Still Here and Catching Up

It's been awhile since I posted, so here is what we've been up to around here.

This fall was a mast year for acorns.  What that means is that the oak trees produce acorns in ridiculously large quantities.  The ground was literally carpeted with them over and over again which meant I spent three weekends doing nothing but raking them up over and over again.  Then once that was over, it was time to rake all the leaves that had fallen.  That was two weekends of work.  Ever so glad fall has come to an end.

Columbus Day weekend, we continued our long-time family tradition of apple picking at Johnny Appleseeds.  After picking the apples in the morning, we spent the rest of the day, peeling, coring, slicing and baking 10 pies and 4 crisps to give away, then freezing enough to make 4 other pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

The weekend of November 21st, Tammy and I spent at the Halladay's Harvest Barn Inn Bed and Breakfast in Bellows Falls,VT.  Friday night, we ate at the Joy Wah Chinese restaurant across the street then ended the evening with some backgammon. Saturday, we visited the downtown shops, the VT General Store, the shops in Chester, VT and ended the evening in Walpole, NH for dessert at L.A Burdick Chocolate.  On our way home Sunday, we stopped at Basketville and visited the shops in downtown Brattleboro.

For Thanksgiving week, we celebrated our family Thanksgiving on Monday with Lizzy and Stas.  Tuesday, we were servers at our church's community Thanksgiving dinner.  Tammy and I both worked Thursday.  We then went to visit the VT grandparents for the weekend on Friday.

On December 3, I picked up our new Subaru Legacy Limited.  I am very much looking forward to being able to drive without slipping and sliding in any inclement weather this winter season has in store for us.

On Christmas Eve, we had Stas and Lizzy as well as Stas's mom and brother over for dinner.  We opened our gifts that night since Tammy and I both worked Christmas Day.  Tammy's brother Chad and our nephew AJ and his fiancee Vania arrived at our house Christmas Day.  We then all left very early Saturday morning for a weekend in NYC.  Upon arrival, we walked up Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue stopping at various stores on our way up to Central Park.  On our way back from Central Park, we stopped by Rockefeller Center and the Christmas tree.  Tammy, Chad, and I then took a two and a half hour Sandeman walking tour of midtown Manhattan.  Later that evening, we all met for the Broadway show Fiddler on the Roof.  On Sunday, everyone took a three hour Sandeman walking tour of lower Manhattan.  We also walked over to the South Sea Port to take a look at the Manhattan Bridge.   (An interesting sidelight, Chad had a pedometer that approximated our total walking distance for the two days at 21 miles.)

On Monday, December 28, Tammy, Chad, and I saw the new Star Wars movie then went to show Chad Lizzy and Stas's new apartment.  We had our first snow of the season that night that was followed by rain making it so much fun to shovel on Tuesday.  Tammy and Chad went to visit the Mark Twain house in Hartford and then finished the day off with dinner at Crepe's Tea House.

Lizzy and Stas's Wedding

On Saturday, September 26, we married off daughter number two.  To the right are some of the pictures I have been able to round up from others.

Sailing Takes Me Away

On Saturday, August 1st, Tammy and I had the opportunity to sail with a group for a few hour tour of Fisher Sound off the coast of CT.  The boat was named the Argia and sailed out of the Mystic River.  Pictures are posted to the right.

His and Her Shower

On Saturday, July 11, 2015, Lizzy and Stas had their His and Her Shower themed "Our Story".  It was held at First Baptist Church and was attended by family, church and school friends.  Pictures are to the right.

Graduation 2015 Vacation

On Saturday, May 2, Tammy and I left for Pensacola, FL for Lizzy's college graduation as noted in the previous blog.  We left early in the morning heading down I-95 to spend a few days with my sister Robin in NC.  The ride was uneventful other than the amount of money one must pay in tolls when taking I-95 in the north.

On Monday morning, we headed to Pensacola where we spent a few days until Lizzy's graduation.  Then everyone headed to Orange Beach, AL where a bunch of the family had rented a home right on the beach from Wednesday to Wednesday.  It was a nine bedroom, eight bathroom house which was great because it was full most of the week with the IL grandparents, the VT grandparents, the Beauchemins, Stas's family, the CT Gangwers, Jaclyn and Blake, along with guest appearances of Tony and Abby (Lizzy's friends), the Mitchell's, our Aunt Doris and Uncle Ted from Orlando, and some friends of ours from the Pensacola area.

The week for myself and Tammy was spent with a morning walk on the beach, breakfast, sitting by the ocean till mid afternoon, dinner, an evening walk on the beach, followed by an evening activity (volleyball, ultimate frisbee, poker night, try to fly a kite, learned Stand Up Paddle boarding, etc.)  Sunday morning several of us attended Romar Baptist Church which is situated right on the beach.  The weather the whole time we were there was perfect with not a drop of rain and plenty of sunshine.

We headed home Wednesday, May 13 the back way taking I-65 then eventually I-81 back to the Northeast.  Interestingly enough during this two weeks of travel we covered all the following states:  CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD, Washington, D.C, SC, NC, GA, FL, AL, TN, VA, West VA, and PA.

Many pictures posted to the right.

Lizzy's College Graduation

No more children in college.  Lizzy along with her fiancee Stas both graduated from PCC this month.  She earned her BA in English with an Art minor.  We (that is Tammy and I, the IL grandparents, the VT grandparents, Stas's mom and brother, Jaclyn and Blake, AJ and Vania, and Lizzy's friends from IL) attended their graduation and then made a vacation out of the rest of our stay -- which will compose the subject of the next blog.

Presently, she is looking for a job in our area and will be getting married in September.  Pictures are to the right, and this is a link to video of the graduation  http://www.pcci.edu/newsevents/2015/commencement.aspx

Easter in Vermont

After work on Friday, April 3, Tammy and I drove to the VT Grandparents for the Easter weekend.

The temperature was in the 60's when we arrived that evening.  The next day, however, it was raw, windy, and snowing.  Ironically, we decided to visit the Snowflake Bentley Museum in Jericho, VT.  The museum is dedicated to one of the town's residents who photographed snowflakes in the early 1900's.  Later in the day, we went to Snowflake's Chocolate which is definitely not a great idea the day before Easter as it was very crowded.

Easter Sunday, we attended Easter breakfast and services at Calvary Baptist.  After church, we had hot dogs, hamburgers, and many sweet treats for dessert.  It was then time to return to CT for the start of another work week.

2015 Reading List?

Those who have read this blog for some time (which seems to be getting fewer and fewer) know that each year I list the books that I have been reading during the winter months.  Well, I have to report that I have not read any this winter.  

Why?  Not really sure.  I have seen more movies during this time than I have in several years put together; so, I thought I would list them.

Fury - World War II tank movie

American Sniper - Story of Chris Kyle

The Imitation Game - Breaking of the enigma machine

Lincoln - Passing of the 13th Amendment (A Christmas video gift)

Sons of Liberty - A History Channel mini-series

Would have liked to seen Unbroken and Selma but missed them

Three Storms in Two Weeks

From the Blizzard of 2015 to the Superbowl Storm to this storm, the snow keeps piling up; and I say, Enough already!  I am tired of driving in it and shoveling/snow blowing it.

Yet One More of Life's Milestone

The Windy City

On Friday, December 26th after work, the CT Gangwers along with Lizzy's boyfriend, Stas, headed to visit the IL grandparents.  We made it to DeBois, PA for the night; then got to Oswego, IL Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday we went to Harvest Bible Church, had a turkey dinner, exchanged Christmas gifts, then spent the rest of the day watching football.

On Monday, Chad (Tammy's brother) took us into Chicago.  We visited the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sear's Tower), the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Buckingham Fountain.  We drove by Soldier Field, stopped outside Wrigley Field, and ate at Lucky's.  Tuesday, we drove by the house where Tammy grew up in Boulder Hill and went shopping at the nearby mall and stores.  Tuesday night, we took in a basketball game at the high school were Chad teaches.

The next several days we just hung out around the house until we left on Friday for the Danville area of IL for a friend of Lizzy's wedding.  Tammy and I spent that night in Indianapolis where we visited my sister Randi's family and the church where her husband is the pastor.  

Saturday we attended the wedding in which Lizzy was a bridesmaid and Stas an usher.  The next day, we drove the 14 hours home getting back at 10pm.