Boston or Bust

Just under a month ago we decided after the tough year we'd had, it was time to organise a last minute holiday - it was a toss up between Boston or New york.  Thank goodness we are cheapskates and opted for Boston......

Our first day (October 26th) looked like this - we didn't even need coats.

October 27th looked like this - the sea was as calm as a mill pond and we went whale watching.  The sun shone the whole way, we saw loads of whales (which I failed to get photos of - they don't hang around!) and even the return journey was not an icy ordeal - I got sunburnt!

On our return to the harbour, I noticed this ominous halo around the sun - we already knew Hurricane Sandy was on it's way, this was nature's way of warning us too.

October 28th, we went to a craft market and the weather was closing in - the tops of the tall buildings were shrouded in cloud, the wind was picking up and the rain started.

Monday 29th was wild!  I have never experienced a wind like it - needless to say we took a walk down to the shore to see what was going on.  The beach by our hotel was fairly sheltered as it is part of a bay, but the water was certainly coming in and we had trouble standing upright on occasion.

This was the playground nearby - those 'planks' under the roofing are the tops of benches.

After a sandwich at a local shop, we went back to the hotel and stayed safe in our room watching films for the rest of the day while the wind howled outside.

We did feel the media made too much of how Sandy was going to affect Boston - yes, it was bad throughout the Monday, but the next morning instead of the predicted continued wind and rain, we awoke to brilliant sunshine.

So we visited Fenway Park, home of the Boston Redsox - well worthwhile taking the tour.

Also visited the boutiques on Newbury St. but felt it was not quite for us so left after a quick walk around.

Saw a huge crowd of sparrows on Boston Common - this is just a small section!

Halloween was another warm dry day, so we headed off to Salem - by train this time.  Stacie was obviously not impressed by this mummy!

We loved this family group - inspired costumes!

This house always does an amazing display - this 'vomit' spewed out every few minutes.  I'll show more pictures another time.

Loved this girl's costume - she stayed in character all day and later on met up with her boyfriend who was also a zombie. Creepy.....

This was the most incredible bookshop I have ever been in - I don't know what you'd do if the book you wanted was at the bottom of a pile.....

We didn't stay for the evening celebrations  - by 4 p.m. we'd had enough and headed back.

November 1st was the day we went home - but as our flight was in the evening, we had time to visit Harvard.  Bob had a spot of bother with one of the faculty.....

Harvard is an amazing place - students there are very lucky indeed.

And finally, we ended up back at the harbour for one final bowl of chowder at Quincy Market, a last minute purchase of salt water taffy and then back to the hotel to await the shuttle to the airport.

We feel very lucky we escaped the brunt of the hurricane - seeing the devastation in New York and New Jersey was a very sobering experience.  I hope they get the help they need as soon as they can.

Are We Nearly There Yet?

Here is the finished knitted aquarium, ready to be used in the animated film.  I had a terrible time trying to photograph it...indoors...

...outdoors......with flash......

...and without flash....

Anyway, I hope you can get the general idea of it from these pictures.  It is quite cunning within - under the (hinged) lid, there are three horizontal wires strung between the struts.  From these wires, the fish can be hung and will move from left to right.

Each fish has had a fine piece of wire inserted through their mouth right the whole length of their body and secured with a 'barb' at the end.  From the mouth come 'bubbles' which are beads threaded down the wire.  Each wire has enough leeway to be bent or straightened, thus making the fish go up or down, and at the top of the wire is a little hook so the fish can be facing either way depending on how hung. 

Someone suggested adding a little light...which if I had access to one of those tiny LED's found in Christmas novelties I might well have done, but on the other hand, I am not sure the animator would have approved!

Now people, any ideas on how to knit a 3 inch high working cuckoo clock?

So Far, So Good....

This is the knitted aquarium so far - nothing is attached yet, the weed and pebbles will be more artistically arranged when it is completed and there will only be three fish, all of which will be suspended in swimming positions.  I still have to construct the front struts and lid, but cannot do that until I buy some florists wire tomorrow.  The aquarium is a mere 3 x 6 inches, resting on a 5 inch high base, which should give you the idea of just how small I am knitting. Despite the headaches this has caused, it has been quite a fun item and I am looking forward to using my goldfish pattern in other projects in the future.

A Whistlestop Tour of Boston...

We discovered today that between us we have over 600 photos from our trip to Boston - that's going to take some sorting out when it comes to printing them! Other people's holiday snaps can be a terrible bore, so I have tried to reduce mine to a few choice ones that sum up our break.


We went to the New England Aquarium and saw penguins being hand-fed their breakfast....


...each one got their own portion of fish which was duly noted on a chart - to make sure no-one got left out.


We saw Myrtle the Turtle (not my choice of name!) being fed sprouts and broccoli.......


...this was to keep her from taking chunks out of the divers who were feeding the other fish in this enormous cylindrical tank which dominates the centre of the building.


My daughter's favourites were the seals, particularly the small one which reminded her of our dog for some reason.


This tank of jellyfish was incredible - I really want to turn our shots of these into a painting.


The Freedom Trail was a long hard slog in the rain - I am sure it was longer than two and a half miles! This is Paul Revere's house.


This fascinating graveyard had stones dating back to the 1600's, including Paul Revere's.


We were lucky to get on the final whale-watching trip of the year - our first attempt was cancelled due to rough seas. This wasn't a smooth trip by any standards but didn't merit the amount of throwing up going on around us by sea-wimps! This is Boston's skyline as seen from the boat.


We saw about 12 different humpback whales, including this mother and calf.


This has been a long-time ambition of mine, and I couldn't really believe I was actually on a boat seeing whales with my own eyes - it all felt very surreal.


The freezing cold wind felt real enough though! That amorphous lump swaddled in my arms is my daughter sheltering from the cold.......


...she emerged when we reached the shelter of the shoreline - Hello Eskimo Nell!


Here she is warming up eating 'Chowdah!' in Quincy Market.


The next day was a complete turnabout and was warm and sunny when we took the boat to Salem.


It being the week before Halloween, some people had gone all out with their decorations - how cool is this back yard!



This made me laugh..a lot! I now have this bumper sticker on my car - if you saw where I live and some of our neighbours, you'd appreciate this even more!

Hope this wasn't too dull! I have had a complete break from painting and crafting, but will get back into the swing of things in a few days after all vestiges of jet-lag have gone away.