About Me

My photo
My wife Toni and I live in the beautiful Catskill mountains, where we love to spend time with family & friends. I enjoy working in the gardens,reading, hanging out at the lake and enjoying the bounty of our lives. In 2007 I started my own business and named it after our dog Spencer. "Life's been good to me so far"

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Kathy's Tea Kozy




Our friends Kathy & George moved into their new space last weekend.Their old cafe would only hold about 20 people. They moved into the former Old Valley Restaurant in the middle of the Village. The front of the building is the new Wurtsboro library.
They both look wonderful. Toni & I go for breakfast and it's like eating with a room full of friends. The place is a real asset for the Village.

Wurtsboro Sunset




Did anyone see the beautiful sunset Sunday, December 28th?

It looked like the sky was on fire. Beautiful

Another Day...Another Party


Saturday night we went to our friend Jackie Auer's surprise 40th birthday party at Valley Brook Lodge. The food was really great all of it homemade. The party was an interesting mix of locals and the "Cycle Lords". Happy Birthday Jackie

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas 2008

Christmas has come and gone. We were filled with the blessings of family & friends. Christmas eve was raining and icy in Wurtsboro, but we had a lovely dinner in the new restaurant in town, Toscana. After dinner we went to midnight mass, which in Wurtsboro is at nine o'clock. I was on the altar doing the readings while Toni sat with the Dolans and Kyle's family. The mass and the music were especially beautiful. After church we had about fifteen friends and family back to our house for holiday cheer.

Christmas morning we opened our gifts and my parents came for breakfast after mass. After more presents almost everyone took a nap and Toni cooked a beautiful dinner. Christmas night we went to the Dolan's for more presents and dessert. It's exhausting but wonderful. Here are some of the pictures.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Deck the Halls







We have decked the halls in hopes that St Nick soon will be here. Merry Christmas to all!

Monday, December 22, 2008

No More "Dreaming of a White Christmas"











We had eight inches of snow Friday followed by another four on Sunday. This morning when I took these pictures ,it was eight degrees with wind gusts around 25.




Brrrrrrrrrrr! Spencer makes sure I get out there to enjoy the beauty of it all.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas Party at Aunt Rita's







This weekend we went to Toni's Aunt Rita's house for her annual family Christmas party in Patterson, NJ.
We always have a really fun time . There's lots of good food, drinks, desserts and talk. It's not a quiet group. After eating, the braver souls go into the backyard to watch a bonfire and sing Christmas Carols. This year we watched a meteor shower, which was truly amazing especially after a few drinks. Thank you Aunt Rita!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Getting Ready for Christmas



Well, were are doing pretty good with the Christmas prep. work. The trees ( yes, two trees) are up, the cards are in the mail and we're decorated inside and out. We still have a little shopping to do, but we're basically ready. I like to be done early so we can enjoy the season.
Bring it on Santa!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Toni and I went to see TSO this weekend with our friends Maureen & Eric. The orchestra plays Christmas carols with a hard rock attitude. They have a great light show, snow falls from the ceiling and fireworks and flames shoot out all over the place. This is our fourth time seeing them.
We love them.
We stayed over at Maur & Eric's new home in Albany. New to them, it was built in 1937. They made us a lovely dinner before the show. A great time with wonderful friends



Monday, December 1, 2008

I ate too much




Another Thanksgiving and no surprise I ate too much. It's so much work but we are very grateful to have our family with us it's all worth it. Before our dinner we helped out at the church's dinner for the community. They had 61 people which wouldn't be bad if they hadn't cooked for 200. So now it's on to the Christmas season.


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Cruising Days




Toni and I just came back from an eleven day cruise on the Celebrity Constelliation.


We visited Bermuda, St Martin, Aruba, Nassau and Fort Lauderdale. We made new friends on the ship and hooked up with Jim & Karen Kilgore in Aruba. We had a great time and we can't wait to book another trip.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Mom's Birthday


We had Mom & Dad down for her birthday dinner and gifts. They're both 89 this year. Woodrow Wilson was president when they were born. I think I only have one friend who has both parents alive. I fell very blessed to still have them.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A New Chapter


After reading the wonderful blogs of some good friends I thought I'd jump in and try to let our friends know what's going on with us. I'll try to be interesting and funny.


We closed up "our " house in Masten Lake this weekend. Actually the house belongs to our very good friend Cathy who lives most of the year in Ohio. She wonderfully lets us use her house and the lake whenever we wish. So it's a sad day for us when we put the house to sleep for the winter.