The Day I Caved to a Panhandler

Harvard Square has quite the growing population of homeless people. Now, there's a whole social-political conversation to be had about the whys, hows, and what to do about it, but that's not why I'm here.  There is really something far more interesting than the quantity of homeless people in that particular space.

Now, I've been walking through that area for over five years and there have always been two constants: two men who panhandle independently, in their own designated areas in a simple, but typical way.  One of the men is very polite in his request for change and will wish you a good day regardless of your response (to give or not to give).  The other man is equally unobtrusive and saves his schtick for the holidays when he'll belt out Christmas carols to the passersby.

But the spring and summer bring out what I like to call the Creatives.  These are people who have developed a personae, a talent or a gimmick they think will convince the tourists and the commuters to spare some change.  There's the people with their dogs, usually a pit bull mix of some kind (who I'm always impressed with how well trained and well behaved the dogs are--much moreso than the people).  There's the woman with her plastic tote full of supplies so she can busy herself with cross-stitch all day.  The one-man band.  The artist.  The handful of young twenty-somethings with ironic handwritten signs that make me wonder if they are actually hipster Harvard students (or drop-outs) doing their own social experiment about what it's like to be homeless or to ask strangers for change because while they panhandle, they just don't "look" homeless.  (Judgy?  Yes, but it's an odd group amongst the others who are clearly having hard times.)

But the other day, I noticed a new couple on my way into work.  They had placed their belongings up against the building, but were seated across the sidewalk on a bench.  I barely noticed them until I saw a little fluffy thing next to their packs and bags.  I did a double take before I realized that it was a bunny, no bigger than a kitten.  He was facing the wall, like he was in time out, but I certainly was confused by the sight of him in general.  I kept walking, but overall, it just exited my mind as I went about my day.

Until yesterday.  I was walking through in the afternoon, on my way to the train station, when I saw the couple again, siting on a different bench.  This time their belongings were closer to them, but they had a milk crate set up almost in the walking path on the sidewalk.  The crate was tilted on it side, with a little dish of water and rabbit food (Dave and I used to have a hamster and this food was definitely the mix of seeds and bits you could get at a pet store for general pocket pets).  The little bunny was on a leash and harness(seriously, I couldn't make this up) and was manning (bunnying?) his post with a handwritten cardboard sign that read, "Homeless Bunny Seeking Human Kindness" upon which sat the requisite paper cup for change.

I'm going to pause to let that sink in because I couldn't take a picture.

Not due to a lack of camera, but because of what I did next.

But first, let's talk about this bunny.  This wasn't your typical brown field bunny that we have running around campus.  This was actually a pet bunny that you might find at a pet store.  He was fluffy and tiny and looked so soft that you'd just want to snuggle him.  He was strawberry blonde (okay, more strawberry than blond) and the fur around his face and ears was all fluffed up and wild, like a little ewok.  If ewoks were bunnies.

Now, I'm a generally healthy eater and typically take fresh cut veggies to work to munch on during the day.  That day I had a bag of baby carrots, but didn't finish them.  When I packed up my bag to go home, I tossed the zip-top bag into my backpack, thinking I'd nibble on the train.  And then I saw this bunny and his sign.  Between the fluffy face and the sign (who knew bunnies had such good penmanship), I was done.

And for the first time in five years, I donated to a panhandler.

I reached into my backpack, pulled out the little zip top bag containing 4 baby carrots and placed them in his food bowl.

Then I walked away because I didn't want to hear the cursing from the couple.  Although I did manage to catch a few tittering giggles from others walking through the area.  What can I say, I rescue animals.

Summer Reading Volume 1

Summer time usually means lazy days, perhaps some time off and enjoying the pleasures of doing things you normally don't get to do.  One of the things I picked up as the weather got warmer was reading again.  It's just too hot to crochet.  Working with yarn on the train is not something I'm interested in doing on a 90 degree day.  So I got a library card and started sorting through their fiction, hoping to find some good stuff.  I lucked out that whatever my local library doesn't have, they can usually get pretty quickly from one of the local branches.

I typically read chick-lit, general women's fiction, and humor.  So I started there and am sharing some reviews for you.  You can click the links at the bottom of this post to get any of these books on Amazon.




Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

I'm a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner and have read nearly everything she's written.  Unfortunately, this was not my favorite of her books.  It's good, just not her best book as far as I'm concerned. I appreciated that she stretched to a different kind of humor, but the back story was heartbreaking and I couldn't get the humorous parts to match up given the heart ache in the rest of the story.  It's well written though, easy to read, and the characters are likeable, but after reading her other work, it just doesn't seem congruous.  It's a look at the lives of two former best friends, torn apart by some terrible choices when they were teenagers and how their lives bring them back to each other, and how they move forward given their past.




Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Now this is the Jennifer Weiner I know and love.  And as a follow up to Good In Bed, I was in seventh heaven getting that extra story of the characters.  You don't need to have read Good In Bed to enjoy Certain Girls as Weiner does a wonderful job weaving in the parts of that story that are important.  A look at the relationships between mothers and daughters, a struggle with family secrets and how hard a stubborn teenager will work to find out the truth, this book is really enjoyable.  A great story, the beauty and humor that Weiner is known for, and a special way of pulling the protagonists into your heart, making you love them and wanting them to be happy are all wrapped up in a neat package with this one.  I definitely recommend this one.



The Bed Wetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee by Sarah Silverman

I know Sarah Silverman is kind of polarizing, and truthfully I'm not a huge fan of her stand-up.  But I was drawn in, thinking I might get a laugh or two.  I actually laughed through most of this book.  It's an honest look at how Silverman grew up always wanting to be in the spotlight, but yet dealt with depression and other issues in her adolescents and eventually came through the ranks to make it as a comedienne.  It's very funny and accounts for the beginning of her stand up career, her stint at SNL and the beginnings of her show on Comedy Central. Toward the end it started to drag, (it was right about that spot that Dave stopped reading it, although he enjoyed it to that point), but it was predominately funny.  It's full of toilet humor (if you couldn't figure that out from the title, you probably don't want to read this), but it also casts a light on how society really needs to understand that sometimes you need to laugh at a fart joke so your don't stab your own eyeballs out.



Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

I'm not even going to review this book.  You know I love this blog.  I'm just going to tell you that you need to read it.  It will bring a smile to your facing, you will laugh hysterically out loud in public with tears streaming down your face while other people on the train look at you like you forgot to take your medication (wait, that last bit just might be me).  If you are in a funk, need a laugh, or are so stressed out you might inflict bodily harm on yourself or others, you need this book in your life.  It'll make you happy that your life isn't that jacked up, but it will also make you wonder which parts are "mostly true" (and make you secretly hope it's all true because learning that something that funny was made up will make a piece of you die).

I'm the Best Wife Ever...Apparently

Back in April when it was clear that Dave was likely getting a job, I saw a Groupon that had Dave's name written all over it.  The opportunity to drive a luxury sportscar.  Seriously?  My husband, who often starts a conversation with, "When I have my Firebird one day...", watches more car shows than I knew existed and owns several of the Fast and Furious movies, really needed to have this experience. 

So I asked him if he'd be interested and (duh) he said absolutely.  I bought it on the condition that if he didn't get a job, then I'd get to drive the car (psst....that never would have happened).  After the Groupon came through and the reservation system was set up with Imagine Lifestyles, the company based solely on renting high end sportcars to people with nothing better to spend their money on but not quite enough money to indulge in one of these cars personally, Dave was able to choose his car.

There were five options: Mercedes Gullwing, Audi R8, Ferrari 430, Ferrari 599 and Lamborghini Gallardo.  He didn't want the Mercedes because it didn't seem interesting enough and we had watched an episode of Top Gear where Rutledge drove one and could get the doors closed after getting it.  Dave nixed the Audi because we actually know someone with one (who doesn't like it) and frankly, he could test drive one if he really wanted to.  Both a Mercedes and an Audi seem like more attainable vehicles.  Sure he probably would never buy one and certainly not the Gullwing or the R8, but the brand is accessible.  I was surprised that Dave didn't choose either of the Ferraris but as it turns out, he's just not that into them.  But the Lamborghini....now that's something I'd seen him notice on the highway.  Covet is probably too strong a word, but he definitely noticed the orange one zooming around Boston and liked what he saw.

On Saturday morning we headed to Foxboro to Gillette Stadium where they set up a course in one of the large parking lots.  I must love my husband because in addition to treating him to this experience, I actually went to the home of the New England Patriots to watch him do this.  Because really there is no other reason for me to ever go there.

It was a gorgeous day and the staff had things very well organized.  There was a reasonable crowd, but only about half the people were driving and things did move pretty quickly (well, they are fast cars).  The staff was pretty good about letting people take pictures of their drivers and generally made sure that everyone who wanted to could get a picture of their driver in their car at the starting area. 

Who's driving a Lambo?  This guy.

Dave said his instructor was great and basically told him to just listen and hit the gas.  Eager to please, Dave said sure and for most of his three laps he had the pedal to the floor.  Dave said he didn't get a chance to look at the speedometer during the straightaways but he did notice coming out a turn at about 60 miles per hour.

At work on Friday morning, I was chatting with colleagues about weekend plans and mentioned that I bought this experience for Dave.  My coworker Matthew looked at me and said, "You are seriously the best wife ever."  When Dave got out of his car, with a huge smile on his face, I asked him if he had fun.  He said yes, and then thanked me, saying "You're the best wife ever."

Eh, I do what I can. 

Plus, I figure between this and my failed trip to Germany, I'm due for something really big.

Meeting The Bloggess

Last Friday night I had the opportunity to meet the woman behind my favorite non-food blog.  Remember last year when I introduced you to The Bloggess by linking to her story on picking your battles and Beyonce the giant metal chicken?  Well, Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess herself wrote a book and visited Boston last week for a reading, Q&A and book signing.

My friend Rachel picked me up from work and we headed to the Brookline Booksmith.  Let me just say, as friendly as the staff are there, they really had no idea what they were in for.  Half of them didn't know who The Bloggess was or what her blog is about (duh, taxidermied animals, the zombie apocalypse and fighting mental illness), but they also had no idea how popular she was, the size crowd to expect, or how to spell her name.

Her name as The Bloggess is actually written on the cover of her book.  That they sell in this store.

I'd called the week before to see if tickets were needed (they weren't) and then asked when I should arrive for seating/getting in line.  The event started at 7 pm, so the clerk said they typically start seating between 6:30 and 6:45 pm.  This sounds like a bit of insanity to me, so I made a note to suggest to Rachel we try getting there around 6 pm.

Rachel and I did some window shopping, got some food (followed by some ice cream) and then met her husband John who had come from work.  We headed back to the bookstore to get seats.  There were about 25 seats set up in a small area when Rachel and I first got there around 4 pm.  When we came back at 6 pm, there were about 75 seats and the front rows were already filled.  We grabbed seats for ourselves and saved one for Dave, who was coming from work later.  We spent the next hour watching people trickle in, doing some serious people-watching in general and also being totally jealous of the woman who walked in carrying her own 3 foot replica of Beyonce.

The place got mobbed, but I must say the crowd (by and large) were friendly, nice and not stereotypical Boston-style irritating.  (Note: I say by and large because later when we got in line for the signing the guy behind us was a total douche to his wife.  But at least he wasn't being douchy to everyone else in line.)

Dave came in while people were standing in the aisles, sitting on the floor and mobbing the stairs (the room was in the basement level of the bookstore).  The crowd was so nice they didn't even give him a glare when he took the seat I saved for him (and surprisingly, no one asked if they could sit there or gave me a hairy eyeball for saving it). 

At one point I turned to Rachel and said I really had to pee and I kind of wanted to go to the bathroom to see if Jenny was hiding in there (she has anxiety and tells stories of how she'll often avoid crowds by hanging out in the bathroom all night).  But then the moment came and Jenny made her way through the crowd to begin the reading. 

She was totally adorable, humble, sweet and very, very funny.  She read from the book (complete with side notes which were even more funny stories) and took questions from the audience.  It was hilarious.  I started to record a portion, but knew I wouldn't be able to keep the camera steady what with the buckled over laughs and wiping the tears from my eyes from laughing so hard. 

There were easily over 150 people there and after all was said and done, we got in line for the signing.    She was signing upstairs, so those of us with seats actually ended up in the back of the line and the people on the stairs got to go first.  But it was still fabulous and then a manager announced that Jenny would stay until they closed to sign every last book or stuffed mouse, so a lot of people left the line and headed out to get food and whatnot, so that actually made the line move rather quickly.

Rachel, John and I waited (Dave went to get food--it was now past 8 and he hadn't had dinner), continued people watching and eventually wound our way to the front of the line where I got my book signed, a card for Amy (who had bought me the book in the first place), and got my picture taken with Jenny and Copernicus.  It was so much fun.

And Jenny totally signed the card to Amy "Knock, knock, mofo."

A Weekend in Portland

Last weekend Dave and I decided to take a quick weekend away to Portland, Maine, for a vacation of eating, relaxing, walking around the city and biking.  We were able to do most of that.

Since we moved into Dave's parents house, we sold a lot of stuff on Craig's List.  A LOT.  So we had this giant wad of cash and as it grew, we decided to make it our vacation fund.  We knew we'd only end up with enough for a weekend away, someplace close that we could drive to.  We decided to go to Portland since I'd never been there, they had great restaurants with amazing food, and we would be able to walk the whole city or ride our bikes all around.  We'd initially scheduled the trip for this coming weekend, but Dave has to travel for work on Sunday and as I tried to find another weekend to go, it seemed the best price on the hotel we wanted during the summer would be to go right away. So we did.

We left work on Friday and drove up to Maine, checking into the Residence Inn Marriott on Fore Street.  We booked a Brew with a View package, which included a bucket of beers and other swag from Shipyard Brewing Company just next door to the hotel.  And when we checked in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a suite on the top floor with a view of the harbor.  Not bad.

We settled in, cleaned up and then headed off to dinner at David's Restaurant, which had some pretty good reviews on OpenTable and a nice menu.  The night was cool, but summery and there were people walking about, but very little vehicle traffic, typical of the city--or at least the Old Port and Theatre District areas.  The restaurant was at Monument Square and there were street performers entertaining quite a large crowd when we got to the square.  The restaurant was very busy but we got seated at a table at the bar right away thanks to my making a reservation as Dave pulled off the highway.

We ordered drinks (a lovely Manhattan for me and a gin drink for Dave) and settled into the menu.  The dishes all sounded great and there was a good variety from pizza to entrees. Dave opted for the clam chowder with bacon (because it had bacon) and the open-faced lobster ravioli, which ended up coming with shrimp and scallops in a bisque-like sauce.  I ordered the garden salad and the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy.  Everything was delicious.  The presentation was lovely, our waitress was very sweet and it was definitely the perfect way to start our weekend.  We finished by splitting a piece of snickers cheesecake and headed back to the hotel.

We thought about stopping into a bar on the way back, but instead decided to head to the hotel lounge which was featuring happy hour.  Dave ordered a beer and I got a cocktail and we sat in the lovely plush chairs making our plan for the next day.

Not that it mattered what we planned since we woke up to rain.  No biking for us.  After breakfast from the hotel buffet, we took a walk to the Eastern Promenade, just to take a look out at the ocean.  The rain was pretty steady and the wind was pretty awful.  But it was a decent walk.  And along the way, we made a friend.

After our walk, we went to Maine Mead Works where they make Honeymaker Mead.  I'd never had mead before, but Dave had (much to his chagrin).  But we like these kinds of tours, and neither of us really knew anything about mead, and they were offering a tasting so why not.  We walked in and were greeted by Ron, who I think is the owner.  He gave us a tour (just the two of us, which was kind of cool) and told us all about how they make mead, how they are growing, and how they get the different flavors.  It was all very cool and unique.  Very "microbrew" is concept, but totally scalable, it was very interesting to talk to the business owner on one of these tours.  We ended with a tasting, and two other couples ended up coming in to join as well.

Let me talk about the tasting: this was cool.  Like I said, I'd never had it before, but I really liked the honey flavor that defines this mead.  It's crisp and slightly sweet, but not like a sweet wine.  And there's still a slight element of it being a cousin to beer.  Dave and I both really liked the Blueberry, so we bought a bottle and are looking forward to having it at home.

After the mead tasting (and being a bit tipsy), we went to lunch at Duckfat, which may be the actual reason we chose to go to Portland at all.  Several years ago we saw this restaurant featured on Phantom Gourmet and they positively raved about the fries, which are cooked in--can you guess?--duck fat. Those fries totally lived up to the hype.  They were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, perfectly seasoned and just pure joy.  We ordered the Truffle Ketchup and the Sweet and Spicy Mustard Mayo. The ketchup was good but completely took away from the flavor of the fries, while the mustard mayo was a really nice compliment.  Dave ordered their Spicy Italian panini and I went with the special BBQ Beef Brisket panani.  We were both utterly satisfied at having braved the rainy weather to venture to this restaurant.  It was busy and we sat at the bar, but the staff were friendly and very much on top of things.  We'll absolutely be headed back there.

The completely nondescript front door of Duckfat, which has no sign, just a little lettering on the door.

After lunch, we visited Shipyard Brewing Company for a video tour (a little history of the brewery), a peek at their bottling line (the largest in Maine) and a bit of a tasting, both of the beers and Captain Eli's soda, which they also make and sell.  It was a big crowd for the tour, including a bachelor party and a bachelorette party (not related).  The best part was noticing that the guys with the bachelor party insisted the groom wear a hot pink sash with the title "It's all about me."  I can only imagine the ruckus caused by that conversation in the morning.  Although I also enjoyed that the tour started in a room filled with church pews and awards the brewing company has won.

The beer was very good; I'd never had it before (Dave had one of the bottles left in our room the night before), but I liked it.  And apparently their pumpkin beer (Pumpkinhead) is supposed to be amazing.  Given my love of the Harpoon Pumpkin UFO, I think a taste test is in order this fall.

We headed back to our room to digest (or sober up, we'd had a bit of alcohol from the tastings and it wasn't even happy hour yet) and watched movies.  We scoured menus, maps and brochures trying to pick a place for dinner.  Dave settled on Gilbert's Chowder House based on their award winning chowders and the fact that he was pretty sure it was a complete dive (not quite complete, but close). 

We braved the rain one more time, but I must admit, we lost this battle.  Gilbert's is on the last street perpendicular to the wharfs, so between the driving rain (it was pouring at this point) and the wind, we never stood a chance.  Rain coats and umbrellas were only good for keeping our heads dry  Walking to the restaurant, the rain drove right into our left sides, drenching us completely from the waste down.  We settled into our dinners (fried shrimp for Dave and a grilled chicken salad for me), enjoyed our beers, and drip-dried (somewhat) at our table that was luckily placed near the heater.  Besides being wet and rainy, the weather was also quite chilly, never getting out of the mid-fifties and probably dipping into the forties with the wind chill.  Luckily we emerged to a slightly lighter rain so that our right side didn't bear the wet brutality that we endured getting to our dinner.

Back in our room, cozy and dry, we called it a night, despite desperately wanting to go get dessert or even just get a drink somewhere.  But we'd pretty much had our fill of walking in the rain (and didn't have any dry pants other than pajamas).

Sunday was still rainy, but less intense.  After breakfast, we packed up and checked out.  Instead of leaving right away, we drove down to the other end of Fore Street and hoped to find some shops open.  We found Cool as a Moose which is a fun and funky gift shop with moose and Maine related paraphernalia among other amusing goods.  We poked around for a while and then bought a couple fun T-shirts for Dave, a pair of moose pajama pants for me and a baby gift for a friend.  By the time we were done browsing and shopping, East End Cupcakes was open.  So we stopped in for the dessert we didn't get the night before: a Funfetti Cupcake for Dave and a Salted Carmel Dark Chocolate Cupcake for me.  We didn't eat them until we go home, but I think we were both a little disappointed.  The frosting was pretty good (although I tasted mostly caramel until my last bite which was full of salt) but the cake was a little dry.  Pretty little desserts, but we'll likely try another bakery next time we visit.

We headed out of Portland but decided to stop in Kittery, Maine, for some outlet shopping.  We found a few things (well, found a few things that I wasn't looking for; Dave did not find anything that he was looking for) and then searched for a place for a late lunch.  We found Warren's Lobster House which sits right on the water.  We were surprised for how busy, but luckily were seated right away and had a booth overlooking the water.  Warren's has a pretty extensive salad bar with lots of goodies, so I enjoyed that with my chicken, while Dave added crab cakes and fried clams . 

We had a lovely lunch, watched the weird little birds trying to catch fish (some sort of gull or cousin of a seagull, but way smaller than you'd expect) and tried to transition from vacation mode.  For a last minute trip, and in spite of the terrible weather, we had a really great weekend.  The only thing we didn't get to do was ride our bikes, which just means we have to go back again.  Luckily it's only a 2 hour drive, so I think I convince Dave to go back.  Especially if I promise to stuff him full of seafood again.