Outings and Innings

I used to do these sorts of entries in my Hong Kong blog occasionally – a mixture of different things that had been going on in my life, nothing very momentous or enough for an entire blog entry, but still important enough (to me at least) to make them worth writing about.

So here we go. In the past couple of weeks I’ve done a couple of things that were very enjoyable. On Monday I went into Boston and watched the Marathon. I’ve never actually WATCHED a race before, all my racing experiences have involved being IN races. I drove into Boston for a change, instead of taking the bus, because I watched the race with the International Women’s Club of Boston and our watching included bringing a dish to share at a ladies’ house before going to watch the race.

I hate driving into the city, but using my gps this time it wasn’t TOO bad. Boston is so confusing though, and some streets were blocked off because of the race. I went around downtown, and tried to stay out of the worst of the congestion, so my gps kept saying “recalculating”, but eventually I got there.

The lady hosting the marathon party’s house was in Brookline, two blocks from the race route and about two miles from the finish line. I expected to see runners that looked half-dead, but NO! These people looked exhilarated and happy. And the crowds were wonderful. Many people had their names written on their shirts or on their bodies so people could encourage them personally. People clapped and cheered for everyone.

At first while the elite runners were zooming by (running faster than I EVER run), the runners were spaced far apart, but as the times got slower (they were still very fast marathon times however) the runners were spaced more closely together. Most people that run Boston get into the race by running another marathon and getting a qualifying time for their age group that’s good enough. But I didn’t realize that some people run Boston by running for a charity, so there are plenty of people running with slower times as well.

On Thursday, in between the lecture I go to at noon, and my class on Mozart at 3:45, I went over to MIT to see the building designed by Frank Gehry, the Strata Center. What a STRANGE building! It looks like a cartoon. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of it. I thought it was a beautiful, original building, but apparently the people at MIT have mixed feeling about it. I guess it’s not quite as enjoyable to use as it is to view, but as a viewer I thought it was great.

Back in New Hampshire, things are pretty exciting. Harper seems to have decided she is really potty-trained, seemingly overnight. It’s great to not have to watch her anxiously every minute, and she certainly enjoys her additional freedom.

Guess who, that wouldn't hold still for a picture

Our house projects have taken a huge leap forward this week. Our new patio and fire pit are complete, and our driveway is paved! The driveway is downright thrilling (I guess it doesn’t take much to make me happy).
 The new deck is coming along as well, and the area where the gazebo will go has been cut out and gravel laid.

The site of our future gazebo

 Mr. Nill makes progress on our increasingly beautiful new deck

Our wonderful paved driveway!

Last week Lee finished the book shelves in the library, so I have spent this week unpacking boxes and putting away books. A house doesn’t really seem like it is MINE unless there are books around. I need more book shelves, which will go in the living room, but that will have to wait until our other projects are complete.

Not bad for a start, but I always need more bookshelves!