UPDATE - August 5, to August 11, 2018
 |
| Paige - Starring in Guy and Dolls |
My brother's twin daughter's, Lily and Paige, have graduated from high school and are beginning their college days. There have been a few celebrations so far, and a final one was held at their home on Sunday. I arrived early and got a few minutes to chat with the girls, which is a good thing because as the day went along and the crowd swelled, there wasn't much luck in getting face time with the girls. Between family and lots of friends, the house was overrun. It's a good thing they had a large backyard and a deck to accommodate the overflow.
Paige has been accepted to
Anna Maria College and has asked for and received permission to delay entry for a year. She will take some college courses in the meantime, but didn't feel up to starting just yet on a full-time basis. Lily was accepted at several schools but elected to go to my Alma Mater,
UMass-Amherst, where she will enter as a
Commonwealth Honors Program participant. She's majoring in music appreciation and perhaps has intentions to teach music some day.
 |
| Lily ready for Prom |
Both of these young women seem content with their choices for schools and plans for the future. I recall as a high school graduate that I wasn't sure going to college would be right for me, so I joined the Air Force instead. As it turned out, going into the military for four years was a benefit to me when I elected to go to college after my hitch. I was able to focus on the academics and it turned out just fine. Because the schools are both close to the family home in Worcester, it means I will be able to see them more frequently than if they accepted enrollment at far-away schools.
On Monday, Patti wanted to do some shopping in anticipation of the new granddaughter arriving next week. We went from shop to shop and apparently just looking at the baby items was enough for Patti as we didn't really buy anything. When we found ourselves near Corrinne's office in Westborough, we called and convinced her to let us buy her lunch at
Not Your Average Joe's. We like the restaurant and we know she likes it too. She met us there and we had a good time talking about plans for the new arrival. The name hadn't been settled on yet, but Olive was a front-runner from what I could determine. I like the name Olive and I hope it's the one everyone settles on. We'll see.
-- If it's Tuesday - It's Lucy Day
Tuesday rolled in hot and heavy. The humidity was high and it looked like a difficult day to try any outdoor activities with Lucy. She arrived and was immediately ready to have fun. We spent the day building "castles" out of pillows on the couch in the playroom downstairs; playing hide and seek, with a suitable amount of screaming and laughing when one of us was "caught"; and a balance of reading books and watching Peppa Pig on TV.
-- If it's Wednesday - Let's do what we planned for Thursday
 |
| Closed on Wednesdays |
On Wednesday, about mid-morning, I got a call from my brother, who was hiking along the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut. We had planned that on "Thursday," I would meet him in Falls Village, Connecticut, to pick him up from his current trail hike. But, as he moved more quickly along the trail, he was going to hit Falls Village a day early. He called to see if I could come today, instead of tomorrow? That was no problem, as I had cleared both days in case it was necessary to make the pickup.
So, off I went down the Mass Pike all the way to Exit 2 and then down Route 7 into Connecticut. Falls Village is off the beaten path, but it was easier to find than Mt. Washington, Mass., (the town in Mass., not the mountain in NH), which is the most recent place I picked up Steve from the trail. Unfortunately, the little rest stop,
Toymaker Cafe, in Falls Village was closed on Wednesday, so we didn't get to sip some tea or get a sandwich. We just hustled back past Sheffield into Great Barrington where we stopped to get a Big Mac and a Fish Sandwich at you know where.
-- Tacos and Margheritas in Auburn
 |
| The Jeep is towed behind the bus. |
I was able to devote Thursday to working on my film project and my editing. Patti worked and it gave me some free time to make some progress on my various projects. On Friday, we visited with Jim and Joyce in their motor home in Auburn. This large rolling homestead is brand new. They had it built, with custom features after having lived with a previous unit for a few years. This bus is enormous and when I sit inside of it, it's hard to imagine that it can just roll out the driveway and down the street. But, to listen to both of them, it's quite easy to drive and to maneuver.
 |
| Patti was in the pool before we got to the Motor Home. |
Joyce had prepared a taco lunch for us and Jim made his famous Margueritas, which complemented the tacos perfectly. Joyce shared her recipe, so we will try it ourselves when I get a chance. It was a very hot day and the pool was a real treat. Patti spent quite a bit of time floating around, keeping cool, while I hid in the shade.
Reading Update: Keeping up with the recent theme of books that I have been reading by
and about Charles Lindbergh, I enjoyed Anne Lindbergh's autobiographical book, Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead, which consisted of the diary and letters she wrote between 1929 and 1931. This was the period when she met, married, and suffered the murder of her first child, with Charles Lindbergh. She was a true companion with Lindbergh, becoming a pilot, a radio operator, an explorer, and a supporter of his evolving role in aviation and in issues affecting the country and the world. She was a remarkable woman.
