I was able to get all the yard work done today, in the heat of the day even! It was hot but maybe I just got used to it, I didn’t have any problem. I also grilled up some burgers and chicken right after (this was probably around 3 in the afternoon). I also got a bunch of things done around the house so it was a productive laborious labor day for me! Actually it serves me right for being such a beach bum yesterday.
This picture is one that I took from Gloucester’s Parade of Sail festivities in the harbor which happens every Labor Day Weekend.
Currently reading: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession.
Currently Watching: Dark Side of the Ring. On Vice. I was never into professional wrestling but watching what became of it’s stars is pretty tragic and yet fascinating to hear.
Today’s my birthday! First thing I got out of the way was my morning shift. I ended up being a rainy morning so I got a little drenched but it’s all part of the job. I also played a lottery ticket while I was doing my route. Nicely, the sun came out in the afternoon so the whole day wasn’t a washout.
This evening, LD took me out for a nice dinner over at Seasons 52, as part of their Dine Out Boston week, Yum!
Currently Reading: Little, Crazy Children: A True Crime Tragedy of Lost Innocence
I finally got to use the new kitchen and cook my first meal since it’s been over a month. Been trying to keep the countertops clear of things and everything nice and neat. Just did a simple shrimp and rice dish. I’ll be cooking up a ricotta stuffed meatloaf dish tonight. Get to break in some new kitchen pots and pans and baking sheets, etc. Hopefully I haven’t been making too much of a mess and horrifying LD – lol). I shot a new video of the finished kitchen but I’m not sure if I’ll just leave it in production for our personal use.
I did hit the center of town late this afternoon for the National Night Out, where you get to meet the local police and all. I ate two slices of pizza and got the see the newest recruit to the force, a puppy named Sally. I knew a lot of the officers there since I work along side them these days. Looked like a very nice time. (Confession: It’s true, I mostly went for the free pizza).
I noticed the mourning doves next door must have had their babies. I saw one hanging with it’s mother in the nest, although by this point it looks about half the size of the parent and is fully formed and all that. Coloring looks like the juveniles we saw before. I’m not sure if these birds use the same nest over and over but it appears that this couple does.
Currently reading: The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul.
Forgot to mention my new water shoes! I purchased them back last September but finally had a chance to try them out at the beach yesterday. They are amazing! Anyways if you’re interested, search amazon for the Zhuanglin Men’s Quick Drying Aqua Water Shoes.
Today was a little more low key. Mostly just a trip out to Wellfleet for lunch and then back here for pool time. I overdid it a little bit at the beach yesterday but then again, it WAS one of the best days of my life EVER. I do feel somewhat drained however.
After the pool we headed to Crosby for a sunset (or what was left of it that we could see – just a sliver through the clouds). Wrap up with a trip to the Sparrow for my go to Nectar of the Gods drink, the hot choc with soy milk. I did p[ick up a book from a little library there but I don’t know if I’ll read it. Basically a bunch of short moral stories. I’ll list the title here later as it’s in the car right now and I don’t remember the title offhand.
Update: The title is The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories and it’s over 800 pages, although the stories themselves only appear to be a page or two generally.
I was walking with LD along a college campus. It was a mix or where she used to be but had a large campus like Harvard, so somewhat of a mix of the two. We ended up sitting for a while and listening to some kids’ stories since they were about to graduate soon. One girl we focused on ,mostly because we could hear her, and she was regaling all her wild escapades to her friends. After a while we got up and starting walking across the campus because LD needed to get back to work or something. When we eventually get to the the building she needs to go in, I somehow got behind a pillar or something and LD lost sight of me. I recall the stairway out front had a series of platforms with stairs and ramps in parallel a few times. I called out to her and she started looking around. Eventually she found me to say bye for now and now unfortunately the dream is fading from my memory as I’m writing this, but we were going to hug but then LD said something to me and then all the kids were watching us and we ended up kissing in front of the building. Then I woke up with happy tears in my eyes.
The dream had more to it I’m sure, especially at the end but I can’t seem to recall it all now but I wanted to get down what I could. Why? Because I didn’t want to forget it anymore than I already have.
We have so many different varieties of lilies popping up all over the garden this year. It’s quite spectacular!
Yesterday was a crazy day and I spent a good chuck of it over at Earth-1. First I went to get my car inspected by my mechanic. That passed with flying colors, I had no worries about that. Then I took my mom over to Dunkins to grab a coffee. I had to drive her over to the Stop & Shop because she wanted to get a few things using her card but for some reason at the checkout the card wouldn’t take, even though there’s never a problem. While that was happening I decided to play the a Powerball. What the heck, right? We were there for a while but the card just wouldn’t take so we had to abandon that mission for a bit since her other cat had an appointment for its yearly checkup and rabies shot. He ended up getting a clean bill of health, although he is a bit over 20 pounds (he’s a big cat!) and he has some dental issues, but not unusual for a cat of his age. Heading back to Earth-1 I dropped the cat off at the house, releasing him from his pet carrier, and then we proceeded to hit a different Stop and Shop, this time in Medford, to see if the card would work there. No dice there as well, although I was able to purchase a crossword puzzle book. Basically the only one that I like because it’s the only one I found that isn’t too hard or too easy. It’s called Superb Crossword Jumbo y Kappa and comes out monthly. I’ve thought of subscribing to it a million times but never do. Eventually my mom ended up calling the card people and they’re going to send her a new card. It could be that from too many swipes the code has worn off too much. Hopefully that will fix the issue she was having.
painting at the vet’s
Heading back to Earth-2 I got stuck in traffic. Took me about an hour and a half to get back. Typically I can make the trip in 30-45 minutes. I had to pick up some meds for LD on the way so I did that as well. Then I ended up grilling us a couple or burgers for dinner. We ended up not watching tv or anything, just enjoying the silence for a change. Then we passed out in the living room but eventually found our way up to the bed.
The backsplash guy has been here all week! Mostly because of all the intricate cuts to the glass tiles that he had to do to go around corners and such, He should be finished today. As a final step he’ll be applying the whitest grout that the grout makers make! Looks real good! Getting to the very end of the reno now! Hurray!
Currently reading: Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs
Pretty low key July 4th here today. Glad I got to do all I wanted to do yesterday. I think everyone had a pretty good time. The rain does make for good flower photos though! I noticed these little babies growing over in the corner of the yard and needed to take a closer look. I like how they had all arranged themselves around like they are. I also made a bunch of progress on my reading. The garden is looking spectacular all around. My folks were impressed with our green thumb! We’ve created quite the lush oasis around here! Thankfully by supper time the rains had stopped and I was able to get out there and grill some stuff up.
Quite the day. Busy busy busy. It all started off with an old colleague of LD’s coming for a quick visit to consult about a few things. I didn’t really hang with them because I went to get a bunch of items for the BBQ tomorrow. Speaking of BBQ’s we got invited to a little one over at LD’s old landlady so we spent some time over there and had a late lunch. We even got to see LD’s old apartment which was currently empty so it was like a little trip down memory lane for me.
After that in the late afternoon LD got tickets to a live play in Brooklyn written by a person she knows so to support it we could watch it through a virtual stream through her phone and then we casted it to the television in real time. This play wasn’t as good as the last one I saw but still impressive in it’s own way.
Then we worked until the early hours of the night making some of tomorrow’s delights. At the conclusion of the BBQ, we’re going to surprise everyone with some delicious, adorable tiny sweets, but I won’t post images of them until then because I don’t want to ruin the surprise. I’m planning to go pick up my mom and hopefully my little sis around 11. I need to make a trip to the home improvement store before then and get some paint for the kitchen. Yes, finally a color has been decided upon!
Currently Reading: Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. It’s from the author of Sill Alice, which was another book that I read a couple of years ago. I think they even made a movie out of that one.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Did you miss me? It’s been a little while since my last update, but nothing to worry about—there hasn’t been anything noteworthy that happened in the interim. Here is a throwback Thursday photo of me, on my birthday, visiting what is perhaps my all-time favorite lighthouse (although Minots Ledge Light is a close second). Pemaquid Point in Bristol Maine, not too far from Booth Bay. What’s really cool about this light is the surrounding topography, huge rocky ledges all around that you can explore but need to be super careful. On this particular day the clouds were rolling in which is what I think makes the photo even better.
Meanwhile back on the home front, the wild bunnies are starting to appear in the backyard now, running, playing, and yes, even eating, as bunnies do. They are super cute though. There appears to be three that seem to visit rather often. I wonder if any of them were the ones that were born here?
Additionally, every time I start to feel like my thumb is getting better from not using it, I unintentionally extend it again, which hurts, and feel like I have to restart the resting process. You know what I mean? It’s so annoying!
Currently Reading: All right! Another one of the books I had reserved on Libby finally came through. My next read is called The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture. In it the author “eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?” I felt the premise was interesting so I figured I’ll give it a shot. Sort of builds a little bit on that Body Keeps the Score stuff but also with a physical as well as psychological bent.
Back from a lovely Easter weekend in the Catskills of New York. We got to stay in a pretty cool Airbnb , pretty much a log cabin, with a wood stove fireplace and that is attached to an actual goat sanctuary across the way and they had baby goats, which of course we snuggled! We also got to “paint with goats!” Actually we got to do a lot of things there but one of the highlights was probably LD with a sweet baby goat that fell asleep in her arms for two hours. Pretty amazing to experience. Her name is Alora by the way and she is the cutest. Probably my favorite. Click on the pics for full length versions.
Afterwards we took a little drive over to the old Catskill Game Farm, where LD went to visit as a little kid. It’s abandoned now but we visited anyway. We also passed by the largest garden gnome statue in the world (at least up until 2007) on the way.
I might add more to this post later because there really is a lot more. One cool thing about the place that I forgot to mention earlier is that it was fully stacked but also had this somewhat amazing gameroom in the basement, with Poker, darts, air hockey, basketball, foosball, and even a full length ping pong table. I also spent some time in one of the various hammocks around the property. The place was pretty cool, I would definitely go back, and the drive is not bad at all.
Oh, there wasn’t even supposed to be baby goats there. we lucked out on that one. They got some goats in previously and apparently one male somehow slipped through the process and basically ended up impregnating a bunch of the ladies one night. That goat was super busy. But it worked out because baby goats are the best and it ended up being a great surprise and made the experience even better in my opinion.
Currently Reading: Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths and The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World.
Saw all the birds outside this morning. Besides the usual robins and mourning doves, I also saw grackles for the first time this year. Mostly because I heard a crash at the front door. After looking out it appeared to be that one of them might have smashed into the door, but appeared to be alright and took off.
Had a good day today making the rounds, Today was a great day to be outside. Even got to talk with our Big Boss who happened to be out and about! He asked me how things were going, etc. Good dude. He said all the business owners were very pleased with our progress and to be honest, even I can see a big change since when we started. And so far it’s only been five weeks! Oh, and I also found a five dollar bill on the ground, so how often do you get a score like that?
In other news. I reconnected my Google Analytics to the site, so my counts and what not will be starting over – seeing what pages are the most popular, engagement, stuff like that – not that there’s a ton of it. I’ve been meaning to do it for months but I finally got around do it now. So there’s that.
Oh, and in today’s injury report which seems to a be a daily occurrence lately, I seem to have somewhat hyperextended my thumb. Like, wtf?
Currently reading:Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham. Ah yes, one of my celeb crushes. It’s true.
Crocus Blue, almost looks like a painting but it’s real.
When crocuses begin to emerge from the ground amid the winter’s dead debris, you know spring has finally arrived!
Currently reading: Quantum Care: A Deep Dive into AI for Health Delivery and Research. I won this one on a Goodreads giveaway so I figured I might as well read it, although I don’t remember applying to try to win this one. No matter, I find the subject matter interesting.
I had to go down to the pet store and get Carson another fountain because his finally died. They only had the smart version of the fountain that he likes so I ended up getting that, even though it’s more money and we really don’t need to smart functionality but I felt he couldn’t wait until I could find a dumb one, so here we are. This one does have a nice stainless steel top though while the dumb version was only plastic. Hopefully he’ll dig this one as much as the last one. Other than the stainless top and smart functionality, this fountain is essentially the same as this last one.
Today was spent filing my taxes, which is always enjoyable to do. While I generally finish it by mid-February, this year was probably the latest I’ve ever started. However, I wanted to be sure I had all the necessary paperwork.
Spring Crocuses
I went down to the post office this morning to get some mailing materials. LD plans on shipping out a couple of things so I had to make sure all the required packaging is ready.
Yesterday we tried looking for some of those bunny planters but came up empty at the Trader Joe’s at Gillette Stadium. I plan on going to Somerville toward the end of the week, so if I have time I might try to hit the one down there at Assembly Square and see if they have them in yet. While I’m there I might also try to pick up some Union Square Donuts because the ads they’ve been showing me lately have got me wanting to try some of their more interesting creations.
I’ve started to place some of the plants outside that I’d been trying to keep alive inside during the winter. I think the weather will be warm enough now for them to be out there. I’ll probably head down to the Home Depot later today and pick up some leaf bags because there’s a bunch of leave detritus I want to get rid of and trim some of the foliage in the front of the house. Spring cleaning time.
Speaking of spring cleaning, we did clean out a couple of closets and some of the stuff in the basement, making progress on those tasks. In the evening we made a lot of meatballs.
Currently Reading: Born To Run, by Bruce Springsteen, and The Icepick Surgeon, a book about scientists who did things that weren’t all that ethical. And also The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math from One to Infinity. So I guess you could say I’m on quite a reading tear so far this year.
Well, I went outside today and did my job in the punishing rain and snow. I could have chosen an alternate day, but I thought today would serve as a good illustration of the various weather conditions I may encounter in the future. As I continue to conduct this kind of work, it helped me see what I will need to change in how I manage my activities. Chalk it up as a worthwhile learning exercise. Naturally, after a long day of feeling like a drowned rat, I arrived home and jumped into a hot, steamy shower. But I’m glad I did it. Builds character, Amirite?
In the early evening I finally finished my latest book read. Fascinating DNA stuff coming down the pike in the future, from creating bioweapons, to designing babies with particular traits you’d want and select, and could be all created in a lab, no man or woman needed (just the DNA cells from the parents, whether man/woman or any other combination), to GMO foods and future cures (how did you think the vaccine was created so quick?), to bringing back extinct species. Naturally it’s also scary if controls aren’t put on some of these things, but these things are coming, probably by within the next 50 years. You’ve been warned!
Looks like the utility guys are out front again this week, digging up the middle of the street and replacing the pipes. Pretty annoying to get around but I suppose it’s a necessary evil. Looks like they might done with it all by the end of the week so all in all, not too bad.
I’ve updated the site to the latest version of PHP and everything appears to working as it should, so that’s good. I always get a little bit anxious when there’s a big underlying thing going on under the hood of the site but I’m not doing anything too crazy and keep all the subroutines up to date, so it’s all good.
I’ve had some love for this Boston photo I took and have been getting quite the likes and purchase interest in my work, so that’s always good to see. I’ve made a couple of sales so far this week, which is great.
Spent some time at Earth-1 yesterday, One of the cats had to get his nails cut and then we needed to get some business done over at City Hall. You know, what’s wild, is that a couple has purchased or will be purchasing a top floor unit on the condo right next door to my mom’s house, but the crazy part is that it’s actually the niece of one of LD’s most trusted and long lasting friends. I mean, what are the odds!? That’s pretty whack, actually. I’m waiting to run into them and introduce myself. So far, only my sister has seen them. Other than that, and all the walking of the beat I did on Tuesday (perhaps I was a bit overzealous but I feel I did a damn good job), it’s been a pretty low key week so far.
There’s a great article in the latest issue of Smithsonian Magazine that talks about how this little island off the coast of Iceland is trying to save baby puffins, which as any readers to this blog must know, is my favorite bird. Worth the read if you can find it and have the time.
Another book came through from my library app, so currently reading: The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology.
Sometimes I wish that we had met sooner,
that the detours along the way could have been fewer.
But then something tells me we found eachother
at just the right place in our lives.
I love being with you,
You're the best thing to ever happen to me,
You're my favorite person in the world.
In you I have found: the perfect partner, the best friend, and the sweetest love that I ever imagined. I’m so happy that life has brought me to you.
Best birthday wishes to the perfect woman in the world who chose to love an imperfect man like me.
Happy Birthday "Ladydoc!"
We ended up having a lovely dinner at The Capital Grille.. Currently reading: Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks. After that I want to see if I can find the book about Ada Blackjack. Another amazing character from history that time seems to have forgotten about.
So we had some snow today. By the way all the news programs we’re describing it you’d think it was going to be something special. It clearly was not. We did a couple of inches of snow, but it was the nice fluffy stuff that is easy to deal with and it was no big deal. Everything got delayed by about an hour and I’d say that was the correct call. It’s snowed more of less throughout the day but it’s really only sticking to grassy surfaces. Tomorrow is our training meeting at HQ to go over the new “beat” as I’ll call it which should keep me busy in the mornings with three other folks on the team all year round as I go about the town center performing a certain required task. I’m a little apprehensive about it, but I applied for the job and got it and it’s pretty good money so I’m hoping I’ll get over it, I’m sure that I will once I get it going. I probably just feel that way because it’s something new to me.
My store is having a sale for the week, so if you ever wanted to pop on something in there, now could be a good time.
Currently reading: Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. A couple of years old by now and I pretty much know most of the stuff in the book already, but it looks like an easy read plus it’s cool to see what tricks social media and games use to suck you in to their platform time-sucks. I’m really on a reading kick so far this month!
We had an opportunity to spend a couple of days out on the Cape and recharge. Although it was partly cloudy for most of the time, the only really sunny day was extremely windy which it made it feel really cold, so I didn’t go crazy getting photos, but I was pleased with I was able to capture of which a small sampling is here on this post.
We had some great food and hot chocolates and spent a bunch of time just hanging out, relaxing and reading. Speaking of which my current read is The Urge: Our History of Addiction. This book is about deeply humane history of addiction–a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives–by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand his own family and himself. Another find on Libby that was available immediately so I figured I’d give it a shot. We also drove around to a bunch of beaches and breakfast places for early noshes.
Update: I had some interest in some of the cape photos from this trip so I’ve made them available on the store page. Check it out if you like my work.
Nauset Beach (available for purchase!)Nauset beachThe “new” Capt. CassSnow on Rock HarborSunset at CrooksNauset winds and wavesOrleans viewSkaket Love
