Winging it in... Boston

Whohohoho, the future is looking a whoooole lot better.

Again, this weekend has certainly been a weekend of two halves, and different experiences. Saturday evening was a “Mystic Meg” party, or more accurately a gathering of people which included a psychic who was available to do a reading for each of us. I am more than a little cynical about these things, and I would love to say I joined in with an open mind, but that would, I am afraid be a little bit of a lie. I found that I was giving away quite a lot of information, although not as much as she would have liked and not getting a whole lot back.

It turns out am incredibly perceptive and very able to pick up on what people are thinking and feeling, in fact some might say (and one person did) that I have some psychic tendencies (that was psychic, not psycho). I did stop laughing long enough to tell her that I didn't even know what people where thinking or feeling when they verbalized their thoughts and I was within earshot. (It was at this point that she told me I was funny- it was somewhat of a theme for the session.)

Another bit of good news- I am going to get some money, a significant amount, in the next three months. Either a promotion and a pay rise or a windfall amount, I am fairly certain I know it isn't going to be a promotion or a pay rise, so bring on the windfall amount. I can go buy myself lots of presents. (Because obviously the law of averages means she must have been right at some point, and I pick this point :))

She did do quite well on remembering facts I told her and she regurgitated back at me at some point and in some form... she asked about my immediate family (mentioned my sisters and brother) then her next comment was, I'm seeing a girl, possibly a sister who is a bit different to you in her attitude to things. Well, you remembered that for all of 5 seconds, and I have two of them there has to be a difference somewhere! Oh, I am also a bit like my father and a bit like my mother- shocker!

We talked a bit about Boston and how long I had lived here, and the places I had lived in before. Then she decided I liked travel and would probably be somewhere different shortly, maybe for a vacation or possibly longer.

She was spot on with her comment that I like shopping, and particularly jewelry. (So nothing to do with the Links watch, Tiffany necklace, tiffany bangles and the earrings I was wearing then- plus the regular rings?) This did lead on to another "funny" moment.

her: I'm just wondering if you'd like children?

me: no

her: it could be animals, do you like animals, you have lots of pets?

me: no. I don't even have a pot plant. I don't like things I need to look after.

her: you are soooo funny.

It turns out I am very funny.

In all fairness to her, she did manage to get some things right- but I could have just told her and saved her the effort of thinking about it. After 25 minutes of my yes/no answers she summed me up by telling me I put up barriers, and deflected when asked questions, didn't like to share my personal life, didn't enjoy being the center of attention and enjoyed my own company more than other people. I defy logic- her words. I could have told her all of that at the start. I was also very uncomfortable, awkward and spent 25 minutes saying yes and no, so I think even my super perceptive self could have worked that out. Not that I am at all cynical. In fact I am thinking that we should have another evening of psychic fun and I could go first, rather than last- just to test out whether it was me, or if she was just tired…

Sunday saw a trip to the zoo, at Franklin Park. When fully open the zoo contains more than 220 species of animals housed mainly in themed exhibit areas. However, being only the beginning of March they are still on winter opening hours and some animals have been “put away for the winter”

The first stop on the tour was an African Wild Dog exhibit, this is not part of any particular exhibit and just happened to be the first thing that was spotted by the Giraffe entrance. Unfortunately there were no giraffes to be seen, 1. Because it was a dog exhibit and 2. Because tit is winter so they aren’t even in their own enclosure at the minute.

The Tropical Forest is a big building roofed by a huge dome. The building mimics the animals' natural environment with streams, moats, faux-rock structures, hidden fences and barriers. The exhibit includes gorillas, ocelots, capybara, tapirs, vulture, pygmy hippopotamus, and warthogs. This exhibit was also undergoing renovations and I was a little concerned that some animals might escape. The gorillas, as expected were the star attraction, and even sibling fighting couldn’t put people off, in fact it probably helped people identify with them!

A lot of the larger animals seemed to be hidden away, or I was being particularly blind. I didn’t manage to find the lions or the tigers, despite the information saying that they had them, and I know a few things were inside for the winter.

Nonetheless, the gift shop was good. It was nice to be outside in the fresh air, the weather was fairly pleasant and I passed a nice afternoon wandering around, seeing kangaroos, zebras, ostriches and ibex. I also loved the fact that as an adult I seemed able to climb over rope barriers without being told off. I was quite careful about checking around for zookeepers first tho.

Winging it in... Boston

And this is good old Boston, the home of the bean and the cod…

And for the first time in a few weeks I was actually in “good old Boston” for the whole weekend. A few things have happened this week that have made me see the world in a slightly more glowing and warm way. The snowstorm of last weekend seems to have signaled the end of winter and spring really seems to be thinking about making an appearance. There have still been some cold days, actually some really cold days with highs of about 18F, but there have also been some deliciously warm days, today making it as high as 60F. I have also discovered that H2O can fall in liquid form from the sky, and not just in icy crystal form. The parking lot has yellow lines to demarcate spaces, I do still need to learn to park in these, and the sidewalks are substantially wider than I remember. I have enjoyed running outside so much this week that I have canceled my gym membership and thus discovered I have an extra $80.00 s month to spend on fun and frivolity. Spring is definitely in the air.

That said, this week the entry will be short and sweet with very little adventurous activity to report. That isn’t to say that I haven’t been busy, just that it has all been tasks that need doing, or people I have been wanting to catch up with that have consumed my weekend.

Job number one was to make sure that my car made it to the garage in order to have its State Inspection. So, I duly turned up at 9.30am on a Saturday morning to queue. Last year this was a relatively long task. I wasn’t able to book an appointment, it was a first come, first served system and I had to wait a good two and a half hours. This year I was prepared. I arrived with a book, and a friend to have coffee with while I waited. Predictably there was no wait! The car was taken straight in, and 15 minutes later I left the garage $29.00 lighter and with a new sticker on the windshield saying that my car had passed every single aspect of the test! This concerns me slightly on two counts…

1. It took a grand total of 15 minutes for me to stop the car, explain why I was there, pay, sign the paperwork, complete the test and be back on the car and on my way for coffee.

2. The certificate says that my windshield wipers passed the inspection, and my tires passed the inspection. I know for a fact that both of these need looking at more closely, based entirely on the fact that the wipers don’t clear the water, and the tires are nearly five years old have done 35,000 miles and were under inflated!

All of which leads me to speculate on how through they were. Then again I look at some of the cars on the road and I think I may have a fair idea.

The rest of the weekend has been fairly taken up with catching up with friends. I know the general perception is that I am either very anti-social or that I hate everyone, this is not entirely true and I do actually talk to people on occasion. So brunch and a chance to actually find out what people have been up to was a welcome treat today. Unfortunately “Church” the usual venue for this type of social event has slipped slightly in the standard of service. It used to be a great place for a Sunday brunch but since a TV appearance of the chef in November it has gotten a lot busier, started serving donuts when you first arrive (you get three, regardless of how many people there are, or how many more turn up, you get three donuts). I don’t have a problem with free donuts per se- lots of places have free bread, but they do usually manage to get the food out relatively quickly. Here they seem to have managed to increase the wait time to a good 50 minutes from ordering. I could understand if I was asking for something complicated, but omelette and toast- really? I am the world’s worst cook and even I can create that in 10 minutes. I’m not sure what the plan is for next week, but it may involve a new breakfast location- personally I’m hoping for Chocolate milk shake.

I shall finish off the weekend with regular chores- the exciting life I lead! A bit of floor cleaning, a quick grocery trip to 7-11 J and an early night, all ready for the alarm call tomorrow morning.

Winging it in... Connecticut

What the hell do you think Leona really puts in that pizza?

The main feature of this week should probably be the trip to Mystic CT. But I do first have to get the weekly weather update out of the way… yes, there was yet more snow, more digging out of the car, another snow day, and my personal favorite- inside ice. I am holding onto, and hoping against all the odds that Phil tucked away on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney is indeed correct this year! Yes, February 2 was Groundhog Day and I really like the statistic that says Phil is about 75% to 90% accurate. This year there was no shadow so I am really looking forward to that spring like weather we have coming our way. Today was a great start on that front. Bright blue skies, sun shining, snow melting and temperatures a positively balmy 42F. Bring it on Phil! Unfortunately I suspect the slightly more realistic statistic is the one that says he has 39% accuracy rate, and as I am happy to point out to anyone that makes the mistake of standing still for more than 3 seconds, this winter has been nasty, and I am very fed up with it.

There are lots of suggestions as to where Groundhog Day originated from, it a certainly a Northern European custom and initially involved hedgehogs and badgers. Not having either of these animals readily available in the US and Canada early settlers continued the tradition with a new animal- the groundhog. Dating from a time when our lives and survival were very wrapped up in nature and its whims it is easy to see why this was such an important “prediction”. Fair weather and a shadow meaning 6 more weeks of cold weather and hard ground, overcast and no shadow predicting milder climates and a nod toward spring growth. Occupying Romans in Britain knew that this time of year really was the heart of the winter- using their calendar it is the mid point between Dec 21 – the shortest day- and March 21- the spring Equinox. They shared this knowledge and practice with the Teutons and it spread throughout Northern Europe. Today it is the Pennsylvania Germans who have most famous celebration- or at least the one movies are made of. “Groundhog Day- Half your Hay” agriculture still plays an important part.

Mystic Connecticut- the one and same place where the Julia Roberts movie was made, and the one and same pizza parlor that I ate my lunch in- and I have to say it was a very good pizza. This was probably not the best time of year to visit; it is a very touristy little town, with a pretty looking beach and lots of crafty, cute, quaint shops. However, it is not a particularly touristy time of year, what with the snow, the lake being frozen and all the cute, quaint shops being closed. Well, maybe not all- but a lot would suggest that one visits again after Easter. I’m betting they didn’t tell Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that when they visited on their honeymoon!

With a little tug boat greeting you at the entrance you can visit the Mystic Seaport ship museum where they will tell you all about the repair and renovation of the tall ship… this was open, but I’m not really a tall ship kind of a gal, and I’m not sure I’ll be renovating any of them that soon, so I thought I’d put this one on ice and save it for another day- the boat outside is really cute, it looks just like a slightly larger version of one my Grandmother used to put in the bath for me.

The Aquarium was also open, and they have Beluga whales- the only ones in New England. Very graceful and I can watch these for hours. However, it was very expensive and I am quite cheap, it is only a few months since I went whale watching and visited the Boston Aquarium, so I dipped out on this too.

I did cross the Mystic River and wander down the main street, on both the Stonington and Groton sides, and visit a number of charming boutiques and quaint paraphernalia stores. I am now the proud owner of cupcake flavored mints- in a cupcake shaped tin, and banana flavored mints in a monkey shaped tin. Yes, I do still hate the taste of banana- but the tin is very cute.

A big portion of Olde Mistick Village was closed for the season, these are the ice cream shops, the handmade fudge options etc. It was still a pleasant area for a stroll tho, and of course the historic houses and old fashioned shops selling unique items lining the Stonington streets are always worth a look.

I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not, but poor research led me to miss the fact that there was a premium outlet mall within throwing distance (that is my throwing distance- and I really do throw like a girl). Never mind- online shopping is nearly as good, and delivers mean the experience can last all week. I’m sure I’ll find a way to make up for it.

On the third and final note- it is Super Bowl Sunday! Not a reference to the super bowls I got last Sunday, but the football game played to finish the season. This year the Packers and the Steelers will battle it out, popular consensus says the winner will be… you know what, I don’t care. The Six nations has started and that is much more exciting!