I Love Beans

I'm normally not a talker when it comes to plane rides.  Silence doesn't make me nervous like it does a lot of people.  In fact, being at home with 5 kids, silence is rather a luxury.  There was a family with 3 kids sitting behind us, the baby was probably about a year...and sick.  Makes for a very uncomfortable flight for her and those around.  The flight attendant came around to take beverage requests.  The man next to me bought 3 cans of beer.  At 10:30 in the morning.  I asked for some milk.  You know, to go with the peanut butter and honey sandwich I brought with me.  I could tell there was judging going on in his head.  

He would clutch his chair every time the little girl behind us would yelp.  The noisy child didn't bother me, I felt sorry for her parents and for her.  The man turned to me, motioned in their direction and said, "I don't miss that."  I asked him how many kids he had.  Two daughters, 9 and 13.  He asked if I had any kids.  I was almost giddy to shock him with my answer.  And it did.  We continued to converse for the remainder of the flight about public education, raising children while trying to allow them to have choice, favorite cities to visit.  I enjoyed the conversation, despite a bit of his colorful language.  I could tell he loved his daughters and wife and that he was trying his best to raise them well, which always makes me happy to see. He finished off two beers, I my milk and we parted ways.

I was thrilled to see my love standing there as I came up the escalator, because everyone likes to be greeted after a trip.  We got some chocolate at Beacon Hill Chocolates and spent far too long trying to decide which ones to tuck in the little box.  Lavender is my favorite.

The abundant red brick was so beautiful against the snowy "skiff".

Curtain of icicles.  Have I ever told you about the massive icicles my dad brought in from our roof and used them as a centerpiece down the table, stuck in big aluminum boxes?  One melted so much during dinner, it tipped over, nearly killing my grandma.  Okay, it didn't nearly kill her, but it nearly hit her.  Always exciting at our house!

I snuck in a little bit of fabric shopping in Chinatown at this place and found some really fun, unique cottons.  Mind brewing.  I'm sure they'll surface in this space come spring.

How I miss really good restaurants.  I always feel a bit awkward taking photos of my food, so this was the only shot I took while we were there, but my favorite restaurant was Giacomo's with their butternut squash ravioli. 

If I ever need a new/old knob, I now know where to find it!

We happened upon this little Japanese art gallery that we fell in love with.  We wanted absolutely everything that was in there.  

We ended up getting a mobile of a man and woman holding hands, flying through the air.  What I loved about going there though, was the 2 Japanese women who worked there.  They were shocked and impressed Ryan could speak Japanese and forgot that he could understand them as they had a little bantering back and forth going on for a minute.  We all laughed, although, I was the only one who didn't understand what they were saying!  I wish I had a photo of them, but didn't think to snap one in the midst of all my reveling of the Japanese beauty in that single place.

I loved how the buildings and the trees would be half covered with snow, imagining the wind that was blowing during that storm to create such an effect.  

We always find Bostonians to be so pleasant and helpful and we would secretly laugh when they would say "all set" for everything.  Thanks, Boston, for showing a grand, albeit frigid, time.  I think we're all set until next time!