Trip to Massachusetts - Day Four

In which things become rather picture-intensive.
Rumor has it that a mysterious redhead has been wandering the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts. And she never wears pants (except for the Day of Recovery, when I wore my cheater pants)! And she has giant sunglasses and high heels! What kind of woman could this be? She seems awfully glamorous for this little town. She is armed with a camera and should be considered likely to shoot. She'll shoot you, a rooftop, a flower box, or anything else she spots - even herself! Watch out!
Why, she was spotted just this morning, waiting for the trolley!

This adorable little trolley only runs in a straight line, so the seat backs are hinged and the conductor switches them over to face the new front of the car each time it reaches the end of the line!

I love this trolley conductor. Isn't that the absolute best beard you've seen in a while? I'm a bit partial to beards. They make me think of my daddy.

I visited the Cotton Mill and learned about the industrial revolution and the plight of early factory workers. I also really loved the looms, even though they were loud and actually shook the floor of the rooms above them. I bought some kitchen towels made from the cloth they weave as a demonstration. Very exciting for a textile-loving girl like me.

The men at the museum were very helpful. Perhaps this is because of the No Pants Summer, because it is happening to me everywhere. Girls in dresses look like they want to know about things, I guess. But I practically had a private tour of the museum and thorough explanations of how the machines on each floor of the old mill took raw cotton and turned it into roving, then thread, then cloth. The feats of early engineering - fascinating!
I also met a lady in the loo who said it was hot and I told her I was from Florida, so it's kinda normal to me and she started to tell me a lot about her nephews who she raised and they now live in Florida. She talked to me the whole time I was, um, in there. When I got out of the stall, I noticed that she had apparently wet her pants. And she had a walking stick but wasn't exactly blind. I meet the most interesting people.....
Here's the next spot that I visited, of particular interest to Mary, methinks. It's the New England Quilt Museum. There may or may not be a little something fun in her pay-it-forward gifty package when she finally gets it:

I took myself out to lunch at the cutest little Italian place.

Spaghetti Pomodoro with the loveliest, fresh sauce - chock full of onions and thyme! Mine usually is more basil and garlic. I may have to revisit my recipe.....I may have to revisit that restaurant....

I spent a little bit of after-lunch time peeking out of the windows of the loft, which is right down the street from the restaurant. The windows in this place are just amazing!

And then - hold on to your hats, girls - I headed for the Classic Elite Yarns factory store! That is located right here in Lowell! Any of you who have been within earshot of me in the last six months already knew how I excited I was to go here....

I did buy something, but it deserves its own post. But before I do that, here are just a few random shots from Boston and Lowell of stuff that I thought was pretty.