A Wonderful Week on Nantucket...

Remembering the wonderful time we had on Nantucket, April 2009. Our friends, Ann and Dick, were nice enough to share their timeshare and we enjoyed a fun week with them. Jennifer and Catie were able to join us for a few days.

What fun we had exploring the island, the first visit for us. The village was decorated for the annual 'Daffodil Festival' and we were there for the daffodil parade and all the festivities.

We purchased a children's book about Nantucket and had fun finding and exploring the various places mentioned with Cate and Jennifer.

I enjoyed time at the historical museum researching my 10th great grandfather, Tristram Coffin, one of the original settlers on the island. We were able to find where he had built his home.

All in all, a wonderful time...

Snow Again

We woke up to snow this morning - not to fear, the weatherman says just an inch or so. Well, it kept up all day and when we went out to shovel late this afternoon there was at least six inches and it was very heavy! It would have been easier to just make a snowman.

We're off to the library - trustees' meeting tonight. Tomorrow is the town election with the town meeting on Thursday. Times are tough for a lot of folks in Rumney - it will be interesting to see how the voting goes on the budget.

Christmas 2008

We had another wonderful Christmas - what a treat to have Will home, time with the Wentz family, and good friends (Marilyn, Nancy, Shrader) join us.

Nancy arrived from California on the 17th and after a few days of eating and drinking and visiting, she headed along to spend time with her sister and brother returning to Rumney to spend a few more days with us and welcome the New Year.

Will arrived on the 22nd. Jennifer and Cate picked him up in Boston and then we all met up in Manchester for supper at Applebys - a lot of laughs, catching up, and appreciation by Mom and Dad for being all together.

The next day I had Will to myself (and he is such good company) doing my favorite thing - shopping. We spent the morning in Tilton, had lunch at Uno's, and I arrived quite late to work. The next morning (Christmas Eve) we went in to Plymouth to finish up our shopping. It was an effort to have lunch - we were too early for Fosters and too late for Biedermans - finally ended up at the Dawg House.

We spent Christmas in Goffstown and stayed over night. My roommate was up at four, and then five, and finally out the door at six to start the day's festivities - needless to say, it was a very long day. One of the fun presents from Jennifer was tickets to a Red Sox game in May - can you tell from the pictures who got tickets and who didn't??!! After presents, we add Chinese at North Garden, and then the party moved north to Rumney. Jim made a yummy cheese fondue and we were all in bed quite early.

Marilyn and Shrader both arrived on Friday and Jim cooked a delicious roast beef dinner that evening - all of us around the table, my favorite part of the day. The next morning the kids left for Killington, Shrader drove Will to Concord to catch the bus to Boston, and Marilyn and I collapsed. What a good time with everyone.

Marilyn headed along on Sunday and Nancy arrived back on Monday. The kids and Patty Miller and Dennis Murphy joined us for New Year's Eve - Nancy put together a delicious wintry spread - macaroni and cheese, baked beans, ham, Jim's oatmeal bread and, of course, some delicious wines. We had fun with 'American Idol' on the wii.

What a great holiday season.

The Nutcracker and Cate

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our annual trip to 'The Nutcracker'. This year's performance was held right at St Anselm's College and starred Cate as our favorite mouse.

A Trip Through the Redwoods

In early November, 08, Nancy, Jim and I took a couple of days to head north and see the redwood trees. We particularly enjoyed the 'Avenue of the Redwoods' which wound its way through the forests and were so impressed by the size of these majestic trees.

We spent the night in Ferndale, a 'cute' Victorian style town, with several gingerbread B&Bs and a main street to match. We enjoyed an evening with the locals who gather each Thursday night at the town pub to hear a couple of oldies on their guitars. Fun time.

Oregon Outback

Looking across the fields to Table Rock - a beautiful part of our country

The Turbyne Cousins - Rebecca Roth Miles (3rd Cousin to our Jennifer and Will, Robert Chapman and Janette Roth (2nd cousins to Jim) - Do I have it right???

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The Miles Family - Lloyd, Andrew, Becky, Daniel and Katherine (Daniel, Andrew, and Katherine are 3rd cousins to our Catherine)


The next morning we headed directly north to Oregon for our visit with the Miles Family and what a good time we had. Lloyd and Becky and their three children live in a beautiful home between Silver Lake, Christmas Valley, and Fort Rock in the 'Outback' of Oregon and we had a chance to explore all three villages. Becky prepared a delicious venison dinner for the first night and it was such fun visiting around their dinner table and getting to know the kids.


Lloyd and Becky set all their responsibilities aside and the next morning gave us a tour of the countryside. Lloyd showed us the farm - the fields, hay, cattle - and then we drove to the top of Table Rock, another white knuckle drive - fortunately, Lloyd was behind the wheel. This gave us a beautiful view of the whole area and Lloyd was able to point out his various fields. Everything is so huge and open in this part of our country.


Becky's folks, Janette and David Roth entertained us for lunch - delicious soup, bread and raspberry pie! We met another cousin, Robert Chapman and his wife Roberta. And then it was time for the cattle drive - absolutely awesome fun. It was fun watching the moms and babies trying to keep together. That evening we all gathered again and went to dinner at 'The Cowboy Dinner Tree' - what a meal - salad, cowboy smokey bean soup, beef stew, yummy homemade rolls, and then the main course - a HUGE steak and a HUGE baked potato - followed by dessert. Needless to say, everyone left very full and with very large doggie bags.

The next morning, Becky gave Jim a lesson in bread-making - he wants a Bosch mixer just like the one she has! With seemingly little effort, four loaves of bread appeared. We were amazed.

After a tour of the 'Fort Rock Valley Historical Society Homestead Village Museum - a collection of homestead-era structures including homes, a church and a school and another visit with Robert and Roberta, Lloyd and Becky took us to Crater Lake National Park. This five mile wide lake, rimmed by steep cliffs, rests in the remnants of a volcano - it is 1,943 feet deep, the deepest lake in the United States. It was a cold day and we even saw a little snow. Another beautiful sight.

That night Janette joined us for supper and we all reflected on a very busy and enjoyable visit - such fun sharing our memories and our love for Scotland. We are already looking forward to coming again.

Lasser National Park

"Miles of its flanks are reeking and bubbling with hot springs, many of them so boisterous and sulphurous they seem ever ready to become spouting geysers . . ." John Muir "Mountains of California", 1894

Lassen Peak's May 1914 eruption launched three years of sporadic volcanic outbursts and the area was made a national park in 1916 because of the active volcanic landscape. It serves as a century-long example of how Mount St Helens might recover from its eruptions in 1980.

We spent a full day driving around and thru the park. The narrow black-topped road twisted back and forth as it took us up to 8,500 feet (Lassen Peak measures 10,457 feet) and offered beautiful views of the area. We stopped here and there for quick walks, a picnic, and explorations of the various rock. We saw hundred year old rock side by side with rock thousands of years old.

We worked our way back to Susanville for our second night there. Tomorrow we head to Oregon.