weird. I figured that battery maybe just had one last hurrah in it. Anyways, it’s all good to go now.

I decided to remove the glass panes from the doors today and put in the screens, now that the weather is turning warmer, plus Carson likes to look out the screens in the early evening. Speaking of Carson, he helped us out with some bread this morning, which you can see below.

I’ve been charging the string trimmer because I need to trim some areas of the lawns since I had mowed. Plus there’s a bunch of weeds I need to get rid of. I did see a chunky possum in the street this morning, it was so cute. Such a strange looking little creature.

Currently Reading: Figured I would go with a true crime story this time around through the Libby app and decided to go with The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream. A little Victorian Era tale. Also picked up Scrappy Little Thing by Anna Kendrick.

First of the Spring Things

Posted on by Markman

Things I finally got around to yesterday afternoon:

  • Planted the various tubers in the ground that I had stored in the basement over the winter
  • Moved the potted plants outside that had been living in the house over the winter
  • Got out my gravity chair and almost fell asleep in it for a few
  • Tilled the raised beds
  • Fired up the grill and did some dogs, chicken and steak tips (very meaty dinner you cold say)

Things I plan to get to this week

  • Replacing the glass panes in the doors with the screens
  • Probably some more cleaning out of the cabinets and the basement
  • mowing the lawn (even though it’s No Mow May I at least need to do the front)
  • mulch the beds and patio and other areas
  • get some birdseed for the feeder

Gametime: The Pigeon Post Principle – I found this game pretty fun!

Enjoying a Lazy Restful Sunday

Posted on by Markman
The last one to leave the nest. Uncertain about the future but must go on nonetheless and make its own path..

Spent yesterday up in Georgetown visiting some friends and making hats of all things in honor of the Kentucky Derby festivities. Today was all about yard work, at least a little. I finally got around the trimming back one of the rosebushes but mostly so I could get at some errant weed that became somewhat of a tree over the years. I finally hacked that down. I also tilled the raised beds and did a bunch of cleaning up of the various pots around that we’ll need to fill up with some new flowers and other plant life. I still need to plant the various tubers that I’ve stored and a bunch of other things but I think I’m just going to do a little fire pit tonight and get some relaxation in, I was so tired from the visit yesterday that I ended up sleeping for quite a long time, longer than I usually do. My body needs a chance to recuperate and get ready for the week.

It’s a Brew-Tea-Ful Day!

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Fancy Tea Time!

Reservations finally came through for a little get together at a fancy tea house to help celebrate our anniversary. The food was great! I ended up going with a white tea called the Bartlett Pear which consists of White tea, pear, apple and peach pieces, pear flavor, nutmeg, cinnamon, white cornflowers, peach flavor. I must say it was quite good, very pleased with my choice. We were seated in the cutest little room, very pink and very Marie Antoinette-ish, for my lack of a better description.

Chasing Sunsets in the Time We Have

Posted on by Markman
Forever Chasing Sunsets

Chasing sunsets is one of the most romantic and captivating experiences we can ever have. Watching the sun slowly set on the horizon, painting the sky with beautiful hues of oranges, pinks, and yellows is absolutely awe-inspiring. It’s a natural spectacle that everyone should experience as often as possible in this lifetime. Chasing sunsets is not just about watching the sun go down. It’s about traveling to new and exciting places, exploring different cultures, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. It’s about taking time off from our busy lives and allowing ourselves to be in awe of the beauty of the world. When you chase sunsets, every moment is magical. You sit back, relax, and take in the beauty that surrounds you. The calmness of the evening breeze, the soothing sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the gentle rustle of leaves on trees all add to the experience. It is an experience that connects you to nature and gives you a sense of peace and tranquility that is hard to describe in words. Chasing sunsets is a reminder that life is beautiful, and there is so much to be grateful for. It helps us to appreciate the small things in life and be present in the moment. Sometimes, all we need is a little sunset chase to remind us that the world is indeed a beautiful place, and that there is always something to look forward to.

The Love We Share

Posted on by Markman
This is a perfect example of what I am talking about. This house is in Kennebunkport, Maine

I adore taking pictures. Every time I frame a shot, it feels like I am capturing a moment in time that I can revisit later. But I couldn’t do it without my partner. She is always there to help me with camera settings, spot great photo ops, and even have some ideas and getting me to so many locations. We make a great team, and I am so grateful for her support in my love for photography. Without her, I know I would not be able to take the amazing pictures that I do.