What a difference a day can make in New England weather. Though still chilly, the day was filled with sunshine. Perfect conditions for a trip downtown and a walk on the Freedom Trail. This self-guided tour takes you through most of the historical sites in the city - meeting halls, churches and cemeteries-all surrounded by sky-scrapers. It has been particularly interesting to me as my students have been learning this month about the Revolutionary War, and I am able to visit the sites which we are currently studying. We climbed the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument and enjoyed a beautiful 360 of the area. We were not able to board the USS Constitution, but viewed the museum. After some pastries at Mikes on Hanover St. we checked out the 'Garden' and North Station. The place was packed with Bruins fans as there was a hockey game tonight. We ended the day with brick-oven pizza and seafood pasta at Antico Formo on Salem St.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A Wet Welcome to New England
We were all raring to go at 7:30 am as we stepped off our red-eye special at Logan Airport. Our welcome by the shuttle driver included a warning that there are Dunkin Donuts on every corner--Indeed there are! though we passed about 20 of them up to find the familiar McDs for a start to our soggy day. Maybe Boston wanted to welcome some Northwesterners with a cold wet day. We meandered up the back roads in our rental car (all roads in New England meander) to the Salem area and took a drive-by gander at Gordon College. We were allowed a morning check-in at our motel, then headed to Lexington and Concord for some history lessons. We dashed out of the car at each site to catch a glimpse before we got soaked. Calvin was particularly interested as the Concord area is rich in literary history. On our way home we stopped at Harvard and strolled the grounds and checked out the bookstore. The day was topped off with a trip to Legal Seafoods, a New England classic.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Yet another Bulthuis Bike
In an effort to outfit my biking partner for an exciting season of bike path cycling, I found a women's hybrid on Craigslist that fits her to a T. Esther is tickled with the brown leather seat and handgrips, the low step frame and the foam green color. It's a Trek 7000 wsd which retails for $360, but we got last year's model for $175. She will be all ready to hit the bike paths with me this spring and summer. It sure would be nice if we could have some consistent spring weather. Markus came home today as he will have his spring break this coming week.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Happy Birthday Jenny
Saturday was Jenny's birthday, so Esther and I went up to Lynden to help celebrate. Esther hosted a birthday dinner of scallop linguini for the Eide clan, complete with a leaning layered cake. During the afternoon, we went baby accessory browsing in Bellingham and then checked out an Eide Homes job site that has an amazing view of the the Nooksack and Frasier Valleys. Even though it was Jenny's birthday, you would have thought it was Bjorn's as he relished the arrival of his new bike which we had brought up with us. Jenny is looking 'great with child' and as healthy as a horse (no similarities intended - it's an idiom!) We are all looking forward with anticipation to next month's arrival of a baby girl.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Parenting Penny
For the past couple of days, we have been babysitting John and Sugar's dog, Penny. She is a well-behaved Schnauzer who although not stealing our hearts, did leave us tonight with some regret in our affections. The only time she seemed to bark was each time the ferry unloaded. The second night we got smart and put her kennel in Markus' bedroom where she couldn't hear the ferry. Our cat Oscar is glad to be rid of the neurotic canine and have the house back to himself.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
a cold test ride on Bjorn's new bike
This past week I played broker for Bjorn as he bought a bike off of craigslist. Since the owner was in Tacoma, I got to play middleman. Prior to deliver to Lynden next weekend, I decided to take a test ride to Manchester, albeit 37 degrees. The bike is a very light single speed/fixed gear reversible hub, which means uphill pedaling is a bear and downhill becomes a coast ride (at least in single speed. I'm not sure what happens in fixed gear. Maybe you spread your legs and let the pedals spin!) It's great on the flats since the bike is so light. It would appear that the bike will work well for Bjorn in the flat Nooksack Valley, but it would be a killer for my hilly work commute.
Monday, March 02, 2009
The letter he's been working for
Over the last year, Calvin has been diligently pursuing the possibility of going to college in Japan. He has researched, tested and made the necessary applications; all without prompting from his nervous parents. Today, he was rewarded with a package from Tokyo informing him of his acceptance into International Christian University. While the decision to go or not is still a ways from finality, today was a milestone in the process. He is still strongly considering Gordon College in Massachusetts, as well as Westmont and Biola in California. All of which have already accepted him. Please pray for Calvin as he makes this very important decision in the months ahead. Pray for his parents also, that they will give him wise counsel and not allow their protectionary instincts to interfere.
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