Oscars

I forgot to report on the fabulous Oscar party with my mom, in our Boston hotel room (gift certificated!). It was so much fun, despite the grossness of the actual Academy Awards show this year (just...yuck). We met mom's friend Shefali, ate a Thai/Vietnamese feast at a great place near the hotel, and then sprawled on our luxurious hotel beds with Shefali's homemade chocolate-dipped macaroons and tea. We all three Twittered like crazy, too. I'd love to do this again, although next year I think we'll have the party at my house, with our 21st century television and of course Mark and Isaac--Mark bought an antenna and successfully tuned in ABC despite our lack of cable.

Oh, and clearly I was wrong about the Best Picture award: didn't Lincoln seem like a movie they'd give that award to? But no, I missed Argo's pull ahead to the number one spot. I still maintain that Amour was by far the best film of 2012, though.

i like slow things, the way they happen again and again

scenes from my perfect weekend in cambridge, massachusetts.







































mom and dad have a pied à terre in this lovely old house, under that pretty blue sky.







































we went to the isabella stewart gardner museum, which was packed with people but so much fun to see. it's full of art, luxurious silks and velvets and leathers, (wall coverings, furniture) faded tapestries and books and paintings and crumbling sculptures. it's a wonderful combination of grand and cluttered-eclectic. plus, you can get so close to everything (which makes for some high-strung security guards, not to mention the history of thefts there). also, no photography is allowed, but i snuck this one picture of the lush courtyard at the center of the house.







































here are two of many many delicious foodstuffs we shared this weekend. boston cream pie and banana cream pie (both vegan) at veggie galaxy. so good, i can't even tell you. we also had amazing meals at red lentil and thaitation.







































oh, wallace. he held my ring for me whilst i was receiving a paraffin wax hand treatment from my maman, and despite the fact that i took this picture, i forgot to put it back on. so here i am in portland, maine, sans wedding ring. in addition to the wax museum hands (i wish i'd taken a photo of them--they looked so weird, but felt so good), i also had a massage and was generally spoiled in every conceivable way. we walked in the sunshine and met up with my sweet old friends scott and michael for coffee and watched 30 rock and i got to read books and sleep in and see a great movie. see what i mean about perfect?


trees, their legacy of green, by paavo haavikko

stella's day out

isaac and i took the bus to boston yesterday to spend a day playing with stella, who was visiting with her mom and dad and their friend caroline. doesn't she get cuter by the second? it was such a treat to spend a day with her!

things i've forgotten to show you

i stayed with my mom and dad last weekend while bean, boo, and m were in new york checking out a certain college. walking minnow one day, we came upon this pig roaster that stopped us in our tracks.
























"ever seen one of these before?" its owner asked me proudly. "nope." i said, reflecting on the fact that minnow would fit nicely inside.

the highlight of my visit may have been watching the boston marathon from the roof of mom's friend's condo near newbury street. who would have thought that it would be so mesmerizing to watch hundreds of people run past from up above? but it was.
























on another dog walk, i spotted this heartbreaking and poetic piece of rubbish beside the curb. there's a story there, don't you think?
























i also suspect that i forgot to tell you that iced coffee season is nearly here. it's that awkward in between time still, really, but i couldn't resist piling ice cubes in my favorite pickle jar/drinking glass and filling it with coffee and soy cream the other day.

snapshots

april's off to a nicely busy start. last sunday night, m picked german david up at the airport. he is on break from school for two weeks, and he's visiting his ellsworth friends and host family. he spent the night with us and on monday m and i put him on a bus to bangor. first, we hung out for a while at arabica. it was so fun to see him!
























on wednesday night, all four of us (plus max!) went to a private test screening of my heart is an idiot at enoch's. we've been anticipating this film for a few years now, and it didn't disappoint. enoch is still in the process of doing some editing, and he asked a bunch of questions of the 20-person audience afterward, with the intention of considering feedback and making small changes. but the movie is excellent. really funny, completely engrossing, and a total success as far as i'm concerned. i can't wait to see it again.
























i took the bus to boston on thursday to spend some quality time with mom and dad. the best bus driver ever serenaded us before taking the wheel. he sang again, over the p.a., as we pulled into south station.
























the weather was my favorite kind, warm enough for iced beverages. we walked, ate snacks, met friends for coffee, and i got a massage, too. i am so lucky. not pictured: m, boo, bean, and max drove in on saturday, and we ate a feast that night at punjabi dhaba, with toscanini's for dessert. pictured: mom's reading material.

...i have love for those with four feet, for the many-footed I have love.

bean and i ate so much good stuff this weekend at the boston vegetarian food festival. we went on saturday with my dad, and just like last year it was packed and hot and overwhelming, but totally worth it. there were many delicious free samples and lots of friendly vegetarian types. but the highlights (for us anyway) were the snacks that we purchased, cheap, as we perused the floor:
























okay, first of all let's talk about the best damn vegan donuts ever in the history of my life. bean's was a pumpkin spice donut filled with pumpkin mousse, and mine was an "entenmann's style" chocolate dipped donut. they were so good. unfortunately, vegan treats bakery is located in bethlehem, pennsylvania, kind of a haul. which reminds me of an idea bean and i had for a vegan bakery road trip, crossing the country sampling the fare at every single vegan bakery we can find. any takers?*



















dad shared some tasty sushi and perfect, crisp fried spring rolls from veggie corner vegan restaurant. we went back for seconds!
























bean found herself a tasty vegan thai tea-flavored bubble tea at boba-licious:
























uh, little pause here to say that we spent some time watching a chinese film crew interviewing these folks outside the festival. the whole thing just struck us as very odd. i'll say no more.



















also from boba-licious, vegan banh mi, a vietnamese sandwich with veggie meat, lettuce, cucumber, spicy sauce, tons of cilantro, on a perfect crusty french bread. i am desperate to reproduce this at home, it was so delicious.
























after the feasting, we took a long walk through the common and the public garden. there weren't too many vegetarians wearing halloween costumes, but we saw many costumed people and animals over the course of the day. most notably, we happened upon a gathering of dozens of dogs -- mostly dachshunds -- dressed up. mostly as hotdogs.
























we met up with my mom when she finished work, and bought her a sandwich at trident booksellers & cafe. i had a halloween-themed soy latte:
























i think it was the next day that i spotted this bereft wig, abandoned on the sidewalk post-celebration/trick-or-treating:



























*checkout girl, i actually have you and miss a. in mind for this dream pilgrimage!

vegetarian food festival

bean and i are going to catch a bus to boston later. we'll stay with mom and dad, and tomorrow we are going to the vegetarian food festival! bean's never been before, but remember how i went last year? i am pretty excited about the free snacks. i hope those nice sheese people are there this year. there are a couple of speakers i'd really like to see, too.

college tour

bean is going to be a senior in high school this year, somehow, so i suppose it makes sense that she's thinking about applying to college right about now (although, having lived without her for an entire year, m and i are in no rush to send her off again on her next big adventure). i took her to boston for a couple of days this week to check out brandeis and tufts, and we had a great time despite the official heat wave we endured.

first up was brandeis, right outside boston in waltham, mass. here is bean (on the right) beside the castle, which is the weirdest building on campus, housing a dorm and a coffeehouse. it looks like it belongs at storyland.
























she liked a lot of things about brandeis, especially their tradition of inclusivity and the influences of jewish culture. we had a sweet, slightly nervous tour guide, and we sweated like pigs. for lunch we found a macrobiotic restaurant in waltham called masao's kitchen where we ate plates of hot food in a space that was not air conditioned. we felt healthy but even hotter.

the next day we checked out tufts, whose mascot is jumbo the elephant.



















bean was very impressed with tufts - our tour guide was really wonderful, the campus is lovely, and she loved how close it is to the davis square t stop. tufts has an emphasis on globalism, international travel, and language acquisition that seemed like a great fit with bean and her interests. she asked lots of questions, and we're planning to return after school starts so she can get a feel for the campus when it's full of students. my mom came along on this tour expecting to be bored out of her mind, but she was pleasantly surprised!
























much iced coffee was consumed. above, iced americano from 1369, and bean with her brand new ipod touch, a gift from my dad!

mom took us out to lunch at the buddhist cultural center, one of my favorite places to eat in all of boston. again, the food is healthy as can be, but it is SO good. below, the lunch special, with the most delicious tofu skins and stir fried veggies and perfect brown rice. bean and i also had bubble tea.
























the next stage in bean's college plan is a trip to chicago with m to tour the university of chicago. she's also interested in checking out columbia, barnard, and nyu. i can hardly believe that in four months or so she'll have mailed off all of her applications.

on the freedom trail

we spent a few fun days in cambridge this spring break week - boo and m volunteered with my dad at a boston food bank, i got a blissful massage from my mom, delicious foods were consumed, movies watched, and one day m, boo, and dad walked most of the freedom trail. mom and i met up with them in the north end for cannoli and cappuccinos, and then m, boo, and i continued along the trail to the old north church and the nearby copp's hill burying ground.
























my favorite thing by far was the st. francis of assisi garden. isn't he adorable?



















there's a bird on his shoulder. who does he remind you of?



















see the resemblance at all? if there were a bird on m's shoulder? or if st. francis had glasses on?

mean mama has a posse

we went to cambridge this weekend to hang out with mom and dad and see the shepard fairey exhibit at the boston ica. above, mom obeys. below, andre the giant looms.
























it was really a fun show to see, and a cool museum in general. i'd love to go back and take a longer look at things i might have missed on this trip.

we came home saturday night, scared off early because of impending weather. it looks like the weather might be coming tonight instead. before we left, i got a luxurious massage from my mom, and boo got some white jeans at h&m:
























m bought a classic monopoly game on ebay (circa 1963). as usual, i lost early on and left the game to the serious capitalists in the family.























(boo the banker)

spoilt

the boston vegetarian food festival was a great excuse for me to spend another fun weekend getting spoiled by my mom and dad. warning: judging from the photos i took, we mostly ate food.

like burnt caramel ice cream at toscanini's. below, mom and dad and their micro sundaes (they have no calories, my mom says).
























the festival itself was crazy, packed with hungry vegetarians, but we were intrepid. i was excited to sample teese, but it was pretty disappointing. i'm sure it's good melted on a pizza, but it's not all that great on a cracker.
























sheese, on the other hand, tastes remarkably good. almost like real cheese, and not at all like fake cheese. i tasted their smoked cheddar flavor -- even my mom and dad liked it. it's made in scotland, and very few stores in the u.s. carry it.
























on sunday, we went to ikea! i love ikea with all my heart. i can't afford to buy what i'd really like to get there (i.e. a brand new kitchen), but i did get silverware, dog poop bags, and picture frames, for a grand total of about $10.

and such a pretty cafeteria, too:



















more food, below -- dad's waffle and mom's apple cake (i remember eating that very same apple cake at the baltimore ikea, circa 1994):

overheard in the public garden

from a passing duck boat:

"can we quack like ducks? YES WE CAN!"

tschuss, david!

we sadly said goodbye to david this afternoon, grudgingly handing him over to his new host dad. it was really a lovely week with him, and we're hoping to see him at some point this year, whether we drive up to ellsworth or he comes down to visit us.

on tuesday night, m took the kids bowling with devyn, anna, gareth and their dad, bill. i heard a rumor that david won both games:

















wednesday was beach day. m and i had to work, so david, bean and boo spent a couple of hours at willard beach. it was kind of cool and breezy, and the water was too cold for my mainers, but david loved it! that night, artemis and animal lover came over for some project runway (david watched indulgently).

yesterday we went to boston, which was really fun -- first we stopped by peet's for iced coffee and bean's last iced jasmine-lime tea before germany:



















david bought some cool new kicks at the adidas store in harvard square (look, he's smiling!):
























we had falafel for lunch and took the bus to newbury street so we could check out bodega and the new apple store.

i forced all three kids to pose for one last picture just as david's host dad arrived -- auf wiedersehen, david!