Author: alejna

history has its eyes on me

My life is busy, and my life is full, but these days it is hard to think of things beyond the upcoming US election.

I have a lot of thoughts on this election, but I want to cut to the chase and say that I am appalled and embarrassed that one of this country’s major party nominees is…and I can’t even type his name without a turn of the stomach…Donald Trump.

I am appalled by his bigotry, his offensive words and actions. I am horrified by the way he has demonized muslims, and spread fear of refugees. I am disgusted by the way he treats and talks about women. I am largely baffled by the way a shockingly high percentage of my fellow Americans are unfazed enough by his words and actions that his candidacy is still considered viable. (And this doesn’t even cover his lack of competence or relevant experience.)

I am, quite honestly, nervous about the results of this election. I know that the world is watching nervously. And I can only wonder how future generations will look back on this time. I am exhausted and don’t want to get into fights, but I don’t want to risk that the future take my silence as agreement with policies and attitudes that are antithetical to my worldview.

Tonight, I am grateful that I live in a country where free speech is protected.

How do you like them apples?

Third day in on my attempt to resume daily blogging, and I nearly forgot to post. This does not bode well…

In any case, I remembered. And I found a photo on my phone to share. These are some apples that the kids and I picked a couple of weekends ago on an idyllic weekend afternoon. We picked quite a few varieties of apples, and it’s interesting to see how varied they still appear, even after being peeled. (We also bought an apple-peeling gadget, that also slices the apples into spirals. It was quite fun, and made a cool tangle of peels. It was also fun to snack on the peels.)

Tonight I am grateful to have access to an abundance of healthy food for myself and my family.

perchance to dream


An oversized and stately but uncomfortable looking mattress-less bed from Stirling Castle in Scotland. Photo taken in August, 2015.

Today, I was feeling quite tired much of the day, due in part to a bit of sleep deficit from a hectic stretch. Tonight, I find myself feeling especially grateful that I can anticipate a decent night’s sleep. I am grateful that I have a bed to sleep in, and grateful that I am able to sleep.

a new leaf

It is November once more, and I find myself reminiscing about my daily November blogging of yore. I have much to say, but don’t know whether I will manage to find the time and motivation to say it. However, as with many things in life, if I don’t try, I know I definitely won’t succeed. So, I will start. And I’ll start with a leaf, because fall in New England brings many leaves to my path. (Also to my lawn, my driveway, and my gutters…) This particular leaf was striking in its colorfulness.

I have also been thinking about how I would like to take stock of the many things in my life for which I am thankful, and share them here. I’ll start by saying how thankful I am for the fall, and for living in a place where the fall brings dramatic and dynamic displays of color and light.

In case of fire, ignore punctuation.

I think it’s pretty clear that the sign below is not well-punctuated:

The question is, what would the better punctuation be? Would a semicolon be amiss on a sign advising emergency protocol?

upstairs, downstairs

Here is another collection of stairways, both near and far. (Most of these near, it would appear.) In most of these, I’m looking down, but the last two are looking up.


Dublin, Ireland.


Boston, MA.


Cambridge, MA


Boston, MA


Cambridge, MA


Cambridge, MA


London, England.

spiraling down (or up)

Here are several spiral staircases I’ve seen.


A double helix spiral staircase in Paris, France. 2007.


An ironwork spiral staircase inside the library at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. 2014.


Stairway inside a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland. 2015.

the stairs not taken

It’s good to take the stairs when you can. It’s good exercise, and all that. Of course, there are times when it’s less feasible to do so. These are the back stairs at my old house at a couple of times when taking the stairs was a less-than-inviting option. (Of course, I had to take on those stairs. With my snow shovel. Which I guess is also good exercise.)


February, 2013


February, 2015.

Happily, this year was a very moderate winter for snow. On the other hand, we have snow on the forecast for tomorrow. Which is technically not part of this winter.