Thanksgiving In Boston

My sister Sarah, her husband Bill and their two kids, Ava and Braxton, moved into a new house this fall. In honor of the first holiday in their new digs, we all found our way to Boston to celebrate. It was also Margot's first Thanksgiving which made it extra special, too.

As many trips home begin, this one started before dawn on Thanksgiving morning. We left the house just after 4am in order to catch our flight at 6:30am. Everything went smoothly and we landed in Boston around 7:45am. Though it can be exhausting, we love traveling early.

Margot being the good traveller she is, at BWI airport.

Priscilla, Tucker, my mom, and Sarah

 Our first Thanksgiving day photo!

 Margot and her auntie Sarah

 Margot playing with her new giraffe while the grown ups ate dinner.

Thanksgiving day paparazzi was in full-effect with my dad, me, and my aunt Nancy who visited us from Cape Cod.

 We walked the neighborhood after dinner...

 and Margot took a snooze.

 The houses in West Roxbury are beautiful! For a long time, it's been an Irish Catholic neighborhood; all of the neighbors have names like O'Connell, O'Brien, McDonough, etc.  Though the history of the neighborhood is interesting, demographics are starting to change, and we like that:)

 My mom and Priscilla, chatting as they walk the pooches.

 On Friday, we bundled up and took the commuter rail into the city. 

 Sarah and Braxton, Priscilla, Dad, and Mom on the train.

 I love this...here's the guy who punched our tickets. No machine or computer involved. 

 Dad, Sarah, me, and Braxton in front of the library in Copley Square.

 Tucker, Margot (sunbathing) and me in front of Trinity Church. The new rector from Trinity preached at our church on Capitol Hill last year just after he was ordained. We loved him!

 The Public Gardens....Braxton and Ava went nuts!

 The Make Way For Ducklings bronze ducks are a popular tourist spot.

 Braxton, Ava, and Margot tore it up at the playground. It felt like a lot of kids had been 

cooped up for too long!

 Sarah, my dad, Tucker, and Priscilla strolling along Commonwealth Ave as Bill, my mom, the kids and I followed along.

 Only in Boston: this Irish Social Club has recently been revived and opens only on Sunday nights. Apparently, it's quite the spawt!

 After a long day, Sarah and Margot snuggled.

Oh Boston...I will always love (and probably always miss) that city. 

Girls Night in Baltimore

Last weekend, my sweet friend Jen flew down from Newburyport, MA to spend the weekend in Baltimore with our friend Kelley and me. We turned Saturday into a day of going to the spa, eating lots of yummy food, and even getting our hair dos done!

At the Fork and Wrench. So delicious!

We celebrated Jen's birthday and she was serenaded with a lovely rendition of happy birthday.
Gor-geous. 

  

Me and Kelley, looking oh-so-glamorous.

On Sunday, Tucker and Margot drove up to meet us for brunch at Mama's. We ate lots of oysters...

and caught up with Dan and Stokie!

Margot says "hooray for girls weekend!"

And Then There Were Walls!

Things are moving along well. We hope to start tiling next week!

Looking towards the stairs. 

Yes, there will be a height limit, but 6'4" and under will fit! 

Looking through where the pocket doors will be to the front room.

Election Day, Near and Far

While Margot and I held down the fort at home, Tucker was in the great state of Montana, supporting the re-election campaign of Senator John Tester, and also President Obama. In the past, Tucker has spent the weeks leading up to the election in such majestic places such as Florida and Nevada. This time, when given the choice between Ohio and Montana, he chose the latter.

Tucker snapped these pics while out canvasing near Butte.

Back in Takoma Park, Margot waiting in line to cast her ballot. She was very disappointed when she realized you have to be 18 to vote!

As we were walking to the car, I heard a man say in a booming voice "Excuse me, may I ask you a few questions about your voting experience?" I turned around and it was Armando Trull, a reporter for our local NPR station, WAMU. The brief interview was aired during Morning Edition, about 25 minutes after he recorded it. I felt famous! 

This past election day was a memorable one, as election days go. Not only because we were so eager to see the results of the presidency race but also because of the many ballot initiatives in Maryland.  At issue was the expansion of casino gambling, equal rights for gay couples, and the DREAM Act where students who are non- US citizens can attend a Maryland state University and pay in state tuition.  Thankfully, we now have equal rights for gay couples in Maryland and no matter a child's immigration status in the state, they will have an affordable option for college.  Not so wonderful is that we will also have the expansion of casinos in our state. We'll see how that plays out...

Sandy

I am counting my blessings.

This storm came down hard on us for hours on end, and by some miracle, we never lost power or sustained any damage. Thank God.

On Monday night, we all slept in the living room together, just in case any trees fell on the house. Tucker and I slept on the couch and Margot was in the Pack n Play, waking up every few hours,  confused, wondering why she wasn't in her crib. It was a relief to wake up at 4am to the tranquility of rain drops only. The wind had finally stopped.

We are the exception with this storm, though, and many people are struggling to figure out what to do next. For some people, the devastation they're experiencing will have a profound effect on their lives and the lives of their neighbors for years to come. For some communities, this storm is like an instant recession where suddenly there are no jobs and no money to fuel the economy. I keep asking myself: "what would I do if that was me?" as it so easily could have been. I'd probably do what many are doing now: putting one foot in front of the other, and praying for grace and compassion from those who can help.

Sandy has highlighted two important points for me.

The first was raised by Governor Cuomo who said that we need to take a step back and see what's going on from a climate change perspective and acknowledge that these once-in-a-lifetime disasters are now regular occurrences. We need to own our contributions to these weather patterns and plan strategically and economically at local, state, and federal levels so that we can address the needs that arise when these now regularly occurring crises hit. (Think: 100 year flood in North Dakota,  1+ year drought in Texas, Irene, Katrina, Snowmageddon, Tsunami, wild fires in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, etc.)

This is where the validity of FEMA comes in. There has been a lot of negative banter about FEMA and how disaster relief would best be handled exclusively by state and local governments through block grants and relying on the charity of others. This article (and many others) summed up for me why FEMA still needs to remain in tact, the way it was designed to work in times of great need. Bravo to the leadership in our country that is ensuring that our relief workers respond quickly and efficiently, without hesitation to our most vulnerable. Some of these heroes are working to restore my aunts neighborhood which is struggling to get back on its feet.  She has shared with me how the experience of enduring a storm like this is unsettling, and in some ways, breaks your heart.

Sandy has left the east coast reeling, though the only future I can imagine is one where our communities and spirit come back even stronger than before. Still, I wonder how these events will effect Margot's perception of the world and what she will assume is "normal" for these kinds of events.

I'm not sure what the whole message is here, but I think the conversation needs to continue.

A Little More Improvement

Yesterday, some custom made furniture arrived. Ok, so they were just radiator covers, but somehow, they make our house feel a little more polished and a just a little more grown up. 

For three years and counting, our project of sprucing up this house continues. We're also making it a little safer for a certain 10-month-old's curious paws which seem to be covering every square inch of the house these days.

Our bedroom.

Margot's room.

The living room.

I think Tenny's going to love these additions, too.

Happy Halloween

Last night, we took our duckling to a neighborhood Halloween party. The kids were buzzing around eating and playing, while the adults caught up and sipped on some grown up bevies. We took Margot home just past her bedtime, and then handed out our 5 bags of candy to all our visitors until about 9pm.  

Nights like last night give me such a good feeling about where we live. I love that we know our neighbors, our houses flow from one to the next as if our lawns were connected, and we all look out for one another. It's not a fancy neighborhood or an exclusive neighborhood; it's a good place to live.  It's  home:)