Soothing Drops

Soothing Drops

Monday, July 25, 2011

I FOUND OUT YOU CAN'T PAHK YOUR CAH IN THE HAHVAD YAHD!

This was a pretty interesting weekend and Brian and I went out to dinner and the movies.  Then after the movies walked around Harvard Square.  So we go to this cute little hangout place called the Cambridge Brewing Co.




This place kind of reminded me of a place that you could go to and if you were a regular, they would end up knowing your name. I could see myself finding a small little place like this and going once a week or so to socialize.  While we are there, we get nachos as an appetizer, and it was a mountain of nachos!  We both looked at it like WOW!!! And then from there I had a fancy BLT sandwich with fancy cheese and fries that I didn't finish.  After we finished there we went to Kendall Square Cinema to see an independent film called Beginners with Ewan McGregor and it was a good movie, and this place did have some pretty awesome popcorn.  




Then after the movies we just cruised around Harvard Square, Cambridge Square, and Porter Square....very nifty little areas and I actually can say that I went to Harvard.




So I couldn't find a good picture of Harvard at night but I found this one....and being that Harvard Yard is surrounded by walls, you can't park your car in the Harvard Yard....so where did they get that saying from anyway?  Who knows!


So as we are cruising around, Brian screams "Oh my God....there's a Starbucks and it's still open!" By this time, it was about midnight and they were actually open until 1 am!  And right before he saw it he said if he could find a Starbucks he would totally stop.  A two level Starbucks where there is seating on the first floor and upstairs some more seating and a piano!  Yes you got it....live music on certain nights, how cool is that?






Oh and I forgot to mention the screaming preacher guy who was in Harvard Square, that was a pretty funny sight.  So was the hot tub on the street....yes this group of people had a hot tub going, music blasting, drinking and having a great time.  Where can you do that?  In good old Cambridge Mass!


So there you have it, my Saturday evening in a nutshell and learned a lot about the Cambridge area.  My tourist guide on hand is what Brian is, I tell him he is a walking encyclopedia, but he says "I know a little about a lot of things; but don't know a lot about one thing."  Well he definitely knows a lot more than I'll ever know...well about history anyway.  


So I'll just remain the wing man, learning new things about Boston and all it can offer hanging on the passenger side of my friend's ride who shall be called the White Knight and I'm Chocolate Delight.  Yup....those are our nicknames we are starting a gang. LOL Brian just cracks me up!


Well until next time....

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

EVERYBODY REALLY DOESN'T KNOW YOUR NAME!!

What is one attraction that people want to go to when they come to Boston?  Well Cheers of course, which used to be the Bull & Finch Pub before it became Cheers.  Well I was able to experience visiting this famous bar when some friends came into town.






First, I got us kind of lost but the person who was not from here took out a map and we got to Cheers!  Hey, I got us there on the train, what more do you want from me, this was my first time going to this area by myself no less.  But we do get there.




I have no idea why that woman is staring at me....anyway let's head on down the stairs







Like my Cheers trail map that I'm holding?  Let's go inside!




We were in the back room, very small...way smaller than I thought and the main room did not look like the TV show.  You would think it would but oh well.  They have all the normal types of bar food there, but don't get the baked beans, especially if you are expecting some knock your socks kind.  The baked beans there are equivalent to "beanies and weenies that our parents made us as kids.  But you have got to try the drink called the Frasier's Diagnosis!  It was sooooooo good!!!!  And on top of the you get a glass to bring home for free, I'm gonna mix drinks at home and use my Cheers glass one day.  I'm sure the other drinks are good as well, guess I have to go back and try some more.  Also visit the gift shop, you can find some neat things there although I'm sure you can find some of that stuff cheaper elsewhere...but hey you are at Cheers...so get it at Cheers. 


Of course had to go to the bathroom before we left, and look at what we saw in there:




Talk about a one stop shop! A little something for every need!


Had a great evening with friends and the funniest quote of the night of course spilled from my lips "How big is your hot dog?"  Yes, I asked this to our waiter and he paused, got a little embarrassed, and said "Um the size of regular hot dogs?" Both of my friends were doubled over in laughter, then I thought about how my questioned sounded.  But really I was asking about the food, I swear!


But the one thing I found out is....they really don't know your name there, so don't expect it if you go to visit.  And if you come to Boston, don't forget to call me, because now I do know where it is!


Well until next time....

Saturday, July 16, 2011

WANNA GO OUTSIDE??!!!

Nobody ever believes me when I say Zoey is too hyper...but here is proof!




So there you have it, proof on video


Well until next time...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

BOSTON CITY SKYLINE IN A HAZE

Well, went to this golf course in Quincy where I live.  Heard it was the best place to see the Boston skyline.  But it was really humid and there was a haze but I think that I may go back on a better day to get a clearer picture.  But I think it was nice up there and a beautiful golf course it was.  









And then you could see the Blue Hills from here too.  So nice!




And then on Sunday I finally found a church to go visit.  I met a person that I ride the bus with and I told her I was still new here and was looking for a church.  And she invited me to go to church and I went.  Nice small church, reminded me of my Grandmother's church.  Alot of singing, people shouting out "Praise the Lord!" "Yes...Jesus!!" and "Hallelujahs!"  but for some reason I left the church with a positive attitude.  So there was something right about this place.  I will be going back, but there is another church that is closer to my home that I'm going to visit before I make my decision.  But it was a nice day.


Well that was my weekend....until next time!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

ONE DOWN NINE TO GO!!!

Well, today I was able to knock one item off my Top 10 Boston Bucket List.  Brian lives in South End which is not far from this Flea Market that happens every Sunday until October.  So we go to the SOWA Open Market:




So when you hear of flea market, you think of a big building with alot of people selling their junk.  Well not this place, you do have people selling their "vintage" items, but you also have people selling baked goods, paintings, pictures, and we saw this one booth where this guy was so talented he made pictures out of wire.  Should have gotten a picture, but I forgot.  So many booths there and so many things to see.  But at all flea markets what else do you have.....snacks, food and ICE CREAM!  




So after we walk around, we end up getting some yummy ice cream and then go into this neat shop called Mohr-McPherson.  Wow was this a store with alot of interesting things.  They had alot of items with an Asian flair, and I saw many things that I liked.  I realized that I need to just become a millionaire so I can just buy whatever I want!  But I loved these two wooden sculptures for some reason.




And of course I just loved this table and hopefully one day it shall be mine....




And there was so many more neat items, I could never post them all here but you kind of get the idea of what they sell there.  Although, I didn't make a purchase here, Brian did (I'll be posting a picture at a later date) and they give you their bag which Brian gave to me and will now be a bag that I can carry Zoey in if I decide to go to the beach in the near future...



After we finished there, we ended up going out to Joe's American Bar and Grill, which they always have great food there, I have not been disappointed yet except when the guy overcharged us the last time, but I took his pen so we are even now!  We had a nice dinner and then for some reason we always end up at Target where I purchase another toy for Zoey which always ends up broken within a 1/2 hour but she always enjoys it at first when it squeaks




Let's just say it had squeakers in the four feet, which are broken now, but it is still in tact for now.


There you go, my day in a nutshell and one item marked off of my Boston Bucket List!


Well until next time.....

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

HOW TO SPEAK WITH A BOSTON ACCENT

I'm sure we all know the common line "Pahk yah cah in the Hahvad yahd". This is always associated with who....Bostonians.  Every day when I say something, my co-workers will say "Since you live in Boston, you have to speak how we speak" LOL!  So they have been "coaching" me on how to say certain words.  

I have learned the following so far:

Scorcher - (pronounced: scor-cha)

Car - (pronounced: cah)

Yard - (pronounced: yahd)

Where - (pronounced: whe)

Swear - (pronounced: sweah)

Are - (prounced: ah)

So I'm moving along, and the funniest thing is you can learn and get tips from on line.  Here are some tips:

Steps

  1. 1
    Pronounce your R's as AH (Park the Car at Harvard Yard will become Pahk the Cah At Hahvad Yahd)

    ESL Courses Boston

     Learn to speak English and improve your communication skills.
    www.ecenglish.com/Boston
  2. 2
    Don't drop the "R"'s at the beginning of the word.
  3. 3
    Pronounce your "O's" like "aw" ('Boston' becomes 'Bawstun", 'Octopus' becomes 'Awctapus').

4
Many Bostonians hypercorrect and replace their Rs where they don't belong. For example, instead of "I have no idea.", I find myself saying, "I have no idear."

I could not stop laughing when I read this...but there is more:


EditTips

  • You would say car, a person with a Boston accent would say cah c(as in car) then ah (as in say "AH" at the doctor's).
  • In a phrase with at least two words, the first ending with "r" and the second beginning in a vowel, slur the "r". For example, "Where are you?" to "Whe-rah ya?.
  • If you live in a suburb of Boston and many of your family members are Bostonians from birth, there's a good chance you inherited some of the accent, like I did. Just make a conscious effort to leave out those R's where they belong and put them back where they don't!
  • Use some of our lingo. Instead of turn signal, say blinka. Instead of drinking fountain, say bubbla. Instead of "remote control", say clicka. To emphasize, say wicked. Instead of trash can, say barrel. Instead of "soda", say tonic. Use frappe when you mean milkshake and milkshake when you mean frappe.
  • If you go on Wikipedia and look up "Boston accent", there is a full list of our mispronunciations and slang.
  • Accept that it might never happen. Even if you're a Bostonian, that's ok. My homeroom teacher's lived in and around Boston all her life and still doesn't talk like JFK.
  • Boston is a generalization. People all over Eastern Massachusetts from Lowell to the Rhode Island line and out to Provincetown have it, with different variations. Not everyone drops the R.
  • Bostonians, be proud of it! I live right next to the Rhode Island border, and my parents and I are the only speakers of it in these parts, but we haven't tried to lose it! Don't!
  • If trying to speak in a Boston Brahman (People whose ancestors founded Boston) accent, use the Boston English, but with a British tone.



And I saved the best for last:


EditWarnings

  • Be careful if you're trying to make fun of us. We Bostonians have more than the accent to show for ourselves.


So there you go folks, even you can learn to speak with a Boston accent.  And just so you know I'm NOT making this up...here is the link:


I guess it is time for me to go practice my accent!

Well until next time....

ZOEY'S FIRST ROAD TRIP!

So one of the main reasons of me moving to Boston was to be closer to my family.  Those of you who know me, know my family has been through a rough time the last year with the passing of my brother Lee Ernest Mouzone on March 6, 2010.  When that happened and I couldn't get to see him before he passed, that is when I really started to think that I need to be closer just in case of an emergency.  Well, I decided it was time to make a trip home for my mother and Zoey and I did so this past weekend.


When I packed up the car, and told Zoey to get into it, she was so excited and just loved to look out the window. It was an easy ride back home, less than 5 hours!  Drove through Connecticut, blew through New York and back home to Jersey!


Well the first day there Zoey thought it was a good idea to take off and roam about the neighborhood.  Not listening as I was calling her name to come back, as a matter of fact she ran faster!  Let's just say I was not a happy camper and she was put on lock down for the remainder of the day.  She did not like that, but oh well, you do the crime, you do the time.  Then she must have ate something that didn't agree with her because her stomach wasn't right, but I think she is back to normal now.


In a nutshell we had a great time.  I was able to get some things done that my mother needed help with, Zoey got spoiled, I got a little spoiled and it was a nice break from daily life.  We had family game night which we haven't done that in a long time, had a blast!  I beat them not once, but twice!!!  My brother keeps saying that my dancing was not necessary but I think it was because you know what....I was the WINNER and they were the LOSERS!!!!  HA HA HA!!!


Well until next time....