A Riddle for You

I have a riddle for you my friends. What can you make that has no form and no weight and can only be used in the future? The answer is not blowing in the wind, but is, in fact, a memory. Memories are made in the here and now, but can only be called memories at some point in the future.

I just spent two weeks making more memories than are usually made in months. I can’t do my trip to Connecticut justice in a short article, but I’ll touch on some of the highlights.

I drove a total of 1667 miles in my “new” Prius and spent a grand total of $69 for gas! You can’t beat that. Two days up to Connecticut, ten magical days spent with family, and two days driving back with my grandson, Monterey.

A beautiful butterfly

With my daughter Tammy, we went to church, we toured the Harriet Beecher Stowe home in Hartford, and in Deerfield, Mass visited the Yankee Candle Company and Magic Wings, an indoor butterfly conservatory where we walked among a tropical setting with hundreds of butterflies flying around us. I felt like I was in an animated movie, or maybe Avatar. One even landed on my hand and stayed there for the longest time. Tammy and I were able to spend time back at her house talking about writing—hers and mine—and showing her how to self-publish on CreateSpace. Her husband Curtis and his friend treated us to a mini guitar concert one night.

I made this

Kari,Mike,Tammy,
Me, Monterey,Curtis

With my son Mike, we went out for pizza and then to a dairy farm for fresh homemade ice cream with Monterey, Tammy, and Mike’s fiancée, Kari. Another day, Mike and Monterey took me to a chocolate factory where we learned all about how chocolate is grown and made AND we each got to make our own chocolate bars and taste samples. Now THAT was a lot of fun! And delicious, too. Mike checked my oil, put air in my tires and hosted a good-bye breakfast the day I left. I think it was the best pepper and egg sandwich on a hard roll I’ve ever had. Seems only in New England can you get such a delightful sandwich. Tammy drove down and joined us for breakfast, so the entire morning just got better and better.

A selfie

With my sister Donna and her husband Joe, we went to church Sunday then went out for pizza, Chinese buffet another day, and hamburgers at a seaport marina called Captain’s Cove on yet another day. I helped her with the computer and to get HER book ready for self-publishing. We are a literary family! Also at my sister’s house, our third “sister” Cookie drove up from Queens to spend the night. She’s a writer, too. We’ve known each other since we were 5, 6, and 7. We are now 75, 76, and 77. That’s seventy years, folks! You can read about how we met in my book, If You Don’t Like Worms, Keep Your Mouth Shut. Tammy drove down from Manchester with her photographer’s hat and tripod and took pictures of the three of us.

Another selfie at
the Natural Bridge

Monterey at Natural Bridge

With Monterey, we made the drive home stopping in Virginia at the Natural Bridge, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is an incredible sight.

I am now home, back to business as usual, but with enough new memories made to last a lifetime.

Quote of the Day: Oft in the stilly night/Ere slumber’s chain has bound me/Fond Memory brings the light/Of other days around me. Thomas Moore