Irving’s Toy and Card Shop

Today after a lovely lunch at Zaftigs and checking out The JFK Birthplace with my “broad” friend, I went to Irving’s Toy and Card Shop in Brookline. I had passed by it a billion times, but never had the opportunity to stop in…until today!

What a little gem. I felt like I stepped into a time capsule. Candy, gum, games, cards…some of the toys were like the cheap plastic toys that at we’d get at the general store when camping, like little plastic farm animals or activity pads that come with those magic markers. The woman who works there, Ethel, is a sweetheart. She wears a button that says, “I love my customers.” I asked her who Irving is and she said, “My first husband. Died in ‘60.”

I bought a pack of bubble gum and a little figurine of McDonald’s Birdie.

No cuts, no butts, no coconuts!

Went to Cabot’s with a few friends for lunch on Saturday. It was a little crowded, so we were waiting in line to be seated. A group of people blatantly cut in front of about three parties of people who had been waiting previously, including us. I was very hungry, my blood sugar level was dropping, and I was filling with anxiety at the very thought of getting seated after that party. They also cut in front of a woman holding a baby carrier and a toddler!

I debated over whether or not to say anything, and by the time I decided that saying something would be appropriate (especially because they cut in front of a bunch of people), I realized that I had missed the boat and that it was too late for me to say something.

I was still preparing to get aggressive if necessary, so my group sort of inched our way next to them, and then in front of them…and the host luckily knew we had been waiting for a while to be seated, so he seated us first. The cutting party nearly threw a fit.

I smugly sat at my table and thoroughly enjoyed my lunch and dessert.

Part of me felt silly for getting so annoyed at these people for cutting…although in elementary school circles, cutting is nearly a crime! I remember waiting in line at the school cafeteria (especially on minute steak day…how I loved minute steak — with some tater tots and carrot coins, yum yum yum!) and people asking each other to cut and we’d chant, “No cuts, no butts, no coconuts!”

I googled that phrase after the Cabot’s cutting debacle, and I was brought to a wikipedia page about cutting in line.

There is a lot of etiquette when it comes to cutting in line:

The act of cutting is generally frowned upon by most people. However, it has developed a set of rules to allow for “fair” cutting. These include asking for “cuts” (or “cut-sies”) – permission to enter ahead of the person that was asked, or “back cuts” – permission to enter behind the person that was asked.

I recall being fairly generous with the “back cuts.”

Sometimes, a recitation of the rhyming phrase: “No cuts, no butts, no coconuts!” is given, although this may be seen as childish. A simple “no” is also effective.

Look at the wikipedia article for more information re: cutting in line.

Come hear some acoustic music tomorrow!!

Matt is doing a solo acoustic gig tomorrow!

Thursday (10/19/06), 10:00pm

Copperfield’s
98 Brookline Ave.
Boston, MA 02115

So, if you’re free and in Greater Boston come check it out. I know it’s a weeknight (and my bedtime is generally 11!) but a wise woman once told me that Thursday is the new Friday!

Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk!

I was so caught up in writing about idiots with road rage that I forgot to write about our success with the Jimmy Fund Walk! :-)

$5 MILLION WAS RAISED! Yay! :-) So thanks for all who donated! It was a great cause and it felt very empowering to be supporting it.

We walked a half marathon, from Wellesley to Copley Square. Ten miles into it, I swore my legs were going completely numb…but I was able to muster up three more miles. When I came home and took off my sneakers, I saw that my socks were bloody! My legs and feet were so numb I didn’t realize that my feet were bleeding. I’ve been hobbling around a little today, but I’m surprisingly not as sore in my legs as I thought I would be.

That’s us at our starting point in Wellesley.

There I am at the top of Heartbreak Hill. I’m happy because I snagged some juice and peanut-butter crackers.

Is that the Citgo sign I see behind Matt? Yes, it is! Almost there….

At this point there were LOTS of walkers because the last starting point was in Brookline. It was a 3 mile walk.

Yaaay! We made it! Copley Square! Look at our fancy medallions.

At the end there was food and entertainment. We got some food but didn’t stick around after that. Can’t imagine who would feel like partying after doing 13 miles, let alone the people who walked from Hopkinton!

Next year Matt and I are going to train to walk the entire marathon. Even though it’s a walk, Matt wants to jog it. I’m a little less ambitious. My left knee isn’t very happy today! But I am! :-)

So stay tuned and donate again next year!! We’re going to start a team for next year too, so if you want to join our team, please do.

Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk

Here I am, urging you to support yet another charitable cause! :-)

Matt and I are doing the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk this September. (Actually, we’re doing the half-marathon, starting in Wellesley…I’m not so sure I’ll have the stamina to walk to Boston from Hopkinton by September!)

Anyway, we each need to raise $200. Plllleeease donate if you can — it goes to a GREAT cause. (For you out of staters reading this, the Jimmy Fund is for cancer research!)

If you want to donate online go here. Unfortunately, I think you need to donate a minimum of $20 if you want to donate through the site…that’s kind of a bummer because I know that’s a little steep for some, but if you still want to donate you can send me a check (or just give it to me in person). Leave a comment here if you want to send a check and I’ll email you telling you where to send it. Make ‘em out to The Jimmy Fund.

Even if it’s just a few bucks, it could make a HUGE difference. Everything adds up and brings them one step closer to finding a cure. So seriously, if all you can swing is $2, send it on over because that’s $2 more than they had before.

And hey…if you’re local, why don’t you join us? We can walk from Wellesley to Copley Square together. It will likely be fun, exhausting, and totally worth it.

Fundraiser in Salem on June 25th

Bob “The Whale”, bassist for a local band Ryan Dupont Band lost his home and everything in it due to a fire in Ipswich, MA. On Sunday, June 25 there will be a fundraiser to help him get back on his feet at The Bay Bridge Restaurant and Nightclub in Salem, featuring such bands as Velvet Elvis. Please come. Donations will be $15 and that includes a buffet.

Click here for more information!

Baybridge Restaurant and Night Club
29 Bridge Street (Rt 1a)
Salem, MA 01970
Phone 978-745-8881

Looking for something to do on Saturday night?

I’ve been bad at plugging Matt’s gigs lately…but Custom Deluxe is playing at The SkyBar in Somerville on Saturday night. Matt plays bass in Custom Deluxe and it’s an instrumental rock band with a jazzy-bluesy twist! They’re not going on until (gasp!) 11:30, which is wayyy past MY bedtime, but hey, it’s SATURDAY and a HOLIDAY WEEKEND!

So come on out!

Fun at Drumlin Farm!

We went to Drumlin Farm on Saturday! Here are some pictures:

A rooster and hen. They just recently got together after the rooster lost his old hen, and they’re just starting to get along.

This goat was super duper preggo. She was in a separate pen and she was HUGE. I didn’t take a picture of her whole body, though, because her udder was freaking me out.

Happy as a pig in mud!

Piglets!!

These are the goats. They were frolicking around and playing. It was so cute.

More goats, enjoying the beautiful day.

I took more pictures I couldn’t get any good ones of the sheep. There was a really pretty fox there, too, but it was shy and ran away before I could snap a photo. There were also rescued owls there which I couldn’t get decent photos of.

But I like the goats. :-)

My First Fenway Park Experience

On Wednesday, I got to go to my first Red Sox game at Fenway Park!

Even though I don’t really follow baseball, I love live sporting events. I like the people-watching, the energy, and particularly at Red Sox games there’s an amount of passion and enthusiasm that I’ve never seen at a live sporting event before. It was quite an experience and lots of fun!

We had box seats so we were really close!

I think the Jimmy Fund logo is really cute!

At one point, the bottom part of this said: “EAT HEALTHY.” I thought it was really ironic, considering it was in between a McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts ad…plus, are Fenway Franks and Cracker Jack really conducive to a healthy lifestyle?

I had beer ($7) and a sausage ($4.25)…I think I got totally gypped with the sausage. It tasted and looked exactly like a hot dog, just slightly darker. When I got back to my seat, I noticed people with much better-looking sausages. And also with better beer!! (Our tickets were free though so I can’t really complain!)

We sang “Sweet Caroline”…it recently prompted me to find out why “Sweet Caroline” is the theme song. I did some research, but it seems like there’s no real reason.

Then some dude ran out on to the field during the ninth inning. Here’s security essentially tackling him.

And here he is, getting escorted out!

Overall, it was a great night! Getting back on the T was a bit of a nightmare — we waited in line for about a half hour!! But it was all worth it. And I get to go again in a few weeks with my “Little Sister”. :-)

Canoeing on the Charles

Yesterday Matt and I spent the lovely weather canoeing in the Charles River.

We took off from Norumbega Park, which is conveniently only a five minute drive from our house. We canoed down the river, down by Brandeis and Purgatory Cove…

Matt looking at a map

Me canoeing…man, my arms got tired quickly!

Quack quack quack!

Matt canoeing

Then we decided to go through the culvert to get to Purgatory Cove…but I had a rather difficult time directing us back out to the river…

Yikes! I almost bumped my head a few times!

Cemetery on the river

This goose looked like he had somewhere to be!

More geese

We had a very nice time. We canoed for about an hour and a half. It was more interesting than canoeing in a lake or a pond because the scenery changes a lot more with a river. The water is a little murky in some parts near the banks because the water is shallow and there are a lot of lily pads, but it’s actually pretty clean. No litter or anything.

It will be even prettier in a few weeks once the trees and flowers are completely in bloom! We’ll go back again soon, for sure.