Saturday, January 14, 2006

Trains, Planes and Fresh, Warm Eggs

Travels! Good for the soul, not so good for the retention of nice mittens. More on that later. It was good to be away and to return to a cleaner house than normal. A fastidious housesitter and the, ah, embarrassment-fueled cleaning frenzy before her arrival made the house a bit more polished than usual, which is nice. Hoping to keep up with some of the cleaning/decluttering tasks now that we’re back. It’s a lighter feeling to know that a former resident’s shopping list from 2001 is no longer stuffed in the back of the junk drawer….

So, Boston. Mostly a good visit with family, FW’s sister and her husband and two cute kids. Uncle FW became an immediate jungle gym, with much climbing, chasing and delighted shrieking by the girls. Spent a lot of time “at home” with them, but did some outings to the Science Museum and Harvard Square. Also took a couple days to head up the commuter rail to the end of the line to see some off-season tourist spots, window shopping and beach leaping (FW still finds my beach exuberance strange-?).

Had this conversation with our 5 yr old niece while calmly riding the “T” subway train among all the commuters with books and ipods one day:

GTR: You’re lucky to have trains like this here. We don’t have them where we live.
S: Why?
GTR: Well, there used to be some, but people decided we didn’t need them anymore.
S: Why?
GTR: Hmm, I think it’s because some people think cars are easier to use.
S: That’s not good, because cars use too much gas! Trains are better- they don’t have to stop for gas!

A girl wise beyond her years. She kept asking “What does ____ mean?” and surprising us with her insights about certain things. It was fun to hear her older sister learning to read, talk with FW’s sister and generally glimpse other lives for a few days.



Speaking of trains…here is the “new home” of my former convertible mitten/gloves. I took them off on the train to mess with the camera, then violated my own travel rule of “always look back” to see if you’ve left anything. The seats were too high to see into, FW was in a hurry to get off at our later-turned-out-to-be-icky stop, and once I had realized they were left behind, the train had left the station, so to speak. Alas. The T staff was very helpful once we got back to the North Station in Boston, but the gloves were nowhere to be found, even on the actual train car we’d ridden on… I suspect they’ve been adopted by some Bostonian. Ah, well… hope the new owner enjoys the remnants of my morning jogs and chicken chores to be found on them. I did find some nice sort-of replacements at the Whole Foods Market (one of the suburban tour highlights). Alpaca, still convertible, just not as good for driving, etc.

The flights were fine, even if the whole concept of flying is a bit mind-blowing when you really sit down and think about it. Some of the only sun we saw all week was AFTER we had flown above the clouds. Surreal.


And upon our return, all inhabitants of our little homestead were intact, and FW came in today with 3 very large, warm eggs. Warm eggs are another, more grounded mind-blowing concept. Body temperature, reminding me where those eggs came from!



Ok, feeling a bit more caught up. Off to do the weekend chores... more photos later!

1 comment:

Liz said...

Your niece sounds like me as a child. I was riding on the NJ turnpike w/ my mom & grandma. Looking at the NYC skyline, my grandma said, "Oh look at all the lights, Elizabeth. Isn't it beyootiful?". I said, "No. I think it's a waste of electricity". It's nice to know that some kids still have an awareness of the world around them at such a young age.

You're lucky to be getting eggs. The ducks won't start until sometime next month. At some point, I want to add chickens because it seems that they're more dependable layers.

Glad you had a good trip and everything was fine upon your return. There really is no place like home. :)