3rd House Journal

Pretty Things

[Pretty Things beer; 5/28/12]

This photo is for Dave Bonta, who recently blogged about brewing his own beer (with photos by Rachel Rawlins). I mentioned to him that I picked up some Pretty Things beer, created by craft brewers in the Boston area who rent brewery space once a week and put out fantastic beer and ale (see story). Yesterday afternoon, D and I (see D on the right) tried the Field Mouse's Farewell brew, a delicious rustic ale that tastes not like a field mouse, as I initially feared, but of all the things a field mouse might like -- rye, oats and wheat, and a bit of hops to cut the sweetness. This was our first Pretty Things, but certainly not our last. And guess what, Dave? You can get Pretty Things in Pennsylvania (not sure how far away any of the places listed are) if you run out of your own stash.

[Charles River, Boston; 5/28/12]

Speaking of pretty things, we were graced with the prettiest weather this entire weekend. We dined al fresco on D's deck yesterday, at an outdoor cafe in the city with a friend on Sunday, and outdoors by the river in Portsmouth, NH on Saturday. And we did lots of wandering in between eating, so I'll spare you photos of all our food. Here are a few pretty things from the weekend...

[Nesting swans, Public Garden, Boston; 5/27/12]

[Waves and puffy clouds, North Hampton Beach, NH; 5/26/12]

[View from The Old Ferry Landing, Portsmouth NH; 5/26/12]

There were oh so many more, but maybe I'll save them for a not so pretty day.

Memorial Day Weekend

[Flags on Boston Common; 5/30/10]

It's Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S., with Monday a federal holiday in honor of those who died while in military service. For most of us, it's a 3-day weekend and the official start of the summer season. Not having anyone close to me in the military, I tend to forget the purpose of the holiday beyond a nice long weekend. So we were surprised when we were strolling the Boston Common a couple of years ago and came across this sea of flags, one for each soldier from Massachusetts lost in conflicts since World War I. We saw them last year as well, and I understand that they're up again for this year, sadly with 159 more flags added for those who've died while serving since 2001.

Meanwhile, we're generally sticking close to home, with a drive up the seacoast at some point but otherwise enjoying the relative quiet of the city on what is a get-away weekend for many. The weather looks to be mostly or partly sunny and reasonably warm with occasional chances of showers. I'll actually have to do a bit of work at some point to meet a deadline, but mostly I'll get to relax. Wishing everyone here a lovely long weekend!

Back in the Green

[Painter on the Esplanade in Boston on Sunday; 5/20/12]

My trip to see my dad went fine. He's doing okay, though it's harder and harder for him to get around, and a cane is barely enough support. He wouldn't take his walker out while I was there, but apparently uses it around the building when he gets his meals or the mail. We went out for dinners, to a play one afternoon, slowly getting him in and out of the car, and from the car into seats. Mostly we stayed in while I did some client work, and watched ballgames on tv at night.

I vowed to myself to keep my back healthy while I can. Of course here I am sitting on a folding chair at my un-ergonomic desk. I ordered a new desk chair yesterday as my old one recently broke, and I also need to get a better desk/workstation. I never had the time after leaving my job and before starting in with contract work to get properly set up. I do my physical therapy exercises religiously, but I should really do more.

Anyway, it was beautiful weather-wise during my visit and I managed to get outdoors a few times to walk (I posted a handful of photos from a walk by the river one day).

But I was so happy to get home to sleep in my own bed (or any bed after sleeping on a rock-hard futon couch under the constant onslaught of a ventilation fan for several days). D picked me up at the airport around noon on Sunday and brought me back to the city. We had a lovely brunch al fresco on Newbury Street and then walked over to the Esplanade for the first time this year. It was a gorgeous day, a day for the painters, the strollers, sunbathers, kayakers, dog-walkers, cyclists and layabouts all out enjoying the fine weather.

[Strolling the Esplanade]

[Paddling out of the Esplanade Lagoon]

The wet gray weather that makes all that green possible has returned for the week, so I'll hole up at home and get back to work. Next weekend is a holiday weekend and I should buckle down if I want to have the whole weekend free to enjoy. Better get to it...

Independence

[Fort Independence on Castle Island, South Boston; 5/12/12]

Facing a warm, sunny weekend, we considered taking a drive up or down the seacoast. Instead, we opted to stay local and take the #9 city bus on Saturday from Copley Square out to Castle Island in South Boston. We first explored the area last July (see second half of post), but I was recovering from throwing out my back and couldn't walk very far. This weekend I was more mobile, although battling some new back issues (not nearly as bad as last year, fortunately, and it felt great on Saturday). Last year we got off the bus and walked to City Point, the nearest shoreline, then made it halfway out the circular causeway around Pleasure Bay before turning back. And last year we never made it to Castle Island itself, with its massive Fort Independence. So we remedied that this trip out.

[Overlooking the fishing wharf at Castle Island]

Castle Island is located very near Logan Airport in Boston, so you not only see the cargo containers and shipping hangars along the northern edge of Pleasure Bay, you can also watch jetliners banking directly overhead from their take-off. I'll actually be taking off there tomorrow to go visit my dad for a few days.

It was a very windy day, no doubt both challenging and rewarding for the two windsurfers we saw on Pleasure Bay as we circumnavigated the causeway that loops around the bay. The views back towards the city are spectacular. We ran into a friend of D's in the city later who said she loves to go out there at night around sunset. We hadn't thought of that, but it sounds like a great idea.

[Pleasure Bay towards Boston's South Station and financial district]

I've been terribly busy with work, but at least I'm caught up for now. I'll be taking my laptop to do some work while visiting my dad, but at least I won't have a huge amount to do. And my clients seem happy. With any luck these big initial pushes will pay off in smoother, more balanced workflow in the future.

--

You can see a few more photos from Saturday's trip to Castle Island here.

A Cold, Wet Night at Fenway

[At 100-year-old Fenway Park, Boston; 5/1/12]

I uploaded the photo above, taken with my phone, from Fenway Park last night. It was a chilly, wet night -- barely above 40°F. And the Red Sox were already losing 1-0 when we arrived 10 minutes after the first pitch. But we had fun for few innings trying to stay warm (the hot chocolate, by the way, was anything but hot) and cheering on the hapless Sox until we gave up I think in the 6th inning and went home. At least the Celtics won their playoff game last night, keeping Boston sports fans distracted from the Red Sox' woeful young season for a bit longer.

Here are a handful of photos from the game.

No Rest

[Newbury St, Boston; 4/29/12]

I'm feeling a bit buffeted again after getting hit with a "should have been done yesterday" deadline in a client meeting. Again too much work in too little time. While my client is a very easy-going nice guy, his internal client turned out to be another stressed-out manager working long hours ("call me with any questions - I'll be working very late every night" - um, you're assuming I will be?). Apparently everyone who has a job is overworked in direct proportion to the number of people in the economy who are unemployed. I suppose, for me, the difference between my current freelance situation and the job I just burned out in is that I'm not permanently, perpetually stuck. Part of the problem right now is that have another client to satisfy as well, a smaller project but one I'm still trying to get my arms around, one with weekly deadlines. Another part is that I haven't really recovered yet from burnout.

[Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge; 4/28/12]

Meanwhile, spring continues its march forward, even somewhat burned out around the edges with drought. The dogwoods are glorious, even with somewhat pitted blossoms on close inspection. The lilacs scent the air like department-store perfume spritzers, and the lily-of-the-valley ring their silent bells. Tulip beds in the Public Garden bloom and fade in waves of color, perhaps with some surrepticious watering by landscapers in the wee hours of the morning.

[Public Garden, Boston; 4/29/12]

Today is a rare day of chilly rain, of course perfectly timed to coincide with our Red Sox tickets for this evening. But now, to work...

A Pastoral Wedding

[St James Church, Groton MA; 4/21/12]

On Saturday afternoon, we went to the wedding of D's cousin's son in Groton, a bucolic little town about a 90-minute drive from Boston. They couldn't have picked a better day -- always chancey weatherwise in April, but this day was sunny and warm, sentiments that seemed to infect everyone, or maybe reflected from them. The church was a pretty little cobblestone chapel with beautiful arched windows that streamed the late sun and cooling breezes.

The reception was also in Groton, at the Barn at Gibbet Hill (apparently named for a hill in England, not for any local gruesomeness). Again, the mild weather allowed the guests to mingle on the large back porch while the bride and groom posed for photo ops with the farm's Angus cattle. (Bit of gruesomeness there as they did serve some Angus beef among the fare.) Then dinner was served, toasts made, and dancing commenced. I hardly knew anyone, save a couple of D's cousins, but it wasn't about us but rather the young couple and their friends and family. It was really quite lovely.

[Gibbet Hill Farm, Groton MA]

[Porch off the Barn at Gibbet Hill]

 I posted a small set of photos here.

Marathon

[Finish line, evening before the Boston Marathon; 4/15/12]

It was a fun, if perhaps a bit too busy, weekend. Up to the New Hampshire seacoast on Saturday afternoon to hang out with a bunch of old friends, then to Boston on Sunday afternoon to stay with D and enjoy the big Marathon Weekend in the city.

Monday's marathon was one of the hottest on record, with temperatures as high as 88°F under blazing sun. We walked down to watch the elite runners come in a couple of blocks from the finish line and even standing there for 20 minutes or so wilted me. After walking around to get a few different vantage points further back on the course, I had to go back inside and cool off and rest - after just standing up! We went back out later on, when runners were finishing after almost 5 hours of running in extreme heat, and I saw a lot more runners walking the final stretch of the race than I've seen before. Reportedly about 4300 registered runners opted out of the race, and about 2000 who did race needed some kind of medical support along the way. Runners also had ample support from the good citizens who stood out in the heat along the route offering water, ice, wet paper towels, and cool pops (be sure to read Lorianne's moving report from the race route).

[Gatorade tent after the finish line]

With a sudden influx of too much freelance work, I have my own sort of marathon to get through over the coming weeks. I expected I'd have more free time to get back to my blog, others' blogs, reading, writing, photographing, walking, etc., but it's a fast and crowded start at the beginning of this race, so I'd better get to it before I find myself falling behind. Hopefully I'll be able to get into a more comfortable rhythm further down the line.

[Exhausted runner, after the finish]

[Pooped spectator]

Starting Lines

[Tulips, Newbury St in Boston; 4/8/12]

There, that's cheerier than the ghastly ghoul I left hanging in my last post. The colors in these tulips perfectly matched some of the anime characters wandering around Back Bay last weekend with the Anime Boston convention in town. You can see a few pics of them here.

Spring is indeed off to a start in the Boston area, although it's been chilly since the March "Spring Break Week in Florida" that veered north and fooled the magnolias and a few others into jumping the gun and blossoming too early, leaving dead brown blooms behind. They were lovely for the couple of days they lasted.

[Magnolias on Comm Ave, Boston; 3/24/12]

Speaking of strange weather, I've been watching tiny hail come down for the last several minutes. Storms are rolling through today, but only showers are predicted - not nearly enough to slake the drought and quell the brush fires that keep breaking out. Still, more showers are due over the next several days, which can only help. It's also supposed to get warmer and should be a lovely weekend.

Alas, it will be a busy weekend. A friend with a beach house is having a "girl hang" that I'm going to Saturday until Sunday. Then I'm driving back to Boston on Sunday to be in town for the big weekend -- the Boston Marathon is on Monday and the city is overrun, so to speak, with marathoners and their supporters. It's such a fun time and, since D lives so close to the finish line, it's been a blast to be able to go cheer on the exhausted runners as they come down Boylston Street. The only fly in the ointment is the conference call my soon-to-be (unless disaster strikes) new clients scheduled for Monday morning just before the first runners come in. sigh. I shouldn't really be balking, given what a fortunate break this contract is! They have promised to get me off the call in 30 minutes, so hopefully we can sprint out the door and still see the winners come in. D will have to be posted to the tv to identify who's in the lead and if it's a close race.

[A Sunday morning in Back Bay; 4/1/12]

Meanwhile, I am getting my home office set up and clearing out old stuff so I should be ready to get back to business once project work starts. Space in my apartment is opening up as light increasingly fills the day.

Spout

[Rain spout, Belmont MA; 4/4/12]

A potential long-term project surfaced yesterday, releasing a torrent of details to think about and decisions to make: hourly rate I choose vs willing to accept depending on contract length or project size, whether to accept W2 work or 1099, whether the potential project will come through or simply vanish, whether to accept freelance work from former employer, whether to use my own name or my old freelance company name or rename it and do I have to re-register it and what about bank accounts, whether to learn new software and buy new software for a project, whether it's worthwhile long-term, whether I want to spend my days working in said software program or stick to what I'm good at and find someone else to do that part, whether working under my old business name even for a short time precludes getting unemployment compensation from my last employment, what to do about business cards, whether my back (neck, elbows...) will hold up and if not how will I survive, and where's that pilates book I bought years ago and never used, and on and on.

But it's almost the weekend. I'll be going into the city tonight and away from all the things left undone. Sunday is Easter, resonant with new beginnings. Nothing is permanent, even wrong decisions and costly mistakes. The magnolias flowered too early and turned brown when the freeze came, but the trees will drop the ruined blossoms like a burnt batch of cookies and move on to the next task of sprouting their greenery. Unstoppable, spring continues to blossom all around.

[Pear tree, Back Bay, Boston; 4/1/12]