Nature played her April's fools joke by bringing a couple of inches of snow for my birthday. Julian had the day off from work and we had a lovely time. In the afternoon we headed out to the cinema to see Rango, an animated film about a chameleon finding his way in the desert. For dinner I asked for salmon en croute with asparagus with Nigella's ( Read more... )

Winter in Waltham continued to be a literal snow bonanza reaching an astounding 67 inches total snow. The largest drifts, now reduced to filthy mounds, are still tenaciously clinging to shadows despite the days becoming gradually warmer. Squirrels and chipmunks have emerged and the first of the robins was spotted yesterday. It is probably safe to ( Read more... )

For Christmas we took the long drive down to South Carolina to visit my maternal grandmother and see my family. We amused ourselves in the car by starting a John Iriving book on CD, The Son of the Circus, and whiled away the time chatting. It was lovely seeing everyone, going for morning walks, swapping presents and sharing photos. We even had a ( Read more... )

A week of gloomy skies and rain broke through the dreamy enchantment of summer. After the storms had passed we rushed out to check for grifola and found a few in Acton, a small one in Waltham and, most surprisingly, one at Larz Anderson park where our friend Sandra was just married this weekend (10/10/10). Nights have been cool and days have been ( Read more... )

Lately we have been eating ( Read more... )

At the end of July we took a weekend to meet our friends Jamie and Crystal at Riverhouse in the Thousand Islands. Saturday, after Jamie made us a breakfast of french toast topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit we went on a long boat tour which then dropped us off at Boldt Castle. The six story castle was built by George Boldt for his wife, ( Read more... )

A couple of weeks ago we happened to stop for dinner at the Elephant Walk in Waltham. I loved the catfish tonle sap - salty caramelized catfish marinaded in mushroom soy arranged on a banana leaf and nestled between a creamy coconut ginger sauce and a sweet pepper relish. The juxtaposition of flavors was perfect! Julian tried the Croustillants aux ( Read more... )

June is sliding by too quickly in a rush of mixed weather and hayfever. Yesterday was oppressively hot and stiflingly humid but Julian enjoyed our walk at Great Meadows commenting that the heat was "like getting a warm hug". The cattails were lush and towered above head height ( Read more... )

Although we had considered heading up to Acadia National Park for Memorial Day, lackadaisical planning led to a Boston area staycation for the long weekend. Between stormy nights and choking smoke drifting down from forest fires in Quebec, it was just as well we stayed nearer home ( Read more... )

Today is Julian's birthday! He now has the much lusted after iPad, a gift from his family, and the complete Battlestar Galactica series on blu-ray from me. He also received Pygmy, a Chuck Palahniuk novel, a copy of Carthage Must Be Destroyed the Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization, and a nifty designer tie. For dinner we had Cordon Bleu Beef ( Read more... )