Welcome home! We’re back! After an exhaustingly marvellous four weeks in the States, we’re back in beautiful, downtown Moreton Pinkney.
It’s been five years since Penny and I were in New England and it was wonderful to see three of my siblings in one swoop. My brother Steph and his wife Hope are excellent hosts, my brother Sandy is a talented sculptor and my sister Sarah is an Angel. We were in New Hampshire and Vermont at peak or near-peak fall foliage – the trees were on fire!
We visited with everyone, took leisurely drives along the back lanes of Vermont, ate like kings (of course – including lunch with my brother Sandy and his wife Pam at one of my all-time favourite diners, the Birdseye Diner in Castleton), visited my sister Sarah’s home for the first time, enjoyed a sauna and a dive into the icy cold Mascoma River (and lived to tell the tale) and introduced them all to Wicked Little Letters. And, the weather was fantastic! So good to see you all.
Time to leave and scamper onwards to our next destination, a flying visit to my sister Sallie and her husband Rod’s home in Park City, Utah, a really lovely town. Park City presents autumn of a different colour, a somewhat muted pallet, yet it’s still stunning in its way. We continued to prove ravenous – the Twisted Fern was excellent. I did not need the chocolate brownie dessert. And the weather was perfect.
From there it was off to LA to see Ben, Brex-Anna and Max. Max’s excitement at seeing his Grammy P was on a par with the wackiness that is LA – off the charts. The final sibling in my quest for the full set was my lovely sister Susie who kindly flew down from Portland to spend some time with us. We went to the beach, visited the Long Beach Aquarium and had drinks aboard the Queen Mary, continued our epicurean immoderations, and visited with some very old, good friends on the occasion of our 55th high school reunion. We had lunch with a niece and her family as well as my sister’s granddaughter who is studying about five minutes away – Ben and Brex-Anna have found a new babysitter. And, we managed to squeeze in a day trip to Catalina as well. What a jam-packed, fun-filled week that was. And the weather was glorious.
If it’s Monday, it must be Hawaii . . . to be continued.
You Couldn’t Make it Up!
There are no words to convey our feelings about the US elections. It’s just unfathomable to us that more than half of those who voted feel that a convicted felon, a convicted rapist, a documented liar, a misogynistic racist is the best person to lead the United States for the next four years.
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg