Boston Trip, Part Six (the end, finally)

Look at me, finishing up a trip wrap-up only a month later!

Yeah. July has kicked my ass, people. I know that months are arbitrary human concepts, but let's hope August will be better, hmm?

So, on that Tuesday that we'll pretend isn't long ago, it was off to the airport (I did write about some of this before, but it lacked pictures, and we can't have that!).

If you're a Bruins fan, you get the camera ready for where the highway goes alongside Boston Garden.

Of course, if you're a Bruins fan, you might already have set your letter-combination lock to something easy to remember.

Tuukka!

JetBlue was very indecisive about my flight's departure. It went from on time, to will be 20 minutes late, is on time, will be over an hour late, will be 20 minutes late, and is on time.

(For more details about this part, read this.)

Finally pulling away from the gate, and here's a familiar sight from the airport, which, when I was a kid, I called the giant with the golf ball head.

Views from the runway. Click on any to see them bigger.

Anyone else suddenly thinking of Star Wars?

And up in the air!

One spot of blue.

And more, between many clouds.

My previous post has more detail about the annoyances of the flight, so I won't rehash that, but I will show you again Miss Oh-You're-Home-Are-You.

Snub.

Snub.

Snub.

Stink-eye.

Reluctant lap.

Comfy, though.

Forgiven but, by the side-eye, not forgotten.

Whew, that's done at last!

Boston Trip, Part Five (not quite the end, but almost)

On my last full day up north, my friend and I had a quiet hanging-out morning, part of which I spent smiling in their garden.

Her nephew brought over a seedling and said it was a cucumber. Some time later, we suspect sunflower.

Tomatoes-to-be!

After an early lunch (yum, Bertucci's), we drove by where I used to live (looks much the same; yelling neighbor was not out and audible), and then went back to Wilson's so I could get more peas, and also hit up one of my favorite ice cream stores, Rancatore's, so I could get some gingersnap molasses, serious yum. 

I needed to shell the peas, of course, and it was a lovely day to sit outside and do that.

We had been invited to another friend's for dinner, but J had something erupt at work that she needed to take care of, so I borrowed her car and went on my own. Turns out that you don't forget how to drive on 128, even at rush hour. At least, I haven't yet.

I had a wonderful time visiting with them, so I don't want you to think the evening was all about the cats for me, but I hadn't met one of their cats before, and it was so nice to get to do so. And I'm not putting up people photos without permission, but the cats don't mind if I do.

They have two cats. The older one I have met before: she is floofy.

I mean, your hand sinks in.

The younger cat has similar coloring, but is not floofy.

Pretty view from above.

Wild coloring on the tail.

And while some of my photos of her are not blurry:

Many of them are. She's young, energetic, and a semi-perpetual motion machine. So while I got some of this:

I got more of this:

And also this:

But she looks so innocent, when she sits still.

Okay, I lied, I'm going to crop my friend mostly out of this photo, but look how patient the older kitty is. She just sat there, not troubled at all, for some time.

"What, like cats don't always sit on laps this way?"

I eventually wrenched myself away from some of my favorite people to get to my packing, for Tuesday morning it would be off to the airport. Always sad to end such a great trip.

The travelogue is almost done! Just the return trip to whine about. I would say the fun part of the story is over!

A Tiny Moment of Brilliance

Not to pat myself on the back, but I had such a good idea the other day that I had to share it with you. Mind you, this isn't advice that's going to be helpful to everyone, but anyway.

I mentioned before that two books I'm highly excited for this year are both being published on November first, Freya Marske's and Everina Maxwell's. Then this week I found out that Victoria Goddard has a new one coming that I am also dying to read, and guess when it comes out? Yup. The Hands of the Emperor is a great favorite of mine, and then I loved The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, so of course I need to get At the Feet of the Sun as soon as I can. I joked to my mother that I should take a vacation day on the first of November to deal with all this bounty.

And then I had a thought. A flash of brilliance.

See, the Goddard is an ebook, so I will get it in a flash of crystals through the ether on publication day, like Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

But the other two are coming in print, and what happens if they don't come early in the day? I'd be sitting around, fretting through my vacation day?

So, I'm taking November second off instead. I can read the ebook after work on the first, and then have the two hardcovers to read on the second. I can hardly wait. I will lay in snacks, and turn off my phone, and gorge on reading. Bliss.

Boston Trip, Part Four (yarn and more yarn)(still not the end)

As teased at the end of part three:

Since I moved down here four years ago, one of my favorite Mass. yarn stores, Coveted Yarn in Gloucester, moved to a different location, I assume downsizing due to the pandemic. Just glad they didn't close! I knew that visiting was something I wanted to do on my trip, and on Monday, J and I drove that way.

Have a look around:

In addition to the yarn, and needles, and tools, and patterns, look at all the buttons!

So cool! I rarely need them, but I love to look at them.

Did I buy some yarn there? You know I did. Much of it on sale.

From there, we were off to a favorite location for lunch:

Seriously so good! I could eat at Woodman's, say, once a week for the rest of my life.

It isn't far from the new Coveted location, and as we were driving over, I was very surprised to see a sign for another yarn store! So close? We swung back that way after lunch, and I dodged in through the rain.

Also a very nice store. The person working was, well, perfectly nice but very very helpful, even after I said that I wasn't looking for anything in particular. Not that she didn't let me look around, but she really, really wanted to help me, and it was a bit more help than I prefer in a store. However. Nice store, nice yarns.

Doesn't this Mirasol Nuna look gorgeous? Those colors!

More buttons!

Interestingly central monitor showing the views from cameras placed throughout the store, eh?

Anyway, it was still a good experience, and oh yes, more yarn:

That's a pretty crappy picture, isn't it? Oh well.

We had a family dinner at another favorite place, Pearl Street Station in Malden, capping off a full and exciting day.

The trip recap is close to being done--but not quite there!