Now picture this room full of the noise of dental drills... truly frightening.

Matt showing off some of his homework.

Horse Show

I participated in my first horse show (since my 4-H days) over the weekend. It was a two-day show sponsored by the barn I ride at and took place at some fairgrounds about a half hour from our house. We trucked 8 horses over on Friday, and the show was Saturday and Sunday. I rode Ariel (registered name: "Dance at My Party"), who's a Quarter Horse owned by the farm. She and I did very well, despite the 90-degree weather both days. On Sunday we even managed reserve champion in both divisions we were showing in, and weekend reserve champion for the lower division. It was a really good time, and I learned a lot. Here are a few shots Braden took from Saturday...

Ariel and I at the show.

Walking around...

Trotting around...

Cantering around...

Going over a crossrail.

Ribbons...

Fishy Heaven

Sadly, I was informed by my parents this week that Sherbet the goldfish had gone to fishy heaven, also known as the Francis Creek sewage pond. She was about six years old, and died either from old age or the chronic results of a tragic cleaning accident several months ago. (Moral of the story--never get between my mother's scrubbing pad and a dirty glass tank.) I got Sherbet at the beginning of my junior year of college, from my sophomore-year roommate who loved fish and was done using Sherbet (the 19-cent fish) to balance the pH of new tank water for her real fish. Sherbet lived in Chadbourne for two years and then the shady Frances St. apartment. Instead of moving to Syracuse, she moved in with my brother (and his questionable tank-cleaning abilities) and finally wound up receiving the good care of my parents for the last several years. Sherbet was preceeded in death by five small fish, "The Sprinkles," who were her indistinguishable tankmates.

RIP, Sherbet.

New England Weekend

We started with a plan to take in the U.S. men's soccer team's last friendly match before the World Cup, in Hartford, CT. We ended up with a fantastic long weekend in the good company of Leeny and Brian, in addition to the weekend with the "best all-around" food we've ever had while traveling (thanks in large part to the purchase of a Zagat guide--entirely worth the investment and never steered us wrongly). We met Leeny and Brian in Boston on Thursday, went shopping/browsing on Newberry St., and ended up at the harbor to have Legal Seafood for dinner. An evening at the Black Rose (an Irish pub) finished the night. On Friday we began with Mike's pastry, walked the freedom trail, and toured a bit of Harvard. Rain drove us in search of dinner, which we found at Bangkok Blue, an amazing Thai place off Newberry. Saturday was our last time with Leeny and Brian, so we had a big breakfast at the Trident Bookstore and Cafe. (The French toast stuffed with lemon and ricotta and topped with blueberries was great.) Then Braden and I spent the afternoon in the Harvard area relaxing, with a nice dinner at Tanjore (Indian). We drove down to a hotel outside Plymouth. Then on Sunday we decided to tour a bit of Cape Cod, as we've never been there. After walking the beach, we found the "Brazillian Grill," which was probably the most interesting culinary experience we've had to date (see below). Still meat-stuffed, we arrived (somewhat late--thanks CT) at the U.S. soccer match, where they defeated Latvia 1-0. Then we drove home. We fear that our tastebuds will never be the same.

The vet where we boarded Tsuki is closed today, so we're going to spend the day putting stuff on the floor, placing food on low tables, and leaving doors open and gates down. Happy Memorial Day!

The four of us by the harbor...

Braden and his giant bowl of shellfish and seafood--"cioppino"--at Legal Seafood. Our seafood-filled weekend was in part to celebrate Leeny's partial return from the vegetarian realm.

Sunset at the harbor...

On Friday, the four of us hit the "Freedom Trail" to take in some history. (Here is Braden carefully following the trail.) Before that we fueled up with some wonderful pastry from Mike's in the Italian neighborhood.

Brian and Leeny by the Paul Revere monument.

The U.S.S. Constitution on the left, some kind of battleship on the right, and the Bunker Hill monument in the background.

We took a tour of all three decks of the U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides." She is not in fact made of iron, but a "sandwich" of oak, with live oak in the middle.

Braden shows off one of the big guns.