Landmarks, Boston Style

I was watching a Bruins game a few days ago and during a commercial when they panned around the Garden something hit me.  Many of our famous bronze statues and landmarks that we send tourists to check out are sports related.

Is this a regular thing in other cities too or are we unique in our fandom of sports? 

There are certainly the random-historical-dudes-on-horses statues in the Public Garden, Boston Common and other places.  But when they pan over the TD Garden sign & down to the ground during Bruins games the camera rests on the insanely popular, well photographed, and very cool bronze statue of Bobby Orr flying through the air during his famous shot. 

In fact the shot is so well known in Boston it is simply referred to as “The Goal”; I’d wager that hockey fans everywhere know about it though, not just those of us from Boston.

Ted Williams putting his huge cap on a little fan’s head is at the entrance to Fenway, and, as I said, Orr is at the entrance to the Garden but look around beyond major league stadiums and you’ll discover all kinds of neat bronze people. 

At the Roxbury Crossing station on the Orange Line of the T, tucked into a corner of the quad on the Northeastern campus, you’ll find a fantastic bronze sculpture of Cy Young.  Allegedly placed where the exact pitches were thrown from in the original baseball stadium, he’s one big guy watching over the students who come and go from class.

Take a walk down to Gate D at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium and you’ll come face to face with the brown, metallic version of one of the greatest football players ever to grace New England with his talent on two teams – the BC Eagles and the Patriots – Doug Flutie.

Head to Quincy Market to catch Red Auerbach hanging on a bench, hop the Green Line to Kenmore and catch a pass from a bronzed Harry Agganis outside the arena named for him, and if you happen to run the Boston Marathon be sure to locate the statue of George V. Brown in Hopkinton as he stands ready to tell you to go.

Not only are there players, coaches, directors and inspirational people associated with Boston sports sprinkled all over the city but there is actually an entire tour dedicated to the thrill of finding some of them!  It’s called The Boston Sports Trail and quite possibly as important (if not more important) to the residents of town than the Freedom Trail or and other historical landmark. 

Mostly because in Boston, the sports are a historical landmark!

If you want to get more info on The Boston Sports Trail for next time you’re wondering what to do on a random Saturday afternoon, you can check out this link on Boston.com  Not everything I mentioned above is even on this trail, but there is also a lot more than I mentioned in this post, so I definitely suggest digging into your Google searches for the bronze gods & goddesses of Boston and hunt down even more sports greats on your own!

All I can say is I know what I’m doing next time I’m visiting my hometown!

I Wish I Could

We had a power outage here this morning, right when I was in the first few sentences of writing up this blog post and, not knowing how long it would be before it came back on, I figured it would be a good idea to fly through a shower before all the heat went out of the little hot water in the tank. Once that was over I had all kinds of errands to run and then came right back to dive into a bunch of necessary life stuff, but I wasn’t really stressed about not getting a post up, it’s only a blog right? Besides, I’m supposed to be posting ‘a picture of something you wish you could forget’ but I just remembered I have more school work to do.

School.

So this week is the first of my new class, American Literature from 1865 to Present Day, and compared to the last class, Lit through 1865, I already feel a little calmer. Rather than 300 pages a week of reading we have 30. Manageable and reasonable for adults returning to school who have more priorities than just reading. But the paper due this week is another story.

I have to write a narrative essay on something I’ve experienced that was completely American. Now I know what most of you are probably saying ‘that’s a no brainer for you Jenn, just pull up something you’ve already written, tweak it and use that’ and I’d agree with you. But I already asked and I’m not allowed to use something I’ve already published.

Oh no, that’s not good.

Considering I’ve been writing this blog now for three and a half years I’ve shared almost every experience that would make for a really good narrative essay. So I’ve been sitting here instead, wracking my brain, trying to figure out what to use as a topic.

I really wanted to use my post on 9/11 as I felt it could epitomize the narrative style, as well as comprised of all the elements we’re supposed to include, and nothing could be more American of an experience. But being brutally rebuffed on that, I literally went blank.

Instead of freaking out, even though I have plans all weekend and will find it difficult to find time to write it other than today, I started reading back through the last three weeks of this posting challenge. I figured maybe I briefly mentioned something I could use. But nothing is ringing as a good topic that could hold up for three succinct pages.

Stupid academia! If it wasn’t for the fear of plagiarism I bet I could use my formerly written piece. Sigh.

Once I got finished rehashing the past month, I turned to reading everyone’s intro posting in class thinking that maybe someone mentioned something about themselves that would resonate with me and spark a memory where I’d yell ‘YES!’ and start furiously typing out my three page, double spaced masterpiece.

But I got nada.

I turned on the television for background noise and the super campy “Adventures in Babysitting” was on. As if I could change the channel! Of course that started me thinking back on being a teenager and doing stupid teenager things. I mean, I never climbed out onto the side of a skyscraper in Chicago or anything but maybe there was something there to use.

But the movie’s been over for a couple hours now and still, zilch is coming to mind.

I texted Matt to ask him what I’ve done. He basically wrote back the text equivalent of a shrug.

That pretty much brings you current in my day.

Chirp…chirp…chirp…

Maybe I’ll write about baseball. Don’t they call it the All American game? If only I could remember my first trip to Fenway and caught a foul ball while sitting next to Pesky’s Pole or something. Now that would make for a great essay.

Think writer’s license to, let’s just call it, embellish, applies to school work?

Wait...what was my post supposed to be about today?  Huh, guess I "forgot".

*****************************************************************
Catch up on anything you missed  30 Photos, 30 Days
*****************************************************************

Something to Do Before I Die

Where do I even begin? This is one of those requests that makes me think that perhaps all my ranting that I don’t live with regret is not at all true. Would I die unhappy if I didn’t get to do x, y, or z? I guess I’d never truly know seeing as though I’d be six feet under all that stuff, but as a living, breathing me at this moment I feel like there are so many things I want to get to before I die that I guess the good news is I still have a bunch of awesome stuff to live for right?

Of course I’ll probably think of 100 more as soon as I post this but…

In no particular order here’s my list of stuff that would be fantastic to experience before I die.

The Bucket List

• Be on the New York Times best sellers list, “The” list not one of those offshoots
• Travel to Spain, specifically Barcelona
• Travel back to Amsterdam (with Matt this time)
• Travel back to Ireland
• Travel to Hawaii
• Travel to Portugal
• Live and make a living in San Diego
• See the Red Sox play the Yankees at Fenway in a game 4 for the sweep and kick their sorry asses right back to the Bronx where they belong (if this season is any indication I’ve got a couple years before this occurs)
• Settle for seeing the Sox beat the Yanks in any regular season game at Fenway
• Sit beside my Aunt at the finals when the Bruins win the Cup for the first time in 38+ years (yes, I mean this year damn it!)
• Settle for seeing them win the cup at all (either in the stands or on my sofa next to my Aunt) and getting to go to the parade
• Becoming a millionaire, not through inheritance or anything like that, my own blood, sweat & tears
• Graduate college
• Be in a big budget movie (I’ll even take a small part like “Friend’s neighbor” or something but it has to be a speaking role [one line will do] and I must be credited
• Make my living as a published author (book tours, readings/signings, etc included)
• Get to see all 50 states & spend time in each of them seeing sights (20 down -- MA, NH, VT, ME, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, OH, MD, DE, NC, FL, TX, AZ, CA, DC, LA, GA -- of course the only time I really spent in Delaware was at rest stops but what else is there to see, really? I imagine we’ll knock at least 7 more off the list just driving out to our new home and probably another 5 within the first year we live out there. That only leaves 18 more!)
• Drive a race car around a track at over 125 mph
• Go white water rafting again
• Get Matt to Disney World

*****************************************************************

Catch up on anything you missed  30 Photos, 30 Days
*****************************************************************

Broken ish Thoughts on All Things Baseball

One of Matt’s best friends, Dan, just came through Boston while on a 4 week baseball tour around the entire northeast region of the country. He had been to Cooperstown, games, grave sites, and then Boston. He told us that doing the ballpark tour of Fenway was something he would settle for. I told him that there was nothing, and I mean nothing in this world as a baseball fan that could ever top seeing a game at Fenway Park; screw the stadium tour!

As a Mets fan who, from what I understand, basically grew up at Shea Stadium, he was hesitant to agree but we got to work on locating tickets anyway. Matt managed to score some in deep right, just “south” of the bleachers.

Walking out that particular tunnel toward the field, the first thing you see is the press box with Fenway Park emblazoned above it. I still get chills every time I rise out into the aisle to see the entire field and I seriously have to stop for a moment just to take it in.

We were playing Toronto and after being crushed the night before by one of the worst teams in all of MLB this season, we just knew it would be our night. Plus Clay Buchholz was pitching. He was pretty much on fire this season and we couldn’t have been more excited.

First pitch, home run Toronto. Oh no.

It went down hill pretty rapidly from there. So much so that before the end of the first a kid behind us was yelling “who’s warming up?” Ouch. Dan, an outsider to Red Sox Nation, chuckled. The rest of us nodded in agreement as we craned our necks toward the sadly silent bullpen.

Toronto scored four in the first but the Sox wanted to give the fans a reason to hang around so we scored one run a piece in the first and second. Of course Toronto had another home run in the second and the third. By this point someone was screaming “Francona????” and we were off to get another beer.

Clay finally had a 1-2-3 in the fourth and we all rejoiced as we exhaled for the first time all night.

This was immediately followed by Toronto home runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.

So now we were losing 8-2. But we are Sox fans. We do not waver, we never quit believing. After what happened in 2004 we know that anything is possible.

Just as a quick side note for those not in the know …2004 was the biggest comeback ever in MLB for a championship win. We were down by three games to none to the Yankees, projected to go home in game four, and it looked like we would until we tied it in the bottom of the ninth after a stolen base. We won game four on a home run at the bottom of the twelfth and then sopped up the grass of Yankee stadium with their home team over the next three games to win the championship. There are some who forget we beat the Cardinals in a 4-0 sweep to actually win the World Series that fall for the first time in 86 years. To many Sox fans, beating the Yankees like that was the pinnacle of perfection and the dreaded Curse was forever broken regardless of the Series win.

And I digress, back to more present day baseball…

Come the bottom of the 7th, I decided screw it and every single player that came up I screamed & cheered for like we were in the lead. Clapping, screaming, yelling of their name and it didn’t hurt that we were watching Papelbon warm up in the bullpen; Dan was going to see something really cool there. I don’t want to claim it was me that got our section going, which in turn got the whole stadium going but there is something about 36,000 positive vibes that tends to make a team turn around and it only takes one person to start that chain of love.

When the first few notes of I’m Shipping Up to Boston started at the top of the eighth and all those fans jumped to their feet, snapping flashbulbs as Pap took the field, it was like a tornado of awesomeness, love and excitement swirled around the park.

The entire stadium stayed on their feet throughout the entire eighth inning. And then through the entire ninth as well.

The Sox, because they have the best fans in the world behind them, managed to come back and score 5 runs, most of which were with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th. Yeah that’s right baby! Dan was smiling and screaming for the players and having as great a time as any of us die hard Sox fans.

All of us went crazy when Ellsbury singled in the ninth. We all thought Pedroia hit a homer immediately after that but he was off by about a foot. Ellsbury, in true to form fashion, stole second and they walked Martinez. Now it was two outs at the bottom of the ninth and everyone in Fenway was wearing a rally cap.

A single would tie the game. A double deep down the right field line would win the game. That is if Martinez could hustle. Ellsbury of course would be home before the ball even hit the ground.

All the fans started the familiar chant in unison “YOUUUUUUUK!” as Kevin Youkilis came up to the plate. If anyone could get it done and send us home smiling it was Youk.

Sadly Youk struck out and we went from a scream to uttering “aw” collectively before we fell to silence.

We headed home on the T and talked about how much fun we had even though they lost and how Dan was lucky to have had the full experience from a Red Sox rally to Sweet Caroline to Papelbon pitching. Until last month I had never even seen Pap throw.

Dan said in all of the games he's seen on this trip nothing topped the intense fan love he felt at that Sox game. He said it was the most fun game he had been to yet, hands down.

That’s because we’re wicked pissah.




Otha pissah peeps:
Kate, KC, Bree, Bridgete and Ginger.

Let Us Weigh In On Performance Enhancements

Yesterday a document was leaked (or more likely outright released) that included the names of 103 - 104 baseball players who allegedly tested positive for steroid use in 2003. Rotoinfo.com is, in my opinion, hungry for amping up their Sitemeter stats because I am quite sure after this “oops” occurred yesterday more people visited their site than mlb.com. I mean their website tag line is: “All fantasy news all the time”; there are definitely two ways to interpret that one.

Now as pretty much all of you know I am a Red Sox fan. No, I am not a fan of baseball per se, just the Red Sox. (For the remainder of this paragraph the words “us” and “we” will refer to the collective known in these parts as Red Sox Nation) I do not follow stats and frankly could care less about what any other team is doing, short of us kicking the proverbial asses of the Evil Empire. If you know anything about us then you know exactly who that is. Since we won the World Series in 2004, and a whole bunch of the players on this list were members of that team, well, you can imagine what was being yelled out in the Cask’n Flagon last night.

This really got me thinking a lot about so called performance enhancements and I suddenly became extremely defensive of any athlete who uses anything (especially Michael Phelps). Why the hell should athletes be deprived of any and all advantages to do the best they can possibly do? No other profession stops its workers from using.

Don’t believe me?

OK then here is what I suggest you do. Hop in your vehicle of choice and head on down to your local purveyor of Adult Entertainment, purchase (or rent if you don’t feel like having it in your collection past my requested research period) a film of your choice, just make sure it has at least one guy in it. Next, hit the local convenience store and pick up a stop watch. Come home and toss in the flick. Pay no mind to the plot, because, you know, that is not the important part here. What I want you to do is keep that watch running for as long as the guy is.

Impressive huh?

Now try to tell me there are no little blue pills hanging around. No one seems to give a crap that all those guys are possibly using some kind of performance enhancer. Nothing kills an adult film faster than a sorry case of ED. If I was the director of one of those films it would probably be something I encouraged since it might even boost sales.

My landscaper puts on sun screen. That’s a chemical and enhances his performance because he can stay out in the sun longer to really pull those weeds like the pro he is.

Stay at home moms might imbibe a cocktail or two in the evening although their job is technically never done. A drink certainly lowers the level of stress and reduces their feelings of inadequacy or pressure to perform.

I can not honestly say that I have never partaken in a mind freeing substance now and again when the words were just not flowing. Then again most of the time I simply fall back on the all time favorite performance enhancing crutches of every writer -- the dictionary and thesaurus.

Someone should fine me 3,000 words and make me sit and watch all my fellow writers type away their own lunacy for the next ten articles, but totally ban me from participating. I will just call it a vacation; I mean at least my carpel tunnel can take a rest while I sit these next few out.

If doctors can use them to help treat their patients who suffer certain ailments then why should we begrudge an athlete from learning all the facts about them and saying yea or nay on their own to using them?

I say make them legal in sports, let them all use them and finally just level the playing field back to zero. After all, if everyone is on them it will provide no real advantage over another player.

Just like when mom said nothing about the guy you were dating simply to spite her and so it came back to bite you in your own ass, if one random hitter will be just as awesome as the next there is no fun in doing it anymore. All the players can then just quit and go back to the good old days of only winning or losing when a bookie says to.

Photo credit, click picture to be taken directly to Photobucket site.

How to Tell if You're from Massachusetts

A friend of mine who now lives in sunny Florida sent this to me in email this morning. I proceeded to laugh hysterically at almost everything in this list but I noticed that some of it is out of date or missing critical information so it seemed appropriate to share it with everyone and make notes as needed. All you Mass-holes will understand a lot of this and most of you, whether from Massachusetts or not, will completely get why #1 is in fact #1.

1. The Red Sox World Series win was, and will always be, one of the greatest moments in your life.

2. The guy driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you're swearing at him for going too slow.

This is generally in the right lane. The left lane is for people going too slow at 90. Especially on the Mass Pike.

3. When ordering a tonic, you say a Coke.

4. You went to Canobie Lake Park, Pleasure Island or Water Country as a kid.

Extra bonus points if you are singing the Water Country theme song in your head right now.

5. You actually enjoy driving around rotaries.

This is crap. No one enjoys driving around rotaries, it is just a fact of life here so we deal with it but no one really understands how to do it correctly, we just hold on for dear life and pray we don't crash.

6. You do not recognize the letter 'R' as a part of the English language.

Yeah that's ...O, P, Q, AH, S, T...
Of course we also add it where it does not belong such as when saying pizza (peetzer) or aunt (arnt).

7. Your social security number starts with a zero.

8. You can actually find your way around the streets of Boston.

In a car, on foot or by the T.

9. You know what a 'regular' coffee is.

10. You keep an ice scraper in your car year-round.

Sadly this is the single truest statement in this entire list. In April I move mine to the trunk & then in September it lives on the floor in the backseat for the next seven months because you just never know.

11. You can tell the difference between a Revere accent and a Dorchester accent.

That’s Reveah and Dot thank you very much.

12. Springfield is located 'way out west.'

13. You almost feel disappointed if someone doesn't flip you the bird when you cut them off or steal their parking space.

14. You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Billerica, Gloucester, Peabody and Haverhill.

15. Anyone you don't know is a potential idiot until proven otherwise.

16. Paranoia sets in if you can't see a Dunkin Donuts or CVS Pharmacy within eyeshot at all times.

17. You have driven to New Hampshire on a Sunday just to buy alcohol.

18. You know how to pronounce Yastrzemski.

Bonus points for his nickname.

19. You know there's a trophy at the end of the Bean Pot.

20. You order iced coffee in January.

21. You know that the Purple Line will take you anywhere.

22. You love scorpion bowls.

23. You know what they sell at a Packie.

Extra bonus points if you sent your older sibling to one when you were still in High School.

24. Sorry Manny, but number 24 means DEWEY EVANS.

25. You know what First Night is.

26. You know at least one guy named Sean, Pat, Whitey, Red, Bud or Seamus and you know how to pronounce Seamus.

I would also like to add any name that ends in a y -- Mikey, Timmy, Tommy, Jimmy, Johnny, Joey, etc. Bonus points if you know someone named Sully and it’s not their first name.

27. McLobster = McCrap

28. You know at least 2 cops in your town because they were your high school drinking buddies.

Or your sister’s ex boyfriend.

29. You know there are 6 New England states, but that Connecticut really doesn't count.

30. You give incomprehensible directions to tourists, feel bad when they drive off, but then say to yourself, 'Ah, screw ‘em.'

This is mostly because you know there is no way you will ever encounter this person again because they will be so lost they could never find you.

31. You know at least one bar where you can get something to drink after last call.

32. You hate the Kennedys, but you vote for them anyway.

33. You know holding onto the railing when riding the Green Line is not optional.

34. The numbers '78 and '86 make you cringe.

35. You've been to Goodtimes.

Yeah and it really isn’t that Good of a time.

36. You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day.

37. You have never actually been to 'Cheers.'

38. The words ' WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.

39. You've been to Fenway Park.

Even my Mom has been to Fenway so yes, this is accurate.

40. You've gone to at least one party at UMass.

Which campus? Oh wait, that is rhetorical I suppose.

41. You own a 'Yankees Suck' shirt or hat.

Or bumper sticker, mug, pin, poster…

42. You know what a Frappe is.

Hands down Brigham’s has the best black & whites anywhere in Boston.

43. You've been to Hempfest.

44. You know who Frank Averuch is.

45. You know Frank Averuch was once Bozo the Clown

46. You can complete the following: 'Lynn, Lynn .....'

47. You get pissed off when a restaurant serves clam chowder, and it turns out to be Snows.

48. You actually know how to merge from six lanes of traffic down to one.

It is called do not look the other driver in the eye, step on the gas and merge!

49. The TV weatherman is damn good if he's right 25% of the time.

50. You never go to Cape Cod,' you go 'down the Cape '.

51. You think that Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon are more evil than Whitey Bulger.

No, not think. You know they are.

52. You know who Whitey Bulger is.

53. You went to the Swan Boats, House of Seven Gables, or Plymouth Plantation on a field trip in elementary school.

54. Bobby Orr is loved as much as Larry Bird, Tom Brady, and Ted Williams.

55. You remember Major Mudd.

56. You know what candlepin bowling is.

Almost every Sunday with my Dad for a boat load of years we went to Lanes ‘N Games in Cambridge on Rt. 2 and played candlepin. Those are some of the best memories ever, he taught me how to throw a ball without lobbing it and without twisting my wrist so maybe I could get a strike. As we got older it was an occasional fun spot for us to hang at with friends because we could take the bus to Magnolia Street, walk across Thorndike Field and cross the highway via the walking overpass to land right in the parking lot. This is where I fell in love with Pac Man, and pin ball machines.

57. You can drive from the mountains to the ocean all in one day.

58. You know where Scollay Square once stood and what is there now.

59. When you were a kid, Rex Trailer was the coolest guy around. Speaking of which.... You can still hum the song from the end of Boom Town.

61. Calling Carrabba's an 'Italian' restaurant is sacrilege.

62. You still have your old Flexible Flyer somewhere in your parents' attic.

63. You know that route 128 and 495 is some kind of strange weather dividing line.

64. The only time you've been on the Freedom Trail is when relatives are in town.

Or a school field trip if the teacher was particularly adventurous.

65. The Big Dig tunnel disaster wasn't a surprise.

Wait, is the Big Dig finished?

66. You call guys you've just met 'Chief' or 'Boss.'

Or ‘Guy’.

67. 4:15pm and pitch black out means only 3 more shopping days until Christmas.

68. You know more than one person with the last name Murphy.

And probably call them Murph.

69. You refer to Savin Hill as 'Stab 'n Kill.'

70. You've never eaten at Durgin Park, but recommend it to tourists.

71. You can't look at the zip code 02134 without singing it.

72. You voted for a Republican Mormon as Governor just to screw with the rest of the country.

73. 11 pm? Drunk? It means one thing: Kowloons!

Yes and refer to #22 for how to maintain the buzz once you get there.

74. 2 am? Drunk? It means one thing: Kelly's! The one on Revere Beach not the one on Route 1.

75. 5 am? Drunk? It means one thing: You wish you had a blanket in your back seat.

76. You know that P-Town isn't the name of a new rap group.

77. People you don't like are all 'Bastids.'

78. You took off school or work for the Patriots first Super Bowl Win Parade.

And the Red Sox World Series parade. Both of them.

79. You've called something 'wicked pissa.'

80. You'll always get razzed for Dukakis.

81. Saturday afternoons meant Creature Double Feature with Dale Dorman.

Oh man, Godzilla was the best.

82. Sunday mornings meant the Three Stooges on Channel 38.

Not in my house.

83. You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater.

And it doesn’t work because they all drive here too and know all the tricks.

84. No, you don't trust the Gorton's Fisherman.

85. You know that Papa Gino's usually has a jukebox.

At least they used to. Most of them are gone now which is such a bummer because this was a regular afternoon of fun with friends in High School.

86. You think Aerosmith is the greatest rock band of all time.

87. Your town has at least 6 pizza and roast beef shops.

Banks and hair dressers too.

88. You know at least three Tony's, one Vinnie and a Frankie.

89. 20 degrees is downright balmy as long as there is no wind - then it gets wicked cold.

It is not uncommon in the eastern part of the state at least to see people walking around in shorts when it is in the 30’s. Of course they are also wearing a sweater and windbreaker (Red Sox of course).

90. You were very sad when saying goodbye to the Boston Garden.

I have pictures of the Garden from the old Expressway when it used to be above ground and cut right through the middle of the city. There was a Budweiser billboard out front that read ‘Thanks for the Memories’.

91. Thanksgiving means family, turkey, High School football, and the long version of Alice's Restaurant.

92. You know the guy who founded the Boston Pops was named Athah Feedlah.

93. You know what the Combat Zone is.

Well what it was anyway. Now it is just a bunch of gorgeous brownstones worth a billion each.

94. You actually drive 45 minutes to New Hampshire to save $5 in sales tax.

Yup, do this every couple weeks in fact.

95. You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left.

This is not optional here, you have to or else you will never get anywhere.

96. You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop.

97. You've been to Hampton Beach on a Saturday night.

98. Playing street hockey was a daily after school ritual.

99. Hearing an old lady shout 'Numbah 96 for Sioux City!' means it's time for steak.

100. You remember Jordan Marsh, Filenes, Grants, Bradlees, Zayres, or Ann & Hope.

Or Caldor.

101. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Massachusetts.

Randomness Goes On Forever

It happened again, the dreaded tag. It has gotten to the point where I do not think it is possible to share anything else random about myself without revealing way too much information. Although, that has never stopped me in the past so why should it stop me now?

Because it was my Mom who tagged me it would be impossible for me to blow this one off and hope they did not notice I never completed it. I know my Mom and six months from now I would get a comment reading something like “Hey why did you never do that blog tag I tagged you for here?”

Instead of waiting around for that comment, here are the required seven random facts about myself. As per usual however I will not outright tag anyone else but open it up to say that anyone reading can feel free to play along if they so choose.

1. Only very rarely do I ever eat breakfast, generally I don’t eat anything until about eleven. (Have I shared this before? Déjà vu?)
2. Speaking of…I love déjà vu. There is something so mysteriously excellent about not being able to explain the feeling that something happened before but there is no real recollection that it did.
3. Since I finally got my first cleaning in ages this past July, I now floss every day.
4. Shoes and socks make my feet ache for summer. I like to be barefoot as much as possible.
5. When I handwrite anything it is in all caps and never in blue ink, I am a fine tip, black ink kind of gal.
6. If I were independently wealthy and had time on my hands I would spend a couple weeks at my sister’s house this November and take her to this show. I am quite sure she would fall in love instantly as so many of us do. Sigh.
7. After just coming out of my weirdness phase I am now at a place where I feel like I can accomplish anything -- write, blog, sew and paint all in one day and still have time to watch the Sox trounce the Rays last night.

So now that I got that out of the way here are some recent projects I have completed.

I was commissioned by one of my Mom’s friends, M to create a bag. Her grand daughter (who I happened to go to High School with, man this town is way too small) is having a baby shower in November and M wanted to give her a really nice handmade diaper bag as her gift. She is taking underwater birthing classes and is a diver so the request was made for something watery and with enough pockets for all required baby related items. This was created from a pattern, the first I had ever completed. Also the first zipper I ever installed. That is why my Mom did the zipper and I just swore a lot.


M picked up the bag this week and she was thrilled! That of course made me so happy because it took well over two weeks from purchase of fabric to completed bag. I learned so much though and will be applying those techniques to other bags in the future; hopefully even braving a zipper install all on my own. I have named it Labor of Love.

I booked a table at the First United Methodist Church Craft Fair in Melrose on November 15. This is my first fair and I am a little nervous but just pouring my positive energy into all of the items I am creating for it! I will only be showcasing fabric items like bags, placemats, coasters, etc. Here are a few recently completed items that will make their way to my table. If you are in the Massachusetts area and want to stop by to say hi feel free, I would love to see you! The info - 645 Main St Melrose, MA, Saturday November 15 from 9:00 – 1:00.

Tonight Jason is playing at The Orpheum in Boston but instead of going to see him Matt and I will be enjoying a lovely pasta dinner, then playing a nail biting game of Monopoly, with my Dad and Evil Step Mom*. It will be a bummer to know he is only seven miles away singing his little avocado off and I will not be there but in this past year I have had the opportunity to see him live twice, both times about twenty feet from the edge of the stage and both times meeting people I had never met and now call friends. I should not be so selfish in wanting that ticket and just be glad that maybe someone else (that may have not been able to go if I had) will now get the opportunity to realize how fan-freaking-tastic he is live. I will call this my passive way of sharing the love.

So whoever you are that got that ticket have the most amazing time at the show and I will say to you both congratulations and I’m sorry -- congratulations for discovering the most kick ass, talented, Hottie McHotterson making music today and I’m sorry because once you feel the Jason love there is no turning back. Enjoy the ride.

* The disclaimer for those of you new readers out there, this is what she calls herself and it is totally in jest. She is awesome, fun and not actually even married to my Dad. Although after eleven years together they might as well be, I guess its one of those “if it ain’t broke” type situations.

Under My Umbrella

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from doing something to benefit others. Yesterday four of us braved the rain to make the three plus mile trek through Boston for the 2008 Memory Walk. Every year our Fearless Leader, my Aunt S, gets our team pumped up to raise donations toward finding a cure and we all did pretty good this year, missing our goals by not too much. The walk itself is always a good time even though none of us are in shape and we all have blisters by the end of the day, we know exactly who we are doing it for and that alone negates any physical pain we may feel.

It was pouring rain this year, the first time that has happened since I have done the walk, but the temperatures were in the low seventies which made it bearable. We had to wait for Aunt S to complete her work registering walkers at the VIP tent so luckily we were on the tail end of the sea of dueling umbrellas.


The clear dome umbrella I carried did nothing to keep my feet dry in the lakes of water we trudged through along the route. I finally had to pretend it was 1984 and peg my pants just to keep the mud from collecting on the back of my legs. We wore our team shirts proudly; Matt was the only one not wearing multiple layers so he showed it off.

On top of the Prudential building there is an observation deck with a 360 degree view of the city. I highly recommend checking it out as it is a fantastic view for tourists and life long residents alike. Sadly there were probably not too many people taking advantage of this yesterday. Hurricane Kyle was the reason for the soggy day and it was cool to see how the bands of clouds shrouded the Pru.

The walk takes us down Storrow Drive, past the Hatch Shell and then crosses the Mass Ave Bridge to head back down the opposite side of the Charles River, ending back in Cambridge where we started. Crossing the bridge is an experience itself. There are units of measure painted on the sidewalk all the way from one end to the other. The bridge is not measured in feet per se but in Smoots. What is a Smoot one may ask? The abridged version – Oliver Smoot was a student at MIT, he was five feet, seven inches tall and in 1958 he allowed his pledge class to literally turn him end over end to acquire an accurate measurement of the bridge. The bridge is 364.4 Smoots plus one ear in length. I will let everyone do their own math on that one. Even though fifty years have passed since this was first completed, the painting of Smoot markers is maintained on the sidewalk. Here is the halfway point. I guess they were not too fond of their collegiate experience.

On the Cambridge side of the Charles River are some of the most wonderful skyline shots to be had in the city. The rain slowed by the time we made it to this point and the clouds cleared from the Pru allowing me to snap this cool shot with birds on buoys, spreading their wings presumably to dry out. To the left of this would be the Hancock followed by Beacon Hill (marked by the gold dome of the State House) and ending at Boston Harbor with the view of the financial district.

None of us thought the Sox would actually play their double header with the Yankees due to the intermittent tropical downpours but the lights went on at Fenway Park and they battled it out between the raindrops. Although we let them have the first game, the Sox ended the night on a high note of jumping around after their nail biting win. Here, the infamous Citgo sign (visible from the Mass Ave Bridge) marks the basic location of Fenway. Do not look for a gas station underneath it as it is simply a big neon billboard; a permanent fixture on the Boston skyline.

It only took us a couple hours to complete the walk with all the stops to snap photos, use the bathroom, or acquire snacks but because we started late we were among the last to arrive back. The free lunch I mentioned previously was the only down point in the day; the outfit providing said lunch piled the food onto the early walker plates (while we waited in line for literally an hour and a half, we watched them pass us with full plates). By the time we got there they had begun to run out of food. My Mom is a vegetarian and was not eating the steak (which is all that was left). I was mortified when they gave her attitude for asking for a couple extra French fries instead and then scowled at her as they literally tossed them on her plate. I asked for a small extra steak tip and was told no because there were so many other people to feed and we should have gotten there two hours prior. Simultaneously we all said we had, we were in line watching full plates of food go past us. He laughed and my stomach turned. Because we all wanted to make the day as excellent as possible, we decided not to let that little set back throw us so the four of us planned to meet at our place at six o’clock to go for dinner.

I had acquired ten huge tomatoes from my dad earlier in the week and was planning to make a sauce on Sunday after the walk. Dinner had not been part of the original plan but Matt and I were swinging by the grocery store on the way home to pick up a can of paste and fresh basil anyway so we added some whole wheat crusts, onion, shredded mozzarella and pepperoni to the basket so we could have a nice homemade pizza night at our place with the ladies. It went over so well there was not a single slice left.

It is no secret that I am not the most domestic of gals but the one thing I make really well is a red sauce. Since so many of my bloggy friends share their awesome recipes, I figured it would be nice to do the same. I am not including measurements as I think adding or subtracting is all to taste but this is the recipe from fresh tomatoes so please bear in mind this is definitely an all day endeavor. I personally think there is something blissfully therapeutic about stirring sauce all day; it allows me to slow down a little bit. It is especially nice to do this on a Sunday with football on in the background. Enjoy!

Red Sauce

Roughly dice and remove seeds from 8-12 large tomatoes. In a medium sauce pan bring to a slow boil uncovered. Leave on medium heat uncovered and boiling for approximately one half hour. Stir frequently bringing the liquid up from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, allspice and additionally desired spices on top and let sit. Chop up a whole bunch of basil and fold into the mixture. The tomatoes should still be pretty chunky but watering down somewhat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover.

In a separate frying pan brown some garlic then add red onion and fry until the onions start to become clear. For a meat sauce, add the meat to this mixture and cook thoroughly. Add this to the sauce and stir in. Add one small can of tomato paste and stir in to thicken. Splash in a small amount of red wine (about an eighth of a cup) to balance the garlic and add flavor.

Continue boiling the mixture on simmer for two to three more hours, stirring about every fifteen minutes. Taste every half hour or so as the flavors begin to blend and add spices as desired. The longer it cooks the thicker the sauce will be. Allow to cool (covered) for about a half hour prior to eating.

Almost Time to Put Away the Flip Flops

As of three days ago, fall officially began but I did not need a calendar to remind me this year. In the past few days I have noticed that the leaves are turning in random pockets and progressively in the past couple weeks the temperatures here in the northeast have started the inevitable downward spiral.

Even though I am a summer baby who is still a firm advocate for the hotter the better, there is something comforting about the early days of fall. Perhaps it is the re-introduction of warm colors, like red, brown, orange and yellow, which provide me a stronger bond to the Earth instead of my usual Water connection. After a summer full of an almost inexplicable need to be in or around water of any sort (but primarily the ocean), there is a peaceful feeling that comes from abandoning my fins for the land. Cooler temperatures allow for light sweaters and hot bowls of chicken soup with stars and even though I am not a big proponent of exercise I love to take off for a woodsy hike or city stroll on a sunny day.

This Sunday morning me, Matt, my Mom and our Fearless Leader my Aunt S are taking part in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk in support of and to honor the many family members and friends we all know who suffer with effects from this terrible disease. This is my fifth walk, sixth year collecting donations and I actually hit my goal this year which was really exciting. Sadly, the forecast for a nice sunny stroll like we have had in most years past is not looking good.

The event of course is rain or shine. The good news is they are doing a big lunch at the end for all the walkers and it is only a short walk from the Cambridgeside Galleria, past the Museum of Science, down part of Storrow Drive, over the MIT Bridge and back down the opposite side of the Charles River to end back at the Galleria. We always manage to have a terrific time walking no matter what it is like outside and this year will be no different regardless of the predicted showers. Maybe that will prompt all of us to walk a little quicker and return home a little faster just in case the Red Sox Yankees game is not rained out.

Luckily the Sox are in the Wild Card spot regardless if we beat the Evil Empire and really luckily the Yankees are all done no matter if we ever play this final series of the season or not. It just makes me happy to think that maybe now Giambi will get rid of the cat on his face that has clearly not helped them garner a spot in the playoffs. I understand that an outfield is slippery when wet but it always aggravates me that rarely ever is baseball played in the rain. Games can always be made up in off days or double headers later because they play roughly 160 games per regular season. Then October arrives and the beginning of fall brings an end to the baseball season and the beginning of football.

Football games are played in rain, snow, sleet, hail, driving winds, 100 degree temperatures or any other element Mother Nature can throw at non-domed stadiums and teams suck it up and play because they have to. With only seventeen weeks of regular season play there is no time for a make up game. They come at you hard and fast and leave just as quickly. Just like fall in New England.

Autumn brings my favorite nationally celebrated holiday Halloween, the perfect excuse to cuddle up on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea, and the death that brings the rebirth of spring. It is the season that is necessary for leaves to fall and blanket the Earth beneath the snow of winter when the trees, and I, hibernate. Fall is the season of change.

In honor of that change and the many others I have personally made lately, I present this brilliant piece of musical prowess to keep everyone entertained while I pack up the summer clothes and pull out the wool cable knit sweaters.

Time to change.

Maybe I will leave one pair of sandals beside the sofa, just in case we have an unexpected heat wave in October.