Spook by Mary Roach

For awhile now, Holly has had an interesting book out on her coffee table. She picked it up for spring break reading, and loved it. I admit at first I was drawn to it because it was shiny - there are two little reflective mirrors on the front. Then I flipped through a few of the chapters and went out and bought a copy for myself because it was so amusing and fascinating!

The book is called Spook, and it's written by Mary Roach. She's a freelance writer who writes hip and funny articles, and she came out with a book called Stiff, which was about the weird things that modern society uses corpses for... apparently more than just your run-of-the-average medical uses. Spook is billed as a scientific look at the afterlife. She's a skeptic, but she goes into a lot of fascinating situations with an open mind. She looks at both historical attempts to study to soul, the afterlife, etc.. and then looks around at what's going on today. She goes to India to visit a scientist who interviews poor rural children who are supposedly reincarnated.. she travels to England to take a "how to become a medium" class.. she learns about electromagnetic field testing, which is supposed to be a scientific explanation for hauntings.. and is horrifed at Cambridge University to discover what they hold in a small box in their archives (read to find its true disgustingness! It has to do with ectoplasm, and where it supposedly was secreted by female mediums in the early 1900s... I would NOT want to be the archivist who had to box this thing up!)

And so on an so forth. She has an engaging writing style - at once both hilarious and also very scientific and informative. And while she doesn't end with any earth-shattering conclusions, it's a heck of a fun journey along the way.

PS I am determined to use my genealogical detective skills to find out who Dr. Duncan Macdougall's "Patient 1" was who died in Dorchester's Cullis Consumptive Home in 1901. Macdougall was determined that the soul left the body upon death and had to have a weight.. upon Patient 1's death in the presence of several doctors and a precise scale, he lost 3/4 ounce.. known today by Hollywood as 21 grams, the supposed weight of the soul.

I didn't know "grill" was a natural flavor...

Matt sometimes spots food at the supermarket that boasts unusual (and sometimes, quite frankly, just plain strange) flavors, and is often compelled to buy and eat them, simply to have the experience and see what it tastes like.

The other day, he spotted steak-flavored potato chips. What consists of steak-flavor, you ask? Well apparently...
(heh heh heh.. ok, so actually they were pretty tasty!!)

U2charist Globe Slideshow

Apparently the reporter at the service was from the Globe! Check out the article about it today, and also an audio slideshow.

Greta & I are featured on the first slide on the left-hand side (me in green, Greta in blue):

U2charist

On Sunday, I had a wonderful experience with my friend Greta. We attended a U2charist at St. Andrew's in Framingham. She had read a recent article in People magazine about it, and had heard that there was going to be one held in the area, so she asked me to come along. I'm glad I did!

So what is a U2charist? According to their website, "A U2charist is an Episcopal Eucharist service that features the music of the rock band U2 and a message about God's call to rally around the Millennium Development Goals." In 2000, 189 countries, including the US, supported the Millennium Declaration, whose development goals are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger .
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainabilty.
8. Create a global partnership for development with targets for aid, trade and debt relief.
Bono of U2 is a "global ambassador" of these goals.

The service itself was great. In many ways it reminded me of a variety of Catholic retreats I have been on. I was curious to see if the music would be done by a choir, band, or recorded (I do love music ministry, after all!). It turns out it was arranged like a powerpoint presentation, with the songs accompanied on a large overhead screen that had the lyrics to the songs and interesting facts about the songs themselves.

Since this was a special event, the church was really crowded, and some interaction with the audience revealed that people had come from all over New England. The U2Charist team itself comes from York, Maine, and travels to different parishes. It's led by Reverend Paige Blair, who was very enthusiastic and genuine. She had previously been involved in Episcopalian youth ministry (she was describing a girl's leadership retreat she had run in the past) and she had great charisma. Although the U2charist is not specifically a youth-based service, many young people were in attendance and knew all the words. Most everyone was up and dancing during the musical portions, and attentive during the sermon (based upon global poverty and ways the average parishioner could make a difference) and regular parts of the church service.

Here's an article about the service from the Boston Globe. There was a reporter at the church taking photos (some of us!) but I didn't spot any articles in the major Boston newspapers about it yesterday.

I found it very refreshing to hear women reverends. Both the U2Charist leader and the reverend of St. Andrew's were relatively young women. Perhaps it was their youth in additional to their gender, but they were each very welcoming, profound, and sincere in their discussions with the parish. I do love the Catholic Church, but after an event like this it makes me think about how much the church is missing out on by not fully incorporating women into its hierarchy.

Our new bedroom

Here's our new queen-sized bed (with a wonderful new mattress and bedding). I am usually drawn towards blues and greens in fabrics, but Matt spotted and really liked this chocolate color with red accents. I really like it, and think it looks great with the cherry wood.


The bed's design is inspired by Shaker craftsmanship, and I love the details on the headboard and footboard:


We also bought a matching dresser:

Our New Guest Room/Study

Jordan's Furniture delivered today! Matt has a little time off before he begins his next project at work, so we had fun setting up our bedroom and the guest room. We still need a few accessories, but the rooms look good!

Before: we didnt have much to fill our study with beyond our computers and one bookshelf (plus lots of things still in boxes!)


After: we moved our full-sized bed into the guest room, bought new bedding and a lighthouse/nautical theme


After: with a second bookshelf, we have a bit more room for storage

Our run-in with fame

Yesterday we journeyed to Jordan's Furniture for a new bed, mattress, chest and bookcase. (Being delivered this week, so more photos to follow!)

As we were exiting, who walked right past us, in all of his pony-tailed glory? The man himself. Jordan's Furniture president Eliot Tatelman!!

Jordan's Furniture brothers Barry (l) and Eliot (r):

It was very exciting!! Now to search YouTube for the countless funny Jordan's Furniture commercials that they have made over the years...

Christening of the trifle bowl!!

Although I love trifles, it feels a bit greedy to make them with just the two of us. But that is about to change, because Holly is coming to dinner on Friday. My favorite is chocolate, but she has requested strawberries, so here is a sneak peek of my delicious creation:

99 Yellow Balloons...

I've been keeping an eye out on our balcony recently to get a sense of how much sun hits the balcony and from what angles throughout the day. With the coming of warm weather, my thoughts are turning to gardening.. though we have no garden! So we will set up a few small container gardens with some flowers and maybe a few veggies & herbs.

When I went to check this morning, I found a visitor:

A Night on the Town

Tonight Greta came into Boston for dinner with our group of Northeastern ladies. It was really fun to meet up with everyone and run the conversational gamut from serious to hilarious. From Jacki's job prospects to Sara's wedding plans to Jen's stories to Greta's new job and thoughts about the future, (and pining for Natyra's cheesecake despite her bronchitis!) it was wonderful to catch up with everyone.

I had my favorite cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory - Chocolate Tuxedo:


If you have never been to the Cheesecake Factory, GET THEE TO IT!! =)

Update

A brief update: After a great deal of thought and discussion, we have decided to remain here on the East Coast. Thanks to everyone who offered great advice, loving support, and prayers.

Hiking Along the Powerlines

Today I went hiking down the powerlines with some of the kids for an afternoon adventure. Took some great photos along the way!

Throwing rocks in an icy pond



The gang


Joe the Monkey


Walking down the powerlines


Erica, Julie, Nikki, Jamie, Joe on a gate

Who says books have to be dusty?

Here's a transferred post from my history blog, Aug 2006

The magnificent Margo tagged this book meme to my marvelous Mum, and she has tagged me, so I am it! I rarely do memes, but here's one of substance just for you, Dear Reader! Here goes... (if you search, you might even find some cemetery-related book-age going on here!)

1. One book that changed your life: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It had been recommended to me by a favorite English teacher, and I was very much captivated by the passion and power of the writing. It turned me on to a great deal of Harlem Renaissance fiction. I was captivated by Ellison's ability to write about music in his stories, and have the words themselves be musical and evoke jazz. It was the first time I came to understand that I myself think musically, and that others did too.

2. One book that you've read more than once: While I have been known to devour hefty obscure intellectual tomes, the sort of books I tend to read over and over with zest are typically novels by Stephen King. His Dark Tower series I have reread many times, often in anticipation of the next book (although he just finished the last book recently.. I do hate to lose characters I know and love!) I love mystery, suspense, odd characters and a good scare (not so much gore, however.. I much prefer scary books to scary movies). And Stephen King also makes me laugh. Check out his website sometime, and read his blog messages! Although I do not reread his books immediately... I must give a horror novel enough time for me to get hazy on the details and surprises, so that it is more enjoyable of a reread.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: Ok, so I just Googled this because I figured there had to be a book about surviving on a desert island. "SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea" shows how to make fires, what plants to eat, and comes with easy to interpret diagrams! I am a big fan of diagrams in How-To books. But if the desert island in question was part of a vacation destination, then I'd just want some trashy magazines (Cosmo?) to read by the ocean. Although even then I probably wouldnt get a tan.. I can dream, though!

4. One book that made you laugh: I absolutely adore Terry Pratchett, a British humorist. Matt had almost the entire Discworld series, and once I became hooked too, we finished them off.. and eagerly await each new book! (Too hard to wait for them to come out in paperback!) Of note: when Matt proposed to me, I had been reading through Pratchett's "Art of Discworld".

5. One book that made you cry: One of my favorite poets, Walt Whitman, has numerous printed versions of his "Leaves of Grass" and other poems. I have a collection of some of his works, and during my freshman year of college I was debating whether or not to attend a midnight session of the Dead Poets Society at Brown under the Marcus Aurelius statue.

The entrance requirement is to read aloud a poem, and I had sent several emails back and forth to Nannie debating which poem to choose. She wrote that one of her favorite poems of his is "Youth, Day, Old Age and Night":
Youth, large, lusty, loving--youth full of grace, force, fascination,
Do you know that Old Age may come after you with equal grace,
force, fascination?

Day full-blown and splendid-day of the immense sun, action,
ambition, laughter,
The Night follows close with millions of suns, and sleep and
restoring darkness.
That was her last email to me before she passed away. I cried rereading it in the collection, but love and appreciate it all the more.

6. One book that you wish you had written: Perhaps "Here Be Dragons" by Sharon Kay Penman. I love historical fiction, and always admire scholars or authors who have the ability to take documents and myths of historical figures and can turn those into engaging stories that can bring to life people and places from long ago.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: Hard to say. At work I am archiving a great deal of hate-literature from various groups, which certainly has spawned many hateful and harmful opinions and actions over the years. While such thoughts and actions certainly exist without the written word, there is substantial power that is given to thoughts when they are put down on paper. Great words can inspire greatness, just as horrible words can inspire horror.

8. One book you're currently reading: So many!! I just received all of my birthday presents from Matt this past weekend, of which there were tons of books: a medieval mystery series and "Sunne in Splendour"(by Sharon Kay Penman), "A Midwife's Tale" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, some Christopher Moore books (a new humor-writer we have been reading.. found him in Borders because of his bright cover colors!), the first three years of the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" (that I am sharing with Mom!), and "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana" by Umberto Eco, a long-time favorite author of mine. So there are many to be read... just as I am about to purchase my graduate textbooks! We'll see how they are prioritized =)

9. One book you've been meaning to read: My friend Jojo who is working down at Colonial Williamsburg recently sent me "Pox Americana", a book about smallpox in the Revolutionary War. I had written a paper about smallpox cemeteries in New England, so she sent this to me as a fun gift. I had mailed her a book and labeled it to her with "Master Seamstress" sandwiched between her first and last name because she is creating old-fashioned costumes in Williamsburg, so when she mailed me this book, it came labeled to me with the phrase "Smallpox is Cool" sandwiched between my name! I am surprised the post office didnt have a heart attack! So beyond it's fun packaging, the book looks great too!

Tag: I tag Holly. Now its your turn!

Big Decisions

Last week, Matt received a wonderful and unexpected surprise - a superb job offer on the West Coast. The job itself seems to be ideal - the project sounds intriguing and fulfilling. The recommended towns to live in sound pretty good too - right on the beach, with a short commute that does not involve driving through the majorly congested Los Angeles highways!

On the other hand, we need a decision quickly - we would move in less than a month. I still have a year left in my graduate program, and my professional interests lie in New England history and museums. From what we have researched, there are very few graduate programs near the job that would fit my needs (in fact, I have only found one program within an hour radius), and few job/internship opportunities. The move would be permanent, and probably last several years (we both agree that we want to raise a family in MA). Additionally, Matt also loves his current job.

Each choice has a long list of pros and cons, which we have been discussing in-depth each day. Our family and friends have been wonderfully supportive. Our decision will be made soon - please send us your thoughts and prayers!

These are the moments...

Today was a day filled with many small moments, that added up to a big day:
- having a wonderful conversation with Mom (and a tasty lunch!)
- getting to the train station and realizing I had forgotten to check to see if I had enough cash to buy a ticket. When I opened my wallet, I had the exact amount
- taking the train to Holly's and having a wonderful conversation with her
- pulling up to the Museum of Fine Arts train stop, and having the door open, revealing my friend An waiting on the other side! Although we only got to catch up for one more train stop, it was a delight to see him

Wedding photos!

Our wedding photos arrived in the mail! It was so hard to choose from, our photographer (the wonderful Amy Braga) also had an assistant with her for the day of the wedding, so between the two of them, they took a ton of pictures! We finally sorted through them all and chose our favorites.

Here's a few:

Mary & Matt & Father Hannon:

The kiss!

The delicious, delicious cake (must we wait to eat it on our one-year anniversary? It looks so tempting in the freezer!)

Mary's family:

Matt's family:

The wedding party:

(all photographs are copyright of Amy Braga)

A trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

My younger sister Julie and Mom decided to take a trip into Boston today. Julie's been exploring some of the art museums, and has been working on her portfolio. She thought perhaps the MFA would have some good pieces for inspiration. So I came down to Boston for the day to go exploring with them.

We ended up going to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum instead, since Julie had never been. It's Mom's favorite museum, and a wonderful place to see. Several months ago I went to visit with Greta, but there are always new things to discover every time you walk through. Isabella (quite a character and force of nature unto herself!) collected art and architectural features from all over the world, and built a house on the Fenway for the express purpose of showcasing her magnificent collections. She hosted lavish parties in the center of the house, an open garden, which can be viewed from any level of the house.

My favorite John Singer Sargent painting (El Jaleo, 1882) is wonderful to view up close:

In the midst of all of the beautiful works, there are grim reminders of the museum's recent tragedy: empty frames scattered throughout the house. In 1990, the largest American art theft was launched, in which thieves disguised as Boston police officers broke into the museum in the night and stole some of the most valuable works, including some Rembrandts. A recent documentary called Stolen in about the hunt for the culprits - rumors of Boston mafia involvement still abound, and a $5 million reward from the FBI is still active.

We had a fun time at the museum, then went to Friday's for lunch, and walked along Huntington Avenue where we took some photographs of the plaque for Mom's cousin James Gibbons, who was killed in a Boston fire. We then took a brief tour of the campus, as Mom is interested in applying and is coming up again next week for a graduate program open house at Northeastern.

Unforgettable...

Excess packaging!

Awhile ago I purchased a small, soft-cover case for my digital camera. The case is great, and has served me and my camera well.

But the ratio of item-to-packaging was a bit outrageous when it came in the mail:

Greetings, Dear Reader

Hello!

I have written themed-blogs in the past on genealogy and history, but this will be a place for my personal musings and stories.

Enjoy!