"The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune." ~ English Proverb

Four years ago this past May, I shared this post in honor of my father's 85th birthday. I share it with you again today in honor of my father's life, and of his recent death at the age of 89. Dad died on Saturday, September 24th, surrounded by his loving family. It has been soothing for us all to revisit and reread the words that we wrote to him four years ago. I invite you to read them again so that you can know the man that we lost.

My father's obituary

Today, my father turns 85.  One year ago, we were celebrating the fact that he had survived heart surgery and then subsequent sickness that kept him hospitalized, and terribly ill, for quite some time.  It was a difficult and frightening period for everyone - but now happily - a memory.  Today we celebrate that he is with us and a part of our lives every day.  Please click on the names to read a few words from his family:

     Tracy          Scott          Rachel          Robin         Marge        Brian         Mike             Nancy          Mairead          Norma          Bruce           Laura          Alison      Caitlin     Alex        Erin, Dylan  and the Kids

Happy Birthday Dad - We Love you!

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." ~ Colin Powell

Fresh on the heels of the most recent Craft in America episode comes Anthony Bourdain's newest entry of Raw Craft. Enjoy!

"May you have fair winds and following seas."

A wonderful, whirlwind weekend filled with family love. We traveled north to Maine for the wedding of our nephew Brian, and his new wife, Joanna. My gosh, what a wonderful time. From the incredibly meaningful ceremony, to the dinner and festivities that followed - wow! We are so happy to be a part of this new and extended family, and couldn't be happier to welcome Joanna into our family!

Seen at our evening meal the day before the wedding.

My beautiful sister Alison, the mother of the groom.

Face-timing our parents so that they were part of the celebration.

"Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time." ~ Jean Paul Read

Today I am enjoying a "Back to School" luncheon with my fellow retired teachers. I am now five years into retirement, and it is the 5th birthday of this blog! This post marks number 486. That's a lot of writing and a lot of picture-taking. In January, I scaled back from my twice weekly posts, and now only publish on Wednesdays. Sometimes I just don't have anything to say! But - I'll keep at it till I run out!