Wednesday Post - With Cats!

Melody (the cat we've been pet sitting for the last five weeks) is leaving us tomorrow. Her humans are coming to collect her bright and early tomorrow morning, and then they head off to the airport to fly to China for their next adventure. (The short version is that R. got a job teaching at an International School in Shanghai, and his wife J. and their son D. are going with him.) 

Pet sitting has been an interesting experience. I've enjoyed having a pet in the condo to keep me company, even if it's someone else's pet. I am, however, looking forward to things getting back to normal tomorrow, even though I know that I'll miss having Melody around too. 

People have asked me if Adrian and I are planning on getting a cat, now that we've had the experience of pet sitting one for five weeks. The short answer is: No, we are not. The slightly longer answer is: We have discussed getting a cat at length. Adrian has said that he is willing to get a cat, even if it means that he'll have to regularly take allergy medicines for the length of the cat's life. That being said, my Mom and my best friend E. are both allergic to cats. My Mom visits us fairly regularly, and E. has said that she thinks that cats are "evil". When you combine all of these factors - Adrian's allergies, my Mom's allergies, E.'s allergies, the fact that E. thinks that cats are "evil" - then getting a cat isn't realistic for us. I would love to get a dog, but, unfortunately, our condo association doesn't allow dogs. The "No Dogs" rule is the reason why I want to eventually move out of our condo complex.

I watched the animated Disney movie Alice in Wonderland this afternoon. It's a short movie - about an hour and fifteen minutes - and it's still one of my favorite Disney movies.

4th of July Post

The past few days have been uneventful. I saw the movie Despicable Me 3 yesterday, which I enjoyed. The ending left things open for future movies in the franchise, which is to be expected. 

Today (the 4th of July) Adrian and I went into Cambridge to see Jaws, a classic film from 1975, at the Brattle Theater. The Brattle is a one screen, non-profit movie theater on Brattle Street that has been around since 1953. It shows a mixture of classic, foreign, and independent movies. I saw Jaws at the Brattle last year with my friends Eileen and Bryce, but Adrian wasn't able to join us because he had to work. 

I like the Brattle. It's one of my favorite things about Cambridge. I like that they do things like show Donnie Darko on Halloween, or screen all of Studio Ghilbi's movies over the course of two weeks. 

We wandered around Cambridge for a bit before the movie. Adrian grabbed a strawberry pastry from the Tatte Bakery and Cafe in Harvard Square, while I had a very refreshing lemonade. I like Tatte. They made and sell delicious pastries, salads, drinks, and breakfast sandwiches.

We grabbed lunch at Otto's, a Portland, Maine, based pizza joint that opened a Harvard Square location a few years ago. They serve the usual cheese and pepperoni pizzas, but they also do specialty pizzas like ricotta and basil; bacon, scallion, and mashed potato; pulled pork and mango; and spinach, white bean, and roasted garlic. You can order pizza by the slice, or order a whole pizza to go. I would say that Otto's serves some of the best pizza that I've eaten in the Greater Boston/Cambridge area. I say this as a self-described "pizza snob". I grew up in New Jersey, so I think that I'm allowed to be a pizza snob! :) 

I expect that the rest of this week will be quiet.