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Whew, it’s been a minute. Since I last posted, we went on a two-week Canada road trip (about which I will post more tomorrow), the kids started school, we had visitors and went to a BBQ competition in Springfield, I turned 45, and we took a short weekend trip up to Vermont. I’ll cover all that and more here.

School

The kids are back at the same school together for the first (and final) time since elementary. Miriam has loved getting to show Aaron the ropes of being at SHS and they regularly eat lunch together and accompany each other to their classes. Here are their standard first-day-of-school pics.

Springfield BBQ Competition

When we visited Canada, we spent a lot of our time in Toronto hanging out with three of the Mugambi sisters (Kinya, Gachery, and Kathambi), as well as Kinya’s husband (Jason) and daughter (Malaika). We extended them the invite to come visit us if they ever had reason to travel down to Massachusetts. It so happens that Jason participates in competitive barbecue events, and one of them was over a September weekend in Springfield. He drove a large van the 7+ hours from Toronto with all of his gear, while Kinya and Malaika flew to Boston and stayed with us. On the Saturday we drove out for the first set of results and to partake in the feast – the contestants have to create a considerable amount of food and are not allowed to give it away to organizations for health reasons. So we got sent home with a batch of Jason’s excellent entries. In addition to this, we went apple picking for the first time this season (the next will be with my parents in October) and just hung out and visited/played games/etc.

Jason’s food was excellent and it was interesting to watch him prepare everything for the subsequent round the next day.
We took the opportunity to grab a few family pics while we were there. The shirt is Jason’s own design for his BBQ team.
They all match and are personalized.
Malaika liked whenever anyone was awarded something by the judges because everyone clapped.
After the judging we hung out for a couple of hours and Malaika mostly wanted to follow me around and mug for the camera. I obliged.
My favorite pic from this excursion – two siblings who adore each other.
Malaika was intrigued by the concept of grabbing apples off trees and eating them on the spot. It never gets old.

Random Topic #1: Tomatoes

Upon arriving back from Canada, our tomato plants had gone absolutely nuts. They’ve continuously output a fresh bowl of fruit almost every day and they’re still going strong for probably another couple of weeks. One day I decided to take some pictures and was lucky enough to find a 🚦 in the mix.

Random Topic #2: Assorted pics from late summer afternoon/evening walks

These were taken at various times from late August to early September.

Random Topic #3: Super Blue Moon

On August 19-20, there was something called a Super Blue Moon, which was neither Blue nor especially Super. It was just really close and bright. I stood outside for a while with a super telephoto lens and managed to get some photos I’m really pleased with.

Random Topic #4: Pets

The pets are probably the most common subject of my random-walk-around-the-house photos. Here are a few recent ones.

Vermont

Finally, we arrive at my birthday weekend. We drove to Vermont and stayed in a nice AirBNB cabin in the woods outside a small town called Rochester (yes, just like NY). We went to the New England Maple Museum (which we first visited in 2003), drove through beautiful vistas, and intended to take the Ben & Jerry’s factory tour. Turns out that unlike in 2003 when you could just walk up and buy a ticket for the next tour, they’re basically sold out days or weeks in advance and you have to book online. Now we know for next time. We finished up the second evening with a meal at a local farm-to-table restaurant called Maple Soul. We drove back Sunday morning ahead of Aaron’s orchestra rehearsal. It was a wonderful little getaway and I highly recommend Vermont to everyone – it’s simply gorgeous.

 

This will be quite a packed post and likely the last one until we’re on the other side of our trip to Dallas and Canadian vacation in August. Delayna has been in Dallas for over two weeks, and Aaron just got back from his orchestra camp at the New England Conservatory. The same day Virginia departed for Dallas, two of my co-workers arrived for a week-long stay to escape the Texas heat and visit New England for the first time. To say we’re using this week to catch our breath is an understatement. Here we go…

Miriam’s friend Liv joined us for a game night on the July 4th weekend. She proved quite adept at Pit, the yelly stock market game.

OTTO

For our last meal as a quartet for a while, we stopped at OTTO Pizza in Boston (a Portland, Maine-based New England chain). The pizza was excellent (though my seasonal Elotes pizza needed to lean harder into the quirkiness) and we had fun with the menus.

They had a beer from the Von Trapp (yes, them) farm and brewery in Vermont so I had to try it. Our hope is to make it up there in September.
Delayna said the GF pizza crust (in front) was great and it definitely could have passed for the real thing visually.

Newport, Rhode Island

After Delayna and Aaron departed, I asked Miriam and Virginia what sounded fun to do; they liked the idea of visiting a beach. After a bit of research I determined Newport would be a potentially good destination. Miriam drove the whole way there and back, clocking 3 hours on her Driver’s Ed time log. We stopped at a cafe for a later lunch and then I hung out at a coffee shop continuing my work day until they closed at 5 and I drove the girls to the beach.

My entree was a special (seems to be my pattern these days) – house-made crab cakes benedict on multi-grain toast. Absolutely delicious, though a challenge to assemble each bite with all the available components.
Thames St. in downtown Newport – the main drag of shopping, restaurants, etc. It had a great feel and despite the heat back in Mass. it stayed in the low 80s the whole day.
For Miriam’s half birthday we went out for Vietnamese food and then to a mini-golf course for a pleasant evening game.

PeopleFun: Shrewsbury

A married couple I work with named Ted and Emily came and visited for a week. I planned an itinerary of various activities which included attending Aaron’s mid-camp concert (which was amazing and they loved) in Boston, some Freedom Trail highlights, a day spent in Providence (feat. the Flea and RISD), checking out video game demos by the students at a summer course in Worcester, and blueberry picking at Touga’s, just to name a few.

The Providence Flea was a bit underwhelming, but I suspect maybe it was smaller due to it being the middle of summer vacation and quite hot.
The Providence River, being enjoyed by the slowest jet-skiers ever.
Providence is a *really* pretty city.
Some great downtown mural action.
The RISD art museum was pretty astounding in its scope and (on Sundays) totally free. I enjoyed it thoroughly and it allowed us to escape the heat.
Miriam was at driver’s ed this week, so it was just the three of us out picking berries.
Ripe berries were plentiful and we ate our fill while we picked.
Our haul. We also got a phenomenal blueberry coffee cake for breakfast the next morning.

New England Conservatory’s Summer Orchestra Institute

Aaron participated in the first session (2 weeks) of a month long orchestra camp. All the students stay in the dorms normally occupied by college students and maintain a pretty rigorous schedule of playing 6-7 hours a day. He made lots of friends (including his roommate from Portland, OR), had multiple one-on-one sessions with professional bassists (including the 2nd chair of the Boston Pops and the principal bassist of the Boston Festival Orchestra, and as one of only two basses in the program (the other was a 15-year-old from LA) he got a lot of attention and they were grateful he was there. They had an ambitious slate of music (including one piece that got cut for time after it was too much for everyone to prepare) that they performed across two concerts. I’m not exaggerating when I say that these were probably the most impressive student orchestra performances I’ve ever heard. I’m working on securing the professional recordings of both of them and will subsequently post them – they’re absolutely worth watching. The highlight has to be their performance of Holst’s The Planets in the final concert – it earned every minute of the standing ovation it received. I suspect Aaron will return to the camp next year.

Aaron with the conductor and clinician. She was fabulous.
Two of Aaron’s new friends, Jules (his roommate) and Anna.

To wrap up this post, here are a couple of flower pictures. The only thing I’ve planted this year are some tomatoes that are finally starting to ripen. We keep being surprised by flowers the previous owner planted and which recovered post-winter. The last couple of weeks have featured our crazy blue hydrangeas (which have had a banner year everywhere, especially Newport) and some day-lilies.

It’s been a minute since school ended and I haven’t done much picture-taking, but I figured I could bundle a few updates together for the back half of June and beginning of July.

Six Flags and Connecticut

We discovered there is a Six Flags in Springfield. Aaron loves Six Flags, while the rest of us are pretty much over waiting in lines for hours and/or dislike roller coasters at this point. A friend of his was available to go, so on Juneteenth we trekked the hour or so out to Springfield, dropped the boys off, and the rest of us drove down into Hartford, Connecticut to explore a food hall until it was time to pick them up.

Miriam had Poké again for the first time since she was sick in Sweden after eating it, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I got tacos that were pretty good but not amazing, and Delayna got a few different Salvadorian items.
Everything was decorated for Juneteenth.
In addition to Juneteenth, there were lots of pride elements everywhere. None were more pronounced than this painted wall.

Nature Walk

Miriam took us on a walk through the hiking trails maintained by her school. It was a fun walk with nice views, but we should have sprayed for bugs because we ended the walk picking ticks off ourselves and Luke.

Worcester on the hill

Independence Day Concert

Worcester has an annual July 3rd concert by the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra. They did a variety of “Americana” music, including excerpts from Hamilton, some Great American Songbook favorites, and some Copeland. Apparently it is tradition to set off fireworks at the end while playing the 1812 Overture and some Sousa marches. Unfortunately, I don’t have any good footage or photos of the fireworks because (I’m guessing due to an incorrect logistical decision) they were largely obscured by a massive tree close to us. Maybe next year they’ll change where they set them off. We also met up with some friends of mine who just moved to Worcester from Houston this past weekend. It felt nice to welcome people to the area who have a shared Texas history and were equally glad to escape the weather and terrible politics. The whole thing had a very “wholesome”, old-school, casual community feeling to it. You showed up, listened to some nice music, watched some fireworks (when not blocked by a tree), and went home – all in absolutely gorgeous mid-70’s evening weather. It turns out after years of thinking I hate summer that I actually love it. I just had to live in a place where it’s not miserable all season. They’re doing two more park concerts this month that I hope to attend – one of big-band jazz and the other of Disney favorites.

Virginia has joined us from Dallas for two weeks. ❤️
A wide view of Institute Park from the street.
Our view after trekking to the far side to get closer. The little girl on the right tried a few different times to climb on stage.

We closed on our house the day before school started, so the entire time we’ve lived in Massachusetts has been marked by that schedule. Miriam is now an incoming senior and Aaron will be joining her in high school at the end of August. They both had excellent first years here academically and we’re super proud of them. On top of that, Miriam had to complete a test to resume her driving practice here and she now has her MA permit. If things go well she should be getting her license right around the time she turns 18.

As is tradition, the kids took a photo in front of the house.
As is also tradition, they took a few with Luke as well.

EWE🐐: Acacia Grill

We celebrated the end of school with dinner and a movie. Back in November I discovered that Worcester had what looked to be an honest-to-goodness Kenyan restaurant. It was temporarily closed for remodeling at the time and it fell off our radar a bit. Then on our anniversary we thought we’d try it out. Given that it’s a tiny operation and they were catering a wedding that day, they weren’t open for dine-in guests. We decided to try them ahead of seeing Inside Out 2 (which was fantastic) and they didn’t disappoint. 

While the restaurant itself is very basic and unremarkable, the food was outstanding. They don’t make certain dishes (including Irio, Delayna’s favorite) unless you let them know in advance, so not everything on the menu was available. However, we were able to get incredible samosas that tasted just like being back with the Mugambis in Nairobi, fresh-made, still-hot chipati, and masala chai tea. They were consumed so rapidly that we didn’t even get pictures of them. 😋 Delayna went ahead and ordered a couple of her favorites for pickup on Saturday. We’re so excited that we have access to this food a mere 10 minute drive from our house. Below are each of the main entrees.

The kids each got the beef stew with pilau rice. I imagine this is amazing on a wintry MA day in January.
Delayna got the goat stew 🐐, plus ugali (corn meal) and sukuma wiki (kale). All wonderful.
I went out on a limb and got the whole fried tilapia. In order to work around the bones, you are strongly encouraged to eat it with your hands. They have a sink in the main eating area to wash up for this purpose. It was incredible and incredibly filling.

For the first weekend in June it was just the kids and me (Delayna was visiting Dallas for work). We decided to make the most of the perfect weather and do a whole host of activities. In addition, Miriam helped me lay out our stairwell photos so I could hang them and make progress on another home settling project.

Strawberry Picking at Touga’s

We got up early enough Saturday morning to be at Touga’s by 8:45. This helped us precede the crowds and have access to a lot of berries, as well as beat the mid-day heat and sun.

Straw was laid down all around the berries. I thought maybe this has some sort of etymological significance, but it’s apparently just a coincidence – it helps keep them dry, since strawberries easily damage in wet conditions, and it provides a very nice padding to kneel on when picking them.

We all really enjoyed the activity, including Miriam, who doesn’t so much care to eat them herself. Aaron was free to indulge as he picked, which he took full advantage of…

In the end, we accrued 3 boxes weighing in at about 3 lbs each.

As is typical any time we go to Touga’s, after the picking we went to their store where we are usually tempted by the seasonal offerings they have. This time it was fresh (still warm) strawberry donuts, some strawberry butter Aaron has enjoyed on toast every day this past week, a pumpkin coffee cake, and some amaretto coffee beans. All excellent choices, IMO.

When Delayna got home the following Saturday, we prepared a gluten-free strawberry cake with maple whipped cream and freshly cut berries on top.

EWE 🐐: Boulevard Diner

After we brought our picking home and Aaron has his weekly piano lesson, we headed over to Worcester to try an old-fashioned diner called Boulevard. It’s mostly 24-hours, except for the early days in the week, and has a suitably eclectic menu.

The clock was not accurate – it was just after noon when we arrived.

The kids each got burgers, which I think was the right play. They both raved about them. I got the Italian breakfast, which while good, I feel like maybe wasn’t their specialty. I keep overthinking these diner meals. Hopefully third time is the charm…

While we were waiting for our food, I got a call back about a reservation I attempted to make at a horse-riding place. Miriam had the idea earlier that morning and I spent the time during Aaron’s piano lesson trying to find a place with availability. Being very last minute, everywhere around us was booked solid. When I strayed into Rhode Island, however, I found a place that was cheaper than others (cash only) and had availability for a 3pm slot. It’s amazing to live in a place where driving to a neighboring state takes no more than an hour (and sometimes less).

After lunch, we made a quick stop at a thrift store called Grime before heading home to kick back for 45 minutes. The store was nothing special, but it did have a real copy of Dr. Mario for the NES on an old CRT TV. We couldn’t leave until Aaron completed a level of it.

Aaron’s played it many times on his custom arcade, but this was his first time playing with actual controlers.

Rhode Island Horseback Riding

The drive to RI was about 50 minutes, during which time both kids indulged in a short power nap to refresh.

I was unfortunately told I couldn’t take my backpack and film camera with us on the ride and pictures while atop the horse were forbidden (for “safety reasons” – it’s too bad previous idiots have triggered such policies). I stashed it in the check-in building and placed my phone in an advantageous position. Since I was at the back of the procession, I was able to surreptitiously get it out and snap a couple of pictures when the guide was out of line of sight. It was a lovely ride through a forest – we were all in awe of just how beautiful this part of the country is, and how temperate the weather was. Apparently they offer it year-round, so you can go in the autumn leaves and even when everything is covered in snow. We will definitely be doing this later this year.

After this excursion and the drive back home, the kids both voted to push our planned mini-golf trip to Sunday – they were simply exhausted. We went home and baked a couple of ready-made pizzas and watched a movie.

Mulligan’s Mini-Golf

Sunday afternoon, post-sunscreen time, we drove up to the little hamlet of Sterling to try a new-ish mini-golf place called Mulligan’s.

They only have a single course but it was challenging and well-laid out. In addition, on every other hole they had an additional bonus challenge you could choose to attempt. You spun a wheel with a few different options and had to perform the random act on your first shot. They were things like rolling the ball with your hand, hitting it with the handle of your club, or attempting to complete the hole within 10 seconds of your first stroke. This last one led to the kids just about losing it as they scrambled after the ball to strike it the moment it came to rest. No one was ultimately able to get it within the time limit, but it added a dimension to mini-golf to make it more interesting and fun.

A couple of times the kids hit too hard and sent their balls into water obstacles or hedges. The family in front of us was good natured and laughed the couple of times they had to return Miriam’s ball after she was a little too enthusiastic.

Aaron color-coordinated his ball choice with his footwear.

The weekend was super fun from pretty much start to finish, and we agreed we needed to do all these things again when Delayna could join us.

Hudson’s Town Square Memorial Statue

Breakfast @ Victor’s 50s Diner

We started our day by driving 20 minutes northeast to Hudson, a town about half the population of Shrewsbury but a nice little main street with shops and restaurants (something Shrewsbury would do well to restore since COVID). We chose as our eatery Victor’s 50s Diner, which styles itself in the red and white accoutrements of classic diner design vocabulary. The kids both liked their food but mine was just okay – I suspect ordering a Greek skillet instead of going for a more traditional “biscuits and gravy” option was not the best decision.

It wasn’t super busy when we first arrived, allowing me to get this shot.
Aaron’s Hungry Man breakfast, which also included a couple of pancakes that came out a few minutes later.
Miriam got the chicken-n-waffles and very much enjoyed it.

Memorial Day Parade

When we left Shrewsbury, the town was preparing to close the main thoroughfare for a short parade. As it turns out, Hudson’s was about to kick off right as we left the restaurant so we hung around for it. There were a few speakers, including one of the higher-up representatives in the Massachusetts House. It was really refreshing to hear speeches that were patriotic but not nationalist, and in House Rep in particular made note of many of the current anti-Democratic (and antisemitic) trends in the country as a reason to stay vigilant. Only in a Blue State, am I right?

Exploring Hudson

After the ceremony, the crowd scattered and we decided to walk the downtown strip a little bit. Our only previous time in Hudson was at night when it was much colder and less conducive to wandering. On our way back to the car, we saw the very fancy New City Microcreamery and stopped in for a snack.

From the front…
More of the nostalgic town vibes.
The local church, preparing for Pride Month.

My favorite of the phrases adorning the ice cream shop.
Miriam got a Thai Iced Tea. Aaron got some strawberry-based ice cream in a cone. I got a small cup of “Baklava” ice cream with pistachios and bits of pastry mashed in. It was amazing.

Foggy Photo Walk

On our way home, I noticed that the morning fog still hadn’t lifted from Shrewsbury, so after dropping the kids off at home I grabbed a camera and went out for 30 minutes before the rain moved in. It was something like 95% humidity, but in the upper 60’s, so comfortable enough. I decided to wander the cemetery, which I haven’t done since the winter, and which was decked out with many flags and remembrances for the holiday.

All the rain lately has caused patches like this to pop up all over the place.
And because there were flowers, I had to take multiple pictures of them.

Exploring Worcester Eateries (EWE)

On Friday the 17th, Delayna and Aaron drive down to the outskirts of Virginia/DC for an Airrosti appointment to help with with Aaron’s strained hip flexors. They drove back on Saturday with Aaron in much improved condition. Left to our own devices back home, Miriam and I chose to try a new Vietnamese restaurant in Worcester called Phoever Whatever. They’ve been open less than a month and were so overjoyed to have customers they brought us complimentary Thai Iced Tea with our meal. The food was excellent – Miriam fully approved of the pho. I expect this to be the first in a series of EWE posts. 🐑

 

 

Aaron’s Final WYPO Performance and Audition News

On Sunday Aaron performed in what will be his final concert as the bassist of the Worcester Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. This is because at his audition today he made it into WYSO (Symphony), the top group that will get to tour in the Czech Republic and Austria next season. He worked so hard for this opportunity and we are so proud of him! They even extended an additional invite to be part of a small baroque chamber group (think 6-7 people total) as the bassist. This is usually reserved for the very top players since often it’s only 1-2 people per section. Along with his new teacher he’ll have at Shrewsbury High, Aaron is really looking forward to the coming year in orchestra.

 

Miriam’s Junior Prom

On Saturday Miriam went to her Junior Prom with her good friend Liv. She asked me to take pictures of their matching dresses, which I chose to do in front of the venue for the event: Union Station. She had a blast dancing, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the fancy meal they provided. Props to Aaron for being my voice-activated light stand so I didn’t have to combat a breeze and could focus on taking photos.

 

 

Aaron’s “Recruiting Concert” and Upcoming Audition

Aaron is currently in the Philharmonic group of the Worcester Youth Orchestra, which is the tier made up largely of a mix of junior high and early high school students. He is auditioning on May 20 for a spot in the Symphony Orchestra, the top group, which is almost exclusively high school students. He has been working very hard at his audition music and will absolutely be up to the challenge of the more rigorous music if he makes it. Since his moving up will leave the Philharmonic without a double bass player (unless there’s someone auditioning we are unaware of), he has told the conductor that he will be happy to volunteer his time to provide bass support for concerts when it doesn’t overlap with Symphony.

 

He also performed in his second to last school concert of the year. It’s their annual “recruiting” concert, where they invite visitors from the elementary and lower middle (5-6) schools to hear the band, orchestra, and choir perform interesting pieces. To showcase the orchestras’ different instruments, the teacher selected individuals to perform brief solos. Aaron did a 15 second selection from Star Wars, to a number of whoops and claps from the audience. His final concert with Oak will be on June 5. He has already met the orchestra teacher he will have as a freshman in the fall and likes him a lot.