Place your bets

A mere hour and a half before another momentous Super Bowl.  This entry for Pops Weekly Letter will not have a long shelf life.  Denver 35-Seattle 13.  

Anyway, it certainly is an excuse to eat terribly.  It's the one day of the year we buy Fritos, and indulge in that.  The challenge will be to not buy Fritos tomorrow.  Actually, last year at this time, we were doing our cleanse so we celebrated with kale chips. They are a poor excuse for Fritos.  John and Marilyn are coming over for a probably subdued affair at our house.  We may not make it past half time.

Here's a photo from a couple of weeks ago stolen from Facebook.  Annie had gone out to lunch in the big apple with Janet and Johanna, and reported that all is well with both of them.  School had just started, and Annie had returned from a trip to Denver, just barely making it back before airports were shut down before the big storm.  

We have had a busy January, with two weekend trips.  The first was to Rhode Island where we stopped in to see Dan, Maura and Steve, and of course Elsie. I faintly remember how much fun and energy is required with three year olds.  Maura is working, going to school and busy with Elsie.  Overall, a nice visit. We then went over to Marge and Lew's to take in the Patriots football game, that was supposed to be their send-off to the Super Bowl.  Hmmm.  Lew has a big theater and big screen in their basement so it was fun to watch and eat too much with them.  A friend of theirs came over, whose last name is Crane and went to Darrow with his two brothers - remember anyone named Crane, David?

      

While in Rhode Island, we Skyped with Joe who was in London, and was contemplating his next job move.  He made his decision a few days later and will be coming home later this spring.  Yeah.  

Then last weekend, we headed back east but this time to Boston to attend a "Burns night" celebrating all things Scottish, including Robert Burns birthday.  Our friend whom I walked the Great Glen Way hosted the party, and he managed to randomly meet a piper the night before and convince him to come play the bagpipes for everyone.  I like bagpipes, but from a distance and maybe for a song or two.  Kind of like mariachis.  Anyway, he played three songs, showed how hard it is to play the instrument and then let us get back to trying all the different kinds of Scotch on hand.

We spoke with David, who let me know of a Shaker box workshop coming up in March. Looks interesting but I postponed until next year when I didn't have this danged thesis over my head.  I think David could probably give his own Shaker box workshop!

We spoke with Andrew a few times, during their winter freeze-outs, and planned a weekend with Peter and Janet up here in a few weeks.  This coming weekend we're heading south to DC for Margaret's unofficial engagement party.  She sounds very busy with her work and school work.

What else?  We saw a good movie last night - Dallas Buyers Club, and have rearranged our Oscar nominations.  Matthew McConaughey for best actor. We watched and read a lot of the life stories about Pete Seeger.  And, Mary has taken on a new student at the local volunteer literacy program.  

So, lots to look forward to in the coming weeks.  Hope all is well with all of you.  Place your bets. Time is running out.

Love from up here.