things I love that keep me going

I’ve written lots of  emails to lots of people in the last few days, many variations on the theme of hitting reply in response to the query, “How are you guys, really?  I mean, I know you’re okay, but can you just write to me and let me know you’re okay?”  I’ve written to people from long ago and far away, and people near and dear.  Neighbors and old ski racer friends and grade school buddies and college roommates and bridesmaids and siblings and everything in between.  I even heard from a woman I don’t actually know, but who worked with a friend and remembered that I live just across the river from Boston.  It’s been that kind of week.

In the midst of it all (and boy, there were parts of this past week that were a serious black hole–we all spent way too much time hitting refresh on boston.com, too many checks of the twitter feed) I had to get myself out and about, even with my gimpy heel, to smell spring and visit my favorite haunts.  I didn’t have any owl sightings, but did collect some photos of a few more of my favorite things.  Here are just a few:

I love libraries.  I’m beyond blessed with libraries in my home town.  Here’s the new addition to the main branch (isn’t that an oxymoron?), just a block  from our house.  It’s really beautiful at night, when it’s all lit up–a glowing gift to my fair city. My favorite example of my tax dollars at work.

Oh, and those are Dawn Redwood branches.  Yep, I’m also rich in Dawn Redwoods in my neighborhood.

This is the original main entrance (you can see the new addition to the right.)  I love that they made the entry space into a lovely room with a big oak table and these glorious arched windows.  I also love that the former front steps have become a place for the high school kids to hang out at lunch, after school, after sports.  Those steps beg to be hung out upon.

As if my fantastic public library wasn’t enough, I get to walk by this little sidewalk library almost every day as well.  I don’t know what the deal is, but sometimes I just bring books and stick them in, when the offerings are getting slim.  Which is hardly ever.  That’s a well-thumbed copy of Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, on the far left.  I love where I live.

This is my favorite house in my home town.  It’s a couple of blocks out of my way from pretty much anything I tend to walk to, but this time of year, I go out of my way on a regular basis for this display.

Not a great photo, but this little architectural sliver is just a half a block from home, and this view always makes me smile.  It’s even better at night, when Memorial Hall is lit up and the GSD is aglow.  Plus it’s a shortcut.  I loves my shortcuts.

I’m a sucker for amusing architectural details. The tops of the fence posts in this little vest-pocket park boast snails of all sizes.

I’m pretty sure that the first time I took a picture of this, I was a sophomore in college.  I had a Pentax Spotmatic that I had to manually focus. I also had to decide what the f-stop should be.  Cell phones with cameras, how did we live without them? For the record, this hand has been pointing the way to Bow Street for as long as I’ve lived here.  I’m seriously thinking about taking some white paint and touching it up a tad.  Would the current inhabitants mind?

Onward and upward, in my home town.