Boston, You're My Home

I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile, but I love Boston. I live about 40 miles north of the city and don't actually go into the city very often. However, since I've started school, I have to drive into Boston at least once or twice per week. During the summer it's especially magnificent.

I love going over the Tobin Bridge and seeing Boston's skyline. (I DO NOT like paying $3 to cross it, however.) This doesn't fully capture it, but you get the gist.



After crossing the Tobin and getting on the loop ramp (or whatever crazy construction project it's referred to as) to get onto Storrow Drive, you see the Garden. Technically, that'd be the Gah-den. Us Bostonians don't care what corporate entity decides to sponsor the building...it will ALWAYS be the Garden to us.



On the way home, I get to see the Zakum Bridge. (I get to see it on the way in, too, but it's much more majestic in the dark, when I'm leaving class.)



So, even though there's a lot of not so good things about Massachusetts, viewing Boston on a summer's evening makes one forget about a lot of them.

Do you force yourself to continue reading a book even if it's bad?

In the past, I have...and people think that's strange. I guess I feel that with each chapter, it will get better. Well, I gave up on the latest book I was reading, "In the Kitchen" by Monica Ali. I didn't like her previous book, "Brick Lane," so I'm not sure why I thought I'd like this one.

I read about 100 pages (basically until I was able to get to the library) and then quit. Next to read? (See to the right.)

Review of "A Wolf at the Table"

So, you may have noticed that to the right, I am now posting "What I'm Reading Now." I hope this will give my readers (as few as there are) some suggestions for what to read and I hope it will spur me to write more reviews.

I just finished reading "A Wolf at the Table" by Augusten Burroughs. I first must say that I have just recently gotten into the biography/autobiography genre and I LOVE Burroughs. There are many reasons for liking him and his writing, but one is the fact that we're both from western Massachusetts. He lived in Amherst and Shutesbury and I grew up in Greenfield, about a 1/2 hour away. I always think it's interesting to read authors who are from one's hometown or who write about it. Burroughs does both in this book. More about that later...

"A Wolf at the Table" chronicles Burroughs' relationship with his father (aka "the wolf.") His father has serious mental health issues and threatens the lives of Augusten, his mother, and their pets on many occasions. Throughout the book, Augusten struggles with the thought of growing up to be like his dad; cold, unfeeling, depressed, homicidal, etc... Augusten shares his earliest memory of his father (from when he was two) to his adult relationship with him. It's well written and captivating. It is a tearjerker, however.

As mentioned, I'm from Greenfield, Massachusetts. Claims to fame: home of Penn Jillette (one half of Penn & Teller), home of Peter Bergeron (major league baseball player), and ummmmmmm.... Yeah, so I thought it was pretty interesting when I read the paragraph that Burroughs wrote about Greenfield,

"Greenfield was about forty minutes from our house. There was something depressing about the town, with so many of its Main Street stores empty, FOR RENT signs taped crookedly in the windows. But I liked Greenfield because its bones were grand. Main Street was wide and elegant. Homes in the town had rolling grass lawns, neoclassical columns, and old fruit trees in front. Greenfield reminded me of a beautiful grandmother that nobody ever visited, but she kept squares of lace on the arms of her sofa anyway."

Augusten...I'm with you all the way.

Forget the Ben & Jerry's on the shelf below...

...go for the Whole Fruit Sorbet. It's soooo good! I've never been a big fan of ice cream, which might make some think I'm crazy. However, being lactose intolerant forces one to find other yummy refreshing treats. Hence, the Whole Fruit Sorbet.

Pomegranate, Blueberry, Acai = pure refreshment on a hot summer day!



Credit: Flickr

I never win anything...

...but I did find out that I was awarded with "The Honest Scrap Award" from my friend Shep.



The award is described as follows:

“The Honest Scrap award is given by other bloggers who consider a blog’s content or design to be brilliant. The awardee must then post ten honest things about him/herself and pass the award on to other bloggers who fit the bill – in other words, whose blog is brilliant.”

Well, it is both an honor and a privilege for me to accept this award. Hmmm.. here goes!

1. I am an only child and an only grandchild on my dad's side. I hated that everyone always expected me to be spoiled because of this, but I think I turned out pretty OK.

2. This is totally syrupy, but I am completely and totally in love with my husband. I am excited about getting to spend the rest of my life with him.

3. I am extremely shy. It takes me a while to warm up to people and let the "real" me out.

4. I am awful at housecleaning. I hate it and don't do it nearly as much as I should

5. I snore. Loudly. John wears earplugs to bed every night.

6. I don't drink a lot of alcohol. I drank enough in my first two years of college for an entire lifetime, so I'm pretty much all set.

7. I was "Cashier of the Year" at the grocery store I worked at in high school and was teased forever about it.

8. I think my dog is the cutest thing and I've given him a bazillion nicknames.

9. I'm not a fan of football. At all.

10. I love shopping. Too much.

As for other award winners...Shep took all of the ones I read!! :)

Things I Like

- The sun FINALLY coming out after being in hiding for what seems like weeks.

- My stepdaughter coming out of surgery sucessfully.

- Running a hotel for dogs. (Does one canine guest count as a hotel?)

- Roast beef & cheddar melt from D'Angelo's.

- Reading new books by my favorite mystery authors.

- Finding spelling/grammar mistakes on printed items.

- The fact that blogging encourages my stream of consciousness thinking.

Turning Over a New Leaf

I have a brown thumb. Some might even say it's a black thumb. If John and I get a plant from someone, we take bets as to how long it will last. By the time we remember to water it, it's on the brink of disaster.

Now that we own a house, we have to plant some flowers outside. So, I've vowed to read up on gardening (mostly likely "Gardening for Dummies") and I've started taking note of flowers that I might like to plant around the house.

Here are some:

Sweet Pea



Dahlias



Antique Pastel Pansies (these are my faves -- I saw some butter yellow ones that I know would look perfect with the blue we plan to paint the house.)



All images are from Burpee Oh...did I mention I have no idea if we have the right sunlight for these? :)