This is what I had for lunch today. When it came I didn't know what to make of it. I had ordered the "5 cheese on wheat, warm, no veggies". I suppose that this was a literal interpretation of what I said. There were a variety of cheeses between two pieces of wheat bread and the whole thing looked like it had been placed in a microwave and warmed up. I'm not saying it was bad … it just wasn't the grilled cheese like creation I was expecting.
With the excruciating commute to Rhode Island every day, I have once again taken up listening to books on tape to make those 3-4 hours a day more tolerable. This week I "read" Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov. I loved it. This is not really a surprise. I have loved every Asimov book I have ever read and I have read many of them. The Foundation series were some of the first science fiction books I ever read and because of their brilliant introduction into the genre I have been a fan ever since. Books, movies, television series … I love them all. Star Trek is one of the only shows I remember watching with any regularity growing up and even now, if I am channel surfing and notice any of its iterations I stop and watch. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those people that know all the workings of the Enterprise or can speak Klingon but I am a fan. Always have been, always will be. My love of science fiction is perhaps why I harbored the dream of becoming an astronaut until the age of 19 when I realized that, while I was good at math, I was not skilled enough to get through my aerodynamics classes. It was a sad, dream crushing day. Though all that dreaming was not without its benefits … I had the opportunity to intern at the National Air and Space Museum and go into their archives and see the collection that is not on display to the public, I have flown a plane, and I have met Gene Cernan (the last man on the moon). Alas, I ramble. The purpose of this post was to tell you of my adventure in the Hingham Public Library and my excitement that they had the first book of Asimov's Galactic Empire series on CD. Brilliant! It turned the commute into a little slice of science fiction heaven this week. I'm headed back to the library to find something new for next week … what will it be, oh what will it be? A side note on the library experience: I wish that they would organize their audiobook collection by genre and then by author within that genre. It would be easier to navigate. Just sayin'.
Oh yeah, that's right, I did it. I went to Mystic … just for the pizza. And it was dang good. The restaurant has been converted into shrine to the movie (it runs on a continuous loop) and they sell the "slice of heaven" t-shirts and a variety of other souvenirs. My co-worker Sarah and I had a meeting in Westerly, RI and when we were done we decided to take advantage of our proximity to this famous pizza joint.
After the pizza we went to investigate the ice cream offering. What we found was delicious and homemade.
Totally worth it.
My focus for this business planning project that I have embarked on this summer is a grand old house in Bristol, RI named Linden Place. The house is beautiful. I mean, check out these stairs! It was built in 1810 for the DeWolf family, was involved in the triangle trade and was home to the great aunt of Drew Barrymore. Now it is a historic house museum, summer camp and event space. As part of the project I spent the day in Bristol going to all the museums and public spaces in the town to scope out the competition.
One of the places I went was Blithewold. This mansion is ok as far as mansions go … a little dark if you must know. But the grounds, oh the grounds! They are AMAZING. There are intricate gardens, old stone walls and a great lawn sloping down to the bay. The house is known for its gardens and as a wedding venue and while I was there I could imagine what it would be like to be married there. It would be beautiful. It would also be way fun to stage a massive croquet game on the lawn.
Honestly, I can't believe that this is my job.
The internship has begun. I spent the last week driving around the state of Rhode Island touring historic house museums, meeting with Executive Directors, Boards, scholars and volunteers and I have to admit that I just don't get it. I also don't think that I can adequately describe what it is that I don't get but I have come to the conclusion that we are a nation of hoarders. I'm not sure that this is healthy. Maybe group therapy is needed. I should call Oprah ... this seems to be right up her alley. While I freely admit that I have too much stuff, my accumulation has more to do with laziness than emotional attachment. In fact, you could take it all (with the exception of my couch) and I wouldn't miss a beat. The whole time I was driving home to survey the damage after the Fall Break Fire all I could think was "please, anything but the couch." I really love my couch. But that is beside the point. The people I have surrounded myself with for the summer abhor the idea that any building anywhere would ever be torn down regardless of whether or not said building is of architectural or historical significance. I love modern architecture and converted spaces. Give me steel, glass and concrete! Give me a warehouse that has been sitting empty for decades and convert it into useful space! But please, please, please don't "save" another building only to turn it into a historic house museum that is only open to the public for six hours a week or by appointment. Buildings were meant to be used. I guess what it boils down to is that I am a creator not a saver.
I saw this infomercial like a million times and when I was given a Mother's Day gift at church I decided that there really was nothing to be done but take the plunge and purchase. Luckily they had a whole pallet of them at the local as seen on tv warehouse otherwise known as Bed Bath and Beyond (clearly this fits into the "beyond" category). I know you all are just dying to know the object of my most recent infomercial obsession. Here it goes … I am now the proud owner of not one but two Topsy Turvy tomato planters!
They remind me of my 6th grade science fair project where I studied the effect of light on tomato plants and observed the lengths to which the plants would go to find the light. It was a really cool project. The plants are growing at an alarming rate (this picture is about a week old and they have already quadrupled in size). I hypothesize that this is due to the upsidedownness and the use of copious amounts of miracle grow.
