The Front Porch is Finally Painted

Forest Park

We went to Forest Park yesterday. At first we thought we were going to have a terrible day, but we escaped

on the train with Maggie.

Then we visited the Forest Park Zoo. Maggie was duly impressed and stated that it was the best zoo she's ever been to.

And, finally, we went with Mary Beth and her granddaughter Anna for a brief tour of the FP rose garden.

It was a great day. So great, in fact, that Maggie threw her shoes and socks out of the stroller and chewed on her toes on the way home.

Duck Ponds

We took Maggie for a walk this morning to visit the duck ponds in Forest Park. On the way she met Maggie the Golden Retriever,
and she checked out the fence around the pond.
But the real fun came when she met the ducks and geese up close and personal,
and it ended when a goose stole her bread.

Why it's not a good idea to ...

... play peek-a-boo after eating beets with your fingers.

... consider ice cream to be a finger food.

Whole Beef Tenderloin

Friday evening we had some friends over for dinner, and about a week ago I had decided it would be fun to grill a whole beef tenderloin for them. I think this is the first one I've ever purchased. I know it's the first one I ever trimmed (I had the option at Costco of buying a full tenderloin or a trimmed one; even with the trimming loss, full was the less expensive option). I put some olive oil on it and then salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and aleppo pepper in the morning. Then just before dinner I seared the outside on the hot side of the charcoal fire and finished it up with indirect heat. I also added a few soaked hardwood blocks to add some smoke. The eight of us consumed essentially the entire 4.25 pound tenderloin.

Red Sox and Maggie

CL and I went to the Red Sox game Wednesday night. Good game. They beat Tampa Bay 11-5. Wakefield got the win, and there were five Sox homeruns: Scutaro (2), Papi, Beltre, and Martinez.

Here's a panorama of the view from just a bit below our seats (click on it for a larger version),

and one looking back and down, from just a bit above our seats.

We moved down front for the last inning and a half.

Balfour (Ball Four) didn't live up to his name here; these are four strikes.

The final score on the Green Monster.

The crowd on Lansdowne St. post-game.

We stayed with Jeremy and Amanda after the game, and hung around long enough in the morning to play with Maggie for a while.

Then we left her with her Grandma Marion and came home.

Moo-Licious

Yesterday we stopped by Moo-Licious for a couple cones. The main reasons we did were the name and

the cow statue.

Sneakers

Outside the Springfield History Museum, we noticed a large sneaker. It's part of a collection of 18, named Art & Soles, that is spread around downtown Springfield. They went on display just before the Basketball Hall of Fame inductions last month. This one is #6 on the map below.

And this is #15.

If you click on the map and enlarge it and actually look at the locations, you'll see 19 listed, but one was censored, so I'm assuming that 18 remain. Or maybe only 17; one was damaged, and I don't know if it's been repaired.
We plan to check out the remaining ones in the near future.

Also at the Springfield Museums

After we left The Art of the Brick, we noticed this sculpture, which had just been installed on the lawn next to the parking lot.

Then we walked over to the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. The first big hall has a GB racing plane and another I never identified hanging from the ceiling.

Upstairs is a collection of Indian Motocycles.

This cigar store Indian was part of an exhibit of early downtown retail stores.

Also featured was the 1893 Duryea,
and several Springfield built Rolls-Royces.

The Art of the Brick

We finally visited this exhibit at the Springfield Museums on Wednesday; it's over on Sunday. This isn't your typical Leggo corporate advertising show. This is a collection of work by an artist who happens to work in Leggos.

This piece, whose name is The Future, looks like this head on,
but if you look at it from the side, this is what you see.