ABA

Have I mentioned yet how hard this semester has been? Working at a job that isn't a good fit, studying new material under a professor who hasn't quite mastered his medium (of online courses), and visiting where I'm expected and overdue: these complement my M.Ed. studies in a most unappealing way.

I'm tired and increasingly lacrimose. I can't WAIT for the week after Christmas, when no assignments will be due. Wait, scratch that: I'll need that time for thesis work.

My own fault, of course! I didn't have to sign on for the ABA stuff, and I didn't have to sign on for a job. I am getting tired of holding my nose in order to continue!

Lobstering in the Cut

My husband went down to the Boulevard yesterday and saw men on a boat who were lobstering in the cut. Not just putt-putting through the cut, mind you; actually taking up traps that they had deposited there, in the thru-way. According to Vic, each trap had at least one lobster.

Sorted

I worked hard at the end of the summer to scale back my sea glass collection. I didn't want to hold on to any pieces that, if I were out collecting today, I wouldn't even pick up. I discarded hundreds and hundreds of pieces. (I have a friend who was eager to take anything that I was discarding.)

I meant to photograph all my "black" pieces, but I don't think I did. However, above you can see all my bottle tops and bottoms, plus many of my lettered pieces.

I put all my remaining glass (except for the New Zealand pieces) into Starbucks bottles. This I did just last week. They all fit on the sills in our entry room -- I'll post pics of that at some point!

Sunfish

A Google image, for the record: In case I'm not the only person who reached her mid-forties having no idea that there even was such a thing. It turns out that sunfish, a.k.a. mora, are pretty common off Cape Ann. When we saw the one we saw, we had no idea. We even contacted a website that was tracking mora, to say where we'd seen it. I don't think it was well known even in marine biology that Cape Ann was a 'hotspot' -- apparently research into these fish is still very young.

Cove

I took my niece and nephew fishing again at the end of the summer. They didn't catch anything, but it was interesting to be part of the cove conversation. Fishing women on the other side of the gap struck up a chat with us. Passing on the water, fisherfolk inquired as to what we'd caught so far (perhaps, I'll grant, tongue-in-cheek). Two riders in a passing motor boat shared that they saw a sunfish just the other side of the wall.

Vic, my dad, and I (and maybe my brother? and/or our son?) once saw a sunfish out on a sail. It was the first time I was ever exposed to one, live or depicted. It looked to me like it had been cut in half.

Water Sun

Love these. It must be a different trip -- because, of course, the light is different! But I don't have a date stamp on my phone. In the second one, you can sense how warm the sun is just by seeing how bright and strong the reflection is on the waves. I'm so missing that in the 40-degree days of mid-November.

Tall Ships

These were coming into view as we left the inner harbor. Obviously, I snapped pics as we went by. I love noticing different things with different angles on the scene. There's one in which flags catch my eye; in another, I can't help but count the portholes.

Yacht

There's a yacht off the pier at Five Pound Island that Vic says was involved in some controversy recently. I guess the owner wanted to moor it in the Annisquam. It is far too large for the river; I can't figure out why anyone would want to try.

Passing By

There was light harbor traffic on this outing. I took pics of boats that passed us by and dinghies making way toward bigger boats.

Moored

Some of the boats we saw moored in the inner harbor while tootling around on Kiwi.

Kiwi at Rest

Two weekends ago, the boat came out of the water. She was barely in for 60 days, but we sure had a number of memorable, fabulous times aboard. Can't wait for next year!

In the coming days, I'll post pics of some scenes captured from her cockpit.

Question

I took this picture with my camera phone, and I don't remember where. Anyone recognize this scene?

November Bloom

We have one rose bush that refuses to concede to the season, and a couple of nasturtiums. Actually, we have two rose bushes fighting, but only one photographs well.

Victor keeps bringing the blooms inside, where they don't last long.

Douglass Homestead

Tress and I visited the Frederick Douglass homestead in SE Washington DC on our last day. (I wonder, is his New Bedford home open for tours? Hope so.) It was atop a very large hill (walk-up only), with spectacular views of the city. This visit might have contributed to us missing our plane.

Douglass, it seems, turned inward after the successful push for suffrage. He no doubt expected? hoped? that it ensured a bright future for African-Americans. He proceeded to build window seats and nooks for his library.

I don't blame him one bit. A single person can only do so much, and Douglass did a whole hell of a lot. "'Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave'...and from that moment I understood the direct pathway from slavery to freedom."

The 'no guns' sign -- its very prominence, front and center on the porch -- is interesting, all things considered. Douglass told those black men who were considering enlisting in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments, ca. 1863, that they not only needed their rights, but also needed to learn how to defend them, in use of arms.

Rest in Peace, as You Gave Some to Me

Sparky Anderson

http://detnews.com/article/20101104/SPORTS0104/11040343/1004/SPORTS/Ex-Tigers-react-to-news-of-hospice-care--Sparky-Anderson%E2%80%99s-dementia

I know that's a long URL, but use it: It connects to a "life" article as opposed to a "death" article (Sparky died yesterday). It also connects to brief conversations with many members of the '84 Tigers.

For the record, Lance Parrish was my favorite -- and, no matter what people say, Parrish (not Kirk Gibson) was responsible for bringing in the winning run during the fifth game of the World Series that year. Gibson brought in some insurance runs that were nice to have, but unnecessary.

I was at Game Five, and I was in Detroit for the NON-riot that ensued, as everyone realized that the Tigers were World Series champions. It was a great time. I still have my ticket to that game. Here's the story: I met Sparky, when he released the book Bless You Boys (I was a bookstore manager at the time), about the '84 season. It was a book signing, so everyone else was getting his signature on their copies of the book. I bought a copy, but when I was first in line, I had him sign my ticket instead. Yup, I still have it. Took a look at it this morning and uttered a sigh for a truly great manager.