3rd House Journal

City Kids

[Fairfield St, Back Back, Boston; 5/28/12]

You rarely see kids in Back Bay, except maybe in a park with parents, visiting. You see babies sometimes, toddlers, little ones in strollers, but not school-age children hanging out with friends or playing alone. It's an expensive neighborhood and the local grade schools are bad unless you can afford private school (that flag on the building at left is on a Montessori school). I've seen the kid whose legs sprawl out of the doorway above before in the same spot with another child, so maybe he lives there, or at least is a regular visitor. He was sitting on the steps turning over a rubber ball in his hands, waiting.

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...