A Christmas Wish for You

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

to all

and to all a good night.

The Icestorm Cometh

Thursday night we got hit with a pretty bad ice storm. It had rained for a couple of days and the trees were saturated. Around midnight a heavy rain turned to ice and coated all the trees. The many large evergreens in our yard could not handle the massive weight of the ice, and at least a dozen large branches came crashing to the ground. Throughout the night you could hear the snap of branches, the crack of ice, and the boom of large, heavy limbs hitting the ground. Occasionally in the distance you could see blue flashes of either lightening or transformers blowing. Although it made for a mostly sleepless night (for Daddy at least), we were very fortunate in that we never lost power, or had any branches hit the house. Check out the photos and video clips.

It was quite beautiful, despite of its destructive power. Although the million people in New England without power and heat, including Auntie Lee Ann and family, may disagree.

Some limbs in the backyard near the northwest corner.

The fence in the northwest corner took a pretty good beating. The branches didn't look big enough to do much damage, but with the weight of the ice on them, they packed quite a wallop.

Another view of the fence damage.

The fence looking toward the neighbors yard.

Fence smashed.

A large limb down on the southwest side. The backyard smelled like a Christmas tree farm (very nice).

The stub of where a branch broke off.

The sun came out around 1 o'clock on Friday and the ice melted rapidly, causing downpours from the trees even though the sky was clear.

Some minor damage in the front where a couple of branches came down on the arborvitae.

Arborvitae cut in half.

I couldn't get the video clips to upload, but they can be viewed on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Beautiful Boy

Picasa (software for using digital photos) just added a movie making feature. So I thought I would try it. Check out the 4 minute montage of Lennon's first 2 and 1/2 years, set to John Lennon's moving tribute to his son.

If you have trouble viewing it in the blogger, try the YouTube link below:

Beautiful Boy video on YouTube

Santa Parade

We braved the cold and rain to see the Santa Parade on Sunday. We were not disappointed, as the big man made his appearance on a firetruck.

Sam and me on our viewing platforms.

Enjoying the parade.

Some cute little snowmen.

Lots of candy was handed out. Here I am enjoying a lollipop.


The man of the hour.

CJ'S Birthday

CJ is 11. We helped him celebrate with some cake.

Cakes through the years.

CJ through the years.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

One of the best Thanksgiving movies of all time is John Hughes' Planes, Trains & Automobiles. It stars the great Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy. Here is my tribute to the outstanding comedy, and to all who will be traveling on Thanksgiving.

Neal and Del trying to get home for Thanksgiving - Very funny.

This was my first plane trip - to Michigan last Christmas.

The flight was a lot smoother than Neal and Del's flight in the movie. The weather was good and there was no threat of cancellation, unlike Neal and Del who had better luck playing pickup sticks than catching their flight.

This is me waiting for my 1st train ride.

The train ride was a lot smoother than Neal and Del's too. After all, Andover to Boston is easier than Witchita to Chicago. "Train don't run out of Wichita... unlessin' you're a hog or a cattle. People train runs out of Stubbville."

And my first ride in a convertible was a lot smoother than Neal and Del's ride.

State Trooper: What the heck are you driving here?
Del: We had a small fire last night, but we caught it in the nick of time.
State Trooper: Do you have any idea how fast you were going?
Del: Funny enough, I was just talking to my friend about that. Our speedometer has melted and as a result it's very hard to see with any degree of accuracy exactly how fast we were going.

This is more of a tribute to Thelma and Louise, but it is well worth watching.

And here are some other miscellaneous forms of transportation with my cute mug in them.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Firetruck at the September truck show.

John and me on the bumper of a Woburn firetruck.

In front of a big garbage truck.

Riding a big rig - hard hat and all.

Halloween

Here are some pictures from my night of trick-or-treating.

Fireman Lennon

Visiting the neighbors.

Hanging with my friends.

Visiting another house.

Enjoying a treat (Halloween must be good business for dentists).


Counting my loot. Check out the great bag my neighbor made for me. It had lots of treats.

A jack-o-lantern Pez dispenser - cool!

Buddy Walk 2008

We all did the Buddy Walk on October 12th to help raise awareness and money for the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress. There were over 1700 walkers who raised over $170,000. It was a great day. Check out the photos of Will's team.

Will

Lennon and his red balloon.

Elizabeth Caroline

Will's Team

Checking out the fish in the lake.