NASA Space Shuttle for under $1?

Yes, you too can build a NASA Space Shuttle for under $1!

Space Shuttle 12.3.2017

Rocket, Huntsville, AL 10.12.2017

Space Shuttle, Huntsville, AL 10.12.2017

OK, so you can build it with paper: print the design, fold it into shape then release the paper Space Shuttle with your hand to keep the cost affordable.

Print the Space Shuttle pattern here then follow the YouTube instructions.

I searched the Internet for this design of the Space Shuttle after an eye-opening trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL a couple of months ago.

A colleague from Alabama had invited a group of us to see the Center after our business trip.

Never before had I seen a rocket up close and was awed by the immense size of the NASA Space rockets and history of the Space program.

How brave astronauts are to fly into the vastness of space millions of miles from our tiny planet Earth.

 

A Penguin for a Friend

Giant icicles hung from the Brewer bronze fountain in the Boston Public Garden.

Brewer Fountain 11.4.2017

Brewer Fountain Detail 11.4.2017

The fountain’s seated Greek mythological figures were encased in ice while water continued to flow from it’s center.

A friend recently sent a photo of her origami penguin.  I was delighted to see it and promised to fold one too.

Origami Penguin 11.17.2017

Yes, it is cold enough now to make an origami Penguin  – I present here my effort at folding this flightless avian.

The funny, side-to-side, waddling black-and-white bird always brings a smile to my face.

Burr…winter in New England will soon be here.

Portland, Maine: Maps, Folding and Eating Lobster

The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education in Portland, Maine, has one of the largest collections of maps in the United States.  That’s what drew me to the city with the Boston Map Society.

We had a terrific visit to the Map Library where we admired the exhibits and treasures from the collection.

Afterwards, we headed to the King’s Pub for delicious beer and food.  A harbor cruise then a trolley ride to Portland Head Light House topped off the day.

Portland Head Lighthouse 5.23.2017

 

I stayed overnight in a bed & breakfast inn not far from the Portland Museum of Art.  It was an ideal location.

The following day, I visited the museum and went on a special tour of Winslow Homer’s restored art studio and home on Prouts Neck in Scarborough, Maine.

Winslow Homer’s Studio and Home, Maine 5.24.2017

Rocky Coast in front of Homer’s Studio, Maine, 5.24.2017

I took the Amtrak train from Boston’s North Station to Portland.  A local bus from the Portland station took me to the downtown area.

Maine is a great place eat lobsters…especially if the lobster has been caught that day!

Origami Lobster 10.1.2017

I was thinking about my weekend trip to Portland when I did this fold.

Can you believe it took me longer to fold this Origami Lobster than it did to shell then eat it?

How ambitious I was to think that I could fold this challenging design!

Tanglewood: The Color of Music

At least once during the summer,  I select a Tanglewood concert to attend in Western Massachusetts.

The K&L Tours bus picks up guests from Park Street in downtown Boston.  After a pleasant three hour trip – with a rest stop on the way there – the bus arrives at Tanglewood, the music center and summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Tanglewood’s Shed 8.6.2017

The price of your ticket includes a seat in the “Shed” to hear a concert and the round trip there and back.  If you travel on your own steam, you can purchase inexpensive lawn tickets and picnic before and during the concert.

The Tanglewood grounds are lovely with walking paths and grottoes, benches, views of the Berkshire Hills, exhibits in the Visitor’s Center and Manor House and, gorgeous stretches of lawn with pockets of flowers.

Berkshire Hills from Tanglewood 8.6.2017

I attended a sold-out Tanglewood concert this past summer where Yo-Yo Ma was the star performer.  He is one of my favorite musicians.

When I listen to and watch Yo-Yo Ma play, an extraordinary thing happens:  I see colors emanating from his cello like streamers in the wind or colorful kite tails wafting over the audience.

Tanglewood Grounds 8.6.2017

This mostly happens when I attend live performances with certain musicians.  It is as if the musicians are coaxing their instruments to sing rather than the musician actually playing them.

 

Origami Cello 9.24.2017

When I was a child, I experienced this music-color phenomena far more frequently than I do now as an adult.

I thought everyone saw colors when listening to music and was surprised to find out it was not the case.

Perhaps, I imagined, those musicians who produced these colors had tapped into an extraordinary dimension where they effortlessly and magically animated their instruments which then played and created the streams of colors.

I could not find a Cello design to fold this morning so opted to modify a Dollar-Bill Origami Guitar model to make it look like a Cello.

Wish there were more Origami musical instrument models to fold.

 

Day tripping to Provincetown, Massachusetts

“Four foot waves and rough seas.”  That’s what I read on a sign at the Provincetown Fast Ferry ticket booth in Boston’s Seaport District.

The warning did not deter me as I grabbed my ticket and raced to the boat in the rain.

The 90-minute ferry ride on turbulent seas left many fellow passengers looking ashen.  Some fled to the head with upset stomachs.

Pilgrim Monument 9.1.2017

Our captain advised us to remain seated due to the extreme up and down motion of the boat.  As a safety precaution, no one was permitted on the deck.

Usually, it is a delightful ferry ride from Boston to the tip of Cape Cod.  This trip, I  felt quite unsettled until we arrived at our destination.  Thank goodness, the rain stopped and sun eventually came out.

P-town, as Provincetown is referred to by tourists, is a gorgeous locale full of art galleries, shops, great restaurants, bike trails, and beautiful beaches.

There is so much to see including a public library with a large boat on the second floor, the granite Pilgrim Monument standing some 252 feet tall, the historical Provincetown Museum and the Provincetown Art Museum.

Suzanne’s Garden 9.1.2017

Suzanne’s Garden – a small public garden on the quieter Historic East side of Provincetown on Commercial Street – was the perfect place to sit and eat my packed lunch.  Butterflies circled me and wild flowers were still blooming.

Beach Kayaks 9.1.2017

It was too cold to swim, so I viewed the latest exhibits at the Provincetown Art Museum and walked along the picturesque, narrow streets admiring the manicured Cape Cod homes and gardens.

Pagoda 9.23.2017

Then, I buried my feet in the warm sand and walked back along the beach to the dock.

Indeed, a lovely day trip and a smoother ferry ride back to Boston.

The only Origami design I thought of folding for this blog entry was a Pagoda.

I suppose the shape of the Pilgrim Monument influenced the modular model selection.

The diagram is found on a website and requires multiple folded squares.

Each square is folded then slid one on top of the other to form the Pagoda.

Martha’s Vineyard Cycling Day Trip

Bikes on the Beach 8.12.2017

Martha’s Vineyard is a gorgeous island off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the perfect place for a cycling day trip.

For some time, I had wanted to cycle the twelve-mile-round-trip on the ocean bike path from MV’s Oak Bluffs to Edgartown.

Beach Brush 8.12.2017

Cloudy skies and drizzle could not deter me from this day trip.

I rented a bike at Oak Bluffs close to where Falmouth’s Island Queen ferry docked.

The cheerful shop owners provided me with a bike, helmet, basket, lock and map for a modest sum.

The cool, salty air rushed through my lungs as I peddled through the light rain admiring the sea on one side of the bike path and salt marshes on the other side.

I listened to the ocean waves, sea gulls, wind through the beach brush and splashing of my tire wheels through puddles.

A few brave souls were sailing and additional boats dotted the horizon.

Chappy Ferry 8.12.2017

The fabulous ride took me to Edgartown’s Chappy ferry and wooden pier.

I relished my homemade sandwich under the pier while watching cars on the small, flat boat being ferried back and forth across the small harbor to Cappaquiddick Island.

The rain finally ceased and I headed back on my bike to Oak Bluffs,  stopping to take photos along the way.

There was just enough time to window shop before boarding the Island Queen to return to Falmouth.

I smiled on the ferry recalling that Jaws, the shark-horror-cult-film was made on MV.  Later, I folded an Origami shark.

Origami Shark 9.9.2017

Clambake on Cabbage Island, Maine

Have you ever wanted to try a traditional New England clambake?

Lobster Wrapped in Seaweed 7.22.2017

A clambake usually includes lobster and clams along with sweet corn, potatoes, onion and an egg.

These are wrapped in seaweed, covered with a brown tarp and steamed in an open fire pit.

The hard-boiled egg is used to determine when the bake is done.

 

You can travel to picturesque Boothbay Harbor, Maine, then on to Cabbage Island by boat to enjoy a great New England clambake.

The Bennie Alice departs from Boothbay Harbor to take you to Cabbage Island daily.

Boothbay Harbor, ME 7.22.2017

Bennie Alice Boat 7.22.2017

Boothbay Lighthouse 7.22.2017

Cabbage Island is lovely with beautiful sea views.  Select to eat on outdoor picnic benches or under a large covered shed.

A badminton net stretches across a lawn and a bean-bag toss game is available for energetic visitors.  Pretty flowers dot the landscape.

Cabbage Island Flowers 7.22.2017

Start with the hot clam chowder.  Then, relish freshly caught lobsters and vegetables topped off with delicious, Maine blueberry cake.

Clambake Tray 7.22.2017

Play some games or pet one of the Cabbage Island’s huge Maine Coon cats.

Here is Nugs taking a cat-nap in a shady spot after lunch.

Nugs Napping 7.22.2017

One of the cooks said that Nugs is actually an excellent mouse catcher.  This inspired me to fold a Hunting Origami Cat.

Hunting Cat 7.23.2017

The Suckiest Airplane

The passenger next to me uttered an expletive.  I nodded in agreement.

The Delta plane was on the Boston Logan tarmac for an hour and a half.  We both had missed our connecting flight in Detroit.

Delta Planes 7.19.2017

No water, the pilot said.  Then, a yellow light appeared which he could not turn off.

This was followed by a generator issue, then a second generator problem.

Finally, we were in the air and a short time later, I was walking into Delta’s Detroit airport toward the Help counter.

“Your next connecting flight is in four hours,” the chippy Delta agent told me with no apology.  I was pissed.

OK, I thought.  I’ve never actually seen all of the airport’s concourses in leisure.  So, let me walk through them and check out the sites and shops.

Water fountain Concourse A 7.19.2017

I must have walked a couple of miles up and down the concourses as an airport-sightseeing-tourist.  Two items of note:

Concourse A: Pretty cool water fountain.

Concourse A to B and C: Tunnel with multi-colored flashing lights in sync with music.

Walking through the tunnel, I swiveled my hips a bit and twisted the rolling carry-on as my partner to the Motown song.   That was fun!

Detroit Airport Connecting Tunnel 7.19.2017

After three hours of walking all the concourses, I returned to my departure gate exhausted.

A colleague joined me with a half hour to go until we boarded the same plane.

Origami Airplane 7.21.2017

The connecting flight was uneventful but my return flights were unpleasant.

Screaming babies and continuous kicking of my seat by toddlers plagued me all the way back to Boston.

Mercifully, both flights were on time.

Once home, I unpacked and folded an Origami airplane.

 

Visit the Arnold Arboretum – a Living Museum, Boston, MA

The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Boston, is an explosion of color in May and June.

It is a living museum with collections of trees, bushes, shrubs and roses from all over the world.

 

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As you stroll along the paths, be surprised by the vistas around each corner.

Origami Dragonfly 6.26.2017

Listen to the cacophony of birds especially in the early morning.

Be encircled by iridescent dragonflies darting in and out of the marshy areas.

Enjoy the fresh, crisp air.

Sit on a bench.  Relax and absorb the magnificent landscape.

Father’s Day Tall Ships

Seagulls strut along the dock.  A ship’s horn scares them and they scatter to the heavens.

Boston Ferry 6.18.2017

Origami Seagull 6.18.2017

Our ferry passes Tall Ships.  We gape at the size of their masts.

We are informed of each vessel’s country and specifics of the complex rigging.

Schooners and smaller craft sail by.

More than 40 Tall Ships, decorated with a multitude of colorful flags, were on parade yesterday.   Today, the Tall Ships are at rest, sails folded.

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It’s Father’s Day and I am now fatherless.  My dad, Errol, died over ten years ago.

Errol was larger than life…bigger than these Tall Ships in my eyes.  Brilliance and hard work led to a full life in Academia.

With my mother, he brought me and my siblings to North America via the Caribbean, Africa and England.

In New England, we would have opportunities not available to us in the British West Indies.

“You’ve had your father your whole adult life,” a friend consoled me at his memorial service.

I did not realize it at the time but she was right.  I am grateful for his life.