Chicago...what a pleasant surprise!

First impressions are everything, they say.

Our earliest impressions of Chicago were brought to us by "Bob & Emily Newhart", leading me to believe that "Chicagoans" live in high rise apartments near elevated subways. However, the most impactful impression of Chicago were brought to us compliments of the Chicago Bears, Mike Ditka and the hysterical Saturday Night Live Parodies of the 80's. Of course, outrageous sports fans are found in most any big city, so it really isn't fair to judge a city by it's parodies. Just like Boston - oh, wait, most parodies of Boston are true!

So back in July '08, I had a conference to attend in Chicago and Roger and I went out a couple of days early to poke around. We absolutely loved what little time we had to explore and were completely blown away by what a fabulous place Chicago is. We stayed at the Chicago Hilton with magnificent views of Lake Michigan and the parks that line the shore. There was so much to do outside of the hotel; the parks to stroll, excellent dining and shopping, museums. In fact, Chicago is one of the few cities that we would love to return to and really take our time seeing the sites and the museums.


Roger and I agree that Chicago is definitely one of the cleanest cities we've ever seen. So clean in fact, that the hotel staff of the Chicago Hilton didn't just hose down the exterior marble walkway- they painstakingly mopped it!

You could easily spend a solid week doing something different every single day and enjoy each and every minute of your time. If you do go, bring a good pair of walking shoes, or lots of money for cab fare, as everything was much further away than it seemed.

Or, better yet, do as these folks and rent a Segway.Your choices are absolutely endless and next time we go, we hope to sample the jazz clubs, steak houses and hopefully catch a game at historic Wrigley Field.

Until you get a chance to see Chicago for yourself, you can enjoy this final view of the Chicago waterfront.

Philadelphia

What's the difference between Philly and Boston? The streets in Philly are straight and set in a very practical grid pattern. Boston on the other hand is a maze of madness - just ask Roger. With a few other exceptions, that's pretty much where the differences end when considering either town for a peek into history.

Boston has Paul Revere, Philadelphia has Benjamin Franklin, who so happened to hail from Boston.
Philly has the Liberty Bell, Boston has "Old Iron Sides". My preference is to tour an actual ship that they actually rotate every so often, as opposed to a bell that doesn't ring anymore, but that's just me.

Both cities feature Duck Boat Tours that annoy the heck out of the locals, but they're so much fun! Speaking of Duck Boats, both cities sit on a waterfront. However, if you head due east from Boston and keep your bearings straight, eventually you'll hit Portugal. Head due east out of Philadelphia, you run smack dab into Camden, NJ. Once you get to the other side, be sure to look to the left of the "Benjamin Franklin Bridge" and notice the barbed-wire fencing of the "Riverfront State Prison". Note - prison, not state park, though it sounds so serene.
A few other similarities include a large population of registered Democrats. In fact, Philly is 80% democrats compared to 76% in Boston. Its that 4% difference that put Mitt Romney in as Governor of Massachusetts.

Of course, both cities have more than their fair share of very old cemeteries.
And of course, the presence of Ivy League universities. Philly has UPenn, Boston has Harvard. Okay, so technically Harvard is in Cambridge (don't ever accuse a Cambridge resident of being from Boston), but two of Harvard's campuses are located across the Charles River.

If you're afraid of falling ill while traveling, choose Boston. We have twice the number of doctors.

If you're into sports, okay, winning sports teams, come to Boston. Across Baseball, Hockey and Basketball, Philly has a paltry 6 championships, compared with Boston's whopping 29 championships. Notice I didn't include football? That's because the New England Patriots don't play in Boston.

All things considered they're both beautiful historic cities. I had a chance to travel to Philadelphia in March of 2008 for a conference. Personally, I'd avoid both cities until they've had a chance to thaw a bit more.
Ulimately, I suppose your decision could come down to your choice of foods. Allergic to shellfish? Avoid the Clam Chowder and go to Philly. Have a strong dislike of CheeseWhiz? Then avoid the Cheesesteak and head to Boston. Oh, and Philly also has this odd meat thing called "scrapple", if that has your curiousity up, then head to Philadelphia!

Just in case you're wondering, all above images were taken in Philadelphia!

Merry Christmas!

Due to Mother Nature we opted not to have a Christmas tree this year. We always get a fresh tree, but the ice storm put those plans on, well, ice. Below is this year's substitute. What do you think? Would Martha approve?

Then, the Snow Storm Cameth

48 hours of constant snow, and we were still very fortunate that we didn't end up with more snow than we did. We were also fortunate it was mostly a weekend event, so we didn't have to contend with commuting to and from work. In fact, the prediction from one meteorologist, "the snow will arrive as a wall of snow". Sure enough, she was correct! Below are images from my office in Medford, which is one of the towns just north of Boston.


Its been rumored that once upon in time in Medford, the mafia buried a guy in a snowbank and wasn't discovered until the spring thaw. Having read this before we moved to New England, I thought the story was rather implausible. After living here more than 8 years now, I can see how this could happen. We average 56" of snow each winter and we have 3 feet to go! That, coupled with the fact that I'm 99% certain there's still a handful mobsters in Medford, what will we find in our parking lot come springtime?

The Ice Storm Cometh

On December 11th, parts of Massachusetts, including our little neck of the woods, Maine, and most all of New Hampshire were hit by high winds and ice. Power outages and fallen trees were, and still are, the norm across the area. The magnitude of the storm can only be expressed by noting the work crews with out of state license plates. On our street alone, we had a crew from Ohio. Another road over, the crew was from Iowa.

We were fortunate that our outage lasted only 28 hours. I say, fortunate, because many people will be without for the next few days. Oh, and right now as I type this, we're at a balmy 18 degrees!

While we were spared any damage to our house, we did lose our favorite tree. A huge mulberry tree that provided us with so much delight.


In the summertime, the branches are so heavy with fruit they nearly touch the ground. When we mowed the yard would nibble mulberries with each pass. On weekend mornings the rising sun would shine so brightly into the tree that you could see the reddish fruit all the way from our back deck.

Birds by the dozens flitted in and out of the tree, providing the ultimate Sunday Brunch. But not only did the birds benefit, we also have a family of woodchucks that would munch the day away eating the fruit that literally covered the ground underneath. At dusk we would see the occasional small herd of deer having their fill.

While we'll tremendously miss our tree, we are very lucky that our other favorite tree survived with only a few small branches tumbling down from the weight of the ice and winds. This tree, our maple, hovers way above our house providing loads of shade in the summer.

We'll take a fallen mulberry out in the back forty over a fallen maple into our home anyday!

I Think He Missed Me!

I returned home after a 4 day trip to Texas when Roger told me that his mom asked if Guinness missed me while I was gone. Judging by the picture above, I'd say yes. He's always had a penchant for dirty socks, but this just went too far. I had unpacked my suitcase and sorted the clothes for laundry. When my back was turned, he grabbed, not just one sock, but 3 of my socks AND a pair of very comfy undies. He's been carrying these around since I let him in from outside and refuses to give them up.

How D Doo - Susie Q

This little baby, no more than 4 inches long was about one foot from our deck. Roger spotted mom and sibling on the far side of the vegetable garden, who then immediately darted for the woods, leaving this little fellow/gal all alone.

Good Morning, Ayer's Village!

This was quite the weekend in our little neck of the woods. Rarely am I up before 8am on Saturday mornings, but this particular morning I had to go into the office. As I'm getting ready in the "powder room" I see a hot air balloon off into the distance well above the horizon. I called Roger in and pointed it out to him. The balloon was so high, you could actually see a commercial jet airplane off behind it.

Not 20 minutes later as we were sitting in the living room we heard a loud "whoooosh", and then another.....Roger looked out and this is what we saw!
The balloon was directly across the street from us! Click on the photo for a wonderful close up! It really gives the perspective of how enormous this balloon was.

Before long the neighbors were all coming out with cameras as well. Oddly enough, we all spotted it initially from our own bathrooms. Now I understand the lower water pressure in the mornings!

Alas, we were never able to determine its final destination.


Then came Sunday morning. We found this baby Robin sitting amongst the petunias.
Mom was nearby for sure, so we did our best to capture the moment. Click on the picture for a real close up. Notice the little tufts of down in spots on its head.

The bird stayed there for well over an hour and would occasionally close its eyes.

Just a short time later, Roger came across this piece of a robin's egg in the yard. Could it be our little friend's former home?

Chino wants to say "Hello" as well!

Our beautiful, sweet, sweet cat Chino. Unfortunately the flash kept her from showing her gorgeous blue eyes!

Now I just have to capture Bailey so she can say hello as well. However, it's difficult to catch her when she isn't sleeping or hollering at us!

Sir Guinness of Haverhill Glen wants to say "HI!"

Hello!

Here's the Church, Look at the People Install the New Steeple

These pictures were taken in North Hampton, NH. What a beautiful day to take on such a task. The breeze was light, the sun was bright - what more could these outdoor tradesmen wish for? Click on the photos for excellent, yet somewhat grainy detail.

Has Spring Finallly Sprung?

It occured to me while driving near Portsmouth, New Hamsphire that the daffodils really mimic what it's like to wait for Spring to finally arrive in New England. Spring meaning only slightly warmer than the end of winter.

When I saw my own daffodils with their droopy heads, I thought I had missed their bloom, but I realized I hadn't missed a thing. They're just incredibly slow to raise their sleepy heads, open their eyes and finally take a good look around.

Bold and Brash

If daffodils are symbolic of the weather, then the forsythia has to be symbolic of New Englanders. It's all the best and all the worst wrapped into one out-of-control, yet, beautiful bush. Like the wildness of the branches, New Englanders are loud, brash, highly opinionated and in-your-face, always on the go looking for the next good time. But like the incredibly brilliant blossoms, they're also extremely friendly, warm, curious about strangers and very caring people, always wanting to know more about you.

So come on up and chat with those around you. I can almost guarantee you you'll be glad you did!

Please enjoy these other photos of the forsythia, which is absolutely everywhere up here!

One Year Later and a Dream Come True!

Approximately one year ago I began this blog with a birthday greeting to Roger. While I haven't had a chance to update this since March, I am surprised at the amount of content I managed to put up here over the past 12 months, some good, some not so good, some eventually removed (where's your sense of humor?!?!).

Now, another year has passed, and a another birthday has come and at long last, a brand new Harley for Roger. I encourage you to click on the picture above for a larger image of his huge smile and his beautiful bike.

Since the day we met, this is all he's talked about - motorcycles. I should say, motorcycles and Nicole. And now was finally the time for him to strap on the ol' saddle bags again after many years of being restricted to 4 wheel transportation. His back is doing very well and it just seemed like the right thing to do at this point.

But, I can't even begin to express what this has done for his spirit, except to say that it has truly soared! In fact, he went as far as to model the rainsuit he purchased "just in case". I must say, this man has never modeled anything for me in all the years we've been together. Well, there was this one instance, but I won't go into that! Let's just say it was very late at night.

So the road is indeed winding. Perfect for cruising the ocean road or forested roads or just taking the back roads to work - on a big ol' Road King Classic! And by the way, it gets a minimum of 50 mpg!

Ride, Roger, Ride!

Oh, below is a photo of me trying to pass off as a Harley Chick! Gotta keep up with those gals you know!

Hello, Arkansas!

We spent the final three nights in Russellville with Roger's Mom and Dad before heading back home to New England.

The only downside was that winter decided to rear its ugly head at the end of February! We drove up Magazine Mountain to visit a fairly new resort that was built by the state of Arkansas. In spite of our view being dramatically cut short due to fog, the building itself was stunning! Lots of wood and rock and huge fireplaces. I can't wait to go back on a good weather day and perhaps spend a night in one of the cabins.

It also just so happened that Wanda's birthday was just around the bend, so we helped her kick off the celebration!!!

We mostly spent the days relaxing, eating and drinking coffee, relaxing, eating and drinking coffee, etc., etc., and of course lots of visiting. Not only with Don and Wanda, but with Shirley and Roger's cousin Kathy.

Alas, it was time to head back, and just in time! Guinness had the pleasure of staying in a kennel for an entire week. The picture below was taken within an hour getting home. Back in the lap of his bestfriend!!!

Goodbye, Texas!

We had a great time in Winnsboro, which is where the pictures in the earlier post were taken. The most exciting thing, other than seeing the brand new colts, was getting to see the Space Shuttle, following behind the International Space station. That was so exciting and luckily the skies were very clear! The picture below isn't of that celestial event, but of the almost full moon.

We said farewell to family in Texas, then headed to Arkansas for the final stop of our week long tour.

Just a few miles down the road from Daddy's house, we came across a true Texas Car Alarm. Just try to get near this pickup! Of course, seeing as its a retriever on post, you'd probably just get licked to death!