3rd House Journal

Lilacs and More

[Lilacs, Arnold Arboretum, Boston; 5/12/13]

We've had a bountiful spring, I must say, after a long, snowy winter. It has remained mostly pretty cool at night -- almost down to frost the other night -- but the cold seems to have preserved the blossoms on many of our flowering trees. The Arnold Arboretum's Lilac Sunday celebration last weekend certainly benefited from perfect spring weather patterns for the lilacs, which mostly all opened right on time for the annual Mother's Day-coinciding festival. It did rain all morning, but the storm passed out to sea by around noon and hordes of moms and families came out to enjoy the heady scent of the arboretum's 380 lilac plants (176 different species)!

[Visitors stroll past a hillside showing off a variety of lilac species]

[Lilac paparazzi get right in for their close shots]

Although it was clearly the lilacs' day, there were plenty of other flowering plants and trees to be enjoyed -- wildflowers, peonies, flowering dogwoods and cherry trees -- as well as an abundance of burgeoning greenery.

[Tree peonies, on the Chinese Path]

[Azaleas adorn the woods]

Of course, along with all this abundance comes spring allergy season. I've been on allergy shots for two years now, so I'm doing pretty well, but I came away from our visit to the Arboretum with itchy, watering nose and eyes, so I think I hit my saturation point. I've had to break down and take a bit of antihistamines, but so much less than I used to need. Another thing to be grateful for.

You can see a handful more pix from Lilac Sunday here, alas without the scent, but also without the accompanying pollen!

Merry Month of May

[Tulips at Old South Church, Boston; 5/5/13]

The astro blogs are full of exhortations to slow down and enjoy the pleasures of the Taurus season (April 20 - May 20). Taurus is ruled by Venus, goddess of beauty and pleasure. Taurus is also associated with money and possessions. While beauty is free and abundant around me right now, money is not so much. It's been a slow start to the year, though the past month was disturbingly full of tight deadlines (that was fiery Aries season, everything fast and immediate). I've been able to invoice for a couple of projects, but the payment cycle is slow. That's the other thing about Taurus, the Bull - slow and steady, stubborn and persistent, and mean when pushed - as is Venus, for that matter. Everything in its time.

I have had some bites of new opportunities, including a potential part-time position working for a former colleague who reached out to me last week. It would be good to have some steady income and the chance to get out of the house regularly and work with people again, along with the flexibility to take on interesting freelance work. Maybe the best of both worlds. We'll see.

[At Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont MA; 5/6/13]

[New leaves rising from the dead ones, at Habitat]

Unfortunately, the result of those tight deadlines and other stressful craziness last month has been painful -- as I said, mean when pushed. My neck and shoulder pain, which I've been getting physical therapy for, went through the roof by this weekend. Diligent work on it this week with ice, heat, topical and oral pain meds, sleep, rest, and it's finally getting somewhat under control. I could really use a new/better ergonomic office chair but I can't really afford it right now.

Meanwhile, I'm taking advantage of another break in the work. I went for a lovely walk in the woods at Habitat on Monday, which I haven't been to since January. Spring comes a bit later to the woods, but it has arrived, as evidenced by blossoming mountain laurel and dogwood, fresh green ears of new leaves and unfurling fern fronds, columbine and trillium.

[Trillium at Habitat Sanctuary, Belmont; 5/6/13]

More photos from Habitat in May here.

Love is in the (Open) Air

["Loving Stones" by Joseph Wheelwright, in Boston; 5/4/13]

We went to the Christian Science Center Plaza on Saturday to check out the Boston Sculptors Gallery open-air exhibit, Convergence, which had its official opening later that afternoon -- running through the end of October. It was a beautiful sunny day, if chilly with the winds blowing steadily across the plaza, and fun to see the new sculptures sprinkled across the expansive I.M. Pei-designed grounds -- a work of art in itself.

[Christian Science Center, Boston]

One of our favorites was George Sherwood's "Wave Cloud," which stands on the Mass. Ave. edge of the giant reflecting pool. Its turning circle of metal scales fluttered with the wind, sending cloud patterns rippling across its surface.

["Wave Cloud" at the Christian Science Center]

 We also loved the delightful "Impossible" by Andy Moerlein, which we caught sight of by chance while on our way back from the hardware store on Mass. Ave.

Wait, are there boulders in those trees?

["Impossible" - up in the trees near Mass. Ave.]

We ran into one of the artists doing some last-minute touches for the grand opening - Nancy Winship Millikin, whose "Lighthouse" featured a tall scaffolding draped with raw wool. She told us that the lights from the building shine through the her structure like a lighthouse at night. We'll have to go check it on some evening.

We also ended up chatting with one of the grounds security guys for a bit, who gave us some of the inside scoop on who was renting which office spaces, whether the proposed renovations on the reflecting pool would be going forward (no! which is great - breaking up the pool would have ruined it), the QR codes on the artist plaques (only for iPhone at this point), and the availability of public parking underneath the plaza. He also pointed us to the endearing "Loving Stones" shown in the top photo.

If you're in town anytime over the next 5 months, the sculptures are certainly worth checking out, and it's free! You can also go see the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library while you're there.

Meanwhile, I have some more photos of the exhibit here. Enjoy!

---

[Love on the riverbank; 5/5/13]

Comida Mexicana en Casa

[Avocado mousse; 4/2/2013]

When I first went in 2005, Maddy told me that I'd never starve on our trip to Mexico. She was more than right. With fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere, and some of the most delicious food anywhere, Mexico is foodie heaven. On this latest trip, to San Miguel de Allende last month, I missed having fresh (rinded) fruit dusted with chili, salt and lime from the street vendors, but this was more than made up for by our cook/maid, Tina. Tina has been with R, the daughter of my friend/host T, for many years - no doubt in large part for her culinary talents as much as for her sweet disposition. For our friend M's birthday, Tina made her very special dessert, avocado mousse, which was to die for. (I didn't get the exact proportions, but I believe it's made of avocados, vanilla ice cream, powdered sugar, and a bit of lime. She also made candied Marcona almonds for the top.)

[Salad with salmon, avocado, and pear slices]

Tina also prepared wonderful mid-day meals for us, including salmon and avocado salads, cilantro soup, and fresh guacamole. She cooked up enchiladas verdes and curried chicken with delicately spiced rice.

[Enchiladas verdes]

[Curried chicken]

I'm afraid I don't have a photo of the chiles rellenos she made for us, which may have been my favorite of all. She left them for us while we were off for the day to the hot springs park, and we had a couple of friends of T's come to joins us just after we got home. So the five perfect chiles rellenos plus rice fed us all with little muss or fuss. The poblano chiles were filled with ground beef, chopped almonds and raisins, and they were baked in a tomato sauce. I found a somewhat similar looking recipe online that I must try when I have some time.

Tina also left us cut strawberries and fresh mangos for us to have with yogurt for breakfast before she arrived each day. We had fresh roasted organic coffee from Chiapas, too, from a little coffee shop in the center called La Ventana - for its window from which people often buy their coffee to go to sit and sip in the nearby plaza, the Jardin.

What I've posted here is just what we had at home, en casa, never mind the food we had when we went out to restaurants. I'll save that for another post!

Spring Arrives in the City

[Back Bay - Prudential, Boston; 4/28/13]

Very busy with work still, but thought I'd post a few photos from this past weekend in Boston. Spring is in full swing now. Even as the early-blooming magnolias are dropping their blossoms, the pear trees and weeping cherries are taking the baton in the blossom relay, and the tulips and daffodils stand up and cheer.

The city was full of people this weekend, partly due to the long awaited spring weather but also because everyone from the city and suburbs wanted to come pay their respects at the Boston Marathon tributes in newly reopened Copley Square. Lorianne posted about it on her blog (she and J were in on Sunday) and I uploaded some photos on my Flickr site from Saturday.

[Copley Square, Boston; 4/27/13

The Public Garden was a little less crowded than Copley, but there were also many people out enjoying the day there and on Boston Common as well.

[Public Garden at Charles and Boylston Sts; 4/28/13]

[Swan Boats on the Lagoon, Pubic Garden; 4/28/13]

We're having a string of sunny days, although the temps are supposed to drop quite a bit on Friday. I have more deadlines, but I should be able to find some time to get out and enjoy it - especially on this first day of May. It will be hard not to...

Murales de Colores

[Mural, Colonia Guadalupe, San Miguel de Allende; 4/1/13]

Getting back to my brief visit to Mexico a few weeks ago...  We drove out for breakfast one morning to the Via Organica cafe, which is run by a nonprofit Mexican organization committed to organic food production, just commerce, and a healthy lifestyle for the planet. We drank delicious fresh jugo verde (green juice - if I recall, parsley, celery, cucumber, cactus and pineapple), ate huevos rancheros and cinnamon buns, and finished off with capuccinos. The cafe is located in the Guadalupe neighborhood, which sported many walls colorfully painted with lively murals. I would have loved to wander more, but my photographing was squeezed between breakfast and a subsequent trip out to the Aurora art galleries. We'd just arrived less than 30 hours earlier and I thought I'd have more time.

[Mural con moto]

[Comics mural (Oaxacan?)]

[Nature mural]

Click to see any photo larger.

Earth Day

[Magnolia tree and garden on Comm Ave, Boston; 4/20/13]

I'm out straight with work, but I still appreciated today's sunshine and the tiny pink buds sprouting all over my neighbor's peach tree.* I ran out to the grocery store mid-day and tonight made pasta primavera in honor of spring. I did take time for a short walk around 4:30 to stretch my legs, the brisk air reminding me that it's spring, not summer. It will be barely above freezing tonight, but the growing profusion of flowers and greenery will not be deterred.

*Update: I added that the tree above is a magnolia. The peach tree (not shown) is in my neighbor's yard out here in the 'burbs. :-)

Boston Strong

[Marathon duckling (Make Way for Ducklings), Public Garden; 4/20/13]

It's been a crazy week. Hard to get work done, and I'm overloaded with deadlines at the moment. I was supposed to have a phone conference with a client on Friday for a quick turnaround project, but we were all on lockdown -- woken at 6:30 am with voice message from the town police saying to stay indoors. Lockdown lasted until almost 6pm, when D finally got out of Boston to come pick me up for the weekend. It was his birthday. On the way in to Boston we saw police at every street corner as we drove along the main thoroughfare bordering Watertown, and then police cruisers speeding past us in the other direction into Watertown. We spent the evening on D's couch watching it all on TV, when they finally nabbed the surviving bomber. Oh, and did I mention that my 85-year-old dad had hip replacement surgery on Friday morning? So if I wasn't on edge from the lockdown and deadlines, I was pretty anxious waiting to hear from my brother (he emailed me around 11:30 am to say everything went fine).

[On Comm Ave, Boston; 4/20/13]

The street below was filled with noisy cheering students from the local colleges (BU, Northeastern, Berklee...) heading up Comm Ave from Kenmore Square towards the Boston Common to celebrate and thank local law enforcement and first responders. Then the next day everyone else started coming out to enjoy the spring day. It was windy and a bit cloudy, but the magnolias were in full bloom and gardens starting to spring to life.

I won't be able to post much for awhile as I try to tackle my deadlines amid some continuing distractions -- whether continuing news or gorgeous spring days. Meanwhile, check out some of the photos I took yesterday while wandering aroun Back Bay.

[Prudential tower through magnolias, from Comm Ave]

Boston

[Tiffany window, Ayer Mansion - Comm Ave, Boston; 4/14/13]

Most readers who have been visiting this blog in the last several years knows that much of what I post here is about Boston. D lives in the Back Bay and ever since we started dating four years ago we've done a lot of wandering around the city and enjoying its many delights, from restaurants to art museums, riverfront to waterfront, blizzard to blistering summer heat. We enjoy lots of everyday wandering as well as the big annual Boston events like 4th of July weekend and the New Year's Eve procession down Boylston St. And the Marathon, which usually coincides with the prettiest time of year when the magnolias along Commonwealth Ave are coming into bloom.

On Sunday evening, the day before the Marathon, we had a nice dinner at the Eastern Standard with one of D's friends who'd been at the Red Sox game. We walked back from Kenmore Square and headed to Boylston St so we could take pictures at the Boston Marathon finish line painted across the street in bright blue on yellow. The next morning we watched the elite runners on TV as they left Hopkinton and began their amazingly fast run 26.2 miles to Boston. Just before they were due to arrive, we walked the two blocks over to Boylston St from D's apartment and found a spot to watch and take pictures of the fastest women and the fastest men as they glided past us for the remaining two blocks to the finish.

[Fastest man - Desisa heading for the finish line (2 hrs 10 min 22 sec finish time)]

And then we wandered off, mostly back a bit away from the rows of people lining the race, taking pictures of runners, spectators, kids and dogs, and the line of magnolias up Comm Ave. My friend M, who I'd just traveled with in Mexico, called me on her cell to meet up with us. So we met her and walked over to Boylston at Dartmouth St so she could see runners reaching the finish line past all the colorful waving flags. Then we walked back down about a block and stood on the sidewalk for awhile, chatting with a young guy from Southern California who was waiting to cheer in his girlfriend, tracking her with his cell ("She's 3 miles out!" "Now she's 2 and half miles out!"). We cheered on the limping exhausted and the astounding still-vigorous alike. The Marathon is Boston's annual family reunion (117th this year), to which we invite tens of thousands of strangers from all over the world to join in -- the lithe and speedy as well as the merely human cheerers-on. It's our happy day.

It was 1:15 pm by my last camera download. We walked back along Boylston and then over to Newbury St to get some lunch, then said goodbye to M and went home to D's.

[Ornaments under the magnolias, Comm Ave; 4/14/13]

We were about to take a nap. D had come down with a cold, I was tired. It was 10 minutes to 3. We heard one loud crash and wondered if a truck had dropped a large load of steel somewhere. Then the second, closer one, which we could feel. Seeing the smoke rising behind the buildings two blocks away and hearing all the sirens, we knew something very bad had happened. We stayed in, watching TV in utter sadness.

Pajaros

[Mexican grackle holding forth; 4/3/13]

Being situated directly overlooking the Parquez Juarez, the terrace at our casa offered prime viewing (and listening) for local bird life. Our first morning started with fireworks somewhere across town -- 6 AM, barely light -- and then the first started in their raucous chorus, joined by barking dogs and then the bells chiming in the towers of a nearby church. I jumped out of bed and watched first from the small balcony in my room and then went up to the terrace for the full performance. The local denizens, human and otherwise, sure know how to welcome the day!

[Cardinal; 3/31/13]

I'm not a birder, so bear with me... (and birders, feel free to correct any misconceptions!).

We had hummingbirds feeding on the flowers draping down within our courtyard and back patio, doves that perched on the edge of our terrace, and a rather vocal sleek black Mexican grackle with a beautiful long tail who liked to hang out atop a nearby lime tree. But the most conspicuous birds were the snowy egrets who flew over our heads into the hills to retrieve twigs and sailed back downcurrent into the trees in the park where they were building their nests. Back and forth, back and forth for much of the day. I'd have my little point-and-shoot camera at the ready after one would pass close by, give up waiting, and another would sail right past again. I have lots of blurry shots of them mid-flight, but caught one (see last photo in previous post) in a nearby tree having plucked a prize twig.

[Dove (paloma) perched on our terrace; 4/4/13]

[Egrets nesting in the Parquez Juarez; 4/1/13]

We also noticed long semicircular strings of birds high in the sky wending their way out to the valley at dusk as well as the reverse migration in the early hours of dawn. We found out that these were glossy ibises who fly out to the lake for the evening and return to the hills every morning.

[Glossy ibis migration to the lake near San Miguel; 4/6/13]

More later...