Category: Memories

My Key to the World

Posted on by Markman

In an interesting chain of events, I allowed myself to get signed up for a library card as a service to LD in order to get a deal on some tickets to an attraction that she’s inviting a NJ friend and her kid late this weekend as they happen to be passing through the area. I used to have a card many many years ago but I think it’ll be neat to have one again. They make it real easy these days to get set up all done online. For now I have limited access until I can go to the actual library and pick up the real card. I’ll probably try to set some time aside next week and go get it. I also ended up picking up some more firewood for the outdoor pit so we can have a couple of hang outs this weekend.

When I was young, we couldn’t afford much. But, my library card was my key to the world.”

– John Goodman

Today’s Gametime that’s been keeping my brain moving a bit: Pill Escape. A slider type game where you have to move the pill to the exit while sliding around obstacles in the way. I’m currently in the 30 stages and it’s starting to get real frustrating!

A Serious Blast From the Past

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I happened to be able to spend the afternoon over at Earth-1 today. While I was there I was tasked by my mom if I wouldn’t mind bringing in the trash barrels after the truck comes by to empty them, which of course I said no problem. As I got out there and was getting ready to bring the receptacles back in to their storage spot, there was a woman at the front door I guess trying to ring the bell? I asked if I could help her and she asked if I lived in this house. At first I figured it might one of those political things. I replied that I had lived in the house and then she wanted to know if my mom still lived her and if she was alive? (She mentioned my mom by her maiden name). Kind of a weird question to ask, right? She then introduced herself as Irene. Apparently she used to live next door, back when there was a house there. We’re talking quite a while ago, they sold that house back in the early 80s. Anyways, I was able to get my mom out there and she knew her from way back and I do remember playing with her son back when I was like 5 years old through the gate in the back yard. Long story short it sounds like the developer who build the condo that’s there now (for like 30 years prior it was part of a laundromat that bought the property in the said 80s) wants to rent the land that it’s on because apparently this lady’s family still owns the land? They would prefer to just be paid outright. Something in all this seems a little whack to me though. I highly doubt the laundry was paying these people rent to use the land all those years. She mentioned something about a cloud being on the deed, which they cannot find. Sounds kind of weird, but anyway, we got to see a neighbor we haven’t seen in close to 50 years! My mon and Irene exchanged contacts and just might stay in touch moving forward.

I actually don’t remember Irene, but I do remember her son, as I mentioned. I seem to also remember that he had an older sister named Maria if my memory serves, But like I said, I was like 5 years old and they ended up moving pretty soon after. After they sold, the laundry rented the house out for a while. I do remember a band that used to practice there because I can still hear this song they used to practice all the time with the words “Katrina! Katrina!” but sung out like “KatreeeeeeeNA! Ka-treeeeeee-NA!” I found it quite annoying. Anyways after about a year of that the laundry ended up knocking the house down. I remember I wanted to stay home from school that day and watch it (they did have a wrecking ball!) but I had no such luck and was sent to school. When I came home it was already down. The laundry ended up building an extension on the land there where their trucks could unload the linens from the various hospitals that it supported. I know this because I worked there for a time, it was one of my first jobs.

Eventually the laundry merged with some other company and moved their HQ to somewhere outside Union Square and this property slowly became abandoned, They must have sold the building to a developer that knocked down the extension and build the aforementioned 4unit condo there that apparently tis woman still owns the land to. I’ll be interested to see if this story goes anywhere.

I think I need to get my hands on these lighthouse bottles. I don’t care about the booze, I just want the containers! Actually I could live without the current three but if they decide to put one out of Nubble or Pemaquid then I’m definitely going to have to take a trip to Maine to get them.

One last note, I’ve been playing around with some fonts on the site. I still haven’t settled on a favorite yet so the letters may look different here and there over time. I’m never satisfied!

Circadian Rhythm Out Of Syncing

Posted on by Markman
Perfect November so far!

My circadian rhythm is all messed up now. Now waking up and 4:30 AM is pretty normal for now.

Taking advantage of the nice weather I went ahead and made a task list for myself of all the fall cleanup things I wanted to accomplish before the weather turns colder.

I disconnected the back hose and shut off the water line to it and stored the housing in the basement. I dug up a bunch of our tubers and stored them like I did last year so I can replant them in the spring. I raked and picked up a bunch of leaves, mostly ones near the utilities so that they weren’t obstructed. I still need to put some things away back under the sink but I finish that up once the dishwasher is totally installed. Did a bunch more of getting that ready today working with the plumber, it’s almost done. Speaking of new appliances, I fired up the new oven for the first time last night, just a simple bake. It worked like a charm. I may end up changing some of the defaults like the volume tone and certain other things, but generally it rocks. Once that’s in I’ll go ahead and replace the side screen door with it’s winter glass pane equivalent,

I heard about a simple pasta sauce recipe I want to try that sounds super duper easy. Marcella Hazan’s recipe is so basic that it only requires a can of whole peeled tomatoes, 5 tablespoons of butter, a dash of salt, and an onion cut in half. Throw it all in a pan and let it simmer for 45 minutes uncovered. Supposedly it’s pretty good. I need to try this real soon.

I started that new book I mentioned the other day. So far I’m digging it. I do find those people so fascinating, even though they lived over 3500 years ago.

For the latest Gametime I’ve been hooked on Stars Align, a cute little puzzle game that made me think!

I suppose one more try on the Powerball. Right? I got my numbers in again for tonight.

Saturday Shenanigans

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The appliance delivery guys arrived really early the other day. Pretty exciting! Actually the plumber came by later in the afternoon to get the oven installed and up and running. Nice to have a sweet oven with all the new conveniences. I can’t wait to try them all out, like the air fryer and the possibly the griddle. new dishwasher is almost up as well.

No winners on the Powerball so I’ll have to buy another ticket, even though my chances are only has 1 in 292,201,338. But that could be the one, right? Actually I’m cool with any of the smaller prizes.

LD is away on a girl’s trip weekend tonight so it’s just Carson and I holding down the fort!

A Little Update to Appease the Masses

Posted on by Markman

I grilled up some flat iron steaks the other night. Seasoned with just a bit a salt. LD said they came out great, so that’s what we had last night. Tonight I think I’ll grill us up a bit of turkey burgers. I actually prefer beef burgers but she like the turkey so…

I updated the iPad to iPadOS16. One thing I noticed that I really like is the new weather app. I wonder if there’s something similar for Android? I’ve been running Weawow which I found to be pretty good, but I’m digging the way Apple’s version looks and feels.

Updated the website under the hood, Shouldn’t be any issues hopefully, Let me know if you see anything weird though.(Would any of you really do that?)

I’ve been playing around with some design elements, such as this post with a gradient background and and rounded image that cuts the gradient over to the right. What do you think? It looks best on a big screen like a laptop or tablet, on mobile the picture just goes small and doesn’t look as impressive. Hey, I’m learning new things on my own! And speaking of playing around, I decided to play another Powerball ticket. I mean, come on, how could one not with the stakes so high? When I do play I only play one ticket (and only when the jackpot is super high) – all you need is one.

I ordered a new book to read that just came out. Egypt’s Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth. Yeah, King Tut’s parents and they have quite an interesting story that I’m interested to see what these authors take on them are. So look forward to my review on that.

The plumber came over late this afternoon, I was expecting him at some point although not really today. Anyways, he put in some new line that will go right into the new oven. Speaking of which, the appliances are supposed to get delivered tomorrow morning early, so that’ll be some fun.

Happy Halloween

Posted on by Markman
Happy Halloween

Here’s a spooky picture I took a while back in Wrentham, just passing by and happened to come upon the scene whilst we were out doing other things.

Had a good time the other night at the get together, I ended up grilling steaks, chicken and potatoes. LD made a coffee rub, with mixed results, but it was worth trying. In addition, we got the fire pit going and I even fired up the outdoor heater, which lit up like a charm. It works really well too after a couple of minutes being next to it. I got around to doing some yard work, and preparing a few things for the colder weather coming soon around here, such as shutting off the front faucets and storing the hose (leaving to beck one up for now) and replacing the front door screen with the glass pane to cut down on the chill that happens because Carson likes the door open to see what’s going on outside.

Speaking of Carson, he actually came down while our visitors were present, stayed, and interacted with them. For that, we were very proud of him. He even began to nod off while our visitors, who were in the same room, saw him on the Fuf XL, which is simply a large bean bag. He’s made significant progress in terms of being more sociable lately.

As for tonight being Halloween, we were ready to see what little ghosts and goblins would come up to the door. Final tally: about 100 kids!

Flooring Done but More to Come

Posted on by Markman

Haven’t had much time to do an update, so here’s a quick one. The kitchen floor is finally done and looks pretty sweet. I had to work with the electrician and the plumber to get the utility setups correct for the new appliances to go in (long story – let’s just say the former owners didn’t do things properly and leave it at that) so that everything is up to code and safe and whatnot. The appliances aren’t due to arrive till next week sometime so we’ll be winging it for cooking for the next few days. I did manage to get myself to play a Powerball ticket yesterday on the off chance I might actually win something, even though it’s a longshot. My first issue of Lighthouse Digest finally arrived yesterday and I was pleasantly impressed with the quality of it. Planning on having a get together with some friends out back late this afternoon, it’s been a while since we used the firepit or even the grill. Speaking of which, I need to get started on replacing the summer door screens with their winter glass pane counterparts, shutting off some outside utilities, and transferring some indoor plants that I wish to overwinter.

Flooring In (Just About)

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Much of today was all about getting the new kitchen flooring installed and it’s just about done and I got to say, it looks pretty amazing. What I really like about it is how it appears almost seamless. Pretty cool to see actually. The old dishwasher and stove have been disconnected but we might have to wait a little bit for the new replacements to get installed, so it’s microwave, air fryer, grill and take out for a little bit it would seem, but we knew that going into it. Pictures when it’s all totally done. Again, it looks amazing!

A Little Sparkle to Brighten the Day

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Hanging in the horse barn!

This afternoon we took a little ride over to the Sanctuary. We actually had not been there in quite a while. It was nice to visit with our animal friends for a while, and of course, the various goats! Other than that, it was another low key day. Afterwards I pretty just wanted to veg in front of the tv so that’s what I did. However, I plan to be much more productive tomorrow running errands, replacing the screens to glass panes in the doors because it’s starting to get colder now, and a bunch of other little things.

Oh, one cool thing that I was able to figure out yesterday morning, is streaming from the phone straight to the tv, so we were able to watch an educational medical conference that LD was interested in, right on the tv instead of looking at the little phone screen or computer screen, and we didn’t have to huddle over a little screen to watch it.

Selfie with Sparkle
Meeting Arwen, a newbie
Cats on chairs

Pumpkin Spice and a Bivalent Booster

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Pumpkin Spice

Went down to get my bivalent shot. Easy peasy lemonade squeezy. Before that I grabbed this pic of some of the pumpkins we have laying about. I have decided to call it “Pumpkin Spice.”

Watch List: Took a chance on Blonde on Netflix, a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to see what the buzz was about. My verdict? So-so. It started out pretty good but then, I don’t know, I started to lose interest. For one, it’s too long and also since a bunch of it is fictionalized you’re not sure what really happened or not. While I don’t doubt that some of that stuff happened I would have preferred a more factual representation. Just my two cents. The lead actress does do a great job though.

Sunday Rest Day

Posted on by Markman
A Tree changes color in Wellesley, MA 10/16/2022.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”

– Emily Brontë

I booked my bivalent vaccine shot for Friday afternoon this morning. Should be pretty easy and it is time for me to get it done, so there’s that. We went to LD’s workplace in Wellesley later in the day, and while we were there, she spotted this magnificent tree, which I had to photograph. The light coming through was simply a lucky coincidence of being in the right place at the right time! This picture just screams Autumn to me. Other than that, today has been a pretty low key day, which is what we planned. Just some simple errand runs, some television watching getting caught up on some shows, sitting out in the warm sun. Like I said, low ley Sunday. I did finally get my haircut yesterday, I feel so much lighter!

Look at these Mugs! Hanging with Lenny!

Posted on by Markman
The return of Lenny!
Look at that face!
Hi guys!
Where the treats at?
Downward facing dog?

I got a chance to hang out with Lenny again! This time over at the yoga/healing arts studio that he’s been hanging out in on the weekends, talk about a lucky dog! His guardians were busy for part of the afternoon so I said I’d look after him for a bit. We had a good time together. I like Lenny – he’s my buddy! Anyways that was probably the best highlight for today.

The kitchen flooring has finally arrived. Pretty soon the kitchen will new floors and a couple of new appliances to go with – this place is really shaping up this year!

Oh, I forgot to mention something that happened the other day. It must have been around 6 pm or so and then I heard the doorbell ring and a pounding on the front door. I thought it was the stupid neighbor kid again saying that his ball flew over into the back yard and wanted to get it. However, when I got up and answered the door, a policeman with papers in his hand was there. Immediately in the back of my head, due no doubt to all the cop shows I’ve watched over the years, I thought, “Are they going to serve us papers or something?” However, come to find out, someone had reported their packages missing from their doorstep in the neighborhood and he was wondering if I saw anything, which I did not. He then went on to other houses in the neighborhood and tried to get as much information as he could. Anyways, it was quite a sight to see the guy all in the whole regalia and all on the front steps.

Ended with a massages tonight. – probably hadn’t had one in like, over a year, so I was definitely due. Tried out a new person, and it was pretty good, I would go back to her again. Now it’s off the watch some tv and settle in for the night. Have another busy day tomorrow!

Some YouTubers I Follow

Posted on by Markman

Thought it would be interesting to let you know some Youtubers that I watch regularly to get a sense of my tastes. So without further ado, here we go:

  • Britec09 – Little tidbits about Windows tips and tricks.
  • ChrisTitusTech – This one is really technical and lots of Linux information.
  • ComicTropes – really good channel. I don’t collect comics anymore but I still have a love for them. Very entertaining and informative.
  • JamieMarsland – really good tips and learning tools to get the most out of WordPress.
  • LonTV – this Youtuber does a lot of reviews and I also find him quite informative.
  • PowerCertAnimatedVideos – if you ever wondered about IT these videos explain them pretty well.
  • RickBeato – the man. He really knows music and has given me much appreciation about the craft.
  • TechsYouCantLiveWithout – a variety of videos showcasing the coolest products on the planet and ranked so you can pick the best.
  • TheReportoftheWeek – ReviewBrah is the man, keeping us up to date on the best fast food items.
  • The Art of Guitar – cool channel about music. For some reason the guy reminds me a little of John Cusack.
  • And finally for now, ThioJoe – more computer knowledge mostly.

You might be beginning to see a pattern here. Hmmm. Music, Computers, Fast food reviews. Maybe I should diversify a bit. Comment by clicking on this post if you have any Youtubers you follow that you think I might be interested in!

Lavallette Visit Year 2

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Beach days in Lavalette, NJ

Spent a few days down in Lavallette, NJ at a Airbnb, in fact the same one we stayed in last year at this time. It’s a great location and a pretty good place to hang out. We had a some family stay overnight with us at the beach house and I do think they all had a fun time. We were able to see two sunsets (all three days had gorgeous weather), a full moon one night, and even whales breaching right off the shore. It was quite the sight to see, especially since they were so close to the shoreline. There’s a picture out there of one literally right next to a surfer, like he could touch it with his hand, it was that close. Had some good food (some takeout but we also made some stuff and gobbled that all down over the time stayed). We were able to enjoy the takeout meals while seeing the sunset at the end of a neighboring pier. The following night, we had our guests picked up by driving them to the JBJ rest stop area so that we wouldn’t have to travel all the way back to the Airbnb because we were spending an additional night. There were some amazing pictures taken there of LD belting out the hits with the guests. It was a really fun time. Maybe I’ll add some more pictures from this trip at a later time but these are some good ones for now. I’m a bit tired!

Waves crashing on pier. We ate out on the end of it watching the sunset both nights.
Loving Lavallette!
Namaste, bitches!
Visiting up in Yonkers, NY

We had a late checkout in the morning, so we took our time, ate breakfast on the beach at a local coffee house we like called Lava Java, and enjoyed a little more time at the beach as the sun was feeling quite wonderful. As we were about to return to Boston, we decided to take a detour and visit our old friend Chris and his two young girls in Yonkers, New York. There was a park right next door where we could all hang for a bit outside and the kids could play in the meantime. Beautiful looking children too. Quite the weekend! Then the long ride back home last night. I had to get back because I had CPR training down at HQ this morning so I didn’t want to miss that. Needless to say I am certified once again.

Trolley Square in Autumn and Long Weekend Travels

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Autumn along the Somerville/Cambridge town lines

We’ve decided to take a trip for this long weekend we have in store. In fact, it happens to be a place that we visited around this time about two years ago. Long time readers may remember but I did list it as my second favorite location in a certain state. Anyways, they’ll be updates after I get back as I’m not bringing the Chromebook on this particular trip. There could be some updates on my socials in the meantime, Speaking of meantime, enjoy this picture of autumn from the Somerville/Cambridge line along the bike path that cuts through both cities. I used to bike this route on my way to work all the time, back when I worked in that area. Happening upon this scene I knew I had to capture it. The wagon like thing in the center is basically an artwork that depicts some of the tools that the locals used to make things in that area back in the day, In the early 1900s, the corner of Massachusetts and Cameron Avenues in North Cambridge is where trolleys for the original Boston street car system were stored and repaired. A hundred years later, the site has been given new life as a development named Trolley Square. So there you go! Be well and I’ll update soon.

An Appearance of the Goat-a-Gram

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Goat-a-Grams for the Ladydoc

Yesterday I was able to get a couple of baby goats to visit LD for a continuance of her celebration this year. They were the cutest things, named Speck and Ziggy, brothers as it were. A nice thing that along with all the goat snuggles is that they were going to town on eating all the fallen oak leaves. I think they had as good a time as we did. It was a fun experience and they came right to the house. We also had a couple of guests visit which was also very nice. I’m glad the weather held out and didn’t rain. It was a bit windy (the remnants of Hurricane Ian) but nothing us hardly New Englanders couldn’t handle.

Little Speck and I hanging out

IF anyone in the area is interested in doing this sort of experience, hit me up and I can provide you with the details on how to get it all set up for yourself.

Ziggy and Speck
Just eating leaves
Goat Whisperer
Holding squirmy Speck
Just a sampling of the 185 pics taken today (click to enlarge)

Visitors from Afar

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I was able to take my my Mom from Somerville to Westwood to the local AAA place to get her license renewed yesterday and she passed. I was worried about the traffic but apparently Fridays are the way to go because we made it in record time. When I visited her Tuesday it took me slightly more than an hour and a half one way. This time the trip up and back took just about an hour, tops. Well, within the time I had allocated for us to get it done. So, score!

Today, an old collogue of LD’s swung by to pay a visit, as they were going to be in the area on other business. Ended up having a lunch/brunch with some takeout from the Muffin House that just opened up about a couple months ago down the road. It was a a fun little gettogether for a couple hours.

Getting In on the Dynamic Island Craze

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Nubble from Afar (a Thursday Throwback!)

Yes, I have an flagship Samsung Android phone but I wanted to see what the buzz is all about with this new iPhone 14 feature called Dynamic Island. Just my luck someone has recreated it for Android and you can get it from the Google Play store here if you want to try it out. I do kind of like it, but I know its just some gimmick. I’ll keep it for a while and see how it goes.

Gametime: Currently trying to get through Dying Dreams.

A Reverie of the Girl Crying in the Window

Posted on by Markman
 I now return you to my scenic landscape sunset photography. 😄

We’ve spent the last few days starting to return some of the tables and chairs to the people who were so kind as to let us borrow them; they were very useful, but we’ll be keeping a few just a little while longer because this weekend is a smaller, more private gathering, and this time, a goat will be involved, if you can believe that! I don’t think that it could compare to Lenny to me, but we’ll see! We’ll be using some the games that we didn’t get to and such that we used for the party for this small group of folks who couldn’t make the main event.

Lately I’ve been having thoughts of when I was little and a couple that keep coming up is with me and my sister. I can remember a friend asking me to come over his house and I was game to do it. My sister who was quite young at the time kept crying and didn’t want me to go. maybe we were playing together at the time or something, I don’t know. Anyways I can remember being sort of adamant that I was going to go. I can remember reaching the front gate to the driveway and looking back at the house and in the window I could see my sister crying. She really didn’t want me to go, and I debated staying in my head but ultimately I went anyway. I mean, he had the latest KISS record Double Platinum at the time and I wanted to listen to it! The friend I was visiting lived over by the Powerhouse so it was only a 10 minute walk. But I never forgot the crying. I always felt something changed a little but between us after that, but that can’t be. I actually mentioned this to my sister today and she laughed about it. Didn’t remember, and of course nothing changed. (Right?) I also had thoughts of us walking each other back and forth to school one year, the one year where it overlapped in such a way that we were in the same elementary school at the same time but in different grades. I think I was in 6th and see must have been in 1st.

I miss those days, looking back now.

And today’s photo is one of those lovely sunset images that everyone seems to enjoy. This one is from Rock Harbor, which is in Orleans, Massachusetts. One of our favorite places, and I’m sure you can tell why.

Meeting Cindy Brady

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The story behind the photo: A few years ago, we went to the Fluffernutter Festival in my hometown of Somerville, MA. It’s a yearly celebration now honoring the invention of the product Fluffernutter, which was invented by a door to door salesman in town, Eventually he sold it to the company that still makes it today with their factory in Lynn but originally it all started right here. Anyways, this one particular year they somehow got Susan Olsen to come down and check it out, How could I not go? I grew up watching the Brady Bunch. I would get out from school and go home and put on Channel 56 which reran them everyday. I think it was a couple of cartoons, and then the Bradys and then the Monkees – amazing how TV has shaped me. In fact, I believe everything about life can be explained in various Brady Bunch episodes but that’s a discussion for another time. (Perhaps one day I will write a thesis about it but I digress.) Anyways, she was amazing. Kind of makes me want to meet the rest of the “Bradys”. As a side note, Florence Henderson visited the local hospital here a few years back and had I known this at the time I probably would have met Mrs. Brady, but it was sadly not to be. Also Peter Brady has visited Dedham a few times at Kings in Legacy Place so there was a possibility of seeing him as well. We missed Jan once in NYC, she apparently was downstairs from a restaurant we were frequenting at at the time but another miss. I figure Greg and Marcia would be the hardest to get to meet. I have no desire to meet Bobby (sorry!)

Meeting “Cindy Brady”

Party a Smashing Success! Plus Lenny!

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Finally got to meet Lenny!

The party was a great success and I think everyone who attended had a great time! We were scrambling a little bit as the party start time drew near, with getting tables set up, and picking up the cake, getting a balloon and such, etc. Everyone who said they would attend did and we even had three dogs visit, including Boomer all the way down from Maine, and Lenny, a dog I’ve been wanting to meet for a long time. He was one solid boy weighing close to over 50 pounds! We played a game that made you meet and talk to people to learn things about them and it actually worked and everyone was into it. Another one of LD’s friends was kind enough to pick up the main entrees from Canton so that was a great help. The camera was all set up for the selfie station and I promise to set up a shared google drive directory so that folks who took one can download their pictures. The weather was perfect for a party day! We had some pretty great homemade props which I’ll be saving to use for future events.

People also got to see the new basement and bathroom to help us decide on colors by voting. So we had a lot going on, between everyone meeting everyone, eating all the various dishes, watching LD smash her piñata, cutting the cake, playing the games, and having a good time. LD even went out of her way and cooked some gluten free things for some guests who could not partake of the main entrees. All the desserts were a huge hit, from the cake which truly was delicious to the special ice cream sandwiches we got from Providence. As the party was ending (the last guests didn’t leave till around 10 pm!) we saw the SpaceX rocket in the sky although at the time we didn’t know what it was, circled around the fire pit. The main thing was that everyone who came genuinely came to celebrate LD and you could feel the joy. We have to remember that we really are surrounded by wonderful people who care and love LD and I’m very appreciative that I was also able to partake in that.

Now that we’ve cleaned everything up we are taking a well deserved nap!