Victorian Boston, Pesto, and Gertrude Stein

Well, I had quite an interesting wrap-up of the birthday list. I toured a historic house in the Back Bay neighborhood yesterday. The house has been preserved rather than restored, so you really feel like you are stepping back in time. Three generations of the Gibson family lived in the house. The one son left living in the house started “preserving” it about 20 years before he died, the quirky duck. He would have people over for cocktails or tea, and make them sit on the steps in the hallway, because he had the furniture in the rooms roped off!

I was feeling guilty about the two Ptown list items, so decided to make pesto last night. It was amazing!! I searched around for recipes online, and found one on a person’s blog. Her recipe was from a real Italian grandmother. It wasn’t the pureed paste that you find in the store…this recipe just entailed lots and lots and lots of chopping of basil, pine nuts, and garlic. And grating of parmesan. I will make the pesto again and again. What else can you make with pine nuts, by the way?? I had to buy a huge bag of them.

Tonight I finished The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. Gertrude Stein is a gem. I want to read everything she has ever written. Even though she uses no commas whatsoever in her writing. The copy editor angel on my left shoulder was shuddering, but the anti-copy editor devil on my right shoulder found it oddly refreshing.

So, the list is done for another year. Thanks to everyone who accompanied me on my myriad adventures. 🙂