Boston

Here's a few pictures from our recent trip to Boston. I think I'll leave the captions up to your imagination.

on the road

I'm writing this blog from Jenna's apartment in Somerville, which makes me feel especially cool since I'm on a trip and blogging.

Anyway, Tom and I have been in Boston for a few days now. It's been a great trip thus far and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Any good stories? Sure, but I won't write them right now. I'll include pictures with stories. The weather has been cool, wet, sort of a little humid, sunny, etc. The people are nice and have slight accents, and the city has curvy streets with old buildings. All is well.

Sorties and stories have the same letters but are not close to the same word. Something to ponder.

summer

It's summer. Oh how I love being a teacher. Today I was counting down the minutes until school ended. Is that sad? Probably not. It's time for a break. Someday I will write a post reflecting on my first year as a licensed teacher. That someday is not today.

It's my first summer since 2002 that I have had no work and/or school. Lovely lovely. My plans for the summer include reading, writing, reading, gardening, biking, beach-going, hiking, reading, sleeping, etc. Clearly I'll be very busy.

Tomorrow I leave for Boston. Tom and I will be spending a lovely long weekend seeing the sights and visiting Jenna. I'm really looking forward to a change of scene. One thing I will miss immediately is the cats. Luckily they are in good hands and I know they will get plenty of quality attention. Still, they are my besties and I am quite fond of their furry faces.

For now, though, I must be heading to bed. We set the alarms for 450 am and that will come all too soon.

Hooray! Summer!

countdown, jenna, a box

Today Tom and I are home, not working, enjoying the lovely sounds of lawn equipment. In only 2 short weeks we will have no reason not to sit at home. Oh, summer, I adore you.

Actually, in 2 weeks we will be sitting on an airplane headed toward Boston. Boston! Vacation! Exciting times. We are visiting my friend Jenna who is saving the world through early childhood literacy work. She has generously agreed to host us for the long weekend Tom and I will be visiting and in return we are going to make Jenna do fun touristy Boston things (such as throw tea in the harbor). Also, we are going to play cribbage in a Boston park. So everyone wins in this situation.

A short time ago Jenna wrote a blog about me and that was very nice. I didn't want to be a copy-cat so I didn't write about her, but then I thought that was silly so I will write about her now. Also, hopefully the coffee sets in while I am writing or the whole blog will be wordy and confusing.

Jenna and I met during college; it was my second year and her first year at U of O (her third year of college though- she transferred from SOU). We lived down the hall from each other and quickly learned that we enjoyed playing games together and being weird around our RA. After the dorm year we ended up in apartments across the courtyard from each other. Sadly, we didn't hang out as much as we should have during that summer (I can't remember why; work? school? travels?). Anyway, Jenna used to make food for fruit flies and has supplied me the majority of my boxes for moving, something I always think of when I see a box from the fruit fly food days. Now Jenna works in Boston and I'm looking forward to seeing her new city and HER. Maybe I'll whip up a present for her. Oh, that'd be nice.

In other news, the cats have found a new favorite toy. It's a giant box that once held a few wonderful gifts (including alphabet cookie cutters; post about those to follow in a few days). Pellinore is particularly fond of this box. He's always hanging out in it, running around it, and once even jumped on it (because it's empty it fell, startling him and teaching him not to do that again). I'm not sure if my mom reads this but if she does she should happy to know the grandcats love the box.

whale watching

In 2007 I traveled to Iceland. During my time in the land of ice I went whale watching. I may have seen a whale, I definitely saw birds and puffins, and thoroughly enjoyed wearing serious jumpsuits (really, I did. It was cold and very windy on the boat). Here's a picture of some of the other whale watchers in their outfits.



Iceland was a great place to visit. People were friendly, places were beautiful, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. And now that their economy has collapsed it's much more affordable for visiting. They have some tasty coffee, amazing geothermal pools, weird "forests," and stunning natural sights. Plus puffins!

travel

This photo is from Paris. I took it after a climb to the top of Basilique du Sacré Cœur on a trip in 2003. In the distance you can see the Tour Eiffel.

Paris is one of my favorite cities and I hope to live there someday. I'd like to get a flat with Tom where we can spend lazy days drinking coffee, eating bread and cheese, reading the paper on our balcony overlooking some cute street or square. Or we could spend busy days biking around town, shopping for wine, stopping for art museums, listening to little kids (and adults) speak French in lively conversations taking place in everyday places. This move wouldn't be permanent, perhaps half a year, but it would be significant. I'd make a serious effort to engage with the French language, something I feel I could only really accomplished if living in a world surrounded by it. I'd also utilize France's location in Europe to visit various destinations over long weekends.

Hopefully Tom and I will get there for a visit on our extended honeymoon in a few years. Until then, I will enjoy my memories and photographs of my visit to Paris.