Saturday, October 4, 2014

Saturday, September 5

I get up early for a bike ride. It is so warm and humid out I don't need gloves or a hoodie.  I know the humidity makes some people uncomfortable, but this year I am thankful for it.  It keeps me nice and warm and makes my life easier.

I make it around the boulevard two and a half times.  As I am thinking I haven't noticed any animals on my recent rides, two racoons ramble across the road ahead of me.  They run to the base of a big old tree and blend in, but I can see them watching me as I ride by.  I also see a rabbit hopping along in the grass.  One of the great pleasures of going out so early in the morning is that I often do see animals.  I have spotted a fox, a cayote, rabbits. racoons and opossums on my early morning walks and rides.  I guess I have been so preoccupied on making the ride, I haven't noticed many things going on around me.

Anna takes me to the grocery store today, acting as my helping hands for today.  Her boys have been coming to my house for several years now, so we talk about what they will or will not eat.  I show her some of the foods they eat at my house, she helps me with the cold and frozen items that make my fingers tingle.

Once Steve and I are done with our morning errands, we are going to go visit Kaileigh and Josh in Sommerville, along with Alex and Filipa.  We arrive before eleven, and get a tour of their unpacked apartment. It is nice and homey.

We had hoped to visit the Renaisance Museum on this trip, but it turns out you can only visit if you have a group of twenty or more people, or if they are having a special event.  We will try to visit sometime in the future.

There is a Greek Festival at a local church, so stop by to get some lunch.  We arrive before the main attraction, food, is ready.  As an appetizer we get some Greek pastry; baklava and loukoumades.  They are very sweet and tasty, but we are really hungry for lunch.  There are a few people walking around with gyros, so we head over to the food tent only to be told it is not ready yet.  There is a spacious cafeteria beneath the church we are directed to where we can wait for food.   Here, there are trays out for food to come, moussaka, souvlaki, and other Greek dishes.  We are happy to wait for the gyros.  When we finally get them, they are on soft, warm pita pockets, unlike anything you can find in the grocery store.  The meat and vegetables are tender, delicious, and really hit the spot. 

Our next destination is an art show at Assembly Square, a new mall in town.  There are several tents set up around the border of the parking lot near the mall, a pretty sorry show.  Unimpressed, we decide to look for the rest rooms, and discover  a Lego store to explore.

On our way back to the car, we stop at the Clover Truck in the parking lot.  This is a vegetarian food truck based in Boston that Ayla had been inspired by to create her vegetarian food truck.  Kaileigh and Josh get some lavender lemonade and rosemary fries to share before we head back to their apartment.

Our next destination is an art gallery in Davis Square, which is a ten minute walk from the apartment. The art is interesting, from some young artists that are still developing their style.  It is in the lower floor of an apartment house that has been converted to a gallery, so it is very small, but they make good use of the space and light.

We head over to the comic book store in town, Comicazi.  It is filled to the ceiling with books, collectable figures and games.  It is where items from places like Newberry Comics come to be resold.    Everyone in my group is an avid comic book reader, except for me, but there is plenty to look at while they browse the collection.

There is a forecast for severe weather, and the skies are rapidly darkening.  I hear thunder and suggest that we move to a restaurant to have dinner and wait out the quickly moving storm.  We end up waiting outside the Snappy Ramen for a little while before it opens, and make it in just before the sky opens up.

We enjoy wonderfully flavorful ramen and sticky buns, while the rain comes down in torrents outside. The lightning is as intense as the rain.  By the time we are done with our meal, the rain has stopped, and the sky has brightened. The air is clean and clear after the storm, and it becomes cooler as we walk back to the apartment.  People are relieved after the oppressive humidity of the last few days.

Hugs are given all around before we leave.  Driving home, we skirt around the edge of the storm, amazed at the bright flashes of lightning.  It doesn't start to rain again until we hit Providence.

I text with my sister to find out that our dad has been discharged from the hospital today.

No comments:

Post a Comment