Growing Up

The chickens have grown so much. Here are a couple of videos of my second brood of kiddos.

 and

Everyone asks if we are going to allow them to actually become free range. The answer to this is an emphatic "No!" for a couple of reasons. The first is that I have heard and read that they really do wreak havoc in one's gardens. The second is this:

 our regal neighborhood hawk.

He sits on the roof of the garage and litruhlee watches the chickens like a hawk. He also has a mate which swoops around with him as well. The chicken enclosure has a clear plastic roof which allows him to watch their every move. If the girls were allowed out into the yard, they would definitely be hawk food and then he'd take it over to my neighbors' backyard to eat it on their swing set. They have four children under eight and I don't think chicken feet would be appreciated on their swings.

Lastly, here is a snap of each beauty.

 Theola

 Olga

 Patty

Ora

Bolton Hill

So after a busy day on Wednesday, Craig and I went down into the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore to attend the Baltimore Heritage Awards Ceremony. I have a couple of friends who work with this organization and I have taken a few tours coordinated by my friend, Marsha, so I decided it was time to become a member. The organization is sort of like a British National Trust for Baltimore. The event included a walking tour of five properties in the Bolton Hill environs and it was right up my alley, of course.

The first stop was the Brown Memorial Prebyterian Church. What an amazing surprise inside: windows by Tiffany! They were stunning. 

Next we toured actual homes. One cottage tucked onto a corner was owned by an elderly cat lady whose house smelled like she was a cat lady. There was no air conditioning in the house either which just added to the mustiness. She had an amazing collection of artifacts from her travels and fresh apricots and lemonade in her garden which did make up for the odor.

Another house was once a church and then a synagogue and then a home.

As we entered, Craig and I had a bit of deja vu in that we felt like we had been there before. We had not, but we stayed in a renovated church, the Vennel Kirk, in South Queensferry outside of Edinburgh whose floor plans were eerily similar on the first floor.

The owner of another property had great taste in tile so I took a couple of photos for reminders for future use.

Fireplace insert

I have the perfect tiles for this that I got from an auction.

And then we sort of wandered around a bit.

I should also note that Bolton Hill has a Blue Plaque program which is based on the one in London. Many prominent Baltimore residents have once lived in Bolton Hill including

who once lived next door to one of the properties we got to see. This was especially noteworthy as I had just finished reading The Paris Wife by Paula McClain about Hemingway's life with his first wife, Hadley Richardson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald is portrayed off and on in this book. He and Zelda were both insane.

We then headed to the Meyerhoff House which is part of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and had a lovely reception and dinner. We sat with an older gay couple who were a treat to converse with for a few hours. We had tons of stuff in common. I just love serendipity.

Stoof n Nonsense

This week has been pretty crazy. Just a lot going on and running around. I took the kids up to NYC on Wednesday to see a show and absorb the sights. This time we took a coach via Superior Tours because they had offered a Groupon a while back. They were a good company, but if you decide to take them, do not expect to rest quietly on the bus, especially if Gloria is your tour operator. She makes many random announcements and plays movies at full blast so no one can fall asleep. We were not amused. However, I was amused by her high kicks (she was at least 75 years old) during her rendition of New York, New York with some help from Old Blue Eyes himself, of course.

Our first stop after we ate a proper brunch (boy priority #1) was the Nintendo Store, because, well, it is boy priority #2. It's akin to Mecca, I suppose.

 We found the Wall-E prototype:

Evan, for the first time ever, actually wanted to take photos. These are items from their collection.

 

 

Then we headed over to MoMA to the Architecture and Design level since I am pretty sure a wander through paintings would have caused a mutiny.

 This is a collapsible bench and a most amazing piece of design. We were all duly impressed.

Remember...

 

This is for my ex-pat friends. These spiffy mixer taps were created in 1979. Why hasn't England caught on yet? Oh yeah, there's that "quaint" factor which is in no way related to "The X Factor".

 

The kids are having some brother time as I checked Google maps with the free WiFi. They really do like one another.

 Then it was off to see...

which was really and truly one of the BEST EVER shows I have ever seen. It is based upon the book (which has morphed into a trilogy) of the same name except with an -s at the end of starcatcher by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It is funny, adventurous and not just for kids. It tells the story of how Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell and NeverLand came into being. Sort of like Wicked gone Peter Pan in a British panto style. So funny AND we had second row seats. We saw a lot of spit and sweat flying. Almost the entire cast was comprised of men with one woman so very boy-friendly. The cast seemed to genuinely crack one another up; they litruhlee had to stifle laughter to say their lines. I also find it clever that the original story by the Scottish author, JM Barrie, is prequelled by an Americanized Barry.

 

On our way out, we saw this Peter Pan bus which we should have taken home.

Middle-Aged

This weekend we tried to pry the kids out of the house by offering a pub lunch. We didn't have a single taker. It was partially due to the fact that it was Africa hot outside, but also partially because we are now middle-aged parents of teens and a pre-teen who prefer not to be seen with us.

C'est la vie.

So Craig and I headed to a place down near the Federal Hill/Locust Point border and had a great lunch and since we were so close, we headed over to

 just because.

We had a good walk around and looked at the

giant flag and

the statue of Armistead and

the statue named Orpheus with the Awkward Foot.

We also had our first crabs of the season which were procured from Jordan the crab guy who parks on the side of the street and steams them right there curbside. They were delish and I think Jordan and I are going to be good friends this summer.

These were the first crabs that the kids have had since our return and I realized that I had to teach them how to pick crabs all over again. It was much easier as they were willing students this time as opposed to whin(ge)y eight and ten year old children without patience like last time. I also realized that my husband is definitely not from Maryland because he did not immediately come to grab a crab. Instead, he needed a few reminders that the supply was dwindling.

 Before

 During

After

Also, I can't believe we have been home for 11 months as of today. Time seriously flies.

Un Miracolo

Did you hear another round of the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus?

I did.
Another miracle has occurred in the McCarter household: after pretty much the worst school year ever in so many different ways, Finn is officially in high school as of today.

  He officially received his promotion certificate.

I am surprised that I got even this shot as the old lady sitting directly in back of me had her knees in my ribcage most of the TWO AND A HALF hour ceremony and/or repeatedly poked me in the head with her program. It's not as if I was invisible or sitting right in front of her or anything. Or on second thought, maybe I was invisible in her world. I was actually thankful that my parents had to leave early to attend my nephew's graduation from kindergarten because that made more room for me to slide over out of the knee perimeter only to then be poked in the side of my arm and head with a program. I am surprised that I don't have a divot in my temple. Sheesh.

 Look how happy we are after the finale of a 15 minute slide show delay because of an audio snafu.

Freedom!

Nothing better than sushi buffet afterwards. We both deserved it.

Girlie Weekend Update

Chicken update:

Patty is all about the camera. She is most likely going to be the dominatrix so she isn't afraid of anything.

The flock

The rest of the group tends to avoid me and the camera. Olga is getting to be the fluffiest. She likes to puff out her blond feathers. Theola is giving Patty a run for her money in the area of dominance. She likes to perch on top of the water and look down upon her subjects. This drives Patty crazy. Ora is the runt, but she's happy not to be involved in the drama.

Yesterday, Craig took the boys on a golf outing so I went to

  

in the Mount Vernon area of Baltimore. I haven't been there in ages and it was really peaceful to wander around on a Sunday afternoon. The place was fairly vacant (after 2PM). William Walters and his son, Henry Walters, really had an excellent eye for art, especially Japanese. I guess it helps to have lots of money to get what you want. They were railroad magnates.

 I took a stroll around the

  

and saw girls coming out of the Peabody Institute after their music exam. Lots of parental chatter going on.

 Facade of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Baltimore

 Our Washington Monument and the spire of the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church

 The Washington Monument

I tried to go into the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church but it was closed for the day. 

 

 

Tours are available Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

I wandered into the Pope John Paul II Meditation Garden. Very nice mural there.

 

I also stumbled upon the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion

 

whilst looking for the German Society of Maryland.

We try.