It’s in the Bag!

December 22, 2015black cat, catsblack cat, catshealy24yang

So, the other night, my husband, one of the cats, and I were in the living room watching TV, when we heard a strange rattling commotion in the kitchen. I bravely got up to check. No, I didn’t see either Santa or eight tiny reindeer come early. In fact, it took me a moment to pin point the noise, which came from some fancy paper bags hanging by a hook next to the top of the refrigerator. A single green eye peered out at me warily.

A call of my friend’s name, and Rosalind poked her head out defiantly, daring me to challenge her position.

Now, you’ve got to understand, these bags are hanging almost six feet off the floor. Rosie the Riveter had to have jumped up on the counter on the other side of the refrigerator, climbed over the top of it, then slid into the bags. Like her namesake, “She CAN do it!”How she plopped her nine pounds in there without the bags ripping and dropping her plop on the floor is beyond me. Strong bags, I guess. Here, I register shock as Yang commemorates the moment on, well, I guess not film – just digitally.

When we lowered her majesty to the floor, she was not amused. Maybe she should train for Army Special Forces or the Navy Seals?

October Images Part Two

December 6, 2015Autumn, Fall, Nature, New England, Rail Trails, UncategorizedAutumn, Fall, Foliage, Neponset, New England, Rail Trailshealy24yang

It’s December today, but we have no glittering snow icing, cool blue in the shade or soft pink in the sunset. Just dead, crusty leaves and bare, scraggly branches. So, how about one last lingering look at October’s brilliance? These shots are from two trips, one afoot and one a-wheel!

Yang and I found a new bicycle ride outside of Boston, The Neponset River Trail, which runs along the river out to the Blue Hills. Here is a portion that cuts along and across a canal (via a bridge of course!). The trees look striking, reflected in the water, and must provide a lovely view to people living in the mill converted to apartments.

We started the ride from Pope John Paul Park, where the river is almost an estuary. If you ride away from Milton, the river broadens and becomes tumultuous as it races toward the ocean.

That’s not in any of these shots, though.

Yang had a good time! We both had to pause for a rest on the way back!

Our other recorded trip was to the wilds of the forested hills of Leicester. It was a lovely Friday afternoon, shortly after Yang got out of classes. The colors here were a blend of yellow and toasted orange.

The red golds of autumn were not yet lying in the gutter dead (tip o’ the hat to Graeme Edge).

The hat in this shot would be my marine blue beret, which I bought in France last spring. As long as we’re on international wardrobe, my in-laws from China gave me the coat when I visited them last autumn.

Delving into the woods, we came across the backwash from a pond. The autumn sky’s pellucid blue is such a striking complement to green pines and the fall colors.

Hiking back to our car along the road, the evening began to close in, so that the last flare of the sun created a vibrant flame of color in the trees.

All that tramping and beauty makes a body hungry. So Yang and I repaired to Le Mirage for sustenance. As you can see, Mr. Piranha made short work of his meal.

Sadly, this was the last night of this wonderful restaurant. Le Mirage is now closed, and so lovely meals, good times, and good friends are now relegated to memories. Much thanks to Diane, her family, and her staff.

On Tour for Dracula

November 29, 2015Cemeteries, Dracula, England, English Robin, George Eliot, Gothic, Gothic literature, Highgate Cemetery, medieval, monastery, Nature, Whitby AbbeyCemeteries, Dracula, George Eliot, Gothic, Highgate Cemetery, Whitby Abbeyhealy24yang

So, the last work we’re covering for my Romantic and Victorian Gothic course is Dracula, on December 2nd. For “educational” purposes, I’m going to post some pictures that Yang and I took on our visits to England in 2013 and 2015. The first trip was a kind of “English major’s dream.” We visited Tintern Abbey, the Lake Country, Haworth and Whitby in Yorkshire, and in London St. Pancras Cemetery, Samuel Johnson’s House, Highgate Cemetery, and other neat places. So, let’s start with images from Whitby that correspond to events in Dracula.

Here is a shot of the cemetery for the Church of St. Mary’s, overlooking the harbor. You can even see a few graves that might have been the very ones that Mina and Lucy sat upon – where Lucy was attacked by the evil Count and where he hid out during the day.

Here are some of the views of the harbor that the young gals would have see from their spot – or Dracula if he peeked through the cracks of his sepulcher hideyhole. Note the man-made breakwater with its lighthouse, described in the novel.

The brilliant roofs on the houses perhaps inspired Stoker’s emphasis of red predominating his descriptions of the town.

The other arm of the harbor stretches mightily outward. You can see the depth of the harbor just by noting the height of the opposite cliff.

You get the same impression looking at the abbey and St. Mary’s from the heights above the beach and the concert pavilion.

Mina must have lied. She could never have run up these stairs in her bare feet. The girl must have had her New Balance sneakers on – and collapsed when she got to the top!

Here are some shots of the magnificent ruins themselves.

Notice me in the corner for scale.

The other Dracula portion of my tour was at Highgate Cemetery. There are actually two sides to the cemetery. One is called the Old Highgate and the other the New. They’re both pretty old, but Yang and I figure that the encounters with Lucy’s Undead self probably occurred in New Highgate, since she would have been buried in 1897. We weren’t there in the middle of the night; that’s frowned on. So, our pictures are all in daylight – they wouldn’t have looked too good with only flash light, anyway. Still, these pics definitely capture the eeriness – especially if you are a Dr. Who fan. Don’t blink!

The graves are closely crowded, so you can imagine how easy Dr.Van Helsing and the boys would have had it finding a place to hide and peek at the vampires. I don’t know how overgrown the landscape would have been about 120 years ago, though.

You can’t forget to visit some of the famous folk buried here, like George Eliot.

And my husband said hello to one of the more fiery of the Marx Brothers, Karl. I guess Van Helsing and Co. were in too much of a rush to pay any literary/political social calls.

To end on an adorable note, enjoy the English Robin on the tomb stone, though you might have to click on the picture and enlarge it to see him/her.

Or this fox, who is way too adorable to fall under Dracula’s evil sway.

October Images

November 23, 2015Autumn, birds, Nature, New England, UncategorizedFoliage, Great Blue heron, Nature, New England, Piliated Woodpeckerhealy24yang

.

This past week has given us a great deal of ugliness – and beauty, too, in the responses of support for those who have been attacked but not necessarily bowed. Here is a little bit of beauty from New England sent out to all the world in hopes of giving some comfort, distraction, happiness. Please enjoy.

First, I have images from our bicycle ride in Cheshire, Connecticut. I saw plenty of remarkable birds. Here is a neat shot of a Great Blue Heron. He blends in with the leaves, doesn’t he? We were so fortunate to get this close a shot.

We also saw this neat flock of mallards enjoying a swim together in the canal next to the trail.

This was one of the several pairs. Clearly honeys. The foregrounded leaves of salmon to yellow emerging from green captures fall elegance.

The same couple swim toward some delicate red berries. The lady duck seems to have an itchy tootsie.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a shot of the most exciting bird of the day. A Piliated Woodpecker! Those guys are gigantic! Like pteranodons! I don’t have a picture of my own, so I am borrowing a photo (with proper accreditation). This guy was bigger than the large crows with whom he/she was tussling. I would that I could have gotten close enough with my camera. So, thank you Andrew Brown at Wikipedia.

Our October holiday weekend took us on plenty of day trips. On our drive home from a rail trail ride, Yang brought us through Stafford, Ct. where we stopped at sunset for these gorgeous colors.

The reflections of the fiery maples and oaks on the pond at sunset were magnificent!

Here are Yang and I in some pictures, so you know we were really here to take the photos.

What a lovely bouquet of all the lushest fall colors.

I have some more pix, but I don’t want anyone to pass out from foliage overdose – so I’ll save them for a Part 2.

Halloween on Beacon Hill

November 3, 2015Autumn, Beacon Hill, Fall, Halloween, Hallpween Decorations, Trick or TreatingBeacon Hill, Beacon Hill Halloween, Boston, ghouls, Halloween, monsters, Trick or Treatinghealy24yang

This year, like many others, we went to Beacon Hill in Boston for Halloween. I don’t know how many years the residents have been celebrating with elaborate, creative, undeniably SCARY decorations, but we have been enjoying their eerie creative edeavors for close to ten years. This year was, Wait For IT! – SPOOKTACULAR! Forgive my channeling Shawn and Gus from Psych.

The picture above doesn’t give you an idea of how packed the streets are with people of all ages, most in some form of costume. You wouldn’t believe all the Imperial Troopers, Princess Leias, Spocks, robots, zombies, witches, vampires, Stay Puff Marshmallow Men, etc. we saw. The picture below gives you a better idea.

That’s me in the gold coat and a sparkly green witch-hat fascinator. The little kid in the tiger costume was too quick – I couldn’t take a snatch at her candy bag – Heh, heh, heh!

People also elaborately, artistically carved pumpkins. Here are some of my favorites.

You never knew what you’d see peering out a window

or climbing out grates:

arms, legs, projections of ghosts and zombie.

All that tramping around worlds of terror requires a moment to relax my tootsies. I hope that hand coming out the window isn’t going to push me off the steps! Or worse, grab something out of my wallet.

The prime display was in a courtyard between two buildings. You need to stand in line to get in and look around. This family has projections on the walls, fake fog, human-sized creepy mannequins, and folks dressed in scary rat costumes (including one “caught” in a giant rat trap!) Natasha and Rosalind would have been terrified! These folks even give candy to adults! Unfortunately, this was the last year they will be doing the super display. Will someone else be able to “resurrect” such creative horror?

People giving out candy also get into the “spirit,” with elaborate costumes. You see witches, mad scientists, zombies. One year, a woman was Cruella Deville.I love this woman’s Snow Queen or Fairy Queen ensemble – complete with a matching (real live!) poodle on her lap! She was kind enough to let us take her picture – and her dog agreed, too.

At the end of this journey into terror, we bopped down the street to our favorite restaurant Caffe Bella Vita. It was fun seeing all the folks, young and old, pass by the window, some greeting Yang and I with mock threats of horror, while we returned the favor by responding with playful terror. As usual, Yang finished off my sandwich – my chai was all mine, though! How do you like my little green fascinator? Can you see Yang reflected in the mirror, taking the picture?

At the end of the evening, we turned to a designated driver we found on Beacon Hill to get us home. As the Three Stooges would say, “Nyaaaaaaahhhhh!”

Natasha and Rosalind Give “Monster” Therapy

October 24, 2015Autumn, black cat, cats, Fall, Halloweenblack cat, cats, Frankenstein, Halloween, Mary Shelley, monstershealy24yang

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein the creature created by Frankenstein demands that humanity take their fair share of responsibility for their abusive treatment making him as much a monster on the inside as he appears on the outside: “Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humanity sinned against me? . . . .I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice.” How different things would have turned out for him (and most of Switzerland!) if, after his “father” Victor spurned him, the creature had been taken in paw by my cats Natasha and Rosalind. They have nothing but tenderness, friendliness, and courtesy for the “monsters” – although mice are another matter. Look at this adorable face!

Here is Natasha proudly keeping company with her new monstrous acquaintance. No contumely or spurning can be seen on her furry countenance.

Of course ‘Tasha is always solicitous of her companion’s well-being. A well-timed nuzzle is just the thing to make a creature forget all about those nasty villagers and their pitchforks or flaming torches!

Most important of all, Natasha Rose knows that it’s important to listen and learn from others. You can expand your horizons, and you build others’ confidence by validating that they have something valuable to teach you! Here, she attentively follows the observations of a friendly Halloween death’s head.

And of course, sometimes it’s nice just to have a relaxing sit down with a screaming good guest in the parlor.

Or perhaps Natasha is giving him therapy. “Tell me how you feel about people chasing you with flaming torches and pitch forks.” Dr. Bob Hartley would be proud.

Not to be outdone by her big sister, Rosalind (aka Rosie Roosevelt Yang) makes the Scream feel at home with a lively game of hide and seek. Play therapy?

So, whatever kind of human or inhuman you are, try not to be too quick to call those you don’t understand monsters. Instead,– follow the leads of Rosalind and Natasha – except when it comes to mice.

Happy Halloween!

Sharon and Yang Improve the Breed

October 13, 2015horse racing, Seabiscuit, Suffolk Downs, Uncategorized, War Admiralhorse racing, Suffolk Downs, thoroughbred racinghealy24yang

Suffolk Downs was one of the premier race tracks of New England for the twentieth century. For something like sixty or seventy years, some of the finest thoroughbreds competed there: War Admiral, Seabiscuit, Stymie, Top Row, Menow, War Relic, Crimson Satan, Riva Ridge, Lost Code, Mom’s Command, Waquiot, and Cigar. Sadly, it was the last of the New England tracks to close, in 2014. Happily, though, the track has been re-opened this fall for three racing dates. My husband and I had the pleasure of going to the track on the second date, October 3.

Here you see me checking out the odds before inspecting the horses. As an aside, the beret came from my trip to France last spring.

My pick for the first race we watched, the 6th, was this gorgeous dark bay filly, Blessed at Mass. She looked so much like one of my favorites, Damascus, that I had to put two dollars on her nose.

Unfortunately, she didn’t run like Damascus. She may have been blessed at mass, but not so much in the race. Cosmo Storm stormed through to win.

Oh, well . . .

She looked so good in the post parade!

As did her competitors

Flashy Ross

Campion Lane

Pistol Smoke

In 8th, I was taken by a beautiful bay mare named Zabeta. Gorgeous, isn’t she?

As a Renaissance scholar, how could I go wrong playing a horse with the nick name of Queen Elizabeth I? Here I am; the bet has been placed!

They’re Off!And so was Zabeta. She came in fourth.

The Last Dance Stakes featured a horse named Victor Lazlo, who had won this stakes race the past two years.

A consecutive winner and named for Paul Henreid’s character in Casablanca? How could we miss?

A horse named Im Kwik lived up to his name, that’s how.

I think Victor took off in the opposite direction with Rick.

Ah well, after an exciting day at the track, the Yangs have to replenish their energies with dinner at Caffe Bella Vita in Boston. The cappuccino was as yummy as the huge chicken salad sandwich, which I couldn’t finish.

But Yang finished it for me AFTER scarfing up his beloved linguini and meatballs. It’s like being married to a pirahna!

Autumnal Greetings from Rosalind aka Rosie “Roosevelt” Jones

September 21, 2015Autumn, black catAutumn, black cat, Rosalindhealy24yang

Rosalind wants to wish everyone a Happy Autumn! Enjoy a good roll in the leaves, even if they’re only made of tinsel. Stay tuned for Natasha’s Halloween message in October.

Sharon and Yang Swing Out (Dancing, That Is)!

September 21, 2015big bands, Dan Gable and the Abletones, Eureka, Hedy Lamarr, jitterbug, Swing dancing, WWIIDan Gable and the Abletones, Eureka, Hedy Lamarr, jitterbug, swing dancing, vintage cars, WWII surrenderhealy24yang

Two weeks back, Yang and I went to a swing dance that was part of a commemoration of the official end of WWII. To put it in contemporary terms, it was a swell time! They had a WWII-era jeep and vintage cars from the the 1930s and 1940s. There were all kinds of neat memorabilia – and everyone dressed the way I like to, in forties fashions!

Here’s Yang getting ready for a spin in a jeep, a little too well-dressed for a trip to the front, though!

Here I am, getting ready to make a getaway in a Chevy that reminds me of one my Dad had. This baby not only had vent windows to keep you cool without messing up your hair, but plenty of room in the front and back seats – and bench seats, too!

The outside dance class – led by a guy in a bright yellow zoot suit. Either the camera photographs too slow for those jitter bugs, or, oh no! It’s a wormhole transporting us from 1940s Eureka into the present!

Indoors was the swing dance, with tunes played by none other than the 21st Century’s gift to swing, Dan Gable and the Abletones Big Band!

But first, we had a reading of the final surrender papers – then on to celebrate, shaking our tootsies to a hot jive beat!

Look at them swing it on the floor! More than their feets are a blur!

Dig the sax section swing it!

Don’t forget the horns!

Yang and Sharon take off to trip the light fantastic

We could also dream and swing to the sweet song stylings of vocalist Elise Roth.

And here we are again because we’re just so cute when we’re dancing!

Then there was the dance contest. We thought we’d sit that one out.

And my favorite, the WWII officer checking his iPhone. Well, it’s not that strange when you consider that Hedy Lamarr was co-creator of the programming that underlies cell phones.

Either that, or he managed to come back through the wormhole with some technological gizmos. Just another day in Eureka.

C.A.T.

August 31, 2015Autumn, black cat, cats, Fallblack cat, cathealy24yang

Blog 16

The C.A. T. Cat Assistant Teacher

One of my cats, Rosalind, has decided that I work too hard, so, she has elected to join me in returning to the classroom. She will be my C(at) A(ssistant) T(eacher). See, she’s already to head out the door.

I think she initially intended this as a surprise, as you can see from her surreptitious insertion of herself into my book bag.

She may also figure that this is a clever way to check up on people who may be cheating during quizzes. She’s good at catching mice and moles, so cheaters are probably in her repertoire as well.

Whatever the case, she will probably be grading some papers for me. So, if you decide to complain about your grade, remember that she has not been declawed – and her fangs are pretty darn sharp. have a nice day.