Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.
Not everyday you come across a Buddhist Temple of Meditation travelling through Raynham! While looking around at some furniture stores I happened to see if any other attractions were around and this Temple of Meditation was listed, so naturally I was curious to check it out.
Our friends up north were kind enough tom invite us up for another pool outing so we spent all afternoon up there doing that.
Started out the morning by doing two(!) water aerobics classes and then went into town to catch the elephants migration. We had seen them before in Newport RI but now they are doing a stint in Boston so we had to go see because they are so cool.
We were able to meet up with our pal Em who lives in the area so that was cool. Afterwards we all had lunch at a place on Newbury called Piattini which was amazing. Would definitely go back there. I ended up having a drink that had Luksusova Vodka, pamplemousse, lemon, blackberry in it and it was amazing. No dount helped bring about my tiredness after all the day’s activity.
All in all this was a very wonderful day.
Birthday week shenanigans continues. Besides getting some really cool swag like a new cap and a nice dinner out at Sweet Basil, (place we always wanted to try and finally got a chance, btw it is excellent) we had a bunny come to visit us. A giant bunny at that!
What else? Oh yeah, a bought a new Android tablet to replace the aging iPad which just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Nice little Android tablet that should work pretty nicely. Decided to wait until tax free weekend to pop on it.
This is one of my favorite photos (plus yesterday was National Lighthouse Day!)
People say that with age and experience comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes enlightenment. Well, I don’t know how much of it is the truth, but I have grown up and grown with you to realize what love means and what it really means to love someone. Love goes beyond time, age, or even the person, and I have experienced love in its purest form; I feel nothing but gratefulness. I stand here a happy man thanks to you, and I love you with all my heart.
Our relationship might not be perfect, and certainly has its ups and downs, but our love for each other is still strong and is wonderful all the same, and that’s all anyone could ever ask or hope for. I am truly blessed to have found you. I just want you to know, that when I picture myself happy, it is with you.
In a world where so many things can be uncertain, you are the one thing that I will always be sure of, Patty. Thank you for showing me the beautiful sunsets.
You might be seeing some elephant related content soon, but I kind of just happened on this elephant shaped tree down on Earth-1 which also happens to have a seating area inside of it.
Just one of those odd things that I find interesting. Figured I’d share. I’ve also been looking for this certain ice cream (another reason I happened to be in the area) that apparently is only sold in Asian supermarkets because it must be an import from Asia, but so far no luck. When I do find it though I make sure to post about it. If you’ve been following me for a while you might have an idea of what it might be!
Description: Golden marsh grasses line the shore, introducing warm, organic textures that frame the bottom edge. Resting near the water’s edge is a small vessel anchored in the shallow flats—a subtle nod to maritime life and quiet moments on the water. A lone figure stands near the shoreline, appearing small against the vast expanse of sea and sky. This solitary element adds a poignant human touch, inviting the viewer to pause and contemplate the immense, peaceful surrounding space.
Together, the composition perfectly echoes the post’s message: “The time to love is always and the place to live is now.” It captures a fleeting, still moment in time, reminding us of the quiet beauty that exists when we slow down to take in our surroundings.
I forgot to mention that we were able to buy some farm fresh corn while we were down in Jerz, so I’m planning on grilling those up tonight. It’s white corn too for a change. I bought a piece of salmon to go with down at the market this afternoon so I’ll do that up as well and hopefully have a nice dinner tonight.
Had a quick jaunt to Spring Lake on Sunday. You could say that was the highlight of the weekend trip. Beautiful weather to be down the shore, as they say.
Today back in Boston, had some medical appointments down by Patriot Place so I did the tourist thing there for a bit.
Early this afternoon we went to check out some fox artwork that I discovered about earlier in the week. So now we’ve seen foxes, seals, lobsters, clams, turkeys, bunnies that started it all, and I can’t remember what else! These are pretty cool though! Then it was off to Trader Joes for some groceries and we’d figure I’d grill up some dinner tonight.
Currently reading: Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast by Pamela Colloff
Thank you to everybody involved for your support! Splashing Success! When Alison & Patty called on fellow water fitness pals to help fundraise for the American Cancer Society, Vandy members rose to the occasion as they always do, “BIG TIME”! Yesterday’s donation class was a huge success thanks to the participation and generosity of members, family and friends!
Somehow managed to get everything we wanted to do fit into this little Cape getaway, from hanging at the beach, to taking a hike, to eating at our favorite places, to getting a tire replaced (long story), to catching sunsets, to doing crafts like the shells we designed at drew on ourselves as shown above, to checking out some sand sculptures, etc etc etc.
Got back at then it was off to LD’s charity event (pics to follow!). So proud of her, it was a great turnout and she raised lots of money for cancer research! Then after we had a little get together back at the house and one of LD’s trainer peeps (a fellow Jersey girl I might add!) hung out for a bit so we did s’mores and chatted for a few hours. This woman is hardcore! Total knee replacement and she was telling us of that experience. She’s very athletic, plays hockey and things like that. Holy cow though! That’s a serious operation and recoup time.
Sunsets, sand castles, good eats, swims, and a little scare but everything turned out good. More to come…!
Spent like 4 hours in the pool yesterday. Really enjoyed being on the floats too. Check out this cool Capybara cake as well!
Today went to OSJL to grab some things, grilled out back for lunch, and went to Like No Udder for some ice cream (sweet corn flavor – incredible!) and some watermelon lemonade. Then I went ahead and did some gardening chores that I had been meaning to get to for a while, like transplanting some totato plants and whatnot. For dinner took a trip down to the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck and just sat out back in my gravity chair.
It was very satisfying to finally beat all the levels of Treasure this morning. I enjoyed playing this over the last couple of days trying to solve the puzzles.
Had a successful BBQ here at home last night with some invited old colleagues of LDs! I grilled and I always get a little nervous that I’ll mess something up but everything came out great! Salmon and burgers and we skewered some veggies on spits to grill which also came out just right. And of course as evening rolled around, had to light the firepit and do the s’mores thing. We hadn’t seen these folks in a quite a while so it was really good to catch up!
It was a fun time!
Got invited to stay over atr a freinds for an overnight in the lovely town of Fairheven for some good food, laughs, a little beach time, and fire works. Such wonderful hospitality! I actually did not go into the water but LD did. I did however partake in all the wonderfully BBQ’d cooked meals. Stuck around for the fireworks over the bay and then crashed for the night. Had a lovely breakfast in the morning from our hosts with some good conversation. And of course, their dog is the cutest!
Happy Fourth!
Gametime: Treasure. This game is tricky hard!
Here’s a throwback to the time we visited Coney Island, home of the Hot Dog Eating Event. Nothing like downoing 68 or so hot dogs (with the buns!) in 10 minutes in 90 degree heat!
Good times!
I’m into different kinds of plants these days!
It’s day two of the visit! This time off to Plymouth. Wanted to be somewhere near the coast but not anything too far or crazy. Seemed like a good choice, and it was! My personal highlight of the outing was seeing these cool metal sculptures of animals that we randomly happened upon, didn’t even know they were there! And of course I had to check out the Monument of the Forefathers, which I had sort of heard of before but never checked out until this day. The thing is massive! 81 foot tall and said to be the largest solid granite statue in the world! It’s very interesting.
Yes, that is an opsrey nest on the head of the statue.
We had a nice lunch over at East Bay Grill. I tried another cocktail, a Huckleberry Lemonade concoction made up of vodka, lemonade blueberry puree infused syrup, and blueberries which was very good. I’m not even a drinker and I’ve had two cocktails in two days already.
We finished up the day with a little bit of the firepit on the patio back home, and then some pizza and a movie, Sheep Detectives, very cute starring Huigh Jackman.
One of LD’s old friends from out of state has come over to visit for a few days so we’re doing a little bit of the tourist thing. A trip to Boston was on tap this day. We took a ride on the swan boats, and walked a little bit around the publlic garden. Had a quick bite at a place called Bistro du Midi right on Boyleston, I passed by that place a million times but had never been before. Good flatbreads and the Lavender cocktail I had was very refreshing. Later in the afternoon we took a duck boat ride. I hadn’t been on one in years, that was fun. Good thing we went when we did, I saw one tipped over the next day and that never happens. We originally wanted to go to the Bristol Lounge at the Four Season but the French Soccer Team rented out the entire hotel, so no admittance for anybody. That must be a pretty big bill!
A trip into the city over the weekend. Pardon me as I write this off the cuff so it may not flow just right but I wanted to put down the memories. Drove down Saturday early to NJ to celebrate a high school graduation and some other things with family, LD swam at the Y to get some more yardage in toward her goal for charity to the American Cancer Socity. (you can donate here if you like). We ate at a place nearby that we really like called the Thirsty Turtle. I might have mentioned that place before. Later in the afternoon we went to the dog park where I found Charlie a huge stick which he very much enjoyed. I bought a 5 dollar scratch ticket and won 20 so that was a bonus. I only bought it because I saw all the dogs on it. I don’y know, maybe I am becoming more a dog person.
Next day it was off the Big Apple, Times Square to see Mariska Hargitay on Broadway doing this amazing play. We weren’t sure how we would get into the city, should we train, bus, etc, mostly because of the World Cup but the schedule matched up that we decided driving was the way to go. Plus I noticed on Google Maps that there was a parking garage directly across the street from the theatre, Sadly when we got to the garage it was the wrong one! LD had booked a different garage but luckily it was only about a half a block away so it was ok.
The play was pretty great and she was totally amazing in it. What a powerhouse! It’s immersive theatre so the audience partipates which is pretty cool. I have no idea how she can remember all the lines and the numbers and … anyways it was amazing. The theatre was pretty cool too, one of the oldest on Broadway but done over really nicely. Best theatre seats we ever sat in, roomy and plush. After the show we hung out at the stage door so maybe she would sign some things but after 20 minutes or so we bailed. Wasn’t that a big a deal to us. People resell the stuff on eBay if you really want one, which is ridiculous. We walked around Times Square a bit, acting a little touristy. Nothing like the smell of the big vity in summertime, right! We didn’t realize it was over 10 years since we were last here, probably when we saw Al Pacino on Broadway.
We thought about maybe staying away an extra night in Mystic Connecticut but then decided to just go home, so we did and got back by 9:30 pm.
You can click each picture below for a small caption.
![](https://hatchetation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/729089124_10239602953107329_5723052174335803282_n.jpg "Working the Merch Table for "Olivia Benson"")
