Pahk the cah in Hahvuhd Yahd...

A quick trip into the city yesterday... 

... found me parked in Harvard Square outside one of Harvard's 

exquisite iron gates and gorgeous old buildings 

while Amanda ran a few quick errands.

I absolutely love this city.

Meanwhile, back at home, the bluebirds have returned.

It's hard to resist a plentiful supply of mealworms, suet, seed, and fresh water...

 once the weather turns cold.

This poor little guy is waiting patiently for Mr. Bluebird to finish with his suet.

I cannot believe the year is almost over. My mother used to say, 

the older you get, the quicker time flies. How true. 

Hoping you are all warm and cozy as this year comes to a close...

Donna

Mother's Day continued...

On Mother's Day, we split our time between Harvard Sq. in Cambridge and The Public Garden in Boston...

(click any photos to enlarge)

While walking around the streets of Cambridge I snapped this beautiful bouquet to share with you...


And this was the view from the 4th level of the parking garage ... a cute little outdoor cafe beneath a boutique...


...and beautiful row houses...



The girls had fun in front of this mirrored window....

And I had fun snapping them!

A foxy door knocker....

... and a marker in front of the John Hicks house...

... so beautiful... so New England!

We stopped for dessert and coffee in Cambridge... My iced mocha was 2-die-4!

And yes, I ate the whole thing.

After Cambridge it was time to visit The Public Garden. In my last post I shared the Make Way for Ducklings statues.

The swan boats were not running on Sunday...

Perhaps because it was soooo windy... Or maybe they don't run on Mother's Day? I'm not sure.

But we had fun strolling through the gardens, seeing all the beautiful sites...

...and stopping to listen to a street musician who was braving the chilly weather.

It was so much fun to be able to spend time together, and my girls spoiled me with heartfelt cards. Amanda even painted a portrait for me of my beautiful Casper, the great dane I adopted long before my girls came along...

It's supposed to be much warmer this weekend - and less windy - so hopefully we'll get a lot accomplished out in the backyard!

Donna

Boston you're my home...

Thanks to both of my girls going to school in the city, I've come to know and appreciate Boston over the past several years in a way I never did before...


I took the above photo last summer. The tall building on the left is the Hancock Tower and the tall building on the right is The Prudential Center... I'm still not all that comfortable driving in city traffic if I don't know where I'm going, but there are some parts of the city that I could drive blindfolded, I've come to know them so well...


Here we are heading toward Kenmore Square after day 2 of moving Courtney into her apartment a couple of weeks ago. Amanda spent most of her college years in the Kenmore area so I feel pretty comfortable here. Way off in the distance, straight ahead, is Boston's well known Citgo sign.


As we head up Brookline Street toward Commonwealth Ave. we pass right by Fenway Park.... (you can see The Prudential Center off in the distance, center of photo)...


Fenway is one of the most historic ballparks in the U.S., along with Wrigley Field in Chicago...


... and it's here at the Comm Ave. intersection that we see the huge CITGO sign that's so much a part of Boston and the games at Fenway Park.


Here we are at the same intersection the following night, with the CITGO sign all lit up. Click CITGO SIGN to read a fun little article on the history of this landmark (along with some little-known facts - bet you didn't know it has been used to time contractions!!)


Now we've turned onto Commonwealth Avenue (straight ahead on the left is The Hancock Tower again, and through the trees you see The Prudential)... The large tan building with the red tile roof that you see on the other side of the overpass is the old Somerset Hotel, now a luxury condominium building...


....but back in the sixties when it was The Somerset, it was a key player in a day that I will never forget... Maybe some day I'll share that little story!


While the old Somerset Hotel is at one end of the block, The Eliot Hotel is at the other end of the block (corner of Commonwealth and Mass Ave)... How ironic that in the forties, fond memories were being made for my mom and her friends at The Eliot Lounge, while 20 years later in the sixties unforgettable memories were being made for me at The Somerset.


Now we're at the corner of Newbury and Clarendon... I was parked on the side of the road waiting for Amanda when I happened to glance out the window...


Now I don't usually scare too easily in broad daylight, but I must admit that my heart skipped a beat when I met the gaze of the woman across the street... She was standing so still and staring right at me...

When Amanda got back to the car I insisted she take my camera and run across the street to get some better photos...

It wasn't until we were on our way that we realized that she was a street performer and had a little jar set out for donations... So Miss Street Performer/Statue... If you are reading this I promise I will put a donation in your jar next time!! Your costume and makeup were awesome!!

So after a l-o-n-g week of moving both girls into their apartments, assembling furniture, and a zillion other things, we stopped to grab a bite on our way home at the UNO's overlooking Porter Square in Cambridge. It was a lovely ending to a long week!!! I'm so fortunate to have two girls in the city so I have lots of excuses to visit it often!!

Donna