You’re gonna need a bigger boat…
Or possibly not for the Charles River; despite the fact it is 80 miles long, although only 26 miles from its source to the sea and flowing through 14 cities (towns), it does not, I am fairly certain contain man eating sharks. Having said this, a little more space would have been appreciated for the hour I spent aboard this afternoon.
However, I should start at the very beginning (as has been said before, “a very good place to start”) of my busy and long anticipated weekend. I have been planning all the activities from this weekend for a good few weeks and it just so happened that they all occurred over the same 48 hour period. It started, as any busy weekend should with a adult education class- “Cupcakes and Cocktails”. I know, I don’t cook, ever. Unless you include toast. Turns out most people don’t. So, I don’t cook. Yet, for some reason this seemed like a fun way to spend a Friday night. I am though, a big fan of amaretto, so anyone that starts an evening class telling me that they are “super fun” and will be making birthday cake shots flavored with amaretto is onto a winner. I was also very much into the cooking and baking whereby I got to watch other people do the work and still get to eat and drink the results. This didn’t last for as long as I would have liked, and I did eventually get called on to make fruit compote and a separate bourbon/ espresso topping. I think I managed to sufficiently impress everyone with my superior stirring skills, I could be a teaspoon wielding professional.
By this point the liquor was starting to kick in, most people in the class were getting to the slightly loud, giggly stage and plans where people would head out to next were beginning to develop. I seem to have bypassed this step completely and was already at the “I’m just going to take two Excedrin and put my head on this table” step in the process. Apparently I am just too old to be out later than 8:30pm on a Friday night. Again, this didn’t bode well for the next time I was called on, to ice the sangria cupcakes. I think my efforts at piping frosting should be blamed on the alcohol because quite honestly anyone that can be as cack-handed and make as much of a mess as I did needs some excuse, and that is the best I can come up with.
I can completely justify the mess my cupcakes were in when they arrived home on the subway, I’m not sure about everyone else in the class, but I’m just going to live on in the hope that I never meet them again… or that they also live on the Green Line and took the T home. Due to an earlier problem a number of trains had been canceled, meaning the subway stations was jam packed and then some. The trains were full to bursting and when they finally did arrive in the station they were operating on a one off one on policy. I did honestly think I was going to have to balance the box of cupcakes on my head… Not a good plan- this is where my mangled mess stopped being important. For some reason, known only unto himself (although I’m sure if I had thought to ask he would have told me- he did talk continually for 3 ½ hours) the guy teaching the class had some strange Jell-o fetish going on, and added it to everything! The heat, the wait and squash on the subway caused it all to melt. After a few minutes I started to feel soggy cardboard from the box, then my fingers felt sticky, then my shirt started to feel damp where the box was pressed into me, and finally liquid, multi-colored Jell-o started to trickle down my shirt. However bad the cupcakes had looked after I frosted them, they were now gelatinous mulch, and my belt has an interesting stain round the buckle. I think there is nothing left to do, but call it a successful night, write out my learning statement (always working- I have learned not to bake cupcakes including vodka Jell-o and then take the subway home as they will make an embarrassing mess) and book a place on the holiday cookie class.
Saturday was the boat ride day! The long awaited boat trip on the Charles has been in the planning since cheap tickets were announced at the start of August, it really has just taken that long to find a weekend into which it will slot and a time that is appropriate for playing about on the river. I have to say it was a very pleasant trip. It was a 60 minute cruise around the Charles River Basin, and the multi-taking bar man took over the microphone (thank you Kevin) pointed out the most historic sights of Boston and Cambridge. Having done a few trips to various places now, and sat through a tour or two (I am now looking forward to a Duck Tour (land and sea on the same vessel)) It was fairly easy to spot Beacon Hill, Esplanade Park, the Back Bay, Boston University, M.I.T. and Harvard. This week you don’t even have to prepare yourself for the history lesson, I figure I have told you all about these place over the last few months and if you wanted to know, you probably read it then J. Also, I was still nursing the headache that had required the Excedrin at 6:30pm on Friday night and was less than on the ball, so I probably missed most of the exciting facts.
Saturday was a great day weatherwise. The sky was a gorgeous blue, with a few white, fluffy cumulus clouds bobbing around like cotton wool balls, the sun was shining, it was a delightful 77F, and out on the river a light wind was blowing. Just right for taking photos, listening to someone talking about the history of Boston and Cambridge, watching the sail dinghies and row boats that BU and MIT had out on the water. One of those days when you have to love living here and being a part of the city. There is a big regatta coming up during October for all the schools and colleges in the area, and Boston is nothing if not academic, with Harvard, BU and MIT all within about a mile of each other- not to mention the other smaller schools bringing the number of colleges in the Greater Boston area to somewhere about the 150 mark. It does also mean that just over 1/3 of all the residents in Boston are college students. Nonetheless, this is one more event that will go into the diary and I shall endeavor to watch some of it.
Unfortunately I didn’t really make the most of the last few hours of the day light and the perfectness of being outside. Having been running during the morning, I had experienced a totally gorgeous start to the day, but think I may have gotten a bit too dehydrated, and never did really shake the headache from Friday night. Determined to continue fitting in all my weekend experiences and to enjoy the Sunday trip to “Literary Lights” at Boston Public Library on Sunday I headed home for bed and spent the evening sleeping- I am so rock and roll.
Literary Lights is an event held at the Boston Public Library and to raise awareness of Children’s literature, promote literacy, honor children’s authors, and raise money for the Library’s children’s services and collections. Four students selected from Boston area schools introduce and present the awards to each of the honored authors. The honorees then discuss their writing careers and share their love of books with the audience before moving on to the book signing segment of the day. This year the authors were Jerry Spinelli, Karen Hess, Grace Lim, and Neil Gaiman (who appeared to have sparkly, blue hair). All the authors are ones that we study in school and make it onto the class reading list at some level, and it was great to see some of the children there.
I’m not really sure what the actual award looked like but it came in a very nice Tiffany box, which is actually playing a part in making me consider my career choice. I’m definitely liking the idea of free Tiffany sparkle! If only my English teachers had told me I could be getting free trips abroad, and free jewelry I would have paid a lot more attention in class. Now, I’m off to write a children’s book!
Or possibly not for the Charles River; despite the fact it is 80 miles long, although only 26 miles from its source to the sea and flowing through 14 cities (towns), it does not, I am fairly certain contain man eating sharks. Having said this, a little more space would have been appreciated for the hour I spent aboard this afternoon.
However, I should start at the very beginning (as has been said before, “a very good place to start”) of my busy and long anticipated weekend. I have been planning all the activities from this weekend for a good few weeks and it just so happened that they all occurred over the same 48 hour period. It started, as any busy weekend should with a adult education class- “Cupcakes and Cocktails”. I know, I don’t cook, ever. Unless you include toast. Turns out most people don’t. So, I don’t cook. Yet, for some reason this seemed like a fun way to spend a Friday night. I am though, a big fan of amaretto, so anyone that starts an evening class telling me that they are “super fun” and will be making birthday cake shots flavored with amaretto is onto a winner. I was also very much into the cooking and baking whereby I got to watch other people do the work and still get to eat and drink the results. This didn’t last for as long as I would have liked, and I did eventually get called on to make fruit compote and a separate bourbon/ espresso topping. I think I managed to sufficiently impress everyone with my superior stirring skills, I could be a teaspoon wielding professional.
By this point the liquor was starting to kick in, most people in the class were getting to the slightly loud, giggly stage and plans where people would head out to next were beginning to develop. I seem to have bypassed this step completely and was already at the “I’m just going to take two Excedrin and put my head on this table” step in the process. Apparently I am just too old to be out later than 8:30pm on a Friday night. Again, this didn’t bode well for the next time I was called on, to ice the sangria cupcakes. I think my efforts at piping frosting should be blamed on the alcohol because quite honestly anyone that can be as cack-handed and make as much of a mess as I did needs some excuse, and that is the best I can come up with.
I can completely justify the mess my cupcakes were in when they arrived home on the subway, I’m not sure about everyone else in the class, but I’m just going to live on in the hope that I never meet them again… or that they also live on the Green Line and took the T home. Due to an earlier problem a number of trains had been canceled, meaning the subway stations was jam packed and then some. The trains were full to bursting and when they finally did arrive in the station they were operating on a one off one on policy. I did honestly think I was going to have to balance the box of cupcakes on my head… Not a good plan- this is where my mangled mess stopped being important. For some reason, known only unto himself (although I’m sure if I had thought to ask he would have told me- he did talk continually for 3 ½ hours) the guy teaching the class had some strange Jell-o fetish going on, and added it to everything! The heat, the wait and squash on the subway caused it all to melt. After a few minutes I started to feel soggy cardboard from the box, then my fingers felt sticky, then my shirt started to feel damp where the box was pressed into me, and finally liquid, multi-colored Jell-o started to trickle down my shirt. However bad the cupcakes had looked after I frosted them, they were now gelatinous mulch, and my belt has an interesting stain round the buckle. I think there is nothing left to do, but call it a successful night, write out my learning statement (always working- I have learned not to bake cupcakes including vodka Jell-o and then take the subway home as they will make an embarrassing mess) and book a place on the holiday cookie class.
Saturday was the boat ride day! The long awaited boat trip on the Charles has been in the planning since cheap tickets were announced at the start of August, it really has just taken that long to find a weekend into which it will slot and a time that is appropriate for playing about on the river. I have to say it was a very pleasant trip. It was a 60 minute cruise around the Charles River Basin, and the multi-taking bar man took over the microphone (thank you Kevin) pointed out the most historic sights of Boston and Cambridge. Having done a few trips to various places now, and sat through a tour or two (I am now looking forward to a Duck Tour (land and sea on the same vessel)) It was fairly easy to spot Beacon Hill, Esplanade Park, the Back Bay, Boston University, M.I.T. and Harvard. This week you don’t even have to prepare yourself for the history lesson, I figure I have told you all about these place over the last few months and if you wanted to know, you probably read it then J. Also, I was still nursing the headache that had required the Excedrin at 6:30pm on Friday night and was less than on the ball, so I probably missed most of the exciting facts.
Saturday was a great day weatherwise. The sky was a gorgeous blue, with a few white, fluffy cumulus clouds bobbing around like cotton wool balls, the sun was shining, it was a delightful 77F, and out on the river a light wind was blowing. Just right for taking photos, listening to someone talking about the history of Boston and Cambridge, watching the sail dinghies and row boats that BU and MIT had out on the water. One of those days when you have to love living here and being a part of the city. There is a big regatta coming up during October for all the schools and colleges in the area, and Boston is nothing if not academic, with Harvard, BU and MIT all within about a mile of each other- not to mention the other smaller schools bringing the number of colleges in the Greater Boston area to somewhere about the 150 mark. It does also mean that just over 1/3 of all the residents in Boston are college students. Nonetheless, this is one more event that will go into the diary and I shall endeavor to watch some of it.
Unfortunately I didn’t really make the most of the last few hours of the day light and the perfectness of being outside. Having been running during the morning, I had experienced a totally gorgeous start to the day, but think I may have gotten a bit too dehydrated, and never did really shake the headache from Friday night. Determined to continue fitting in all my weekend experiences and to enjoy the Sunday trip to “Literary Lights” at Boston Public Library on Sunday I headed home for bed and spent the evening sleeping- I am so rock and roll.
Literary Lights is an event held at the Boston Public Library and to raise awareness of Children’s literature, promote literacy, honor children’s authors, and raise money for the Library’s children’s services and collections. Four students selected from Boston area schools introduce and present the awards to each of the honored authors. The honorees then discuss their writing careers and share their love of books with the audience before moving on to the book signing segment of the day. This year the authors were Jerry Spinelli, Karen Hess, Grace Lim, and Neil Gaiman (who appeared to have sparkly, blue hair). All the authors are ones that we study in school and make it onto the class reading list at some level, and it was great to see some of the children there.
I’m not really sure what the actual award looked like but it came in a very nice Tiffany box, which is actually playing a part in making me consider my career choice. I’m definitely liking the idea of free Tiffany sparkle! If only my English teachers had told me I could be getting free trips abroad, and free jewelry I would have paid a lot more attention in class. Now, I’m off to write a children’s book!
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