Puddle Jumping

This week we are finally enjoying some sunny days in Cambridge. I was beginning to worry we brought that overcast, rainy weather with us from Seattle. However, East coast rain is a little more substantial than West coast rain. Truth be told, I was excited to hear thunder again and see puddles building up on these old uneven streets.

I spent my walk home from work dodging little lakes, but perhaps by Autumn we'll need to invest in some puddle jumpers!

via {this is glamorous}

Our First Week, Part 1

Our first Boston week has come and gone, and already I'm losing track of the days. I realize I haven't written much lately despite and due to all that's been going on. Here's a rundown at some length, for those of you interested and my own record...I've separated this week into two parts to break it up a bit. Hang on for part two! If you'd like to skip the wordy details, there will be pictures below! :)

Our last few days in Washington were easy. We were kept busy most of the week before packing boxes and selling the last of our things. By Friday (the 28th) we had shipped out most everything and were quite relieved. Nathan had rented a car for the day to finish running errands, so after a large FedEx trip we enjoyed one last trip to Burgermaster and the Crest Cinema (finally saw Alice in Wonderland!)

Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning and finding homes for leftover free items...so much stuff, ugh...now that we're here, I hate to buy some of those same things again. Anyway, on Sunday we finished packing our suitcases, all 4, and stayed at a hotel to get out of our empty apartment. My friend Naomi had a housewarming party, so we were able to say goodbye to all my friends...sad, but a fun night too. We took a cab to the airport on Monday and with one straight through 5-hour flight, we made it to Boston! We arrived late, so we stayed at a hotel and ordered Chinese food...I think this is our ceremonial meal of choice for any new place.

We settled into our new apartment on Tuesday, or at least dropped all our bags. We wandered the streets a while before grabbing a pizza around the corner at Angelo's--cheap and delicious! A fall-back for this cook's lazy nights. Wednesday was hot and humid, but we managed to take a walk to the Paper Source store so I could talk with the manager--all went well because I am the new shift supervisor! :) Happily employed in my first week, a pleasant contrast to my arrival in Washington. Nathan waited for me at a coffee shop down the street, and we had gyros after the meeting. We then picked up Metro passes and took the T down to MIT. The trains are easy and a lot like Chicago's system, so we felt at home. MIT sits right next to the Charles River and overlooks the Boston skyline.

After two days of eating out we made a grocery trip on Thursday. A large grocery, a la Safeway, is a mile away and on a frequent bus route. I was pleased to find that most things are even less expensive than in Washington. I feel like something else happened this day, but I've already forgotten. hm.

Friday, we went to Target...got a little lost on the bus, but eventually made it there. That night we went to a diner around the corner called Zoe's. I had a mushroom reuben--how awesome is that? Vegetarian dream, that's how awesome. :) Apparently they have amazing frappes, but we'll have to go back and let you know.

Saturday morning we awoke to an alarm in our building that continued to beep for 2 hours, no lie. I had to call the management company to check it out. Right after, the bulk of our FedEx boxes arrived and were hauled upstairs. I was a tad grumpy by this point, but a trip to the big library across the street made the day better. The old stone portion of the library has been connected to a new glass expansion, and it's beautiful. We now have library cards and access to books from all over Boston! Woohoo!

Afterward we took the train to the South End to visit the neighborhood where Nathan goes for work. He showed me his building and the beautiful old brownstones along the street. We walked a short way up to Boston Common and then had lunch at a pub across the street. A long but fun day! I hope all this walking pays off, but for all the eating we like to do, it probably won't. ;)

Phew! And that is our first week in Boston/Cambridge!

Last night in Seattle: Pasta Party! Oh, how I'm missing these awesome ladies!

The dome at MIT, with evidence of graduation celebration

The Harvard Lampoon building, apparently the site of humor publications, and a fun architectural neighbor

The library as seen from beneath the big willow tree. People love the park here too!

Brownstones in Boston's South End

Also in the South End, this amazing building. Almost like Paris.

Look, Mom! Revisiting Make Way for Ducklings at Boston Common. :)

The Washington Memorial at Boston Common

Hello from Beantown

Good Morning! We made it. We're here. Sigh of relief. We flew in late Monday night and on Tuesday started settling into our summer apartment in Cambridge. We have been taking long walks around the neighborhood trying to become familiar. Our task this morning is to venture out to a grocery. It has been pretty hot for these spoiled Northwest kids, but it's great to have some summer sun.

We are staying just a few blocks from the Harvard campus, which means...lovely parks, lots of restaurants, bars and cafes, cute shops and leafy tree lined streets. So far, I'm smitten. I think Nathan is loving it too. I'll leave you with just a few photos before we dash out!

Our building

A peek in our apartment

(I've never had a window in the bathroom, but I like the air and light.)

Bedroom, wall of windows, covered by trees...morning light and breezes :)

We live just diagonally across from the Cambridge Public Library and a huge park.

A view of Boston over the Charles River from Cambridge

Working on the Checklist

Another week gone in our last few weeks in Washington, a blur. It's been a little hectic (at least in my head). Fortunately, we've had a nicely balanced mix of work and leisure. We are crossing tasks off the list (it's posted on our fridge) but getting out and enjoying our final time here. What did we do this last week?

On Friday, we wanted to use up our City Passes, so we went to the Museum of Flight. We stayed a long time and tried to learn a lot about planes and space travel. I'd be hard pressed to remember anything technical, but it was very interesting.

Here is Nathan in a Blackbird spyplane, the fastest plane evah. He knew this before we got there. He was really excited.

I'm sitting in a plane too! It was very cramped in there. I'm too claustrophobic to be in the air force, sorry.

They have an outdoor park/airplane parking lot for famous jetliners. We got to walk through the original Air Force One! It had arrows to where JFK's stuff had been ("cupholder," "JFK's pipe holder"). I took Nathan's picture outside. It was a very lovely day.

In our last few weeks in Seattle, we found a really good diner. It is Randy's, next to the Museum of Flight. It is pink and orange and has airplane stuff all over. I think the Boeing employees must be regulars. The food was just alright. It was awesome.

On Sunday, I went to work and then visited Naomi on Capital Hill. We sat outside and had pizza (by the slice) and took Paddington to the dog park. We hung out with a dude and his pug. She sat in my lap for a long time. (!!!)

On Monday we planned, packed, put our stuff up on craigslist, and I made dinner. (Thanks for the shrimp, Melinda!) It turned out pretty darn good. Our apartment, however, still smells like shrimp.

I can't even remember what day it was we ran errands and ate at Gilbert's. Was it Monday? Anyways, we love Gilbert's. Nathan had a turkey sandwich with some kind of Russian dressing.
I had a tomato-mozzarella open-faced sandwich with capers. It's a favorite. (We've been going out to eat a lot ((too much?)) because there are so many food establishments we'll miss....I'm trying not to lament restaurants because I think we'll have equally good/better food options in Boston.)

...And then:
-Tuesday: I worked. We packed. We dealt with craigslist ads. We showed the van. Sold stuff. Oof.
-Wednesday: We scrubbed the van. We showed the van to 4 people. We called/emailed back and forth all day. It was very tiring. By the evening, I was frazzled. Then we went out to Trivia Night with friends (Nathan could finally come along!) and I felt a lot better. Love Trivia Night.
-Thursday: I went to work and Nathan handled more van inquiry. Agreed on a buyer. We packed. We sold stuff. We bought space bags for packing, and Nathan got new sneakers! Cute.
-Friday: We picked up the title from the post office. Van buyer came over. Van buyer took Nathan with him on expedition to the Licensing office. I bussed into Seattle for sushi lunch with a friend, came home. Nathan and I walked to bank with van monies. Friday night we bussed into Seattle for friend's birthday celebration at bbq and blues club. Good time! We bussed home. We were tired.
-Saturday: We just woke up. I will go to work this afternoon.

...stop. breathe. clear the mind. sip some coffee. take in some sun.

Did I tell you it's been busy?
Yes, but we've been getting a lot done and feeling better about our to-do list. Our accounts here are almost all taken care of, a good portion of our stuff is packed, a good portion is sold/selling. Friends and work are aware of our departure. Social plans are being made, hugs goodbye are in order. This checklist is getting smaller.

The big ones left over:
-nail down a summer apartment.
-buy plane tickets.

These we will do, dare I say, TODAY!

***
Thanks for bearing with me. Did you have a nice week? I hope you did.
We love you.

Happy Mother's Day!

We love you, mamas!
And to all the mamas out there--you do good work. Have a wonderful day!

xo

The News

That's right! Most everyone knows, but we're making it blog official. Nathan has accepted a fantastic position as a software developer in Boston, so away we go again!

Washington has been very good to us, and there will be aspects and people we'll miss. We are excited and working out all the details of the big move. It's hard for me to think about much else--it seems like there's so much to do. More details to come!

Graduation Weekend

Just a little recap....
Nathan graduated Saturday!!!!
Congratulations, Nathan. :)

This boy worked hard, so this past weekend we celebrated a lot. Melinda and Todd, Shelene and Christopher, and Jim and Lesta were all here to see him walk across the stage. Everyone arrived Thursday afternoon, and the rest of the weekend was spent sightseeing, eating, traveling around in one big van, and marveling that those 4 years are finally over.

The ceremony was held at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. It was a chilly, partly sunny weekend.

It was so nice of Jim and Lesta to fly out to be part of the celebration!

On Friday we went to the Seattle Aquarium. Nathan and I had never been there, and it was a lot of fun.

We ate lunch at the aquarium before a visit to Pike Place Market and an Argosy harbor tour. A full day!

After dinner and a little celebration with cake after the graduation, we headed into Seattle for a night view from the Space Needle.

Sunday we loaded up the van and went to the Woodland Park Zoo. Here is a Komodo Dragon, one of Nathan's favorites. :)

Who knows if Christopher will remember his first big vacation to Seattle, but I'm glad he was here and will be part of our memories of the big weekend. At least he will have his own photos to document the experience. He is patiently waiting to get a photo of a komodo dragon statue.

After the zoo, we had lunch at BluWater in the Green Lake neighborhood, which has become a Rowland clan favorite over several visits. A quick stop at the Kerry Park overlook provided another photo opp. A view of that boy and city we love!

It was a packed weekend, all a bit of a blur now. So far I think Nathan is enjoying his freedom, and I hope it is all sinking in. We're so proud of him!

Thank you to everyone for the warm wishes and congratulations. Family, thanks for being here to spend time with us and support Nathan on his big day. We hope you had a great time! We sure did. :) xoxo