Author: Kelly and Geoff

Our wacky New England weather

Yesterday it was raining and the temperature actually dropped into the upper 40’s.  In June.  There is actually a slight chance of us having a Nor’Easter on Friday.  Oh, crazy New England weather, don’t ever change.  Honestly, I still prefer you to baking in the humid Southern sun.

And speaking of insanity and bad weather, we are supposed to have a bad hurricane season this year.  That wouldn’t be quite as troubling except that the current occupant of the White House has not yet put anyone in charge of NOAA, FEMA, or the NHC.*  He can, however, find the time to go play a lot of golf and to tweet all sorts of crazy stuff.  Needless to say, people in hurricane-prone places like Florida are starting to notice.

Well, since Trump is also planning to slash FEMA’s budget as well as the NOAA budget and the NASA budget, maybe they think we don’t need to worry about being able to predict the weather.  We should just sit back and not worry about silly things like storm forecasts and we can just go back to the blissful days of yore, when major storms could sneak up on people with little to no warning and do horrendous damage.

Nah, that could never happen again, right?

~Geoff

*It turns out Trump did nominate someone to lead FEMA in late April, but the Senate has not yet voted on the nominee, probably because they are so busy trying to take away everyone’s health insurance.

A visit to Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm

Yesterday Kelly and I took a short day trip out to Lincoln to visit the Drumlin Farm.  We wanted to see it because I am thinking about applying for a job there with Mass Audubon. So we spoke with some friends of ours who work there and went out to see them.

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My two cents on the GoT Season 7 trailer

So the trailer came out for Season Seven of Game of Thrones, and of course it has already broken records for viewership.

First I checked out my friend Pat’s blog to see what he thought of the trailer and get his input.  If you want the opinion of another person who has read all of the books and is a fairly obsessed ASOIAF/GoT fan (like myself, and in a good way) then go check him out.

So here’s my thoughts.

Continue reading “My two cents on the GoT Season 7 trailer”

Amazing things to do this weekend

This weekend is full of great things happening in and around Boston.  Take a look at what’s happening and please come join us.

Tomorrow from 10:00am – 3:00pm Geoff and I will be at Endicott Park in Danvers, MA for the 2nd Annual A Day in the Park Fair.  There will be more than 50 craft and other vendors.  The park itself has an unbelievable amount of things to do.  This is an ideal day out for the family, including the dog.  Dogs are welcome at the fair and in the park as well.  Plenty of parking is available.  Directions are here.

Musically, Teri and the good folks at Meravelha are going to be busy this weekend and next.

The Road Most Traveled – Family Concert

Experience the magical sounds of the Middle Ages in a relaxed setting accessible to all ages! Bring the kids, a pillow or blanket to sit on, and/or arrange the chairs to suit your group.

Members of Meravelha will talk through the songs in English, show slides with medieval images that relate to our music, and provide an early instrument petting zoo following the show and answer questions for inquiring minds, both young and old.

Coloring pages and crayons will also be on hand for young ones who like to listen while doing something with their hands.

About the program:

The Road Most Traveled features music from several stops along the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and explores the both the lighter and more ponderous aspects of the religious journey, culminating in the celebration of arrival. The music includes Cantigas de Santa Maria, selections from the Codex Las Huelgas and Codex Calixtinus and features exotic melodies and dance-like rhythms that will get your head bobbing and toe tapping!

Sunday, May 28 at 5 PM – 6:30 PM
Church of Our Saviour, Brookline
25 Monmouth St
Brookline, MA 02446

General: $20, Student/Senior: $15
Children 12 and under:  $10, 2 for $15, 3 for $20
Children 3 and under:  Free

Featuring:
Barbara Allen Hill
Teri Kowiak
Jaya Lakshminarayanan
Clare McNamara
Dan Meyers
Ari Nieh
Josh Schreiber Shalem
Catherine Stein

Additional Performances (of the usual quiet, adult variety):
May 20, 2017 8pm
Church of the Good Shepherd
9 Russel Ave
Watertown, MA

May 27, 2017 8pm
Church of the Good Shepherd
9 Russel Ave
Watertown, MA

Enjoy the weekend, we hope to see you tomorrow!

~Kelly

The latest on our little ninja

We recently noticed that Violet has found yet another new place to perch and observe the world go by.

The front of our house, and at the top, the window to the guest room, which is basically Violet’s room.

Can you see her?

We had moved the kitty “shelf” to that room. I am glad to see that she is using it.

So yes, little Violet seems to have adjusted to her new environment quite well, and made herself at home.

More cute animal pictures to come.

-Geoff

Some predictions for Season 7 of Game of Thrones

As I have often done before a new season of Game of Thrones, I thought I would make a few predictions as to what we might see when Season 7 begins this July.

We have already heard a few things, and can guess a few more based on the bits and pieces that we have been shown in the teaser trailers, some clues that have slipped out, and on the logical progression of the story.

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Winter says “April Fool’s, New England!”

Well, we were almost under the illusion that Spring was here, and then Winter decided to play a little prank on us.  Not quite as spectacular as the big blizzard back in 1997, but still, very winter-like weather.  Here in Winthrop the weather has switched back and forth quite a bit between rain, sleet and snow.  Right now it is snowing, and has been since I got up this morning.  I doubt much of it will stick, though, and that seems to be David Epstein’s assessment as well.

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Still, it is nice to see a beautiful winter landscape one last time before spring really arrives.

-Geoff

The wondrous music of Game of Thrones

Back on March 6th, Kelly and I attended a very special sort of concert at the Garden.  As anyone who knows us reasonably well already knows, we are really big fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series and the TV show based on it, Game of Thrones.  Thanks to one of her coworkers, we got two tickets to the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience.  It was by far the most enjoyable concert experience I have ever had.  It was some three hours long, and I never got tired or bored.  It was simply amazing.

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The most famous boat in town

Ever since the big nor’easter we had earlier this month, there has been a new tourist attraction of sorts along the coastal road between Revere and Winthrop.  A sailboat washed ashore, dragging its mooring line with it.  The storm washed it almost all the way up onto the sea wall.  I can’t imagine that the boat was not damaged in the process.  What a shame.

I wonder when someone will finally come claim it.

Anyway, it seems as if at any given moment, someone has stopped to look at the erstwhile shipwreck and take pictures of it.  The first day after the storm, there was a whole row of cars.  And every single time I have driven along that coastal road, no matter what time of day, there was someone looking at the boat.  Seriously, every single time, including today, when I finally stopped and got a picture or two myself.

I hope it is not too badly damaged.

-Geoff