Books Read in 2025

Great American Trivia

The Last Dispatch:  A Story of Antietam

Under God:  Triumph and Tragedy Stories of America's Spiritual Battles 

The World Rushed In - The CA Gold Rush Experience

The March

Polk - The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America

1812:  The War that Forged a Nation

With the Old Breed

Shocking Secrets of American History

South End Syndicate

The Things Our Fathers Saw Volume 9 & 10

The French and Indian War:  Deciding the Fate of North American

War Letters

The True Story of the USS Indianaoplis

A Quiet Christmas 2025

Tammy and I both worked Christmas Eve, so we were not able to attend the Christmas Eve service at our church or former church as they held them in the early and late afternoon.   We did watch the PCC Christmas special "The Greatest Gift," as well as, the PBS docudrama "All is Calm" after dinner. 

It was only Tammy, Charlotte, and I Christmas morning opening the presents we had gotten each other and the presents from the Laberee's.  The rest of the morning was spent getting things ready for dinner guests who were coming over at 3pm.  Tammy made the Maple Salmon with crockpot mini-potatoes and a broccoli/cauliflower Christmas salad.  I cleaned the house.  We had a great four and a half hour visit reconnecting with our old friends the Bakers.

Tammy had to return to work Friday.  My job gave me off both Christmas Day and Friday.  This was quite a nice surprise considering all the previous years when I had to work all holidays. 

Photo link https://photos.app.goo.gl/zH5s7MAXPB7ysn5W9

Anniversary 37 Get-Away

On Friday, December 12th, Tammy and I hit the road for a weekend in New Bedford, MA.  We left around 5:30am and arrived in Fall River around 8am for our first stop of our trip - breakfast at Harry's Diner.  I ordered the steak bomb omelette, and Tammy had the mozambique omelette.  After breakfast, we walked down to Battleship Cove where we explored a WWII submarine, PT boat, destroyer, and battleship inside and out for three hours.  The battleship had the most to see with lots of hatch ways and ladders to climb through and up.  I was able to make it to the lowest and the highest part of the battleship accessible to the public.  It was quite the maze of passageways.  Admission to Battleship Cove included admission to the Marine Museum a short walk away.  Here we learned about the Fall River Line to New York City.  There was also a Titanic exhibit.  Our day in Fall River was not done yet.  We made one last stop at the Borden's home for a 90 minute Lizzie Borden tour and tale.  It was now time to depart for our hotel in New Bedford.  

After we checked in to our room on the fifth floor overlooking the largest fishing port on the East Coast, we walked to the Black Whale Restaurant for dinner.  I had what likely has been the most expensive meal I have ever ordered - lobster thermidor.  Tammy had scallops which is the number one catch in the area.  Saturday morning we walked to the Whaling Museum where we learned what made New Bedford the city that lit the world.   A visit to the Fishing Heritage Center followed.  We rounded out the afternoon walking around the downtown, visiting various shops with sightings of Santa and a winter fairy.  Dinner was eaten at Izzy's Restaurant.  I chose Cape Verde steak with one egg and a bowl of cachupa from the menu.  Tammy chose fish and chips substituting a salad for the chips.  Dessert was two large cookies and milk teas from Besteas.

Sunday morning we headed home in a snow storm which thankfully did not stick to the roads.

Click the link for pictures of our adventure   https://photos.app.goo.gl/v1Lk9tmy7pZQUphS8

Thanksgiving 2025

I now have the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving off as holiday time.  Tammy was able to get both days off this year.  So we headed to Vermont to be with family.  We left 530am Thursday morning for a 'trafficless' drive of 3 hours to the VT Grandparents.  Around 10am, the NY Gangwers arrived, and we all ate a breakfast of Eggs in a basket and sausage.  I spent some time before the festivities were to begin at 2pm making a container of Thai tea for everyone to tryl

Thanksgiving dinner was in the church's fellowship hall at 2pm with all the Beauchemin's in attendance along with the aforementioned VT Grandparents, NY Gangwers, and a special appearance by Vania's sister Ellie.  We had all the trimmings - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green been casserole, homemade and canned cranberry sauce, and rolls.  The dessert table was just as full with apple, pumpkin, and pecan pie, pumpkin roll, and pumpkin bread.  After feasting, some put together 'Lego' Christmas ornaments while the rest of us sat around chatting.  Everyone returned to the VT Grandparents for an evening of snacking on leftovers and a game of 'Scattergories'.  See link for pictures - https://photos.app.goo.gl/WciYGMaxUW6VRqVy9

Tammy went out and about Black Friday shopping the next morning.  When she returned, the NY Gangwer girls and I made Dubai Chocolate from a Mr. CoCo kit I had brought up with us.  It was enjoyed by most better than the Thai tea.  Otherwise it was a quiet day sitting around, chilling out, and eating. The evening was spent playing 'Scattergories'.  

Tammy and I spent time Saturday designing and cutting out our pinewood derby cars for their upcoming February race in VT.  Rachelle ordered pizza for dinner as some tired of Thanksgiving leftovers.  The day ended with playing the game 'How Well Do You Know Your Family?'.

Sunday morning found Tammy and I leaving early to avoid the holiday rush home with a cooler full of Thanksgiving leftovers of which I'm not sure I could ever tire of.

 

Busy, Busy, Busy Fall 2025

As Professor Hinkle, the magician in Frosty the Snowman, famously states in his closing remarks in the cartoon as he leaves Santa to write his apology a hundred zillion times - "Busy, busy, busy", so it has been here in CT with more home projects as October began where September ended.

The first weekend in October was spent 'repairing' our master bedroom closet.  The two closet dressers that anchor the hanging clothes bar had become 'stressed' causing their drawers to misalign and not close properly.  I spent the day - and yes, surprisingly, it did take the better part of a day - anchoring the two dressers to the wall studs.  Tammy went through the clothes on the hanging bar to lessen its load by getting rid of items no longer worn.  

After we returned home from our Fall getaway detailed in the previous blog, Tammy and I  attended the 2025 WIHS Gala and Expo.  This is the rebranded name for what was previously the WIHS Banquet.   It had been several years since I had been to this event because of my cancer and scheduled travel.  It was held at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington with around 400 listeners of the radio station coming for an evening of food (served family style at your table), fun (over 30 various Christian ministry displays to visit), and fellowship (congregational singing with a message about CT's early Christian heritage).

The house got cleaned up for a visit the next Saturday.  We had invited Mr. and Mrs. Brown over for dinner.  Mr. Brown was the pastor of First Baptist Church where I worked at the Christian school Baptist Village Academy and where we attended church for over 20 years.  Tammy made a delicious dinner of maple Salmon, rice and roasted whole carrots with a dessert of apple pie.  We had a great couple of hours catching up on current events in their lives and reminiscing about old times.

I decided to tackle a complete garage clean up on Saturday, Nov 8th from the rafters down.  When we moved in to our house in 2002, I stored a lot of the emptied boxes we had used in the garage rafters.  I went through them filling up our large blue recycle garbage can with those of no use.  I then moved to on to all the shelves throwing away items that had not been used in years and placing other items on FaceBook Marketplace to sell.  Not having ever done a deep clean on the garage ever, there was a good amount of mouse poop and seeds of all sorts - stored and eaten - by said mice.  (As a side note, I did buy several mouse traps after cleaning and have put them to good use.)  This was a full day job taking close to 7 hours with just a stop for a 20 minute lunch.

For Tammy's birthday in September, I had purchased tickets to a local production of the "Little House of Horrors" put on by the Opera House Players.  It was a Sunday matinee on November 16th at the old Fermi High School auditorium here in Enfield.  Stas and Lizzy went with us, and we were all impressed by how good the performance was.  We all stopped at BigY on the way home for an after show dessert which we decided on to be an ice cream cake.  

It was on to the basement for the next project.  Saturday, Nov 22, Tammy and I went through two storage cabinets.  The one contained arts and crafts.  The other had some old toys from days of yesteryear.  I placed most of the toys on FaceBook Marketplace with almost half having sold to date.  The arts and crafts closest was cleaned out through judicious trashing of items and finding new homes for others.  We had two old end tables from when we first got married, as well as, a newer coffee table that didn't fit in our living room taking up space in the basement.  Any guess as to what happened to them?  All were sold on FaceBook Marketplace.  Their is still more to the basement but that's for projects to come. 

Sunday, I spent in the great outdoors tackling the yearly fall chore of leaf raking.  Sounds easy enough, but after about seven hours, I had no more left in me.  I completed the last two hours of raking the next day after getting home from work.

Vermont Fall Get-Away

After returning home from our "action-packed" summer vacation, Tammy acquiesced to a quiet get-away for us.  We booked a VRBO in South Alburgh, VT right on Lake Champlain.

We left CT on Saturday, October 4th arriving at the Shelburne Museum at 10am to warm and sunny weather.  We spent 6 hours going through the 39 exhibition buildings on 45 acres eating lunch at their Weathervane Cafe.  We then drove to our rental where we settled in for the week and spent the evening by the water watching the moon rise.

Early Sunday morning, we discovered we had a guest.  Apparently, a mouse decided the bedroom wall/ceiling would be a great place to store his acorn supply for the upcoming winter.  Since we were awake, we were able to enjoy from bed the sun rise over the lake followed by attending church online from the back deck   Afterwards, Tammy and I did some sprucing up of the back deck area.  Tammy then took one of the kayaks out for a paddle that was cut short due to its unstable feel.  The NY Gangwers came over around noon for a couple hours bringing pizzas from Gino's in Champlain, NY.  The warm evening was spent fishing with fake bait to no avail but rewarded with a picturesque moon rise.

Early Monday morning, the mouse was back at its stocking.  We turned on the stove vent to scare the mouse away.  It didn't bother him.  We then turned on the bathroom fan which seemingly did the trick.  The problem there was that the fan made an annoying sound that was hard to sleep to.  After watching another beautiful sun rise from bed, Tammy and I tried the kayaks.  I never felt so wobbly in a kayak so didn't go too far before turning back.  Our outing for the day was a visit to the Alburgh Dunes State Park on another warm and sunny day.  On the way home, we decided to drive around Isle La Motte stopping at Hall's Orchard purchasing two pears and having an interesting conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Hall.  We also made a bathroom stop at a convenience store where I bought some night crawlers.  After dinner, Tammy and I took a walk  around "the neighborhood" and discovered the Alburgh Dunes State Park was a 10 minute walk through a side street from us.  Another fabulous moon rise made up for an evening of not a single fish bite on my newly purchased worms.

Early Tuesday we found the winning combination of stove vent, bathroom vent, and white noise app on my phone to silence the noise from the mouse.  Another sun rise from bed was followed by a trip to Champlain, NY to purchase the fixings for a spaghetti squash dinner.  On the return trip, we stopped at the New England Via Vermont General Store in Alburgh to visit their Civil War Museum and took a short walk to VT Bakery where we purchased two packages of Vermont Marshmallows.  Rachelle and Alan along with AJ and Vania and her brother Abraham and his fiance Sarah come over that evening for dinner.  Because of rain, the plans for s'mores was changed from the fire pit to the fire place insert which we couldn't keep lit to the oven's broiler which thanks to Sarah saved the day. 

Wednesday dawned sunny, windy and colder.  Tammy and I spent the day soaking worms with ne'er a bite.  We had dinner at Shore Acres Inn and Restaurant thanks to Jaclyn's gift card for Tammy's birthday.  I had the New England clam chowder, trout, and chocolate boston cream pie; Tammy had shrimp taco,salmon, and creme brulee. 

Thursday was cold and windy again.  For that reason,  we sat around the fire pit taking advantage of the warmth provided by a blazing fire.  We toasted the remaining marshmallows from the night before.  For a change from watching the moon rise, we walked to the Alburgh Dunes State Park to see the sunset over the lake.

Friday we checked out of the rental and made our way to the VT Grandparents for a nice visit with my Aunt Doris and cousin Kim who were up visiting for several days.  It was fun sitting around talking, reminiscing, and catching up.  All the Beauchemins came over that evening for pizza and a game of Scattergories.

Saturday morning Aunt Doris and Kim flew back to FL, and we drove back to CT.

Pictures  https://photos.app.goo.gl/LLKMvkm9euKRyJH77

Home Projects

Besides the seasonal battle against weeds by pulling and spraying them, I decided to undertake some home projects this summer/fall beginning with a roof soft wash in August to kill the moss/algae growing on the shingles.  I had a local company do it at a cost of 700 hundred dollars as I had no interest in walking around on my roof.  

Labor Day weekend was a busy one.  I started it off with washing the algae off the vinyl siding on the back of the house.  I also washed the deck as well as the front and breezeway porches.  The next day, I painted the front and breezeway porches along with the back hatchway.  The weekend ended with me painting the backyard deck.

No projects were done the next weekend because Rachelle and Alan came down for a visit to the Brimfield Flea Market.  While there, we purchased some records for Lizzy and bought lunch at the Macho Taco food truck.  AJ and Vania were down that weekend as well visiting Stas and Lizzy.  Everyone came over to our house for a dinner of quesadillas and tacos from Sabores with desserts of Mississippi Mud Pie and Apple Crumb cake baked by Rachelle.

The following weekend I filled several long cracks that had formed in our driveway with Sika Asphalt Crack fill.  I finished the weekend off weeding the back flower bed carting off three wheel barrow fulls.  

This last weekend of September, Tammy, Stas, and Lizzy went apple picking at Easy Pickin's as I was waiting for Castle Windows to come and replace two windows for 180 dollars that had lost their seal.  We peeled, cored, and sliced  around 85 pounds of apples making 8 pies for neighbors and friends, 4 large crisps for work and ourselves, and froze enough apples to make 12 more pies.  The following day, I restained the bow window shelf and painted the front door frame - each taking several coats.   

   

Airline Travel Woes

 Airline travel has become plagued with more and more issues.  Take our vacation trip to Washington State as an example.  

Tammy and I were to fly Southwest Airlines from BDL to SEA at 6am on Saturday, August 9th with a B5 and B6 boarding number.  We woke up at 230am to a message that our flight was delayed until 9am making for a real tight connection in DEN.  We headed to the airport anyway.  On the way, we received another message that our flight had been changed to 345pm from BDL to BWI toSEA and a C41 and C42 boarding number.  Tammy began an internet search to see any earlier flights were to be had but to no avail.  We called customer service who let us know we could still keep our original flight with the tight connection or take the rebooked flight.  We decided for the rebooked flight out of fear of the delay increasing and getting stuck in DEN because of a missed connection.  We drove home, tried to sleep - which didn't happen, and waited to return to the airport for our new 345pm flight.  The flights went without a hitch though Tammy and I were not able to sit together due to the high boarding numbers and ended being awake for 24 hours by the time we reached Cle Elum, Washington.  As a side note, we would have made the original tight connection in DEN as the flight left earlier than its estimated delay time.

Flying home from SEA, I was booked on an American Airlines flight with the IL grandparents through ORD.  We had a 130pm flight arriving in ORD at 730pm and BDL at 12am.  We left Cle Elum at 815am and dealt with the nightmare of SEA-TAC departure traffic and insanely long security lines.  The departure to ORD itself was uneventful.  I did have a tight connection in ORD  which I watched on the flight app as our arrival time went from 20 minutes early to on-time.  Then the captain announced that ORD was closed due to weather, and we were being diverted to STL because we didn't have the fuel to circle until the airport reopened.  While at STL, I received a message I had been rebooked for a 7am flight the next day.  I figured by the time we arrived at ORD it was best to just spend the night there.  A short time later another message informed me that my rebooked 7am flight had been cancelled.  Tammy and I had been texting during this time about the situation, and she was able to book me a flight for Monday at 825pm.  I would be spending a few days with the IL grandparents.

We landed in ORD around 10pm and learned that Iliya's flight had been affected by the bad weather also.  He had left SEA on an American Airlines flight at 930am and was diverted twice from ORD to other Midwest airports.  He was coming in at 1030pm; so we waited for him and left ORD around 1230am in a limo that had been waiting for the IL grandparents since 730pm.  

My luggage did not come off the plane at ORD; however, because of our flight delay to SEA to begin our vacation, Tammy and I had packed an extra set of clothes and toiletries in our carry on backpacks in case we missed our connections.  I had never done this before, but it was a true blessing in the days to follow.  

Sunday was a nice but warm day.  Storms were being predicted again for ORD Monday night; so I was nervous about getting out.  Iliya and I booked a 230pm, hundred dollar Uber to get us to the airport for our Monday night flights.  We made it there around 4pm.  Skies were getting dark and radar showed storms approaching.  I was watching the airline app for the location of my arriving plane which was being delayed from its departure, as well as, possible flights to rebook for the next day if my flight was cancelled.  It started to become clear that I had a decision to make - keep this flight and hope it didn't get cancelled or rebook a new flight for Wednesday in case the flight was cancelled because all the Tuesday flights were now gone.  I rebooked for an 8am Wednesday flight with great apprehension but was rewarded 30 minutes later when they cancelled my flight.  Iliya's flight had also been cancelled.  Again, I had been in contact with Tammy about my situation.  She asked Chad if he would be willing to pick us up at ORD which he did driving in an awful storm to get us back to the IL grandparents around 930pm.

The IL grandparents booked us a Wednesday, 430am limo to get Iliya and I to ORD for our flights home.  The flight took off on time much to my relief, and I arrived at BDL at noon recovering my luggage which had been there since Sunday. 

As mentioned in my Washington vacation blog, Tammy stayed an extra week with the OR Laberees.  Her flights home on Saturday, August 16th from PDX to ORD to BDL was originally scheduled for 1130am.  The day before she received a message to check in for her 7am flight.  When and who made the change is still unknown.  The flights themselves went well.  Well that is until arriving at BDL baggage.  It took about an hour for American Airlines to get the bags out on to the belt.  Excuses for the delay were too many planes landing at the same time and being understaffed.  

Tammy's Extended Summer Vacation 2025

While the rest of us left our Washington vacation for our respective homes, Tammy headed home with the Oregon Laberee's for an extra week of vacation at their place.  Below are the photos of the activities that filled that time.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xHcYKvKqLZYSGrLAA 

Washington State Summer Vacation 2025

This will be a two part blog - the first part, the good; the second, the not so good.

Tammy and I landed at the Sea-Tac Airport a little after 9:30pm on Saturday, August 9th.  After picking up our Turo rental, we drove to the Suncadia AirBnB in Cle Elum where we arrived around 1130pm.   Jaclyn, Blake, and family had checked into the rental earlier that afternoon with the IL grandparents, Lizzy, Stas, and Illiya as well as Chad a little while later.  Pizza was the dinner for all that first night and many a day's lunch until it was finished

Sunday, Jaclyn and family along with Tammy and I drove to Ellensburg and attended services at Liberty Bible Church which we found to be very friendly.  A short drive away was Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park where we had picnic lunch and some play time.  On the way home, Tammy and I stopped for a quick look through Thorp Fruit and Antique Mall.  We rerouted from there to back roads due to an accident on I90 bringing us through the town of Cle Elum and a Dairy Queen purchase of Orange Creamsicle shakes and Dilly Bars.   A steak dinner with potatoes was prepared by Blake which also lasted for a lunch or two.  Ice cream was the dessert most nights along with cookies.

Monday started early as Tammy and I with Lizzy, Stas, Illiya, and Chad headed toward Seattle to catch a tour van to Mount Rainier.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area with many interesting stories to tell.  The tour of the park lasted approximately 5 hours with opportunities to get out and do some exploring.  We picnicked at Sunrise Visitor Center and had a Blake prepared dinner of French Stew with lots of meat when we arrived home.

Tuesday was an unseasonably hot day as had been the previous two.  What better way to cool down than to head to Lake Cle Elum.  The actual lake was a ways from the entrance so you are able to drive on the 'sand' down to the water's edge.  After driving most of the way down toward the water, I started to run into deeper sand; so we stopped for fear of getting stuck and waited for the others to arrive.  Time passed and we saw none of the others.  We also discovered we had no cell phone service while sitting there.  The decision was made to drive back up to the entrance to see what happened to everyone.   Apparently, the others were not interested in risking getting stuck in the sand so we parked at the entrance and walked down to the lake.  Tuesday's dinner was hamburgers and fries prepared by Lizzy, Stas, and Illiya followed by a visit to a local park where Tammy and the grandgirls played Red Light Green Light, Mother May I, and Simon Says because the park itself was 'boring'.  We ended the evening around the fire pit telling stories of past travels and adventures.

Wednesday was a quiet day.  We stayed around the house playing basketball, shuffeboard, or foosball in the game room as we did most days during down time,  making paper airplanes, doing a puzzle, and a visit in the afternoon and evening to a different local park that was 'much more fun'.  I believe left overs were for dinner that night.  Also, Lizzy and Stas had purchased a stuffed animal Pika while at Mt. Rainier for each of the three older grandkids.  So after the kids went to bed, Tammy and I along with Lizzy, Stas, and Illiya made up clues that would direct them to the Pika's secret hiding place. 

Thursday after breakfast, the Pika treasure hunt was held.  That was followed by Tammy and I, Jaclyn and the grandkids, along with Lizzy and Stas heading back to Ellensburg for a visit to the Valley Play Museum.  While the grandkids entertained themselves with all the various activities, we adults enjoyed drinks from the cafe.  Back at the house, the grandkids devised their own treasure hunt for the adults.  We made a chicken and pasta salad dinner for that night.  The night ended with Tammy and I winning a game of Millenium Trivial Pursuit.

Friday everyone but Grandpa Kelly and Chad drove an hour through a mountain pass to visit Leavenworth.  It's a tourist town of shops and restaurants all designed like a Bavarian village.  The IL grandparents took us all out that evening to dinner at the Twin Pines Drive In for hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, fries, and shakes.  We again played a game of Millenium Trivial Pursuit which Chad and I won that night.

Departure Saturday saw Lizzy, Stas, leave at 630am to take Illiya to the airport.  The rest of us all left between 8am and 830am.  Tammy returned home with Jaclyn and family to spend an extra week with them in Oregon.  I took the IL grandparents to the airport with me for our flight home and what will be the second part of this blog.

Here's a link to a shared photo album of our Washington trip - https://photos.app.goo.gl/qFDrg7HczwfQa7N86

Six Summer Weekends

Saturday, June 14th, Tammy and I helped out at the Enfield Loaves and Fishes from 930am to 1pm preparing and serving brunch for around 60 people and then cleaning up afterwards.  This is something we have done a couple of Saturday's before with our church.

Saturday, June 21st, we visited the CT Trolley Museum.  It's a 10 minute drive from our house and the first time in our 23 years living here to visit it.  We rode a refurbished trolley then visited the museum of trolley cars and informative exhibits and artifacts on display.  They also have a Fire and Bus Museum attached which we visited.  For dinner, we stopped at Krispy Krunchy Chicken, a franchise that mainly operates out of gas stations.  It was highly rated on a local FB forum and did not disappoint.  Dessert was a delicious albeit pricey chocolate shake from a F'Real Milkshake vending machine. 

Saturday, June 28th, Tammy and I got up early and drove to VT.  After a short visit with the VT grandparents and Robin and her daughter up from NC, we all got into dad's pickup and headed to NY Gangwer's for a high school graduation party.  We drove back Sunday morning.

Friday, July 4th, we went to Lizzy and Stas's for some yard work.  Seems they have a small spring bubbling up in their backyard.  They had dug a trench to help drain it.  Our plan for that day was to dig another trench and place a wrapped pipe with rock to divert the running spring to a culvert and eliminate future potential erosion.  We successfully diverted the water after some trial and error; and for a job well done, we all went to Grassroots Ice Cream.

Saturday, July 12th, Tammy and I went to Springfield.  We took an Underground Railroad tour sponsored by the Springfield Preservation Society.  The tour consisted of rather generic information but was unique in that it had character actors stationed along the route sharing information.  For lunch, we went to the Student Prince, a highly rated German restaurant in business since 1935.  Usually when eating out we get a dessert to share.  This time we had a hard time making up our mind on one to share.  So we ordered two to share - a sticky toffee pudding with a scoop of ice cream and a brown butter cake with strawberries and cream.  It was a good decision.

Next Saturday, July 19th, I have volunteered to help with parking at my work place's first ever outdoor concert from 1pm to 4pm at what is being called the WIHS Amphitheater.  Time will tell if it turns out to be a blog worthy event.

CT Trolley Museum https://photos.app.goo.gl/y6Y84hk2xFv8SQAy6

Graduation Party https://photos.app.goo.gl/peZtuFbdU97wTktu6

Trench Digging https://photos.app.goo.gl/xoB88SzNbFEtmrrq7

                           https://photos.app.goo.gl/fvM6hFqEqvAJStDJA

 

Je me souviens

I write these blogs mainly as a way to help me remember activities I have done.  This particular blog is to help me remember our trip to Quebec City.

Tammy and I left Sunday, May 18 at 5am for our 6.5 hour drive to Quebec City.  The ride was scenic and quiet until we got about an hour or so outside the city where we hit rain and moderate traffic.  Check in time to our VRBO in the Saint-Roch area was not until 4pm.  We had planned on visiting Montmorency Falls, but the rain ruined that.  Tammy came up with a back up plan to visit the aquarium.  Apparently many others had as well.  When we got off the exit, a gentleman was directing cars on where to go as the parking lot was full.  Problem was, he only spoke French, and we don't.  We turned around and headed to our VRBO where we explored the area's shops where we were staying.  We also ate at Poutinville while killing time until check-in.  

When it was close to check in time, we got our luggage and went to let ourselves into the building.  Another problem, the code we were given didn't unlock the door.  No matter how many times we tried, it remained locked.  We walked around a bit to make sure of the building's address.  Google maps said we had arrived.  Code still didn't work.  We contacted the VRBO owner and received a text stating what we already were doing.  Eventually, we noticed we were trying the wrong building.  Our building was across the street.  The code worked and in we went.

Monday was just as rainy as Sunday.  Nevertheless, we headed out for our scheduled 9:30am walking tour of Old Quebec City with Judith.  Up the hill to Quebec City we climbed.  We arrived early, so spent some time on the Dufferin Terrace that overlooks the St. Lawrence River.  Our private tour lasted four hours and covered both the upper and lower Old Quebec.  Upon the tour's completion, we stopped for some hot chocolate and then rode the funicular to the terrace. In our wanderings, Tammy learned of a tour of the Old St Louis Fort which we did.  Looking for a place to eat, we happened upon St Alexandre Pub.  Tammy had the fish and chips. I had the smoked meat sandwich.  We finished our meal off with the delicious dessert Sugar Pie.

Tuesday was cloudy, windy, and cold.  But we weren't to be deterred as we headed back up to Old Quebec City for our hop on - hop off bus tour at 9:30am.  We took the first hour and a half ride around the city seeing the sites from the top of the bus.  We did the tour a second time getting a different perspective from inside the bottom of the bus.  We finished the bus tour with enough time for a stop at Tim Horton's for some hot chocolate, a bagel, and a chocolate croissant before our next tour.  This two hour walking tour - Fortifications of Quebec - covered the walls, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and part of the Citadel.  For dinner, we headed down toward home for dinner at Phil's Smoked Meat with a dessert of Sugar Pie.  To burn off the Sugar Pie, we walked down to see the St Charles River.

Wednesday was forecast to be partly sunny (still windy and cold though), so we visited Montmorency Falls and Il d'Orleans.  Arriving around 9am , we took the gondola to the top, walked the suspension bridge over the falls, then rode the gondola back walking around the base of the falls.  We then headed over the bridge to the Il d'Orleans around 11am.  Driving around the circumference of the island, we made stops for some chocolate truffles and for some scenic pictures.  We arrived back at Quebec City a little after 2pm and explored the Old Port area visiting some antique stores as well as the bus/train station.  Dinner was at La Cuisine (lots of locals) where Tammy had French onion soup and croque-monsier.  I had shepherd's pie.  For dessert, we had the delicious pounding chomeur.

Thursday we made the trek back up to Old Quebec for a 10 o'clock tour of the Morrin Centre which was built as a jail, then it was an Anglophone college, and is now an English educational center and library.  At 12 o'clock, we entered the Quebec Parliament building where we shared a lunch of etage de cigare au choe before our tour of the building.  We finished around 3 and walked the Plains of Abraham to our dinner reservation at La Bucche.  Tammy had the Deer Tartare.  I had the tourtiere.  I also ate pickled beets for the first time.  Dessert was pounding chomeur with la glace.

(As a side note, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we walked between 20,000 and 25,000 steps each of those days.)

Friday morning found us leaving Quebec City as we had arrived - in the rain.  

Photos https://photos.app.goo.gl/wNG3byy469uzdTEL8

Museum Exchange

For March and April, Christian concerts were exchanged for the gifted museums of those months.  

On Friday, March 14th, Tammy and I attended the Katy Nichole 'In Jesus Name Tour' in Hampden, MA.  On Saturday, April 26th,  we met one of Tammy's coworkers and her husband for dinner at Red Rose in Springfield, MA.  We all then headed over to Symphony Hall for the 'Beyond the Far Horizon' Michael W. Smith tour.

Pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/vtRnKMnUQDAGC3DK8

American Airlines Sucks

On January 7, Tammy and I planned our annual trip to visit Jaclyn and her family out in Oregon.  We planned it during the grandkids' spring break at the end of March.  In booking flights, we are not loyal to any particular airline as we pick the the flight that has the best price and arrival/departure times that work for us.  In the winter months we also try to avoid any layover airports up north for fear of snow delays or cancellations.

American Airlines fit the bill for us this time.  The price was good but more than we had paid in previous years.  We would arrive in Oregon in the early afternoon.  We would depart Oregon a week later near noon.  The layover was in Dallas/Fort Worth, well south of any feared snow.

Our departure from Bradley International Airport on Saturday, March 22 was on time and went smoothly.  We landed in Dallas/Fort Worth and headed to our connection gate with a lunch stop at Smashburger.  Upon arrival at the gate, the gate attendant was making an announcement that the just landed flight had a 'flat tire' and would require a delay of 30 to 45 minutes to fix.  Well, 30 minute increments kept being added to each successive departure time until it added up to our flight taking off 2 hours and 45 minutes after its scheduled time.

As noted in the previous blog, I left Oregon for home on my own on Saturday, March 29.  Again, the departing flight left on time.  I arrived in Dallas/Fort Worth and went directly to my connecting flight's gate.  That plane was 30 minutes late in arriving - making us over 30 minutes late in boarding.  Not a big deal the pilot said, a lot of that time could be made up in flight.

Well, that didn't happen.  One of the overhead luggage bins wouldn't close no matter how hard it was slammed shut.  Maintenance would need to be called for the fix.  30 minutes later, 'maintenance' came, looked it over, and tried slamming it shut a couple of times.  Yup, apparently it was broken, and duct tape was needed to keep it closed.  After sometime had passed, someone on the plane slammed the bin shut, and it stayed shut.  Maintenance never came back and away we went an hour and a half delayed.

Tammy's rescheduled flight home was Saturday, April 5th.  She departed Portland on time with no issues.  While sitting at home awaiting her arrival and watching her flight information, I notice her connecting flight at Dallas/Fort Worth to Bradley got canceled.  When Tammy landed, she learned she had been rebooked on a flight 24 hours later.  She was told she could try to get another flight, but if that flight were to be canceled, she would lose her original rebooked flight.

There was a plane leaving for Albany, NY in an hour.  It had been delayed but not canceled.  Tammy called about being put on standby which would not cancel her original rebooked flight if this flight was canceled.  However, in booking standby, she was actually booked on the flight and told it was boarding.  

Well, that didn't happen, at least not for another 2 and half hours.  Maintenance issues in the cabin kept getting the flight delayed in 30 minute increases.  When it did finally take off, I started getting ready for my hour and a half drive to Albany, NY.  I left home at 1120pm and arrived at the airport at 100am.  Tammy's flight landed at 115am, and we pulled in to our driveway Sunday, April 6 at 340am. 

Though we are not loyal to any particular airline, I will definitely do all I can to avoid flying American Airlines or going through Dallas/Fort Worth in our future travels because American Airlines sucks.

Oregon 2025 Spring

On Saturday, March 22, Tammy and I boarded a plane for Oregon.  The actual trip there and back will serve as its own blog.  Suffice it to say, we made it there.

Sunday, we attended Sunday School and morning church.  Blake announced during service that because there was so much sickness Sunday night service was canceled.  The afternoon and evening was spent hanging out with the grandkids playing with toys and games.  

Monday morning, Blake, Hudson, and I visited several stores.  I was looking for Mexican hot chocolate, flan, and Gansitos.  I was only successful in finding Gansitos.  The weather was nice, so Jaclyn, Juni, Hudson, Tammy, and I went to the park to play.  Lilly had not been feeling well for several days so she stayed home with Blake and a sleeping Sagelyn.  When we left the park, we made a stop at BJ's Ice Cream Parlor.  I got the Oregon Trail flavor which was different and quite good.  The afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine sitting in the backyard.

Tuesday, everyone headed out early for a visit to another park for an hour or so.  That was followed by a scavenger hunt that Blake had made for the kids at the local antique store.  The morning ended with our customary visit to the Albany Historic Carousel for rides and ice cream.  Tammy and I shared a Dr. Pepper and cherry ice cream float.  Umpqua Cherry Bordeaux ice cream is used in the float, and it was delicious.  On  the way home, Tammy and I stopped at the grocery store to purchase some.  They had none.  However, unbeknownst to us, Blake had placed a pick-up order for the ice cream and had gotten it before we had arrived.  (The ice cream and Blake's sister's homemade cinnamon rolls were our nightly before bed snack.)  It was another nice sunny day so we hung out again in the backyard for the afternoon.

Wednesday, Lilly was still no feeling well.  She had visited the doctor on Monday and had an appointment to see the doctor who at that time placed her on antibiotics.  Tammy and I took Juniper and Hudson to the park to play for a good while, then visited the library, and ended with lunch at Carl Jr's.  When we got home, Lilly had made a scavenger hunt that finished with the prize of yogurt parfaits.  The rest of the day was spent playing with toys, games, and crafting.

Thursday, we just hung out at the house and watched the grandkids for the afternoon and evening to give Jaclyn and Blake some time away.

Friday, Lilly was still not well, so Jaclyn made another doctor's appointment.  The doctor at that time diagnosed her with pneumonia and admitted her to the local Albany hospital.  Tammy began making calls to the airline to change her flight.  After some time at the local hospital, it was determined they needed to send Lilly to the hospital in Portland which they did by ambulance around 1030pm.  Tammy made the change to delay her flight by a week.  I had to leave the next day and did at 7am for my flight home from Portland.

Tammy spent Saturday (park and library visits), Sunday (morning church attendance), and most of Monday (Juni went to school.  Hudson and Sagelyn went to PetCo) with the grandkids as Jaclyn and Blake were with Lilly at the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland being treated.  Lilly came home Monday afternoon.  Tuesday was a day of rest for all the adults with a quick trip to Costco.   Wednesday saw Tammy, Juni, and Hudson drive to Salem to pick up a prescription for Lilly's thrush.  Thursday was another day of rest.  With nice weather on Friday, the backyard was the place to be after a shopping trip to Target and Dollar Store for Easter gifts.  Blake, Lilly, Juni, and Hudson brought Tammy to the airport Saturday morning.

Here's the link for all the pictures https://photos.app.goo.gl/WMDcFpmB776TXofL7

A Year of Museum Visits

For Christmas this year, I gave Tammy a gift of 'a museum a month'. I research an area museum for that month which we then visit on a Saturday. 

In January, we visited the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History in West Hartford.  They had a special exhibit on the Wide Awakes and another exhibit on Coffee in CT.  We just happened to visit the Saturday they were offering a docent led tour about the coffee exhibit, as well as, a talk from the local owner of Giv coffee on fair trade practices.  He had samples of his coffee which I tried. I mention this only because I don't drink coffee and haven't tried it since before college.  There was also the permanent exhibit concerning CT's history.  All told, we spent four hours here and no money as we secured free admission tickets from our local library.  We capped off the day at the French restaurant Avert Brasserie for a nice prix fixe dinner.

For February, we drove to Amherst College in Massachusetts for a two-fer.  We began at the Mead Art Museum.  It was small consisting of one floor of art work that was rhetorically social in nature.  We then headed over to the Beneski Museum of Natural History.  The museum has the largest collection of dinosaur tracks in the world and includes the first dinosaur tracks ever studied by a scientist.  We spent around three hours between the two museums and zero dollars as both are free to the public.  For dinner we walked the half mile or so to downtown Amherst and ate at the MoMo Tibetan Restaurant and visited a few shops before heading home.

February Visitors

In November 2024, I posted a blog "Acorns Keep Falling on my Head".  Not mentioned in that blog was that all those raked acorns were dumped behind our backyard fence - piles and piles of them.

Fast forward to February 1st, a Saturday, and I went to let Charlotte out at 5am to do her business.  I always scan the backyard with a flashlight checking for skunks, possums, rabbits, and wild predators.  This morning the flashlight's beam fell on a trio of deer eating from those piles of acorns .  The light caught the deer's attention but was not enough of a concern to make them leave.  I decided I would allow them to eat.  Checking back a half hour later, the deer were still enjoying their breakfast.  Charlotte had waited long enough, I went on the back deck to shoo the deer away.  Nope, they still weren't concerned.  I did finally get them to leave after a few "Hey Ya's".

Later that week, letting Chartlotte out at 3am showed they had returned.  Four of them this time.  Unfortunately for them, I could not allow them a leisure dining experience as previous.  I tried the "Hey Ya's" again from the deck but to no avail.  I let Charlotte out which caught their attention and caused them to scatter.  

This morning, shining the flashlight at 3am showed the number of deer visiting had increased to five.  Charlotte's release scattered them.  They were not to be deterred though.  When I left for work, they had returned and were still there when Tammy went to let Charlotte out at 5am.

We will have to see if our February visitors extend their stays to March.  

Addendum:  This afternoon (February 19) came home to find a deer bedding in the leaves behind our backyard fence.  I had to scare it off so Charlotte could do her business.  Later on, the deer came back with three others to dine on the acorns.  Since it was light out, I captured a photo and video.

Addendum Addendum:  The next morning when it was time to let Charlotte out, the deer were still bedding down.  Charlotte didn't notice them at first but when she did see them walked over to the gate scaring off all but one deer.  Charlotte stood their watching the deer as the deer stood his ground behind the fence with an occasional hoof pound to the ground.  After a few minutes, the deer wondered off only to reappear before I left for work.  Tammy let Charlotte out before she left for work a little later with Charlotte revisiting the deer who was alert to her presence but a bit more accepting.  Charlotte left the deer this time because of the promise of a treat.  The deer have not been seen since.

Puzzling

Now I am not saying we are dissectologists, but lately, we sure could be mistaken for them.  "What is a dissectologist?' you ask.  A dissectologist is someone who loves jigsaw puzzles and were so named as the original term for a jigsaw puzzle was a 'dissected map'. 

Since January, we have completed two puzzles.  

The first one was a round puzzle of 1000 pieces entitled 'Know Your Knots'.  It took us most of Saturday afternoon until midnight Sunday to complete.

The second was an 80's themed puzzle that we picked up at our local library during a recent puzzle exchange event.  It was a 1500 piece puzzle and took us a Saturday afternoon to complete.

Here is a link to an album of these puzzles and others that we have done over the years and taken pictures of -

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BcGTAjkGPESF2SQUA