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After what seems like days of rain and otherwise damp (even chilly) weather, it looks like (and feels like) Summer has arrived. The dahlias are opening earlier than usual, the monarda is as tall as an elephant's eye, and the hummingbirds are visible again. Hopefull, this will last long enough to call it a real Summer.
Linda and Darrah Moore paid Ludlow a visit during their trek from Florida to Vermont. We were able to get together with them several times and renew old acquaintances. The night before they left the "good country" to begin their return journey to the South, via Connecticut, the Kneebones invited them along with the Almonds and Paces for dinner. It was great to see them again, and Linda will be assuming a familiar role as she plans our bus tours in Tuscany in the early Fall of 2010. 
We intended to spend the bulk of the day watching the parade and viewing the various sites at the Coolidge farmstead on the 4th of July. However, the ever persistent rain changed our plans and we settled for lunch at the Pot Belly. Janet did get a chance to greet a "friend" at Coolidge.
The Ludlow Garden Club held its annual plant sale May 30 to raise funds for some of its operations throughout the town. Janet contributed both annuals and perennials to the effort. Not sure how many people purchased plants but there were certainly quite a few garden club members active, as may be seen from the above photo.
On here return from her visit to Georgia to visit Douglas and Veronica, Janet was welcomed home with a gift of flowers from Stephen, Jeffery, and Douglas. It was a Mother's Day gift from her three "boys".
It all began with a "surprise" birthday gathering at 1 Whispering Pines as friends honored Janet and Ralph for their birthdays (technically, May 14). It was a fun evening with the usual suspects that made the 75th birthday bearable. Some of the crowd at this festivity may be viewed by clicking here. Following this celebration, we journeyed to Springfield where we had dinner with Marge Baker, Herb and Shirley Pace, Barbara and Jim Boland, Arlene "Smithie" Haeseler, and Allan Nelson at the Storrowtown Tavern. It was great to see my siblings and friends again.
Following our get together in Springfield, we then commenced our drive down to Athens, GA to visit Douglas and Veronica in their new home. Enroute to GA, we managed to take the time to drive part of Skyline Drive in VA and tour the Luray Caverns (quite impressive). When we reached Athens, we were treated to a special dinner with Douglas and Veronica that was a treat from all three boys (men!). We enjoyed a second party where we met some of their friends from Argentina along with our fantasy football member, Jack Frost, aka Scott. 
During on return trip to Vermont, we stopped at the Natural Bridge in VA and took in the evening performance of the Universe's Creation. The next day we stopped at Gettysburg to view the battlefields and the magnificent film outlining the history of that three day battle.
Due to an "act of God" following this - a stone cracking the windshield, we had to head back to VT. The entire GA trip is photographically captured here.
Following our normal Easter weekend habit, we decided to visit Portsmouth, NH to visit some 
of its historic sites and, especially, to revisit the scene of many a family vacation meal, Warren's Seafood Restaurant in neighboring Kittery, Me. Pictured above, Janet is consulting her map as we view (very briefly) the historic area in Portsmouth known as Strawbery Banke [sic]. We stayed at a lovely inn, the Sise Inn near downtown Portsmouth. On Sunday we drove along the New Hampshire shoreline to Hampton Beach. It was a good weekend, despite the cold weather. Janet would like to return to Portmouth to check out some of its boutique shops in the restored downtown area.
With the Brownlie's and the Kuntz's, Janet and I journeyed to Costa Rica to participate in a two week tour of the natural wonders of that country (where I previously worked thirty years ago), covering the end of February and first week of March. Following the fantastic tour of Costa Rica, we enjoyed its 'pura vida' with the Brownlie's and Kuntz's with a week's stay in Nosaro, a small beach community favored by surfers.
All in all, it was a marvelous tour where we encountered more birds, butterflies, crocodiles, monkeys, and hummingbirds (where they go to winter) than we knew existed. Pictures of the Elderhostel portion of our stay may be seen by clicking here. Some of us even indulged in full body massages et al at an Arenal spa (I decided to have a "gentleman's facial" - it was great!).
Following the Elderhostel program, the three couples flew from San Jose to Nosara, a small beach community, used mainly by surfers, on the Pacific. We enjoyed a lovely villa, and save the one night when we ran out of colones (Costa Rica's currency) and ate in, sampled a wide variety of foods in area restaurants.
When we were not enjoying the pool that came with the villa, we managed to swim in the Pacific (avoiding the surfers), watch magnificent sunsets, go deep-sea fishing (hooked a 100 lb sailfish but lost it as we attempted to bring it on board), safely traverse a 6 1/2 mile zip line that ran between 1,000 and 500 feet off the ground (check out this web site for an idea of the zip line we used by clicking here), and just plain relax. Photos of this portion of our tico trip may be seen by clicking here.
For our 8th consecutive year, we met the Brownlies at the Apartments at Owls Head in Mansonville, Quebec for some skiing and just plain conversation and relaxation. As may be gathered from the above photo of the Brownlies and Janet in a hot tub, it involved some serious relaxation. The first two days of skiing were fine but the final two days were judged to be non-skiing days due to rain. Nonetheless, we visited a new town in PQ (Knowlton) and returned to visit the Abbey of Benoit on Lake Mephremagog (photo below). We spent a good deal of time discussing our forthcoming sojourn to Costa Rica; naturally, John and I resolved the problems of world while the ladies ponder their wardrobes for Central America. A few more photos are available by clicking here.
Normally, especially in Winter, our driveway serves a functional purpose - but little else than that. However, today, when Janet looked out our front window towards the driveway, she discovered the unexpected. The trees that run along the driveway were decorated with cloth, stuffed hearts, put there by someone unknown to us. We discovered later that a friend, Jean Eggleston, had also had Valentine hearts placed on her property. Jean did discover that a Nancy Hogge had selected certain people to adorn their properties with the hearts. Below is a very brief movie of what our driveway looks like.
The reindeer (electronic, that is) that we placed by the lamp post is just barely able to keep its head above the two feet of snow we've managed to accumulate. Above and below are a couple of day and night photos taken by Janet that reflect the creatures dilemma. If we receive any new snow in the near future, our reindeer may become an electronic statistic.
The Black River Quilting Group, meeting at the United Church of Ludlow, recently conducted a workshop to create pillow cases to be donated to "A Case for Smiles", part of ConKerr Cancer, a nonprofit making pillowcases for sick children up to 18 years old. These pillow cases will be taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in Lebanon, NH, an area center for the collection and use of the creative and imaginative pillow cases. Shown during the worshop are. from left to right, Janet Pace, Ginny Kottkamp, Lynne Croswell, Beverly Owens, Roberta Piper; and seated: Kay Predom.
For the second year in a row, we joined the Kuntz's and Salerno's as we participated in 
Burlington's First Night to welcome 2009. The various programs we took in covered everything from French-Canadian rock to monsters of Vermont. Banjo Dan was a personal highlight. Of course, we did have to seek nourishment (pictured above) at Sweetwaters on Church Street. We avoided the usual parade since the wind chill temperature hovered around -16 degrees F (the walk back to the hotel tested our ability to endure Arctic conditions). Naturally, the entire proceedings had to begin with lunch at La Provence in Brandon. It was a very pleasant (although at times chilling) experience. Below is a photo of the group (sans Janet, the photographer) as we prepared to venture forth into First Night activities. And to the side is a pix of Banjo Dan's group.
After being an "also ran" for a number of years playing fantasy football, Ralph finally won the Super Bowl championship in Douglas' NFLarvae fantasy football league, winning the super bowl game by a margin of 133 to 84 over Adam Marsh's Six Packers. Normally, NFLarvae winners just get bragging rights but Douglas, in response to admonitions from his father, finally created a trophy for his Dad. 
A very rare red sky at dusk was featured over Ludlow that we thought was worth recording.
The Paces enjoyed a very pleasant Christmas. Jeffrey and Douglas came for Christmas and we enjoyed phone conversations with Barbara and Stephen from Salt Lake City and Allan who was spending the holiday in NYC. In addition to good company, Janet provided a marvellous Christmas Eve dinner. Douglas' friend Scott drove up from Rhode Island on Friday; the two of them managed to do some serious sledding on Douglas' nemesis, Mount OddFellow (see photo below). All in all it was a fun, yet peaceful and relaxing holiday. Photos of our Christmas are available by clicking here. Additionally, a very short "Conquest of Mt Oddfellow" may be viewed by clicking the icon below.
