Iron Horse

The Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA is our favorite live music venue. Last night Karrin Alllyson was there; it was a good, but not great, concert. Perhaps that's all the crowd deserved; there were far too few people there for a performer of her caliber.

The Big E

, originally the Eastern States Exposition, was our destination today. The antique tractor starts the pictures off because it relates to the fair's original purpose and because it has four wheels and is brightly colored, just like Mr. Toad.

Is this a cow?

We hadn't been there for somewhere between 5 and 10 years. It hasn't changed much, a bit more tacky perhaps. The Maine Building still has baked potatoes; Rhode Island, clam cakes; Vermont, maple sugar; and Connecticut, nothing.

Not sure what/who this is.

Aurora, this picture's for you.

That's a lobster on his head.

The Sam Adams beer garden.

Octoberfest on the left and Summer Ale on the right.

The Big E's Calliope. It actually works.

Amid all the food booths, there are still some agriculture-related events. We dropped by the horse pull for a while. We think the announcer said that the winning team pulled 13,500 pounds 10 feet and a few inches.

And I always love walking through the cattle barns. The first are dairy and the second beef.

Another Weekend in Boston

This time because Aunt Jo (not to be confused with Grandpa Joe or Uncle Joe) was visiting for the weekend.

We walked

to get ice cream,

where Maggie was the center of attention.

Pretty in Pink.

Jim got to hold Maggie for a bit,

while Clara Lee did her crossword puzzle.

Red Sox Game

Almost. It rained before the game.

The rain let up for pre-game ceremonies, including this big flag (it was 9/11).

And the first inning actually got underway in a light mist,

with Jon Lester loading the bases with only one out, when it started raining heavier. After two hours and twenty minutes, the game was postponed.

Springfield at Dusk

New Britain Rock Cats

Today was the last regular season game for the New Britain Rock Cats (AA farm team of the Minnesota Twins), and we finally got there for our first of the season. They beat the Trenton Thunder (Yankees farm team) 4-1.

Trot, Trot to Boston

Trot, trot to Lynn, or really Cambridge. In any case we went back again for Saturday and Sunday, supposedly because Jesse and Aurora were visiting Jeremy and Amanda, but really to see Maggie.

One of the weekend activities was Pétanque.

Jeremy's team lost the first game, but he blamed it on the handicap (either the one pictured or his mother as a teammate).

Jesse found another use for the boules.

Jesse did a knife skills demo, and Jeremy recorded it.

Of course, a weekend together had to include ice cream

and a bunch of pictures of Cambridge scenery.

We also saw a car more rare than a MINI or even a Mini -- a Citroen Deux Chevaux (or 2CV).

Farmers' Market

OK, so it wasn't a real big trip, but Mr. Toad did visit the local farmers' market today. These are few images from the outing.

Boston

On Sunday and Monday we went to Boston to help Jeremy and Amanda move. Actually they had movers do the heavy work, and they did what was left. All we did was play with Maggie while they were busy. Rough job, but somebody had to do it.

For more Maggie, go to her blog.