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Puppy Love

2012-01-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

You know, it's really a shame they don't like each other. :)

Snowy Pajamas

2012-01-26T14:41:00.001-05:00

The scene in my driveway around 8:20 this morning. Now THAT'S a good husband. :)

Practically Famous

2012-01-26T01:22:00.002-05:00

OK, this post is taking me too long to write. I want to be brilliant and funny and praise the brilliant & funny Meg Keene of A Practical Wedding. Her book about sane wedding planning just came out in January and the Boston leg of her book tour was tonight at Porter Square Books. Meg signed 4 books for me - my own copy and 3 that are earmarked for some of the engaged couples I know. Yay!

But as far as writing a long post goes? Man, it's past one a.m. and so I'm just going to say, "I saw Meg. Meg was great. Go check out the website and the APW Boston Facebook page for forthcoming pictures." Good night. :)

Home Office Sort-Of-Makeover

2012-01-24T22:08:00.005-05:00

Ta-da! I present the result of about 45 minutes labor this morning - a new & improved home office space. I mean, just look at the difference . . .

Yeah. I know it doesn't look all that new, but trust me, it's an improvement. We got the magnetic board and picture ledge at IKEA recently and I've been waiting to put them up. I love having the board right there now, waiting for notes, reminders, inspiration, etc. And the picture ledge gives me a space to finally display my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, as well as Justin's Bachelor's and his Army Achievement Medal certificate. His Master's in teaching will take over that spot once he's got it. :)

Hoorah for carving a more officey space out of the guest room! And for under $30. :)

Book Nook

2012-01-23T20:53:00.002-05:00

Oh tannenbaum, we loved ye, but we missed our reading nook more! Now that the Christmas tree is out in the yard (for burnination later this winter), we could restore our reading corner and shelve a number of books that had piled up because their intended homes were blocked by the tree. I mean, I love trees, but I kind of love their products more. ;)

She's No Dummy

2012-01-22T20:49:00.003-05:00

It's not a particularly cold night around here (around 27 degrees at the moment), but Sadie apparently thinks that having her face pressed up to the heating vent is the way to go. Can't actually say that I blame her . . . :)

De-Christmasing

2012-01-21T23:35:00.002-05:00

So sad, the day when you finally have to take down the Christmas stuff. Here's a pro tip for ya, though. Wait until mid-January, then it actually feels good to pack it all up & get back to your normal, uncluttered house. :) Au revoir, Christmas! See you next year!

Snowy Morning

2012-01-20T10:09:00.001-05:00

Finally! We've got some snow on the ground up in this piece. This is the view out the bathroom window this morning around 9. Sadie-pup likes the snow, too.

Unionised

2012-01-19T23:53:00.000-05:00

Too tired to write out the story of this cool flag tonight, but hope to do so soon. In the meantime, hey, check out this cool flag at one of my museums! :)

Fighting Back

2012-01-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

Just bought two placards and two bumper stickers to replace the lawn sign and car magnet that random people have STRAIGHT UP STOLEN in the last few months. What the fuck is wrong with some people? Well, now the signs will be either stuck to my car or inside my windows where you can't get them, sucker.

Snuggly Morning

2012-01-17T15:01:00.001-05:00

Ahh, the perks of working from home one day a week in the winter. Getting to have a second cup of coffee is one. Getting to have a little bit of a lie-in with a puppy snuggled into your armpit is another.

And getting to see the husband off to his first day of continuing education classes (with the next-fall goal of starting his Master's in Teaching) is a third. :)

My Boys

2012-01-16T23:14:00.001-05:00

So happy to be back from vacation to see this little/big boy and his brother. :) Missed them so much and showered them with Florida souvenirs this morning. And look how freaking cute Thing 1 looks in Uncle's boots!

Wild Kingdom?

2012-01-15T13:12:00.001-05:00

Last day in Florida, first visit to Buffalo Wild Wings. ;)

Matched Pair

2012-01-14T18:39:00.001-05:00

Butterbeer and Strongbow cider. A beautiful team!

HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER HARRY POTTER!

2012-01-14T15:14:00.001-05:00

Hogwarts from the patio of the Hogs Head Pub! :)

Up Close & Personal

2012-01-13T20:30:00.001-05:00

One of two nurse sharks (either Thelma or Louise) who live at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. This is the facility who rescued Winter, the tail-less dolphin star of the recent "Dolphin Tale" movie. It was my first time seeing dolphins and they are adorable! We also saw sting rays, sea turtles, and the cutest otters you ever did see.

Alternate Reality

2012-01-12T16:09:00.001-05:00

A windy but lovely day at the pier at Clearwater Beach. I'd be shivering in my office at work on a normal January 12th. This is much better.

Surrealist Slug

2012-01-11T16:49:00.001-05:00

The awesome back side of the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg. We got here too late in the day to want to pay the full admission price, but we bought some cool stuff in the gift shop and are now sitting behind the museum checking out the scene.

False Summer

2012-01-10T16:31:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Clearwater Beach! Still getting used to shorts and sand between my toes in January, but can't complain.

We Have Arrived

2012-01-09T22:02:00.001-05:00

Taking in the view (and a book on his kindle) in Clearwater Beach.

Sadie's Woodland Adventure

2012-01-08T18:59:00.001-05:00

Yup, that's a cute little pup home in her house after a wild romp through the woods - unescorted - this afternoon. She got loose of her lead while outside and took off for an hour or so. This is not the first time she's done this and she always comes back, so I'm a little calmer now than I was the first time.

It's still massively stressful, though. Especially because she actually ran back through the backyard once while she was gone, but refused to come when called. Then, proceeded to climb the embankment by our house almost up to the highway. !!! I ran towards the embankment, heart in my throat, and hollered for her to come down. She didn't come back (then), but she did climb down, so that's good.

Sigh. Without sounding cavalier, she's my parents' problem for the next week, as we're off to sunny Florida! Good luck, Grammy & Papa. ;)

Side note: I'll definitely continue to take daily photos while in Florida, but they may get posted in clumps or from my phone (which sometimes adds the annoying "this message was posted from a Verizon Wireless phone" message at the bottom). Have no fear, though - the photos will be taken! Today marks three months - a quarter of a year - since I started the project and I'm not feeling any signs of slowing down. :)

Warmth/Light

2012-01-07T12:53:00.002-05:00

I was going to post this shot of my orangey-pink roses and say how nice it is to have a shot of light & warm color of such a cold day. Then, I looked at the thermometer outside the kitchen window & realized it's above 50 out there. ;)

I'm off to take a shower, then take the pup for a walk on this unexpectedly warm day! Justin has drill this weekend, but he'll be home tonight to sleep. Sadie & I will have to amuse ourselves without him and I think a walk in the woods might be just the thing.

Plugging the Hole

2012-01-06T08:31:00.001-05:00

Up early this morning to watch the littlest monkey while his big brother had ear tube surgery. :( Yucky reason for Thing 2 time, but fun nonetheless. Keep Thing 1 in your thoughts today!

Rhyming & Scheming

2012-01-05T15:42:00.001-05:00

The above shows how I spent much of my work day today. January in my museums is all about planning. We're too small to be able to plan 2012 much in 2011. So once the calendar turns over, it's go time!

Eyes Front

2012-01-04T23:56:00.000-05:00

Loooong day back to work today - was on the road by 8:45am and didn't pull into the driveway until just after 11pm. All in all, I drove just over 143 miles today. Very glad to be home and out from behind the wheel :)

2011 in Review

2012-01-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Well, thank goodness, 2011 was a little calmer around here than 2010 was. I've pulled together a sampling of the first posts of each month & it really reminded me of that. If you have a little time to kill, read through them & see what I mean.

January: 2010 in Review
February: "Maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."
March: Hipster Company
April: April Fools
May: Where I've Been
June: Reversal of Stereotypes
July: Canada Day, Eh?
August: "Living the Content"
September: Extreme Family Cuteness
October: 365 Days of 30!
November: Ridiculous Dog
December: Silly

I'm thankful that here in January 2012, I'm still settled in a lovely house, with a beloved husband finally home. 2012 - we're coming at ya!

Snuggled In

2012-01-03T08:10:00.001-05:00

We've been puppy-less parents for almost a week now, but little Miss Sadie was delivered by my mother this morning! My parents kindly watched her while we were in New York. We're so glad she's home! And I think she is, too. :)

Two-fer

2012-01-02T20:20:00.001-05:00

Another two-for-the-price-of-one post! Here are my photos for the first two days of 2012.

After sharing the living room with two of my best friend's friends over the weekend, it was nice to have the space all to ourselves on New Year's Day. Not a bad air mattress set-up, no?

We got home from NYC around 7:30 tonight, after a stop at the IKEA in New Haven, CT. I've liked this table for about a year now, and saw a bunch on "final sale" for $25. So we picked up two and we're testing them as living room end tables. They're a bit lighter and more open than my grandparents' old ones, and so might work better for us. We shall see!

I Only Bought One!

2011-12-31T17:23:00.001-05:00

Two photos/posts today! Please to enjoy the interior of the rare book room of The Strand bookstore (est. 1927) on Broadway. Sigh. :)

Snuggling

2011-12-31T16:04:00.001-05:00

Me lying on my best friend's apartment floor with her dog/my doggie niece. One of the best parts about visiting NYC, in my opinion. ;)

A Moveable Feast

2011-12-30T21:41:00.001-05:00

At Cannibal NYC tonight. In heart-swooning love with the beer fridges in the entrance. <3

Schwag

2011-12-29T20:31:00.001-05:00

Somebody finally started using up some of her Christmas gift cards (from this year & last). :) Look at the haul from trips to T.J Maxx and Old Navy!

'Tis the Season

2011-12-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

Whew! Busy last few days - spending time with family, giving and receiving gifts, and eating, eating, eating. :) But I remembered to take a photo each day! Please enjoy December 25th-28th. And a belated Merry Christmas!

Blessings & Light

2011-12-24T23:50:00.000-05:00

I am so blessed to have my husband home with me this year. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's sometimes easy to forget how much that means. But tonight, when this candlelit photo was taken at my church and we all sang "Silent Night," he was right next to me. And that means soooo much.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Second Verse . . .

2011-12-23T16:10:00.001-05:00

. . . slightly different from the first. Our dining room table, cleared of the wrapping materials of last night and ready for our dinner party tonight. We're not hosting Christmas anything this year, so it's nice to think that at least our friends will get to enjoy our Christmas decorations.

Also - the plaid tablecloth and the silver candlesticks belonged to my mum's mother, who lived in this house for forty-three years. I love that.

No Rest for the Weary

2011-12-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

Well, those weary of seeing my Christmas prep, that is. :) I'm doing ok over here! We had our weekly pizza night tonight - watched a bunch of TV and enjoyed takeout pizza, two things we really only do on Thursday nights. Then, after the shows were over, I wrapped up the final half-dozen presents and off they went under the tree!

I'm pretty content this Thursday night. I'm a bit tired from a busy week, but one more workday and I'm staring down the barrel of eleven blissful days off. I'll take it.

Sick of It Yet?

2011-12-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

Getting tired of seeing my Christmas decorations yet? ;) Tonight, I wrapped a spare strand of lights around the banister and the pine garland that I put up weeks ago. It's so lovely and bright that we don't even need to turn on the stairway light to go up & down.

I also added some newly arrived Christmas cards to the ribbon card hanger I made the other night for the back of the front door - will try to post a photo of that tomorrow. And with the help of my handsome husband, finished off the last four cards & wrapped about 75% of the gifts. Huzzah!

Welcome!

2011-12-21T00:41:00.000-05:00

Tonight, the final Christmas decorations went up, including a new lit garland that Justin put up while I was at work. It was heaven to pull into the driveway and see the front door (with its lovely wreath) all lit up!

After I got home, we baked 62 cookies for the staff & volunteers at one of my museums and 27 cupcakes, as well. The cupcakes were meant for both the museum stuff tomorrow and for our dinner party on Friday. However, half of them didn't get cooked long enough and collapsed after coming out of the oven. So we decided to just salvage the good ones for our dinner party. :)

Home Sweet

2011-12-19T20:27:00.001-05:00

I love my living room at all times of the year, but I really love how inviting it looks with Christmas lights on the tree and in the window. Makes coming home even more more enjoyable!

Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

A lovely day at the lake today, featuring pancakes, a soak in the hot tub, and Christmas cookies with the little monkeys! :)

Oh, Brother(s)!

2011-12-17T23:51:00.000-05:00

Two photos, and monkeys, for the price of one today! Above are shots of Things 1 and 2 watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Too sweet. The shot of Thing 2 was actually taken from above/behind the chair he was in, because he hid his face when he saw me with the camera. :)

A Big Present

2011-12-16T23:53:00.000-05:00

A sweet puppy underneath her grandparents' tree. We're at the lake house this weekend and looking forward to some Christmasy family time. :)

Let Us Gather

2011-12-15T23:56:00.000-05:00

Pictured here is the cool ceiling of Meadhall bar in Kendall Square. I met a grad school friend and some other EMPs (emerging museum professionals) here tonight for happy hour. Their beer selection is really impressive and definitely going to bring Justin back to try some. Besides, with a name like that, how can an Beowulf-and-Old-English loving dude like himself not like the place? :)

Base Camp

2011-12-14T20:58:00.000-05:00

Tonight's photo was inspired by this one over at Chez Larsson. Hers is much better, but I kinda like mine, too. After a long and kind of busy day (split between two museums), I had to endure a 90-minute commute home. That's twice what it should be and the last 45 minutes was just sitting in traffic within 10 miles of home. Boooooo.

However, I came home to a lovely glass of wine already poured and an equally lovely dinner. That was followed by a few hours of lolling about on the sofa - drinking wine, admiring the lights on the tree, and reading stuff on the interwebs. Plus a short dance party interruption. :)

I read a post on someone's blog today about their first year of marriage being equal parts "cocktail hour before dinner" and "sofa forts on the weekend" and I loved it. If I can find it, I'll re-post. Tonight reminded me how much fun my own marriage can be. I'm glad I have it/him.

The CIC

2011-12-13T20:36:00.003-05:00

Don't buy into the Christmas industrial complex, man. Tune in, drop out, and recycle your poinsettia year to year. ;)

I hadn't expected much from this experiment - it really just stemmed from my desire not to throw the plant away after last Christmas. There are some really complicated instructions out there for reflowering your poinsettia, but I just treated it like any other houseplant. Kept it near the window in decent sunlight and watered it once a week.

And now here we are, less than two weeks to Christmas and as you can see above, at least four of the leaves have gone red. Lovely!

A Little Late to the Game

2011-12-12T23:04:00.003-05:00

Guess who took the photo for and ordered their Christmas cards tonight?

The poor pup, though. She had been sound asleep, but we knew we had to get them ordered tonight, so we lured her downstairs with dog biscuits. She looks like she figured out the trick and just wants to be back in bed. ;)

Army Weekend

2011-12-11T16:06:00.001-05:00

Two photos for the price of one today. Saturday's is above, of a sergeant in Justin's battery giving the "artillery punch speech" at the holiday party. The bucket to hold the punch and the various ingredients (9 different liquids, ranging from Hawaiian Punch to cognac) are behind him on that little table. After the punch was polished off, a bunch of us went out on the town in Portsmouth. Good times. :)

And someone was very happy to see daddy when he got home early from drill this afternoon! Well, two someones, really. :)

Prepare for Launch

2011-12-09T18:52:00.001-05:00

Walking in the South End of Portsmouth today, I looked up and saw the above scene over at the Peirce Island boat launch. It's the new gundalow, ready to hit the water tomorrow morning!

I had been hoping to go the launch, but I have to work at one of my museums (storytelling by the fire in our 1710 house, then crafting Christmas ornaments & doing a scavenger hunt back at the museum). Then, we have Justin's army Christmas party at night. Look forward to some . . . interesting photos from that one, probably very interesting once we get into the artillery punch!

Pay Attention

2011-12-09T00:30:00.001-05:00

It's after midnight, but this is my photo for Thursday. We were in town a few hours ago picking my brother-in-law from the airport. Boston's Mayor "Mumbles" Menino declared a midnight deadline for the Occupy Boston camp to disband and leave Dewey Square. It's now thirty minutes past the deadline and nothing has happened yet.

Obviously, time will tell and the story may be very different when I wake up in the morning. However, for now, the eviction of one of the Occupy groups in a large city (MY city!) has remained peaceful. I hope to write more about the Occupy movement in the future, but for now, here's what I think.

There are major groups of people, protesting in major cities across the United States and despite the perceived lack of a clear message, there's something here. People are unhappy with the way this country is going and they're not afraid to stand up and say so. If you're not paying attention, you should be.

The Good Husband

2011-12-07T23:26:00.001-05:00

Hee hee. The things I make him do . . . both for the blog and for Christmas. :)

Dressed

2011-12-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

Ta da! I know the lights make a streaky line across the photo, but it's late and I'm tired. And I love our tree. :)

O Tannenbaum

2011-12-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

Front and center is our tree, in its not-natural-per-se-but-not-yet-settled-indoors state at the tree lot! :) We got it in the door (not without stress), into its stand, and strung with lights tonight. All while enjoying some Bailey's-laced hot cocoa. Next up, ornaments! Look for a decorated tree photo tomorrow night.

Party On

2011-12-04T22:08:00.001-05:00

Today was a busy day for us! Up at 8:30 to wrap some Yankee swap gifts and start some stuffed mushrooms for my work holiday parties this evening. Then off across town for a birthday brunch for my sister, then back to her house for cake and gifts after brunch. Then home to finish the mushrooms, "plate" the bagel chips & bruschetta, and walk the pup. A little after 3, we were off to Work Holiday Party #1, then after a couple of hours, on to Work Holiday Party #2!

It is any wonder that we climbed right into bed when we got home around 9:30? :)

A(nother) Walk in the Woods

2011-12-03T23:54:00.000-05:00

Lovely afternoon today, hiking about Blue Hills with the husband, Sadie-pup, five of my college friends, and Sadie's boyfriend Lou (the chocolate lab of my friends T and T). Later Muppets movie plans were slayed by heavy traffic and our evening commitment to babysit the monkeys, but I was glad to at least have that hour or so in the woods with old friends and dogs. :)

Insert Sad Trombone Noise

2011-12-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

Guess whose 46-year old kitchen door's lock finally went this morning? Yup. We realized as we were about to leave for Portsmouth (me to work, Justin to do some army stuff). I called my mother (who is also our landlord) and she relayed the search for a locksmith to my sainted father. Who then spent the rest of his day playing phone tag with locksmith companies and trying to get one who could meet us after 5 when we returned home.

He finally landed one (a Russian dude with a very thick accent) and he met us at the house. Our lock was too broken to pick, so he had to whip out the drill and just tear it up. Which, hilariously, didn't bring the dog running. As Justin said on the porch over the noise of the drill, "Worst watchdog ever."

$200 and an offer from the Russian locksmith for a hit of weed* later . . . it was done and we're safely on the right side of the door. And the old lock still works, as long as you lock it from the inside, so that's nice. Potential robbers, take note. :)

*to relieve the stress of getting locked out, we think?

Silly

2011-12-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

Someone didn't know he was posing for the photo of the day . . . :)

Focus on the Positives

2011-11-30T19:58:00.001-05:00

Well, today's photo really should have been of my bumper as it lay on the ground, almost separated from my car, but I didn't have time to get that shot. Sigh.

Here's the whole story. One of my museums was being decorated for the holidays by a local garden club. So when I pulled into the museum parking lot, there were cars everywhere. Those old ladies must have each taken their own car, every single one of them. I find a spot that I think I can squeeze into, but there's a downed tree branch to the left of it. You can all see where this is going, right?

I should have thrown the car in park, hopped out, moved the tree branch, and parked the car properly. Of course I should have. But I was running late and was impatient and I didn't. Instead, I pulled in, hooked the bigger-than-I-thought tree branch under my bumper, realized it, and as I backed up, the branch caught the underside and ripped the bumper off. Double sigh.

Luckily, one of the volunteers at the museum knew a good body shop nearby, I was able to pop the bumper on enough to drive down there, and the shop ended up doing the work for free since it was under an hour and didn't require much new hardware (only a few bumper clips). If you're ever in Ipswich and need body work, Bob's Auto Body is excellent!

Anyways, the above photo shows some of the lovely seasonal decorations that the garden club put up in the house, beneath a portrait of one of the gentlemen who lived in the house in the 19th century. It helps that I have this kind of stuff to look at after a bad morning!

A Boy and A Bike

2011-11-29T21:35:00.001-05:00

Gah, I cannot stand the cuteness. Today's photo is a bit of a cheat, as my mother actually snapped it this afternoon & sent it along to me. This is Thing 2 astride the (slightly-too-small) tricycle that I gave his big brother for Christmas five years ago. So freaking cute.

Fashion! (turn to the left)

2011-11-28T22:58:00.000-05:00

So I consider myself squarely in the middle of the fashion scale (assuming there is a scale). In my mind, one end of that scale is wearing sweatpants and baggy t-shirts everywhere (instead of just to the farmstand like I did on Sunday. Kidding! It was really stripey pajama pants, a college t-shirt, and a slim white fleece zip-up). The other end is the haute couture level, which (again in my mind) involves really uncomfortable heels and lots of striding around in fancy cities like New York, Paris, and London.

I'm, well, somewhere in the middle. If I can get away with assembling just a few cute outfits and alternating them all week, I will. Since I work at three different jobs (on non-consecutive days of the week), I can actually pull this off most weeks. Outfit #1 for Monday & Tuesday, outfit #2 for Wednesday through Friday, and outfit #3 for the weekend might contain elements of either weekday outfit. Because it's usually only my husband who sees me every day of the week and he lets me be as scrubby as I want.

On the other hand, I like taking time to assemble those outfits and I usually luuurve the end product, which is the other reason I'll wear one outfit two to three days in a row. Like my ensemble in the photo above (you knew I'd get there eventually, right?). It was my Plan C on Thanksgiving (when Plan A and B's zippers wouldn't zip, the bastards), but I ended up loving it. Green shirt dress (popped collar optional*), black belt, black leggings. Simple, but able to dress up or down.

For example, I went barefoot with it on Thanksgiving (since I was at my own house all day). Added a sparkly belt, silver bracelets, and knee-high boots to head out on Saturday night. Played it more respectable today at work with the plain black leather belt and just a watch. And if I wear it to Justin's Army holiday party next Saturday, planning to dress it up with said sparkly belt, dangly earrings, and pointy heels. Love the versatility.

*I am not such a big fan of the super-prepster popped collar, usually seen on polo-shirted frat boys. However, I think a popped collar on a woman, particularly on a button-down shirt, is much more Katherine Hepburn or Doris Day than douchey-prep. ;)

Here We Go!

2011-11-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

Now that our lovely Thanksgiving is over and we're (almost) done with our leftovers, we've moved on to Christmas! We even watched Elf and enjoyed cinnamon-spiced hot cider on Thursday night. :)

I haven't broken out all of the Christmas boxes yet, but I did pull out our stockings, some garland, some fake poinsettia blooms, and a bow for our front door wreath. On Saturday (after hosting Thanksgiving brunch for my high school friends & their significant others & offspring), we headed over to Wagon Wheel Farmstand to participate in Small Business Saturday. All we had to do was spend $25 and charge it on my American Express card and AmEx would give me a $25 credit on my account.

We spent around $91. ;) But, it was all things we were going to get anyways, it was supporting one of our favorite local farmstands, and it was really only $66 after the credit. We're going to go back for our Christmas tree later, but this time around, we got the small tree above for the porch, two little trees for either side of the fireplace, a 12" front door wreath, and a small wreath (really a candle ring) with some juniper berries and pinecones for the kitchen door. Then, we went back today to get a 14" wreath for the garden shed door and a new pot for our Christmas cactus, which has outgrown its old pot. Whew!

I popped a bow we already had on the front door wreath and we tucked the porch tree into a big basket, then adorned it with starfish from the existing porch decor. I love it. Welcome, Christmas 2011!

Taste the History

2011-11-26T23:38:00.000-05:00

A rare night out tonight at our old standard, People's Republik in Cambridge. Loving this pint glass from Mayflower Brewing. I first noticed it because I'm a historian, but it's also apt since I've been frequenting (does once every six months these days count as frequenting?) this bar for over a decade. Kind of hope I always will.

Big/Little Boys

2011-11-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Uncle Justin playing Batman with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Who says little boys grow up? ;)

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T23:28:00.001-05:00

May I present the first turkey we've ever cooked in this house? :) Obviously, there were many Thanksgivings hosted here in the forty-six years my grandparents lived here, but this was our first.

Justin did a great job with this lovely 20lb. bird and with a few exceptions (there always are), everything else went smoothly, too! We squeezed a dozen people into our small dining room and enjoyed a nice feast. The one (big) downer was that my sister had to stay home with a high temperature and nausea. Her husband and sons came and we checked on her via phone throughout the day while she rested, but obviously we wish she could have been here with us.

I asked my father to say grace and he was good enough to do so. He talked about being thankful for having both my family of origin and Justin's family of origin gathered together for the holiday. He also asked us to remember my sister, who would have much preferred being with us instead of being home in bed. And he gave thanks that we could celebrate this Thanksgiving with Justin, unlike last year when he was thousands of miles away. I hope you all had a lovely holiday!

Grey Majesty

2011-11-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

I had to work this morning, visiting a school to talk to some young students about the Native American history of the area. It was a fun program, but a rainy, messy day, so I was happy to be done for the week around 11am. I hurried out of the building to my car, but stopped for a quick shot of this lovely church. Even grey stone on a grey day can sometimes seem to glow. Love it.

Interesting Only to Me

2011-11-22T23:56:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. With all of the home improvement stuff, it's like Hodoeporicon is turning into a shelter blog. Don't worry - that's not the case, but I do seem to spend many of my days doing things to spruce up the house. When we moved in, my grandparents' 1934 Cape was in pretty good shape, but certain things needed repair or replacing. And of course, we had to assert our own style, which has done wonders for making the house feel like our home and not just the place I visited every week when I was growing up.

Because we both love to cook, I moved the kitchen table out of the kitchen months ago, and moved the fridge back in from the pantry to create a better work triangle. We were using an older wooden kitchen island (that needs some sanding and refinishing work), but bought a new kitchen cart a few weeks ago. It arrived, we finished assembling it on Sunday, and here it is!

(And yes, that awesomely crazy linoleum is next on the list. We have four boxes of IKEA's Tundra laminate flooring (in "antique") chilling under our dresser to be installed in the calmer days after Thanksgiving.)

The Grammy Grams

2011-11-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my very lovely mother, shown here unwrapping gifts with the assistance of her youngest grandchild. Love you, Mum! :)

Classy Wheels

2011-11-20T17:41:00.001-05:00

The amazing MG we saw at the gas station this morning. I've always loved that classic combination of British racing green and camel leather. Sigh. :)

Woody

2011-11-19T22:38:00.001-05:00

After a trip to IKEA today, we came home with these curtains, shown above in our dining room. This is the room that will eventually have birch tree wallpaper on one wall and grey walls on the other three. Right now, I think it seems a bit busy with the new curtains and the old stripey wallpaper, but that will change!

The House Smelled Amazing

2011-11-18T16:47:00.001-05:00

The beginnings of a Guinness chocolate cake, to be graced with Baileys frosting for our dinner party tonight! The goal was really these Irish carbomb cupcakes (which I made for St. Pat's last year), but we couldn't find the cupcake pan. :)

The Scuttlebutt

2011-11-17T23:48:00.001-05:00

So after a late night at the museum, I got up around 6:15 this morning and headed down to Hartford with the curator of one of my museums. We were attending the second day of the 2011 New England Museum Association conference. The workshops I attended were interesting (the view above is of people listening to a great period wallpaper reproducer), but the best part, as usual, was the gossip. ;)

Always Exciting

2011-11-16T23:52:00.001-05:00

A glimpse into the scintillating world of the museum professional tonight. Above is a shot of my dinner, which I ate in the museum kitchen around 6pm. I went in late (which gave me a lovely morning at home with the hubby and the puppy) and babysat one of our lectures until about 10pm. I'm exhausted now, but home in bed. Up tomorrow at 6am for a museum conference in Hartford! I tell ya, the excitement never ends. ;)

Monkeys in the House

2011-11-15T23:41:00.001-05:00

We hosted these cute monkeys for dinner tonight. Hectic, as it always is, but wonderful. :) I made them pose for this photo with one foot out the door. Auntie and Uncle love you, Things 1 and 2!

Mellow Yellow

2011-11-14T23:48:00.001-05:00

Look - color! I'm exhausted after a 13+ hour workday, but I have just enough energy to post this shot of the pantry. That's two coats of "Moonlight" on there and no more tape, i.e. almost done! A few more touch-ups remain, but doesn't it look good?

I Want to Paint It . . . Not Black

2011-11-13T19:00:00.001-05:00

We're painting our kitchen and pantry! It's been a multi-day project, but the actual color went on the walls today. Last Sunday, I removed the wallpaper. During the week, Justin scraped, sanded, spackled, etc. He primed the kitchen on Friday while I spackled, removed the last of the wallpaper paste, and taped the trim in the pantry. Justin then put the first coat of primer on the pantry on Saturday before our friends came over for dinner.

This morning, I put the second coat of primer on the pantry while he had the no-VOC paint mixed at ACE. Then, we finally got to put the first coat of Benjamin Moore's "Moonlight" on the walls! Very satisfying to actually see color on the walls after all that prep.

Water Break

2011-11-12T17:51:00.001-05:00

This morning saw us up much earlier than usual for a weekend morning, but for a good reason! Our oldest nephew (Thing 1 here on the blog) had his last town soccer game for the season. So we rose before 8am, made a Dunkin' Donuts run, and shivered through almost two hours of adorable kindergarteners sort of chasing the ball around the field (at my old middle school). We also received hugs and kisses from the short one, which made it all worth it. :)

Into the Woods

2011-11-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

So last week, I ordered ten of these beauties from a great shop on Etsy called Oh Little Rabbit. I've been wanting cloth napkins for awhile and wanted to make sure to have enough for hosting Thanksgiving, as well. And they came today! I love them and once we paint the dining room walls grey and put up this wallpaper on an accent wall, they will be even more perfect.

On a related note, we were wandering around Target a couple of months ago and en route to the home goods department, paused for a second in the jewelry department. I half-heartedly tried on a few necklaces, then turned to Justin and said, "I think I'm just at a place in my life where I'd honestly rather adorn my house than myself." :)

Holiday Cheer

2011-11-10T19:33:00.001-05:00

I know, it's too soon for Christmas decorations! I'm a big fan of waiting until the end of November in order to give Thankgiving its due. However, one of my museums has an annual tree and wreath festival and drop-off for the event has begun. I think I walked past this tree a half dozen times today. Ah well, I love Christmas, so I don't mind too much.

Solar Flaring

2011-11-09T23:58:00.002-05:00

I had a very busy day at work, but yeah, this garden is where I spent part of my morning. Can't argue with that!

Mindless

2011-11-08T22:07:00.002-05:00

Tonight was one of those evenings. I was tired all day and begged off an after-hours work party. Justin wasn't feeling well. We ordered pizza and watched some TV, then I played more than a few rounds of my new-ish addiction, old school Tetris. I thought I might snap a picture of our wallpaper-less kitchen walls for you today, but gotta be real. This is what I really did tonight. ;)

Go Patriots!

2011-11-07T23:22:00.001-05:00

What a big boy Thing 1 is turning out to be! This is him in his daddy's Patriots hat, which almost fits. He'll be just 6 in February. Yikes! I love this little/big guy. :)

Fall Sunday in the 'Burbs

2011-11-06T21:24:00.001-05:00

A nice, quiet Sunday today. After sleeping late (and a bit restlessly due to the time change), we enjoyed a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs scrambled in bacon grease, pumpkin pancakes (using a great Trader Joe's mix), coffee, and orange juice.

Then, Justin was off outside to rake the front yard (photo above) and I got down to work inside. I stripped the wallpaper in our kitchen and future pantry (now breakfast nook) and we're hoping to start scraping and priming this week. If all goes well, pale yellow paint will go up on the walls next Sunday! :)

Bring Back Strident Feminism!

2011-11-05T23:34:00.000-04:00

So today I was meant* to be going to an APW Book Club meet-up. The Boston group was meeting in a nearby town at 1pm, as groups all over the world (well, the Western, First World bits anyhow) were meeting in their respective towns at the same time. It's a truly awesome thing, both for the participants, the observers, and the person behind it all, Meg at APW.

And this time, I was going to be a participant! I bought the book (How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran) a couple of months ago, read it all in a weekend, and love it! I had plans to bring stinky cheese and crackers! Alas, this morning I both chickened out on going, just a little bit, and realized I had work that needed doing in Portsmouth.

BUT. The book is truly amazing and you should read it. Male, female, whatever - it's brilliant and funny and heartwarming and provocative. Go read it now. And since I didn't get to go to the book club meet-up, come back and tell me what you think. :)

*Side note: I really love how having spent time in Scotland over the last decade has infused my speech with the occasional Briticism. :)

Downton Abbey

2011-11-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the recommendations of both Holly and Jenna, I put Downton Abbey on our Netflix queue and we started watching the first season tonight. Well, started and finished watching the first season, that is. This English period drama (soap opera, as Justin said) set on the eve of WWI is really, really well done. I highly recommend it!

The Dark Stuff

2011-11-03T19:36:00.003-04:00

Happy International Stout Day, everyone! :)

Why Wait?

2011-11-02T11:09:00.001-04:00

I usually wait until the end of the day to post my photo, in case something better comes along. :) However, I like this photo of my route into work on Mondays and Wednesdays (through a state forest) and figured I'd just share it now!

Also - since I'm posting a photo a day anyways, I signed up for NaBloPoMo. Nice to be doing it again, as I haven't done it since 2007. I did fine back then, but still, let's hope a photo a day is easier than a prosy post a day!

Ridiculous Dog

2011-11-01T23:52:00.001-04:00

I love this dog, but man, is she ridiculous. This is how I left her this morning, snug, but a little sad because her auntie and uncle (my sister and bro-in-law) had just left. Apparently, this is how she stayed for much of the morning, with the exception of the time she barked at the Vietnam Vets picking up our clothing donation - for five straight minutes . . . from the comfort of her bed. Sigh. I love having Justin home so I can hear this shit firsthand. ;)

Any Port in a Storm

2011-10-31T21:38:00.001-04:00

Our guest room bed, all made up for my powerless sister and brother-in-law. This is as neat as it ever is!

Worth It

2011-10-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

On the other hand, snowy nights lead to snowy mornings. And up in the mountains, this is what you get. Worth it. :)

Too Soon?

2011-10-30T01:27:00.001-04:00

A snowy scene in North Conway tonight. We're here for Justin's army family weekend and just made our snowy way home from a local bar.

And So It Begins

2011-10-28T21:28:00.003-04:00

Yup, that's what's left of our first snow of the season - a fairly light dusting overnight last night. They got a few inches further north in VT, NH, and ME, but I think most of it has melted off by now. Either way, there's no doubt what's coming down the pike. Ah well, we wouldn't be New Englanders if we couldn't handle it. ;)

Jealous of Her

2011-10-27T18:48:00.002-04:00

Yeah, this is how Sadie spent much of her day. The blanket over top of her was added by me when I got home, and as far as I know, it's still on her now. Someone's got the right idea . . .

Good Enough

2011-10-26T23:54:00.001-04:00

Like with last night, some nights you just come home tired and say, "Sure, that's good enough." It may not be the most exciting thing ever, but hey, this cute pic of Justin and the pup is good enough. :)

Best Photo So Far

2011-10-25T23:24:00.000-04:00

I am exhausted tonight. Since yesterday, I have hosted/taught/herded 78 school kids at my museums and I think I'm coming down with something to boot.

So all you get is the photo and a short caption. The basket in the foreground is full of animal skins for the Native American history program I did this morning and the room in the background is 301 years old. No, I'm not kidding.

In addition, my lil' camera phone did an admirable job handling both the detail on the basket and the chairs in the back. So hurrah for a good photo and it's off to bed for me!

Apples in Various States of Decomposition

2011-10-24T23:52:00.001-04:00

You can thank Justin for that title. :) It's what he first thought when he saw today's photo, an angled shot of my work space this evening.

I was cutting up apples for these hand pies, which came out very yummy! We still had a lot of apples (10+) left over from our CSA this fall, but this knocked off 4 of them. We had a few tonight and the rest are to share with my family for dinner tomorrow night. :)

3 Squares

2011-10-23T21:12:00.001-04:00

Today, we ate all three meals at home, at the dining room table. Doesn't sound that extraordinary to eat all three meals at home, but I can't think of the last time it happened. Weekdays, I rush out with travel mug coffee and a small thing in hand (banana, granola bar, waffles wrapped in a paper towel) to eat in the car while Justin eats his breakfast at home alone. I eat lunch in the various towns in which I work and we usually have dinner together at home. Once a week, we have dinner with my family and once a week (Thursdays), we order pizza and chow down on the couch while watching TV.

But today we were home. Here's what we enjoyed:

Breakfast (above): scrambled eggs with cheese, sliced apples and warm brie on toasted bagels with pumpkin butter, coffee, and pomegranate juice
Lunch: leftover roasted veggies (tomatoes, white kidney beans, eggplant, and zucchini) over couscous, Yuengling beer
Dinner: Trader Joe's frozen pizza with roasted peppers, mozzarella, and provolone, Narragansett Octoberfest (me), some weird Dutch lager we bought for a party a few weeks ago (him), and soon to come for dessert . . . sliced apples, Wensleydale cheese with cranberries, honey, hazelnuts, and port!

Spider Shadows

2011-10-22T17:42:00.001-04:00

The window decorations at my mother-in-law's house for my 10 year old sister-in-law's Halloween party! I added an "antique" filter on my phone and I kind of love this. :)

End of the Week

2011-10-22T00:11:00.000-04:00

A nice glass of red wine before/with dinner and before going to a 9:30 showing of Moneyball. A relaxing way to end the week!

Never the Same Day Twice

2011-10-20T22:37:00.000-04:00

I've always said that holding three jobs in the museum field ensures that I never have the same day twice. And man, did this week prove it! Last night, I was wandering around one museum in a dress, noshing on brie and pinot noir. This morning, I was ankle deep in a muddy archaeology pit. Variety is the spice of life!

The Best Laid Plans . . .

2011-10-19T23:45:00.000-04:00

All day, I planned on my photo of the day to be from the museum's Harvest Supper tonight. I went down to the first floor and took a few shots in anticipation. We had a lovely evening with lots of good food & wine. I was all set for the day, photo-wise.

Then, I got home to find out that our new bar had arrived! So while Justin noshed on leftovers from the Harvest Supper (the potatoes came home in a plastic baggie, which he thought was pretty hilarious), I started assembling the new bar. After he finished his late supper, he helped me finish the bar and we tucked it into its corner of the dining room.

We've begun to accessorize it and while I'll probably tweak it a thousand times more, it's at least had a start. The top shelf sports a melamine placemat with a Robert Burns quote and an old wooden tray I bought at a thrift store in New Hampshire, which currently hosts a bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label,a small bottle of port wine from Orkney Wine Company, a not-shown cocktail shaker, and nips of Talisker and Drambuie.

The next shelf down has a pretty engraved aluminum tray (that totally looks like silver), which is currently covered with our collection of shot glasses. However, I'm still feeling like open shot glass storage is too "dorm room decor" for me, so that may change. The next shelf down has another melamine placemat with a different Burns quote and a basket corralling bottle openers, wine corks, and my kilt beer coozie. The bottom shelf has a built-in wine rack which is currently holding two bottles of red, a bottle of blackberry mead, and a bottle of margarita mix.

Yay for finally having a good bar set-up! Can't wait until we have friends and/or family over and they can help themselves to a drink. :)

Contemplative

2011-10-18T23:49:00.001-04:00

Dinner with the family tonight at a local restaurant. I had a few more active shots, but couldn't resist this one of cutie Thing 2 contemplating his french fries.

We all thought he looked very dapper and a bit preppy with that 3/4 zip sweatshirt on, but don't fear a future of "yeah dude" -ness. When Grammy put it on him, she popped the collar and he promptly smooshed it back down. :)