Solo weekend

Twice a year, ray takes a group of students on a weekend field trip. I don't really like being alone that much and look forward to him coming back.

The first 24 hours was kind of good. I could cook for one, eat when I felt like it, hog the whole bed, read late without worrying about the light being on.

There are lots of little things Ray does for me--washing dishes is probably the biggest. But, of course, the most important thing he does is keep me company. I pay a lot more attention to Cameron (the dog) when Ray is away.

This time, my Dad and I had been looking forward to eating some lamb. Ray doesn't like lamb and I didn't really want to eat it while he had something else, although that would be an option. Dad bought a whole (or half?) lamb from a farmer (a 70 year old woman someone else had told him about---a benefit of email is you can just forward stuff to anyone) and it was in the freezer. He has been gradually eating it and generously offering it to me as well. A leg of lamb, though, even a small one, is a lot for one person to eat. Yesterday morning, he cooked it in my oven and we enjoyed it together. Daddy eats his main meal at lunch time. He looked up the recipe in Joy of Cooking and it was pretty tasty. He cut a big potato in half and boiled it. I stuck it in the oven for a few minutes when the lamb was nearly done. We also had some green beans. He picked a few from the garden and I took some out of the freezer (also from the garden).

After Dad left, I spent the afternoon on the computer, more or less. I worked on the tax classes I am supposed to be taking for H&R Block, 15 hours every year, in order to work for them again. You pay $20 for unlimited classes and can choose from a huge list. I also spent a little time on our finances, paying bills on line and keeping track of things in Quicken.

I ate leftovers for dinner, the same thing I had Friday night. I made chicken cacciatore for myself and it was quite good. The only thing is, it was not really the right weather, since it has been hot and humid. I decided what to watch on TV, not that Ray usually objects. At 9:30, I went to bed and read and had a great sleep.

But by this morning, I was feeling generally crabby. I've washed dishes several times, but there are still a lot to do. If you cook for yourself, you make almost as many dishes (pots and bowls) as when you cook for two. Plus I made a (vegan fat-free) carrot cake to take to UUFA this morning. On the way, I was cross because I was running late, even without Ray to blame it on. I didn't remember to grab the napkins that I like to bring to events where food is being served. Otherwise, they will use paper napkins and that seems wrong to me, for an organization that claims to be green.

The service made me feel a little better and I chatted with a few friends, like Mary Jean. I stopped at Publix on the way home to buy a few groceries (yogurt, butter, brown sugar). The cashier asked what I was baking. I was facing a day alone with no particular goals. When I got home, it was almost noon. I had some leftover green beans and lamb. It was good, but there wasn't a lot of it. (I could have had as much lamb as I wanted). I wished I had some carrot cake...

I started a batch of bread. All afternoon, it was thundery and threatening to rain. Finally we did get a good shower. The dog is terrified of thunder and whines to come in. Then he whines to go out...I let the chickens out for a while. They come to me in a very satifsfying way whenever I come out. They are hoping for corn, which I use to lure them back in. We got four eggs again today. Yay!

I had a lovely time chatting with my daughters via Skype.

For supper, I made an omelet with some potatoes from the garden and a little onion and our own eggs. Pretty good. I had a little salad (just lettuce really) and a slice and a half of homemade bread.

Hatteras Journal by Jan Deblieu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are interested in coastal life: fishing, turtles, microscopic life, and especially the Outer Banks, read this book. I found it fascinating.


View all my reviews

So, funny story…

A few weeks ago there was an email from someone at the Fellowship (Karen Solheim). It went to the Social Action Committee. I don’t go to meetings usually, but I like to stay in the loop and help when I can…going downtown to protests, maybe. This one was looking for someone willing and able to go with a group from Atlanta to visit detainees (immigrants) at Ft. Stewart, near Savannah. I said I thought I could go. Of course, it’s a long drive down and back in one day. At first, Gini said she would go with me, then she changed her mind. Ray had no interest, of course. I was pretty excited and told lots of people what I was doing. I even got a couple of bags of clothing to take with me. 

Then I convinced him that we should just go to Tybee and stay for the Labor Day weekend, kind of a last gasp of summer thing. I called Tybee on Wednesday to find a place to stay. The first three places I tried were all sold out, but I finally found a condo…for a fairly large sum of money…John and Gini decided to join us and were pretty excited too. 

As we were driving here on Friday, I checked my emails and the address of the place I was supposed to meet the group from Atlanta Saturday morning. It was in Lumpkin, Georgia, many miles from Savannah. As I corresponded with the organizer by email on my phone, it turned out the detainees are not at Ft. Stewart. Stewart Detention Center is in Stewart County…over near Columbus, Georgia, even farther from Savannah than Athens! I just couldn’t get up at the crack of dawn, after riding all day Friday, and drive to Lumpkin, Georgia and back. So I apologetically bowed out…and I have a bunch of men’s clothing in my car…and a pretty good helping of guilt. 

John and Gini are “new” friends…we’ve known them a year or two, and it’s great. We have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company. Traveling together is an interesting test of friendship and a way to really get to know someone. Neither of them seems particularly driven or even organized. I thought they were leaving early and would be here before us. They could pick up the keys and get settled in. We weren’t leaving until Ray was done teaching and would stop to eat on the way down, arriving about 9. 

She called me a couple times Friday."We’re leaving now…what’s the best way to get there?” Gini grew up in Georgia. I would think she would know better than we would. But we have been down here many times. Ray could tell her directions off the top of his head, but I would just look on my phone or GPS. She and John both have new iPhones, so they could theoretically do that, too. Anyway, I told her we usually go through Sandersville and I would have Ray call when I picked him up.

I drove through campus to get there about 2:30, but the traffic was really bad. Friday afternoon is bad anyway, but the day before the first home football game was really bad. We did get away before 3, though, and I was pleased. We called them and they were in Watkinsville. “We’re only about 10 miles behind you. We’ll meet in Sandersville.” We got there first…they had to make a bathroom stop. We fooled around some, trying to find a restaurant we wanted to eat at, even though it was 4:30 in the afternoon. There was not much else before Savannah. We had a pleasant dinner at Maricela’s Mexican restaurant, although the service wasn’t great, and got back in our cars. Many hours later, we found the rental company and picked up the keys. 

Our condo was on the third floor, quite a challenge carrying stuff up. In the morning, though, we realized what a great view we have. We are on Lighthouse Point, with a view across the mouth of the Savannah river. Ships go in and out, giant cargo ships, plus sightseeing boats and fishing boats and kayakers and even paddle boarders. We can see the people on the beach and lots of birds, especially with the binoculars. It is hot and humid, though, and the air conditioning is on 24/7, with the windows shut tight. 

The condo is really well laid out, for our purposes, with two bedrooms, each with a private bath, off the main room…living room at one end, with sliding doors and balcony and view, dining room, and kitchen with a small window overlooking pool and parking lot. The two bedrooms have windows, with the bathrooms in between, providing a sound buffer. Gini had requested a queen-sized bed. She is very tall and has back problems. Ray and I are sleeping in twin beds, which is not a huge deal for three nights. 

As with any group, we spend a lot of time discussing what we’re going to do. They aren’t worried about spending money and would probably eat in a restaurant for every meal. I, naturally, brought enough food to eat some meals in the condo. 

I’m not sure why all our friends are older than we are…some not by much. John Olive is 10 years older than I am. John Z is 72. Not sure how old Gini is. They have some health issues. I am not totally clear on the details, partly because I don’t want to know. They also have some psychological trauma scars. John has an ex-wife and a daughter, with a 2-year-old granddaughter. His daughter is not speaking to him, for unknown reasons…he is very sad about this, naturally, and has tried to reconcile with her unsuccessfully. Gini has no children. Her mother died recently. They met in California and Gini came back to Georgia (Hoschton) because her mother needed some help as she got older. She died recently and Gini has been sorting out her estate for a while. Gini’s sister died of cancer some time back and she has two nieces she is fond of. Apparently, they have been arguing about the estate, sadly. Anyway, all this leaves them with demons and sleep problems. We laugh and have fun, but they are, perhaps, basically troubled and unhappy. 

Perhaps that is one of the many challenges of aging. We all have experiences that become part of who we are and makes us sadder and wiser, instead of the happy-go-lucky young people we once were. Not to say we sat around all weekend sharing our personal tragedies. Au contraire, we tried to exorcise those demons and have fun. 

Two things we forgot (at least). There is a bag with towels and bathing suits that we keep in the car. This means we didn’t have to pack bathing suits…unfortunately, it is still in the other car…we didn’t grab it from the Leaf and move it to the Prius. The other thing is my knitting. This is not a big thing, it is not integral to our vacation experience. I like to knit in the car, though. It makes the time go faster. And sometimes, when I’m sitting around talking to people, I like to have it. I am on the second sleeve of a sweater for Molli. I am quite proud of it. It is red (of course) and this is one of the first summers I’ve knit. I often put away my projects until cold weather. 

So, Saturday morning after breakfast (yogurt with pear, homemade bread toasted, peanut butter—I was roughing it by skipping the cinnamon), Ray and I walked to the closest tourist store where I bought a bathing suit and towel. He bought flip flops. I also bought a pair of shorts—very short shorts was what they had. It was kind of funny and annoying to be in that store, to be those tourists, caught unprepared. I tried on 10 bathing suits. Surprisingly, I could have bought any of them…the one I got was not too bad. I might grow to like it. It is a Speedo so not crappy. And I am probably entitled to buy a bathing suit every 5 years or so. This one was 30% off, so only about $50…Ray was pretty horrified, but that’s what they cost most of the time. 

We met John and Gini at the rental office and they signed the contract and got another key. We mentioned that we needed bulbs in a couple of the lamps and they had sent someone by the time we got back there. We thought about lunch. The first couple of places we considered were not open yet, but eventually we parked near the main large rapidly-getting-crowded public beach and waited for Fannies to open. We climbed up to their deck and drank tropical rum drinks before noon. We ate steamed shrimp and pizza and admired the view and enjoyed life. After a couple of hours, we dragged ourselves away and went back to our condo. We thought about renting kayaks, but didn’t get up the energy. We went to the beach, the one we could see from our window. We went in the ocean. It was not very crowded compared to the main beach. Ray walked. I read. John went to the grocery store and bought vegetables for us to eat with our steaks. Gini cooked brown rice and made a salad and Ray prepped the asparagus and John cooked the steaks. I played two games of Spider, but neither one came out. 

One of my favorite things at the beach is a view of the day breaking over the water. It is pitch black, with some blinking lights for bouys and maybe some lights on the far shore. It gradually lightens and the darkness resolves itself into gray skay, darker land across the water, blue gray ocean and then the foreground of green brown grasses and sand. There is a pinkness to the east and some clouds can be dined. there is the hum of a mother, a steady grabbing of a boat engine, and a light moving over the suface. Some done is heading out for fishing. That gray square (divined into two rectangles because it’s sliding doors…and diving again by the railing…gradually comes brighter and the focus of the room. Thins inside begin to have definition…an lamp a coffee table, a couch, a TV some chairs…there are walls and a ceiling fan…the lamp casts a shadow on the wall…but the colors are outside…I can see a bathing suit draped not he railing and the outline of a chair, with maybe a towel draped over the back…

The sound travels in an interesting way, so that I can hear the boat’s engine very clearly, and the sound of the waves slapping agains the shore, irregularly but continually. There is a breeze and it is almost cooler out than in, for a brief time before the sun begins its inexorable heating. I might open the door and let the sea air in, but it is so damp. Today it is overcast and maybe even more humid than yesterday. 

I get up from the table where I am typing and go to the window every 15 minutes or so, to see how it has changed since my last look. I have to go closer. Just admiring it from my seat is not enough 

There are beginning to be signs of fall and cooler weather, now in the second half of August. For one thing, it's still dark at 6:45, although I can see the sky getting brighter. I've been up for about an hour and it was pitch black then. It's a good thing, because a chicken is clucking in the coop. It's not hot yet, but it's going to be in the high 90s. It's too humid to open the windows. Ray put the AC down last night when we went to bed.

I am grateful for a lovely summer, involving some time spent with family in the North. It gets hot there too, but it doesn't stay hot and humid for weeks, day and night. I fantasize about selling my house and moving there permanently. I read about coastal towns and look at floor plans for much smaller houses. This guy built a tiny house for only $3,800! Surely we could manage with, say, 10 times that....It would be hard to leave here, though. It's quiet and green (now that the chicken has stopped).

Busy Days

Seen in the Museum of Science gift shop

Clearly, I have not been doing a good job of documenting our activities. These pictures date back to last week. Ray and Molli and I went to the Museum of Science on Tuesday morning. Molli had to go to class after lunch, but Ray and I stayed until we were worn out. It is an interesting mix. Some exhibits seem very dated, but there are some awesome interactive parts that were lots of fun. I really like the idea that a museum should teach you about things you need to know in your daily life, like nutrition (and solar energy). We had lunch in the cafeteria, pretty mediocre but better than some museum restaurants. There is a view of the river from the cafeteria that almost makes up for it. The museum is built over the river. We got there on the train--yay! Almost no walking, so we could save ourselves for the walking at the museum. Yes, they had dinosaurs...I did not take any pictures of them!

The least pleasant part of the adventure was the trip home. We probably should have left earlier. We had to change trains twice, due, in part, to construction. Government Station is closed for renovations (for two years!). That is where we would normally have switched to the Green Line. Instead, we waited almost half an hour (and let two very full trains go by) for the Orange Line, took it one stop the wrong direction and then got the train going the way we wanted. And that's the recommended way to do it (for the next two years). This turned out to be right about 5:00 p.m. There were a lot of annoyed people and it was pretty darn hot down there. Some people push and shove their way on, in spite of others who have been waiting longer. And some crowd on while others are trying to get off. I was glad we didn't really have to hurry.

The next day, Molli had class, but not too early. Ray and I spent the day exploring on our own, without much agenda. We started by following her to campus (Northeastern University) and enjoying a "pain au chocolat" at Au Bon Pain, one of several restaurants that are actually in the Recreation building, where the gym is. Molli and a friend were "running" on treadmills, while Ray and I were sitting and eating.

Christian Science mother church

I read (on my iPhone, of course) about an interesting attraction nearby that I thought Ray would like: the Mapparium. This is a large stained-glass globe from 1935 that you can walk inside. It was really amazing. The acoustics are cool and they read quotes from world leaders like Ghandi. Interestingly, this is part of the Mary Baker Eddy library. Having paid our $6 to get in, we looked around the rest of the museum after our Mapparium tour. OK, I am not a huge fan of Christian Science. Au contraire. But this woman was really a trailblazer! She also moved 65 times in her life. At a time when women were not expected to speak or write in public, she wrote a book, founded a religion (or sect?), and started a well-regarded newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor--when she was in her 80s!

my traveling companion

Then, we rode the train to the end of the line--Revere Beach! It looks like a movie from the 1930s, too. It was hot and humid, but there was a nice breeze from the ocean. I put my feet in twice, but Ray did not want to be sandy on the ride home. There were amazing sand sculptures there. I don't know what they do to stabilize them and make them last, but I'm glad I saw them.

That night, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant with Molli's employers. She babysits for a little boy, whose parents are both doctors from India. The food was delicious and they treated us. The little boy is very smart, but has a little trouble sitting quietly. He's just turned 5. I enjoyed meeting them very much. We went for yogurt afterward, keeping him up late, I'm afraid.

parked on the street near Molli's (it's where we buy groceries)

Museum of Fine Arts

The only unpleasant thing to happen so far: I lost a contact lens. I think there was sand in my eye from earlier in the day (it was windy at the beach). I took my lens out on the street, overconfidently, having done it many times over the years. I thought I got it back in my eye, but not in the right place, but it was gone. I always travel with a spare pair, even though it's been probably 20 years since I lost one, so it was only a minor crisis.

A Regency room

The next morning, Thursday: the Museum of Fine Arts. Molli again had to leave after lunch, while Ray and I stayed longer. The lunch at this museum was excellent, worth a trip even if you weren't visiting the museum. We were fortunate in that a friend of Molli's lent us her mother's membership passes so we didn't pay to get in. Molli gets in free as a student. It is a great museum and we could happily spend a couple more days there. We did not go to the second or third floors and didn't see everything on the floors we did visit.

Gaugin: Where Do we come from?

We saw some American art (and furniture), some European art (including Gaugin and Picasso), and a few pieces of Asian and African art. Our favorite exhibit, though, was Jamie Wyeth. Jamie's father and grandfather were also artists (N.C. and Andrew). My grandmother had a piece of Andrew's art, which, hopefully, someone in the family still has. He painted a lot of scenes in Maine, which I love. He also was good friends with Andy Warhol, and other celebrities. Ray and I both really enjoyed his work.

Art on the ceiling, made of styrofoam cups!

Loved the Jamie Wyeth exhibit--he was a friend of Warhol

His wife Phyllis, raced horses and buggies (how'd he get the horses to pose?)

View from Molli's apartment in the big city...love the trees

We had two of Molli's friends to dinner that night. I made the amazing spinach vichyssoise, a couscous salad, and lime pecan bars. We stopped at the grocery store on our way home from the art museum and bought most of the ingredients. It was rather good, if I do say so myself, especially considering the conditions under which I was working (and my fatigue). One of the young men is a vegetarian, and it was a lovely menu for a warm night in the city, imho. Five at the table was a bit crowded, but we enjoyed the company.

 

OMG---yes! lobster with pasta carbonara

I liked this window shade pull in the Olmstead museum

On Friday, we had lunch with my cousin, Ellen. In fact, she treated us at a tiny Italian restaurant in Brookline, Pomodoro. It was wonderful--and great to talk with her. She drove us (we hadn't been in a car in weeks) to the Olmsted National Historic Site. Frederick Law Olmsted was the famous landscape architect who designed so many parks and private landscapes that you have seen or heard of. Central Park in New York was one of the first. The Biltmore is another that I have visited. This was his home and office toward the end of his life. His sons carried on the business and had more than 70 people working for them at times. Of course, they didn't have computers or the internet and had to make copies and blueprints by very laborious processes. Ellen handed us off to her sister, Dinda, who lives in Brookline, but had never been there! It was great to see her too, although we didn't chat as much. Olmsted's yard was a small oasis of manicured wilderness in the city. We lay on the grass and looked at the sky, fringed by tall trees, and thought, "life is good."

hundreds of landscape plans filed in drawers

Me and Abigail Adams, on the Mall

While Molli went to babysit, Ray and I got on the train to the mall (Commonwealth Street) and walked part of the way down it before taking another train back and meeting Molli home for some supper and our nightly ritual of watching "Leverage." It IS a good life.

Summer Arts

Copley Square view

Yesterday, we had our biggest adventure yet. We rode the train from Boston to Portland and walked around there for five or six hours before coming back to Boston. It was somewhat extravagant, but would have cost a lot more to stay overnight.

Yarn shop, Portland

We LOVED Portland. It was a beautiful sunny day, hot for Portland, but with a lovely sea breeze. When the train arrived, we had to wait for the city bus to take us into town. Ray studied the timetables and maps and we got transfers to a second bus and rode to a park where you can walk and look at the bay: sailboats and speedboats and people walking and sitting on the grass. We all got stains on our pants, but it was worth it. I could have sat there for hours, but that would have been something of a waste, perhaps.

We walked down to the harbor and admired the ships and restaurants. We finally succumbed and did some shopping. Ray rested outside most of the stores Molli and I went in. I can always justify shopping by buying Christmas presents! The trick is to buy small light things, since they have to go home on the plane (and then be mailed in some cases). They had some great stores there! Also, lots of other people.

We walked up the hill to the restaurant I had picked, thanks to Urban Spoon and Trip Advisor. It was something of a surprise, because it was really more of a bar, and there was no seafood on the menu. They did have lovely piano jazz on the sound system. It was a small, dark space, but the atmosphere was great, only about 10 tables. We had excellent service and great drinks. I had an excellent old fashioned, Molli had something with vodka and blueberries, and Ray had red wine (Pinotage). We ate chicken on skewers with peanut sauce, salad nicoise, and a Cubano sandwich (for Ray). Then we had crepes with Nutella--and blueberries.

Portland street

Molli held out for ice cream, so we walked to the #1 restaurant in Portland: Gorgeous Gelato. It was pretty awesome. We missed our bus to the train station, but there was another due in half an hour. We spent some time in a great bookstore, Longfellow. Books are not small and light for carrying home in your suitcase, but I still found several I couldn't resist, mostly used! Fortunately, they closed at 6, so we had to leave in plenty of time to catch the bus. We waited around the train station for a while. The train was about 15 or 20 minutes late.

The ride back was so pleasant. We were all tired and had our feet up on the seats and each other, like puppies or kittens, dozing and reading and listening to our music using headphones. Actually, Molli was working on research, since we had internet and electricity. We were back in the apartment in time to watch Leverage (well, it was about 10), and decided to order pizza! How good it tasted, but I think I am ready for some quiet, healthy living today! 

Taking Stock

It is hard to believe we've been here only five days. We have our routines. It is a small apartment for three adults. We are like those puzzles, where you have to move one piece to move another. Ray is at the breakfast table, Molli's in the bathroom, Patty's in the bedroom. Molli's in the bedroom, Patty's in the bathroom, Ray is still at the table. Molli's in the kitchen, Patty's in the bedroom, Ray is in the bathroom...we are all together in the living room or at the table some of the time, but we have to keep excusing ourselves to step over the person to get by.

Part of it is the interesting collection of furniture that Adrian and Molli gathered this fall. It includes a giant sectional couch that Barbara and Doug brought up from Barbara's friend Laurie on the Cape. It is a wonderful thing, great for Molli to sleep on and three of us to watch TV or work on our laptops or read, but it does take up most of the room, which has a lovely bow window and is not exactly square. There is a coffee table, but it is too big for the space between the couch and the TV, so it sits under the windows and accumulates stuff. The table is 5 x 3 ? and can seat 4, but then no one can get by. Usually, it is up against the wall and someone (me) is always in the way of anyone trying to get past.

Anyway, it's great, we are really enjoying it here. I have not been hot since we arrived, although Ray might have been sometimes. There is a very small fan that is sometimes on, but I haven't really needed it. I even use the oven without worrying about heating up the apartment too much. That is about to change, though. Today will be hotter than the other days and tomorrow even moreso. I am not too worried.

Yesterday, we walked Molli to her class at 10:30, so we didn't have to get going very early. I did walk farther than last time, but found a nice bench in the shade just before Northeastern. Walking back was a little rough for me. We finally made it to Stop & Shop, where I wanted to buy a shallot. Alas, it was not to be! I settled for scallions and packing tape. Ray helped me limp on back to the apartment. The four flights of stairs at the end are the coup de grace. 16 stairs each flight. It kind of made it hard for me to do much for a while, but fortunately I don't have much to do.

We had leftovers for lunch: me a hamburger and Ray a sausage. I did some online and phone work for H&R Block and didn't spend any time on my feet for a while. Molli came back about 4 and spent an hour or so before going to work. I made an interesting potato and bean salad and marinated the chicken thighs. I also packed a box of things for Molli's move, my excuse for why we need to be here, "helping." We had a lovely dinner about 8. The time before dinner hangs a little heavy most days. Sometimes I break out the potato chips or crackers and cheese and have a little wine.

Molli's friend Becca S. joined us, although she had eaten dinner. Then we walked to J. P. Lick's, a great ice cream place next to the Stop & Shop. We had Rockier Road and Ray got Meyers rum raisin. After I tasted his, I wanted to trade. Ooo, it was good! My mother used to like rum raisin ice cream. She would sure be interested in this turn of events, where Molli is living not far from where she grew up!

Monday morning in the city

The cars were not as loud early yesterday, but today by 6:15, there is a river of them running by our windows. It is also the coolest it has been, and I almost went back to sleep. I did sleep almost 8 hours though, so no reason not to get up.

I made pancakes with blueberries yesterday, following the recipe in my head. They were cooking when Molli said, "I don't have any real syrup, you know." "Oh, no. We could easily have bought some." She doesn't really care if she has real maple syrup or not, and Ray doesn't use it at all. The irony is I have 4 containers of real maple syrup at my house, somehow. Not that I would have carried it here on the plane. So we had homemade blueberry pancakes with fake syrup and no bacon...and they tasted pretty good to me.

Of course, Ray and Molli were not ready to go as early as I would have liked. We missed one bus because Ray went out the wrong door, looking for me. No subways (which are aboveground trolleys here) showed up. It was 5 after 11 and we were still on the bus, so I said I really didn't want to walk into church 10 or 15 minutes late. Molli didn't care and Ray didn't care, so we just stayed on the bus to the end of the line. The only thing is, I was all dressed up with no place to go...and I would have liked to sing.

We walked several blocks to the Sunday afternoon farmers market. I switched my shoes about half way. First we walked around the crafts--very nice, but not anything I couldn't live without: pet treats, baby clothes, t-shirts, chopping boards, the usual. There was one stall that was very popular and it caught my attention, too. They had taken vintage brochures and other items and attached them to tiles and finished them in some way, with cork on the back, to turn them into coasters and trivets. There was one from Grossingers I was tempted to get my Dad, but it was $25, the largest size they had. There was a
smaller one, but it was Grossingers day camp. They were sorted geographically...New England, Europe...some were maps. We ended up buying 10 of them. Great idea!

I also bought a tea with raspberry sorbet in it...Yum. Then we wandered around, admiring the vegetables. There were a couple that sold meat, too, and one that had fish...sole or scallops for $20 a pack (a little less than a pound). I just can't bring myself to pay that, even though it is good local fish and I want to support the fishermen and the people selling it. I just don't like it twice as much as meat. We got a "special" from one woman: 1 pound sausage, 1 pound ground beef and 2 "steak-burgers" plus some bacon "ends." I also did not pass up a pain au chocolat. There were several bakeries with delicious-looking breads and other pastries, but I pretty much am always allowed a pain au chocolat when I see it. We bought zucchini and a big tomato and more blueberries and green beans and Macintosh apples! I didn't carry any of it.

We were planning to eat at the food trucks, but there wasn't anywhere to sit and it was getting pretty warm. Ray and I voted to go to a restaurant instead. Molli consulted her smartphone (Urban Spoon) and found a restaurant that was not far away. It was the one Janna and Ron had taken her to not long ago: Union. They had had brunch, as well. She was even able to tell us about the menu and it sounded great. She called and made a reservation, but we were there in a few minutes anyway. Sitting in the window, watching people walk by, enjoying mimosas and coffee (I just had water), life seemed good. They had a prix fixe special: coffee, juice, omelette with home fries and toast for $9.95. Not bad! Molli had eggs, too.

Ray had a caesar salad with grilled shrimp. Yummy looking! The service was excellent. They kept our water glasses filled. Even the rest room was nice. I love good restaurants and fantasized about having a tradition of eating here every Sunday.

Then we shlepped our purchases (and by we, I mean Molli and Ray) to the nearest stop and rode home, back to Molli's apartment. We were tired and sat around for a bit, finalizing our plans for next week. Molli decided she had to go to Northeastern to get her heavy book for Immigration (actually two books. The small one is only two inches thick. I think the big one is close to five). Ray and Osa went with her. Osa had not eaten all her breakfast, but had thrown up on the rug after Molli cleaned it for our visit.

I studied the weather forecast and decided this was the best time to bake bread, if I was going to do it. She had bought me whole wheat flour and yeast, so I started mixing. I have my favorite recipes available on line, so I could look up a good bread recipe. I only made two loaves--those are all the bread pans Molli has. I could make round loaves on a cookie sheet if I needed to. On the other hand, there isn't room in her freezer either. Her biggest bowl didn't look big enough, but I started mixing in there. When I got all the ingredients in, there wasn't really anywhere to knead. I could have cleaned off the table, but it would have made a mess. I managed to knead it in the bowl quite successfully, but I knew it couldn't rise there or it would overflow. We put some oil in her biggest pot and let it rise there for a while. I moved it into the bedroom, where the sun could shine on it, instead of by the breezy window. It was very pleasant in the apartment.

They were back at 7:15, with more groceries. I don't know how everything fit in the refrigerator and cupboard, but it did. I shucked the corn, but had to move the bread from the pot to the bread pans before we could cook it. Molli did her reading, we ate dinner and drank some great wine (except Molli) and Ray and I watched some TV, while Molli read in her room. About 10, she was done and we watched an episode of Leverage. She has Chromecast on her TV, which allows her to project anything from her computer (if it's on Netflix or in Chrome) on the TV, a giant set she got on Craigslist for under $100. I was able to download Chromecast onto my phone and control her TV from my Netflix list...pretty fun.

Of course, I forgot about the bread and it had risen over the tops of the pans. Molli baked it for me, so I didn't burn it. It looks very good. I was pretty tired after that and went right to sleep.