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Jello!  Yum!

    Pilgrim Memorial, Provincetown, Massachusetts

I’m spending my late evenings reading a very interesting new book on the Mayflower Pilgrims, called Mayflower by Nathanial Philbrick.  It was published in 2006.  It is fascinating.  I learn something new on practically every page.  I thought that I knew a little bit about the Pilgrims, but I find that I really knew nothing at all.  Philbrick brings these people home to us in a real way.  I recommend the book to anyone who has the slightest interest in American History.  Try it; you’ll like it.

Happy Birthday, Noah Kelly!  These photos were taken in Tucson, when Noah was about two weeks old.  Obviously Old Grandpa loves his Noah.  We talked to the No today; he said he was making a monster truck out of Legos.  I think he’s having a fun birthday, with cake to follow.   We hope you have a great day, Noah! 

The Gates draped most of Central Park.  I saw them in the snow from the fourth floor of the AMNH, across Central Park West, but I didn’t take any photos from there.  We had a few flakes float by this afternoon, for about five or ten minutes.  If you looked very hard, you could see them.  It’s cooled off, though, from the 70+ degrees of the weekend.  It feels like winter again.

About two years ago, Audrey came out and we went to see the Gates in Central Park.  It was amazing, one of the coolest things I’ve seen here.  We had fun, didn’t we, Aud.  If you ever get a chance to see crazy old Cristo’s stuff, take advantage.  He and his wife are a little nuts, but they really know their instillation art.

Randy made me a birthday cake.   I woke up this morning to the sound of him singing Happy Birthday.  It scared Mia, who jumped on the bed and ran upon him, meowing to beat the band.   I had a great day, talked to nearly everyone.  It’s not so bad, being the first to fall.  Your turn next, Linda.   

I think that winter has forgotten us.  The world of the snowman is far from our world.  It was nearly 60 degrees today, and will most likely be springlike after a day of rain tomorrow.  The cherry blossoms are out at the Botanical Gardens, and the crocus are in bloom there, too.  The date of the latest first snowfall of the season here is January 6, Randy tells me, so maybe it will snow before spring.  But I wouldn’t be surprised if we get through the winter without it.  How weird–when usually we get a couple of good Nor’Easters blowing through.  I made this snowman a few years ago after a two foot snowfall.  I miss it.  The smile and eyes are dum dum lollipops.  It was on our deck. 

Every time we commute to the city, we pass by these stone remains in Sloatsburg, New York.  We’ve often wondered about them.  A few weeks ago we drove down Route 17 to Sloatsburg to check them out, after three years of guessing.  This is what we found.  (click to read the sign)  It was mildly interesting, in a mildy interesting sort of way.  Puzzle solved.

   This marker was about ten feet from the other.  We’ve decided that we don’t have enough projects going, so we’re going to take photos of other markers in the area.  One that is missing that I wish was still up:  a Revolutionary War Cemetery marker about a mile from here.  It was hit by a car soon after we moved here and hasn’t been replaced. 

     This was taken in Coeur d’Alene in December of 1997, just before Nicholas left for Russia, before Patrick and Libby got married.  Notice the spider tree in the background.  Nick and Pat can be pretty entertaining together, as I remember from a certain Christmastime trip to NASA in Houston.  They had a good time together in Seattle recently.  Happy New Year, guys!

We hope you all have a very Happy New Year, God Bless Us Everyone!