I came across this site that offers panoramic images of the American revolution. Arranged in a time line format, the panoramas are of sites of the American revolution and often of re-enactors.

On Saturday, December 31, I took my mom and Abby to visit Concord. We first went to Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. We toured the home, and you can too with this virtual tour.

After visiting the home, I took the girls to the Colonial Inn for lunch. While we were eating, it began to snow— the only time that it snowed while I was home. After we were finished, we went outside to take pictures and to let Abby examine snowflakes.

We then went to the Old North Bridge, by which “the once-embattled farmers stood” and upon which Abby sang Emerson’s “Concord Hymn.” After taking a few pictures of my mom and Abby and of Abby and me, we went left the snowy outdoors for the warmth of a used bookstore.

All of the photos linked to in this post can be seen in the gallery.

The online edition of the works of Jonathan Edwards was released for a public beta today. Not all of the works are available online yet, but the Miscellanies and many sermons are. You can read more at the blog of the Jonathan Edwards Center. I find the online edition interesting on two counts: first, because it contains the works of Jonathan Edwards, and second, because the well-designed digital archive is a powerful tool for research.

On Tuesday, January 2, Abby and I visited Boston. We drove from my home to Alewife, a subway station outside the main part of the city. We rode on the T using the new Charlie cards (which haven’t received great reviews) and stopped at Park Street. We walked up to the state house, but didn’t go close because of political protests. Abby’s main purpose in going to Boston was to acquire a Boston hoodie, so I offered to get her one from a disreputable-looking street vendor. She declined. We continued on to the Boston Public Gardens, looking for the statues of the ducklings from Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings. The Public Gardens are fairly large, though not enormous, so it took us quite a lot of time in the bitter cold wind. We easily found living ducks and a bronze George Washington, but the bronze ducklings were harder to find. Still, even though it was cold, we still enjoyed the beauty of the Public Gardens. Finally, in the very last corner of the garden to be investigated, we found the statues: in the lead, Mrs. Mallard, and following behind, the seven ducklings (Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack, and Quack), all decked out for Christmas. After paying homage to the great children’s author, illustrator, and two-time winner of the Caldecott Medal, we hurried back to the warmth of the subway.

Our second main stop of the day was the Museum of Fine Arts. We enjoyed seeing all kinds of art, including Greek pottery, Roman statues, American portrait painters such as Stuart and Copley, an ugly statue outside the MFA, French impressionists, Byzantine chapels, and my favorite piece of modern art. Surprisingly, we were allowed to take photos in the museum (without flash), so I took photos of us outside, of us inside, and of Abby posing as an art connoisseur.

After we left the museum, our final stop was at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Unfortunately, the main hall was closed so I couldn’t go complete my pilgrimage to pay respects to the giant painting of Daniel Webster. But there we found reputable dealers where we looked at every type of hoodie offered in Boston. Our task was complicated immeasurably by the fact that Abby didn’t want anything affiliated with the Red Sox, but we finally found the perfect hoodie. After dinner, we made our way back to Groton to return to the family.

All of the photos linked to in this post can be seen in the gallery.

On Friday, December 29, Abby, my family and I visited Old Sturbridge Village. Old Sturbridge Village is a collection of nineteenth-century New England buildings and artifacts. Visitors can walk through the buildings and talk to guides dressed in period clothing. The guides also demonstrate nineteenth-century life, doing everything from baking bread to blacksmithing to slaughtering animals. My family has visited the village many times, and we wanted Abby to see some of New England’s history while she was visiting.

The village has many buildings, such as Congregational meetinghouse, a Quaker meetinghouse, a general store, a law office, a bank, several homes, a parsonage, a print shop, several farms, a schoolhouse, a tavern a cider mill, a carding mill, a saw mill, a grist mill, a cooper’s shop, a blacksmith shop, a tinker’s shop, and a potter’s workshop and kiln. Abby liked the largest house in town best. When she learned that Salem Towne built the home in 1796 for a little over $2,000, she insisted that I could afford to buy it for her.

The village offers many beautiful sights. At the center is the village green, where you can see most of the buildings. You can view a panorama (interactive or still) of the center of the village. Abby’s house is the large white one at the end of the green. On the outskirts of the village are other sights. We walked by the river and over it on the covered bridge. We also saw fields and roads and even took some pictures together with them as a backdrop.

Artifacts and demonstrations of nineteenth-century life are another part of the village’s exhibits. Just a few of the things that we saw were food, tinkers, looms, a carding machine, a blacksmith, a printing press, and a potter. The potter asked us what he should make, so Abby asked for a pitcher. He made it for her, but she didn’t get to keep it.

Besides the buildings and artifacts, animals are another big part of the village. Even in winter time, we saw all sorts of domestic animals, including oxen, pigs, cows, and sheep.

While we were there, I took some photos of the people. Abby and I took quite a few pictures together. Moriah and I took one together in the meetinghouse. I also got some photos of Dad and Moriah walking together, of Abby, and of my mother. (I did take pictures of Emi, but none of them would meet her approval.)

All of the pictures in this post can be seen in the gallery.

This past week, my girlfriend Abby came to New England to visit my family, my church, and my hometown. On Thursday, her first day with us, we had a Christmas celebration for her. Abby is Southerner who considers everywhere above the Mason-Dixon line to be “the frozen wasteland,” so my parents got her a blanket for her to keep warm whenever she is at our home. She wrapped herself up in it practically every minute she was inside.

Sunday was Abby’s twenty-first birthday, so my mother made her a cake, with twenty-one candles. Abby’s own mother had shipped her birthday present home with me earlier. Abby experienced all the essentials of a Mullen birthday, including the special plate and the tuneless singing of “Happy Birthday.”

Abby, my family, and I did several other things during the week. On Friday, we went to Old Sturbridge Village. On Sunday, Abby met the church people and played the piano in the evening for special music and congregational singing. On Monday, we went to my grandparents’ home for dinner. On Tuesday, we went to Boston to see the Make Way for Ducklings statues, the Museum of Fine Arts, and other sights. On Wednesday, we went to Maine. I’ll write about most of those things in future posts.

All of the pictures in this post can be seen in the gallery.