Worcester Sunday

The Old Graveyard

Yesterday was a normal Sunday except I had to spend the afternoon back at City Hall Plaza in Worcester.  It was a lot quieter yesterday than on Saturday.  It afforded me an opportunity to wander around a little bit.  I’ve always been a bit of a history nut and I found some neat little pieces of history that I’ve been by a thousand times before but never stopped to check out before yesterday.  There was a Revolutionary War era graveyard in the middle of the common behind city hall.  There was a small fence around the nearly 300 year old graves and one was noted for a veteran of most of the battles of the Revolution.  I was talking to one of my co-workers and he said the graveyard used to be much more extensive but many of the graves were moved to allow the center of the city to develop.  Apparently about twenty years ago they were excavating for a new bus shelter and uncovered a couple of bodies.  Shades of Poltergeist!  Not all of the bodies got moved when the gravestones were which may explain some of the odd goings on at the bus shelter.  There was also a very impressive Civil War memorial that towered over the common and a more understated memorial to World War 2.  Directly adjacent to City Hall was a very simple but poignant tribute to the first wave of Irish immigrants who did so much to help this country expand.  It was a simple Celtic cross but for some reason very moving.  There was a statue for a Worcester area World War 2 marine named Powers who was killed at the battle of Kwajalein and decorated for valor.  Interestingly shortly after I saw the statue a navy veteran walked up to our booth and was wearing a hat for the USS Powers which is a navy ship named after the same marine.  Finally, directly behind our booth was a statue for a prominent politician from the late 1800s.  He wasn’t prominent outside of the Worcester area but I think he must have been a good man for the people of his time to have erected this impressive monument.  It also goes to show the fleeting nature of life’s accomplishments but I like to think a life well lived was worth remembering.  As I said above, I've walked by these places a thousand times and never took the time to check them out.  Some times it's all about slowing down and looking around.

The Civil War Memorial

The Irish Memorial

The World War 2 Memorial

Powers Memorial

The Prominent Politician

Cold Day at the Circus



Early Morning on Worcester City Hall Plaza Before the Denizens Emerge

Yesterday was the coldest, sunny day that I’ve ever experienced.  I had to work as we were doing a public outreach effort at City Hall Plaza in Worcester.  The morning was in the 30’s but there was a pretty hefty wind blowing for the most of the day.  It was one of those days where the temperature goes down 20 degrees if you step out of the sun.  We had a tent set up to house a couple of the new fare boxes but I spent virtually the entire day outside watching Worcester flow by in all of its circus like quality.  I like being back in Worcester – there are some real characters in this city and I met most of them yesterday.  They seem to emerge when they see something out of the ordinary in their normal haunts.  We were the light to their flies.  For the most part this was the most interesting part of the day.  I enjoyed trying to stay warm and joking with a couple of the people that work for me.  We saw a couple of motor cycle cops park their bikes near the Dunkin Donuts and disappear inside for over two hours.  There was a strange flag flying from the front of city hall and I knew that I had seen it before but couldn’t place it for the longest time.  It turned out to be the retired flag of South Vietnam that appears on so many military decorations from that era.  There was some sort of ceremony marking the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.  Worcester has a big Vietnamese community and apparently many of them came over as refugees following the war because the ceremony was well attended and many were wearing vintage military uniforms.  I felt bad for them yesterday as they were trying to wear the typical costumes from Vietnam in the bone cold weather of Worcester.  The boss bought everybody lunch at a nearby sub shop and we spent a lot of money at DD on coffee and hot chocolate.  As we moved into the afternoon I was really feeling my age.  Spending all that time on my feet had my back really barking at me for the last couple of hours.  I dropped something and when I bent over too quickly to pick it up everything was barking.  Kinda sucks to be getting older.  There was a big concert going on and later in the afternoon a bunch of college age kids were wandering through the plaza with some serious costumes and face paint. A group stopped by to talk with us.  It was funny to see my boss and the union president talking with this bunch.  I got home and curled up on the couch trying to get warm, Buddy was not clued in on this plan and decided I needed more exercise.  The wife and I watched the sox win their sixth straight game, winning a pitcher’s duel – who’d have thought that was possible.  That’s why they are the Red Sox.

Our Home for the Day



After Denizons Emerge

City Hall from the Rear

Concert Kids Chatting Us Up

Worcester Weekend

Zorba's Last Night

I get to spend the entire weekend working!  This has been something planned for months and it has arrived.  All of the managers for my company will be spending the weekend down in the center of Worcester explaining to our customers about the new fare boxes that will go into operation on Monday.  Bus riders hate change and this will be a big one so we are trying to get out in front of it.  At least the day promises to be cold with temperatures in the 30s this morning.  Everybody else has been dreading this weekend because we’ve done this in the past and we always end up talking to some of the crazies that haunt every big city.  I kind of look forward to that. For the most part these are just lonely people and we are invading their domain.  The boss came around yesterday giving everybody a small bonus for all the extra work that has gone into this project – he’s a great boss.  The wife and I went to our normal Friday night haunt and had pizza at Zorba’s.  If you're ever traveling through central Massachusetts on Route 20 you should stop in at Zorba's in Charlton.  It has a great atmosphere an doesn't take itself too seriously.  I love this place.  We have a lot of memories tied up in there as that is where we go whenever the kids come back for a visit.  I think that’s why I like going so much, on a certain level it brings them closer and that is a great feeling; plus I had a very cute date.

Finished Choke By Chuck P.

I finished my latest foray into the unnatural world of Chuck Palahniuk a couple of days ago when I completed my read of Choke.  I’ve written earlier how I usually find an author that I like and then read everything he’s written as fast as I can.  You, well at least I, simply can’t do that with Chuck.  He’s exhausting.  My daughter, but more so my son in law, encouraged me to read Chuck and I really glad because I truly enjoy the ride, but again, it can be exhausting.  You almost feel guilty sharing some of the places he takes his characters and none more so than with the ones from this book.  The lead character is a semi-recovering sexaholic who’s trying to figure out his relationship with a dying, deeply psychotic mother.  The way he goes about this and everything else in his life is deeply disturbing but impossible to look away from, kind of like watching a really gruesome car wreck.  You really hope no one gets hurt but there’s some sot of innate, inborn morbid fascination that connects you with the characters.  It’s always a wild ride but, again, as always, totally worth the effort.  I salute you Mr. Palahniuk for getting me to wonder once again as to your sanity but thanks for the great ride. I’ve started a book by another of my favorite authors, John Sandford, just to decompress from Palahniuk.  Anyone who’s ever read his work will understand the need. I also watched a Terrence Malick movie this week (see movie blog) so I’ve been truly living on the edge.  My son in law recommended a reading order for Chuck P’s books which I’ve been following.  I’m going to wait a few weeks before I delve again into his world, I don’t want to get trapped there.

Cold, Wet Lawn and Hockey Misery

My Favorite Toy

It’s been uncomfortably cold the last few days but I had to get out on the tractor lawn mower last night for the first time this season.  The grass was growing uncomfortably long in several locations and with the rain scheduled for today and having to work all weekend I thought this might be my last shot at before it reached true jungle status.  I usually love mowing the lawn – simply because I have the riding lawn mower after decades behind a push version.  I like imposing order on the disorderly grass as well.  Yesterday was not as much fun because of the cold and it started drizzling when I was half way through.  Being cold and wet is not my definition of fun – I had too many sessions of this over the years in the infantry.  The neighbor joined me once he saw how bad his lawn would look next to mine and we shared a couple conversations about what idiots we were to be out in this weather.  He’s a great guy.  The Big Guy must have heard our complaints because a few minutes later there was a huge rainbow and the sun came out.  I planned on going on my usual swimming workout last night to warm back up but I was captured by the Bruins who were playing a do or die game 7 against the Washington Capitols.  I love the Bruins but Washington has been outplaying them at their own game for the entire series and did so again last night.  The Stanley Cup champs went down in defeat because they didn’t seem to have that same fire and passion they had last year – something that seems fairly rampant in today’s professional sports championship teams.  They seem to forget what got them to that championship level.  My wife is a hockey fan only during the playoffs so she was severely disappointed but I told her, at least we still have the Red Sox.  She gave me an incredulous stare following that remark as we watched the Red Sox try to blow a 7-1 lead.  I stayed up and watched the game to the end with the closer loading the bases in the 9^th before finally prevailing 7-6.  Once again, I was struck by how slow paced baseball is compared to other sports.  They should institute a rule against stepping out of the batter’s box after every pitch – that would knock an hour off every game.

Shit!

I’m The Lucky One – I Saw The Cabin in the Woods

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!

Last night was the weekly date night with the wife.  I faced a conundrum in that the new movie out was The Lucky One – one of those Nicholas Sparks uber-chick flicks that I am more than a little reticent to see.  My wife was extremely excited about seeing it so I knew she would be going to that movie.  I had to figure out a way to finesse my seeing something completely different.  She was a little upset because we’re supposed to see the same movie but I explained to her that I would rather go back to the dentist again rather than seeing Zac Effron emoting for the ladies.  Luckily I was able to compare schedules and ensure her that the movie I wanted to see would get out at the same time as hers.  She reluctantly agreed and I was free to see the Cabin in the Woods.  I’d heard some good things about it and Joss Whedon was involved in the making.  I was totally blown away by the movie – IT WAS AWESOME!  How it was possible to generate a new angle on the slasher horror movie just amazed me.  The cast was smart and the script was incredibly funny and intelligent.  There were some subtle odes to past horror movies like the cabin itself was a replica of the one from The Evil Dead.  I cannot say enough good things about this movie.  It was still macabre but had so many truly funny moments.  I really can’t say too much about it because it will ruin some of the delicious surprises offered and I do want you to go see it.  It’s such a rare opportunity when a movie can combine two seemingly opposite genres such as comedy and horror so successfully – go see this movie.  The night was a complete success as I got out two minutes before my wife did and she came out glowing from all the estrogen offered by The Lucky One.  She said if I had attended her movie I would have been the only guy in the entire audience.  To top it all off the Red Sox won their second in a row – demonstrating they can beat other bad teams.  I’ll keep watching – I’m a Red Sox fan and this comes with the territory. 

Not So Much (If you have a Y Chromosome)

Dental Day

Today I had the first appointment in getting a crown on the tooth that I had the root canal on just before Christmas.  I’m still not sure I truly understand the process but today I rushed out of work to get to the office on time and then had to wait for thirty minutes in the waiting room.  I really think there should be some kind of bank for wasted time.  I can only imagine if I was thirty minutes late the kind of indignation I would get from the dental clerks.  If they made me wait thirty minutes today then I should have some leeway next time – fat chance.  I can’t get angry at the dentist.  She’s a very nice Korean-American lady who goes to our church.  My wife and I have watched her three children grow each Sunday.  They have all been born since we arrived here.  This is the first time we’ve been in the same place long enough to witness that kind of thing.  I took the afternoon off to wait the wearing off of the Novocain, but it’s really not that bad.  I think I wrote earlier in this blog that my mother didn’t have the dentist use Novocain on me until I was about twelve which made my cavity fillings up to that point an extremely uncomfortable experience.  Since then I learned that my older sister always had Novocain so I think my mother was trying to toughen me up and save some money.  My sister claimed I couldn’t be right but I clearly remembered the first time I had Novocain and wondering at the lack of pain.  I got home and found the Velcro had semi-failed on the awning out back.  I jury rigged something using a stapler to affix the strips to the canvas.  I just need one more summer out of it, so we’ll see.  Buddy was a big help, protecting me from the robins which had the temerity to land in our back yard.  Tonight is date night and I’m trying to convince the wife to see a chick flick while I see a horror movie – a long shot at best.

The French Defeated Again

The Puzzle From Hell

It rained all day yesterday so I had a couple hours to spend with my favorite French puzzle, a gift from my daughter purchased on her trip to Paris.  As you can see from the attached photo I finally vanquished the puzzle from hell.  Whoever designed this thing was truly a sadist as the pieces were carefully carved around color changes to make it even more difficult.  Most puzzles have interlocking pieces so the puzzle doesn’t fall apart if someone breathes on it (that in fact happened).  Every time Buddy brushed by the table I had to do repair work on the damned thing.  It actually became a mission.  In truth I enjoyed the challenge, as frustrating as it was.  To insure this particular puzzle does not inflict the same level of emotional pain on anyone else I am going to glue it together.  Due to recent remonstrations from my sister and daughter on my failure to reveal health issues I am reporting a case of poison ivy on my arm.  When we first bought this house it was surrounded by poison ivy, something twenty seven years in the infantry taught me to respect.  I spent the next six years on a dedicated eradication effort and learned which areas out back to avoid.  I paid for it with repeated outbreaks but last year I went the whole year without any.  I foolishly bragged about this to my visiting friend this past weekend, he had also been victimized in the past here.  Of course I woke up this morning with the tell tale itching on my left forearm.  I tried to think back of where I had been over the weekend.  I didn’t venture into any of the areas where it still exists but then remembered that Buddy was not aware of any of these restrictions and loved to adventure back into the “wilderness” behind our yard.  He has taken to parking himself next to me on the couch when I watch TV and that is the spot on my arm that is affected.  So Buddy has now added “Typhoid Mary” to his list of accomplishments.  Screw that, I’m going to blame the French.

My French Dog - Looking Awful Guilty This Morning

Yard Day

Rewarding Lunch

Friday was a good day, as earlier chronicled; the boss was so pleased that he took me out to Five Guys for burgers!  I didn’t day it was a huge accomplishment – but a Five Guys burger is an excellent reward.  Friday night the wife and I scored our normal Friday night pizza at Zorba’s.  I didn’t blog yesterday because I spent literally the entire day outside working in the yard.  A friend came down to help with the yard work Saturday morning.  We had to put up the canvas for our deck awning and it was not an easy job.  The canvas, mainly the points used to attach the canvas to the frame, were badly damaged in last year’s hurricane.  I was trying some jury rigged repairs when my friend suggested we get some industrial strength velcro.  Off we headed to Home Depot and I reluctantly agreed to let the wife accompany us.  I’ve written earlier about her shopping acumen but this was not the time for her to demonstrate those talents as we had a lot to do.  I stopped by and ordered four yards of mulch delivered to the driveway.  While at Home Depot I gave my friend a lesson in tracking down my wife at a store when she didn’t want to leave.  He thought I was kidding until she spotted us from a distance and quickly turned down an aisle to get away.  We returned after a safe capture and extraction.  The Velcro turned out to be a great solution and we power washed the house and repaired some driveway damage before we got down to the major task of spreading the huge pile of mulch that had been delivered.  My friend was huge help as we used the trusty tractor and trailer and deliver the mulch to the various flower beds my wife has established around the yard.  She was hovering during the operation offering her expertise and tasking us to plant various new flowers before the mulch was down.  We were finishing up the last of the pile as the sun was starting to set.  We were sore and tired but the wife rewarded us with some truly inspired steaks and several really well received beers.  A long day but a lot accomplished and it did keep me away from that damned French puzzle – so my mind got a rest.

Velcroed Save

Puzzling Progress

Habla-ing the Ole Espanole'

Over the last few days we’ve been traveling to the different senior centers to make presentations on our new fare box.  Yesterday we went to two and I was exhausted afterwards even though I really enjoyed interacted with the seniors – just great people.  They’ve paid their dues and do not suffer b.s. lightly, my kind of people.  I was getting back into the van and banged my forehead against the visor.  I didn’t think anything of it until we got back to the office and I noticed blood dripping down my face.  I had opened a small cut and head wounds bleed a lot.  I told some of the ladies working that the seniors were so upset with the new fare box that they attacked us.  It was funny to see the more gullible ones react and then slowly realize I was kidding.  I got home and returned a call to my sister where I received a stern lecture from her on my failure to inform her a few years back when I was going through the health scare which I wrote about a couple of days ago.  She’s a health care professional and was not pleased with me.  I promised her full access to my medical records on her next visit.  Apparently my well meant concern about not alarming anybody was not well received (I think she may care about me or something). On the upside, someone is actually reading this blog, Hoo Ahh.  This morning I had to make the fare box presentation in Spanish to a group of Hispanic seniors (senors?).   All my gringo friends here at work and especially my boss think I speak great Spanish but I’m always a little nervous speaking to a group of native speakers.  Except for today, for some reason I just launched into the presentation and really connected with the group.  The head of the center actually came up and complimented me on my Spanish.  Usually my Spanish needs a couple of beers to really flow but today it just came to me.  I think my recent visit to Panama helped a lot.  Having as hard time getting my head through the door right now – I need to visit with my old Navy friend – that should cure that.  I still hate the puzzle but am making progress – damn it.

The g.d. Puzzle - Notice how Nothing Interlocks

Organization Day

I wrote a couple of days ago about my wife purchasing a new closet organizing system.  Yesterday was organization day at our house.  Luckily I escaped for the day to work.  Well, lucky would be a relative term.  I had to make a couple of presentations on our new fare box to an assisted living complex.  My boss volunteered that I spoke Spanish so at the end of the presentations I was cornered by a middle aged, blonde, Hispanic trans-sexual with cognitive issues (I’m not kidding).  Apparently all of the other residents avoided him like the plague.  It was obvious he wasn’t really interested in the new fare box but just wanted to talk to someone.  While I was talking to him I noticed his nail polish and how much my wife would have appreciated it.  He ended up being a pretty nice guy, I think.  Meanwhile back at the homestead Buddy was hiding out as my wife went into high gear with re-organization.  My wife approaches everything in life with a great deal of passion and that certainly applied yesterday.  When I got home last night she was totally harried and still wearing the same pajamas that she woke up with.  She had a huge pile of her boots out on the back deck which Buddy found fascinating but was smart enough to stay away from (he’s taken to “watering” some of the wife’s relocated roses – something she’s not discovered yet – I predict pain).  I was given a stern lecture on all the clothes I have that I never wear and that a huge pile of them were destined to be donated to charity.  I didn’t choose to remind her at this point that she is the one who buys all my clothes and if I have too many, well….. Again, sanity surfaced before I could respond honestly.  Since she was on a roll she took me into the bathroom where she pointed out the new organization there.  My tie rack had moved for the third time and everything I use in the morning, from medication to aftershave was now hanging off the back of the bathroom door.  It was obvious she had been at this all day and I complimented her on her “improvements”, even if I didn’t agree with some of them.  This is the type of thing that she never had the time for when she was working so I’m glad she took the time to do it, no matter how painful for Buddy and me.  After my lecture/tour I went downstairs for further frustration with that friggin French puzzle which has now become a bona fide obsession to finish and to watch the latest Red Sox debacle.

Doctor Lockout

Yesterday was kind of a mundane day.  Work seemed to drag a lot worse that usual, I think it was an after effect of enjoying the previous fifteen lakes day on Monday.  I normally don’t drink beer the day before I have to work and that may have had a little bit to do with it.  I found the pictures of the missing lakes from yesterday’s post as well as a picture of the roads I was talking about – see below.  I also had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, a normal follow up.  During my retirement physical from the Army in 2005 they found some “nodules” in my abdomen that they wanted to monitor.  I underwent a series of CT-scans over the next year and they were assessed as benign but with the plan to check again in five years and we’re at that point.  In 2005 this scared the hell out of me although I said nothing to anybody.  There was a lot of stress anyways with the retirement and move back to New England and I didn’t want to alarm anybody, especially the wife who take alarms to a whole new level.  This was just a preliminary visit and the doctor will be reviewing the films from 2005 and 2006 prior to scheduling the new scan, finger crossing time.  At least the day ended well with date night with the wife, although she was a little pissed when Buddy managed to get my new pants dirty.  I think she gets more pissed that I don’t get angrier about it – still trying to figure her out – 30 years and counting.  We went to see the movie Lockout – a Luc Besson, science fiction effort.  The special effects were a little cheap in the beginning but the two stars were very good, Maggie Grace from Lost and especially Guy Pearce from Memento.  He was in Bruce Willis territory and totally nailed it – he just made the movie with some absolutely great one liners.  One of the villains, Joseph Gilgun, was mesmerizingly evil – check out his photo on IMDB to see what I’m talking about.  Definitely a good movie, if with a lot of plot holes, we’re talking Besson here not Hitchcock.  A great way to end a mundane day.

One of the Roads My Co-Pilot Objected to

Lake #5 - Thorndike Pond - Monadnock in Distance

Lake #4 - Gilmore Pond

Fifteen Lakes

 

Yesterday was Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts so I had the day off from work.  I watched the Boston Marathon which was interesting because I caught glimpses of the place I used to work.  The heat was in the high 80’s so I’m sure it was a brutal run for the competitors.  I had more leisurely pursuits in mind.  My wife and I decided to take a day trip and I spent the morning doing a map reconnaissance that would take us by fifteen lakes and end at my hometown in New Hampshire.  It was a spur of the moment thing and it ended up being a fabulous day of hanging out together and experiencing the truly breathtaking natural splendor of New England.  We pass by it everyday and seldom take notice of just how blessed we are.  Yesterday we slowed down and took notice and it was totally worth the effort.  I’ve been all over the world and I now appreciate just how gorgeous New England is – I’d put it up against any place I’ve been in terms of natural beauty.  I grew up in the area but I made a real effort to chart a route that would take us to places I had never been.  We stopped and took pictures at each lake.  The map reconnaissance was good but not perfect, at least in my co-pilot’s (the wife) eyes.  We were using her car and the map hadn’t shown the condition of some of the roads which in many cases were unimproved dirt roads still recovering from the winter.  I thought it was great but she was a little concerned.  We had talked about washing the car prior to the trip but decided to wait – good decision.  I love traveling these back roads which we had completely to ourselves for the most part.  We ended up completely circling Mount Monadnock, the central geographic feature of the area.  We only got off route once, due to lack of road signs, but we were able to figure out where the next destination was and just kept taking turns in that direction until we reached it.  I made sure we would pass by my Uncle Bud’s cottage in Harrisville, NH.  My family spent a couple weeks there every summer and I remember those as some of the happiest days of my youth and the last family vacations prior to my parents’ divorce.  The cottage was still there but looked a lot smaller.  My co-pilot was posing for a picture at the next lake and skinned up her ankle pretty badly but she rangered on.  The water at Silver Lake was so clear that I recommended she dunk her sore foot into it.  She did for all of about 2 microseconds – still had a bit of the winter coolness in it.  We ended the day in Keene, my hometown, the wife dropped me off at my favorite bar while she shopped (ankle apparently recovered) – each going with our strengths.  I was shortly joined by one of my best friends for some quality philosophizing time.  My wife eventually showed back up and we went out for dinner eating outdoors in central Keene watching the town walk by.  The day unfortunately ended as we made our way home and rescued the greatly relieved Buddy, who took one for the team yesterday.  It was definitely a road not taken kind of day yesterday, and it definitely made all the difference.

Lake 1 - Demond Pond, Pass By Every Time I go to NH

Lake 2 - Moulton Pond, Rutland, MA - Cool Log Cabin Barely Viewable

Lake 3, Sawyer's Pond (Bent's Pond According to Maps) - Right Next to Highway

Lake 4, Pearly Lake, Rindge, NH with my Co-Pilot

Lake #6 - Dublin Lake Yeah I Know 4 and 5 are missing (see tomorow's blog)

Lake #7 - Skatutakee Lake, Harrisville NH

Lake #8 - Center of Harrisville, NH

Another View of Harrisville Pond, Lake #8

Uncle Bud's Cottage - Great Times 40+ years ago

Lake #9 - Lake Nubanusit - Shortly After Wife's injury

Lake #10, Tolman Pond - Smallest of Lakes

Lake #11 - Child's Bog - Huge Trees were in This 40 years ago - Monadnock in Distance

Lake #12 - Silver Lake -Really Clear Water

Wife at Silver Lake Marvelling at Clear Water Until she Touched it - Very Cold

Lake #13 - Author at Un-Named Lake Beside Highway - Monadnock Again

Lake #15 - Stone Pond, Marlborough, NH

Author and Co-Pilot - Kind of Tired After 15 Lakes -
To the Bar and Shopping With Us

The Elusive Mount Monadnock From One of Our Many Views

Newport Shopping and Closet Construction

My Wife in Downtown Newport

Yesterday my wife and I decided to head down to the Navy base in Newport, Rhode Island.  The stated mission was shopping in the Base Exchange to replace my favorite jeans that met their demise zip lining in California (see earlier post).  It turned out to be a great day of time spent together.  We remarked how great it was not to have an agenda or timeline and to just wander.  Instead of just grabbing our usual quick lunch on base we went into the town of Newport.  If you’ve never been there it’s a great day trip.  I’d recommend a spring or early autumn though because the summer can be a mad house of tourists and summer people.  Yesterday was perfect, if a little breezy.  We ended up having lunch in Buskers Irish Pub.  During an earlier sopping trip by my wife, a friend and I spent a great afternoon there enjoying the ambiance and beer.  Today we had a leisurely, very companionable lunch.  My wife ordered a curry chicken which certainly smelled like curry.  It brought back some unpleasant memories of a dish my mother used to make regularly when I was growing up.  I hated it but was forced to eat it anyway – so not the best memories associated with the smell.  “Luckily” my wife boxed up part of the meal so I got to smell it in the car for the rest of the 2.5 hour trip and she had it for dinner, sitting right next to me on the couch.  The base exchange seems to be in the midst of reorganization and there was not the selection that there used to be so I don’t know if we’ll be going back any time soon.  We did score the jeans due to the diligent shopping of my wife, who asked if they had any more in the back room after my size wasn’t out on the racks.  I ended up out in the car reading and listening to the Red Sox (who’ve won three in a row!) while my wife completed her agonizingly slow (for me) shopping pace.  On the trip home I had her snap a picture of the house from the movie “Me, Myself, and Irene” (where Hank raised his three sons).  We stopped at a Home Depot on a whim and my wife finally used a series of gift cards she received at Christmas.  She bought a series of closet organizing shelves which I spent the evening putting together for her.  For some reason I enjoy doing that, go figure.  I know it sounds like a mundane day but we actually had a great day, just hanging out with each other. Today I have the day off because in Massachusetts Patriots Day, commemorating Lexington and Concord is a state holiday.  We had so much fun yesterday that we’re going to head up and just wander around southern New Hampshire this afternoon.

Our Lunch Destination

The Irene House on Left

The Assembled Closet System