A commute, and some other stuff

This morning I drove ZebraArtist to Logan airport before going to work. We left my house a bit after 7, and I was nervous about traffic: that's prime commuter time (you know your life is spent on the computer too much when the second m in commuter keeps trying to be a p).
( far too many details of a drive )

( other bits and pieces )

Farm share: week 1

Today was the first veggie delivery in my farm share. I'm picking them up at a completely different location this year, in between Davis and Alewife, by the bike path. This was partly to give me flexibility on Tuesdays to drop by the Diesel before pickup, and partly because this location let me pick up veggies earlier (starting at 4 rather than 5). I hadn't realized there was a cohousing place there, but there is: the pickup place is next to the dining room. There were some people to exchange pleasantries with, and they were pleased I'd brought extra bags. I noticed as I walked back to my car that the units look really nice, much better than some townhouses across the street where most of the ground floor is garage space.

What I got this week (aka greens greens greens):

1 very large head of Chinese cabbage
2 heads of curly red leaf lettuce
1 bunch of cute little white Hakurei (Japanese) turnips with greens
1 bunch of cute little mixed color radishes (white, pink/red, and *purple*!) with greens
1 huge bunch of red kale (the leaves are the dark green of kale, but the veins and stems are purple)
1 bunch 'spicy greens' (it looks like there might be some mustard in there)
1 bunch of arugula (much bigger than what I've grown!)
1 bunch/bag of spinach

There's a recipe for a vegan African stew in the newsletter; I might try it.

[1925 edit: If anyone has any lovely greens recipes, feel free to share...]

My apartment's sound track

I live on a relatively busy street, not far from a couple of hospitals and fire stations: in addition to the sound of passing cars, trucks, and buses, there are not infrequent sirens. I also hear the particular sound of skateboards on sidewalks, musical selections blasting from cars stopped at the streetlight, and amazing snippets of conversation of loud teenagers late at night. In the early morning and late afternoon all this is supplemented by a variety of birdsongs, as well (I wish I could distinguish species based on bird calls).

But the most individual sounds I hear regularly in my apartment are courtesy of a woman living in the second-floor next-door apartment. She plays the accordion, and it's wonderful to hear. I've heard such a variety of things, including Star Wars music, one of the zillions of tunes to "Shalom Aleichem" [1], bistro music, and something that sounds rather like it could be from the sound track of Amelie, among many other music (none of it making me think of polkas, however). Sometimes she sings along, frequently in French, sometimes just lalala, and her voice is beautiful.

Apparently she also plays the flute; I've heard that as well. And I've heard clarinet, but I think that may be someone else, since sometimes the clarinet and accordion are playing at the same time. I wonder if she's in a group that performs somewhere.

I just went on the porch to check on the plants, turn them to get more even sun (another nasturtium flower! a yellow one!), and she was playing, facing the window that looks onto my porch. We shared a smile. Perhaps I shall evntually have the guts to ask if she performs somewhere.

[1] a song traditionally sung Friday nights before kiddush (the blessing over the wine that marks the beginning of Shabbat dinner).