The ride To Boston seemed shorter than I expected.
I did not nap.
We stopped for a McDonald's breakfast sandwich. I liked the muffin, but I should remember to have the biscuit.
The traffic was easy unlike that going in the opposite direction, which for miles outside Boston was bumper to bumper. I was happy not to be in the big city and escaping for the weekend.
We easily caught parking in front of the building, and so we were set for a nice walk along the harbor and a meal at Reel House. There I had a great lunch of sirloin beef tips that were juicy and tender with parmesian fries that were good, but a bit soggy.
The beef was in spices and a good portion of spinach. Very good.
We took a boat taxi back, a short but fun ride. Dana helped us in the boat. It was very choppy in the harbor and many small sailboats zipped about. Wonderful.
But hot and humid.
I was uncomfortably overdressed in a heavy shirt.
This area of Boston is primarily for younger folks. I saw very few old ones like me, and very many pretty girls. It is a grand multicultural mix, so people watching is great fun.
We talked a while and gave presents. Dana liked the book with logical puzzles I found which his Vanas grandparents had given his father Paul, and which contained Paul's notes.
We had supper at a very upscale restaurant that had the smallest portions I have ever seen. Still, the food was tasty. I had three teaspoons of a scallop dish, some of Elizabeth's bluefish on toast, and a pork dish. The rolls were really wonderful with a crisp top. The ambience, a bit of French flavor, was grand. Plenty of French posters for French liquors and music just at the tight tempo.
Restaurant — Troquet on South (troquetboston.com)
We had a fine visit. Elizabeth talked about her Bruce Lipton's Biology of Belief. She and Dana had quite a talk.
We went back at Tara's where we watched a couple episodes of SUITS.
SUNDAY
Lazy morning. Just hung out in the apartment and took a bit of a nap. We walked outside the back door and saw the fine area there for viewing the harbor. Rain precluded staying outdoors.
The rain continued most of the day with few breaks.
Dana picked us up around noon, and we went to
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner - Wikipedia
It was a fine visit in this old house. The walking was tough, but we did find few places to sit, and we had a good meal in the middle of the visit.
The great irony is that I would want to sit down for a few minutes and there would be 50 chairs in the room, but all of them would be roped off so they were not damaged.
I did not go in the newest garden room exhibit, and the others were not much impressed with it.
It was more crowded than I usually find in museum visits, a very popular place. In fact, we had to get permission to enter at a certain time. Our Clark cards got us in for free. Nice saving of $36.
We just renewed our Clark Sustaining Membership in July and already we have most of the value back. Today (Friday) there is a free gathering of members with snacks after we see the play reading.
Ellen's favorite was there but in miniature.
Incensing the Veil | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
It was not as impressive as the Clark version of painting. It was very small and somewhat faded.
John Sargent was very popular, and there were many books on his art on the shelves.
I particularly liked this painting of Spanish flamengo which was huge and framed to give it a certain depth.
Spanish Cloister | Gallery Rooms (gardnermuseum.org)
While I was there, a young girl of perhaps 4 or 5 ran to it saying, "Spanish, Spanish" and then posed it front of it in a stance she found was like the dancer. She was very cute.
In the center of the photo and next to sitting guitarists was a man with his head back against the wall and his mouth open. He looked like he was sleeping in the middle of the performance. I found him very funny.
There was this painting.
The Rape of Europa
I've been reading a good amount of Greek and Roman mythology lately. This complimented the reading.
I missed the easy ability to photograph the artists names and the titles with brief posted notes. There were guides that could be loaded on a phone, but I would still have to remember what I heard. So, I did not often even know the title of the work until I was home.
We went back to Dana's and hung out for the rest of the night talking about family and Dana explained what he does for work which in part is setting up servers to speed the video games in all parts of the world. The newest was in South Korea. The speed is measured in microseconds and 40 is much better than 240.
We ordered Chinese from a place they knew called Double Chin. We had duck and lots of vegetable dishes. It was grand tasting. The only dish that was not so good was the fish and chips as it was soggy. We took that back to Tara's to warm up for breakfast on Monday and it was just fine warmed up with some Frank's hot sauce.
We took an Uber back to Tara's. The driver pointed out this pizza place which he said was famous in Boston.
SANTARPIO'S PIZZA, Boston - Jeffries Point - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor
We watched two episodes of SUITS and noted there are quite a few seasons to go.
Sometines I love the show; other times I get bogged down in it, and sometimes the soap opera plots get old.
MONDAY
We had the leftover fish and chips for breakfast.
We went out the back door to the nice courtyard overlooking the Harbor.
A man (probably Swiss) came by walking two huge St. Bernard dogs. One lay down as soon as he saw us. The fellow explained that his wife had taught them to lay down if they saw another dog and they generalized that learning to include people. We gave them a few pats and went our way.
We sat in benches and took in the harbor.
We settled into a bench near the water and watched boats, including quite a few tugboats. We watched an egret, a cormorant, and sea gulls feeding in the inlet.
A fishing boat came in and unloaded about ten poles, and docked the boat.
Around the corner at the edge of the walkway was one of the cows that decorates Massachusetts.
It was called Luna, the Moon Cow.
Dana came with the car and Tara and loaded up our luggage. We took the car, said our good-byes and thankyous, and were on our way.
They are so good to us when we visit. Dana picked up all food bills, all Uber prices, and we saved by not having to rent a place to stay. They seem very happy, and we are very happy for them.
We had a good ride out of Boston. by going a route that avoided the tunnels and the tunnel shutdowns due to rain and construction.
We saw quite a bit of Boston this was, and it was very interesting to me. We saw the Honey Dew doughnut shop.
STOP AT MARGARET'S APARTMENT
One of Elizabeth's Authentic Movement friends who she dances with on zoom about once a week, lives in Leominster where she was raised. She is a bit infirm, but she has hope to be cured.
She was just wonderful. She told stories of working for the United Nations in Thailand for 10 years an on the island of Timor,
where she did an assortment of projects, writing, video making, and others. She was fascinating.
I don't want to join Authentic Movement. I just like to hang out with those who do it. I have found all of them I have met to be pleasant, intelligent, outgoing and interesting.
I saw Gainsboro on Margaret's wall and asked about it. I recognized it, but I can't find it online. It turned out to be a paint by number that Margaret had done when she was a girl. She so loved it when she did it and now she loves it as a memory.
In one bathroom was a delightful painting of geese on a piece of parchment and framed. Male and female geese were featured. I loved it.
RENTAL IN AMHERST
Elizabeth says her last place to stay in Amherst was better than this place, but I love this place on Bridge Street, out in the country. We were in the basement so there are stairs, but they are easy. It is not damp or in any way like a basement apartment sounds.
She has a fine double bed in a large room; I have a small bed in a smaller room, but I'm happy, Some hanging space. Plenty of drawer space. I never unpacked at Tara's, but I did here. Perhaps the wrinkles will drop out of my shirts.
The kitchen is fine with Kreps coffee maker, but reusable inserts. We picked up some Hazelnut coffee to mix with Elizabeth's coffee.
The kitchen table had leaves for expansion and so I can use my computer there and still have room to eat breakfast.
Generally, it was quiet outside. There was one beeping truck in reverse gear, but they seemed to have stopped that. It was not on this property, but I could hear it from the kitchen. Elizabeth could not hear it.
They left us half a dozen eggs, tea bags, a few slices of some sweet bread, some butter, and some candy. All nice.
To check in we just found the key and let ourselves in. We have not seen the owner.
There are perhaps three other rooms scattered someplace. One was above us. On the property is a huge garage for working on plumbing, I guess.
The railing is like my grandfather used to make, made of old-style plumbing, fit into elbows. Very nice. Old style pipes always made the best railings. I used to buy lengths of this pipe cheaply at a wrecking place in Albany. I made a few railings in my time. I still have the old pipe cutting tools in the basement. It was an exact construction and I needed to measure just right. Not like plastic or copper pipe.
We stopped for supper at Bistro 63
BISTRO 63
where we both had a mediocre lobster bisque and split a very tasty lamb stew.
I discovered when I went to bed that the mattress was a bit strange. I thought it was a waterbed, but it was just memory foam.
I slept well. I enjoyed the intense quiet.
Once a train came through somewhere not too far away and blew its whistle. I find that delightful. I was very happy to be awake for it. Where I grew up in Buffalo, I could sometimes faintly hear a train, and on Lime Lake the train came through across the lake and as a baby, I cried. Later, I liked it.
I had some fine dreams, but I can't remember them, only the pleasant sense after waking.
The landlady came and helped Elizabeth get Suits on the TV.
In the morning, we had sour dough bread and manchego cheese which we bought at Whole Foods. The manchego was good, but not like I remember from Spain. With the Whole Foods app I get ten percent off and all the sale prices. We even bought some things to take home, including LaCroix seltzer on a good sale.
I should visit the Whole Foods store more often in Albany.
We had enough leftovers for supper if we added just a bit, so we stopped at a local grocery that was sort of a farm store. We bought some great meat balls that went well for supper.
I also found some of my well loved Sam Adams NA beer to take home as well as untried Athletic called Wit's Peak and a Corona NA. The Wit's Peak was a disappointment. Really watery. The Corona was less than what I remember. I forgot to add a lemon.
TUESDAY
We went to the Emily Dickinson home where we had a great tour with a wonderful guide. To prepare I read for a while in the Thomas H. Jefferson Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.
I liked:
I many times thought Peace had come
I many times thought Peace had come
When peace was far away,
As wrecked men deem they sight the land
When far at sea they stay.
And struggle slacker, but to prove,
As hopelessly as I,
That many the fictitious shores
Before the harbor lie.I learned she was a prolific letter writer, and our guide suggested we read her letters, especially to her intimate and best friend, Susan Gilbert. Susan saved the letters, but Emily had her sister burn those that Susan had sent, a great loss to us.
I also liked this quote:
"House is being cleaned.
I prefer pestilence."
She did not follow her mother as perfect manager of a house. Her sister did that.
There is very little evidence her sister was interest in academics or wrote much at all.
THESE PHOTOS REFLECT THE TOUR
This is the original Franklin stove in the bedroom/writing room. It allowed Emily to stay sequestered and still have heat, or to let the fire burn down to coals and a large log so as not to be disturbed by workers remaking the fire.
Here is our tour guide.
While she was reclusive and not available to the world, she was very close to friends and family and visited them often.
A few of her poems were published with pseudonyms.
Susan lobbied to have the rest published, but Emily declined.
For one thing, she did not want to use standard punctuation or have titles. After her death, the first publications of her poems had both, but since then scholarship has embraced her original use of the dash.
After the tour we sat in the garden, which is much different than the gardens Emily had. Still, it was nice to sit in the yard. The white oak in that area is one of a very few in the area spared by a huge storm in the 1800's. It is a grand tree.
This is the house from the front:
That white oak is just behind Elizabeth and to the left.
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Afterwards, we stopped at the Yiddish Book Center
I expected a small library of Yiddish books with some for sale.
What we found was a full museum, telling the story of a 21 year old student of Yiddish, who, when he could not get the books assigned by his teacher, started collecting all the Yiddish books he could find and has now expanded into this Book Center with over a million books. It was amazing!
Older people loved to give him there collections. Their children did not want them, and they were delighted to know they would be kept and enjoyed. I can relate to that. My books will be dispersed when I am gone. Some I bought for a dime when I was in college, and thought of them as treasures. I still do.
There were interesting posters around as well as some paintings by Ray Faust.
Interesting old press for making books.
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Here is the art of Ray Faust which reminded us of Grandma Moses.
STOP AT STORE
LAST DAY
Ate left overs for breakfast. I had manchego.
Started home about ten.
Stopped at this place for brunch.
Old Creamery Co-op – Our Hilltown Community Co-operative
Elizabeth had gazpacho. I had a bagel sandwich with lox and capers. Very good. I also had a piece of cherry pie, most of which I took home to have for supper with some fresh picked sweet corn we bought along the way.
We also had coffee and sat at a table with an old woman who was a sculptor and lived in a town nearby.
Stopped at Four Fat Fowl on the way home and got some of their cheese. Across the street was the Stephentown Library and they let me use the bathroom there. A group of preteens were at day camp playing some sort of game. I looked over the books for sale and bought three:
John Irving Last Night in Twisted River
Alexander McCall Smith -
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
The Miracle at Speedy Motors
Both of these are in the NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY series
I have started the John Irving and am enjoying it. It is much different than The World According to Garp of "The Son of the Circus." I loved Garp and dislike Circus.
