The porch and the desk...

I'm taking a break from working on a powerpoint/video for the presentation that Jeremy and I will give at a church in Texas this weekend. I'm pretty impressed with how well we documented the past year in pictures. Now, more video would have been nice...but can't complain. I've been promising photos of the new desk Jeremy built for the bedroom nook. Anyhow, here is one of him sanding it. I'm too lazy get out of the chair at the desk right now to take one of the completed product and then upload it...too much work for someone tired of cutting and pasting pictures into powerpoint. Here it is:
And then my tomato plant...
Notice: Billy still enjoys the porch.

Will it ever stop raining and warm up?

We haven't posted in a while and really there isn't much to report. It has been unseasonably cool lately...today it is just in the upper 60's again. I know that any of you southerners that are reading are either jealous or laughing, but really! New England summers are too short as it is already...we need every warm day we can get.

Late July and August have brought us some much needed down time void of visitors or much clutter in our schedules. That being said, both Jeremy and I are taking every opportunity to have lunch or coffee or do something recreational with school and work friends alike. Jeremy was supposed to go sailing last week with a friend from work, but alas...a thunderstorm came and ruined the day.

I know that way back when I blogged about "God bowling" and how that is how I remembered thunderstorms as a child. Well, in that blog, I commented that I had only heard thunder a couple times in our first 10 months or so of being here. The past two months, we've heard plenty! Apparently this summer is really "weird" even for the true lifetime Bostonians as I've heard several say that this summer has included more stormy days than they have heard in most of their lives. Officially, the weatherman said yesterday that it has rained more days in New England than it has been sunny.

So, hopefully, we'll squeeze out another nice weekend or so before fall comes....leaves will begin to change in only a few short weeks!

Some news from the past few weeks:
-Jeremy served his first jury duty in Boston...but wasn't selected.
-Jeremy built a desk to fit in the nook in our bedroom by the door. For those who have been in our apartment, this replaced the coffee table that the computer was sitting on. The desk is complete with a rounded "bull nose" edge in the front and back and a dark cherry stain. I'll post a picture whenever it finally gets uploaded from the camera to the computer.
-We are getting ready for a long weekend trip to Waco in a couple weekends. What were we thinking....Texas in August!?
-I'm going to be a GA for the GSSW at BC this year. That will pay a bit of school and give me free medical insurance...a bit of money that we can free up in the budget each month!

Plymouth

One of the last things that we did with my parents in town is a trip down to Plymouth. Now, having been here a bit over a year, you would expect that we would have finished seeing all important landmarks. However, we've never made it down south of the city to Plymouth or further on to Cape Cod. This summer we are settled and have no excuse for our behavior...

Well, at least we've covered Plymouth now. Here is Jeremy posing...he wanted a picture with the thing I can't recall the name of that goes on a ship:
Look at him...trying to look so local with his Red Sox hat. Also, notice he is branching out to plaid on the bottom.

Plymouth was really beautiful. We (Jeremy and I) enjoyed the waterfront and looking at the boats/yachts more than the historical stuff. But, the historical stuff was cool too. I couldn't imagine floating to America on a ship this size:
Not very wide or long... And this isn't the original, but the replica. Talk about seasick! And then somehow they (the pilgrims) found this rock:
Now, I was warned ahead of time about the lack of great size, so I guess this was only slightly smaller than I was expecting. My mom stood there quite a while looking at it and laughing with some other tourists about it. Being a history teacher, she was picturing what she has always taught: a big rock that the pilgrims saw from afar. I think my parents were dumbfounded. The city is doing rehab around the rock right now.

Anyhow, that is all of the touristy posts for a long while. Next time, I'll be posting about our furniture making ventures and more about general life stuff.

Sandsculpting Festival

So last year on a really hot day when Jeremy and I didn't want to drive but wanted to go to the beach, we landed on Revere Beach at the New England Sandsculpting Festival. Now mind you, Revere Beach is not considered a desirable beach around here. It isn't in the best of areas as some would say with government housing right on the beach (I would say that is a heck of a location for government housing....oceanfront!). In addition, many say it is an ugly beach, and while I would agree that it isn't the most beautiful, it is much more beautiful than any of the Texas gulf beaches that we grew up on.

Anyhow, we enjoyed watching the sculptors work so much last year that we decided to go again and take my parents since they were in town. So, here are some pictures....

The first 4 are of one continuous scene with the theme of "heroes". This one was non-competing and for charity, I believe.
Jeremy was amazed at the vein work on the Hulk. And then there was this boy at a desk that would have been to the left of the first picture. We both thought the wood grain work on the desk was (in TJ's honor....awesome) (did that cause I know you read this). Also, Jeremy's favorite (of course):
And then mine (I think the title was Weeping Widow...I again liked the woodwork, her eyes, and the fringe of her shawl.
None of these are quite complete. We went last Friday and they had until Saturday morning to finish them. I believe they had had most of the week to work on them. Here is the winner:
And then of course...my dad and sister getting their first taste of the crisp New England water:
They didn't get any further. And then my mom's location:
And Jeremy and I after getting in the waves up to our belly's.

Catching Everyone Up!

Ok, so I'm going to try and post frequently during the next few days in order to catch everyone up on our last month. My (Chelsea's) parents just left after being here for 12 days, so we are feeling a bit disconnected from the world. Pardon us as we work to get back in touch.

Today I'll begin with July 3&4. On the 3rd in Boston, the Boston Pops and whoever is singing have a dress rehearsal that is free to the public. This year, the singing guests were Rascal Flatts whom both Jeremy and I enjoy. It is really cool because everyone just brings lawn chairs and cooler chests and picnics. Last year we went with our friends Kristen and Andrew and missed them so much this year! We send our hugs and prayers from this side of the Equator! Anyhow, we had decent seats to begin with on the 3rd, then a "severe thunderstorm" came threw during which they encouraged everyone to seek shelter in a tunnel part of a closed road. Well, Jeremy and I didn't have an umbrella and didn't really find shelter... just stood flat against a concrete wall which shielded us from most of the "storm." When we came back, open seats were available much closer.

You probably notice my quotation marks and sarcasm. New Englanders have no clue what a real severe thunderstorm is. You say severe thunderstorm in Texas and you are talking torrential rain, frequent lightening, wind strong enough to snap the tree outside, a tornado, hail, water running across low parts in the road that can take your car away, etc... Here, I guess that just means a wimpy rumble of thunder and a couple flashes of lightening. Below is our picture post "severe thunderstorm" without an umbrella:
Mind you, I would say we would have been completely soaked instead of sorta soaked if we weren't standing against a tall concrete wall. Anyhow, here's a couple more pictures from that night:
The Boston Pops and then below is our best picture of the lead singer of Rascal Flatts:
And now, I'll continue on and post a bit about the 4th of July as well. Here we are at our spot this year along Memorial Drive right next to the Charles. Mind you, when you see this on TV, there are many, many more people. We were there around 4-5 hours early to stake out our spot.
Although I seem to look disgruntled in this picture, I promise that I'm happy!
Here we are! As you can tell it was a cool 4th. This is twice in a row that I've had to pull out my jacket for the evening of the 4th! Maybe next year it will be warm... Oh, and P.S... the fireworks shoot off from a barge in the Charles off to the right off the picture.
The city was beautiful at sunset... You should click and enlarge this one for the full effect.
Fireworks! And last, but in Jeremy's opinion, the best reason for coming out for the 4th:

Two F-15's. At this point in the evening, I was off at the porta-potty's and had opened the door on a guy who didn't lock his door! That's all for today.

Now 24....

I found the slideshow that Jeremy and I made for our wedding that never worked on our wedding day and thought I'd post a baby picture for my birthday...
When was it ever cold enough in west Texas for me to be wearing this around the house?

Old North...Bell Tower and Crypt

This past weekend, Jeff, a pastor from the church we attended in Texas was in town. We went on a special tour of the bell tower and crypt that is (I believe) only available on weekends during the summer. Here you go:
In the bell tower... We were a tiny bit sad that we didn't get to continue up the skinny, steep stairs past here to where the lanterns were hung to signal the method by which the British were coming.
We got to go up the stairs...
Caught you Sarah, Peter, and Jeff.
Jeremy caught me too....
This area up where we are were where the "worthy" poor got to sit. You couldn't see anything that would have went on in a service. I say only the worthy poor because you had to pay for your box (i.e...more money that you had, the better seat) and only the worthy poor got to even come in to the part with the crappy view.
D0wn in the crypt. They left one open so you could see the size. Nice. Complete with coffins and everything. Apparently, they would just pile a bunch of people in these. Many had multiple people.
Some were just a cement wall, and others were like this.
Here we are!

Back for an update.

Hello blog world. Sorry, we've been a bit busy here.

Let's see. Since our last update, We've had Jeremy's cousin Jerod, his wife Nelda, and their baby Emyle up here to visit. They were her this past Monday-Friday. It was a busy, busy week! And, on top of that it was our first heat wave of the summer. I know heat waves sound silly, but trust me....when you are on the top floor of a building with a black roof, it is no joke. Fortunately, we've been back to the upper 70's since then.

It seems that summer is flying by up here. I'm worried that I'll turn around and the leaves will be falling and then the snow will be out again to blanket the town.

Summer classes for me are really good. I'm getting to take some electives this summer, and am really excited for one of my classes which is based on learning a new therapy model to use with therapy clients. It has been kinda awkward though to watch and listen to myself on DVD in session (we record our sessions) I thought my Texas accent was more faded, but oh no.....

Jeremy is sitting here reading right now. He is finally getting around to reading Blue Light Jazz by Donald Miller. Guess we are a bit behind the times here at the Reddin household. I've only read Miller's second book. I'm just not much of a fan of the random thought writing.

The dogs are good. Jackson and Billy take regular naps on our porch in the afternoons now that it is warm.

Not this weekend, but the next we'll have company in from Waco, and then birthday, Independence Day stuff, then my parents come in for a couple weeks, and, well, you get the point.... The point is, if we don't update, you'll know why.

Oh... one story before I go. I was sitting in class the other day (not my awesome therapy class...but substance abuse treatment). The prof was talking about something not related to the topic and then transitioned into a speech about marriage/divorce rates. Here it is:
"Do you know where the highest divorce rate in the country is?"
Someone says: "I think it is somewhere in the bible belt."
"Yes and do you know where the lowest divorce rates are?" Then he answer's his own question and goes on: "They are here in New England. If you don't believe me, check it out. So, what then gives the 'Christian right' the right to tell us how to define marriage. Gay marriage has been legal here for years and we are still at the top. Maybe they should look in their own back yard"

Ouch....but I think about it, and really can't blame him for his anger. Christians do profess a lot about the definition of marriage yet we can't get along in our own homes. Just thought I'd share a bit about my class experience. Still not sure what that had to do with the top of the day though.

Turning Two and One!

This past weekend we celebrated our second anniversary and also reflected on our being in Boston for one year (officially as of yesterday!) from the top of the Prudential at the Top of the Hub restaurant. We had a table by the window at sunset. Unfortunately, it was too dark to not use a flash on the camera and the flash didn't capture anything beyond the window. But, here we are!
The waiter even brought out our creme brulee with a lit candle in the middle... how cute!

It was so fun to look out the window and be able to name the roads and bridges and landmarks. We weren't able to see our apartment or neighborhood because we were on the wrong side of the building, but still it was great!

Memorial Day for us!

Yesterday was the first really warm day so far this season in Boston. And by really warm, I mean yesterday was the first day that we hit 80 degrees here in the city. 80 sure felt hot...Jeremy noted that it was too hot! Funny. So, since it was Memorial Day and it was nice we decided to be outside and enjoy the good weather. We packed our lunches and headed out to rollerblade and eat by the Charles. Here are some pictures:
Here we are! We are trying to rid our skin of Boston winter paleness.
There were people everywhere.... and this wasn't even the most crowded spot.
In addition to watching the many sailboats out on the Charles, we watched a very large family swim lesson session.
Aren't these guys cute? Now this is a large family!

P.S. We are turning two today! I guess that means we aren't newlyweds any longer and that we suddenly have it all figured out. Ha! Also, a year ago today we were packing the moving van with our small group friends and both sets of parents. Wow...so much to reflect on....we'll let you all know how we are celebrating later this week!