Community Christmas Celebration Dec. 17

Ludlow and the Black River area will enjoy a free "A Community Christmas Celebration" at Ludlow Town Hall's Auditorium on Friday, December 17 at 7 pm.


The program will feature four different student group performances ranging from a Clarinet Choir to a Jazz Band, all made up of local students from Black River High School and Ludlow Elementary School. The 6th grade class from LES will lead a sing-along to end the gala event.


Bruce Farr, a local creative writer and commentator, will read the famous poem by Dylan Thomas, "A Child's Christmas in Wales". Supporting Bruce with the reading of this tale of youth and a remembrance of Christmas will be Tony Masteler on the guitar.


Broadway and TV writers and authors Stan and Jane Hart will offer their own seasonal play, The Lottery Ticket, and Constance Wilcox will lead the Ludlow Community Handbell Choir to open the performance.


There will be a surprise offerring during the celebration that will add to the spirit of Christmas.


George Thomson will tie the entire event together acting as program emcee.


"This will be a chance for FOLA to thank the people for supporting us and to offer everyone a chance to celebrate this holiday with family, friends, and neighbors," said Ralph Pace, FOLA chairman. He indicated that the event was free and open to all to attend.


The Community Christmas Celebration will be at Ludlow's Town Hall on Friday, December 17 at 7 pm. The event is free to everyone. For information, call 802-228-7239.

Pace Elders Meet in Putney

Some of the Pace Family elders met for lunch this past Friday, December 10, at the Putney Inn in Putney, VT.  Herb and Shirley, Barbara and Jim, Janet and Ralph were joined by Allan Nelson for a pleasant reunion. 

Tuscany 2010

There will be many memories of our trip to Tuscany but, for me at least, the photo above will always summarize how I felt about a visit to such a marvelous world of the old and the sort of new.

The trip, consisting of the Almonds, Kneebones, Moores, and Paces, began with our flights from Boston to Zurich, hence to Florence.  We enjoyed a brief but exciting two days in Florence where he had a guided walking tour through the magnificent Uffize and Accademia Museums.  Our tour also included some lovely sidewalk cafes where we indulged in some great vinos, gelatos and pastries.

From Florence, in rental cars (2 of them), and with the guidance of a Tom-Tom loaned by Frank Heald, we took an unusual scenic tour of Florence as we headed for our eventual designation in San Andrea, an area just outside the walled city of San Gimignano.

We stayed in a lovely villa that reflected the stone work of the area; 4 bedrooms with en suite facilities, huge dining living room, and a view of San Gimignano and its tower that was trulu amazing.

Naturally we spent several days just touring through San Gimignano (a note to self: remember to arrive early to find a parking space).  As with many towns in Tuscany, the most immediate view of it were its towers, now greatly diminished in number through the years.  The towers were essentially the Tuscan version of a castle moat; Tuscany was the scene of many medieval and Renaissance battles, especially as Florence sought hegemony over the area.

Our second actual guided tour was of Siena, the ancient rival of Florence.  Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods or contrade that were vitually self-supporting entities, having their own churchs and political organizations.  Twice a year the contrades would meet in the main piazza and conduct a horse race in which each contrade was permitted a single entry.  This is reenacted in the Spring in Siena.  The duomo of Siena is classic Renaissance construction.  One of its highlights is a library of medieval manuscripts donated by a Renaissance pope.

We managed to find an excellent restaurant in Siena where I was able to rediscover wild boar along with an excellent Chianti.

We ventured to Volterra (allegedly a place that currently has something to do with the teenage vampire series).  It, too, was a walled city that once was a major Etruscan site.  After a very satisfying lunch (lunch was our major meal of the day), we toured the Etruscan museum and then the city itself.

Probably our favorite location was found in the Chianti hills, the village of Radda.  It is small, isolated, and not yet discovered by the tourist trade.

Our last night in the villa was highlighted by a special dinner prepared by our hostess, Barbara.

It was a great trip (even our return flight to Zurich feature great views of the Alps).  More photos of the trip are available by clicking here.

It's Mr. and Mrs. Now !

Douglas and Veronica tied the knot on Thursday, October 21, 2010 in Athens, Georgia.   They plan on a more formal ceremony sometime in the future but, as of now, they are Mr. and Mrs.   And we couldn't be any happier!!! 

Trees Still in Foliage Mode at Whispering Pines

Douglas and Veronica In Boston

Douglas and Veronica met us in Boston following their professional conference in Woods Hole on September 16 for a couple of days of fun.  One of the highlights was Douglas having the opportunity to revisit his place of birth, 21 Lawrence Street in the South End (pictured above with Veronica and us).  We also took in the musical "Wicked" at the Opera House and had a very pleasant - if noisy - dinner at Casa Romero in Back Bay (pictured below are Douglas and Veronica at Casa Romero).  The rest of the time was spent shopping.  It was a fun time for us to be with both of them.

Ralph Loses High Bailiff Race

For the second time, Ralph decided to enter the race for High Bailiff of Windsor County.  The first time, in the Presidential election of 2008, he was a write-in candidate.  In a nip-n-tuck election, he was just barely beaten by a 23,000 to 72 vote.  This time, he decided to have his name printed on the Democratic ballot.  The result was 3211-1346 defeat.  According to reports, Ralph is considering a third run in 2012 on either the Tory or Whig ticket.

Janet Takes Stenciling Class at Fletcher Farm

In August, Janet participated in an arts and crafts class at Fletcher Farm dealing with stencils.  She, along with several Ludlow friends, enjoyed learning more about the art form and producing some fine art for the home at Whispering Pines - and elsewhere.  Some photos of her week at Fletcher Farm are available by clicking here.

Wonderful News from Athens

We received a marvelous phone call from Douglas and Veronica.  Veronica is pregnant!  Hope to see them when they come up to Woods Hole, MA for a conference in September.  Just wonderful news!!!

Janet Exhibits Quilt at Billings-Marsh National Park

The Billings Farm and Museum of Woodstock opened its annual quilt exhibition this past Friday. Janet Pace of Ludlow was one of the quilters selected to exhibit their art. This is Janet's second quilt to be exhibited at Billings. The quilt type, Nick Knack Paddywack, was described by Janet as follows: "In 2008, I finished making a redwork quilt celebrating the cats in my life. Then, because our family has almost always had a dog, I decided to do a quilt in memory of all the dogs I have known. I picked a pattern from the 'Buggy Barn' series, started it in one of Country Treasure's classes, and slowly finished it this year. The stacking, cutting and piecing - or general craziness, as the creators call it - was a fun challenge. I had it machine quilted by Sherrill Gould (Filament Formations), who did some wonderful custon quilting; and now it's ready to be hung beside thje redwork cats."  Photos of the exhibition are available by clicking here.

Douglas Pops the Question!

Douglas asked Veronica to marry him on Saturday, July 17, 2010.  She said YES!  We are so happy for both of them.  Plans will be forthcoming when the lovely couple make some plans.  Right now we're all just very happy that there are plans to be made.

Journey to Mountaintop for VSO Concert

We journeyed with the Kuntz's to Mountaintop in Chittenden on July 9 & 10 for a VSO concert, great fireworks display, and very interesting and very electrified home overnight.  In adition to a great concert, the fireworks display against the Green Mountains was absolutely outstanding.  Kevin and I had some interesting "experimentation" with the lighting in the lovely home we rented for the evening.  The following day we when into Rutland for the Farmers Market.  A small number of photos are available for the Mountaintop venture by clicking here.

Birthday Celebrations

Janet and Ralph celebrated their 75 and 76th birthdays this year with a sojourn to Lake Morey Resort (located between White River and St. Jay in VT).  We had a great time touring an area we had always talked about.  In addition, we had time for lunch in Montpelier at Sarducci's-always wanted to go there and tour the Rock of Ages site in Barre.  We even had time to drive a bucket of golf balls at the resort's driving range.  Dinner was very quite at the resort; there was only one other couple there.  The resort even misplaced its keys to the wine cellar on the first evening; this meant the wine for the following evening was gratis.  When we returned to Ludlow, we were lucky enough to arrange dinner with some local friends at Sams.  All in all, it was a very nice, pleasant, and enjoyable way to celebrate our twin birthdays.  Photos of dinner may be seen by clicking here and photos from Lake Morey are available by clicking here.

Mother's Day from the Boys

Devi At Home

Devi has a tough life.  As soon as finishes her dinner, she joins us for cocktail hour.  As may be guessed from the view above, she expects additional treats (normally two carrots).  Following her two carrots, Devi will rest her head on one of our knees in the hope of receiving an additional treat or two.  When she realizes that such treats will not be forthcoming, she simply adopts a prone position, resigned to the fact that her feeding has terminated for the day - except, of course, for her treat after her evening walk.

8th Year at Owls Head

For the 8th consecutive year, we journeyed up to Owls Head in Mansonville, Quebec for a week of skiing and other pleasures with John and Joan Brownlie of Ontario.  While Janet's activity was restricted as she recovers from her fractured wrist, she did manage to do some snow shoeing.  In addition, we all enjoyed some wonderful dinners at the mountain's lodge, in Mansonville, and in Magog.  All in all, it was a very pleasant week.  A few pictures are available by clicking here.