Books Read for 2023

Who Really Discovered America?
The Eiffel Tower
How the Post Office Created America
The Return of the gods
The Path Between the Seas
The Underground Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom
The Things Our Fathers Saw Volume 1-3
Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Vermont
A Magnificent Catastrophe
Survival in Auschwitz - If This is a Man
Founding Fathers

35 Years

For our 35th wedding anniversary, we went to the Berkshires for a three day weekend.  We started our trip Friday with a visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.  After our 3 hour visit and a half hour tour, we headed north to Pittsfield to visit the Berkshire Museum and Aquarium for a couple of hours. Dinner was eaten at Patrick's Pub (good prices, good portion, mediocre food) followed by a walk through Radiant Nights at the Hancock Shaker Village.

We stayed in the area at the Holiday Inn Oak and Spruce Resort which is where we spent most of our Saturday morning.  We hit up the activity center playing ping pong, pool, miniature golf, video bowling, and air hockey.  

Saturday afternoon we decided to explore the town of Stockbridge.  We saw the big picture window put in the General Store studio of Norman Rockwell.  We went to the public library's museum room where we learned that Jonathan Edwards had been a pastor in Stockbridge.  They had a walking tour map of Edward sites.  On that walk, we found Norman Rockwell's grave site in the Stockbridge Cemetery.  We also made a stop at the Mission House learning about the Mohican's life in what is now Stockbridge.  A late lunch was had at the Main Street Cafe.

Saturday evening,  we suited up for a quick dip in the pool and a quick soak in the hot tub at the resort's activity center.  As we were leaving the center, we stumbled upon a game of Bingo where we won a nice cache of candy. 

Sunday morning we  packed up with a stop on the way home at the Lee Outlets for a pair of sneakers and two sweaters.

Some Fall A-B-C Activities

A is for automating the station for 10 straight days to end the month of November
B is for Brimfield Flea Market with the Beauchemins September 7
C is candle making on a Saturday for Christmas gifts
D is for decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving
E is for eating Thanksgiving dinner with Tammy as Lizzy was ill with strep throat
F is for a fairly successful fantasy football 2023 season
G is for garage door replacement as old one stopped closing (It was here when we bought house in 2002)

H is for Halloween trick-or-treaters 

I is for IRS 2020 tax resolution vindication after months of  correspondence

J is for jetting Tammy to Chicago for a week of getting Gigi set-up after a stroke

K is for Keurig replacement for one that lasted us close to 15 years

L is for losing Patriot 2023 season

M is for Montana summer vacation second attempt

N is for new station general manager in October

O is for organizing the guestroom closet and desk drawer files over two November weekends

P is for PET Scan in October - my eleventh (which was clear!)

Q

R is raking leaves for 5 straight hours on Thanksgiving weekend

S is for selling items on Facebook Marketplace over the last several months

T is for timing pocket watches over several weeks for selling

U is for using new weekly food delivery (Factor 75) for month of October

V is for a Vermont weekend visit October 20 (Champlain Valley Craft Show)

W is for winterizing cars with snow tires and new wiper blades

X is for 'x'haust fans cleaning

Y is for yet another new oncologist at Baystate - my fourth

Z is for zealously keeping up with this blog