Thursday, September 18, 2014

Boston Visit With Family

Said a fond farewell to Canada on Thursday, as we came back to the good old US of A and made our way to Boston, where we spent a delightful weekend with my younger brother and his wife, and also got to visit with their newest grandchild and his family, as well as  our other nephew, who's also in Boston.  Plus, we got to see the family patriarch, my incredible uncle Mac, who, at 98, sets a new record every day as the Senterfitt to have lived the longest on this earth!  He's such a delight and still can show off his rapier wit and vitality from time to time.  Just an amazing man, and such a sweetheart.  He carries his mother's maiden name, McCaskill, and he and my older brother visited Scotland several years ago and found the house on the Isle of Skye that most agree was the starting point for this branch of the family tree.  When Trisha and I were on Cape Breton and Prince Edward Islands, we would see the McCaskill name from time to time in the names of businesses and that brought a smile to our faces.  We were able to bring Mac a beautiful wool shawl/lap blanket from the MacAusland Mills on Prince Edward Island--since he's so thin, the cold weather seems to get to him more and more, so he was glad to get something that he can wrap around his shoulders during these cooler temps.  We picked him up from his assisted living place on Saturday and took him to lunch and then took a several block walk after lunch, before bringing him back to his place.  Pretty impressive for a 98 year old!

We were so glad to meet little Oliver, our newest grandnephew, before he and his family took off for a week's vacation on North Carolina's Outer Banks.  Nephew Marshall is a trial lawyer in Boston and fortunately a big case he was handling just settled the day before, so he can now enjoy his vacation without having to be working on trial preparation the whole time--how well I, and my whole family, remember those kinds of vacations!  Trisha had knitted a cute little hat for Oliver, that looks like a little bird, as well as one that looks like an octopus for Oliver's big sister, Eisa, now 3.  She thought it was a bit warm yet for a knitted hat, so she said she would put it in her closet until it got colder!

Sunday was a lovely sunny day in Boston, so Jimmy and Colleen took us on a tour of some of the in town sights, particularly around the Charles River and the Back Bay.  We walked through the Boston Public Gardens and Boston Commons, and then strolled through some of the beautiful neighborhoods of the Back Bay.  We really enjoyed seeing some of the historical churches there, including the first church in Boston, dating from 1630, now housing a UU congregation.  We also saw a lovely Presbyterian/Congregational Church that has some beautiful Tiffany windows, as well as a gorgeous Tiffany chandelier.  Since First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, where Trisha served for 14 years, has some lovely Tiffany windows, she was especially glad to see these other examples of this lovely art.  The Back Bay area is really a vibrant neighborhood, with some unbelievable homes and lots of neat shops and restaurants.  We had lunch at a wonderful little pizza place, and had a table tucked into a little upstairs bay window overlooking the sidewalk scene--cool!  Sunday evening we enjoyed an absolutely glorious sunset from their upstairs deck, overlooking Boston Harbor.  For a number of years they have lived aboard a motor yacht, both on Long Island and in Boston Harbor, but they've now sold the boat and have become landlubbers--have a gorgeous 3 story place in East Boston overlooking the harbor.  Lots of these typical 3 level houses have decks at various levels.  Their next door neighbors have a deck on a lower level, and on many summer evenings, like this Sunday, they hang a huge sheet on the wall and have a movie party!  Looked really interesting, but we got so engrossed in our lively game of Hand and Foot that we forgot to go out and see what movie they were showing!  But we had great fun.


Leaving St. Andrews

The quickly receding tide in St. Andrews
Another pretty stone church
The little birdie hat Trisha knitted for our newest great nephew, Oliver--isn't that too cute??!!
Coming into Maine
Now Mass.

Here we are with great niece, Eisa, as she's opening the package with her hat
Gram (Colleen) with Eisa
The octopus hat!!
Trisha was so excited to get her hands on little Oliver!


Oliver with Gram and Grandcap
Jesse and Oliver

Marshall and Eisa, getting excited about going to the airport to fly to the beach for vacation
Eisa is so cute, and so precocious, too--after being with us at Thanksgiving last year, one day when Colleen was babysitting her she asked Colleen if Santa could bring her a new baby (before Jesse had announced that she was pregnant).  When Colleen said she wasn't sure if Santa could do that, Eisa said "Maybe Uncle Jack??"  Too funny!

Marshall's not too happy with his new baby boy, huh??

The happy new parents


Jimmy and Colleen's house, the top floor
Wonderful deck out from the living room
 Looking out over Boston Harbor

 Auto carrier in the harbor

 Fish company across from their house

 Beautiful morning for breakfast on the deck!

Front of their house
Some scenes around their neighborhood
Halloween decorations going up!
Nothing says fall like a big display of pumpkins and squash!
Lunch with Uncle Mac, just an amazing man




On one of the bridges over the Charles River, some knitters have decorated the railing with various samplings, here a sort of a quilt.  Interesting.
Visit to the Back Bay, just love the architecture here
The first church in the US, according to the plaque--dating from 1630, now a Unitarian Universalist church







Rooftop garden along the way
Love all these flowers!
Especially the window boxes

Coming into Boston Public Gardens



The iconic swan boats in the Gardens

The hurry gurdy man!


Lovely weeping willow trees
A one man band with his Rube Goldbergesque contraption--what a hoot!


Tribute to those from the area lost on 9/11
An Episcopal Church
Love this philosophy!


This is the Presbyterian/Congregationalist church with the Tiffany windows and chandelier









Above, an interesting variation on the usual mannequin display in a clothing store!
Below, a tribute to 9 fallen firemen who died fighting a fire in a nearby hotel in 1972
These are some beautiful Back Bay homes

How fitting that this is the cross street just up from Jimmy and Colleen's house, as our mother's name was Ruth!
Sunset from their deck, over the harbor






Their next door neighbors getting ready to enjoy the evening's movie on the sheet against the wall--pretty neat idea for a party!














2 comments:

  1. That is one spectacular sunset! How fortunate they are to have that beautiful view.

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  2. Yes awesome sunset and thanks for sharing.

    Rod

    ReplyDelete