Opinions of a Wolf

A disassembled Model T at the Henry Ford Museum.

Hello my lovely readers, and a happy 2014 to all!

Everyone’s always busy around the holidays, and I certainly was no exception.  I cross-stitched six presents and made homemade fudge for a bunch of folks as well, in addition to everything else that comes with this time of year.  My partner got us a lovely tree that we got to decorate with both of our ornaments for the first time.  We had an early Christmas together, because the week of Christmas, we went out to Michigan to see his family.  The drive from Boston to Michigan took us 13 hours, and the drive back took about 12.  We had a lovely vacation with his family, and I was made to feel 100% welcome and part of the family.  It was truly a lovely Christmas.

I’d never been to the midwest, so while we were out there, my bf made sure I got to do a bit of sightseeing.  My favorite excursion was to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.  Henry Ford invented the assembly line, in addition to starting to the famous Ford car company.  The museum featured displays of cars through time, the history of racing, the history of airplanes, the history of trains, and the history of manufacturing in America.  It also had a display on the history of Civil Rights in the US, as well as a display showing key items from the different decades of the 20th century.  The museum also has the Dymaxion House. A model house made in the 1960s as a fully automated house of the future. Only two were ever made.  In addition to all of these, there was also a special display of Presidential limousines, including the one JFK was shot in.  There was so much amazing US history.  We spent five hours in the museum and still didn’t see it all.

We got back to Boston and spent some time just relaxing at home, and then we got ready for New Year’s.  We decided to go out to see the First Night activities and the early fireworks.  Boston has one set of fireworks at 7 and the other at midnight to allow for folks who want to be inside earlier to still see a display.  First Night featured a lot of interactive art this year in the Common, as well as a parade, ice skating performances, and the typical ice sculptures.  The fireworks display was actually better than the 4th of July ones I’ve seen the last couple of years.  Then we went home and had a quiet dinner in just the two of us.  I’d spent the day making gnocchi from scratch, plus homemade sauce and cheesey garlic bread.  I loved the combination of seeing the festivities and getting to celebrate inside in the warmth just the two of us.

Coming up on the blog this month, I’ve got three books from 2013 that I still need to write reviews for.  I’ll also be announcing what 12 review copy submissions I decided to accept for 2014, and I’ll be doing my reading stats 2013 post, as well as a round-up of the best reads of 2013.  I also have five more cross-stitches to show off to you guys.  It should be a busy month here.

Happy reading!