goatee

°2023.09.05.Tue | Charlestown and the Mystic Rivers

This Labor Day weekend we bicycled out to Menino Park, via Revere Park and the Charlestown Seawall Trail. We pushed on, past the Little Mystic (where Nixie jumped in for a swim) to the Mystic River itself. We’d never explored the waterfront side of Charlestown before and marveled at the old buildings, including the quarter-mile long Rope Walk building – now apartments.

°2023.07.27.Thu | Pittsburgh visit

Given we are thinking about the next stage of our lives, we visited Pittsburgh as a place we might move to. We enjoyed the city. There was plenty to do and see, we got around easily on bus and POGOH shared bikes, and we were taken with some of the neighborhoods. Our favorite were:

• Lawrenceville
• Friendship
• Point Breeze North (near East End Food Co-Op)
• Mexican War Streets in Central Northside
• (Bloomfield and Garfield are also okay)

°2023.06.22.Thu | Hello Nixie

On June 3 we returned from Mutt Rescue with a new dog.

“Nixie” (or “Nix”) was similar to her rescue name; Nora and I like Nixie tubes (i.e., Numeric Indicator eXperimental); her bark is raspy like Stevie Nicks; and she’s curious, following us to the bathroom even, hence “nosy Nixie.”

You can see more of her her first month photos with us.

°2023.06.07.Wed | The next stage?

Nora and I have lived in our current apartment longer than anywhere else in our lives – as a couple and individually. Highland Avenue was to be our modest apartment during a one-year Harvard fellowship, but it has been our home for 13 years. Though we love Cambridge, the apartment’s lack of sunlight and leaky walls and the expense of any other place in Cambridge led me to think that we should, at some point, move on. We were able to save money while here, but we won’t be able to live here forever.

I’m sure we’ll think of this period as the Casper years, who passed a few months ago. This felt like the closing of a significant chapter in our lives. And while I greatly appreciate aspects of my job, I feel as if I’m about ready for one more thing, for something else.

Given all this – and that Nora now works at home and Boston is expensive – I’ve been researching places we might move to. I won’t conduct a job search that is hopefully in a place we’d like; I’ll find (a less expensive) place we’d like and figure something to do once there.

This sense of change is also prompted by a financial goal: to FIRE myself (“Barista” style). During my research on life hackers, I delved into the Financial Independence and Retire Early (FIRE) movement. There are different levels of FIRE: “barista FIRE” means you still work part-time or on a passion project; above that is “lean FIRE,” which means you must live modestly. (Lucky are those who can “fat” FIRE.)

Being in your 50s is hardly early – savvy techies can do so in their 30s – but it’s less than 65 or 70. My father died before he hit 65. I could live longer, but I might not.

I’ve long been an advocate of a “good life, good death.” Should I be faced with extended or ruinous ill health, I believe I would exercise my right to die. I’m not so presumptuous as to predict the future, or even how I might feel, but I don’t feel obliged to save enough money to live my last years in a dementia care facility.

But I get ahead of myself. The current chapter is not yet over. The market downturn and inflation have changed my calculations. And I have another book project that I want to make a solid attempt at. I hope to remain on Highland for another three or four years. Then, depending on fate, I will turn a page to the next chapter, whether it’s the penultimate or concluding one.

°2023.03.06.Mon | Elliot Tower upon the Great Blue Hill

It’s spring break this week, but we are staying close for Casper, who can’t do much, but he enjoyed the portage up to Elliot Tower atop Great Blue Hill.

°2022.08.30.Tue | Sunday River, Maine

Visiting a ski resort in the summer makes for beautiful views. We took chair lifts up the mountain and hiked along a trail.

°2022.08.21.Sun | Red-tailed hawk at Arsenal Park

This weekend we pedaled up the Charles River to Arsenal Park, where we spotted a red-tailed hawk. She spotted us, as well.

°2022.05.11.Wed | Garden in the Woods

To celebrate Nora’s birthday we went to the “Garden in the Woods,” a “naturalistic plant collection that showcases New England native plants with complementary specimens from across the country.”

I loved this small hut with a green roof.

°2022.03.14.Mon | Caladesi via Clearwater

In 1985, Hurricane Elena filled in the Dunedin Pass, separating Clearwater Beach from Caladesi Island, though it is a bit of a (lovely) hike.

You know you’re near the boundary, when you see the shell trees.

And you know you should hurry back, when the tide starts coming in.

°2022.03.13.Sun | Gulf Coast Sunset

Something that tickles me, as a New Englander, is an aquatic sunset.