New Little One

Congratulations to Patrice and Frank for the birth of their second child! Little Genevieve Marie was born last Friday. She is a super cute little one!

Mothers Day 2008

I had a great day with Mom today. We ate lots of yummy brunch items at Amrheins. Then we scooted over to the Adams National Historic Site. We went to the birthplace of both John and John Quincy Adams and took a tour of the Old House. The coolest thing was the stone library.....which houses a large percentage (the other 3700 volumes are kept at the Boston Public Library) of John Adams' book collection. This collection includes not only copies of Webster's.....but also Johnson and Worcester's dictionaries. Cool huh? We also went to a play called a Timeless Love Story, The Love Letters of John and Abigail Adams in the carriage house....which was fun too. Plus the grounds were beautiful.....and all the lilacs and wisteria were in bloom. You should plan a trip to Adams National Historic Park if you haven't done so yet. It is very cool! Happy Mother's Day mom! Hope you had fun....I know I did!

Saturday Story

A strange thing happened to me today. I went to Harvard Square after my CTA NextGen faith sharing group to get Mother's Day cards for my mother and Nora. I picked up a card for Nora that said the following...."Whoever has a heart full of love always has something to give". I realized as I was paying that this was a quote from Pope John XXIII. How coincidental is that? I was coming from a CTA group.....Nora was the first person to really bring me to church....Pope John XXIII is my favorite Pope. So......needless to say.....I think it is the perfect card. I hope she likes it.

I also stopped by Million Year Picnic while I was in the Square. Karl Stevens was there doing a book signing. I bought a copy of Whatever. I think I like it so far. I love seeing Boston in graphic novels.

Bought an ice cream cone today too. of course it all came tumbling down as I walked down JFK Street. You think at the age of 34 that I'd be able to eat an ice cream cone without it falling to the ground. No such luck for me. Maybe I should eat more ice cream cones to build up my ice cream eating skills. I think not.........

Farm News

B just got back from the farm with our meat CSA. Today we got a ham steak, two t-bone steaks, two chicken breasts, beef patties, hot dogs, hamburger, and lamb sausages. I hear they brought a three month old pig to the pick up today too. AND....we got some eggs too. Now I wish I went along. Which reminds me....we need to let the farmers know that we want to continue on past June.

I'm getting really psyched up for our vegetable CSA too. That will be starting back up in June.

I also heard that Silverbrook Farms is still selling shares for the summer. I believe they will be delivering in Watertown, Somerville, and Cambridge via New Amsterdam Projects Tricycle Trucks. That is WAY Cool! So....if you are in the market for a CSA......then this is your chance.

Catholic Identity and Experience

Speaking of Faith had a great story this week on contemporary Catholic identity and experience. I love Speaking of Faith and was happy to know they were doing a story on something that is so dear to me. One of the program participants was Rachel Pokora, President of the Nebraska chapter of Call to Action (CTA). I was excited to hear Rachel's story because in many ways it was like my voice being heard through the radio. I too am a progressive Catholic who believes there needs to be reform in the Church. I am a pro-choice lesbian Catholic who is in support of the ordination of women and married men in the Church. I was raised in a culturally Catholic family and went to Catholic schools for 14 years, majored in religion as an undergrad at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and wanted very much to live life as a lay-person in ministry. As an adult I decided to not pursue this because I knew I would never be protected because of my sexual orientation and didn't want to hide anything about myself. I currently worship in a super cool progressive community in Boston (Paulist Center), am a member of a Call to Action NextGen faith sharing group, and believe in a commitment to work towards social justice in the world. After thinking more about Rachel's story I began to feel very sad. Rachel spoke about being excommunicated and about living in fear that she would be denied the Eucharist because of her involvement with CTA. Rachel also talked about about how being excommunicated meant that she was not able to receive a Christian burial or get married in a Catholic Church. This angers me because I feel that she is living a Christian life, working for change in her Church, and truly living life in the spirit of Vatican II. I am a believer in the idea that the Church is the people and not necessarily only that of the hierarchy of the Church. Who is the Church to deny her the right to the Eucharist or a Christian burial or marriage? Another person who participated in the radio show named Olibhear talked about sharing the Eucharist with friends around a table and experiencing faith in that way. I too have had wonderful experiences of Church in that way and believe that to be a wonderful gift. He also spoke about the Church using exclusion to push those with differences away and to shut down any conversations. The final person to speak on the broadcast was Bonnie Amesquita. I have listened to this show twice and both times her words brought a tear to my eye. I was again saddened and angered because in many way it appears that she feels pushed away because of her differences of thought. This reminded me of a discussion I had with my guidance counselor when I was 14. I remember telling her that there wasn't a place for me in the Church because of my politics and ideas. She told me that the Catholic Church was a diverse community of people and that if I kept looking that I too would find my place. I finally did feel that I had found my place with my involvement in retreat planning in my later high school years, with Campus Ministry in College, and at the Paulist Center in Boston. However......I have to wonder....as Rachel Pokora does....how long will I continue to be involved in a community that openly rejects me, my lifestyle, and what I believe in. The sad part of all of this is that underneath all of this...we all believe the same thing. In justice.....and community....and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.

PIH In the News

Partners in Health is going to be featured on 60 Minutes this Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. If you don't know about PIH...then you should. This is definately worth checking out. The work PIH has done in Haiti is amazing! Plus Paul Farmer was my doctor when I was a patient at the Brigham and Womens back in 1993. He sort of saved my life...........

Sunday Ramblings......

Got a call from the doc the other day. All my liver function tests are normal. Yee haw! Mom is trying to keep track of what makes her feel yucky in her food diary. So far it seems beef and Kashi are on the foods to avoid list.

The Red Sox and the Celtics lost.....boo...hoo.......

I've recently started twittering. Trying to decide if it is for me or not. Everyone keeps asking me to join Facebook. Not sure what I want to do. I had/have a Friendster account...then a MySpace account...not sure if I'm willing to make the leap to Facebook. Seems to be the most recent standard. But...I didn't see any value added with the other accounts...so not sure Facebook will be any different. Maybe I'll try it out. Still thinking about this one....

B is making a baked pasta dish with meat from the farm for lunch. It smells yummy.

Meeting Patrice this afternoon in Salem. Lets hope the sun comes out.

Looking forward to our trip to Provincetown for Memorial Day weekend. Planning our summer vacation. Most likely will be going to Bar Harbor and visiting B's family. We will also try to get to Ogunquit on the weekends as often as we can.

Run For Research

This is a shout out to Kate Blumberg and everyone else who ran the Boston Marathon to raise money for liver research today. Kate's time was 3:54:56. Congratulations Kate! You can still support Kate's run here. Go liver!

Happy New Year.....four months late

Hey.....I haven't posted in an age. Lots has gone on since December. I continue to only take 75 mg of imuran a day. My bloodwork has been normal every month. Seeing the doc in June. Lets hope he will drop me to 50 mg a day. My mom was in the hospital last week. She was admitted on Tuesday and released on Sunday. They are still unsure what the cause of her pain was. Could be the beginnings of a blockage, chrohn's disease, IBS, or diverticulitis. Ahh....the wonders of modern science. NOT! She went back to work on Wednesday and appears to be feeling a little bit better. In the meantime....my young cousin Kevin managed to fall in gym class and broke his arm in two places this week. We got some snow this winter. Managed to go cross country skiing a few times....snowshoeing too. Tried to fly out to DC for Carolyn's wedding, but got snowed in. Started a meat share with Chestnut Farms in January. We love it. Volunteered at the love Your Liver 16 Miler in February. I'm still doing the CTA NextGen faith sharing group. I love it. Erin moved to DC in March....we miss her lots. Here we are...April already. Mary is getting married next weekend. We had dinner last night and she told me that she had yet to plan her wedding ceremony. So...we got to work and discussed some ideas. It was like old times. How many people do you know can say that planning and religious service is like old times? Went to Highland Kitchen for dinner tonight. Celebrating Lisa's 30th birthday tomorrow. Charlotte's 2nd birthday on Sunday. Going to the Bruins on Tuesday and Gardner After Hours on Thursday. Busy.....busy.....

Almost Forgot.....

They dropped my imuran to 75 mg a month ago. I had bloodwork on Tuesday to see how I was doing. I'm very happy to announce that all was normal! Yee haw! Lets hope things continue on in this direction.

In other liver news.....a friend of mine was recently diagnosed with hepatitis C. What is interesting is that she has no idea how she got it. She started on a six month treatment plan with interferon just about a month ago and told me today that her doc said she is already free and clear of the virus. Phew! What a relief!

Mommy Update

Hey....thought I'd post an update on my mom. They discharged her from the hospital yesterday. Right in the middle of the ten inch snow storm we got. R took the T over to pick her up because he didn't want to have to deal with the hassle of driving in snow....which makes sense to me. So....they called a cab, but it never showed up. See....driving in the snow was so bad that it took my colleague four and a half hours to get home from work yesterday. So...Mom and R decided to take the T home. Which ended up being the best route since they would have been stuck in serious traffic if they had driven. That being said....I spoke with her when she got home and she was looking forward to taking a bath and eating grilled cheese on white bread for dinner. I'm going to go hang with ehr for a bit after work. I'm just glad she is home and feeling better.

Holidays 2007

The past week has been somewhat stressful...which has definately taken away from my holiday cheer.

My mother was admitted to the hospital on Monday because of some of the problems she has been having with adhesions. Seems things were not moving easily from one end to the other....if you know what I mean. They tried this nasal tube thing to clear out the blockage. So far things seem to be getting better. I spoke with my mom this morning who informed me that they plan to discharge her this afternoon. Hopefully BEFORE the snow starts coming down at the predicted three inches an hour.

I brought the Honda in for its 40,000 mile tune-up yesterday. I nearly fell out of my chair when the mechanic called me during the day to tell me that they had identified some issues and that it would cost me four times what I thought it would. I was not a happy woman yesterday. Something about bushings and control arms, suspension, front brakes, and power steering. Frankly....I was more than annoyed...especially since the car is only three years old.

On a happy note.......we went to Christmas by the Sea in Ogunquit last weekend. We went to a bonfire (see below), ate some yummy food, did some shopping, watched the Christmas parade, looked at crafts at a craft fair, tried local chowder and chocolate deserts, took a wagon-ride, and did lots of singing at two tree lightings and the Front Porch. We had a great time.

Still Running....

Yup...life has been busy. Recently had bloodwork...everything looks good. ALT: 18 AST: 29. Went to the farm potluck last weekend. Saw the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs last week. Had a MRI on my shoulder. I'm still waiting to get the results. Seems my doctor is on vacation this week and couldn't get to me last week. The Red Sox won the World Series. Went to the Christmas Craft Festival at the World Trade Center. Spent the weekend in ogunquit. Went to the eye doctor recently to check on my drusins that he now thinks are something else. Saw the University of Maine beat the Northeastern Huskies in hockey. Bummer! Go Huskies! Went to see Melissa Ferrick at Club Passim. Attended Theresa and Trish's annual pumpkin carving party. Had a friend stay with us for a few nights last week. Getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hope to check back in sooner rather than later.

Cupcakes

I'm a big cupcake fan and am very psyched that they have made a comeback in the past few years. Some of my most favorite cupcakes have come from Billys Bakery (the best) and Magnolia Bakery (second best) in New York, and surprisingly......M&S Grill in Kansas City, MO. I say surprisingly because M&S is really known for their steaks and seafood and not cupcakes. But....I would recommend getting the red velvet cupcake at M&S the next time you see it on the menu.

I was tres excited when I heard about a new cupcake bakery in Davis Square...with my love for the cupcake and all. I stopped by Kickass Cupcakes this afternoon to give it a try. The bakery is really cute, they make everything from scratch, and they offer some creative concoctions......here is my review.

My least favorite of all the cupcakes I tried was the blue velvet cupcake. The blue velvet is the Thursday "flavor of the day" and consists of a blueberry cupcake with creamy mascarpone frosting. The frosting was good and it had fresh blueberries on top, but the cake part tasted more like a blueberry muffin than a cupcake.

My second favorite was the vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. Again...the frosting was yummy, but the cake part was a little dry and for some reason it tasted a little like bacon to me. B did not agree with the bacon part, but did say that she too thought the cake to be a bit dry.

My most favorite was the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. The cake was a little dry, but it had good flavor, the frosting was yummy, and the purple and brown sprinkles were pretty.

I really wanted to love this place, but it seems that Kickass Cupcakes needs to work out a few kinks before it can move into the greatness category. I'm hoping that Kickass Cupcakes will be able to fix some of these issues and become a thriving cupcake business in Davis Square. I'm looking forward to it.

Lousy Left Side

In the past I have had left ear infections, left-side TMJ pain, left eye issues, left arch pain, and a broken left leg. Overall the left-side of my body is relatively weak and everything bad seems to happen to that side. Now I have another left-side injury to report. Seems I might have a left-shoulder labral tear. I'm not sure how this even happened. I went swimming one day after work about two months ago and everthing was good. I was happy to be exercising, I didn't have any shoulder pain etc. That night I went to sleep and remember rolling over on my arm and thinking..."that didn't feel good...in fact...it hurt." The pain didn't go away so I went to the doctor. They said I had a rotator cuff injury and needed physical therapy. The doc did not suspect that I had torn anything. He specifically said he didn't think I had torn anything. He said I needed physical therapy twice a week for two weeks and should be fine. I tried to make an appointment with my old physical therapist (she isn't old....she is young in fact....but you know what I mean...I saw her when I broke my leg), but I learned she had moved to California. So....I had to find a new physcial therapist. I was bummed that I had to go to someone new....establish a new relationship......but Meghan is good so far. I have been seeing her twice a week for six weeks (It appears the doctor under estimated or didn't really know what he was talking about) and she thinks I might have torn something. And...the chances of my needing surgery are likely. This is not cool. Plus....I hear the recovery time is something like three months. Argh! I'm going to continue to do my exercises and make an appointment with an orthopedic doc to see what they have to say. Maybe they'll surprise me and say something nice like....just do more pt and your pain will go away. I'll keep you posted.

Chestnut Farms

We recently joined a meat CSA at Chestnut Farms in Hardwick and were psyched when we heard they would be having an Open Barn yesterday. We got up early yesterday and drove out to the farm to meet the farmers and their animals. Chestnut farms believes in the humane raising of animals and only feeds them grass and hay. The animals were so cute. They raise lamb, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows. We even got to meet some baby pigs and a few week old lamb. We really liked the farmers and the farm and are looking forward to our CSA.

Cranberry Harvest Celebration

We went to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Harvest Celebration on Saturday. We had a great time. They had music, crafts, helicopter rides, cranberry products, and demonstrations. My favorite part was the harvest tour. They had both wet and dry harvest demonstrations going on. Admission was only $2.00 and totally worth the drive to Wareham from Somerville. Plus the weather was beautiful. We had talked about going to the National Cranberry Festival at Edaville USA instead. I'm glad we did the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Harvest Celebration instead. We got to speak to a real cranberry farmer for a good 15 minutes and hung out in the bog for an hour or so.

Fall 2007

Soo.....this is what the fall has looked like so far.....


We took my mother out for her birthday at the end of August and ran into the turkey that lives in Kendall Square.


We went with our godson and his moms to the zoo over labor day weekend.



We also went on a whale watch.


Went to the Boston Folk Festival with my mother.


Did some apple and pear picking.


Celebrated in the revelry of King Richard's Faire.


Went in search of hatching loons in New Hampshire only to find out that they has already hatched and moved on.


Hiked up Rattlesnake in New Hampshire and enjoyed the view. Saw loons from a serious distance.


Danced like crazy at Dave and Lisa's wedding.


Went looking for loons at Waukewan Park. We didn't find any.


Took the tram up Cannon Mountain. It was foggy, but super cool.

Livin Life Based on the Tide Chart Part 7 of 7

Like in the Bay of Fundy...Bar Harbor has a time sensitive attraction too. Bar Harbor has a sandbar (hence the name Bar Harbor)that can be traveled over during low time and gets covered by water during high tide. I have heard stories about people parking their cars on the bar to go hiking and coming back to find their vehicles under water. Yikes! We spent the last night of our vacation back in Bar Harbor. We tried to stay at Aysgarth Station, but had no such luck....they were full. Instead we stayed at Anne's White Columns Inn. We had fun at the wine hour at Anne's White Columns Inn. We met a fight director from England and some flower nursery owners from Vermont. We had dinner at McKays Public House and had one last scoop of Jordan Pond's amazing maple walnut ice cream. Yum....yum! The next day we set off for home.......our trip was over:(

Livin Life Based on the Tide Chart Part 6 of 7

Onto St. John. St. John is the stinkiest city I have ever been to...just a warning. Irving has a paper mill right in the middle of town...and unfortunately it permeates the air you breath. We stayed at the Vintage Bed and Breakfast. This was a nice place and conveniently located, but it was clear to us that the innkeepers really don't love innkeeping. They were nice enough people, but they had self check-in and we didn't even meet one of the owners until it came time to pay when we were checking out. Aside from all that......St. John was alot of fun. We went to the St. John Pride parade. It was raining and there were probably 100 people tops....including those in the parade and watching....but it had a nice small town feel to it. We went to the Pride dance on Saturday night and even got to slow dance to Anne Murray. We also stopped by St John City Market, listened to some music at Market Square and had a yummy dinner at Beatty and the Beastro. Now...to explain the image above. We spent the night in St. John because we had heard about this really neat phenomenon that occurs in St. John when the St. John River and the Bay of Fundy meet during high tide. They call this the Reversing Falls because the water literally changes direction. Like alot of other things in the Bay of Fundy....you really need to see this during both low and high tides to get the full effect. The above image was taken during high tide. Low tide was alot more calm. Wow...what a whirlwind St. John was. We were only there for one night, but saw a ton of stuff. One other thing to know about St. John is that there doesn't seem to be alot of people there. Overall it was fun, but it was also a little wierd. It was stinky, our innkeepers weren't happy to be innkeeping, and there weren't alot of people on the streets. One night was enough for us.