It has been sooooooo long since I’ve had time to write anything here.  In short, my life has turned upside down over the past several months.  I think things are finally starting to settle, or maybe the interesting part is just beginning.  Only time will tell…  With that said, I’ve been itching to write about all of the cool things I’ve done over the summer, but I finally find myself with some time this evening as I lay in bed getting sleepy.  More entries are sure to come over the next few weeks, and I hope that you will stop back often to read about them and leave a comment or two on my posts.

Several weeks ago, The Weekday Rambler, aka my mom, paid me a visit from Louisiana.  It’s always great when mom comes because it gives me a chance to do one of the things I love best in life, and that is being a tourist in my own Boston.  We have seen many sights together since she has visited several times now.  In an effort to find something new I turned to the internet and found the Rose Nichols House in Beacon Hill.

The Nichols house was built in 1804 and still stands more or less in original form today with a few modern additions.  It has been preserved with funding from generous benefactors since the time that it’s latest resident Rose Standish Nichols died in 1960.  The original furnishings are beautiful and there are some nice examples of Miss Rose’s fine needlepoint throughout the house.  The house is also filled with numerous paintings, portraits, and sculptures – some made by family members and some by famous European artists.  One painting of gondolas in Venice particularly caught my eye.  I think I remember the guide saying that it was painted by Guardi, whose work you can also see at the MFA here in Boston.

Mom and I visited the Nichols House on a weekday and were treated to a private tour filled with lots of personal information about Miss Rose and her life on Beacon Hill.  Growing up she must have been quite obstreperous testified to by the fact that she finagled her way into her own bedroom in a house with only two bedrooms at the age of thirteen.  The other was occupied by her parents.  Her two sisters, with whom she constantly fought, lived on the top floor with “the help”.

Later in life, she became a landscape architect as well as a published author.  She held salons or tea parties in which she deliberately invited people who had divergent viewpoints so as to generate conversation.  Miss Rose was known to defend her own ideas and opinions, and it sounds like she must have been a force to be reckoned with in a social or political debate.  Too bad she is not around today – I think I’d like to know her if she were.

Below are a few snapshots of our tour there.  The people who hosted us couldn’t have been more gracious and we really enjoyed spending time after the tour chatting with them about Boston, Beacon Hill, and the mint green vintage refrigerator in the employee kitchen.  Check out the Nichols House if you find yourself with a free afternoon in Beacon Hill on these waning days of summer for a taste of Boston rich history.