Farewell to 2013

And hello next year!  

It's quiet around here.  The kitty is wondering where everyone went, but doesn't really mind.  He has his house back to himself -- and the two people he occasionally pays attention to when he's hungry.  And he doesn't have to worry about sharing the house with a dog, who pretty much ignores him.

We had a wonderful Christmas, with Annie, Margaret and Andrew here for a few days.  We had met up in New York City in 70 degree weather.  Mary and I had gone down for our anniversary and to celebrate the end of the semester and take in a show.  The city was packed, especially as we wandered around mid-town, between Broadway and 5th Avenue to take in all the Christmas sights, with the millions of smart people who had the same idea.  It was still fun to see the skating, and the light shows, and fancy stores, and the singing and dancing and bell-ringing Salvation Army Santa Clauses and elves.  

On Annie's advice we headed down to the High Line which is an elevated train track converted to a path, starting next to Madison Square Garden and going south.  I think the same people who were at Rockefeller Center the day before went here.  Or maybe it's just a big city.  Anyway, the trail is very nicely done, and little neighborhoods are springing up all around it.  We had our choice of restaurants when we finished and chose an authentic Mexican one.  It was all helped out by the warm weather. We saw Newsies, a musical about a strike by newspaper boys in the 1890s against Joseph Pulitzer's paper.  The singing was good, but the dancing was phenomenal.  Very entertaining.    

We tried to connect with Peter and Janet for Sunday brunch but it didn't work out.  We actually had brunch at a sidewalk cafe (in December!) with Margaret, Annie and Greg before heading back to Pittsfield.  The warm weather had reached up here, melting almost all the snow.  We had a dusting Christmas morning so we could claim a seasonal white ambiance.   

Andrew came up the next day on the plane, and we had a Christmas eve supper with John and Marilyn. They were having a houseful the next day.  In case you're wondering, the picture here after that supper was not posed.  Just candid. 

Joe called several times, from London and once from Paris.  His girlfriend had gone over to spend Christmas with him, and was generous enough to carry over gifts for him, for his birthday and for Christmas.  He had had Christmas dinner with a friend he met one summer working at the Embassy in Ottawa.

We touched base with almost everyone in both Dickson and Boyle families, from Mexico to Illinois, Rochester, Stonington and New Jersey.  We thought a fair amount of Pomfret at this time of year, and while those days are receding faster than we want, the memories of that happiness, are still fairly close to the surface.  We all crowded in, ate lots of food, played football, sledded, and pretty much made a wreck of their house.  

Each year, on return, we all got a letter from Grandma and Pop, thanking us for making the trek north and east, and reminding us, as if we needed reminding, how special that time was.

So here's a resolution for 2014.  Let's try to get together!  Any ideas?

Love from up here.