I’m visiting the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda this week, which was created in 1981, after years as a British colony.  These islands, the first with 100,000 residents and the latter with just 1500, are wonderful places to enjoy nature, sip on fruity drinks, and savor perfect weather and […]

My travel year began up in Montreal Canada where I spent a few days touring the city and feasting on the great food. Then we drove two hours north to Mount Tremblant where we skied the big mountain and got to see the beautiful Laurentians up close. A highlight was […]

It’s a blustery day on this, the 31st day of December 2016. I am comfortable in the mancave, contemplating blogs I’ve written about New Year’s Eve from year’s past. Here’s a link to my 2010 post, written down in New Jersey when I was visiting family. I enjoy recounting where […]

Christmas Eve was a wonderful time at my daughter Kate and partner Jon’s house in Northfield. Part of this was seeing how happy Kate and the kids were in the big new house, and how well we all fit, 22 people, before and during the big dinner. The house is […]

I’ll never ever forget this commercial we used to watch over and over again, for a TV movie about a Christmas when Santa did not come. I remember the dramatic sotto voce, warning us that ‘Christmas is not coming this year.’  It was spooky and after 45 years I still […]

Last week I bit on one of those email offers that promise great serenity if you only click to their website. But on balance, I’m quite happy what I found–a list of “how to have a great morning” that I am trying to following now.  This list, written by Benjamin […]

No matter how old you are, you never get too old to appreciate and anticipate a coming snowstorm.  For me, this brings me back to Blawenburg, New Jersey, where I grew up and where snowstorms took on an especially passionate resonance.  We just loved it, and we used to pack […]

Last night’s Holiday Stroll was a fun event but it was hard to enjoy with the wind chills so high and the temperatures at 29 degrees on the Silverscape Designs clock on Main Street. We bundled up and walked up the middle of Main Street, first watching people dancing in […]

Tonight, we’ll get a taste of what Northampton could be like all year ’round.  That’s because the Downtown Northampton Association, the new version of the now-disbanded Business Improvement District, is holding its first Holiday Stroll, and Main Street will be blocked off and no cars will be driving through between […]

We are heading to the Connecticut shore tonight to enjoy a night at this wonderful beachfront hotel in the tony village of Madison.  I only know it from its name, Hilton, and that I’ve been wanting to explore this part of the state for many years. Mary and I will […]

Today I spent time in the driveway with a broom, sweeping off the snow on top of Mary’s Subaru. Though the snow continued to drift down, I managed to get in a two-mile run, thanks to a special pair of shoes designed for just such a purpose. The shoes are […]