Erin Virginia

Winter in Minnesota

2012-02-12T09:16:00.001-06:00

Not much new with us. Chris and I have been working, spending time with friends and family and enjoying the mild winter. A couple highlights included seeing Julius Caesar at the Guthrie with Allison, Rob and Jamie and trying out new neighborhood restaurants (best pizza crust in the Cities at Pizza Lola). I've had a relatively travel-free last few months for work, but I expect that to pick up again in the spring. I don't think I'll be going anywhere new, but it's still nice to get out of the office once in a while.

Leckrone Christmas

2012-01-16T11:36:00.000-06:00

This post is a little delinquent, but we had a great time in Indiana for Christmas. Chris and I drove down a couple days before Christmas and stayed for about five days. We got to see almost everyone on both sides of Chris' family. Rhonda made several fantastic meals, we opened a ton of gifts and were definitely entertained by the twins, who are walking now.

The video game winner depends on the person you ask

Isaac and Evan and Lilly playing games (and drums)

The beautiful cowhide purse Rhonda made me

A "friendly" game of basketball

Leckrone Christmas

Pettet Christmas

McRoberts Christmas

2011-12-29T10:25:00.013-06:00

Here are a few pictures from the early McRoberts Christmas a couple weeks ago when Sean, Bonny and Cora were in town from California. Sean and Bonny stayed in the Cities for a few days and then drove to Bagley to spend time with Bonny's family. It was a fun visit. All of the nieces are growing so fast.

Dining Room Table

2011-11-23T08:15:00.008-06:00

We have an incredible, new dining room table in our house. A few years ago, Chris' parents took down a hackberry tree on their property in Indiana, and they had the wood milled and then planed it and eventually built a beautiful picnic table out of it. As a result, Chris had been talking to his dad about building a dining room table together before we even moved to Minnesota, but it ended up that Chris' dad built the tabletop himself out of most of the remaining hackberry planks. It is an incredible gift. The wood grain is very pronounced and like nothing I had seen prior. Chris and I worked with a metal fabricator to design metal legs/bases for the tabletop, with the goal for it to appear both rustic and modern at the same time.

Stockholm

2011-11-02T10:06:00.042-05:00

Ever since the organizers announced that Sweden was the location of UEGW 2011, the fall conference I attend for work, I've been really excited. First, I am a quarter Swedish (my great-grandmother immigrated to Minnesota when she was 16 and married a Swedish man here), and second, because the Nordic countries are notoriously expensive, I didn't know when, if ever, I would make the trip on my own. I had been pushing Chris without luck for months to go on the trip, and it wasn't until he passed the Bar that he finally booked his flight. He found the cheapest ticket through Helsinki, so I took a couple days off work beforehand, and we spent a night in Helsinki, Finland, and an extra night in Stockholm.

We really only had a partial day in Helsinki before routing to Stockholm. We left our suitcases in a locker at the airport, packed a change of clothes in our backpacks and grabbed a bus downtown. Maybe we were exhausted from the overnight flight and too consumed by needing a shower (couldn't check into our hotel until 4:00 pm), but Helsinki as a city and the people in it came across as very stoic and dour. Finland as a country went back and forth between Sweden and Russia before establishing its independence in the early 1900's, and the architecture reflected a Soviet influence. In fact, we heard that during the Cold War, filmakers would use Helsinki as a stand-in for Russian cities due to the similarities.

We walked all around the city and saw the harbor, its two big churches (Orthodox and Lutheran) and miscellaneous monuments. My rave reviews don't go to any of the sights (except maybe the beautiful white-washed Lutheran church on a huge square) but rather to the smoked fish - incredible. Chris and I ate probably the best smoked salmon of our lives at a grocery store downtown.

Cases of smoked fish

The below picture is from Helsinki, but we saw this same line-up in Stockholm and actually asked a woman there to explain why little children are always matched up boy-girl to hold hands when walking in groups. The woman explained that it's a way to emphasize equality from an early age and to avoid grouping/stereotyping by gender. Boys can be ballerines and girls can be businesswomen.
We flew to Stockholm early the next morning and stayed the night in a hostel in Gamla Stan, the oldest portion of the city. Stockholm is built on several islands connected by bridges, so Chris and I walked a ton on this trip. We didn't get to view the monestary containing Gustav Adolphus' sarcophagus because it was being renovated, but we saw many of the other sites. The old town is laid out on a bit of a hill, and several beautiful churches and lots of little shops and restaurants hang off the cobblestone streets.

The cross-walks in Stockholm have pictures of fathers and daughters crossing the street, which Chris and I thought was a funny commentary on how many fathers here are stay-at-home dads.
One of the biggest attractions in Sweden is the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a Swedish warship built in the early 1600's that sank close to the city shoreline shortly after setting sail on its maiden voyage. Because the the ship sank in Baltic waters, where sea and fresh water mix, the ship was not prone to deteriation, and the hull was able to be raised and much of the rest of the wood salvaged in the 1960's. The ship was pieced back together and is now on display in a specially built museum. Chris and I were really impressed by the museum, which not only displays the incredible ship, but also goes into the history of the period, the inquest surrounding the ship's sinking and even displayed the skeletal remains and facial reconstructions of the people who died aboard the ship. If you want to read more about the ship, here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship

On Saturday, we met up with some of my co-workers and toured the Parliament building and ate a traditional meal of meatballs, mashed potatoes and lignonberries.

View of city hall from the top of Parliament.

While I was attending meetings during the week, Chris was able to use a Stockholm city pass and visit many of the museums. He saw the National Museum, the Nobel Museum, the Palace and Armory, the Nordic Museum and City Hall.

City Hall and the interior gold room where the Nobel Laureate dinners are hosted every year.

Chris' favorite museum was the National Museum, which had a huge exhibit on Russian art, including the below picture.

One night after the conference, Chris and I visited the modern art museum because our guidebook raved about it. Supposedly, we could see Picassos and Warhols among other artists, but unfortunately, the museum was undergoing a massive re-hanging effort and had very few works of art from the permanent collected exhitibed. Temporarily replacing the Picassos were photographic displays of things such as a pregnant woman injecting herself with heroin.

One night, we also went to the Ice Bar with several of my co-workers. To get in, you have to suit up in a parka and gloves. The seating and walls are constructed of ice, and even the sugary drinks are served in blocks of ice.

Here are a few more pictures of the city, taken when we were either walking around or on a ferry tour circumnavigating a few of the islands.

St. George and the Dragon

Looking down at the water between Parliament and the Palace

Overall, I thought Stockholm was very beautiful, and it felt a bit like being home in Minnesota surrounded by tall blondes and storefronts with names like Nelsons or Lundquists. I'll leave you with a picture of the smoked fish which was also wonderful in Sweden, but not quite as good as in Finland.

Swearing In Ceremony

2011-10-31T14:07:00.008-05:00

This past Friday, Chris was sworn into the Bar before the Minnesota Supreme Court. Now he can officially practice as an attorney in the state of Minnesota! About 500 some law graduate were sworn in at the River Center in St. Paul. Chris' parents flew in on Thursday to attend the ceremony at the RiverCenter, and his sister Allison, along with my mom, were also able to attend. Afterwards, we went to Moscow on the Hill for a great lunch.

Standing while his name is read

Taking the oath

Chris Passes the Bar!

2011-10-06T21:02:00.003-05:00

Chris passed the Bar! It's been a long three months since Chris took the Bar in July. Although I think he was fairly confident he passed, it's a ordeal to study for and retake the test, which is only offered twice a year. Everyone who takes the Bar is assigned a number, and on Thursday the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners posted the numbers online of all applicants who passed the Bar. Chris also received the official letter via mail that afternoon, which verifed his results. He still has to attend the official swearing in ceremony before the MN Supreme Court in three weeks, but after that he can officially practice law. I am extremely excited for him; hopefully, we'll have more good news soon on the job front.

Since July

2011-09-12T12:31:00.014-05:00

I'm having trouble finding time to blog. I need to figure out how to make time for this now that I don't have as many nights and weekends alone while Chris is at school or studying.

Nothing too eventful has happened in the last few weeks. We've been spending most of our days enjoying the summer weather and spending lots of time with family and friends. I took a trip back out to Boston for work and drove past our old house on Alma Ave. Neither floor's new tenants are keeping up the exterior - I was a little sad to see the overgrown hedges and weedy flower beds.

Here's a quick summary of what we've been doing:

- We celebrated Lilly's birthday with a party at her house - lots of water balloons and cake
- We celebrated Allison's birthday at a Gaelic Storm concert at the MN Zoo (none of my pictures turned out, unfortunately).
- Katie and her boyfriend, Matt, drove up from Indiana for a long weekend, which was a lot of fun.
- Varsana and Malia spent a night with us before school started. We tubed the creek, played some basketball, and Chris and I were educated on the current trends for teenagers. Our friends, Ryan and Katie, flew in from Kansas City over Labor Day weekend. Chris and I have been friends with Ryan since we all went to medic school nine years ago.
We've also spent time with numerous other friends, which is so great after years of infrequent visits. In addition, Chris and I have been loving the proximity to Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and the Minneapolis trails. A few weeks ago, we biked to Minnehaha Falls, grabbed some lunch at Sea Salt restaurant, and hiked along the Minnehaha River to the mouth Mississippi.
I started my fall course in Statistics. After this class, I'll be half-way through the program, but at least I'll have some of the harder classes behind me.

95th Birthday Party

2011-07-28T14:40:00.006-05:00

Chris and I hosted my grandfather's 95th birthday party on July 17. We had a great turn out: my dad and all four of his siblings were able to attend, as well as quite a few of my cousins. The weather was hot and extremely humid - that morning all our windows fogged up due to the difference between the outside air versus our air-conditioned house. Everyone crammed inside, even though we didn't have enough seating. Poor Chris had the job of manning the grill, while my hardest task was cutting up the rock-hard Dairy Queen sheet cake. We moved to Boston right after my grandfather's 90th birthday party, and it was wonderful to be back again to celebrate with him five years later.

Time for cake

My grandfather and Carol
My grandfather and his children

Everyone together

After the party at our house, my brother invited a few people over to celebrate Varsana's 13th birthday, which was on the 16th. Lucky girl got a set of Beats headphones from her dad. I can't believe she's already a teenager.

The Happenings

2011-07-25T11:16:00.019-05:00

We've had lots of stuff going on lately. Today (Tuesday) is Chris' first big day of the Bar Exam. Since finishing his Barbri prep. course, Chris has been locking himself away every day studying. The exam takes two days: today is essays, and tomorrow is multiple choice. Results are not available until October, but it will be a relief for Chris to have the exams behind him. He says it feels like he hasn't been doing anything all day - just studying and then a run to de-stress.

We did finish a bit of landscaping in the backyard. We put in brick borders around the existing plants by the garage and gates and filled the beds with bark chips. We also put in a stepping stone walkway, planted a few annuals in the beds and replaced the stringy peonies in the front planter boxes from the previous owners. Chris also built a work table for the garage, and we painted it white. It's so pretty that I don't want to put it in the garage. For the last update, while we were running back from Lake Harriet on Sunday, we ran past a free bird bath by the side of a huge house - Chris drove back and picked up after we got home. It looks a bit like Toad from the Frog and Toad children's stories.

On the work front, I took a trip to Sydney last week - it was very quick. By the time I adjusted to the fifteen hour time difference in Sydney, I had to fly home. Now I'm lying awake at night trying to adjust back. I didn't do much sightseeing. The weather was horrible, almost non-stop downpour, and I was working at a hospital outside the city most of the time, anyway. The sun briefly broke through the clouds on Wednesday, and I had time to take a quick walk through the Botanical Gardens and past the Opera House. I finally met one of the research nurses I've been working with for the past two years - she's about my age and has a similar temperament, which made the two days at the hospital feel less like work. When the plane touched down in Minneapolis on the return trip, I half expected to walk out into the Boston Logan airport, but the the nearly half hour I waited for Delta to unload my luggage gave me time to re-set myself.

View from my hotel room

Walking through the Botanical Gardens
View from the Opera House into the Harbor

Opera House

Looking back towards the city

Celebration & The Creek

2011-07-05T14:39:00.013-05:00

Chris missed his graduation from law school in order for us to close on our house. In lieu of a celebration in Boston, when Chris' parents and grandparents drove up from Indiana for a long weekend, we went out to eat at Salut in Edina. It was fun to have such a large group from both sides of our family together. We even ended up getting comped a seafood platter after the restaurant lost our reservation.

Chris and I have otherwise been having a great summer, catching up with family and friends and exploring our new neighborhood. The big accomplishments over the Fourth of July holiday were landscaping in the backyard and conquering Minnehaha Creek (done by Chris). The creek runs past the end of our street, and on Sunday, Chris and three friends rented canoes, drove to creek's origin, Lake Minnetonka, and floated/paddled/portaged/tipped their canoes down the creek for several hours. Chris didn't actually tip his canoe or lose anything, but among his three friends, a canoe was tipped three times, and two pairs of sunglasses, car keys and sandals were lost, not to mention a cell phone getting soaked. Below is a "before" picture - I wish I would have taken one afterwards when they emerged from the end of the street sunburned, scraped and vowing to do this every month.

On Monday morning, we took Greta down to the creek. She's not all that excited about swimming, but after ten minutes, she mustered enough courage to swim around by herself. If you catch the creek about twenty minutes upstream, you can take a relaxing inner tube ride to where it curves past our street (or go further). We haven't done it yet, but we've seen quite a few families float down the creek.

New Life on York Ave South

2011-06-12T18:53:00.042-05:00

*Disclaimer: The format of this blog is driving me CRAZY! I cannot figure out how to fix the spacing in this post. I have spent far too long trying to figure it out to no avail. If any of my blogger friends can help, please let me know. I've even tried messing with the html.*

Chris and I are entirely moved into our new house in Minneapolis. We have plenty to do still, but at least most of our stuff is in the appropriate rooms. The house is on a charming street in southwest Minneapolis, was built in 1925 but has undergone some renovations/updates through the years. The exterior stucco and interior woodwork are original, I believe. We will eventually buy a few new pieces of furniture, but here are pictures so far:

Beautiful maple tree in the front yard Fenced backyard with a locust tree and basketball hoop over the garage Dining Room: Check back in a couple months to see the new table Chris and his dad are going to construct Living Room Kitchen Main Floor Guest Bedroom

Study (not really put together yet)

Main Floor Bathroom Basement - laundry room, storage and bathroom not picturedMaster Bedroom - our box springs wouldn't fit up the stairs without seriously gouging the walls so instead Chris cut and laid planks on the bed frame. It will do for now.

Upstairs Bedroom (formerly a nursery and unfurnished now)

Master Bathroom (addition by previous owners - we finally have bathroom storage space)

Porch - I love sitting here in the evenings while the breeze sifts through the screensFront Gate (Greta can just squeeze her head through)

Our block dead-ends on Minnehaha Creek which has a blocked-off boat ramp

That's it for now. I'm not sure what we'll do in the open area in the basement, and our living room tables feel too bulky for the space. But we're grateful for this wonderful house.

The Move

2011-06-02T08:38:00.010-05:00

We are back in Minnesota! I am very happy to have the long move behind us. Here's a quick picture of Cambridge from a spring walk Chris and I took along the Charles River a few weeks ago. I will miss those all of our walks and runs along the river.

Chris finished law school about a week before we needed to load the truck, so he was able to pack up a bulk of our belongings. In addition, Tony, Chris' friend from high school, flew out Tuesday, May 24 for a day or two of sightseeing prior to Friday's long day of packing the truck and the weekend roadtrip. Here's one last photo in front of Paul Revere's house.

On Friday, we broke midday for sushi at our favorite sushi restaurant and celebrated afterwards at our favorite Thai restaurant, but it was still a long day of loading. See below for a picture of the best spicy tuna roll in the country.

Tony discovered the unfortunate number of books we own. We hired piano movers for my huge upright piano (about 600-700 lbs and includes a cast iron sound board), and after much difficulty, they also jammed our sofa through the narrow doorway as well. Late afternoon when I was scrubbing all the spilled food out of the refrigerator, the leasing agent stopped by with the new renter to sign papers on the house. I have no idea why she decided to stop by the house when we were in the middle of the move with the dining table already packed, all of us filthy with sweat and dust and batting at the disgusting amount of dog fur floating in the air that seemed to materialize from every cranny in the house. The new renter, a very proper-looking Japanese man in a suit who bowed to us probably wanted to renege on his rental decision. Anyway, we got the house packed up and cleaned and sadly said goodbye to 26 Alma Avenue.

Saturday morning, Chris and Tony hitched the trailer to the 24 foot truck and strapped our small Nissan onto it. Over the next two days, 1,400 miles and happily only one stop at McDonalds, Chris drove the truck while Tony and I alternated following behind in the Saab or keeping Chris company in the truck cab. We stopped overnight in Toledo (which had a very strange vibe), but otherwise drove steadily. The weather was very good, except for a thunderstorm in Wisconsin, and there was little chance of speeding tickets since the truck had a governor that prevented speeds over 70 mph. Here was my onward view for much of the trip.
We parked the truck in my parents long driveway in Hugo from Sunday night until Friday morning. We closed on the house on Thursday afternoon and unloaded the truck on Friday. Moving in is definitely easier than moving out, especially since the piano movers stayed a while extra and unloaded all of our heavy items. We need to buy new furniture and paint a couple rooms, but we're mostly unpacked now.

We definitely love the new house and neighborhood. Our street dead-ends on Minnehaha Creek, which Greta, joyous, wild-eyed and eventually filthy, discovered on Memorial Day. In addition, we are within walking distance of the shops and restaurants at 50th and France (for better or worse). The neighbors seem great: 0ur next-door neighbor brought over a plate of brownies a couple days ago, and we were invited to a neighborhood party on Memorial Day (we unfortunately already had other plans).

Now that we've painted our purple kitchen, I'll post pictures of the house soon.

Nieces and Nephews

2011-05-19T11:13:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of our newest nieces and nephews that I'm finally pulling off my phone. The first pictures are Lilly, Isaac and Evan. Then comes is Cora. They are all adorable!

Chris Finishes Law School!

2011-05-18T08:37:00.003-05:00

Chris has completed law school! He actually turned in his last paper about a week ago. His graduation ceremony is scheduled for next weekend (27th), but Chris has decided not to attend because we will already be moved to Minnesota. It's a logical decision because Chris needs to start his bar prep course on May 23, but it's still a little sad. I was looking forward to formally celebrating his hard work and achievements over the last four years. I'm sure we'll do something in lieu in Minnesota.

House!

2011-05-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

If all goes well, Chris and I will be homeowners again on May 26! Last week, we signed the purchase agreement for a house off York Ave S. in Minneapolis. I've always considered myself a St. Paul-side-of-the-city kind of girl, but I think Minneapolis has great potential to grow on me.

The closing is pending inspection (this Wednesday) and financing, so it's not done yet. However, we don't anticipate any problems. We plan to caravan the moving truck and cars to the Cities on May 21-22, store the truck for a few days and move into the house on May 27.

I'll put up pictures after we close. I am placating the irrational part of me that thinks posting pictures will jinx the situation.

Home Again, Home Again

2011-04-16T15:58:00.002-05:00

You've probably already heard, but Chris and I are moving back to Minnesota! We are about six weeks out - Chris needs to be in the Cities at the end of May to take a Bar prep. course in advance of taking the Bar in July. I will be keeping my same job after we move and will be working out of Boston Scientific's Arden Hills office (the old Guidant facility).

We have not found a house. Chris and I flew back a couple weeks ago to view properties and even put an offer down on a house in St. Paul, but we were out-bid. It's a tough process from afar - houses in the neighborhoods we're looking are selling within a week or so, before we even have a chance to book flights to view them. Chris sister, Allison, my brother, Jamie, and my parents have all been screening houses for us, which we continue to appreciate. Chris booked a flight to Minnesota next weekend, and if we can't find the right property after that trip, we may end up renting a furnished apartment for a couple months.

Good news out of our trip back a couple weeks ago was that we finally got to meet three new nieces and nephews! I can't find my camera cord to download pictures, but suffice to say that all three (Allison and Rob's twins, Evan and Isaac, and Sean and Bonny's baby girl, Cora) are adorable. We're excited that we'll have more opportunities to spend time with family after the move.

Coins in the Closet

2011-03-27T08:02:00.016-05:00

When I was a little girl, maybe five, my aunt and uncle offered a giant bucket of coins to my three brothers and me as a Christmas present. The coins were almost exclusively pennies, but that didn't matter, especially to a child who loved coins. (I remember when I was seven, I converted my $25 of birthday money into change and carried it around for the summer in my purple, plastic purse that had fourteen pockets.) Anyway, my brothers and I spent hours stacking the pennies by tens to count them. In the end, we wound up with somewhere between $150 - $200, which was then split four ways. Ultimately, Jamie and Michael (my two oldest brothers) convinced Sean and me to hand over most of the money to buy a Sega video game console.

Perhaps collecting change is some genetic quirk because although my parents might not admit it, I know they have more than one carboy in their closet filled with pennies. In my closet, I have a stout, little jar that I have been throwing change into for years. If Chris empties his pockets onto the dresser, the coins are confiscated. But I often forget to throw my own money into it, and a couple months may go by before anything is added. Chris not only makes fun of the jar, but I have caught him stealing quarters for the meters, a semi-blasphemous act. He is, however, on board with reserving a few foreign coins from our trips, and we have another little pottery pot for those.

Yesterday, with Chris' support (i.e., pointed remarks), I decided the day had come to take the jar to the supermarket coin-counter. I salvaged a sacagawea, a couple Kennedy half dollars, as well as the train-pressed coin I put on the tracks in Prague on a college trip and then jumped into the well to collect after the train passed over it. The result of the coin counter's calculations was over $50 in hoarding. While I washed the tarnish from my hands in the restroom, Chris took the receipt to the cashier and got all the money back in $1 bills. My gosh, how impractical.

Thailand

2011-03-13T14:33:00.051-05:00

Chris and I had an amazing trip to Thailand and Hong Kong at the beginning of March. We spent most of our time in Thailand and then stopped for two days on the way home in Hong Kong. We had a little fiasco checking in for our flight leaving Boston. Neither Chris nor I were aware that entering Thailand requires a passport with at least six months of validity left (neither of our travel books mentioned it), and unfortunately, Chris' passport expired five and a half months from our flight date. So we spent a day at the passport office in Boston where Chris was luckily issued a renewed same-day passport. We left a day late, but it could have been much worse. The combination of flights through JFK and Hong Kong to Bangkok took almost 24 hours - we watched a ton of movies...

We spent a quick night in Bangkok before flying onward to Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand. We loved our hotel, which was within walking distance of the markets, where we spent a lot of time, and the wat's (temples). The requisite scooter was also rented, which Chris and I took out for a few hours. The food was wonderful - Pad Thai for US$1? No problem. We also wandered across a Thai boxing match set up in the middle of a square where Chris cheered on his randomly chosen favorite, while the adorable street children extracted dollars from us in exchange for strings of jasmine blossoms. Our first full day in Chiang Mai, we visited Tiger Kingdom, a sanctuary about a half hour away. Chris and I paid the fee to see the 3 month old tiger cubs and the largest tigers. We saw one of the cubs first and were able to pet its face and practically hold it. With the big tigers, we could only approach them from behind, not near their faces where the handlers stayed. It was amazing to get so close - we could rub their stomachs, touch their paws and feel the weight of the tail in our hands. At one point, I felt one of the tiger's stomach gurgling under my hands as it digested one of its many chicken meals. We also visited an elephant conservation center tucked into the nearby hills. Elephants are brought here for rehabilitation/rest after working to clear land or doing tricks in circuses. We spent the day acting as "mahouts," or elephant handlers. We first fed the elephants sugarcane, either directly into their mouths or by letting them grab the stalks from our hands with their trunks. Next, we learned commands to steer them and then took a little treck by riding them bareback - Chris and I shared an elephant and took turns sitting on its neck and back. The elephant's skin feels like sandpaper and is covered in coarse, prickly hairs - a little uncomfortable skin on skin. The guides warned us to watch our legs while riding the elephants because they like to sideswipe trees to itch themselves, which can be to the detriment of dangling legs. Our last activity was to bathe the elephants in a muddy pond. Chris made friends with a baby elephant who would spray water from its trunk at him. Chris finally had to grab its trunk and turn the spray elsewhere, mostly on a nearby French guy, but sometimes on me. After Chiang Mai, we flew south to Phuket and the surrounding islands. We had just one quick overnight stay in Patong, which felt like the worse of Sodom or Gomorrah. We were glad to leave Patong and the "lady boys" behind.

The next day we took a ferry to Phi Phi, a set of two islands about an hour off the coast. The beaches are incredible, probably the most beautiful I've ever seen. Our first night, we met up with an expendition that took about 20 travelers to the smaller island, which is also a national park with few structures - only rudimentary toilets and huts for park workers. Except for the park workers (who stay on a different part of the island), we were alone on the island with the other travelers - lots of Australians and Brits. We ate freshly cooked panang chicken curry and hung out around a campfire while the guides put on a fire show. On the beach, just the stars and phosphorescent plankton in the water lit the darkness. Any movement in the water was followed by bands of light, and the water washing ashore glittered, as though filled with miniature stars. It was one of the most magical experiences I've ever encountered. Chris and I slept on the beach in thin sleeping bags, which seems romantic, but was actually rather uncomfortable.

We spent the next day and night on the main island in Phi Phi, which also boasts a beautiful harbor. Chris spent lots of time in the water, while I stayed under an umbrella nursing a fruit smoothie. After hearing rave reviews, we hiked up and down the hills on Phi Phi just before sundown, encountering monkies along the way. (Also, lots of cats and dogs in Thailand - people are very animal friendly.)

Our next leg of the trip was in Bangkok, where we stayed for almost two days. We shopped and ate dinner on Khao San Road, took a boat tour on the choppy water and visited the glittering Palace in the extreme heat. The palace "police" forced Chris to rent ugly pants to wear over his shorts - it is forbidden for men to show their knees in the palace.

After Bangkok, we flew to Hong Kong and stayed in a hotel along the pristine bay. The city felt very reserved after coming from Thailand, i.e. "the land of smiles." We took the trolley up to Victoria's Peak our first day to look down onto the city and mainland China. The most interesting parts of the city were the incredible skyscrapers and the strips of markets filled with cooked geese, raw meat and even shark fins. Our second day, we took the ferry across to Kowloon (mainland China), walked around for a couple hours and then stopped for dim sum (small Chinese dishes) for lunch.

After a long flight back, we are happy to be home and to see our own little "tiger" (aka Greta).

Vienna

2011-02-12T15:38:00.008-06:00

I took a quick work trip to Germany and Austria last week. After a couple nights at the airport hotel in Dusseldorf for a conference, I flew to Vienna on Sunday. The last time I was in Vienna was December 2001 during a winter break trip to visit the hometown (and beyond) of my college roommate, Katrina. I remember Vienna being frigidly cold, and I think we arrived via train early evening. In addition, on the stop-over back to Katrina's parents' home in Spittal from Prague, we stayed the night in Vienna, where four of the five members of our group spent the night in the throes of food poisoning. All this to say that the sunny, grand Vienna I just visited seems vastly different than the cold, dark city of my memories.

I only had time to sightsee on Sunday when, inconveniently, all the shops were closed. I spent the day just walking the city. I was impressed by how well seemingly historic places have been made usable. The front of the parliament building was flooded into iceskating rinks, lined by vendors selling strudel, cider and sausages. In addition, the grounds of the old palace are common parks for residents to sit in the sun or to unleash their dogs. I even saw a little dog sprint past wearing a traditional Austrian outfit (think Sound of Music).

Sunday was also Superbowl in the States, and strangely enough my hotel, a Marriot, was the scene of Austria's biggest superbowl party - well over a thousand people swarmed the hotel. I tried (not very hard) to sneak into the party a couple times, but entry required a barcoded ticket. I spoke briefly with a man waiting in line wearing a Vikings hat and jacket, who answered my query about being a fan something to the order of, "Vikings - you know" and then made a chopping motion with his hands. I guess that works.

Muse

2011-01-13T18:43:00.006-06:00

Chris and I received a wonderful digital SLR for Christmas this year (thanks M & R!). We have far from conquered its complexities, but it's been fun trying out the camera around the house. Greta is our unwitting muse.Some pictures below from our recent snowstorm. I am always fascinated by the "medallions" of snow that collect on dogs' fur.

Christmas & New Year's

2011-01-02T06:50:00.006-06:00

Chris and I woke up to a peaceful Christmas morning. We opened presents from our families and then ran a cold seven miles along the Charles River.

Mid-afternoon, we drove to a work friend's house for a gourmet Christmas dinner: vegetable tempura and tuna tartar for appetizers and then a main course of beef bourdelaise and char-grilled lamb. I didn't take any pictures, unfortunately. Later in the week, we got walloped with 16 inches of snow last week. Lots of shoveling, but it certainly made downtown beautiful.On New Year's Eve, we drove into New Hampshire's White Mountains to stay the night at a friend's cabin. The father of Chris' friend built the cabin over thirty years ago. There were six of us at the cabin (three couples), and we played games, rang in the New Year and the next morning drove to the nearby Sugar Shack for breakfast. The little restaurant processes its own maple sugar, hence the name.

View from our bedroom window Nearby river

Early Christmas

2010-12-22T16:37:00.003-06:00

After Chris and I made the decision to spend Christmas 2010 in Boston, we figured we'd spend the holidays alone, anticipating that the days would drift into each other as we slept in, ate Thai food on the couch and caught up on reading and TV series. It is not to be. My parents kicked off Christmas for us early by flying out for a long weekend. Being from Minnesota, they of course ushered in Boston's first snowstorm.

We had a chance to visit some new places and re-visit others. Saturday, we drove to Salem and visited the Peabody-Essex Museum, which has significant exhibits on maritime art. My mom and Chris are both fans of Mark Kurlansky books, one titled Cod, which heavily explores, you guessed it, cod fishing along the New England coast. After the museum, we drove along the ocean to Gloucester and stopped for a bowl of clam chowder. Over the weekend, we seriously indulged in seafood, including home-cooked cod and seafood chowder. After church Sunday, we ate noodle soup in Chinatown, walked along the Common and saw The King's Speech. My mom and I are Colin Firth fans, mostly attributed to his role as Mr. Darcy in the BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice. We had a lazy day Monday, punctuated by a quick trip to Dorchester Heights to see the spot where Henry Knox set up his cannons during the Revolutionary War. The snow unfortunately interrupted our downward view of the city.

Salem

Walking along the Charles River

Dorchester Heights

Our living space is not very amenable to Christmas trees, so I only put up a vertical half of our tree. This is not to demonstrate a half-hearted Christmas spirit, as evidenced by the whole angel ontop.

We will be spending Christmas day with friends in Hudson, MA, and we will be ringing in the New Year at a friend's cabin in New Hampshire. Hopefully, we can still fit some Thai food in somewhere.

Portland with Sean and Bonny

2010-11-19T16:18:00.004-06:00

Last weekend, we met up with Sean and Bonny in Portland, ME. Sean is interviewing there (among other cities) for an Emergency Room physician position. We had a nice meal Saturday and spent most of Sunday driving through neighborhoods and along the northern coastline so Sean and Bonny could get a feel for the area. I love Maine; it would be fun to have an excuse to visit the state even more than we already do now.

Abroad

2010-10-28T16:24:00.023-05:00

Chris joined me for most of my recent work trip to Europe. We met each other in Amsterdam and spent a long weekend there. Our hotel was right off Dam Square, so very centrally located. We walked a ton, so much so that we decided not to do a canal tour. The weather was drizzly much of the time. On Friday, I took a day trip to Rotterdam for work, and when I returned to Amsterdam, I got ridiculously drenched in my suit walking from the train station to the hotel. Chris and I bought umbrellas the next day, but of course it didn't rain again. We toured the Palace and Dutch Resistance Museum but decided to skip the Anne Frank Museum because the lines were too long. While I was in Rotterdam, Chris also visited the Reijks Museum and rented a bicycle for the day. There are just as many bicycles in Amsterdam as you'd think, and the riders pedal fast. We actually saw a bicyclist slam into a pedestrian on Saturday. We ate wonderful food: aged Gouda cheese, carmely cookies called Stroopwaffels and thin pancakes with powdered sugar. Chris also stopped more than once for fresh herring heaped with onions and pickles.

Bicycle Garage (in the background)
Herring

We stopped at a supermarket one day and were amused by the "Big Americans" freezer meals.

Sunday, we took a train from Amsterdam to Brussels, Belgium, which was the shortest leg on our journey. The central square in Brussels is beautiful - all intricately carved stone and gold. It doesn't hurt that there are plenty of chocolate shops just around the corner. I had to work Monday, but Chris took a train to view the European Parliament (EU Headquarters) and the Atomium, which is a gigantic recreation of an iron atom.

EU Parliament

Atomium

I didn't get a chance to see all of Brussels, but my overall impression was that city is grittier than other cities we've visited in Europe: lots of homeless people, graffiti and the smell of urine on the sidewalks. That said, the city has beautiful architecture and one of my new food loves: Belgian waffles. Now, these are not your American version of breakfast waffles doused with syrup. These waffles are eaten sans syrup on the street - the outsides crispy but the insides deliciously gooey.
Next up: France! We spent four days in Paris, our hotel within walking distance of Notre Dame, which was incredible. I hadn't realized Paris was so grand - we would walk in the afternoons along the Seine River, as the sun bounced off buildings that were each more extravagant than the next - enormous, intricate, gold. However, perhaps my favorite hours in Paris were the first time we walked west past the Louvre down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.
Our visit coincided with the unrest surrounding pension reform, and while our travel wasn't significantly delayed or disrupted, we did see university students marching on several occasions. In addition, I took a very early train to Lyon one morning for work (about two hours by train from Paris) where a French colleague was supposed to meet me. He was traveling by train from elsewhere in France, but never arrived due to protesters setting up barricades on the train tracks.

Notre Dame

A strange game in a fountain near the Louvre - people grab the metal balls from the water and throw them back in. I like that in the picture a woman is ducking away from Chris.

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower - Chris and I took the elevator/tram up to the windy top level, where looking down, all of Paris is spread out in great, whitewashed swathes. While we were at the top taking in the view, a German man proposed to his girlfriend right beside us.

Notre Dame at night

While I was in Lyon, Chris took a train to the Palace of Versailles. He says it is by far the grandest palace he's ever seen and that it's amazing how the monarchy could misuse money so selfishly.

Friday, Chris and I walked around all day and visited the Sacre-Couer church. It was a long walk back.
Late afternoon, we visited the Louvre and walked what seemed like miles through the museum on our already tired legs. The Louvre is huge. Towards the end, I felt as though I couldn't even appreciate any of the art - it all blended together. I think I am supposed to say the highlight was the smaller-than-expected Mona Lisa, but in all actuality, I liked some other paintings better, such as Delacroix' revolutionary painting Liberty Leading the People or the massive painting of Napoleon's coronation.

We went out for a wonderful meal that night at a recommended restaurant around the corner (keep the walking to a minimum).

Before we flew out on Saturday (me on to Barcelona for a conference and Chris back home), we visited the Musee d'Orsay, which displays art from the mid-1800's through the early 1900's - lots of Picasso's, Degas, Monet, etc. There was also a huge exhibit on the painter Jean Leon Gerome, for which paintings were borrowed from other museums. I recognized one of the pieces from the Minneapolis Museum of Art (The Carpet Merchant) because it had particularly stuck out to me when I was a little girl visiting the museum on a field trip. No pictures inside, unfortunately.

We walked around the Gardens of Luxembourg, nearby our hotel before making the long trip to the airport.

It was a wonderful trip. I would love to get back to Paris someday and walk the city again, perhaps see some of the sights we missed: The War Museum with Napoloen's grave, La Defense, other art museums, etc. But it's always great to be home.

Maine Marathon

2010-10-05T19:34:00.004-05:00

In April of this year, Chris and I made the decision to run the Portland, Maine Marathon, which took place this past Sunday, October 3. Chris and I ran the Twin Cities Marathon five years ago, and it took me four years before my mind could even tolerate running another marathon. It's been a long summer of training - lots of hot, early morning runs with bottles of Gatorade in our hands. However, September was a beautiful month for running, reaffirmed by a slow tapering into the shorter, brisk fall runs that Chris and I both enjoy so much.

We drove to Portland Saturday afternoon, ate a pasta dinner and fell asleep early. The weather Sunday was perfect: chilly and still. Chris and I wound up two minutes back in the starting queue but jumped off to a relatively quick start along the ocean and kept a decent pace through about mile 20 when we started to slow down. Even though he undoubtedly could have finished much sooner, Chris ran with me the entire race. Our goal was to cross the finish line under 4 hours, and we just squeaked in at 3 hours and 57 minutes.

Downtown Portland on Saturday

Waiting for the starting gun

After crossing the finish line - tired!

Visitors from the Sea

2010-10-05T19:23:00.004-05:00

Last Monday, my grandfather, his wife Carol, my Uncle Jim and his mother visited Boston for the day via port stop on an East Coast cruise. I picked them up from the docks in East Boston late morning and took them on a driving tour of downtown and Harvard Square before swinging by my house for a bowl of seafood chowder. It was wonderful to have these unexpected few hours together. Chris, unfortunately, couldn't get a day off so soon into his new job, and the cruise ship departed Boston early evening for the next day's stop in Bar Harbor.

September

2010-09-18T18:42:00.002-05:00

All of a sudden, fall is here. Chris and I both started school, a few neighborhood trees are turning and the air is crisp when we run in the evening. Chris accepted a six month paralegal position at a big corporation north of Boston. The contract is perfect, as it will end just when Chris will need to begin studying for the Bar. I am taking an Accounting class this fall, which is not at all intuitive for me. I will actually need to take tests instead of just writing papers. Woe is me.

We have been sticking close to home these past few weeks. Not much new to report.

Santiago, Chile

2010-09-01T18:40:00.004-05:00

Last week, I took a quick trip to Santiago, Chile, for work. I flew out Monday afternoon on an overnight flight (after finishing our drive home from Minnesota on Sunday at almost midnight). I worked Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital I came to visit and then walked around downtown Santiago for a few hours Thursday before catching an overnight flight home.

I, unfortunately, didn't travel outside the city, not to the snowy mountains two hours east, the ocean two hours west, the flowering desert north or to any of the many wineries all over the country. Santiago itself is thick with industry - lots of shopping malls, banks and businesses. I was surprised by how much everything cost. Prices for food, transportation and lodging were comparable to the U.S. In addition, I (my work) had to pay $140 US Dollars to enter the country in the first place. I felt relatively safe, even walking the city by myself, although the Spanish-speaking cab driver who took me from my hotel downtown kept motioning for me to hold my purse close and pointed to my wedding ring as if to say, "Where is your husband, lady?" I stuck out a little bit and got a couple comments during the trip on my blue eyes, but lots of tourists visit Chile. I also heard lots of English voices often near the university.

I didn't trust anyone enough to ask them to take my picture, so all I have are landscape shots. Here's a picture of the city from my hotel room. The white crest above the skyscrapers is the Andes.

Fish Market

Cerro Santa Lucia

I walked to the house of Pablo Neruda (died in 1973), which is on the outskirts of Santiago, but I didn't have time to take a tour. Neruda wrote politically, but he also wrote many surreal and love poems.

No traveling planned for September. I am happy to be home!

Minnesota in the Summer

2010-08-23T19:59:00.009-05:00

Chris, Greta and I took our first summer trip back to Minnesota since the move to Boston. The original impetus for the trip for Chris to attend the bachelor party of his friend Mark who is getting married shortly, but we decided to turn the trip into a mini-Minnesota vacation. After work on Wednesday, August 11 (which was Chris' last day at the courthouse), we drove through to Erie, PA, stayed at a gross hotel and then finished the drive on Thursday. While Chris hung out with his friends at a lake in Wisconsin the first weekend, I stayed at my parent's house - the trees my brothers and I planted with my parents twenty plus years ago are now huge! On Saturday, we ate lunch with Jamie and walked around Como Zoo with the girl and Maia, Tara's daughter.

Sunday, Chris and I headed across town for Lilly's 2nd birthday party. Chris' parents and grandparents had driven up from Indiana and were staying with Rob and Allison, who is over 30 weeks pregnant with twin boys. We spent most of the following days in Eden Prairie with them, although we slept at my brother Jamie's house in St. Louis Park. Lilly is definitely more talkative now than when we last saw her over Christmas. On Monday evening, we drove to Princeton to see Audra and JP's new house and yard, which they have turned into an adventureland complete with four-wheelers, a bonfire pit and skeet shooting. I only shot off a couple rounds, but Chris and JP spent a solid hour with the firearms while Audra and I caught up by the fire.

We ate dinner on Tuesday with Jimmy and Joelle and had a chance to meet their fourteen month old daughter, Adelyn. Greta camped out in the car for a while (it was a very cool evening) because Jimmy is allergic to dogs. However, Delany wanted to be sure she could show Greta her own pet dog.
It was fun to spend to relax with family during the trip - We went out to eat a few times, hung out with Lilly, helped Chris' parents tidy up their townhome for a new tenant and played some croquet with Jamie and the girls at my parent's house. We stopped in Chicago on the drive home and spent the night with Sean and Bonny. Bonny is due in January and is definitely showing now. It will be fun to have another baby in the family.

Jamie and Tara

2010-07-31T12:54:00.006-05:00

My oldest brother, Jamie, and his girlfriend, Tara, spent a few days with us last weekend. It was a really relaxing weekend. We slept in, walked around Harvard Square, toured Boston and the South End co-op gardens, did a little shopping on Newbury Street and ate a couple really great meals. Friday night, we drove to Charlestown and ate at a Moroccon restaurant, where a rather unimpressive bellydancer briefly shook her way around our table. Saturday evening, Jamie treated us to an incredible steak dinner at Mooo, right off the Commons in Beacon Hill.

For Katie's Special Day(s)

2010-07-16T15:47:00.008-05:00

Last week, Katie flew out to Boston for a long, fun weekend. Chris picked her up from the airport Thursday morning and took her downtown Boston for a while. On Friday, we drove to Gloucester to spend the day at Good Harbor Beach, one of our favorite beaches on the East Coast. I got a ridiculous sunburn on the back of my legs where I missed applying sunscreen; meanwhile, Katie and Chris turned golden brown.
Saturday morning, we left early for New York City and then spent the day walking the city. We hit the highlights: Times Square, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty (from afar), Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo, Washington Square, etc. Chris grandmother, Bobbi, had sent along money with Katie for us to have a special dinner, so we ate at a wonderful, little Cuban restaurant in Greenwich Village. Afterwards, Katie took her first subway ride surrounded by some colorful characters (to say politely) and we jumped off near Broadway. Times Square at night is incredibly packed, lit up to simulate frenetic daylight. It becomes almost too much after long.

It was a great visit. I don't know when we'll see Katie again as she's off to Purdue University this fall.

Fourth of July

2010-07-04T16:10:00.005-05:00

The three day weekend over the Fourth was wonderful. Chris and I didn't plan anything ambitious. To acknowledge Greta's birthday, Chris made her a scrambled egg on toast, took her for a bike ride and then we ditched her for the beach. We spent a couple hours just east of Boston on Winthrop Beach. The water was warm in the shallow inlets, and I, of course, loved all the barnacled rocks. We even saw a little shark washed ashore (the Cape is under a warning right now for Great Whites). As a side note, Chris seems patriotic in the first picture below, but look a little closer, and you'll see he's wearing an English soccer jersey - tsk, tsk.

Summer & Friends

2010-06-24T18:39:00.007-05:00

Summer has been busy for me, not so much work, but I'm taking two accelerated summer classes for my MBA that end mid-July. I am very excited to finish. Summer is always kind to Chris in the absence of classes, but he's also really enjoying his internship at the District Attorney's office. He's already doing pleas and motions by himself, but by the end of the summer, he'll also be doing bench trials.

Last week, our friends, Mark and Shannon, flew in from Boston. They took the traditional tour of historic Boston one day, but we also drove to New Hampshire on Friday for lunch and then spent a couple hours on a beach north of Hampton. I brought back a handful of rocks from the beach. Chris used to laugh at me for collecting rocks from the shoreline, but now he helps me look for interesting stones. My big bookcase is overrun with rocks, but I can't help myself. We made a seafood meal of scallops and lobsters Friday night and left Saturday morning for New York City. I don't think Chris and I have visited NYC in the middle of summer since we moved to Boston. The city was overwhelmed with tourists who were constantly jaywalking and swarming the sidewalks in hot, sweaty clusters. We spent most of the day in the car driving but walked around for a bit through Little Italy and Canal Street. I took almost no pictures this trip, unfortunately, but here's one at our house and one of Times Square in the evening.

Happenings

2010-06-03T18:46:00.005-05:00

Wow - May is already gone. We celebrated the end of Chris' semester and my birthday by spending a night in Portland, ME; otherwise, we've been sticking close to home. Chris started his internship two weeks ago in the District Attorney's Office in Marlborough. The courthouse is only a couple miles from my work so we've been carpooling the 25 miles and saving some money. Chris has spent most of his days so far in court, supporting the Assistant District Attorneys or doing motions himself.

It's been a quiet, relaxing few weeks. We took Greta to the vet on Thursday for heartworm pills, and the vet aspirated lumps on Greta's back and stomach, which thankfully both turned out to be benign. Our landlord is having the house re-painted but didn't let us know beforehand. We work up one morning last week to the sound of two Irishmen scraping right by our bedroom windows. I think our landlord might try to put the unit above us for sale soon; hopefully, he'll have some landscaping done. Chris and I sort of keep up the backyard and one side of the house. We planted flowers and herbs a couple weeks ago, but a cat across the street has eaten both of our basil plants. Sometimes we look out the window and the cat is sitting on top of our cars then scampers off, leaving dusty pawprints up the hood and windshield. You can imagine this all goes over really well with Chris, who is no lover of cats.

Here are pictures of some flowers in our yard (the bushes were here before we moved in).

Reunion

2010-05-17T12:42:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, I flew to Minnesota for my ten year high school reunion. I spent all day Friday with my parents, and very early Saturday morning, I met two college friends for coffee. Amanda, Lizzie and I all lived on the same hall our freshman year of college, and Lizzie is getting married the first weekend in June. It was a tough call whether to fly to Minnesota for Lizzie's wedding or for this reunion.

Audra drove to my parents' house just before lunch on Saturday and brought along her two girls, Rae and Ruby. I couldn't believe how fearless Ruby, the younger girl, was around the dogs. And the last time I saw Rae, I don't think she was talking.

Saturday evening, I met up with several of my high school classmates. I went to a very small, private school that graduated only 25 my senior year. About half of the class came to the reunion (some with spouses). It was fun to catch up with everyone and hear about work, kids, school, etc.

After church on Sunday, my parents and I ate downtown Minneapolis at Brit's Pub and then saw the new Robin Hood movie. Before the movie started, we stopped at Jamie's house for about an hour - Varsana and Malia are apparently very interested in WWE wrestling. They watch videos on YouTube and have screen savers of female wrestlers. Is this a new fad with kids these days?
I'm happy I went back. Last Christmas, we didn't have enough time to see friends, so I had a year-and-half of face-to-face catching up to do. The time spent with my family was relaxing, too, and my mom made all the Minnesota favorites: chicken wild rice soup, walleye and rhubarb crisp.

Pieces of Spring

2010-05-10T18:02:00.005-05:00

Spring has arrived in Massachusetts. I can tell by all the weeds growing through the wood chips in our backyard. Chris and I have been running outside with Greta most weekends, and concern for her stamina in the heat (and maybe combined with our being a little bored one night) resulted in her getting a spontaneous haircut. Here are before and after shots (and one immediately after):I had a quick trip to New Orleans the first few days in May for a work convention. I stayed downtown off Canal Street. I saw no oil and brought back no beads.
This past Saturday, Chris and I drove to Narrangasett, Rhode Island, to check out the beaches. It was a cool, rainy day, but Chris especially wanted to scout out the water because it's one of the few places nearby that could be conducive to surfing. I think we'll go back sometime this summer - it's only about an hour and a half away.
In other news, Chris handed in his two weeks notice at Rockland Trust. He has been selected for an internship this summer at the Middlesex District Attorney's office. Strangely enough, the location where he will be interning is in Marlborough, the city where I work. Hopefully, we can carpool some days this summer. Other than that, I already finished spring semester (just one class), and Chris has one more paper to complete.

End of the Beginning

2010-04-14T16:54:00.004-05:00

It is official. The certificates are safely in our possession. Chris and I are both fully discharged from the military. I received my discharge papers last spring, and Chris received his just last week (I enlisted a year before Chris). It's amazing to both of us that while the vast majority of our friends deployed either within the U.S. or to Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait, neither of us received similar orders. Although many weekends and annual trainings, I had to drag myself to drill, I can't regret my decision to join the military - I learned to shoot weapons, crewed helicopters, got my first taste of distance running, gave lots of I.V.'s and shots, learned the importance of mental strength and met many wonderful people, not the least of whom, Chris.

I can't find several of my favorite pictures from our time in the military, but here are a few through the years:

Barcelona

2010-03-31T17:02:00.019-05:00

Chris was able to join me on my recent work trip to Barcelona. I flew in a day earlier than Chris to visit a hospital in Girona (Lina took pictures which I will post). I had an uneventful flight through Amsterdam, but Chris took a flight that connected through and had a 5 hour layover in Madrid. He planned in advance and took a bus from the airport so he could walk around Madrid for a couple hours.

Palace in Madrid

Museum of Jamon

I worked through Thursday and then Chris and I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Barcelona together. We started out most mornings in the Boqueria, an open air market right across the street from our hotel in the historic, gothic part of Barcelona. The main tourist street in the old town is called La Rambla and is where street performers pose and vendors sell everything from postcards to pet rabbits. At night, prostitutes gather at the water's edge of the avenue. At the Boqueria, we ate big bowls of fruit, fresh squeezed juice, fried balls of salt cod and strips of Spain's famous Jamon (aged ham). Other than Jamon, we ate lots of tapas. The restaurants line up small pieces of foods on glassed counters, which anyone can grab via the toothpicks stabbed through them. In many places, when you want to pay the bill, you simply count the toothpicks.
We spent most of Friday touring the architecture of Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926. We didn't take a tour of his houses or apartment buildings (the first picture below), but we did go inside and up the spires of his famous church, Sagrada Familia. The church was partially constructed before Gaudi's death, construction ceased and was re-started several years ago. The builders estimate that the church will not be complete for 25-30 years since funding depends on private contributions and tourist fees. The exterior of Sagrada Familia. When complete, another huge spire will emerge from the middle of the church topped by a giant cross.

We paid the extra 2.50 Euros to take the elevator up the spires and walked the bridge between two. The views up close and out to the sea were incredible. I admit that my legs got a little shaky going down the stairs.

Sketch of the finished church The last location on the list was Park Guell, which Gaudi originally intended to be an upscale, gated housing development. As a housing development, the design failed, but today the acreage is open to the public and includes a couple fanciful houses, a structure intended to be an open-air market and shaded walkways that resemble the interior of a wave, among other constructions.

Saturday, we explored the Gothic part of town again, visited the Picasso Museum and walked along the beach. The weather was crisp and sunny. Chris and I didn't think the Picasso Museum was a great investment of time, since most of his major works are housed in other museums. I cannot emphasize how much the Jamon is part of the culinary culture in Barcelona. It appears on every menu and the animal legs hang from the restaurant ceilings as though a prop in a horror movie. Except these are real flesh and bone, with an entire leg often priced over 100 Euros.
Crossing the street Sunday morning to hit the Boqueria, we encountered processions for Palm Sunday. People paraded to the beat of drums and trumpet carrying sheafs of palm leaves while above their heads a statue of Jesus was carried.

After breakfast, we rented a scooter and drove to Montjuic, a hill high above the city. We didn't tour the museum or castle at the top (involves taking a tram or hiking the mountain), but instead drove as far up as we could. Afterwards, we drove into the business district and back along the water and later took a last walk through the Gothic Quarter.

Work Trip to Toronto

2010-03-20T11:31:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, I had a quick, overnight trip to Toronto. Lina, a girl I work with, and I flew to Toronto Monday night and flew back to Boston late Tuesday evening. We had a few hours to walk around the city and along Yonge Street - I also had a great view from my hotel room. The last time I was in Toronto, Chris and I were driving back to MN from a friend's wedding in New York, and it was right in the middle of the SARS outbreak. There were definitely a lot more people on the streets this time.

Weekend of Rain

2010-03-14T18:56:00.002-05:00

It has been pouring non-stop for the last two days. We have at least a half inch of water in the basement (or cellar as they say out here), and I've been wearing my rainboots when I walk downstairs. I didn't bother to move some now soggy boxes of books - I'm going to use this as an excuse to purge our old textbooks. The rest of March will be a busy travel month for me, with a trip each week through the end of the month. I will be in Spain at the end of next week, and I am really excited that Chris is going to meet with in Barcelona for a long weekend. He'll be on his own for a day and then we'll have three full days together to explore the city.

Caribbean Cruise

2010-03-08T18:09:00.010-06:00

Chris and I met most of my family in Miami last week to set sail on a Western Caribbean cruise. It turned out that Chris and I were booked on the same connecting flight into Miami as Sean and Bonny, so we all took a cab to our hotel in South Beach. My parents and Jamie and the girls didn't arrive until late Saturday night. The weather was COLD and rainy, but we still wandered down to the beach and along the streets.

Rainbow in South Beach

We all met on the ship, the Norwegian Jewel, early Sunday afternoon and unpacked into our tiny staterooms. This was the first cruise for my dad, Jamie and the girls and Chris and me.

On the ship in Miami

Monday was a day at sea and still ridiculously chilly, but we scrounged lounge chairs on the upper decks and sat out reading for a while. Braver members of the family tested the pool, but not me.

Miss Pina Colada

Tuesday, we pulled into port in Roatan, Honduras. Chris and I rented a scooter for the day and covered about half the island, while stopping for a bit at the beach. For some reason, I thought cruise ships only pulled into well-developed ports, but past the dock, Roatan quickly shifted into third-world shacks, bony dogs and kids in blue trousers/skirts and white shirts trudging to school. Nice houses rimmed a few beaches, but along other inlets, trash mixed so heavily with seaweed that the waves couldn't make it ashore without touching aluminum cans, plastic or other litter.

Varsana's $1 Picture

Walking on the Beach

After we got back to the ship Tuesday evening, Chris came down with either food poisoning or a virus that kept him up all night sick, so he wasn't at his full sight-seeing sparkle when we anchored near Belize City Wednesday. My mom and Jamie and the girls took a boat/bus tour of the area, but my dad, Sean and Bonny and I just walked around another surprisingly rural city. Belize City was formerly a British colony, so we did see old government buildings and a church. My mom told me later that her bus toured some extremely affluent neighborhoods where the wealthy landowners onced lived (and still do). Another interesting fact is that in the 1960's a group of Mennonites re-located to Belize, began farming the land successfully and now produce a large percentage of the countries crops.

Viewing the Old Church

Thursday, we ported in Costa Maya, Mexico. Bonny's birthday! Sean, Bonny and my mom took a two hour bus ride to to see the Mayan ruins, while the rest of us hit the beach. We actually ended up doing more walking than swimming. Late afternoon, I ended up feeling sick and went back to the ship. It turned out that Sean got sick at the ruins and had to endure a two hour bus ride back. I felt badly for Bonny who didn't really get to fully celebrate her birthday since we all bailed on dinner.

From Jamie's Balcony

Stopping for a Cold Drink

Jamie works on his tan

Friday was another day at sea and was my mom's birthday! We all lounged around the ship, not doing much and met at a teppanyaki restaurant for dinner to celebrate Bonny and my mom's birthdays. Afterwards, we all went to an acrobatic show, a la Cirque de Soleil. And you guessed it, Bonny got sick that night.

Near the "Sapphire Pool"

Happy Birthday from the Staff

Saturday turned into one of the best days of the cruise. Norwegian owns its own island in the Bahamas, and Sean and Bonny (who felt somewhat better), Chris and I boarded the first tender to the island and explored the coastline away from many of the other passengers. The beach was covered with drying groups of man-of-war. It was still cool and windy, but as we circled the island, the waves stilled into pale blue pools. It was too much for Chris, who jumped into the water. Sean and Bonny and Jamie and Varsana went parasailing later in the day, and the rest of us spent the afternoon swimming, sitting on the beach or collecting shells. (One damp sand-dollar later, you can imagine how my back-pack smells.)

Man-of-War

Back home now and back to work.

Winter

2010-02-01T17:57:00.002-06:00

It's been three weeks since I've updated this blog. I have nothing exciting to say. No trips since NYC and no interesting purchases (unless you count a new French cookbook). Just wind, snow and a load of laundry to do.

Things that are currently making me happy:
- Both cars are running smoothly
- We figured out how to fidget with the oil burner/water heater to get hot showers again
- LOST starts tomorrow

New York City, 2010

2010-01-11T18:47:00.010-06:00

Sean and Bonny flew into Logan Airport late last Wednesday evening. It ended up being a late night catching up, but I still managed to drag myself to work the next morning. We made a big seafood meal of crab and salmon Thursday night (first time making crab for us).
Friday morning, we drove three hours to New York City. Prices are great on hotels right now, so we booked a nice place that took dogs. Greta totally mucked up Bonny's black coat with gobs of white fur on the drive - I wish I had taken a picture. NYC weather was cold and blustery, so we did most of our sightseeing from the car: quick trip past Ground Zero, Trinity Church and over the Brooklyn Bridge and back. We did of course all eat the requisite hot dog.

Bonny is skeptical of Sean's touch-ups on her table drawing

Here we encounter again the inevitable problem of getting Chris to smile for pictures

Saturday, we did a little shopping along Canal Street, and then Bonny and I stood in line in Times Square for an hour at the half-price ticket booth. We had to take turns running into into nearby stores to warm up. She bought us tea on one trip, and I bought us extra socks on another. But all ends well. We wound up with four 40% off tickets (great seats) to Phantom of the Opera that night. Before the show, we walked through the Museum of Modern Art and saw some wacko art and a few famous paintings such as Water Lilies by Monet, Starry Night by Van Gogh and Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. It was especially neat to see the Wyeth paiting since Sean and Bonny have a framed print at their house and didn't know the original was at this museum.

Chinatown

Starry Night and Christina's World

We ate sushi at a Japanese restaurant right before the show. Not until after we left the restaurant did we realize that one of the servers had spilled soy sauce on Chris' dress shirt. Phantom of the Opera was wonderful. I've seen the movie, but it surely doesn't do justice to the opening scene when the chandelier lights up and swings to the ceiling in a torrent of organ music. Bonny especially was excited to see the show since she used to listen to the music as a little girl.

Desperately trying to catch a cab

Heading out of the "Music of the Night" and into The Phantom of the Opera
(I hope somebody gets my joke)

Greta's endless infatuation with herself

Bonny took some of these pictures, and I shamelessly stole them (thanks, Bonny). We are all back home now and into the dreariest days of winter. Chris started school today - mine resumes next week.

Home Again

2010-01-04T20:44:00.015-06:00

We put just over 3,000 miles on the Saab this Christmas. We set out early on December 23 and drove straight through to Lafayette, with only minor delays from snow off the Great Lakes in New York and icy rain in Indiana. We had a half day with Rob, Allison and Lilly before they flew back to MN on the 24th. During our four days in Indiana, we spent time with both sides of the family (Leckrone and Pettet) and just with each other. We took a snowy midwestern walk one day down by the banks of the Wildcat Creek, and we also took a drive through a snowstorm. Chris and I gave Katie nunchucks for Christmas. Nice, right?

Driving in an Indiana snowstorm

We drove to Minnesota on December 28 and opened gifts with my parents and Jamie and the girls. The next day was the McRoberts' gathering. Varsana and Malia stayed overnight at my parents' on the 29th, which was fun. Chris taught Malia how to play the opening sequence of Fur Elise on the piano while Varsana texted non-stop on her phone. We also saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie with my parents.

We rang in the New Year at Allison and Rob's house and then drove to Chicago to spend the night with Sean and Bonny. Chris and I broke up the drive back and spent one night in Cleveland. We hit snow and blustery winds most of the drive from Cleveland to Boston, which took us almost 12 hours to cover 650 miles. We fell asleep in front of the TV when we finally got home.

A Peaceful Storm

2009-12-20T16:38:00.002-06:00

It's like a dirty little secret. Co-workers pull you aside in the hallways. Friends surreptitiously check cell phones for updates. Hushed whispers carry around corners. Did you hear? I lean in a little closer. We're going to get a BIG snowstorm. Maybe it's the drama, but I love feeding the panic. Yes, yes, I say, making my eyes wide and raising my eyebrows. We should probably all work from home in our pajamas.

We did get a bit of a walloping, but the landscape is beautiful. The sky in infinitely hushed with fewer cars inching past with snow drifting backwards off roofs. Chris and I bundled up to shovel this morning, which I didn't even mind for this first storm - better today than on Wednesday when we'll be driving to Indiana. Earlier today when Chris suggested we spend some time tonight reading, I pinched him. Who is this guy who has time for fun reading? What about studying?

We are getting excited to drive westward. If I don't post again within the next few days, Merry Christmas!

Year's End

2009-12-17T18:52:00.005-06:00

Chris finished finals after yesterday evening's exam. It has been a peaceful fall for us, but the weight of the semester bears down heavily in December for Chris. He is very excited to have nearly a month before Spring Semester begins.

I don't know why, but it's been hard to get into Christmas this year. I haven't decorated our house for the past couple years - it's just too much work to rearrange furniture if we're not even going to be here for Christmas. I started to put on some Christmas music in the car on my way to work the other day and was promptly cut off twice within five minutes. And like everyone else I get so preoccupied in December with preparing to be away from work, finishing school, shopping, packing, addressing cards, etc., that I am almost startled to encounter moments of real joy.

Last Sunday, our church celebrated baptisms for several older children. As our pastor prepared to pray with each of the kids dressed festively in black velvet dresses, red bows or little boy suits, he invited extended families (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) to come to the front to join the prayer. Something about that moment especially touched me - the fact that so many people can join around a single child and pledge to raise this child in the right light. It was a juxtaposition of this present and future dedication against the traditional message of Christmas and where I should be focusing: the realization of a child's potential.

Dusseldorf

2009-12-05T17:11:00.004-06:00

These past couple weeks have been a blur. We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving by making a mini-meal of Cornish game hens and some of the traditional sides. Chris has been holing up at the library every weekend to research and write his final papers and study for finals. He says that each year of law school gets a little bit easier, but I know it's still a massive amount of work. After this semester, he will only have a year-and-a-half left.

This past Monday after returning from the long Thanksgiving weekend, I had to scramble to schedule a last-minute trip to Germany. I flew out Wednesday evening (unfortunately on Chris' birthday but we celebrated the night before) and returned just this afternoon. This entire year my work team and I have been preparing to start a new clinical trial, and the first patient was treated on Friday in Dusseldorf! It was a huge milestone for all of us. I spent a couple hours on Friday afternoon and evening walking around the city. Germany is famous for its Christkindlmarkts, which are outdoor Christmas markets with lots of festive vendors (different kinds of wursts, pretzels, spiced wine, handcraft vendors, etc.). It seemed as though the whole city was celebrating on Friday night, with the streets bright with lights, ribbons and fir branches and people crowded around tables with hot drinks. I felt the first inkling of Christmas spirit for the year.

Konigsalle

Dusseldorf University (I think)

Christkindlmarkt

Eating a Bratwurst for Chris

Long Weekend with My Parents

2009-11-15T20:07:00.006-06:00

Last weekend, my parents flew in for a long weekend. I took Friday off work, and my parents and I wandered along the Commons and Beacon Hill and toured the JFK Presidential Library. It was the first trip to the library for all of us, and the mementos in the building were really interesting. Old pictures, letters, campaign materials, etc. Some of my favorite items were gifts from foreign leaders to Jackie Kennedy--lots of incredible jewelry.
Saturday, we drove through New Hampshire and along the coast of Maine. The wind off the water was cold and blustery, so we spent most of the afternoon in the car, looking at the big houses. We drove through Kennebunkport, past Former President Bush Sr.'s house. I didn't get a picture, but it sits on an outcropping of land, surrounded by water.
Sunday, we wandered around Lexington and Concord, stopping for orange-rind oatmeal cookies at Wilson Farms - probably the best cookies I've ever had. If you come visit us, remind us to stock some for you.
Chris and I had to work the following week, but my parents spent Monday driving the length of Cape Cod and then went the opposite direction to the Berkshires on Tuesday. It was a really fun visit, and I'm glad it will only be a few weeks until Christmas when we see them again.

Pictures of Fall

2009-10-31T09:32:00.002-05:00

A rainstorm and wind have stripped many of the trees down to bare branches, but here are a few pictures I've snapped in the past few days.

A tree in Minute Man National Park

Shades of green in our backyard Vines over our garage

Flower Bed

Skunk vs. Greta

2009-10-24T10:13:00.007-05:00

Nothing too exciting happening lately. Chris and I have been working, doing schoolwork and playing some racquetball on the weekend. Since that's not very interesting, I'll tell you the story of how Greta got sprayed by our friendly neighborhood skunk:

The night before we left for Seattle, I was making dinner in the kitchen, and Greta was running around in the backyard. While I was at the stove, I heard Greta bark and then some loud scuffling. I ran outside and dragged Greta to the porch, and she had the strangest acidic aura about her. The skunk who I suspect has been sleeping under our porch gave Greta a good spray. The worst part is that we had to drop her at the dogsitters early the next morning. I didn't have any tomato juice but gave her a bath with regular shampoo. That helped a little - we're lucky the dogsitter still took Greta the next day. When we got back from Seattle, Chris poured tomato juice all over her, and that finally got rid of the rest of the smell.

The Great Northwest

2009-10-02T16:55:00.011-05:00

Life has been exciting so far this fall! The last weekend in September, Chris and I flew to Seattle and met Rob and Allison for an extended weekend. I was truly impressed by Seattle's natural beauty - blue mountains, blue water, blue sky. We drove our rental white PT Cruiser (as cool as you can get, huh?) to our hotel and then headed to Pike Street for the evening, with the first stop at the Fish Market. A lot of the ice tubs full of fish were being emptied, so we never saw the full force of the market. But I couldn't believe end-of-the day prices on incredible flower bouquets - ten dollars for what would sell at a florist for over fifty dollars.
Early Saturday morning, we headed north to Vancouver, British Columbia. The drive took a few hours. We checked into our hotel and walked the city. Some parts were meticulously maintained, but I was somewhat shocked by the number of homeless people on the streets, especially so close to the tourist districts. I read that the city is investigating how to manage the large homeless population in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but the city has to be careful not to tread on the rights of any of its citizens while they clean it up.
On Sunday, we drove to the base of Grouse Mountain (just a few miles outside the city) and did what the guidebook described as a "strenuous, monotonous hike." We hiked uphill for about a mile and a half to the "almost" peak - it made the view at the top seem earned. At the top is a sort of outdoors park with a grizzly bear enclosure, a small ski lift to the very peak. We could see all of Vancouver and out to the freightors in the water from where we stood. We took a gondola back down, visited the timberwolf preserve, stopped at a salmon hatchery and then headed back to our hotel. That night, we ended up watching some flamenco and tango dancers at a tucked-away cafe.
On Monday, we drove back past Seattle to Mount Rainier National Park, planning to do a 7 mile hike past waterfalls, over a suspension bridge to a glacier. It turns out the roads were washed out, so we did a different 7 mile hike through an old growth forest and along the river to a waterfall. The forest seemed like something out of a fairy tale--lots of moss and clingy green growth covered the trees and ground. I can tell you that we had several near sightings of sasquatch. The river running along the forest is fed by glacier water, lightening it the palest blue. One of the pictures below is of Chris and Rob standing in front of the roots of a fallen tree.

We had a low-key night in Seattle Monday night - we found a seafood/sushi restaurant on the water. Chris and I flew home early Tuesday morning, and Allison and Rob flew back later that afternoon.

Around the World for Work

2009-09-19T13:56:00.015-05:00

I count myself extremely fortunate to work for a company that allows me to travel. Right now, I'm working to set up a new clinical trial that will involve hospitals around the world. We have never worked with three of the hospitals previously, so the director for my group and I traveled to each to "qualify" them for the study. This was my first visit to each of the countries.

We flew to Sydney, Australia first. I was able to steal a couple hours my first day to take the ferry across Sydney Harbor to Manly Beach. Australia is just emerging from winter, but several surfers still bobbed in the water. The next couple days were very busy for work, but the day before we left, Joy and I took a cab to Bondi Beach and walked a few miles along a beautiful coastal cliff walk that connects several small towns and beaches.

We next flew overnight via Malaysia to Amsterdam, arriving very early Sunday morning. Joy and I changed clothes and then took a train from the airport to downtown Central Station. I loved Amsterdam. It barely rained the entire day. We took a canal tour, toured the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum Museum (lots of Rembrandts, including Night Watch) and spent hours walking along the streets, past the flower markets and Red Light District. I didn't realize how many canals circle through the city - I learned on our canal tour that the reason the houses are so narrow is that city residents were originally taxed on the width of their houses, irrespective of height.
Early Monday morning, Joy and I jumped on a train to Rotterdam to visit the next hospital. We didn't need to stay as long as expected, so on our way back to the airport, Joy and I stepped off the train in Den Haag (Hague), hoping to spend an hour or so at the Mauritshuis Museum, but it was closed for the day. So instead we ate lunch near the government buildings and then took a cab to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal is continuing to prosecute alleged perpetrators of crimes committed during wars in former Yugoslavia (crimes against humanity). Joy and I sat in on two different trials, one with two defendents and the other with six. It was extremely interesting to be so close to the actual trials and to hear statements from both sides and the panel of three judges - just a pane of glass separated us from the coutroom.

Joy and I flew Monday night from Amsterdam to Barcelona for the last leg of our trip. We stayed near the old part of town and close to buildings by Antoni Gaudi, the famous architect. Our first day, we drove an hour north to Girona and spent the entire day at a hospital and also catching up with some work colleagues based in Barcelona. The next day was also a working day, but I was able to head downtown late afternoon. I walked through La Rambla, the main tourist strip, did some shopping in the Gothic part of town, walked through the Cathedral and arrived at Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's most famous building (church), too late to take a tour.

It was an amazing trip, but I was SO glad to arrive home this past Thursday to see Chris. Ten days is a long time to be away.

Back to Portsmouth

2009-09-06T17:56:00.005-05:00

Chris and I spent Saturday night in Portsmouth, NH. In the past, we've visited for an afternoon and also driven through many times on our way to Portland, but this was our first full day and night. It was a beautiful Saturday. We ate lunch at the Red Hook Brewery, shopped at the Kittery Outlet Malls, walked along the beach and sunned ourselves on snaily, flat rocks. The ocean water was frigid! Afterwards, we went downtown for dinner. One of the Portsmouth restaurants has the best clam chowder I've ever tasted - the secret ingredient is chive oil.

Last Days of Summer

2009-08-23T10:21:00.005-05:00

We've been trying to enjoy the last couple weekends and hot weather by visiting a nearby lake and lounging around the house. It is not to last. Chris starts school tomorrow - summer feels likes it's winding down. I'll be starting classes again the second week of September - I've decided to work very slowly to complete an MBA at the University of Massachusetts. I'll take one class this fall (in comparison to Chris who's taking four) to ease into the program and also to accommodate some upcoming work travel. The fall will be busy for us.

Anniversary Weekend

2009-08-03T20:21:00.005-05:00

To celebrate our five year anniversary, Chris and I decided to take a literal plunge - out of an airplane. Saturday morning, we drove to Lebanon, Maine, and went skydiving. Since it was our first time jumping, we had to had to go tandem (each strapped to an instructor). A 20-seater plane flew 15 of us to 14,000 feet, at which point the passenger door was wrenched open, and people began throwing themselves away from the plane every 4-5 seconds, dropping like breadcrumbs in a fantastical trail. I was the last one out the door (Chris right before me) - I think the best part of the jump was hovering in the plane's door and staring into the open sky in the seconds before we plummeted backwards into the clouds. The free fall lasted 60 seconds with us zooming face-first towards the ground at about 120 mph. Then the instructor pulled the parachute, and we spent about five minute gliding above the trees, finally landing in soggy grass. It was a really fun experience, but I wish I had been more scared. I wanted to look out the door of the plane and feel my heart palpitate and my hands shake, but I felt too safe, probably because I had a huge man strapped to my back.
We opted not to be videotaped for $100, so no pictures exist of us in the air. I snapped a couple pictures from the ground of other skydivers. We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant in Portland and also spent the night there. Chris' high school friend, Bryan, is staying with us this week before he takes a train to NYC to tour the city. We gave him the requisite Boston tour on Sunday after we got back from Maine. Brian and Chris standing along the streets in the North End.

Five Years

2009-07-31T16:09:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow marks five official years for us. I wouldn't trade the last five years for anything. We're driving to Maine tomorrow and spending the night in Portland, one of our favorite little cities to visit together.

Indiana Wedding

2009-07-27T19:33:00.005-05:00

We had a great time in Indiana this past weekend for Carly (Chris' cousin) and Brett's wedding. Chris' parents and sister picked us up from the airport Thursday evening, and Allison, Rob and Lilly flew in on Friday afternoon. We also had a chance to visit with Chris' grandpa and his grandma, Bobbi, over the weekend. The wedding and reception were beautiful - Katie played the violin before and during the ceremony. Visits with family are always too short.

Mostly about Chris

2009-07-12T15:19:00.005-05:00

The Tall Ships have been in Boston for the last few days. Several huge, rigged ships raced to Boston as part of the 2009 sailing exhibit and have been docked along the harbor since Tuesday. Saturday was a beautiful day to walk along the water, but we didn't get to see many of the ship with their sails out, unfortunately.
Early this morning Chris and I drove to Middleboro, which is actually in Southern Mass. Chris signed up for his first Olympic-length triathlon a few months ago and has been training as he's been able to make time. He did really well - it was fun to watch him progress through the swim, bike and run.

Born on the Fourth of July

2009-07-04T16:58:00.005-05:00

If you're expecting a philosophical post about freedom, I'm sorry to disappoint you. This message is about wishing Greta a happy fifth birthday. For now, while Chris and I don't have any kids, Greta really is our baby, so please pardon my being so pathetic. Here she is in our backyard.
Chris and I have been spending the day together - we went to a beach in Quincy earlier and then ate a traditional American meal of sushi for lunch. We may or may not go see fireworks tonight.
Either way, Happy Fourth of July!

East Coast Living

2009-06-29T17:49:00.006-05:00

Today, our good friends, Johnny and Alicia, packed up their Harvard Square apartment, loaded the U-Haul and set out for Chicago. It's a bittersweet move, knowing that they are in our old stompin' grounds, while we remain here on the East Coast. We have so many family members and friends along the Minnesota to Indiana route that it's hard to visit the Midwest for only a couple days.
In other happenings, on Saturday Chris and I were strolling through the cheese section of Whole Foods just as one of the cheese gurus was cracking open a huge wheel of Parmesano Reggiano. Apparently, the very inside shavings of the wheel are the sweetest pieces, kind of like oysters on chickens. We ate samples of the cheese with garlic bread knots and sweet red wine. Whole Foods has the best samples. Chris and I try to go for lunch at least every other week. We typically buy a piece of smoked fish (preferably sea bass) and eat it at their little cafe. Chris has done some smoking himself with a used smoker we found on craigslist but has only had time to smoke a few rounds of fish so far.

Canada

2009-06-18T18:14:00.010-05:00

On Friday, June 5, two days after I got back from Chicago, Chris' parents, his younger sister Katie and his grandfather flew in from Indiana. His sister Allison, her husband Rob and their 10 month-old baby, Lilly, also flew in from Minnesota. We had a packed house for dinner that night, but it was so much fun to see everyone.

Saturday morning, everyone packed into a 12-person van, and we set off for Canada. Over the course of the roadtrip, we spent one night in Montreal, two nights in Quebec City and three nights right off the Kennebec River in Maine. All in all, we didn't spend much time in Montreal, but we were able to walk around the city and also hike the peak of Mont Royal, which overlooks the city and the St. Lawrence River. It was also Katie's seventeenth birthday on Saturday, so we had a special dinner to celebrate.

Chris and I love Quebec City - this trip was our second within the year, but I'm still not tired of it. It's often said Quebec City is the most European city in North America, and I very much agree: narrow, brick streets, flowers dripping from windows, big stone churches, etc. We stayed in an adorable B&B that delivered breakfast to our doors in a basket. The two days in Quebec City translated into lots of walking, shopping and eating.

We spent our last three days in Bingham, Maine, at the North Country Rivers lodging facilities. We had our own massive cabin (only one bathroom) with a kitchen and living area. Chris, his dad and Rob all purchased three day fishing licenses, but Allison, Chris' grandfather and I only took out one day licenses. Chris had booked a guide for the first day to show us around a few local fishing spots (including a dam and a couple river spots), but over all three days, no one caught ANYTHING. The rivers were flowing very high, and the weather was rainy the entire time. Such a bummer. Chris and his dad fly-fished most of the time, and the rest of us used spin-casts. We did go on a couple hikes: the first was an easy one with the whole family and the second was practically straight uphill for a mile (Chris' parents, grandfather and Lilly stayed back at the cabin for that one). It was fun, though - we got lost on an insanely bumpy logging trail and had a couple false starts finding the trailhead, but the view at the top was worth it.

Everyone stayed for a couple days in Boston before flying back to Indiana and Minnesota. We walked the Freedom Trail loop and ate a seafood feast on Saturday night. For most of the trip, Lilly provided lots of entertainment--she is a really happy baby. Even when she's tired, she'll smile and laugh.
It's been back to work for us since Monday. Chris accepted a new Sr. Credit Analyst position with Rockland Bank & Trust and is just now getting into the swing of the job.

Chicago 2009

2009-06-18T17:56:00.012-05:00

At the very end of May, Chris and I flew to Chicago. I had a work conference downtown Chicago June 1-3 so Chris and I flew out the Friday before and stayed with Sean and Bonny at their new condo over the weekend. Jamie and his girlfriend Samantha also flew in from Minneapolis on Friday, so it was fun to catch up with everyone. We had a fun weekend. One afternoon, we went to a German festival in Lincoln Park and explored the neighborhood surrounding the new condo (Uptown). Sunday, Jamie and Samantha flew back about noon, so the rest of us walked around the city, finally saw The Bean and The Museum of Science and Industry (which has a full-sized submarine in a specially built room) and ate in Greektown that evening. Afterward, Chris and I checked into our hotel room downtown, and while I was at the conference center most of the early week, Chris was able to hang out some more with Sean and Bonny.

Emerson Commencement

2009-05-19T20:27:00.003-05:00

Commencement ceremonies at Emerson College only occur once a year, so even though I technically graduated last December, the ceremony didn't happen until yesterday. Not that it really matters because I didn't go, but Chris and I did celebrate with Johnny and Alicia and their parents at Dante's Restaurant in Cambridge afterwards. Dinner was amazing. Johnny previously served at Dante's so the staff and chefs treated us incredibly well with lots of "extras," in addition to our three course meals.

Philadelphia

2009-05-19T19:59:00.003-05:00

After work last Friday, Chris and I drove to Philadelphia for the weekend. We ended up hitting heavy traffic through Hartford, New Haven and NYC, but the drive wasn't too bad. We also took a quick detour through the Bronx for a slice of pizza.
Saturday, we walked around Old Town, stopping to see Christ Church, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Constitution Center. Chris, of course, had the requisite Philly Cheese Steak sandwich for lunch. The trip was fun, overall. I think we were expecting more historical sites, but then again, we didn't take the time to go through the Betsy Ross house or a couple of the other churches.

Anticipation of Summer

2009-05-09T18:18:00.002-05:00

Chris is finished with school for the semester! Yay! Let summer begin!

Sailing

2009-05-02T15:35:00.005-05:00

Chris and I went sailing on the Charles River last weekend. Chris took a couple classes last summer at the Community Boat Club and is going to take his helmsman test soon, after which he can take out larger boats. I'd also like to learn how to set up the boat and sail it by myself, but hopefully Chris can pass along what he knows to me without classes involved.

Sad Update

2009-04-30T17:06:00.005-05:00

Chris' Grandmother Leckrone passed away a few days ago. The funeral is today in Indiana. Chris is very disappointed he could not attend the funeral due to finals. He has a final today, tomorrow and another next week. He was able to fly to Indiana a couple weeks ago to visit her in the hospital, but I know he would have liked to be there for his family today, as well. Chris' grandmother has been in a wheelchair for as long as I've known her, due to a stroke, and his grandfather has always taken the most attentive care of her. They have been such a wonderful testament of a strong, caring marriage. You can see in the picture below from this past Christmas how pretty she was.

Sean and Bonny to Boston

2009-04-19T19:44:00.007-05:00

We dropped Sean and Bonny at the airport Sunday afternoon after four great days together. We spent all day Thursday in Boston, walking through Chinatown, the Commons and Beacon Hill and ate a ton of dollar oysters at Dante. Friday, we drove through Portsmouth, NH, to Portland, ME, and stayed the night there. I think it was the nicest day of the year so far. We love Portland - there are several seafood shops right off the water and lots of unique stores to poke through. We drove back to Boston along the ocean and stopped a couple times in the chilly weather to walk on the cold sand.

Moot Court

2009-04-13T17:10:00.002-05:00

Chris had his first Moot Court appearance on Saturday. He had to go before actual judges and argue as though he were the prosecuting attorney. Another law student presented the defendant's case. Chris got rave reviews, but I guess that's to be expected from someone who's already such a good public speaker. Here he is before he drove downtown and after telling me three times not to take his picture (I think I'm incapable of taking a straight vertical picture).

Chris is flying to Indianapolis tomorrow to see his Grandmother Leckrone who is not doing well. If you can please keep her and Chris' family in your prayers, it would be appreciated.

Seven Days Away

2009-04-05T13:44:00.012-05:00

What a week. Last Monday, I flew overnight to Galway, Ireland for work. I took a tour of the BSC plant on Tuesday and gave a short presentation on Wednesday. I had a bit of time to walk around downtown Galway and along the Corrib River and was lucky enough to avoid rain all three days.
Thursday, I flew through Chicago to Minneapolis. I spent most of Friday with my mom but had time to grab lunch with my high school friends, Audra and Joelle, and also to meet up with a couple friends from BSC in Maple Grove, Danielle and Sheridan.On Saturday, I watched my friend Amanda get married at Hope Community Church in downtown Minneapolis, which was the main reason I flew to Minnesota. It was fun to catch up with a lot of old college friends, many whom I haven't seen in years. Amanda and her husband are avid swing dancers, and a lot of their friends were tearing up the dance floor - I stayed on the sidelines with Lizzie and Katrina most of the night. I spent today with my parents, Jamie and the girls. Varasana is almost as tall as my mom now, and she's only ten years old!
It's been a fun week, but I'm excited to fly home tomorrow to see Chris. He waited until I was gone to give Greta a haircut, so I don't know how she's going to look when I get home.

Portsmouth Initiation

2009-03-30T17:00:00.004-05:00

Chris and I had a low-key weekend together. On Saturday, we drove to Portsmouth, NH, about an hour away from our house. Portsmouth seems really quaint, lots of neat shops and restaurants. New Englanders call people who live in this area "crunchy." They tend to be the types who throw their chocolate labradors in the backseat, strap their kayaks/canoes to the top of their Jeeps and head out to the mountains for the weekend with a bag full of granola. Sounds great, huh? Chris and I are actually toying with the idea of moving to Portsmouth for a couple years - it would be a little cheaper than where we live now, and we would have extremely easy access to hiking, the ocean and a more laidback lifestyle. The down side is that my commute to work would be 2 hours roundtrip. Chris would also have a longer commute to school. We'll see...

Saab Story

2009-03-24T17:21:00.002-05:00

We have had bad luck with our Saab lately. In January, the motor fan sputtered out, which meant that we drove the car for a few weeks without heat in the car (love those seat warmers and mittens). Finally, when I couldn't defog the windshield and it was becoming a safety issue, we got the fan replaced. Last Wednesday morning about twenty miles into my commute, I shifted the clutch into neutral at a stop light and then couldn't shift it out. The clutch had been sticky lately, and we had a mechanic look at it, but he just replaced some fluids to see if it would help. I ended up coasting into a nearby parking lot and having the car towed to a mechanic in Marlborough. End result: new clutch and sleigh cylinder. On top of that, when I took the car for emissions testing today, it failed. I guess that can happen if work has been recently been done on the car. I'll have to pay to have the emissions testing done again in about a week. This has GOT to be it, right?

The good news of late is that Chris' life has totally de-stressed now that he's not juggling work and school. His severance will last for a couple months, but he's already researching a few legal positions. We're able to spend more time together on the weekends, as well, now that he doesn't need to dedicate that free time to homework.

Peru

2009-03-09T17:55:00.013-05:00

We are back from Peru! We flew overnight from Boston, arriving in Lima early Saturday morning. Our first day in Lima, we visited the city center with its churches and bone-filled crypt and walked to the ocean. The next day, we took a taxi about 25 miles (for only $15) to Punta Hermosa, the nearest beach with surfable waves. Chris surfed and then we ate cerviche at a nearby restaurant and took the local bus back. The driver would veer through parking lots and dirt paths to go around traffic; as we neared Lima, we also had a chance to see the huge slums from our window. I hadn't realized previously that Lima is a desert city - the only green areas are aggressively watered grass.

From Lima, we flew to Cusco, a city almost 11,000 feet above sea level. I could feel my heart pounding as I walked up even a slight hill. Chris and I drank coca tea, which supposedly cures elevation sickness - I don't know if it really helped or not. We stayed three nights in Cusco at El Nino hotel, an establishment run by a Swedish woman who donates all proceeds to pay for food and housing for homeless children. All of the rooms are named after children - we stayed in the "Oscar" room. Here's are pictures of our hotel courtyard and of breakfast with coca tea and purple corn jam.

Street dogs roam everywhere in Cusco, some gaunt, some frisky and all very friendly. One dog followed us all the way from Plaza de Arma, the city center, to our hotel room. Chris wouldn't let me pet any of the dogs, but we still made friends with "Pepito" that night.
Cusco has lots of churches and museums. We walked through the Cathedral via audio tour - one story I found interesting was that when the Spanish Catholics arrived in Cusco and began building churches, they enticed the locals inside with mirrors. The Incans had never seen their reflections (except perhaps in water), and the only place to look into a mirror was at the church. As we walked through the city, little kids constantly begged for money or tried to sell us finger puppets or paintings - one kid followed us for about fifteen minutes claiming he needed money for new school shoes. He kept saying, "Why you no buy me shoes for school?" Other children dressed up in costumes carrying baby animals and willingly posed for pictures for 1 soles.

Our second day in Cusco, we rode horseback through the Andean hills. I thought Chris' horse was going to drop dead it kept puffing so much, poor thing. Mine was very ornery - it kicked another horse once and also tried to bite Chris' horse twice. We stopped for a half hour at some ruins - the day was cool with bright sunlight - perfect - and we stretched out on the grass and looked at the hills for a while.

Our third day in Cusco, we took a three hour train ride to another town and from there a bus that veered along the switchback road leading upward to Macchu Picchu. It was an incredible sight. Llamas roam the grass in the ruins, keeping it short and neat.
Macchu Picchu was a whole day event, and we didn't get back to Cusco until after 9:00. The next day we flew back to Lima and spent a couple hours in the city before catching another plane to the jungle town of Iquitos, which is only accessible by plane or boat. We stayed the night at La Casa Fitzcarraldo, where portions of the movie Fitzcarraldo were shot. The hotel has a great pool and an incredible three story tree house.

The next day our tour guide picked us up and took us forty minutes by boat into the jungle. We had previously booked a two day/one night tour of the jungle/Amazon River. On our first boat ride, we saw dolphins jumping out of the water. There were about twelve people total on the tour - everyone besides us was Peruvians from Lima. Most of them spoke English, and we all got along really well. Over the two days, we boated to a primitive village where we tried out a blowgun, hiked through the jungle, watched a shaman ceremony, hiked to another village where a woman made us fresh sugarcane and orange juice, swam in the Amazon, looked, unsucessfully, for the elusive pink dolphin and went on a night boat ride to listen to the jungle sounds. At the lodge where we stayed, monkeys crawled along the railings and parrots perched on ceiling beams. A squirrel or another small animal got into our room while we were gone and chewed holes in one of my bags, and something else (don't know what) took refuge in our bathroom overnight. It was an adventure to be in the jungle but kind of exhausting - hot and humid.

President's Day Weekend

2009-02-16T17:49:00.005-06:00

The long weekend was wonderful. We celebrated Valentine's Day by meeting up with a couple friends at the Liberty Hotel early in the day for a glass of wine. After that, Chris and I rushed over to Troquet, a restaurant right off the Commons, for our dinner reservation. The rest of the weekend was relaxing. We went for a long run outside, made Massaman Curry for dinner one evening and finished up the first season of The Wire. I guess Chris did a little studying, too.

Here are a couple pictures from Saturday:

Good Samaritan

2009-02-09T18:03:00.002-06:00

After class Chris always takes the subway to the Harvard Square stop where I pick him up. Last Wednesday evening, I waited and waited for him - over twenty minutes passed and still no Chris. He finally walked out of the station, a little grimy and with a stink about him. Apparently, while Chris was standing by the tracks at Park Street to change trains, a homeless man swayed and fell face-first down into the wells. Meanwhile, the headlamps from an oncoming train were getting bigger and bigger, but Chris and another guy still jumped down right away and hoisted the unconscious man up. I guess people were screaming and flagging the train to stop (it eventally did). Anyway, after medical personnel arrived, Chris took the next train and eventually arrived at Harvard Square, his nice overcoat sloshed with milkshake and thrown-away food that the homeless man had stuffed into his clothing. I think if Chris had stuck around, he would have been interviewed on the news. But he didn't - such a humble hero.

Unexpected Blessings

2009-01-21T17:35:00.005-06:00

Everyday in the news, I read about layoffs or scroll past pictures of people being profiled throughout their job hunts. Just today, I read that the drug giant Pfizer acquired another huge pharma company, Wyeth, which will eventually result in layoffs. Even with the media blitz surrounding it, the economic downtown has still remained a vague concept to me until recently. About two weeks ago, Chris' boss notified him that he will be laid off at the end of February.

But don't be alarmed for us. We have known about this possibility for a while, and it might actually be a blessing. Chris will continue to work until the end of February and then will receive two months' full severance pay, which will bring him to the beginning of May. During those two months, Chris will be able to catch up on school and study for finals, while still pulling in a paycheck. In addition, Chris needed an impetus to leave his finance job and find a legal position that will give him better experience in the long term. I don't believe Chris will have any trouble finding such a position.

The other big news is that I accepted a new position within Boston Scientific that entails higher pay and more responsibility. I have officially moved into my new role in project management, which translates into overseeing all aspects of my assigned clinical studies, instead of just one piece.

I truly see these situations as the hand of God. Just as I finished school, an exciting, new career opportunity found me. And just as Chris began to feel the weight of spring semester, an opportunity to not work and still be paid found him. It will be an interesting spring!

Snow, Streets and The Plow

2009-01-21T17:25:00.003-06:00

Last weekend, our friend Ryan drove to Boston from upstate New York to spend the weekend with us. Ryan has made previous appearances on this blog and is one of our oldest friends (as a couple) - we all went to medic training in San Antonio together. It was a fun weekend. We walked the icy streets of Chinatown in pursuit of noodles and bubble tea, squeaked into a comedy show with the last available tickets, craned our necks at an IMAX show and just generally relaxed. However, we did get hit with two snowstorms. Ryan parked his car on the street during his visit and got plowed in TWICE. I can imagine that the plow driver had especially malicious intent seeing the same car on the street two days in a row (at least it didn't get towed).

DVD Obsession

2009-01-08T17:25:00.002-06:00

Chris and I do not have satellite or cable television. It's good, old network television for us. Even with that, we rarely watch anything other than the news, SNL and occasionally CSI. The trend since we moved to Boston has been to rent or borrow television seasons on DVD and obsessively push through them. In the last few years we've watched quite a few series, among others:
- Alias (all five season)
- 24 (just two seasons)
- The Office
- Six Feet Under (just the first season)
- Dexter
- The Closer

and, best for last, LOST. Chris and I, pathetically enough, spent most of January 1 and 2 watching all of Season 4. We don't watch LOST episodes during the year due to school schedules and to savor knowing there will come a point in the year where we can totally binge on a whole season. But having watched Season 4, we are in need of a new series to discover. We tried Mad Men, Nip/Tuck and Deadwood but didn't like them for various reasons. Any suggestions from any of you cable television watchers?

Ah, Christmas, Part 2

2009-01-03T13:24:00.006-06:00

After a foggy drive from Chicago, Chris and I arrived in West Lafayette late on December 26th. This leg of the trip was much more leisurely since we weren't trying to cram in visits with friends. On Saturday, we got to meet Katie and Hannah's new boyfriends and opened gifts with the immediate family. Sunday, we went to church and heard Katie sing and Hannah play the flute during the service. Later in the day, the Pettet family came over for dinner and another gift exchange, and on Monday, Chris' grandparents and cousin Greg drove over for dinner. We were also able to spend quite a bit of time with Chris' grandma Bobbi and just spend time with Chris' parents.

Ah, Christmas, Part 1

2009-01-01T16:32:00.010-06:00

What a trip. Due to expensive flights and the cost to board Greta, Chris and I decided fly back to the Midwest for Christmas this year. We left on December 19 at 1:00 pm and covered about 100 miles before the big New England snowstorm hit us. Roads were terrible from Springfield, MA to Buffalo, NY, with terrible visibility and multiple cars in the ditches. We passed a smashed semi, a SUV with its motor on-fire and narrowly missed smashing into an east-bound vehicle that slid through a median into our west-bound lane of traffic. We lost so much time during the snowstorm that we decided to skip staying at a motel for the night and just keep driving. We slept in the car for 4 hours just outside Toledo, Ohio, but wound up hitting another snowstorm near Hudson, WI, and finally arrived at my parents' house at 3:00 pm on Saturday. We took my parents out to eat that night at Lindey's Steakhouse in Arden Hills, near Bethel College.
Sunday, we went to church with my parents, met our friends, Jimmy and Joelle, for lunch and then drove to Eden Praire to see Rob and Allison and our new niece, Lilly. Monday, my parents hosted my dad's side of the family for Christmas. It was great to see a lot of family that I hadn't seen in a year.
Tuesday night, we stayed with my brother Jamie at his house in St. Louis Park, and a few friends drove over to his house for a small Christmas party. We got to catch up with friends from high school, college and the military, and Rob and Allison made it over, as well.
We spent all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents. We went to a Christmas Eve service and then ate an awesome salmon dinner. On Christmas Day, Jamie and the girls and my brother Michael came over, and we all exchanged gifts. Chris and I, Varsana and Malia and my mom played Clue for about an hour. Team Varsana and Erin won. Whoohoo (we are trying to make a "W" in the below picture).
Greta spent most of her days playing with Alistair, my parents' collie, and Onyx, my brother Michael's mixed breed dog. They chased each other and wrestled for hours.
On the 26th, we drove to to Indiana by way of Chicago and Sean and Bonny's house. We spent a few hours there exchanging gifts, eating pizza and also visits with Bonny's family who took the Amtrak from Minneapolis to spend Christmas in Chicago (Sean couldn't get consecutive days off from work for them to make the trek to Minnesota).

Ice Storm

2008-12-14T10:40:00.005-06:00

Friday morning, Chris and I woke to torrential downpour at our house. I work in Marlborough, about thirty miles west of where we live, and as I drove to work through the backroads, water was already flooding the streets and pouring over the blasted rock cliffs in small waterfalls. Far ahead in the distance, I could see that the treetops seemed frosted. By the time I reached Marlborough, I had fully arrived in the ice storm. It looked like a disaster zone. Tree branches and limbs scattered the streets and rested on roofs. Bulldozers were slowly clearing the debris, but all the stoplights remained black. At my work, a security guard stopped every car entering the campus because the power was out at work, so I ended up turning around and working from home. Here are a couple pictures I snapped from my car:

Thesis Defense

2008-12-11T13:42:00.005-06:00

I turned in my thesis today! My defense lasted for a little over an hour this afternoon, and afterwards I collected all necessary signatures and handed my thesis over to the school to be bound and filed with the Writing department. I started my MFA degree three years ago at Hamline University in St. Paul and transferred after a year to Emerson College. My school schedule since moving to Boston, for the most part, entailed my driving downtown two nights a week for classes that lasted from 6:00-9:45 pm. It feels so wonderful to have my weeknights back.

Christopher

2008-12-02T08:03:00.002-06:00

Today is Chris' birthday! We're planning to go out to dinner this coming weekend to celebrate because even though Chris doesn't have class tonight, he says he needs to study for a couple hours. He has three finals and a paper due within the next three weeks. So wish him a Happy Birthday if you can!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-11-30T15:15:00.003-06:00

Chris and I spent Thanksgiving Day with Joe and Jen again this year. Chris and Joe used to work together at Eastern Bank and remained friends even after Chris took a new job with Citizens Bank. Henry and Kaia and Jen's mother were also present for the big meal--it's always fun to have little kids around during the holidays. Henry spent quite a bit of the night trying to convince everyone to play his new game, "Barrel of Monkeys" and Kaia directed all of us girls how to do our hair. The food was wonderful - Joe is a former chef.

I had Friday off from work, but Chris did not and took the bus and train downtown Boston. When he got to work, firefighters were surrounding the entrance. Apparently, early that morning, one of the generators burst into flames and subsequently shot smoke throughout the building. So Chris, in the end, got his four-day weekend. The firefighters told Chris that everyone was telling them to take their time getting everything checked out. We had a relaxing weekend, otherwise--a little shopping and a lot of homework.

Routine

2008-11-17T17:33:00.002-06:00

Do I have any updates? We did not take any trips this past weekend and actually have none planned until we drive to Minnesota and Indiana for Christmas. Maybe we'll go somewhere spontaneously between now and then, but who knows? We watched Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond film this weekend, and both of us liked the movie - it's very gritty and tense. Here's a link to a great review of the film, published in The New Yorker: "Soul Surviver."

In other news, the date is set for my thesis defense: December 11. I'm stunned at how quickly this semester has passed.

NYC

2008-11-09T16:23:00.003-06:00

Chris and I took a quick overnight trip to New York City this weekend. We booked a pet-friendly hotel in New Jersey and took the train back and forth. We intended to visit the Modern Art Museum but couldn't find parking since none of the lots would store our car with Greta in the backseat. Hopefully, we can get back again sometime soon--the drive only takes a little over three hours. Saturday was a rainy day, and even though Chris and I spent a few hours with soaked shoes and pants, it was fun to see the city hazy with fog.

Pooja's Shower

2008-11-06T19:52:00.005-06:00

Last Saturday I drove to Westborough for my friend Pooja's baby shower. Pooja, who is due in January, is originally from India, and her friends threw her a traditional shower. During the ceremony part of the shower, at least five married women are to sprinkle rice in the pregnant woman's lap, dab her forehead, and circle a candle in front of her face while she holds fruit and rice in her lap to symbolize fertility and abundance. I don't know all the terms for the ceremony portion (I know I'm messsing it up, Pooja), but I had a great time attending, meeting all her friends who were dressed so beautifully and eating awesome (spicy!) food. Pooja gave me a tunic to wear to the shower so I wouldn't feel out of place. I love it!

Pooja and her husband, Guarev

Ceremony

I wish I had an excuse to wear a sari

Salem

2008-11-01T17:30:00.004-05:00

Click together your fake ruby slippers and chant, "There's no place like Salem. There's no place like Salem." For the experience of it, Chris and I decided to, what the heck, go to Salem for Halloween. We left work early, pulled together really terrible 1980's costumes (Chris as Don Johnson Miami Vice and me as generic 80's) and caught the commuter rail from North Station in downtown Boston. Halloween in Salem, as you can probably guess, places a heavy emphasizes on witchcraft. No matter where you turn, you can see black-hatted witches, tents for tarot readings, carts strung with magical stones and, of course, the annual Psychic Fair and Witch Expo.
After exiting the train and walking to the main strip, we almost immediately came across a crowd surrounding three men holding signs and reading from the Bible. As their voices rang through a microphone, people in the crowd booed and jeered at them and even hoisted someone wearing a Jesus costume into the air, saying, "Here's Jesus. I found him." Now, I know not everyone who reads my blog carries religious beliefs, that street corner preachers can sometimes appear hokey and that these men were asking for a reaction by doing this in Salem on Halloween. But still I stood with Chris in the back of the crowd, mouth open, a chill running up my spine and feeling an urgent need to run fast in case lightning would be striking soon.

We stayed in town for a couple more hours. I have to admit that some of the costumes were spectacular. I saw genuine tree people (or as close as you can get), a man wearing high heels and a Valentine's Day balloon, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, lots of French maids and schoolgirls, Mozart, Louis XIV and below, my favorite: a woman getting eaten by crows.

Massachusetts & Minnesota

2008-10-22T15:47:00.003-05:00

As we try to chart out our future, Chris and I are struggling with a big dilemma: Should we move back to Minnesota in the summer of 2009? Over the past few months, we've been leaning towards moving back this coming summer. Chris would transfer law schools to William Mitchell, I could return to work for Boston Scientific in Minnesota (hopefully) and we could buy a house(for a steal) in the Minneapolis area. The benefits of this plan would be that Chris could make legal contacts in the state in which he will be practicing long-term, we could buy a house instead of renting and we would be near family.

However, lately we've been having a change in attitude. As the time nears for us to seriously consider the move, both of us are re-considering staying out here until Chris graduates from New England Law in 2011 (which is a better ranked school than William Mitchell). At that point, we would definitely move back to Minnesota. For right now, I'm happy in my job and Chris is continuing to gain great finance experience here in Boston and could most likely get a solid legal job here during his last year of school. In addition, the extra two years would enable us to continue to take advantage of the many weekends trip options within New England and Canada.

So that's where we stand now. I think Chris will put in a transfer application to William Mitchell just to see what happens. We'll make the final decision this spring!

Head of the Charles

2008-10-19T15:21:00.007-05:00

Along with what seemed like the rest of Boston, Chris and I parked near Harvard Square and walked to the Charles River to watch the Head of the Charles Regatta. Teams and solo rowers from around the world compete in the two-day event, and local vendors set up tents along the river offering food for sale and free samples. I think I was able to get a picture of the University of Minnesota rowing team somewhere in here.

Exploitation

2008-10-13T19:39:00.003-05:00

Just for fun...Chris without coffee.

Mystic

2008-10-11T16:18:00.003-05:00

Chris and I drove to Mystic, Connecticut today for the city's Chowderfest, but it turned out that that the local museum was hosting the event, and in order to get to the soup, each person had to pay twenty dollars for museum entry and then five dollars for each bowl of soup. No way. Instead, Chris and I skipped the chowder and perused the downtown shops, buying a slice of pizza at Mystic Pizza (site of the Julia Roberts movie) and a bowl of chowder at a seafood shack.

In Memorium

2008-10-03T15:36:00.004-05:00

Today Chris and I found out that Mohsin Naqvi, a good friend of ours from medic training, was killed in Gerdia Seria, Afghanistan, on September 17. He and three others soldiers died from wounds caused by a roadside bomb exploding into their vehicle.

All three of us were assigned to the same platoon in medic training, and Chris went through Basic Training with him, as well. Naqvi had a slightly insane sense of humor, but beneath his roughness, he had a huge heart that he tried to hide. He was dedicated to the United States, even though he was born in Pakistan and only became a U.S. citizen at age 16. Just like Chris, he signed up for the Army shortly after September 11, 2001.

Naqvi had decided to make the Army his career and became a lieutenant. He was twenty-six years old.

You can read more about him here.

Portland, Maine

2008-09-29T17:46:00.004-05:00

Chris, Johnny, Alicia and I drove to Portland, ME, through a sprinkling storm that transformed into a deluge by the next day. Lush New England is beginning its transformation to fall, and patches of leaves in the forests and thick stands of trees along the highway are burning stark, vibrant reds, yellows and autumn orange. To the chagrin of Johnny and Chris, Alicia and I spent too much time, in their opinion, poking through little shops. They ditched us to tour the Shipyard Brewing Company Brewery on the outskirts of town, where we ended up meeting them late afternoon. As you can see from the picture, the guys gave the brewery four strong thumbs down. The whole city smelled like sea-salt and smoke, even through the rain. Saturday night, we ate incredible pizza at a local restaurant: caramelized onions and figs. It might have been the best pizza I've ever eaten.

Boston & The Cape

2008-09-18T16:19:00.010-05:00

Sean and Bonny flew into Boston early this past Saturday, toting a drugged Brigita in a carry-on bag. Chris, Greta and I picked them up at the airport and right away we set off for Cape Cod. Before we even checked into our hotel in Provincetown (at the tip of the Cape), we veered toward a beach along the National Seashore and spent the entire afternoon walking the shoreline and playing with the filthy dogs. We picked up scallops and a huge clam shell that drifted onto the sand. Perhaps the best surprise was watching a sea otter emerge, black and shiny, about 25 feet away from us. Our hotel room sat right along the shoreline with a clear view of the jetty, and we walked into town for an awesome dinner of clams, oysters and calamari. Bonny tried oysters for the first time this trip! Cape Cod is so picturesque with its clapboard exteriors and immaculate, flower-filled lawns. Our hotel sat back off the ocean just a bit, and Sunday morning, I got up early and huddled into a wooden chair outside our room, watching high tide shrink the beach. Greta sat with me in the gray rainy weather, whining at seagulls and other dogs traipsing the shore. Bonny and I both took pictures on the trip, and the shots below are from both our cameras.

Brigita relaxing in the sand

Chris helping a frantic Greta

Scallop out of its shell

Bonny trying her first raw oyster

On our way back to Boston on Sunday, we swung by Plymouth to see the 1620 rock and the replica Mayflower.
On Monday, we lounged around the house then drove to Castle Island in the afternoon. Chris' class started at 6:00, so to while away the time, Sean, Bonny and I ate lobster bisque downtown on the top floor of the Prudential Building looking out on one a great view of Boston and the Charles River to the West. We saw a movie after that and then walked a couple blocks to Chris' school to meet him just as his class let out.

Castle Island

The Top of the Prudential

Chris and I both went to work on Tuesday, so Sean and Bonny drove to Quincy to tour the John Adams and John Quincy Adams houses. That night we ate at Cuchi Cuchi, the 1920's tapas restaurant that Chris and I love so much. We shared tuna tartar cornets, oysters in champagne sauce, lobster in avacado and Russian bliny. Afterwards, we asked our server to pose with us for a picture, and she hopped around, posing and shaking her short, flouncy skirt - I guess she doesn't get asked to be in pictures very often.

For our last day together, we walked around the MinuteMan National Park and to the bridge where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired (the spot of the monument). Before we left Concord, we stopped by Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women - we didn't take the tour, but Bonny and I spent enough time in the bookstore to make Chris drag us out.

Maybe the only down part of the whole trip was that Greta and Brigita didn't get along that well. It was mostly Greta being grumpy and inhospitable. We don't have any trips planned in the near future and don't know of anyone else planning to visit, so it will just be the three of us for now.

New England Weekend

2008-09-10T09:45:00.005-05:00

My parents, brother Jamie and his two girls flew into Boston last Saturday. The stormy skies, wind and rain blowing in from the South cleared into a bright, cloudless Sunday, perfect for the clambake at my aunt and uncle's house in New Hampshire. My mom hails from a family of ten kids (from Minnesota), and five were present for the festivities, as well as my cousin Becky and her two daughters. Mike and Pauline's house tucks into a strip of sparsely cleared trees, with a good-sized garden in the back. My mom, uncle Jerry, Chris and I walked through the rows of plants and swiped ripe raspberries from the bushes, something I miss since moving to the city. For the meal, we ate lobster, corn on the cob, clams, coleslaw, crab cakes, seafood chowder and later, down at the fire, s'mores.

Gathered around the Lobster Pots

Fearless Grace

Jean, Judy and Mom (sisters)

Mike and Pauline

Chris and I took the day off work on Monday, and we drove up the coast to the old seaport of Gloucester. We ate at a little fish and chips shack and spent a couple hours on the pristine Good Harbor Beach. Chris took the girls, who had never swam in the ocean, into the frigid water--you can see Malia hanging off Chris' back as they crash through a wave. Varsana combed the beaches for shells and posed with seaweed in her hair. Her prize find was an intact crab shell. While Chris and I stretched out on the sand, we noticed a seagull hopping close, and it began poking its beak into our beach bags. Before we could shoo it away, it stole my mom's cough drops, and Chris and I had to chase it down and throw a shoe at it to get the bag back.

Greta and Malia say their last goodbyes.

Destination: Lafayette

2008-09-02T13:50:00.004-05:00

Our weekend roadtrip rolled along smoother than expected. Chris and I sped out of downtown Boston at about 2:45 Thursday afternoon and eeked into Lafayette, Indiana, at about 5:00 the next morning. It's been two years since we've done such a long road trip, but it was fun to talk and listen to music. The last two hours on the road felt the toughest, even after a couple energy drinks. We slept for a couple hours and for the rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we lounged around the house and outside, shooting targets with a pellet rifle, playing badminton and eating great food.

Chris saw a show on TV about "water witching" (also called divining) and decided to make his own rods out of old hangers. Water witching is a way to find water using a tree branch or certain types of metal to find magnetic displacement in the earth. Apparently, Chris' great-grandfather practiced this skill and would find wells for neighbors using a peach tree branch. I don't know how well it worked, but it was fun to try out. Anyway, the purpose of the trip was to deliver our old car to Katie, and Chris took her out for her first drive in the manual transmission Saturn. I stood on the driveway with Chris' parents and grandparents, all of us hoping for a good show of Katie stuttering and jolting the car, but she took off really smoothly.

On Sunday Sean and Bonny trekked to Lafayette from Indiana and spent the night with us at Chris' parents. We drove to Chicago early Monday morning as Sean had to work at 11:00. Bonny entertained by taking us to the Shedd Aquarium before our 6:00 flight from Midway. Sean and Bonny will be flying to Boston to see us in a couple weekends, so we're excited to see them again soon.

Roadtrip

2008-08-28T10:12:00.002-05:00

I'm driving downtown today to pick Chris up from work at 3:00. From there, we'll be driving through the night to his parents in Lafayette, Indiana. We've got music, audio books, snacks, caffeine...it's still going to be a LONG drive, at least 14 hours. We're driving Chris' old car (the little, red Saturn) to give to Chris' sister, Katie, who turned 16 this year.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!