Thursday, December 22, 2016

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2005. Mattie was three years old and we decided to take a photo outside one of Mattie's favorite restaurants in Maryland. This particular restaurant has a pond in front of it and Mattie just loved that pond during ALL seasons. This photo was featured on the front of our 2005 Christmas card!


Quote of the day: And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? ~ Dr. Seuss

Last night I planned a family birthday gathering for my mother-in-law at a restaurant called Strega Waterfront. I haven't lived in Boston in almost two decades so I truly did not know where to go for a special dinner. So what I did was I reached out to my friend Colleen who lives in Sudbury, MA. Colleen and I went to graduate school together and we both like food and experiencing fine restaurants. So I knew she would know where I should go. Colleen gave me a list of ten restaurants to choose from and Peter and I selected Strega because of the menu and atmosphere. It is on the water, and I truly I would need to go back there in the summer time to see the water. In the winter everything is dark and it was impossible to know that the water was outside the windows. 

The restaurant was lovely to work with as they helped me arrange flowers and a birthday cake. Given that it is freezing and winter time, the flowers seemed almost tropical as there were lilies, orchids, and roses combined. 

Frankly I think everyone was surprised by this beautiful chocolate birthday cake. Since I did not alert anyone that it was coming. The cake was unbelievably light given that it was all chocolate. As you can see my mother-in-law, Barbara, was surrounded by her three grandchildren. I purposefully took that photo, because I think photos are important and milestone moments should be captured. Not everyone shares my perspective, but I have learned the hard way the importance of photos. In any case, while taking this photo what became abundantly evident to me was that Mattie was very much missing. 

Meanwhile this was the sight out the window this morning. We got a dusting of snow. The funny part is that in DC this snow would have paralyzed the city. In Boston, people went right on with their daily schedules! Roads were packed with cars and people were out and about. 

This afternoon we took Sunny for a walk in the woods. The woods surround a beautiful pond. I am not standing on the pond, but instead a run off area that overflowed from the pond. Sunny and I walked on it and Peter snapped a photo. On the bigger pond, people were ice skating and dogs were following their owners. It was an incredibly peaceful sight and knowing that the pond is only 5 feet deep gives me more peace of mind, because to me pond skating is dangerous. 

This afternoon, Peter and I met up with my friend Jen. Jen and I met at Boston College, we went to graduate school together. Jen was my first friend I made at Boston College, she was in my wedding party, and we have remained friends all these years. The funny part is she just bought a house across the street from Peter's parents. A rather small world, no? In any case, we met at a restaurant today and had a chance to catch back up!