We put our Christmas tree up this weekend and I enjoyed decorating it this year. Probably because I don’t plan on doing much else!
My tree at this moment
The tree is in the middle of the combined family room dining room, in front of the sliding door. At the top is the macaroni star our son made in daycare. I know I should replace it, but I haven’t found anything I like better. There are a variety of ornaments – from my parents collection that my sister divided up, ornaments handmade from one of my aunts, handmade by me for our son, and ornaments we’ve been purchasing in our trips. It’s a nice variety.
Mom’s collectionMade by auntMade by auntMade by mefor son and nieces and nephewMade by mefor everyone in school colorsMade by me one for their home state and other significant stateBack of the ornamentsMade by meMade by me
For the past few years, I also decorated a small 5 foot tree in the “formal” living room which used to be my only living room. I would put Wallace Silversmith silver plated balls on this tree and it had the option for white lights, colored lights, or blinking lights. I like the colored ones the best and I loved the way they shined off the silver balls. This year I’m just too lazy! It’s a chore to pack and unpack the silver plated ornaments.
The silver bellsThe 2nd treeWhen my “formal” living room was my only living room!
I still have to finish adding my son’s collection of nutcrackers that remained here, and my collection of Santa’s from over the years. My family part is on the 13th so I still have time!
The Memorial Day parade in my town is a long-standing tradition for residents. I’ve been attending as long as I can remember, watching the parade from the same location on the east side of Main Street in front of Caplan’s supermarket. After I moved back to town in the mid-90s we moved to the sunny side of the street!
The parade route has always started at Dutton Park located at the northern end of North Main Street. Early newspaper articles listed a much longer route that involved a few hills. For any locals, in 1928 it was: Down Center, right on Colony, up Church, left on North Whittlesey, up Christian, up North Main Street to the Monument where speeches, singing, and a rifle volley would take place. The parade would then “countermarch” back down North Main Street, past the “new” state armory and back to the corner of Center Street. Whew! These days the parade start at Dutton Park and ends about 1-1/2 miles straight down the road to the WWI, WWII, and Korean War monuments in front of the town Hall.
Start of 2025 Memorial Day Parade
The park was named for Arthur Henry Dutton, a 25 year old town resident and graduate of West Point, who was injured in May of 1864 at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia during the Civil War and died from his injuries 10 days later. The Arthur H. Dutton G.A.R. (Grand Army Republic) Post 36 was created not long after the end of the Civil War for veterans, not unlike Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion organizations. The land for the park was donated to the post by a town resident and in 1904 the post turned the park over to the town to be used as a park forever.
Markers of veteran organizations in townFirst veteran post in Wallingford
The park contains a Civil War cannon pointing south, a stone listing the 24 young men who died during the Civil War, and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. This monument was conceived 1885, dedicated in 1902 and unveiled in 1911. It is topped with a life sized minute man holding a rifle and is inscribed with the battles the members of the Grand Army served.
Names of Civil War soldiers killedSoldiers and Sailors Monument
100 years after the idea for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument came to be, another monument was dedicated. That would be our town’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This monument was designed and created by Wallingford resident and Vietnam veteran, Ken Polanski. It was dedicated on November 11, 1985. A very nice article about the monument can be found in our Wallingford Magazine. When I saw the date, I realized, I was at the dedication! It’s a really good article so I hope you read it!
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
This year’s guest speaker at our event was David Flood, a Vietnam Veteran. It was chilling to hear him talk about his time in Vietnam. Ken Polanski, the monument creator, was there as well. Mr. Flood is the father of an acquaintance so it was a treat to run into her and her adorable son, whom I’ve only seen in pictures on Facebook.
Color guard, MC, and guest speaker
Once the ceremony was over, my husband and I hustled to our friend’s house along the route to enjoy the parade and indulge in the delicious food she serves to her guests. We see family, friends, and “once a year” friends at her house. We enjoy watching the parade and clapping for everyone who walks by – especially the little kids! Some are not sure of what’s going on, and others are very into it!
Scenes from the parade
The parade always ends with the fire trucks. We decided it’s because if there’s a fire, they can get away quickly!
As I sit here, writing of Memorial Day, I pause to thank all of those brave men and women who died for our freedom. May we continue to remember them throughout the year.
American Cemetery, Normandy FranceArlington National Cemetery, VirginiaWritten by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, First World War
New York, New York, what a wonderful town The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down! —from On Our Way with Gene Kelly
My first memory of visiting New York City is when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. It was a Columbus Day trip with my mother, two sisters, aunt, and cousin and our destination was the Statue of Liberty.
We took the Metro North train out of New Haven and got on the subway heading to Battery Park. We were looking for the Bowling Green stop but how we missed it a few times! We probably headed into Brooklyn and then had to get back on in the direction we came from. We made it to the Statue and had a great time, and I got a pen in the gift shop with a floating statue.
The next time I traveled into the city it was with my sisters during Christmas time. Those trips bring back memories of Crabtree and Evelyn scents and Dansko clogs! We would visit Rockefeller Center to see the tree and shop.
Macy’sRockefeller TreeEmpire State Building
When I lived in California, I always raved about New York, and must have been incredibly obnoxious! San Francisco just didn’t compare.
After we moved back to Connecticut, my sisters and I would take our kids into the city to wander. We weren’t very comfortable on the subway – we didn’t want to get lost – so we dragged the kids all over the place on foot! One trip by the time we got the Met on 82nd Street, they were exhausted already! They were very happy when we were finally comfortable enough to take the subway.
My husband is now my favorite traveler to New York. We’ve gone for concerts and basketball games at Madison Square Garden, stayed a few days at a time to shop at Christmastime, and this year I’ve (dragged him along) taken him to a broadway play, with more to come.
Carnegie HallThe CloistersMSG
Today we headed in for a short trip to see the newly re-opened Frick Collection. We had an early lunch before our 12:30 check in. The museum isn’t very large so we saw all we needed to see in an hour. We were headed home on the 2:04pm train.
We’ll be back down there in early June with my husband’s aunt and uncle from California. Tickets have been purchased for a play (Six), tickets for the Vessel, and ideas ready for dinners. I can’t wait!
What’s your favorite place to visit and how often do you get there?
I remember my dad bringing out the movie camera during the 1960s, along with the bank of lights attached to the top, and blinding us as we walked down the stairs to see what Santa brought. We’d view those movies during the summer and watch as he reversed and moved forward the moment when my sister tumbled down the stairs. Down she’d go, only to fly back up the stairs!
Every Christmas, my mother’s family got together at one sibling’s house or my grandmother’s. Presents would get tossed around, and a shaker of Brandy Alexander would be ready to be poured.
The family celebration has migrated to a weekend before Christmas, so families traveling from out of state can attend and then have their holiday at home.
My husband and I host it every year, and we have had anywhere from 15 (2021 after COVID) to 30 people with us. Before our family room addition, it was a tight squeeze – we even had people sitting in the front hallway and on the stairs to the second floor! But now with the extra space and the open floor plan, no one is without a seat.
I’m not big on decorating, and shopping for gifts is stress-inducing, but I really like getting everyone together!
My husband and I had nothing to do the day after Christmas. What a treat after hosting our family party of 26 people on Saturday which was fabulous and I loved every minute, but we were enjoying our down time!
I had to go to Hamden a couple of towns away to drop something off. Since we were taking “the back way” home, via Whitney Avenue, I suggested a stop at Wentworth’s Ice Cream, not really thinking they’d be open, but I enjoy that route.
As I suspected, they were closed. However, right next door is an antiques store, actually a house, that I’d never been to, but “always meant to get to”. I’ve seen it advertised in the local weekly newspaper, and in the little booklets we get in the mail as he is always looking for antiques and coins. As a matter of fact, I actually knew him as the former brother in law of a friend from the crowd I hung around with in my mid-20s.
We drove through the ice cream shop parking lot and went back, parked in front of the house and were instantly taken in by the stone bird baths, railings, and objects in the front yard.
We stepped in to the house (after he unlocked the door!) and were mesmerized by the amount of antiques throughout the space. And this was just the first floor!
Clocks, pictures in big gold ornate frames, sculptures, Tiffany lamps – Oh My!
We talked with Don, the owner, for quite a while. He was telling us the history of his love for antiques and where he gets them and we shared what we enjoy and what we look for for our home and yard.
My eye caught a piece on the wall. It wasn’t large, but I felt a connection to it from the religious items I love to see in museums.
Pietre Dure pieceCut and highly polished colored stones
He explained to us it was Pietre Dure – hard stones. I looked it up when I got home and it is known as Intarsia Lapidary. Unlike mosaic pieces which are generally of similar pieces and grouted in place, Pietre Dura are mostly larger and cut to a shape suiting their place in the image and glued in place. They first appeared in Rome in the 16th century. The technique is used on table tops, altars and portraits.
I didn’t know what it was when I saw it, and I was attracted to the frame more than the picture, is that a horn coming out of her head?, but the more I look at it, the more I love all of it.
Current location of my Pietre Dure piece
We have it hung on the wall, but I feel like it needs a larger expanse of wall around it to really make it pop.
If you’re local to the Wallingford area, the location is 3651 Whitney Avenue in Hamden – Don Barese Fine Art & Antiques. His hours are by appointment, but the OPEN flag was out when we drove by. He buys and sells internationally. We’re already planning our next trip back!
January 1, 2020 was brisk and bright when I set out for the guided first walk of the year with my sister and niece.
Machimoodus State Park was the location and it took us through the woods and towards a view of the Salmon River before it meets up with the Connecticut River in Haddam, Connecticut.
“Machimoodus” is an indigenous term for “place of bad noises” because of noisy rumblings and echos heard by the Pequot, Narragansett, and Mohegan tribes. The sounds were real and in 1981 geologists determined “micro earthquakes” were the cause amplified by a nearby cave!
We didn’t hear any rumblings, but we saw some beautiful scenery and had a brisk hike to start out the new year!
I try to be chill but once we turn the corner from Thanksgiving, I feel like a train is rushing down the track. Am I on it? Or is it heading towards me? I haven’t quite decided.
I have hosted our family Christmas Party for 10 or 15 years always the second or third Saturday in December. Throw in a work party we host on the first Saturday and a trip to New York to shop in whatever week doesn’t contain a party at the end and there’s December, done and dusted.
Gift-giving has slowed down, which is a good thing. My husband and I shop for ourselves in New York, and our son and daughter-in-law usually receive something large during the year. Now it’s gifts for our great niece and nephew and something for the grab bag at the party.
This year’s election has f*cked it up a bit as some people don’t want to be around other people and it’s enough that I try to make everyone feel welcome regularly to now have to worry about who’s ignoring whom and what will they mutter under their breath.
I will be sure I do my daily meditation, get enough sleep and exercise, select my menu, and buy a big bottle of wine for myself and hide it away!
Today I’m sharing a photo from February 2006. The same sister and her family that we went to Mexico with, we also took a few ski vacations together over the years!
We took a 2 or 3 February vacation trips to Mont Sutton located in Sutton Quebec. It was approximately 6 hours away from our home in Connecticut. We would meet up with my sister and 2 or 3 other families from Rhode Island at The Junction Restaurant in Troy Vermont for lunch. From there, we would cross over the border into Canada. We would stay every trip at an auberge right next to the slopes and rented the entire first floor wing of 8 or so rooms to make sure we had a game room for the kids and so we wouldn’t disturb any other guests! The hotel served us breakfast and dinner and we all brought coolers of food, a microwave, and whatever else we needed to come back to the rooms and have lunch if we wanted. All we had to do was ski.
The Sutton bird
This picture was from our 3rd trip to Canada. It was crazy to see this up in the tree but even funnier was what I thought I saw on the slope. My husband and I were on the chairlift, and I saw a small group of people on the side of the trail. I looked closely and then said to him “why is there a canoe on the trail?” He thought I was insane! What I was looking at was a snowboarder sitting on the ground with his board up on its side edge. From the direction I was looking, it looked like a person in a canoe!! 😂😂 I have a very vivid imagination!
Every time I see this picture in my favorites album I think about all those fun trips we took, and the canoe on the ski slope.
Christmas with Grammy 1966 (me in the red/gray sweater, my twin in yellow, my older sister in the back with the scrunched up grin)
When someone says “Holidays”, I automatically think of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. The Big Three!
Ever since I was born, Christmas and Easter were primarily celebrated with my mother’s side of the family. There was a rotation of where it would be held. I think up until 1967, it was held at the family home where my grandmother and oldest aunt lived. This picture was from our last Christmas with her and it includes me, my 2 sisters, and my second wave of cousins.
Thanksgiving was a low key holiday for us because there was usually a high school football game to go to! My relatives would be off with their “other side of the family” for the holiday.
My mother died when I was 27 and not yet married and my sisters were both married but no kids yet. Our first holiday without her was Easter of 1987, and my cousin hosted everyone. By Thanksgiving I had moved to California but I know without a doubt, my family back home continued the tradition of gathering, having a great meal, and exchanging presents. The following Christmas there were three babies so of course everyone gathered together. When we moved back to Connecticut in 1995, I was able to show my husband and son how my family celebrated growing up!
My house is our old family home and so it seems natural for us to host my mother’s side of the family. We do that every year in early December. My sister who lives in the same town always hosts Easter.
Thanksgiving has become the holiday that rotates between 3 different households!
Thoughts From The Passenger Seat 