Hello! I am still here! Sometimes!

The weather has finally turned nice in Boston and so I have been spending a lot of time outside, which is great. Here are some of the things I have done outside recently:

• Gone to a Red Sox game (they lost to the A's 6-0, but we at least had great seats on the right field roof deck, and the weather was amazing), and we ate various kinds of disgusting stadium food including some horrifyingly bright-green "margaritas".


• Gone for a hike in the Middlesex Fells, a largeish wooded park/conservation area a little ways outside of Boston - there is lots of hiking and scrambling, and there are wild blueberries all over the place! I ate loads, and I may go back on a dedicated blueberrying trip and make a pie or something.


• Walked to and from work every day (except when I had to go somewhere else on the way home from work).


• Walked along the waterfront to see the Tall Ships, which actually I wasn't crazy about, but while I was there I visited the ICA and saw me some contemporary art, which was good.


• Watched fireworks and saw Revolutionary War re-enactors on Independence Day weekend.

And probably various other things I'm not remembering. I went to the Arboretum, but that wasn't due to the nice weather; I wanted to try out my new rain pants in some rain (they worked!). Now that the rain has stopped, I am actually really loving this cool summer we're having. Although it is way too cold inside at work - I have been wearing sweaters (sometimes multiple sweaters) and right now my fingers and legs are still freezing. I may bring in some tights to wear just while I'm at work.

Next week I'm going to the Cape with asvern, which should be nice and will involve additional good outdoors times. Which mean, yes, I'm taking another week of vacation. According to my pay stub, I still have more than three weeks of vacation, but this is due to some kind of mistake (which I have not gone out of my way to correct). Still not sure what I am going to do about that. I think I am just going to sit on it and try and use it up a few days at a time, whenever I can. But I think I will have to work all of August at least to divert suspicion!