This building draws much attention on the street, with its facade which has been made to be reminiscent of an Incan ruin, with a large stone face above the doorway and colorful bull on the door. The museum is not open to the public, but the artists offer tours by appointment and open their doors for various concerts and the annual Somerville Open Studios. Those lucky few granted access to the space are treated to a one-of-a-kind experience.
Using a style the artists call “Mystical Realism,” the walls and ceilings are covered with fresco-like paintings and mythological themes, creating a stained glass effect. The focal point, the building’s great hall, is filled with fresco-like paintings of Russian mythological and religious icons. Saturated oil colors were used for the tiger and bull totems, birds, druids, and mermaids.
It’s a pretty wild place to visit. Every wall of every room is covered in images like this. Some areas naturally were off limits to the general public but I can imagine them all being so ornately decorated. Once again, you can only visit it during the Open Studios weekend or sometimes they have yoga classes and performances and such in the main room. Pretty cool.
Watched a documentary about the Beanie babies fad from the 90s. Sort of fascinating that this little group of stuffed animals made some folks go wild and had to collect them. I find it so interesting that the secondary market of these things far outpaced the primary market. I think I fell asleep toward the end when the investor bubble burst but I got the gist. It’s a fun watch just to see how the 90s were with the start of the Internet and all.
The story behind the photo: This is a actually just a bench in a grassy area behind the town hall. I got down low and pointed my camera upwards a bit. That’s all!
Gametime: Skillteam. This puzzle game is kind of hard!
My mom went ahead and donated her car. She decided a couple of weeks ago that she really didn’t need to drive anymore, plus she can get rides if she ever needs to go anywhere. It will be cheaper too. I am a bit surprised that she gave it up but I suppose there comes a time for everything. Noe we just need to geet LD’s old car out of here! Maybe she’ll end up doing the same thing, using the same charity.
I went ahead and mowed the front lawn late this afternoon. First time pulling the mower out of the shed!
We saw the movie Michael yesterday afternoon with some friends. I have to say that I actually enjoyed the movie. I had read mixed reviews and yes it is Michael positive naturally but I thought it was really well done. No doubt, the music and talent was incredible. We saw it at the AMC in Burlington which was a theatre I had actually never been to. It was pretty nice, way better than the Danvers one, which was the last time we went to a theatre, probably more than a year ago.
I went ahead and finally dismantled an old wooden filing cabinet that we’d been meaning to get rid of for a while. I disassembled it by removing all the screws and then hammering out the parts that were connected by wooden dowels. Progress on the spring cleanups!
Day trip to Kennebunkport! Drover around and visited some sights in Dock Square and Cape Porpoise. Ended up grabbing some sandwiches at Cape Porpoise actually, I bought a little bunny keychain for LD that she had her eyes on. I had to get my drink fix on at Mornings in Paris – a nice café we always visit when we’re in the area. Also spent some time along the beach at Goose Rocks and met two cute little French bulldogs named Leo and Gus. It was just a nice afternoon to stroll around and check out some things. Also visited Stonewall Kitchen and Yummies for our candy fixes. Some places we thought about going to but will have to wait for another time are St. Ann’s Church and On the Maine in Ogunquit.
Doing a quick look at the gardens here I can see that the Clematis, Phlox, Tulips, Hyacinth and Vinca are all starting to bloom. Well, not the clematis but it is starting to climb it’s vine tendrils on things. I do need to cut down some things and we need to purchase some more plants, maybe sometime over the next few days. getting to be that time of year again! Also the grass is starting to grow like nuts! The witch hazel is also starting to finally bud which is good because it was a bit iffy there for a while. I guess I might have somewhat of a green thumb after all!
2026 marks the 149th season for the Swan Boats. The oldest and smallest boat in the fleet just celebrated its 116th season, while the newest was launched in 1993. The swan on today’s boats is made from either copper or fiberglass, depending on the age of the boat, and encloses a paddle mechanism that is used to foot propel the boat through the water.
Fully loaded, each Swan Boat weighs three tons and is powered by the driver using a foot-propelled paddle wheel. The Swan Boats are built on oak framed pontoons sheathed in copper just as they were initially constructed in 1877. After being stored in a safe place for the winter, the boats are returned to the Public Garden Lagoon each spring.
This photo above is from a spot down in Orleans on the Cape that when I get the chance I like to escape from for a while. There’s a bunch of staircases like this one along Little Pleasant Bay.
Last night while watching the premiere of Real Housewives of Rhode Island (the jury is still out on to whether we’ll keep watching it) we noticed Carson going nutty in the sun room. At first we thought he fell but when I went out there I could see what he was watching on the deck. At first I thought it was another cat because when he sees on of these he gets a little ornery but when my eyes adjusted better to the darkness and I saw it’s face it was unmistakable. It was a big ass racoon!
We don’t live to see all the ripples we make, but we must make them all the same.
I put on the plastic cover for the mirror this morning as it arrived last night. Seems to be ok now, little tricky getting it to snap in. Last night we watched an older movie called Bernie starring Jack Black. I had learned of it by watching a rerun of 48 Hours of all things. Basically it details the 1996 murder of 81-year-old widow Marjorie Nugent by Bernie Tiede, a popular assistant funeral director in Carthage, Texas, who shot her four times in the back and kept her in a freezer. The movie was a little weird but I was curious to watch it. It also stars Matthew McConaughey and Shirley McClain, If you have an hour and a half to kill it’s something to see.
As for Scarpetta, I thought it was pretty good. I thought the ending sucked though, maybe that’s why it gets middling grades. I also could have done without the space and Thor labs crap.
John 12:14-15: Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’
Happy Palm Sunday Everyone!
Dropped off some donations, picked up some groceries, put together a new wire rack for the basement, and picked up our palms earlier today.
Currently Watching: Scarpetta on Amazon. Gets middling reviews but LD read most of the books and really likes it. It’s not at all.
After shoveling out this morning, which I actually had to go through the cellar and shimmy out the back gate because the doors to the house were snowed in shut, I can’t wait for this weather to return! ☀️
My knee and the back of my leg hurts – muscles I haven’t used in a while getting a workout. Now I hear there may be another big storm next weekend buit lets hope it goes another way – still too early to tell.
Here we go (in no real particular order actually – they were all amazing in their own right):
#12: Umbrellas in the Skies of Newport RI
I wanted to take a jaunt over to Newport Rhode Island to check out this marketplace that has umbrellas all set up hanging above one of the walkways throughout the complex. Got some amazing deals of some hoodies and shirts while we were there, so bonus. I also learned that two of the elephants from last years migration along the Breakers are now permanently installed over at the library a few blocks down so I had to check them out as well.
On the way back we hit our favorite vegan ice cream place in Providence. They have a vegan deli next door and I tried the “fake” ham and cheese. LD found she couldn’t eat it – it was just too “wrong” but surprising I was able to chow it down just fine, which is rather unlike me. I guess there really is no replacing the real thing!
#11: Doing Bunny Yoga For a Change of Pace
First off, I have to send out a Congratulations to my one and only, Ladydoc, for completing 5 miles of swimming to benefit the American Cancer Society! Awesome job! This particular morning I went down to the pool with her and watched her take the final laps and document the occasion for posterity!
The town of Dedham had some all afternoon bunny events. We chose Bunny Yoga! To be honest, as with all the other animals we do this with, it’s more about interacting with the animals than doing any yoga stuff.
#10: Historic Papermill Playhouse and Drumming
Finally got to check out the historic Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ and saw a great show there called “Mystic Pizza” which as you probably guessed is based on the movie/book. I could easily see this show eventually ending up on Broadway. And we can say that we saw it first, haha! I also got to play some electronic drums which I was surprised at how good the kit actually is. Kind of amazing. I also want to explore Millburn more when the weather gets better, it looks like such a cute little town.
We’ve actually been to that pizza establishment in Connecticut a couple of times. Might do another outing to check it with some friends sometime in the future.
#9: Seeing John Cusack Live and In Person!
As one of my xmas gifts, LD got us tickets to see John Cusack down at the Emerson Colonial in Boston. Never actually been inside that theater before although I must of passed it tons of times. There was a showing of his movie High Fidelity and he was going to talk about it after the screening. Of course my all time favorite Cusack movies are Serendipity, Say Anything, and my All-time favorite, Better Off Dead. Anyways, he seemed like a really cool guy.
#8: A Happy Little Cape Getaway Weekend
We had a nice little weekend getaway down the Cape to help celebrate LD’s birthday month. Here’s some of my highlights. I will say it was an awfully windy weekend down there but it was beautiful. Some fun stuff we got to do were some Chocolate Sparrow trips, dinner at a great place we like called Island Blue Crab (where our favorite Bulgarian waitress works), hanging out in such a cute little Airbnb right next to the water, grabbing another Dedham Pottery item to the collection, checking out the sunsets and just overall chilling out. I do love the Cape, I think my best pictures come from there. So scenic.
#7: Love Us Some River Troll Action
Finally got a chance to visit Mrs Skipper troll in East Providence, Rhode Island. Thomas Dambo constructs his trolls from recycled wood with the goal of encouraging people to explore nature and value the environment. Many of the trolls’ narratives and expressions, often with a humorous twist, incorporate an environmental message. After that we grabbed lunch at a random locals place on our journey that we happened to be near called Rosa’s Tavern and it was actually very good! I got a chicken parm sammie and LD got this very good tasting seafood pot dish. I would go there again! Finished up with a quick jaunt over to Like No Udder for some ice cream and hot chocolate. I also scored a free rubber duck in pirate attire there, which was kind of cool.
#6: The Goatfather Part 2
On this particular October morning we got to hang out with some goats with our friends who live up in Georgetown. We got to dress them up in costumes, which was not that easy! Naturally I had to be the Goatfather. It really is a pretty cool feeling to hang out with these animals, and the babies are so warm and snuggly. Studies have shown that goats can distinguish human facial expressions and prefer to interact with humans who appear to be happy so they are pretty emotionally intelligent animals. A cat names Penny also appeared to be pretty attached to me, which was cool. After the mingle we went over to our friends’ house and hung out for a while and had lunch. Sat outside for a bit on the patio, it was pretty nice outside in the sun.
#5: Finding the Daffodil Fields
I finally got a chance to check out the Daffodil Field over down in Dartmouth. It’s at the end of a short hike over a scenic trail to get there. I believe there’s also something similar somewhere in Rhode Island which may be worth checking out some time. Anyways, according to local lore, the daffodils were planted by Raymond Pettey in the 1940s to sell during WWII when the U.S. was unable to get bulbs from Holland. The war ended and the flowers remained! This place required a little bit of a hike through somewhat rough terrain to get to, but i found it worth it! Maybe I’ll do this again this year.
#4: Pretty in Pink with Beautiful Skies to Match on a Rooftop Garden Summer Night
In late August we decided to go see Pretty in Pink playing as an outdoor movie at this neat little rooftop park in Cambridge down by Kendall Square. It was hot all day and there was a chance of rain but all our apps said it should be okay. We got in the parking garage and not a drop around. Coming out of the elevator of the garage to access the roof we were bombarded with a pretty heavy rainfall. Oh no! I said we should wait it out a bit. It started thundering. Still waited a bit. Finally we decided to cross the rainy park to this area on the other side that looked to be covered and had one of those pop up food thingies. After getting a burger and some mac and cheese with pulled pork (both were really good by the way!) the rain stopped and we were able to watch the rest of the movie!
Just as we were going to head back home, LD noticed that the skies looked pretty wild and there might be an opportunity for some interesting sunsety shots, and once again she was right! The sky had this amazing pinkish color to it and just the way that it reflected off the water of the river made it look like you were in some magical place, which I suppose we were.
This park is really cute plus it’s neat that it’s up on a roof. We didn’t get to go back to see the Goonies with one of our couples friends since on that particular day it rained again, this time all day. However, we will try to go again this summer depending on what movie they decide to show. Anyone is free to join us! They do have other stuff there as well like Pickleball.
As usual, you can click any picture for the captions.
#3: The Happy Goat Farm Visit
It’s springtime, baby goat season -at the time these little guys were born shortly ago, in fact while we were there a mother goat was giving birth to 4 babies (!) which I hear is unusual to have that many at once, it’s usually 2, or 3 at the most. Glad the rain stopped for us yesterday afternoon! My shirt says :The Goatfather” in the logo manner of the Godfather. It was a birthday gift from some pals of ours, I finally got a chance to wear it out. It’s also a nice feeling to have a baby goat just fall asleep in your arms, so trusting, and they are so warm. The one I had even started dreaming at one point I believe!
#2: Sunsets, Fish Shacks, Cape Porpoise Love
Cape Porpoise Fish Shacks
We headed off to Cape Porpoise for a little mini weekend getaway. I really enjoyed this trip. The Airbnb we stayed in was really great – I would surely return to it. It was so spacious and the hosts were super great. I think they were both in the military, spent some time in Alaska and I think maybe Iraq. The first night we headed to the town over called Biddeford Pool because there was a food/store place called Goldthwaites that we wanted to try. It was good and the views from their back outside area were wonderful. I noticed you could even see the Stage Island Monument in the distance. I do so love this area of Maine. We also saw deer and what appeared to be a company of black swans, but could that be true? This place and the B&B is surely worth another visit.
Next day we did a bunch of things. We hiked a part of the Carson trail, which is part of the Rachel Carson Reserve Wildlife area. It was kind of too hot to really do too much of that though plus it was a little buggy so we didn’t stay there too long. There were a ton of chipmunks around I noticed. For lunch we drove into Kennebunk and I ended up getting a burger at a place called Duffy’s. We then headed back for a little rest before hitting Goose Rock Beach for the afternoon. While there we saw piping plovers, a cool sandcastle that someone built, and a very cute Bassett Hound named Baxter that we had to greet. For dinner we got some good eats at Mabel’s Lobster Claw. All great places to try is you haven’t done that.
Next day we went to Sunday services at St. Ann’s Church, What’s cool is that they do the service right by the water weather permitting. It was a bit rainy when we went so the service was actually indoors but even that was pretty cool. I actually really liked everything about this location and plan to return for some other services soon, like in the Spring! We got breakfast at a place next to Mabel’s from last night called the Pantry. I decided to try the eggs benedict with lobster and it was damn good. Another afternoon at the beach afterwards I wanted to catch a sunset at the famous fish shacks. Thanks to LD for finding the perfect location for me to shoot from! When we visit the area next time I want to shoot more shots from that location.
The fish shacks – I was always curious about these buildings. After taking these shots we eventually found a place where we could get some eats (a pizza actually) which was a bit of a struggle to find food since it seems all the places around here close at 8 or 9 o’clock. I caught the tail end of the Valkyries WNBA game as they beat the Suns. It’s nice that this Airbnb had all the stations you could want, they aren’t usually like that in my experience.
Finally on Monday it started to get really hot. We checked out, hit Stonewall Kitchen for a quick bite and Yummies to get some candy fix. Our friends up in Georgetown were kind enough to let us stop by and use their pool for a bit so we could cool off before going all the way home. THAT WAS AMAZING, you cannot appreciate how much we needed that. We took a dip for an hour or two and were then on our way back home.
All in all, that was a fantastic trip! I probably left out a ton of stuff but these were some of the high points! So 2025 wasn’t the greatest year for a bunch of reasons, but seeing these events shows me that it wasn’t so bad either. It’s good to be reminded of that.
And before I get to the Number 1 here are some honorable mentions which could have been on the numbered list as well, also in no particular order:
And now with much fanfare… onto the Grand Finale! It was tough to choose, but it had to be….
#1: Having a Blast at Our First WNBA Game
The high point was getting to meet a star player on the Valkyries, Veronica Burton Number 22. These women players are Bad Ass! As a bonus we even got to hang with her sister Kayla, who is a sports reporter and anchorwoman on the NBC Boston network and does the Celtics games too! Oh and their mom and dad too, who is also a big name sports reporter here in Boston. Mad props to Ginni for making it happen! Oh, and Suns actually WON this game and by a considerable amount so the place was going crazy! These fans are serious! (You can click on the pics for descriptions).
WOULD DEFINETLY GET TIX TO DO THIS AGAIN THIS SUMMER. I hear that they might be moving the team to Houston though, so that would basically suck. No more semi local play here.
What will this year bring us? Not sure but there are some things starting to show on my radar!
More baby goats snuggles
Another encounter with Capybaras in the spring (Dave B, if you’re reading this you *are* going with us so get ready!)
Beginning of the year tradition: Sticking appendages in the water!
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Also the other day I was notified I could get a free Dunkins coffee on the app so I went and got one and it was also free doughnut day so I got that too, and they gave me the cutest little donut tote bag. Not sure what the hell I’d do with it, but it’s here.
This here is one of my favorite shots I ever took and when I was starting to get into taking scenic photos. This was shot down in Long Beach Island, New Jersey which is a barrier island kind of like the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I can’t seem the remember the exact town in LBI this is in, perhaps Surf city on the western side.
Sad to be missing Prelude up in Kennebunk this year but there’s just too much other stuff going on at the moment. At least I still have this classic picture I took last time!
After putting up the xmas tree yesterday afternoon we took a trip out to Wayland to check out some holiday fair but it was kind of lame. I did get to see this rather interesting three wheeled car though!
I had been meaning to check out these Plymouth Seals artwork installations all along the Plymouth waterfront, and Sunday was a perfect afternoon to do it. I was psyched that Plymouth wasn’t busy at all, didn’t know how it would be with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up and all, but it was pretty dead. Anyways, these seals are so cool! I love them! They really do make you smile, and placed in such a scenic location by the waterfront! My favorite is the one in the first pic below. It’s name is Jacques CouSeal. The pilgrim looking one was really cool too. LD’s fav was Taylor Surf over up on Court Street. That’s the glittery looking one. I also got my new hoodie so I wore that out for the afternoon as well. Topped it off with lunch from a place there called Woods Seafood. Not as fancy and the East Bay Grille which is also there, but was perfect for us at this time, and the food was great!
Why seals? According to the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, “As playful and iconic coastal creatures, seals represent the spirit of Plymouth’s harbor and the vibrant marine life that calls it home. Each sculpture tells its own story—paying tribute to the town’s seafaring roots, its artistic community, and the scenic beauty that defines our corner of the South Shore.” I couldn’t agree more!
Here’s another shot I took over the summer that was just sitting around in my archives, so I figured I’d dust it off and put it out there. The cool thing about this shot is the kayakers way out in the distance. I have a bunch of shots where I zoomed in more on them but then I figured I liked this long out shot better with the rocks in the foreground. What this shot doesn’t show you is all the bugs flying around and biting people. That’s why at a location like this I wear a hoodie and cover myself up even though it was like 90 degrees outside. I’ve tried the bug spray and all but that doesn’t work. I find the hoodie actually works best. As an aside, I believe this was also the night that we went here with another couple (a good longtime friends of LD’s and her boyfriend) and they had to park really far away since the lot here was so small and they had a police officer basically telling people they couldn’t park there because it was full. So when we were close to done he was literally running all the way down the street to get the car, and it was quite a ways. Not really sure why he was running though. I think we eventually picked him up before he got to his car. The details of the night sort of escape me now but I do remember that being a part of it.
Had a nice get together Saturday night in Concord celebrating our friends who recently got married so Sunday was pretty much a chill day and clean up the house a little and binge some shows. Here’s a shot I took from the other day of some young people taking a picture in the public garden.
Discovered this year’s Fleurs de Villes installation at the Pru and it’s a must-see! Made entirely out of real flowers. Fleurs de Villes combines the love of flowers, local design talent, and bespoke, utterly unique displays, for experiential events like none other. Which one catches your eye?
In other minor things that have been keeping me occupied as of late:
Gametime:Proton Path. You know I love these sorts of puzzle games.
Currently reading:The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told by Bill Janovitz. The back story behind the classic Boston band.
Finally got a chance to visit Mrs Skipper troll in East Providence, Rhode Island. Thomas Dambo constructs his trolls from recycled wood with the goal of encouraging people to explore nature and value the environment. Many of the trolls’ narratives and expressions, often with a humorous twist, incorporate an environmental message. After that we grabbed lunch at a random place on our journey that we happened to be near called Rosa’s Tavern and it was actually very good! I got a chicken parm sammie and LD got this very good tasting seafood pot dish. Finished up with a quick jaunt over to Like No Udder for some ice cream and hot chocolate. I also scored a free rubber duck in pirate attire there, which was kind of cool.
