Ring out the old

Dateline. Times Square. 

Only kidding. But once upon a time we were that crazy. More than once. It was when we got spooked at the crowd and getting trampled that we said, "no more."

It's quiet here. Our fun tonight will consist of raiding our stockpile (4) of Guinness non-alcoholic. Maybe a movie. Maybe not midnight. But after packing it in since November, at least one of us is ready for a breather. Or, as Annie said, time to get our social battery recharged. 

Our last letter saw us in London with a few days to go. One of those days, grace à our sneaky children, we went with Joe and Thomas down to the Weat End to see Les Mis. Fantastic. It's our third time seeing it on stage and this might have been the best. The longest running musical in London. 

We got back home with a few days to spare before Christmas and did lite decorations. We had a tree and a few items around the house make it seem Christmasy here. 

How was your big day?  Joe and family were in Portugal with Leonor's expansive family. Lots of cousins for Thomas, John and Luisa. Margaret and Andrew, after opening presents, headed to Jeff and Melodie's for brunch. Should I mention Simon's stretching out in the pew for Christmas Eve service?  Oops I just did. 

Annie and Sankar were with us in spirit and on the phone. Physically, they were in Chennai and found a church service and a favorite restaurant meal. 

We heard that in Fairport they had somewhere between 18 and 30 people over for dinner. (My bad memory.). Nice traditions

Claire made it a party out in East Dundee. And her kitty too. Great photos from Colorado I should add. 

And we saw other pictures of Kiernan and Ronan opening presents and hosting Johanna and Janet who drove down for a visit. 

Back here, we had a Christmas Eve dinner with Corinne, Michael, Maura and Elsie, Dan Boyle's daughters. Lots of laughter - interesting to hear the mostly unvarnished perspectives of their parents. Pretty sure our children don't talk about us, but i learned that Joe, Margaret and Annie have their own WhatsApp group. Now why would they need that?  

The next day, we went to church, maybe the first time in decades that we actually went on Christmas Day. Later, Colleen, Robbie and his partner Kim came over for cookies and tea!! More laughter. That's what Christmas is about too, right?

The rest of the highlights come down to weather and illness. David, Marilyn, Joe, Thomas, Luisa, Laura and probably unnamed others came down with some versions of cold, flu and even Covid. We too got sick in London (probably shared it with Joe) but we recovered by Christmas. 

It's cold outside and we've joined many of you in hunkering down through various forms of precipitation. Uggh. 

So 2025 is a wrap. Put a bow on it and move on to a better year ahead. 

Love from the frigid north. 

Dateline London

There's been an awful lot of datelines recently that have not read Pittsfield. But we actually have been home, enough to experience our first real, plowable snowstorm. And I think we missed another one yesterday that folks in DC, Baltimore, and NJ may have enjoyed. 

But here we are in Blackheath, a suburb on the south side of the Thames. There's something to be said about quality of life. Almost storybook here, what Joe and Leonor have found. Or, cinematic, since at times we've felt like we're on the set of Love Actually. Did you know that was my favorite movie?

So far, and we're only a few days in, we've gone to a Christmas concert, a ballet class, a rugby practice, Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral, a tea shop, a cafe, a pub, a farmer's market and a double-decker bus. Three days. 

And we bumped into Daniel too. Ok, it was prearranged, but it was wonderful to see him here. He's working hard in his class, and it sounds hard. He joined us for a pot roast dinner at the local pub. 

We actually started the fortnight out in Washington, at the end of a fantastic Thanksgiving with Margaret and Andrew. On our way home, we stopped in Princeton where we saw Peter who filled us in on all happenings in his family. He took us on a tour of the campus that saw us spending time around Grandma and Pop's stone in the chapel. Then the biggest tuna melt sandwich I've ever eaten. And I did eat the whole thing. 

Three days at home was too long so we took off for Boston. After some medical appointments and tests (all good), we had a quick chat with Kathleen who tracked us down, thanks to the fob monitor they give you when you check in. We spent two nights in Boston to take in a swim meet and you'll never guess who swam. Not me. But Mary did, per usual, and she left with her usual cache of ribbons. 

Another three days back at the ranch before we headed over here. 

We heard from Annie and Sankar who are back at their ranch (I think that's what I'm going to call it now.) They recounted a funeral ceremony they attended that turned out a little harrowing with a flash flood by the river. 

A lot of Christmas preparations at this time of year. We have not gotten a tree yet but seen two trees fully decorated in DC and London. I think I saw on line a joyful scene outside Jeff and Melodie's house. 

We head back this week so we'll still have a few days to catch up on the decorations and preparations front. 

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas. 

Love from way over here.