Greg and Genoa are Getting Married!!

Greg and I are engaged! We're getting married in San Diego in July, and we're so excited!
We had my ring made together. We got the stone (topaz) at the San Diego Gem and Mineral Society in Balboa Park's Spanish Village, and had the ring made in Boston; we liked the bi-coastal aspect of that. Two of the side stones are diamonds from my grandmother's ring, and the other two are lab-grown moissanites. I love my ring!

The Manchester Road Race

Greg has been running the Manchester Road Race for at least the past decade, on Thanksgiving morning in Connecticut. Greg's sister-in-law Shaney and I have joined in the past few years, and it's a really fun event.

Greg's hair had gotten pretty ridiculous. Made even more so by the head warmer.A lot of people dress in costume, like this group dressed like the Super Mario Brothers video game characters.

Nearing the End of Autumn

Even by December, there were still colorful leaves on the trees.

Above, guys are blowing the thick bed of leaves off a school lawn. Below, the same lawn the next morning. The leaves weren't done falling.

3rd and Final Wave of Pics from Mom/Josh Visit

The Top of the Hub is a restaurant at the top of the Prudential Tower. We went up for an afternoon drink, and to drink up the lovely views. Below is the street Greg and I live on. Near the middle of the photo, you can see a vertical tree-lined street; that's ours!

Above, Boston Common. Below, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.





Even though it's been unseasonably warm, the squirrels are fattening up for winter. They're all over the place, and they're getting plump.


Still great sailing weather on the Charles River.

I'm not sure my mom or brother had seen a snow blower before!
My mom came with me on my run one morning.



I think this was the best Mom/Josh Boston visit yet! We had a wonderful time, and Greg and I really enjoyed having them here.

My Mom Arrives!

These photos are out of order, again, but here's the story. My mom arrived a day after Josh did. We went to the Friendly Toast for an awesome brunch, then decided to walk home, rather than take the subway. It was sprinkling, but we chose to brave the elements. It ended up fully raining on us, so the photo above is Josh and Greg playing games in the afternoon after we'd come home and changed out of our soaking wet clothes. Notice the bright gold leaves outside the window. Below is the view from our apartment. I love the different colors.

One of my favorite parts of my mom and brother's annual trip is just lounging around, playing games, and eating interesting food.

Boston's skyline with colorful trees along the river esplanade, seen from across the river.

My Brother Comes to Visit, a Day Before My Mom

My mom and brother come to visit each November. Josh arrived a day before my mom and we had a fun day hanging out just the two of us. Usually when they come out, the autumn colors are past peak. But this has been a funny year, weather-wise, and peak this year was just about that very week. The day Josh arrived was sunny and warm, and the colors were fantastic. Here, the ivy on this building is a rainbow.