Saturday was our shopping day. We poked around lots of our favorite shops in Northampton. I bought gorgeous boots at Synergy, tights and mittens at the accessory shot, and many cards at Faces. When I visited Smith as a prospie, older Smithies told me that Faces was the inspiration for Urban Outfitters, combining funky clothes with funky random stuff you convince yourself you need. This was back when Urban Outfitters was funky as opposed to just odd and ripped-looking. I think it is a testament to the playful and alternative element in Northampton that Faces has thrived for about 10 years. This time, they had added some toys near and dear to my heart: Giant Microbes! Normally, the plush pathogens are between 5 and 7 inches, but Faces had an example of one of the new GiganticMicrobes! And in my old friend, E. coli:
They also had something near and dear to my life: H1N1 flu! See, it's supposed to look like a pig...swine flu.
After buying some cards that are so obscenely funny that I can only send them to about 3 people (that would be you, Dane and Nora), we headed to La Veracruzana for lunch. I know that Mexican food does not photograph well, but trust me that it was delicious. I had spinach and cheese enchiladas with tomatillo sauce and my weight in beans. Sarah had enfrijoladas, which she introduced me to.
As usual over a meal, we had a serious (in a good way) discussion. We talked about our future plans, the new possibilities opening up to us as we discovered things we love about our current endeavors. When should I go to public health school? What kind of school should she go to? When? What kind of public health should I do? Before we knew it, our lunch was gone and we were very full. But all of that serious conversation did not prevent a silly photo:
After lunch we took to the streets again, revisiting the site of our first date on October 27, 2007. On that date, after our friends agreed to look after the very demanding Hillel guest...presenter?teacher?songstress?wackjob?... and shooed us out the door, Sarah and I headed downtown. For whatever reason, we eschewed the more typical Haymarket and Woodstar and went to The Yellow Sofa, new at the time. There, we sat on the yellow sofa, drank extremely peppery chai, and listened to a very bad guitar player. It was a good date.
Returning to 2009, we had someone take our picture on that same yellow sofa, which is extremely uncomfortable. The experience was made more awkward by the fact that the sofa is now positioned on the stage where bad musicians perform.
This is my favorite intersection in Northampton. Each light cycle, there is only one opportunity for pedestrians to cross the street. It occurs all at once, so people can cross the street in all directions, including diagonally. It makes a noise when it's time to do that, which results in the name of the intersection: The Beep-boop Light.
Halloween in Northampton is a funny thing. At first we just thought that people were dressed, not atypically for Noho, slightly strange. Funny hats, wigs, striped stockings, lots of black, or even like superheroes. After we saw signs on shop doors advertising downtown trick or treating, it occurred to us that these people were probably in costume. We smiled over the fact that this wasn't our immediate thought, as it would have been in Bethesda or DC. From 3-6 on Halloween, most of the stores downtown offerred trick-or-treating to costumed children. It was adorable to watch. So many children of color with 2 white mommies! (nothing wrong with that, just an observation about Northampton). Lots of superheroes, princesses and literary characters. I was quite pleased to see Pippi and Laura Engalls Wilder. We also saw the following sign at essentials, a store that sells nothing that could be vaguely deemed essential. Sarah liked its position over the ribbon.
We had a mid-afternoon coffee at Haymarket. A mocha milkshake for me, which emcompassed everything a blended coffee drink should be and nothing more: espresso, chocolate, and ice cream. No powders, no mixes, no ice. Sarah had a latte in a tall glass and a cookie.
Back at the H-Dub ranch, we read some more on the couch before dressing up for our anniversary dinner at Osaka. This Japanese restaurant has the best sushi on the east coast that I have experienced. It is just really damn good. You should eat there if you are ever in Northampton. We had 3 rolls: one with eel, one with salmon, and one with shrimp and crab and asparagus. Avocado featured heavily, an essential sushi ingredient in my book. They should sell it at that store. We sat in the quieter, more intimate sun-porch area. Such an improvement over our Valentine's Day meal there! (I have learned my lesson about Feb 14: NO going out for dinner!). Our sushi:
After dinner, we weren't so full as to pass up a second round of Herrell's. This time I had a cone of mud pie (coffee ice cream with fudge and oreo pieces) and Sarah had something with hot fudge. Was it mint, Sarah? As it started to pour, we met up with Rosie and Yael and walked down Prospect Street to see this cool Halloween display. I would like to note that this activity took place under duress for pretty much everyone but Rosie, until it stopped raining and we were all much happier. Apparently every year, this guy makes a lizard?dragon?aligator? out of pumpkins. It was so cool! And worth getting wet for. The first picture shows the lights, and the second shows the pumpkins. We think the scales were drilled with a drill.
The 4 of us followed our Halloween jaunt with a game of Boggle and some Where in the USA is Carmen SanDiego trivia. Rosie also modelled her new, very hip suit with Sarah's heels. I can't believe "my first years" are seniors now!
A very happy Halloween!
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