Best Christmas Morning

A stupendous meal: lox&bagels, sweet rolls, eggs&bacon - what more could you want? And great family gathered at the McGraths. Fine way to start the day.
Another bonus this year is shown to the right. Usually there is some officious sort (OK, sometimes moi) who swoops around, gathering wrapping paper before it hits the ground, and stuffing it into a bag. Not this year: see?
Lots of great gifts and two happy lads plus a couple of Maine coon cats that gave this blogger the most fun he's had in a long time. Yes, cats. Yes, laser light.

Update from the Crotch

Your eagle-eyed (!) reporter gets yet another photo credit from the local rag. However, local newspaper critic points out, "Hey, they [the photo credits] are all from the same window." Well, yes. Complete coverage of a geographical area, we call it. You can read more here, if you have patience.
http://www.timesrecord.com/news/2013-12-23/Local/BOAT_IN_ICE.html

Second grade

Miss Stiles was without personality. But probably, so were we. I don't think we ever would have performed in front of a huge audience like the one that turned up to fill the magnificent gym at Harriet Beecher Stowe School in Brunswick. If you look just to the left of the "play" arrow you will see a fellow in a gray shirt with flashing mallets. No, it's not Lionel Hampton. But some day...
Would you go back to second grade? I wouldn't. It is pretty hard work back there and you have to be tough. At the HBS (no, not Harvard Biz) School, all the 2nd graders in Brunswick come together. No more neighborhood schools. Is this good? Good for bus companies, anyway.

It's not winter yet, right?

However, the temperatures have been in the single digits for a while. And this morning I awoke to find our house at 52, with the propane heater off. Why it went off, I don't know - probably shivered when it looked outside and saw all this snow. Ugh.
On the other hand, the plow just went by, so someone is looking out for us.
I'm not ready for winter...which isn't supposed to start for a few days, yet. Bah.

Canal du Midi

Fresh off the catamaran, we have just scheduled another voyage, this time for 10 days next April-May on the Canal du Midi with the McIlvains. For many years we have thought of doing it, and when Betsy mentioned it a while ago, we thought, "Why not?" And so we are committed.
               Here is our cruise.

This is the land of the  Cathar (see below) and the cassoulet. Hurrah for that. I'll bet the food is better than it was in Ireland in 1999. And we'll see what other trouble we can get into.

Back in Port Arrowsic

Thanks to 14 members of our family, I was able to turn 70 in a most delightful manner, in the British Virgin Islands. Information about this week on the water may be available elsewhere. But now we are home, and find that the autumn we left has turned to winter.
 I hate winter.
However, the memories of the hot days and the warm Caribbean water should stick around awhile. And then there will be Christmas. Oh. Can we go back to the Islands?