This Week in New England: Glory Days and Festiveness

It's a rainy December Sunday here in Stoneham. This time of year we're lucky it's not snow and the rain is a great excuse to stay inside and make French Onion Soup while listening to Christmas music. If you're interested in homemade FOS my preferred French Onion Soup recipe is here.

Yesterday was a much better day for outside activities  - 40s and sunny. I (hopefully!) finished raking the leaves in our small yard for the season. Leaf raking is one of those fun home-owner activities no one tells you about when you declare you want to buy a house. The early snow that fell a few weeks ago made it tough to keep up with the pace of leaf-dropping but this should be the last of it.

 I was so warm and feeling active after the raking I also went for a bike ride along the newly completed Tri-Community Greenway.

I have been excited about this bike path ever since our offer was accepted on the house in Stoneham last January. I love urban development! The Greenway connects Stoneham, Woburn and Winchester over a distance of 6 miles through woods, neighborhoods and industrial areas. Much of the path is rail trail over the former Stoneham Rail Road branch. More information about the path is available here.

Our house is at the Stoneham end so I can do a nice 10-mile bike ride round trip if I am so inclined. I got some sunshine and exercise and explored some of the areas as I followed the trail. I can see it being a nice way to spend a Saturday morning when Spring and Summer roll around again.

Last night we went out to dinner at a new restaurant on Main St in Stoneham - Nobility Hill Tavern. The restaurant had its soft opening last week and we wanted to check it out after months of driving by the space. Walked in and the place was packed. Turns out the local football team - the Stoneham Spartans - were playing in the Divison 6 MA State Championships at Gillette Stadium and the game was on TV. Stoneham ultimately won, the food and drinks were pretty good at the new locale and it was fun to be part of the hometown celebrations.

And on Thursday had a delightful and festive night out at the Boston Opera House for the Nutcracker's opening night. The Boston Opera House is one of those grand, old, opulent buildings of years gone by and the interior was beautifully decorated for the holidays, which added even more to the grandeur of the space.

Boston Opera House Lobby

Definition of 'Opulent'

The Nutcracker is a favorite holiday tradition of mine; although I'm not the biggest fan of ballet but the story is entertaining and the music is classic. In second grade we did a unit of 'Paper Bag Theatre' where we cut and colored characters from the ballet for weeks. The paper bag became the sets and then we performed the story set to the music for our parents around the holidays. I am sure this is where my fondness stems.

Several festive New England activities on tap this week and then next weekend we're heading to Vermont for some skiing. 'Vermont must be beautiful this time of year - all that snow'. :)

State House on the Common decorated for the season