Lisa Johnson

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

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The Roosevelts

Have you been watching the latest Ken Burns production The Roosevelts? I am absolutely enthralled.

It’s a seven-part, 14 hour film that has been on PBS for two hours every night since last Sunday night. Tonight is the last episode, but it’s also available to watch online. Probably for a limited period of time.

If you haven’t been watching, I really recommend it. This film pulls you back into the past in such a big and complete way that I haven’t felt in a very long time. Maybe since Roots.

What’s interesting is that the more I understand and learn about the past, the more I feel like current events are so similar. That cliche the more things change the more they stay the same is so true!

I’m looking forward to the last episode of The Roosevelts tonight. Will you be watching?

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Photo Credit: PBS

This Weekend: The Big Tiny House Festival

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the BIG tiny house Festival

More people are starting to become aware of the tiny house movement. I wrote a magazine article about it a few years ago. This summer I watched a movie on Netfix called TINY: A Story About Living Small. It’s a great movie by the way.

If you don’t have Netflix and you live near Somerville, Massachusetts, you can see a screening of the film on Saturday, September 20th from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

The screening is taking place at The BIG tiny house festival this weekend. People of all kinds who are involved in the creation of tiny homes to those just interested in finding out more will be gathering to discuss this more simple lifestyle. On Sunday, there will be workshops. Learn more about the festival by clicking here.

Have a great weekend!

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Photo Credit: Somerville Arts Council

Park(ing) Day 2014 ~ Wollaston Theatre

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parking day 2014

Have you heard of Park(ing) Day? It’s an annual event that takes place all over the world, where “citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places.”

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!

I think it’s the coolest thing and have seen pictures from events in different cities. Yesterday on Twitter, I saw that there was going to be an event in my neighborhood. So today, I took a break and walked down to the Wollaston Theatre.

On my old blog, I’ve written about how it’s such a shame that the Wollaston Theatre has not been open for many years. When I first moved to Quincy in the early 90s, it was open and I saw a movie there.

While I was at the Wolly Park-(In), I spoke to Kara from the Quincy Planning Department. She said that the event was a way for them to get into the community and talk to people about what they would like to see in Quincy. She gave me a slip of paper to write my wish for Quincy and to hang it on the Wishing Tree, which she said was a Chinese tradition.

I’m not sure if I’m supposed to share my wish, but it did have to do with the Wollaston Theatre opening up again. The current owner is Michael Fang. I hope that he considers it, because it’s a beautiful place and they don’t make theaters like that anymore.

Above are scenes from Park(ing) Day 2014 here in Quincy. Enjoy the pictures!

Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness

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Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness bottle

My uncle, the photographer, had a family brunch this past weekend and I had my first apple cider of the season! He had an assortment of things to drink and was quite enamored with one in particular. He asked if any of us had tried it before. I had not. And by the icky green looks of it, I didn’t plan to either.

He was talking about Green Goodness by Bolthouse Farms and he kept going on and on about all the good ingredients in it and that it tasted really good. I read the label and it did seem to be full of lots of healthy things and a great way to get some additional servings of fruits. My aunt pointed out that there is a lot of sugar in it. So that’s something to be on the lookout for.

Since he has never steered me wrong when it comes to good food, I tried it. It is so good! It feels very refreshing and energizing. All of us who tried it loved it!

I bought a bottle when I went shopping this week and just had a half a glass. Yum! Have you tried Green Goodness juice?

Pumpkin Spice: Do You or Don’t You?

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Pumpkin Spice OreoIf you’re into Twitter, you may have seen Pumpkin Spice Oreo trending about a week ago. My first thought was, “This better not be a joke, because that would just be cruel.”

When I was in CVS a few days ago, I sort of casually looked for them. I didn’t see any, so I asked.  I was told that they didn’t have them and wouldn’t be carrying them. *Gulp*

Yesterday in Stop & Shop, I sauntered over to the cookie aisle to catch a glimpse. Nothing. When I got home, I did a quick search and didn’t see anything on the Oreo website. Then I  searched on Twitter and found the Tweet pictured above.

September 24th is the official day! I had read some articles about how good the cookies were and mistakenly believed they were available for the general public. I guess only a special few were given the cookies in advance.

Needless to say, I am now mildly obsessed with trying them and will be looking forward to their arrival on store shelves. After writing about my search for them on Facebook, someone commented that I might need an intervention. Ha! Not quite yet.

I love all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Since I prefer summer, the annual arrival of these flavors infused into just about every food product almost makes me happy for the cold weather. Yeah, I said it!

This pumpkin spice latte recipe is one that I plan to try. This pumpkin crumb coffee cake would go nicely with it too!

pumpkinsNow one more thing that I’ve noticed with the pumpkin spice phenomenon is the racial tinge to it. When and why did that happen?  Pumpkin spice is being associated with white girls.

I posted this photo to my personal Facebook wall recently. In case you don’t click over, the quote says, “if you say ‘pumpkin spice latte’ in the mirror 3 times a white girl in yoga pants will appear & tell you all her favorite things about fall.”

I re-posted it because I think it’s hilarious, but I added that it could be “any” girl. Similarly, BuzzFeed has an article called “25 Things All Basic White Girls Do During The Fall.”

Of course, first on the list is “Get on that Pumpkin Spice Latte grind.” The top comment on this post is by Nicky Watson.

Buzzfeed, girls of color could enjoy these things too you know >_> I mean what does Buzzfeed think all black girls like to do during the fall? Twerk? Sheesh.

Agreed. What about pumpkin spice makes American culture want to associate it with “girls” first of all.  Not women. Or men. Or boys. It’s a flavor people! Shouldn’t it be gender and age neutral!? Then all people of color are uniformly dismissed from the conversation.

Granted, this is just a fall flavor. But in general, when we eliminate certain people from the greater conversation, it’s never a good thing. So the next time you eat something pumpkin spice flavored, think about who else you picture consuming it and why.

*Updated 10/10/2014* I spied the cookies! I’ve had way too many cookies recently, but when I saw these Pumpkin Spice Oreos in the store today, I decided to get them. Just to follow-up this post…. So I could report back to you! They’re good! I hope you appreciate my sacrifice.

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Photo Credit: Oreo Tweet