Codzilla

Here is a good view of Boston Harbor from the water. You never know what is coming up behind you. Codzilla is a really fast speed boat that takes tourists out for a harbor tour. Love the graphics.

Boat Soup

Last weekend was the final days of Sail Boston 2009. Glorious weather, so there were several hundred boats that did the loop to look at all the tall ships. It was quite a fun time - hung out in the cockpit with a rum drink and snacks and watched the craziness move in a slow counter-clockwise direction.

Home Again

What a fantastic weather window we are having. Been playing on the boat - the highlight was watching the tall ships - incredible. Hanging out and catching up on mail, chores, etc. Will post pics as soon as I get them downloaded.

Sunset

Spent a night on a mooring at George's Island earlier this week. Love being on a mooring, so very peaceful. Lucked out with a lovely sunset over the Boston skyline.

Recent Reads

1. Away
I loved the way this book started, but seems she kinda ran out of steam towards the end. What I did enjoy are the surprising twists the story takes - just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the author surprised me again.

2. The Heretic's Daughter
Realized about a third of the way through that this was a young adult book, which explained the juvenile way the topic was addressed. Not bad for a first novel. It has rekindled my interest in the Salem Witch Trials - have read several books on this years ago, and will look into it further. If you have never read about this event in American history I recommend reading about it - the mass hysteria caused by some young women is both fascinating and horrifying.

Art from Trash 2

Additional images from the PEM (see earlier post).
Bird made from old typewriter keys





















Mouse painted from discarded makeup





















Monkeys from discarded cardboard





















Here is a cat I made using available pieces

Art from Trash

There is a fun exhibit at the PEM called Trash Menagerie. Artists recycle trash to create fun art.
This butterfly is probably my fave piece.
















A shell created from discarded cigarette butts.
















Birds created from recycled containers.
















Fish created from plastic laundry containers.
















Birds from recycled paper.

Dress Ship

July 4th is a perfect day to dress ship. This is what the flags look like in their bag.














You can of course simply put up all the flags, which is pretty enough, but it is more fun to create a message and see if anyone can read it. Here is the crew working on it.


































The tricky part is that we only have one set of the alphabet. Our message reads:
Wine Abord. July 4th. 2009. Pirate flag (aaaarrrrgggghhhh)

Locks

Fun things to do on July 4 include watching all the boats in the locks as they head up into the Charles River. It is a never ending stream of boats that start early morning. Then there is the mad rush as they all leave again after the fireworks. It was one of the few sunny days we've had in ages, so there were quite a few burnt and blistered folks unhappily waiting in fender to fender traffic. We watched firework displays all around us from the comfort of our cockpit - North End, East Boston, Winthrop... and the huge Boston show. Loved it.

Libertad

Back from 4 days on the water and a break from Internet connection - so very restful. As we headed back into our slip this morning we came across the Libertad in the harbor. What a beauty.

Flowers

The only good news about all this rain, is that the plants in the yard are loving it.

Recent Reads

1. Spiderweb
This is my first time reading a book by the author and I found it an interesting read. The story of a woman who has reached retirement. Raises interesting questions: how do you define community?

2. The Forgery of Venus
What a fun romp through the art world. I was surprised by the sci-fi aspects of the book - was not expecting that. Again, first time reading this author and will look into his other stuff. If you like the old masters, give this is a read.

3. Jim Dine: The Alchemy of Images
I love his bathroom series, so was interested to see what other art he has produced. Fascinating to see what/how people create.

4. Dinosaurs Before Dark
A chapter book that the boys and I are reading in installments. My niece Bella recommends the Magic Tree House series, so we're diving in as well. Quite fun.

CSA

Got our first shipment of the season from Community Supported Agriculture yesterday. Items included:

• Arugula
• Garlic scapes (these are works of art!)
  
• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Spinach
  
• Summer squash
• Kousa sqaush
• Zucchini
• Cilantro
• Peas (these stole the show)
  

There is nothing as wonderful as freshly picked produce. I had the best salad of my life last night. Yummy.

AIR

Signs that there is an Artist in Residence :-)

Visual Journal

I do believe that June was the coolest and wettest month on record in these parts. Have spent a lot of this month thinking about the sun. The summer solstice is behind us, and the days are already started to get shorter!

Thailand Pages

Realize that there are still loads of pics from Thailand I have yet to upload - where the heck does the time go? In the meanwhile, here are some journal pages.

Stories

I love stories and travel logs.
Here is one from an artist and author whose work I love.

Worms

Recently had an afternoon at the races. Jonah found several earthworms and decided to stage earthworm races - well technically a slug was entered in the race as well. After the races, the exhausted worms were put back in the garden.

Laundry Line

We usually hang wet clothes out to dry (greener than using the dryer), but due the endless rainy days the line has not been used recently. The boys put it to good use as they tried to jump over it.