Cold at the Old Mill

As Heather tuff's out winter in Hawaii .. Robbie SCUBA diving around Southern California's Channel Islands .. looks like I drew the short straw ... Minus 5 degrees this morning with a cutting wind. Don't let the clear Sky's and bright sun fool you .. Picturesque yes but COLD.
Despite the fast flow over the weir, ice forms from the spry on trapped branches and boulders.

New England - Light Snow

A bleak Sunday .. a dusting of snow adds interest to the landscape. Small islands of ice form on ponds around the area.
A perfect morning for comfort tea .....

H2O Plus model #259 -- More stuff

When travelling you always need "Stuff", you forgot to bring etc. So a new purchase was immanent.
I'm a big fan of Glass kettles, and have a few, (at home) .. so yesterday I picked up one I can recommend ....

The Capresso, H2O Plus.
http://capresso.com/water-kettle-frother-h20-plus.shtml Easy to judge the "Right" amount of boil activity required. .... a good product .. well made and works like a charm.

ICE and Tea .. A Lovely Cuppa

NOT Iced-Tea .. God forbid.
For Family & friends in: California and Hawaii (and Friends in Thailand)

Ice on the windscreen .. $%#@!!! I had forgot how painful mornings can be .. but at least the sun was bright and the morning was clear ...


The lovely cuppa came after I arrived at my office ...

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium

"If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium" .. a 1969 movie. My Belgium is Boston. Yes back in the Boston area for a couple of weeks ... Departing on the Red-Eye from LAX, I arrived to a picture perfect morning (6:45am) By 8:30am I arrived in Billerica .. 45 °F / 7 °C clear skies and bright sun.
Outside our offices, a few evergreens add some much needed colour .
All set and serving; Taiwan Oolong .. one needs some kick when on the road.At these latitudes, (Lat/Lon: 42.7° N 71.3° W) sun sets at 4:12pm .. so a spin at lunch time shows winters onset has convinced the deciduous trees to drop their leafy canopy.

Tintinnabular -- 4 am

Ask not: "For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee" John Donne ..

Monday, 4:00am rolls around and its off to LAX, first morning flight to Boston, afternoon arrival .. fortunately clear blue sky, about 60F .. beautiful fall day.

Tuesday, still cold, light rain.. down side some bad weather on its way in .. hope my Wed early flight home can take-off .. fingers crossed. Update: Wed morning, in the Admirals Club in BOS Int. Some patchy light snow last night (not in my immediate area) Strong winds now, but flights are on time ...

Feng Shui in Chelmsford ??

A new restaurant:
FENG SHUI in Chelmsford, a really peaceful and friendly place, decor blends the five elements of Feng Shui (metal 金, wood 木, water 水, fire 火 and earth 土) together without going over the top.
The staff will speak Chinese with you (despite my bad pronunciation) a little out of practice .. about 4 months since I’ve been in China. Last night,7 of us had a large variety of Sushi and about 9 Chinese dishes .. all First Rate.

New England - Massachusetts, Manchester

Manchester by the Sea .. a wet Sunday morning .. a few locals hang out at this cove hopping for a break in the weather.

Mould / lichen , nice on boulders .. character when its on an outdoor bench

New England - Massachusetts, Beverly

Across the bridge from Salem, you enter Beverly .. Looking back to Salem (power plant not so nice but a fact of life)

New England - Massachusetts, Salem

A quite bay in Salem .. away from the historic town center and Witch Trial museum ...

New England - Massachusetts, Marblehead

The "Neck" in Marblehead.

New England - Massachusetts, Nahant

A little island, with a BIG attitude .. visitors NOT welcome .. a very clannish place. Beautiful none the less. "For Local People"

New England - Massachusetts, Revere - Lynn

Revere and Lynn, just a few miles north of Boston. Either, "Rust" or Mould" will get you on the NE coast ...
A quite bay in: Lynn...

New England - Massachusetts, Malden

A quick visit to Malden, the biggest is not always the best .. but its a train store, and that's good enough."G" and "O" gauge layout (on the 2nd. floor) A model "Big Boy" in "G" gauge scale. (same as LGB) More toys, literally ...