Historic New England does Newport

Newport Harbor

I spent the day today touring parts of the lovely town of Newport, Rhode Island. It was the Historic New England summer outing. I’d say that for a Monday it was quite lovely.

Our first stop was the Schooner Aurora. We took a nice “sail” around Newport Harbor. There was absolutely no wind! The crew was fun and raised the sails for image sake, but we had to motor for most of the time. It was hot and sunny and really pleasant.

After the sail we trooped across town to the Ocean Cliff Hotel for lunch. We had a tent on the deck with a fantastic view of the harbor and the Newport bridge.

Our last event of the day was a tour of Rough Point the home of Doris Duke. It was a beautiful mansion, and the first one that I’ve toured in Newport. It was incredibly lavish and furnished with 16th and 17th century tapestries and furniture and accented with 18th century Chinese imports and dutch portrature. A nice ending to a lovely day.

All my pictures from the day are in our gallery Here

ps. to my elementary/high school friend Erin Murphy–You were right Tropwen was great!

Swimsuit Season

Do any of you out there know how hard it is to find a decent bathing suit at the end of November? Very hard! There are some out there for all the skinny minnies who are headed to the Carribean on a cruise, but none for me. argh.

“But why do you need to buy a swimsuit?” you may ask. For my new job. “say what?!?”

It’s true. I have finally found the perfect use for my ability to stay in bodies of water for unhumanly long periods of time. Swimming Instructor at the YMCA. I love kids, I love swimming, what could be better? And it pays a teensy bit more than what I was making watching ‘ER’ reruns on my days off.

Remember, reach and pull, kick kick kick, reach and pull, kick kick kick!

Lynn, Lynn, city of….. gifts?

So, the Democratic National Convention has taken the city of Boston by storm. This has thrown a bit of a wrench in my commuting habits. Nevertheless, I set out this morning an hour and a half early with hopes of a smooth trip into the city.

I was walking from the commuter train in Lynn to the shuttle bus that would take me to South Station, and imagine my surprise when I saw nice people there smiling at me! And there was a musician playing some happy morning music for us commuters. How nice.

On the way home, walking back to the train from the bus I encountered many more Lynn representitives who were handing out little gifts; a free subway token, a half-pint of lemonade, a Lynn gift bag (with some casino cruise tix, a stress ball, a pen and other stuff). Who knew that Lynn was so full of nice, cheerful people!?

Good Things

1. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities called to offer me a job today. I will soon be working at the Harrison Gray Otis House museum in Boston. Things are moving in the right direction.

2. Aunt Christine’s Strawberry Cake recipe. Amy asked for the recipe, and here it is…

qqq|Mix {1 White Cake Mix, 3 Tbs. flour, 1 package Strawberry Jello}

Add {3/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup water, 4 beaten eggs}

Stir in 3/4 cup strawberries (I used a 10 oz bag of frozen strawberries due to the season) Reserve the rest of the strawberries.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

ICING- Combine remaining strawberries with 2 cups of confectionary sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter. (I used a hand mixer) (my icing was chunky and strange looking, but was absolutely delicious, don’t fret!)|qqq

cut to the chase

Something like three months ago I sent a cover letter and resume to “Zoo New England” for a position in their education department at the Stone Zoo and the Franlkin Park Zoo. I knew it was a long shot, but at this point in the game it seemed worth a try.

So, this afternoon I received an email from them. The content of the email will be self-evident once you see the subject line. Here goes:

                        "Subject: Rejection Letter"

Woah! Don’t be afraid to let me know how you really feel! C’est la vie!