Massachusetts

Fine dining in Boston

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

Which is the best restaurant in your city?

For the purposes of this prompt, I’m going to claim Boston as “my” city, even though I live about 20 miles northwest in suburbia.

And the winner is:

Deuxave

Wonderful food

Classy, intimate atmosphere

Great service

Terrific location in Boston’s most beautiful neighborhood—the Back Bay—at the corner of two of Boston’s most iconic streets: Massachusetts and Commonwealth Avenues, thus the name. DeuxAve (get it? French for two avenues)

If you’re coming to Boston and you want to splurge on fine dining ($$$), I recommend a meal at Deuxave.

My family and me in the bar at Deuxave on my 50th birthday (11 years ago). The restaurant has been in business since 2010.

Sea to Table

~ MaryG ~ 26 Comments

What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

Summer is far and away my favorite season in New England—my lifelong home. I generally stay within its six states in summer. Why leave? I know it’s been very hot here, but I’m a swimmer. Outdoor pools and oceans beckon me. The water temperature at Rhode Island beaches was 70F last weekend. Perfect.

A plate of fresh, farm-raised oysters at Westport Sea Farms in Westport, MA
Jonathan Richman—a Boston original.
He gets it.

OK, if I HAD to rank them, I’d go:

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Maine

New Hampshire

Vermont

Connecticut

But they’re all great – in the SUMMAH.

Pumpkin spice, stay away!

Single motherhood

~ MaryG ~ 26 Comments

What’s something you used to worry about but don’t anymore?

I used to worry that something would happen to my husband before our kids grew up. I worried that he’d die and I’d be left to raise them alone. We never had life insurance policies. (Too expensive) When I had just one child (my daughter), I figured I could manage. Somehow, she and I would get by. After my son was born six years later, I was really dependent on my husband (and his income). I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own without help.

Sometimes now, I just revel in the relief of having them both grown and living independently. I am here if they need me, of course, but they don’t NEED me, need me—in that food/shelter/life/death kind of way—anymore. Phew.

I still worry about my husband dying, but it’s more about me now. How would I change the water filters on my own? Or reprogram the sprinklers after a power outage? Who would watch Masterpiece with me??

Nantucket, 2007
I sometimes found raising two kids hard with two parents on the job—literally, one for each kid. We also had a helpful set of grandparents nearby. Hats off to all the women who raise children completely on their own. Some of them do it so brilliantly, but I’m glad I don’t have that particular worry anymore.

Just peachy

~ MaryG ~ 21 Comments

What’s a quote that perfectly describes your outlook on life?

This WordPress writing prompt is basically a repeat of two days ago, with different wording.

As it happens, a commenter on my post eat dessert first (Sambuca from Ontario) planted the idea of peach ice cream in my little brain and I could not stop thinking about how it’s a seasonal “featured” flavor at my local ice cream stand that I have never tried. So, last night, I rectified the situation.

I thought I was ordering the smallest size available (it’s called a “kiddie”) but now I know that I need to order a “mini” if I really only want a little bit.

Ice cream twice in one week. Someone had to do it.

And yup, it was just as delicious as it looks.

eat dessert first

~ MaryG ~ 33 Comments

What is your favorite quote?

I’m not sure who said this originally: Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first

But I will always attribute it to my dear friend’s late father. Last summer, at her daughter’s wedding, when I arrived at my seat for the reception, this was my place setting.

And in that spirit, here’s a photo of an amazing dessert I had last night. (I actually had it after dinner, but I was not too full and enjoyed every bite.)

The flavor is “vanilla blueberry crumble” and it is delicious. It’s vanilla with fresh blueberries and graham crackers from the locally famous Kimball Farm.

That’s a small! (I finished it, obvi)

I don’t know if other parts of the country have local ice cream stands that were originally dairy farms operated by hearty, entrepreneurial types who decided to expand into ice cream in the early part of the 20th century, but eastern Massachusetts has many great options. Many have been in continuous operation since before WW2 and the ice cream is amazing.

Here are my top four:

Kimball Farm

Bedford Farms

Great Brook State Park

Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar

PSA

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

I don’t think our federal government is keeping us safe.

One area where I don’t trust them at all is Public Health. There’s a literal quack in charge of Health & Human Services.

Therefore, I’m fully embodying my MOM role here on WordPress to warn you about the latest public health threat that sounds awful and is spreading rapidly in the US:

Info sheet from a Massachusetts municipal public health department, which I trust way more than the federal authorities under Trump

This is really going around now and is NOT fun. My sister caught it last week in NYC.

Wash your hands and your cutting boards in hot water & soap.

Scrub your firm fruits and veggies.

Wash all other fruits and veggies under running water for a good long time.

Explosive diarrhea – enough said!

America 250 – Tall Ships

~ MaryG ~ 27 Comments

Did you know that only two US cities are hosting both World Cup games AND Tall Ships this summer?

Can you guess which ones?

I’ll give you a hint. One is where the colonists gave King George a transatlantic middle finger by dumping a bunch of British tea in the harbor. The subsequent British crackdown pushed the colonies towards open rebellion and kicked off the American Revolutionary War in 1775. (Also, it rhymes with Austin.)

The other is a sleepy little town called New York.

Here are a few shots of the magnificent vessels taken from another vessel in the harbor. (The same place they dumped that tea.)

The BAP Unión, the Peruvian Navy’s tall ship 🇵🇪
🇵🇪
The Esmeralda from Chile 🇨🇱 is known as La Dama Blanca (The White Lady). Built in 1953, she’s one of the most famous and largest tall ships in the world.
Portugal’s NRP Sagres (left) 🇵🇹
I think the one behind it is from Spain 🇪🇸
The INS Sudarshini from India 🇮🇳
Cadets in the rigging of the Sudarshini 🇮🇳
The Amerigo Vespucci from Italy 🇮🇹
Ciao Bella 😍
Another shot of the Amerigo Vespucci 🇮🇹 with Argentina’s ARA Libertad 🇦🇷 behind it
The Mircea from Romania 🇷🇴
The Mircea 🇷🇴 with Poland’s Dar Młodzieży (“Gift of Youth”) behind it 🇵🇱
Our resident Tall Ship—the USS Constitution (aka “Old Ironsides”) with Charlestown’s Bunker Hill Monument in the distance 🇺🇸
A shot of the steeple of the Old North Church where, on the night of April 18, 1775, sexton Robert Newman climbed up and hung two lanterns briefly — a signal arranged by Paul Revere to warn colonists across the Charles River in Charlestown about the movement of British troops. (“One if by Land, Two if by Sea” as goes the line in Longfellow’s famous poem Paul Revere’s Ride)
Our party of four aboard The Valiant—a regular ship, not a Tall one 😉

Did you guess BOSTON as the only other city besides New York hosting both World Cup and Tall Ships?

You are correct!

I’m staying

~ MaryG ~ 23 Comments

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Honestly, I just want to live in a world where Donald J. Trump no longer exists (and never did). In the meantime, Massachusetts is as close as you’re gonna get to that ideal in the United States.

Did you know that the Orange Cretin never won a single Massachusetts congressional district over the Democratic nominee in 2016, 2020, or 2024? That’s right, not one district ever fell for his bullshit.

I care about public schools and public health.

And, finally, some exciting news…

There’s a very special new citizen coming to Massachusetts very late this year or in early 2027.

My heart’s in Massachusetts.

❤️

Boring ain’t so bad

~ MaryG ~ 18 Comments

Is a little chaos actually good for us?

I’m not sure chaos is good for us but it is unavoidable. Everyone, no matter how privileged, will experience some chaos.

My grandmother, who came from a very poor immigrant family and lost her husband suddenly in her late thirties with four children to feed, used to say “be grateful for boring days.”

Rare photo of my grandmother (at the sink) at some point after her husband died of complications from what should have been a routine surgery. The family thinks he was simply neglected by hospital staff who treated him as a second-class person because he was an immigrant. My grandmother was born on Christmas Day 1902 and was a widow for over 50 years.

I wish I knew

~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?

This is a hard one for me to answer. I’ve been dealing with a lot of negative thoughts since the beginning of this year, due to a situation that has forever changed my feelings about my family of origin.

I’ll be interested to read others’ responses.

I guess distraction is one way!

So, here’s a mommy and baby osprey in their very dramatic nest near the beach on the South Coast of Massachusetts:

And some video of the two interacting:

This nearby beach is just over border, so it’s actually in Rhode Island, not Massachusetts.

New England has many beautiful areas, but this one is my favorite. The ocean is noticeably warmer here than in Northern New England and there are never shark sightings like on Cape Cod (knock wood) so you can get in and swim to your heart’s content.

Actually, that’s my answer: swimming is the best way to deal with negative thoughts.

Go for a swim, people!