Home and Holiday events

In the month of December Dixmont has received 47 inches of dazzling fluffy white snow. I could not have asked for a better homecoming present.

Got in a couple of days cross country and one day downhill (well sort of). I took Jacob to Hermon Mountain for snowboard lessons and took advantage of the trails while he learned to stay upright on a board. On our first venture to the top he wanted to try the headwall! Like father like son.

A quick review of our time on the home front included all the birthdays and holidays, lots of time with the grandchildren and enjoyable visits with old and new friends. That should hold me over until we return home again in the spring.

Jacob, the Birthday pirate, checking for far away ships!

We have been home for two months and our pace has not slowed at all. We arrived here on November 6, and began celebrating right off with Jacob's birthday. He miraculously has arrived at his seventh year in what seems like a flash and is enjoying the current Pirate craze.

Two days later it was James' turn for cake. Add twenty plus two with Jacob's seven candles for him to blow out. Actually he requested Lemon Pie instead of ice cream cake

There were a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and Jed's Birthday on the 28th so we filled those days with laying a tile floor in the kitchen, just so we wouldn't get bored.

Didn't quite get Jed's cake in this shot. Lola is better looking anyway

The week after Thanksgiving, December 9, was Lola's turn. She did the best job of posing for the candle blow out.

For one of her Birthday presents, we went to see Peter Pan at the Penobscot Theater. Her favorite character was Michael, the youngest brother, mostly because he wore PJs and carried his teady bear where ever he went. She stayed here for a week and helped me do some Christmas baking (and eating).

December included a three day visit from my two sisters, Joan, Jane, and a friend, June. (Forgot to take pictures). After a relaxing visit, they started home at 10:30 on a bright sunny morning.

However, when they got to the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border it had begun to snow and they hit a massive traffic jam which caused them to arrive home at 10:30 p.m., turning a 4 hour drive into a 12 hour nightmare.

I don't think my sister Jane will ever venture to Dixmont again. The rest of the story is that the last time she visited it was spring and I forgot to tell her about the usual condition of Hog Hill during mud season. She was sure she was going to need a tow truck to get out of one of the many deep muddy ruts, (Chuck Burwell calls them Elephant wallows) When she finally made it through to our house, she worried all weekend about going back through the mud bath again. Time will tell is she is brave enough to travel into this wilderness once more.

Jed and the kids came the weekend before Christmas for four days and again for the New Year. The snow provided a delightful playground, not only for the kids but for Grammy too.

Next Tuesday, January 15, we return to our camper in Las Vegas. Our plans are to head for Southern California, then travel North, along the coast, as the weather begins to warm. We hav lots of friends and realtives to visit along the way. Even a couple of babies to ooh and aah over.

It doesn't look like our winter adventures will be nearly as exciting as the events this past fall, however, you can never tell. Marlin has a nose for out of the way attractions and events that usually turn out to be very interesting. I'll try to keep the blog current without being boring. If things get dull, please feel free to post a comment to keep me in line.